ã€ŠI Will Kill The Authorã€‹


 Chapter 1 Prologue

    ?(A/N: This is just a prologue, as the title says, so it''s not important to the story, but I would suggest reading it¡­ or not.

    Who cares what the author says? Though if you do decide to read it, read it till the end)

    ¡ª

    Saturday 28th November 2009

    11:58 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Today was my 13th birthday.

    I expected my mother''s warm and cheerful voice to wake me up in the morning but what woke me up was that nightmare instead.

    Yes, I''m having that same nightmare again.

    However, no matter how I think about it, today, it felt different.

    I still dreamt the same thing, but today it felt more¡­ realistic.

    Like I was there myself. Like I was seeing it all through my own eyes.

    I know how this sounds.

    It sounds like I''m losing my mind, and that''s why I didn''t tell mom and dad.

    I thought I would be the happiest person under the sun today, but the bitter taste that was left in my mouth due to that dream ruined it all.

    Anyway, I read somewhere that if you write down your nightmare, then you won''t have it again.

    And because today I remember it clearly, I''ll try to write it down.

    `So my nightmare starts with visions of a boy. He has only one arm.

    I can only see his back. He stands on a battlefield with his head down in sorrow.

    He couldn''t protect anyone.

    His lover, his friend, and the people who counted on him ally around him dead.

    He falls to his knees and starts whimpering.

    He picks up a sword beside him from one of his deadrade''s bodies.

    cing the de on his neck, he mutters but one thing.

    "I''m sorry," he says and shes his neck.

    His lifeless body drops to the ground, and my vision shifts.

    Next, I see a girl.

    Again, I can only see her back.

    She stands on a mountain cliff, looking at the azure moon above.

    Her waist-long ck hair floats in the autumn breeze as she looks up at the sky.

    "I''m sorry," she mumbles in a weeping tone.

    Unable to bear the trauma of her past, she starts to cry.

    But there''s no one to console her.

    No, there''s no one left to console her.

    She couldn''t save her loved ones.

    No matter how many times she tries, she can''t save anyone.

    Dropping her head in defeat, she takes a step and jumps off the cliff. Ending her pitiful life.

    With that, my vision shifts once again.<novelnext></novelnext>

    This time I can see another boy. Again, just his back.

    But this vision is different from the others.

    The boy I''m seeing now is standing in between what looks like the boundary of two different worlds.

    With a two-headed spear in his hand, the boy turns and looks directly at me.

    But due to the light in his background, I can''t see his face clearly, just a silhouette.

    He then murmurs some gibberish that I can barely make sense of.

    "This is the point where our worlds collide. Remember this." He says before continuing, "I''m sorry."

    With that said, he ces his spear on his heart and impales himself.

    Slowly bleeding to his death.

    My vision turns ck from here.

    Trapped in darkness, no matter how much I try to wake up, I just can''t.

    All I could hear from here on out is the voice of an old woman reciting something.

    "When the darkness will fall and even the shadows will hide.

    The reality will twist, the time will bend out of joint, and moonless shall be the nights.

    No one will be the wiser when all the prayers start to decline.

    Running in an endless spiral, three children will only survive.

    One who sought strength but lost everything to his thirst to thrive.

    And another who chose to rewrite, this one knows no bound of time.

    Along with a boy who only wished for peace and a different life.

    So fear not when your fall arrives and fret not whenes your demise.

    For victory will be ours and restored will be the dawn when these three will unite.

    Or not¡­ and to tell the tale, no one will be left alive."

    After hearing that poem or whatever it is, I would float around in darkness endlessly.

    An annoyingugh would fall into my ears from time to time.

    Augh irritating enough to make me wanna choke the person who''sughing like that to death.

    I would try to wake up, but I never could.

    I would just float in that darkness, aimlessly apanied by nothing but the sound of thatughter.

    My solitude only ends after either someone shakes me or I fall from my bed.

    Sigh, I hope these nightmares will end soon.

    And I sure don''t wanna experience one as realistic as today''s ever again.

    Also, I don''t know why but I felt sad when I saw that boy with the spear¡­

    I mean, I felt sad for all of them.

    That''s rare. I rarely feel anything, but I felt sad over an absurd dream.

    I don''t know. Maybe it''s just my exhaustion talking.

    Anyway, I''m off to bed. Fingers crossed.

    -Noah Lambert

    __

 Chapter 2 The Will Of Fate

    ?Ever since I was little, I always found the notion of fate stupid.

    I mean, if someone really is writing my destiny, then does that mean I had no free will, to begin with?

    If all the actions I took were part of someone''s n, then was I just a puppet dancing on someone else''s strings?

    No, I reject this notion.

    Only I am responsible for the good, bad, and every other part of my life!

    I was born free! And no one can tell me otherwise!

    Ahem, anyway. That must''ve been weird, right?

    Let''s start over.

    Hello, I''m Noah Lambert.

    I''m an online content editor for a tform called web-novel. I''m a perfectly normal person with an utterly messed up sleep schedule.

    And currently, I was being held at gunpoint at the entrance of my own apartment by a maniac author.

    What''s my crime, you ask?

    I rejected his work for an annualpetition prize.

    Now don''t get me wrong. Although I did vote in favor of him not winning the prize, there were ten other editors besides me.

    Yet, for some reason, this guy only came after me.

    Well, luckily, I''ve already sent SOS from my cell phone, so the police will be arriving here any moment now.

    But unfortunately, I don''t think this guy is in the right mindset. I don''t know how long I have until hepletely snaps and loses his mind.

    "Tell me why?!" He yelled with a red face full of anger.

    "...Ain''t nothin'' but a heartache?"

    p¨C!

    An open palmnded on the side of my face after my answer.

    I couldn''t me the guy. He was clearly on edge, yet I had the audacity to joke around.

    No regrets though. That was very funny. Hehe.

    "Tell me why?!"

    "Ain''t nothin'' but a mistake~!"

    Okay, guys, I couldn''t help myself!

    It''s a catchy song, and this guy set himself up! Twice!

    p¨C!

    The p was even harder this time. I could even feel a little blood in my mouth.

    "Don''t joke around, you fucker! Tell me, why didn''t I win?!" He barked at the top of his lungs. His gun was still pointed at me.

    He was the type of guy your girlfriend would tell you not to worry about, and you really got nothing to worry about because you know you''re undoubtedly better than him.

    He was the type of guy you would walk past on the street andpletely forget about a minuteter.

    He was the type of guy who would gopletely unnoticed at parties because of his unimpressionable personality.

    This guy was as average as theye. The most average Joe out of them all! And oh, the irony! Even his name was Joe!

    "Oye! Tell me, why didn''t I win?!" Joe yelled again. His gun hand trembled slightly, which skyrocketed my anxiety level.

    Seeing that, I raised my hand as a sign of submission and put an amicable smile on my face.

    "Joe, listen, I don''t know, okay? I don''t know why you didn''t win. There were ten other editors besides me who voted against you."

    "Tsk!" Hearing my answer, Joe clicked his tongue aggressively. "Fine then. Tell me why you didn''t vote for me?"

    I don''t know why he cared about my vote so much, but he was getting angry with every passing second.

    Maybe it''s better if I tell him my opinion on his story and be done with this.

    That will not only help me stall some time until the police arrive, but it''ll also form an emotional connection between us.

    Psychology bitches!

    I nodded slightly and said, "Now, before I tell you this, remember it''s just my opinion, and my opinion doesn''t matter as long as you believe in yourself."

    After a brief pause, Joe nodded his head at my words, seemingly approachable and calmer than before.

    Letting out a relieved sigh, I started speaking again.

    "The reason I voted against you is that although your writing quality was excellent, your plot wasn''t so good."

    I started mixing lies with truth. His writing quality was horrendous, and his plot was packed with clich¨¨s.

    But I deliberately picked my words in such a way that wouldn''t hurt his pride and let me convey my point to him.

    So why didn''t Ipletely lie to him and tell him the things he wanted to hear? Because I still didn''t have a good read on him.

    What if he catches me lying to him? It would only make the situation even worse.

    Besides, I knew what I was doing.

    I learned to lie almost as soon as I started to speak.

    "But no need to worry. If you allow me to be your personal editor, then with your brilliant writing and my guidance, you will win next year''spetition for sure!"

    Again, I lied through my teeth. This time there was barely any truth mixed in with it.

    No way azy bum like him, who wrote all the clich¨¨s a man could write in one single novel, would be able to win against those big-shot genius authors.

    He didn''t possess the creative vision or imaginative thinking needed to be a good storyteller.

    "So let''s calm down, Joe. Calm down and put the gun away, yeah?" I said in a reassuring tone. "I will help you write your next story."

    Joe waspletely still by now. Maybe I managed to get through to him. Hah, reading him was easy!

    He was just an insecure fellow looking for some acknowledgment. A few words of encouragement and he settled down like a kid!

    "What did you say?" Joe uttered right at that moment when I thought I had finally managed to calm him down a bit.

    "...Eh?" Confused, I frowned. "Wh-What?"

    "I asked, what the fuck did you say about my plot not being good?" He repeated his question with a bit of annoyance.

    Fuck. His silence was the calm before the storm! I didn''t cool him down. I set him off! I wasn''t talking to a person but a ticking time bomb!

    "I-I didn''t mean anything negative by that, Joe. N-Now that I think about it, your plot wasn''t even that bad! A little fixing here and there and it would be perfect!"

    m¨C!

    Following my answer, Joe mmed his free hand on the wall nearest to him in rage.

    His other hand was still holding the gun at me when he said, "Shut up, Noah! It doesn''t need any fixing! That story is perfect!"

    Oh my fucking god!

    He was one of those authors!

    The kind of author who thinks their work is a masterpiece when in reality, a nine-year-old could write a better story than them!<novelnext></novelnext>

    I hate them the most! Those kinds of authors disgust me!

    However, I couldn''t let my feelings get to me. I needed to use my head.

    "You get it?! Do you hear me?! It''s a masterpiece! It doesn''t need fixing! It''s beautiful as it is!" Joe kept wailing.

    Arghh! He was getting on my nerves!

    Seeing him acting like a delusional author made my editor persona burst out¡­

    "It was not a masterpiece! It was nowhere near a masterpiece! It was shit! I cringed so hard reading a few chapters that you have no idea!

    "Your characters were nd and they didn''t feel alive! Your plot was predictable and your MC was typical!

    "Nothing about your story stood out! If it was anything, then it was a clich¨¨! I never got to read the ending but I bet it was a clich¨¨ too!"

    Letting out all my frustration, I cooled down a bit. But only after I collected my thoughts did I see the look on Joe''s face.

    Was it anger or sadness? I don''t know. But he had definitely lost all reasoning at this point. He had a look of frenzy in his eyes.

    "How could you say that?" Joe said in a shivering voice. "How could you, of all people, say that?"

    Seeing him acting so unstable, I raised my hands a little higher, showing total submission.

    "Wha-What do you mean? I''m just telling you my opinion. But hey man, this is not the end of the world. Participate next year and win-"

    Before I could finish my sentence, however, Joe snapped at me. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

    Sigh, the guy hadpletely lost his mind. There was nothing I could do now besides waiting for the police to show up.

    So I did what I was told.

    I shut up¡­ and pissed my pants a little.

    "You think I care about some stupidpetition?! No, I don''t!" He barked.

    ''Then why are you here,'' is what I wanted to respond with, but I restrained myself.

    "I wanted to let the world see this story! I wanted to share something that I found enjoyable!

    "Sure, it was a little clich¨¨ at first, but it became better! And yes, the end was tragic, but the journey was beautiful!

    "The characters didn''t feel alive, you say?! Well, they were! They were alive! And they showed me one of the best stories in eons!" Joe continued to bark.

    What was he even talking about now?

    Does this guy have the infamous 8th-grade syndrome?

    "J-Joe, what are you talking about?" Anxiously, I asked.

    "Shut up!" As a man possessed, Joe cried out. "I said they were alive! Perhaps it''s you who has forgotten what it''s like to be alive! But maybe if you go back, you''ll remember!"

    The fuck? Go back where? What the hell was this guy on about?

    Click¨C!

    As soon as he said those words, Joe pulled the gun''s hammer back with his thumb and ced the barrel against my forehead.

    Beads of sweat formed on my forehead, and a chill ran down my spine. My stomach churned in horror as my instincts screamed at me to run away.

    "J-J-Joe! This isn''t worth going to jail for, man! Publish your story again and I will be your personal editor! I will make sure the world sees your masterpiece! Just put the gun down, okay?"

    I wanted to run.

    Seeing the maddened look in his eyes, I was sure. He would shoot me any moment now¡­.

    Over what? A stupid story? Was I really going to get killed because I didn''t like some silly story?!

    "It''s toote," with a tone as calm as a still river, Joe dered. "You''vepletely forgotten yourself, so I''ll make you remember."

    This guy has lost it!

    This guy was insane!

    Why the fuck police take their sweet time getting to SOS locations in situations like these?!

    "Casting Time Reversal and Parallel Timeline Rebirth will take a toll on my body. I may lose half of my life essence but I''ll make you remember. I''ll make you remember what it''s like being alive!" Joe announced.

    I couldn''t be any more confused. What the fuck was he saying?! Did he really have 8th-grade syndrome or something?!

    Right then, Joe disyed the eeriest grin I had ever seen and said, "I''ll let you show me a better story. And this time, try not to die before reaching the end."

    "Stop!" My eyes widened and my hands moved to grab the gun as I saw Joe pulling back the trigger.

    Bam¨C!

    But I was toote¡­

    What reverberated throughout the room then was a very, very sharp and loud sound of gunfire.

    I thought that a gunshot wound to the head would give me instant death. However, it took longer than I had expected for me to lose consciousness.

    I fell, but I didn''t feel anything.I had already lost all of my senses.

    I wondered if that''s how the person feels when their brain shuts down.

    Thest thing I saw before darkness invaded my vision was the creepy smile of my killer.

    ____

    Joe looked at the dead body in front of him, but the eerie grin on his face from before was nowhere to be seen.

    Instead, he looked¡­ sad?

    "Finish the story you started," He mumbled to himself while looking at the fallen boy in front of him. "And put an end to all of this."

    -"Open up!"

    Right then, a voice came from across the door of the apartment. It was most probably the police. They were arriving now.

    -"Open up, or we will break in!"

    "Huh? Don''t they know how to deal with a hostage situation? Fucking amateurs." Joe cussed out loud as he closed his eyes.

    His body then started radiating a blinding white light.

    And within seconds, he dissipated into light particles, fading into nothingness as if he was never present in that room, to begin with.

    -"Break it!"

    At thatmand, a few men in uniform tackled down the wooden door¨C breaking it and rushing inside.

    However, all they found inside the apartment was the dead body of a young web-novel editor.

    He had dark hair and matching eyes with a well-built body. He was seemingly in his early twenties.

    The cause of death was a bullet wound to the head.

    But the funny thing was, they never found a bullet inside his head during the autopsy. Neither did they find any gunshot residue on the dead body.

    It was my dead body.

    I was Noah Lambert, and I was an online tform editor.I was a perfectly normal person with an utterly messed up sleep schedule.

    And I''m not the protagonist of the story that we all are going to embark upon.

 Chapter 3 Lucas Morningstar [1]

    ?Ding¨C!

    Awakening me from my slumber was the loud mechanical bell chime in my ears.

    ''Who''s ringing bells in my room?!'' That was the first thought that came to my mind.

    Lethargically getting myself up, I rubbed my hazy eyes. The stiffness of my body made me think as if I had been sleeping for days.

    Messaging my aching forehead, Izily but carefully scouted my surroundings through my bleary eyes.

    I found myself in a one-bedroom apartment¡­ But it was way bigger than mine?

    Not to mention the clean and tidy interior. This was certainly not my apartment.

    Confused, I looked around as I got up from the bed I had been lying on earlier.

    Memories of what happened at the entrance of my apartment came flooding into my head, leaving me with a frown.

    "... Huh? Shouldn''t I be dead?" I thought out loud as I remembered being shot by a certain maniac author.

    Damn that guy! Who shoots a person just because they don''t happen to like your shitty story?!

    Rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn''t just sleeping, I blinked several times before pinching my cheek.

    "Mmm! It doesn''t look like I''m dreaming¡­."

    At first, I thought that someone must''ve rescued me at thest minute and I must be in a hospital or something.

    Or better yet, maybe I was having one of those before-death visions and would die any moment now.

    But as each second passed, it became clear to me that I was certainly not dreaming.

    It felt all too real to be a dream. My senses were working properly, and I could even smell.

    The scent ofvender room freshener lingering in the apartment was clearly picked up by my nose.

    Fun fact: You can''t smell in dreams.

    But just to double-check, I grabbed the nearest book from a small bookshelf beside my bed.

    You can''t read in dreams, either.

    Opening a random page, I was about to read its contents out loud before I heard another mechanical bell sound.

    Ding¨C!

    Startled, I started looking around me to find the source of the sound.

    But before I could find anything, a blue translucent screen appeared in my vision out of nowhere with another bell chime.

    Ding¨C!

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    Strength¡ú 20

    Defense¡ú 8

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 32

    uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 500/500

    Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Profession¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú None

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    ===========

    "...What?" After a second of pause, I voiced my disbelief.

    A multitude of questions bombarded my mind as I stood there nkly.

    It felt like a distasteful joke.

    Putting a hand to my mouth in disbelief, I let all kinds of wild scenarios run through my mind.

    Maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe I was dead and this wasn''t even real. Maybe all this was a prank!

    However, none of those scenarios were reasonable enough.

    I had to make sure of what I was assuming. I needed confirmation. Thinking about that, I remembered the book I was holding in my hands.

    Abruptly, I closed the book and looked at its cover. And sure enough, I was left stunned

    The words [Global Military Academy: Course 1] were printed on the book''s cover.

    That, along with the ''status'' screen I just saw, was enough evidence for me but I still decided to look for a mirror.

    When I turned my head to look behind, I found a desk at the front end of the room. On top of that desk was a mirror.

    A fancy silver-bordered mirror.

    After walking up to the mirror with slow, shaky steps, I looked at my reflection.

    And as soon as my gaze fell on my reflection in the mirror, I couldn''t help but gasp in shock.

    "Ahh?"

    I had pale skin, as white as snow, that brought out my merlot-red eyes. My dark ck hair was reced by the lightest shade of white, and my small, slightly chubby figure was now tall and well-built.

    "White hair?!" I blurted out with a frown. "I''m an albino?!"

    I wore a ck shirt with white buttons paired and a in ck jogger.

    The sleeves of my shirt were folded back and the buttons were left open until my corbone was visible.

    "What a weirdbo," I couldn''t help butment on my own clothes.

    Yes, it was an odd choice for clothing, but this face that I had could make anything I wore look good.

    I''m not exaggerating. If I were to wear leaves, I would still look like a model with this face!

    The boy in the mirror was nothing short of an anime protagonist that gets all the girls.

    The captivating charm that my face carried made me look as if I was standing at the epitome of beauty.

    Mhmm, I looked like a pretty boy... but I knew that couldn''t be further from the truth.

    How did I know that? Because I recognized the boy I was looking at in the mirror.

    "This is a joke¡­ right?"

    I knew what I was thinking was indeed happening to me.

    It may sound weird to hear, but this was the reality that has been presented to me.

    I''ve been reborn.

    To be precise¡­<novelnext></novelnext>

    I''ve been reborn inside a web novel.

    But that wasn''t it! I didn''t be the protagonist! Nor did I be an extra!

    I had be a viin!

    Not even the main viin, no! The stepping stone for the protagonist and his allies!

    But why?!

    Why did I have to be reborn in ''this'' novel out of all the gazillion other web novels out there?

    I couldn''t help but recall the face of that maniac author. The maniac author who killed me¡­

    After all, this was his novel¡­

    Does he have something to do with all this? Did he drug me? I could be on drugs! Thoughts like that entered my mind but I soon shook them off.

    "What am I even thinking?!"

    All the proofs were in front of me. I had no choice but to ept the reality.

    "Huuu!" Shaking my head, I took a deep breath to calm myself down.

    I know I just woke up but this felt like a dream.

    How could this even be happening to me? This is the most clich¨¨ situation I have ever been put into all my life.

    Turning back around, I took a few steps and sat at the edge of the bed.

    My knees felt weak and my heart mmed against my chest like crazy, almost as if I was getting high on adrenaline.

    My breathing fastened as the gravity of the situation finally started to sink in.

    "Ehe hehehe~"

    A soft giggle escaped my trembling lips the next moment.

    ¡­Yes, I wasughing.

    I was smiling andughing. For the first time in so long, I wasughing!

    I was feeling excited!

    I didn''t remember thest time my heart mmed against my chest so hard.

    So what if I was in a trashy web novel? I was still in a fantasy world, nheless!

    I didn''t care about anything else. My life was so nd anyway.

    It''s not that I didn''t have anything. On the contrary, I had everything I could possibly ask for.

    My looks weren''t the best, but I was still decent looking. I was pretty smart too and had a job.

    I had a loving girlfriend, a bunch of loyal friends, and three caring siblings. I even had the best parents in the whole world.

    They all loved me. It was a perfect life. It was an ideal life.

    But for whatever reason, I never truly felt satisfied. I never felt anything genuine.

    I could never truly love any of them. Not my girlfriend, siblings, friends, or not even my parents.

    I never actually felt connected to any of them.

    I always felt like there was a certain distance between us.

    I always felt like they didn''t really know the real me. How could they? I didn''t even really know myself either.

    I always felt like there was this feeling of emptiness in my heart that couldn''t seem to go away no matter what I may do.

    I felt like I didn''t belong there with them. I didn''t belong in that world.

    I only loved them because I had to. As if I was only doing my duty.

    Now you may call me scum for that but I can''t help it. I was born like that.

    I was born broken.

    I felt like I was just ying my part in a y. Like I was just a cog in a machine.

    It was a boring life. It was a dead life. A repetitive life with nothing eventful ever going on.

    I was living in a circle.

    Thinking back on it, I may have started feeling that way when that nightmare started appearing.

    But whatever the reason may be, I was happy that I escaped that tedious life.

    "Arghh¡­"

    However, I soon stopped giggling like a madman when I remembered the plot of the web novel I was in.

    Even though I was inside a fantasy world, the plot of this story was literally hell for its character.

    I only read it till volume 7, but the characters were dropping dead like flies nearing the end of it.

    "I don''t want such a fate!" I said in denial.

    And not to mention my character!

    I was in the body of Lucas Morningstar.

    He was a minor viin in the 1st volume and was promoted to a major viin in the first half of the 2nd volume.

    "Tsk," Clicking my tongue, I closed my eyes to calm my mind.

    "No, no, no! I need to do something and I need to do it fast!"

    My worry was reasonable.

    If I remember correctly, which I do because I have a near-perfect memory, Lucas Morningstar belonged to one of the ruling families¡ª the elite house of Morningstars, also known as the House Of The Wolves.

    He was one of the second-born twins of General Reynold Morningstar.

    He wasn''t exactly strong, but due to his backing he thought he could do whatever he wanted.

    His beliefs weren''t exactly wrong either.

    He hadmitted several small crimes in the past and all of them were suppressed by his father.

    It was not because Reynold loved his trash son or something. No, on the contrary, he hated Lucas.

    He simply did all that to preserve the name of his family.

    In short, Lucas was just a disgrace to the Morningstar family.

    Anyway, as I was saying, Lucas Morningstar started out as a minor viin in the 1st volume.

    Beforeing to the Global City, he was emunicated by his father but he still didn''t lose his haughtiness.

    He was a vicious person and a scum of a man.

    Once, he was hitting a girl. So Nero Dekrauf, the protagonist of the story, confronted him.

    Lucas being the young master he was, challenged Nero to a duel.

    Needless to say, he got his ass kicked within a few seconds.

    Nero saved the girl, and she, of course, fell head over heels for the protagonist.

    A cliche plot! Right?! Tell me about it!

    Shaking my head in ridicule, I started thinking of a way to escape my crisis.

    Well, the solution was pretty clear.

    I don''t need to hit a girl and stray clear from the protagonist until the first volume of the story ends.

    After that, I''ll do something to avoid the destruction that''ll start in the 7th volume. The volume when the final war will begin.

 Chapter 4 Memories

    ?But there was a slight problem.

    You see, even if I somehow manage to evade my fate of getting beaten to a pulp by the protagonist, avoiding what happened in vol. 2 would be troublesome.

    "Fuu!" Letting out azy sigh, I massaged my brows. "Nevermind. I''ll think about this plot stuffter!"

    First, I needed to get used to this absurd situation. Everything was happening so fast that it felt surreal.

    An author killed me for rejecting his novel in apetition. And after my death, I found myself reborn in the very same story that I rejected.

    No matter how I see it, this all felt like one big distasteful joke.

    So to get myself used to my situation, I decided to get out of this one-bedroom apartment and walk around the city a bit.

    Besides, I was a little bit excited to take a look outside.

    If the description from the web novel was on point, then the scenery outside would be a sight to see.

    Thinking that, I stood up from the edge of the bed and headed for the apartment door.

    "Ah¡­?"

    But as soon as I got up, I felt ag in my movements. My body didn''t respond ording to my brain.

    Right then, before I could even collect my thoughts, I felt a sharp organ rendering pain piercing my head.

    "Mhmm!" A pained, muffled scream escaped my sealed lips.

    It felt like someone was hammering a nail in my skull. It wasn''t very pleasant, to say the least.

    After a few seconds of agonizing pain assaulting my head, it calmed down a bit and I managed to take in a deep breath.

    "Ahhh! What was that- khuuh!"

    But just when I thought it was over, a myriad of memories surged into my mind.

    It felt as if a water dam was broken and everything was gushing in at once.

    The sharp pain I felt earlier was nothingpared to this.

    "Aaarghhh!"

    This time the scream wasn''t so muffled. It was loud. I was screaming at the top of my lungs.

    It was like someone was squeezing my mind and grinding it in a juicer.

    My knees gave out and I fell to the ground. My body started to convulse in pain violently and I thought I would die¡­ again.

    "Arghhhhaha!"

    Tears coursed down my eyes as memories that weren''t mine along with emotions that I had never felt, shed before me.

    I experienced around 17 years'' worth of memories in just a few seconds.

    "...Haaa! Haaa!"

    Panting heavily when the pain stopped, I tried to get myself up from the ground but my body refused mymand to move.

    Beads of sweat formed on my forehead- actually my whole body was drenched in sweat.

    After a few minutes of lying on the ground, I mustered up what little strength I had left in me and got myself to stand up using the edge of the bed to support my weak legs.

    "W-What was that?" Startled by the pain, I questioned no one in particr while rubbing my forehead.

    "We-Were those my memories¡­?" A frown wrinkled my face as I stood there confused.

    "N-No! Those memories did not belong to me. Those belonged to Lucas. I''m not Lucas. I''m¡­ Huh?"

    ¡­Something was wrong.

    "... Wh-Who am I?"

    I tried to recall my identity but it seemed like I couldn''t. I just stood there nkly staring at the air with wide-shot eyes.

    Only after an unusually long moment of silence it finally came to me.

    "Yes, right! I''m Noah Lambert!" I eximed in confidence. "The pain must''ve messed up my brain!"

    I meant it in a literal sense.

    That pain really did mess up my brain. For a split second, I even forgot my own name.

    In a sh, I saw Lucas'' whole life''s worth of memories. It was like I was spectating.

    Like I was living his life, but I had no control over the actions he was taking.

    From his first memory to the veryst birthday that he celebrated. From his first walk to the fight he had with his father.

    I saw everything in mere moments.

    Because I''ve read the web novel, I already knew what little was told about Lucas'' life.

    I knew about his future, and I knew about his role in the story. I even knew a little about his past too.

    But experiencing his life firsthand, like it was me who lived it was a different feeling altogether.

    I felt like I was Lucas myself.

    I even thought that maybe my life as Noah Lambert was just a dream. But I dismissed those thoughts as soon as they appeared for obvious reasons.

    After all, I had lived for 26 years in my past life. No chance in hell that it was all a lie. I knew for a fact that my past life was real.

    Although calling it ''past life'' so soon is a little weird but it is what it is. It was real.

    But then the life I had just experienced as Lucas felt real too¡­

    Shaking my head slightly, I cleared my mind of such thoughts. Thest thing I needed right now was to start doubting myself.

    But I couldn''t help and notice some things differently now.

    It felt like I had just recovered from amnesia, and I merely remembered something that I had forgotten.

    This one-bedroom apartment, for example. It felt foreign to me just a few minutes ago but now it was starting to feel familiar.

    Although Lucas was an elite by birth, he was disowned by his father not too long ago.

    With the money he was given, Lucas came to the outskirts of the Global City and rented this apartment.

    Then he enrolled in the Global Military Academy for his mandatory military education since he could use mana.

    Even though only workers could rent housing in this city, Lucas was able to rent this apartment since he was soon going to be a student here anyways.

    Sigh.

    Although he had a vile personality, experiencing his life firsthand, I could tell that Lucas genuinely loved two people in his life¨C his father and his elder sister.

    But his father disowned Lucas when he made his twin brother, Adel Morningstar, the next head of the family candidate.

    The root of his vile personality actually lies in his childhood and his jealousy toward his twin brother.

    This world works on a society that is structured to favor strong individuals.

    That was especially true in high-background households where elites put a great deal of emphasis on the individual strength of their children.

    You must''ve guessed where this story is going by now, right?

    Lucas was destined to be stuck at ?Gold 3? while his brother Adel awakened an ?Immortal 2? rank potential.

    A contrasting difference.

    While ?Gold 3? rank potential was no joke either, it couldn''t bepared to what Adel had to offer.

    Especially since his elder sister, Yelena Morningstar, was also a ?Diamond 3? rank potential.

    In short, Lucas was just a disgrace in the family of heroes.

    So all the love and attention that was distributed evenly among the twin brothers since birth was then shifted solely to Adel as soon as they awakened at the age of 9.

    Lucas started being neglected not only by his parents but also by his elder sister, the one person who Lucas thought would never leave him.<novelnext></novelnext>

    His friends distanced themselves from him too, and in the end, he was left all alone. He became a misfit.

    There''s a memory of him celebrating his 13th birthday alone present in my mind.

    Soon after, the stress from solitude began affecting him and he started acting out in order to get some attention from his family.

    Of course, that didn''t work.

    So he started seeking sce in venting out his anger on others¡ª onmoners or servants who couldn''t fight back against him due to his status as a General''s son.

    Well, needless to say, that didn''t work very well for him either.

    First, he was beaten to a pulp by the protagonist in the 1st volume and then the Vampires used him as their pawn in the 2nd volume.

    Lucas'' feelings were never mentioned in the web novel, so I always thought of him as your arrogant young master-type viin.

    But damn! His backstory really had some depth in it¡­

    After witnessing those memories, I couldn''t help but pity Lucas.

    Despite knowing how trashy his personality was, I felt like his life was nothing short of a tragedy.

    I felt bad for him¡­ I felt bad for myself.

    It''s like I had two personalities. One was of Noah and the other belonged to Lucas.

    Needless to say, I was still the more dominant one as I was the one in control¡ª''I'' as in Noah.

    Bringing my hand to my forehead, I started massaging my eyebrows. I needed some time to get back to normal.

    Looking around my surroundings, I found a mini fridge right next to my desk.

    I walked up to it and took out a bottle of cold water and gulped down its contents.

    "Fuu!" Letting out a satisfying breath after quenching my thirst and cooling my mind, I looked at the clock.

    The clock was disying [5:08 P.M.]

    Before, I wanted to go for a walk and look at the scenery outside, but now I wasn''t in the mood for a stroll.

    Now that I had experienced Lucas'' life, I knew I didn''t have the luxury of wasting time.

    "What can I do, though?" Touching my chin, I thought.

    Although Lucas was an elite by birth, his battle prowess wasn''t that remarkable.

    Don''t get me wrong. He could fight well but he was pretty weakpared to the other elite kids who had been provided all kinds of resources since childhood.

    The reason for that was simple.

    Never in his life did Lucas ever try to train himself over his limit. He just did the bare minimum.

    He never made use of the resources he was provided. Instead, he always tried running away from the training.

    Not that I could me him. Coming from a peaceful world, the training he had to go through did seem like a hellish routine to me.

    But potential aside, that was another reason that despite being a few minutes older than his twin, Adel Morningstar, Lucas was never seen as a worthy candidate for the next head of the family.

    Lucas'' mentality was that he could get through anything as long as he had money and backing.

    It proved to be right in many instances but that mentality was soon shattered when he was disowned.

    Not to mention, it didn''t help when he got his ass kicked by the protagonist.

    Nor did it help him when he was used by the vampires as their puppets.

    And although he wasn''t mentioned after volume 2, I''m pretty sure it wouldn''t have helped him get through the destruction caused by the war in volume 7, either.

    "No! I can''t let what happened in the web novele true!" I dered while gritting my teeth and biting my thumbnail.

    I had the knowledge of the future. I knew things that were yet to happen. I could use that to my advantage somehow.

    "But how? Most of the artifacts or ancient spells won''t appear until the start of vol. 4! So what can I possibly do now?"

    I started wracking my brain to recall anything. Anything that could prove useful to me.

    Yes, I was thinking of stealing a cheat item or two from the MC.

    I knew the risks. I knew that I could potentially create a butterfly effect and destroy the whole plotline.

    And by doing so, I''ll also lose the information I had about the future.

    But I couldn''t care less about all those things right now.

    It was precisely because I knew the future that I was willing to take such a big risk. The future of this world was grim.

    And it''s not like I was going to cause a very big ripple in the plot line either.

    The protagonist was showered with cheat items like crazy, so stealing one or two will not present a problem. I think¡­?

    But you see, every big cheat item started appearing only after the 4th volume.

    Why? Because that was the time when opponents stronger than the protagonist started appearing.

    Before the 4th volume, the protagonist was so overpowered that he didn''t need any power-ups.

    And even after that, most of the cheat items were designed solely for the protagonist.

    That means I could not steal them even if I knew their time and location of appearance.

    I know, right?! The plot was so forced!

    And even without most of his cheat items, the protagonist was overpowered as fuck!

    No matter what the odds against him may be, he would alwayse out unharmed!

    No one likes to read about an invincible protagonist! That''s why I was not too fond of this story in the first ce.

    Sigh, but fate is a bitch. I just had to be reborn in this story.

    "Fucking plot armor- wait!" I cursed out loud before suddenly recalling something. Something that I almost forgot.

    "How did I let that slip my mind?!"

    Yes, how did it slip my mind?

    If I had ''that'', then I would almost be invincible!

    With that in my possession, I wouldn''t have to worry about my safety!

    "Yes! I need to get that!"

    I picked up my phone from the desk and opened the maps. Then I typed in the name of a certain location.

    As soon as I did that, the search result appeared on my screen.

    A grin appeared on my face and my lips quivered from excitement.

    Without wasting another second, I rushed to the apartment door.

    Click¨C! m¨C!

    Opening the door, I stepped outside and mmed it behind me.

    Before getting out of my apartment, I remembered to check the date just to get an idea of uing events.

    Today was February 15.

    Academy will start on February 29.

    The duel between Nero and Lucas didn''t happen until the end of the first month of the Academy¡ª March 31.

    And that duel marked the start of the main story in the first volume.

    In short, I''ve been reborn 45 days before the start of the main plot.

    "Let''s do this!"

 Chapter 5 The Glimpse Of Future

    ?The world of the novel [Chronicles of Legendary Heroes] is a vast one.

    The novel follows a modern fantasy and sci-fi setting where part of the story takes ce outside the Earth too.

    ¡­A very little part.

    The Earth in this story wasn''t always like this. Seven centuries prior to the main plot, the world changed.

    I''m sure you all must''ve heard several stories with a simr start before but just let me continue.

    On the morning of 1st January 2023, the whole world was enveloped in a bright blinding white light for well over a minute.

    When the light subsided, the world was not the same as it was a minute ago.

    Rifts¨C tears in the fabric of space and time connecting to a parallel world¨C opened up throughout the globe.

    A hostile humanoid race known as ''Demons'' emerged from those Rifts and threatened the peace of Earth.

    However, humanity, unlike in other novels, was quick to fight back.

    And also unlike in novels, modern weapons worked fine on those creatures of unknown origins.

    Sure, the weapons weren''t -very- effective but it''s not like they did no damage at all either.

    Plus, with the aid of nuclear weapons, they stood their ground.

    Humans and Demons engaged in a fierce war of survival and dominance soon after.

    And despite the fact that they were up against a race of supernatural origin, humans did pretty well.

    That was until a Demon named Michael Gracefell stepped out of the Rift one day.

    He resembled a human more than a Demon and imed himself to be one of the ''Demon Generals''¡ª a strong, high-ranking member of the demon army.

    In a single day he wiped out all the major army bases on Earth and crippled the resistance force as easily as taking a stroll.

    ording to the legends, it is said that he possessed the power to bend the very fabric of space ording to his will.

    He threw a god-like power in the face of humankind and watched them fall to their knees, too powerless to do anything.

    Needless to say, with no troops to fight back, humanity quickly started losing the war.

    Everyone thought that the fall of humanity was nigh.

    But right then, for some unknown and mysterious reasons, the Demon army decided to fall back.

    They abandoned a winning war and decided to retreat to the Rifts they hade from.

    However, while retreating, they did leave a final message for humankind, "We wille back."

    Although still terrified by their threat, humanity rejoiced and celebrated their survival.

    But unfortunately, the following years were even harder for them.

    Right when the demons retreated and Rifts disappeared, mana¨C atent dormant energy that was always present in the world¨C started moving and became active.

    The continents of the Earth started colliding together and the mass of thend itself started erging slowly.

    Over the span of a few decades, the continents merged into one and created a single new mega-continent with a few new inds.

    Then suddenly one day Rifts appeared again, but this time instead of Demons, several other races came out of it¨C namely Elves, Dwarves, and Vampires.

    They hade to seek refuge because their worlds were being destroyed by the demon army.

    Since these races were already well-versed in using mana, humanity offered them a deal.

    They were asked to teach humans how to use mana in return for their refuge. Elves and dwarves obliged, while vampires straight-up declined the offer.

    In simple words, vampires wanted to take over the world since humans were clearly weaker than them.

    To no one''s surprise, a war broke out between vampires and humans. Dwarves allied with humans, while elves remained neutral.

    Several years after that, the war between vampires and humans reached a stalemate.

    Just when things were looking a little bit peaceful for humans and the rest of the world, an extraterrestrial civilization known as Kalis appeared from space.

    Their home was also destroyed by Demons, so they hade seeking another habitable to inhabit.

    Earth was that.

    Kalis, much like vampires, didn''t seek coexistence. They were a dominant predatory species.

    They wanted this world''s resources for themselves and they were ready to hunt anything that stood in their path for that reason.

    Once again, humanity had no choice but to engage in a war with another species to avoid an extinction-level threat. This time the threat came from above their heads¡ª from space.

    Kalis were much smarter and stronger than vampires. They could perform space travel, after all.

    Although they weren''t very well versed in using mana like elves, dwarves, or vampires, their superior technology and peak biology made up for that.<novelnext></novelnext>

    And the fact that humans were fighting two wars on two fronts¨C vampires on earth and kalis in space¨C didn''t help them one bit.

    Seeing that humans were in thrall, the elves decided to extend a helping hand and join the war.

    With the aid of elves along with dwarves, humans managed to stop Kali''s invasion from space and hold off vampires on the edge of the Northern Continent.

    Finally, after six long centuries, things are a little less chaotic now. But peace is still far from reach.

    Kalis have settled their base of operations on Mars. They have almost exhausted all of their resources and are nning for one final invasion on Earth.

    It''s basically do or die for them.

    Vampires are still trying to push their borders from the north every day, so naturally humanity is still engaged in conflict with them.

    Now, with elves teaching humans how to harness the pure unlimited energy called mana, there was no limit to what they created with the help of dwarves.

    Floating castles, flying cars, futuristic weapons, fully immersive VR worlds and much more!

    Yeah, Back to the Future became a reality!

    But their best creation was the Global City¡ª a city armed with all kinds of futuristic technology.

    A few years ago, seeing that the centuries-old wars on two fronts were showing no signs of ending, a program wasunched by the Central Government¡ª the government that basically rules the world.

    The program dictated that every person who could use mana had to go through 3 years worth of military education.

    After their military education, they will serve four years in the ?United Military? at their assigned posts.

    This program, or rather thisw, applied to all races of the world. Elves and dwarves included.

    Because of this, several thousand military academies were created throughout the globe.

    Although so many military academies were created, with time, only two of them stood above the rest.

    The one where the main story was set is called Global Military Academy or ?Global Academy? for short.

    Global City is an isted walled enve ind somewhere within the great southern oceans. This city was built around the Global Academy to provide its cadets with a ce to live and train.

    ording to the novel, this city has the most advanced technology, along with a few of the most powerful people residing in it.

    It will not be incorrect to say that this city is among the earth''s most powerful cities.

    The only other city which could rival the might of the Global City is Ethereal City with its ?Ethereal Academy?.

    These two cities are the pride of the United Military¨C an armed force made from merging the human, elven and dwarven armies into one.

    Or at least they were their pride until the 3rd volume of the novel started¡­.

    Anyway, being from a world where the most high-tech invention was smartphones and AI, I was excited to take a look at the outside world.

    So that''s what I did. I went out and took in the sight of Global City for myself.

    But never in my wildest dreams I imagined the outside scenery to be this futuristic!

    I mean, I saw Lucas'' memories, so I knew what to expect but seeing it all with my eyes was a different experience altogether.

    When I stepped outside my apartment building, I saw something that I could only describe as a glimpse of the future.

    Huge buildings and tall skyscrapers along with holographic billboards and security robots that filled the streets were giving off a SiFi vibe.

    While flying cars and hoverbikes only further affirmed how ahead of time this city was in terms of technology.

    I could also vividly see a floating castle far ahead in the sky, which bestowed a dreamy look onto the scenery. It contrasted the futuristic look and added a little touch of fantasy to the view.

    I couldn''t help but drop my jaw so wide that it was now practically touching the ground.

    I won''t lie. It took me a few minutes to recover from that sight.

    It felt like I had seen all this before but it was not until now that I was ''truly'' seeing it.

    I experienced a feeling of familiarity after looking at this sight, yet the sensation was quite new.

    It was a feeling that was difficult to describe, simr to the sensation of the breeze touching your face after being inside for a long time, or the wobbly feeling in your knees when standing alone in a grassy field after a prolonged absence. That''s what I was experiencing.

    Nostalgia was the only word I could think of at that moment.

    "I''m back," I said.

    I don''t know why I said that, but those were the only words that came to my mind at that instance.

    "Fuuu!" Letting out a deep breath, I started walking toward the train station.

    I knew where the station was from the memories I had acquired, and I was certain of my destination.

    I couldn''t help but feel excited. It was the first time in a long while that I was feeling alive.

 Chapter 6 5th District Forest

    ?While waiting for the train at the train stat, I stole a few nces around me.

    I saw quite a few teenagers who looked like they belonged from a high background, much like myself, waiting there patiently.

    Well, that''s to be expected since I was inside the Global City.

    80% of the poption here are cadets who are either training to be soldiers or studying to be magic technicians.

    When reading, you won''t think of it much, but standing here between them, I found the situation to be quite tragic.

    At the age of 18, anyone who can use mana is asked to go through a mandatory military education for three long years.

    And then they have to serve four years in the United Military.

    This world is ready to throw children into a full-blown war betweenary-level civilizations.

    And if that wasn''t enough, those who are not cut to fight aliens are tasked to fight vampires in the north.

    And those who can do neither have no meaning in their life. All they can do is be magic technicians.

    The truly free people in this world are the people who can''t use mana. They won''t have to throw away their youth and are not forced to fight either.

    They live their lives happily under the protection of the Central Government and Union Military provided by the sacrifices of children who are stripped of their freedom.

    This world is seriously messed up.

    Sigh, but what can I do about it?

    In a way, I can understand the reasoning of the people in power.

    Earth can''t hold back.

    They are at war with a space civilization who are much more advanced than us and a supernatural race hell-bent on taking over the world.

    To win, Earth needs to use all of its resources. And the poption who can use mana is a substantial resource.

    Although, ording to the novel, the situation isn''t too dire right now.

    Vampires and humans have been at a stalemate for centuries, and Kalis have almost exhausted all of their resources.

    In theory, if Earth manages to hold off Kalis for another five years, they will win. Then they would only have to worry about vampires in the north.

    But of course, reality is different from theory and most of the time it doesn''t y out like nned in one''s fantasy.

    Honk¨C! Honk¨C!

    While I was lost in my thoughts, a loud deafening sound of the horn announced the train''s arrival.

    It was a flying train, so it didn''t make even a tiny bit of noise while stopping.

    And no, flying trains can''t fly. They can only float a few inches above the ground, much like flying cars.

    I honestly don''t know why they carry ''flying'' in their name¡­.

    Anyway, as soon as the doors opened, I trailed inside and upied an empty seat.

    I was quite impressed by the interior. It felt like I was traveling in the economy ss of an airline.

    Well, that''s natural since this world has already solved the energy crisis by harnessing the pure and seemingly unlimited energy source known as mana.

    So byparison, people of this world live a luxurious life corresponding to the Earth I am from.

    I mean, there are still two extinction-level threats looming over their heads but other than that, this world is heaven in terms of luxury.

    Right when I sat in my seat, a blue screen popped up in my vision.

    ===

    [Hello, dear passenger. Where would you like to go?]

    ?4th District

    ?5th District

    ?8th District

    [Note: If your destination is not among the options listed above then you have boarded the wrong train.]

    ===

    Impressed by the technological advancement once again, I clicked on the 5th District and leisurely slumped back in my seat.

    Enjoying the air-conditioned air, I closed my eyes and rested my head on the seat''s headrest.

    "Sir, would you like a drink?"

    A fetching feminine voice fell into my ears but without even bothering to open my eyes, I just waved my hand and dismissed the train attendant.

    To achieve what I sought, I needed to be at the peak of my mental condition, so every bit of rest was necessary for me.

    No, I was not going to put myself in a dangerous situation or anything.

    Unlike some novel protagonists, I''m not stupid. I wasn''t going to risk my life on the first day of opening my eyes to this new world.

    Coming from a peaceful world, I could barely throw a punch.

    The memories I acquired from Lucas showed me that he had learned some martial arts, so by extension, I knew how to use them too.

    But I didn''t want to try that out and put myself in a life-or-death situation on my very first day here in this world.

    I know I need battle experience to thrive in this world, but I will get enough of that in the academy under the supervision of experts.

    Right now, I was just going to steal a cheat from the MC that he wouldn''t end up using anyway.

    ***

    Ding Dong¡ª!

    After a few minutes, the alternate chime of a mechanical bell fell into my ears and woke me up from my short nap.

    In front of me was a translucent blue screen that notified me of my destination''s arrival.

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Dear passenger, you have arrived at your destination]

    ===

    Reading that, I rubbed my eyes a few times and got up to leave.

    With me left a few more passengers, but I just kept my head down and walked out.

    After exiting the station, I couldn''t help but admire the sight before me once again.

    The Global City is divided into 20 districts. I was currently in the 5th District. This whole district was one huge forest.

    This district was created for the cadets to hone their skills in the wilderness.

    It also serves as a hunting ground for cadets to gain merit points since this forest houses several mana beasts.

    Ahh, yes, mana beasts are just animals who evolved through time and learned to wield mana to strengthen their physical capabilities.

    Tall, tall trees were spreading as far as my eyes could see while the chirping sound of insects and the calm atmosphere that this forest carried gave it a tranquil look.

    Despite the dangerous beasts that lurked in the deep cover of this forest, the fresh smell of soil and the sight of grassy des fluttering with the passing wind gave out a refreshing feeling.

    Though I''ll rify again, I was not here to risk my life.

    My business was in the outer region of the forest. And besides, most of the beasts outside the ''hunting area'' were just wild animals who evolved from mana barely reaching ?Iron? rank.

    They posed no real threat to me, as even a kid could scare them off.

    And if the novel''s description was on point, then it wouldn''t even take me 30 minutes to obtain what I seek here.

    After taking a few determined breaths, I walked up to the entrance of the forest, where a chubby guard was standing.

    There was no one around, but the guard was still doing his duty diligently, perhaps because it was admission season.

    Senior cadets, except the Cadet Council, were on break, and new cadets had yet to start their training.

    Before I could step inside the fencing gate, the guard called me out.

    "Oi, it''s almost closing time." He said while scanning me up and down.

    "My business here won''t even take half an hour," I replied quickly. "I just need to visit the outer region."

    "Hmm. Are you a first-year?" After a brief pause, the guard asked.

    "No, my training will begin in 14 days," I answered while shaking my head.

    "You can''t enter unless you are at least a first-"

    Before the guard couldplete his sentence, I spoke up

    "How much?"

    "Huh?" Confused, the guard eyed me with a frown.

    "How much money do you want to let me pass through the gate?" I spoke while returning his gaze.

    "Are you out of your mind, brat? In this city, your money is useless! Get out of here before I call the cadet council."The guard raged.

    "Haaa," I couldn''t help but shake my head in disappointment.

    You see, fes, no matter who you are or what you have, it all can be bought.

    One''s position, one''s treasure, one''s life, and even one''s dreams. Everything can be bought.

    Albeit money can''t buy everything, that doesn''t mean not everything can''t be bought.

    As someone once said, even fate can be negotiated if you deal with the right price.

    ...Wait, who said that?

    "Oye! Quit standing there and scram!"

    Sighing exasperatedly, I began thinking about what I could use here to buy this guard.

    "Didn''t you hear me?! Fine, I''m calling the cadet council!"

    At that warning, the guard turned around and was about to unlock his smart bracelet. But before he could do so, I called him out.

    "I''m the son of General Reynold Morningstar, Lucas Morningstar."

    My words made him stop in his tracks. Seeing that, I couldn''t help but smirk.

    ''Predictable,'' Imented in my mind.

    If you can''t buy someone with money, buy them with power.

    Although status and money were almost useless once you were inside the Global City, you could still use them to influence people.

    What I did here was no different.

    With just one sentence, I made him aware of my authority and warned him of my power.

    The position of General was nothing to mess with, after all.No way a mere guard can go against that kind of status.

    Even if he was safe inside the Global City, his family wasn''t.

    "You must have a family outside this City, right?" I continued.

    That was thest hit I needed: family¡ª every man''s weakness.

    Although my father had disowned me, and I practically possess no power or backing currently, he doesn''t know that as that news has yet to spread.

    To him, I just gave him a warning.

    A warning that he just couldn''t neglect unless he wanted to regret itter.

    "Now, let''s not be hasty, yeah? Don''t notify the council and let me go in. I will reward you handsomelyter."

    The poor man could only nod in reply with his back still facing me.

    Disying another smirk, I walked past the fence gate and entered the forest.

 Chapter 7 The Tree Of Desires

    ?"Ahhh,"

    Touching my chin, I couldn''t help but wonder if I was in the right ce.

    After shaking my head a couple of times, I concluded that I was standing in front of the wrong tree so I decided to walk away.

    Yes, I did not misspeak. I was looking for a tree. Not just any tree but a huge tree with a face carved in its trunk.

    Yes, you read that right¡ªa tree with a face.

    It is said that the human-faced tree can fulfill any desire. Yet very few know of its existence.

    That tree is known as [The Tree Of Desires], and its location is ever-changing.

    Meaning it could be in front of you at one moment and around the globe the next.

    However, I knew that the faced tree would be in the 5th District''s forest from now till the second year.

    But I was in a forest full of trees! No chance in hell I would find my specific tree that easily.

    "Haaa! Haaa!" Huffing and puffing, I trudged my mud-caked boots ahead step by step.

    The terrain was rougher than I had expected.

    Jerking my neck from left to right, I inspected all the trees I could without stopping my march.

    "How hard can it be to find a tree with a fucking face?!" I couldn''t help butin in frustration.

    My shoes weren''t meant for trekking, so my foot was starting to hurt. I looked up and discovered that the sun was also about to set.

    I only had a few minutes at best before they shut the entrance of the forest.

    And I sure as hell didn''t want to spend my first night in this world in a forest filled with wild mana beasts.

    The novel didn''t mention much about the location of the faced tree, so I only had a rough idea.

    I knew how it looked and I knew it was supposed to be a few minutes walk away from the entrance.

    "Huaa," Letting out an exhausted sigh, I bit my thumbnail. I had to find that tree, and I needed to find it quickly.

    Roar¨C!

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was a loud roar that I hearding from deep inside the forest.

    "Tsk, I don''t have much time!"

    The beasts woulde out to the outer region once the sun sets. I didn''t have the luxury to stop now.

    Thinking that, I decided to speed up my search by running.

    But before I could even take a step, I ced my foot on an uneven spot on the ground and fell on my face.

    m¨C!

    "Arghh!" After groaning in pain like a kid, I sat myself up and rubbed my chin that had hit the ground.

    "Great!" I uttered before smacking myself on the head. "Can''t even walk properly and hoping to survive in a dog-eat-dog world!"

    Using my hands as support, I got myself up from the ground.

    Standing up, I patted my clothes and was about to start walking again.

    But before I could do so, my gaze fell on a tree. And when it did, I couldn''t help but widen my eyes.

    "Yes!" I eximed in excitement. "I found it!"

    Running up closer to the tree, I started inspecting it with wide-shot eyes.

    After a few seconds of looking at the tree, I was sure. This was it! This was the tree that I was looking for.

    It had a human face engraved on its trunk. One would think it would be an easy task to find such a tree, but it was certainly not.

    Due to all the other trees around it, this human-faced tree was very hard to notice.

    It was camouged by the cover of the forest.

    Looking closely, I saw that the human face on the tree had its eyes closed.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I also saw three small ck dots on the top of its face.

    My heart started racing as I looked at that spectacle of a tree before me. The fact that I was inside a web novel had just sunken deeper in me.

    I stretched my hand and tapped on the forehead of the face engraved on the tree''s trunk a few times.

    After waiting for a few minutes, I tapped again.

    Repeating this process around ten times, I stopped when I noticed some movement in the tree''s face.

    The tree''s face slowly opened its eyes, but instead of pupils or iris, the eyes just had a hole in them.

    I couldn''t help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva in anxiety.

    Taking slow breaths, I calmed my racing heart and collected my thoughts.

    I knew that I wasn''t in any danger, yet a tree with a moving face was a creepy sight to behold.

    After a few seconds, the face opened its mouth a few times as if it was getting familiar with the feeling of moving its mouth.

    "Human, what is your name?" The mouth of the tree moved, and a deep voice resounded directly in my head.

    "L-Lucas. My name is Lucas Morningstar." rmed, I replied with a slight stutter.

    Hearing something directly in my head rather than through my ears was a weird experience.

    "A good name. Lucas means bright and Morningstar means the sun. Your name means a Bright Sun." The human-faced treemented.

    "Y-Yeah, I know that."

    I didn''t know that.

    "Hahaha! Sure, human." The treeughed like a Santa before continuing.

    "So, shall we begin the test?" It said, "Since you found me and intentionally woke me up from my slumber, it is clear that you know what I am."

    ''Right to the point, huh?'' I remarked in my mind before nodding.

    "Yes, I know what you are. Please begin the test."

    "Brilliant spirit. Now then, I will give you three riddles. If you can''t answer even one of them, I will im your life." The tree stated, and I only nodded my head once again in reply.

    I know what I said about not endangering my life!

    And despite what it may look like, I was confident in answering all of the riddles.

    How? Because I''ve read all this in the novel! Duh.

    "Good, then the first riddle, what disappears as soon as you call its name?" The tree asked.

    "Silence," I replied confidently. It was a pretty simple and popr one, to be honest.

    "Right answer! Now answer this!" The tree spoke before giving me another one of its riddles.

    "What is one thing that can''t be fought and can''t be bought? One thing that binds us in its thrall, one thing that awaits us all?"

    ''Holy shit,'' Imented in my head.

    If I hadn''t read the novel beforehand, I could''ve never guessed the answer to that.

    "Fate." Without waiting for a second, I instantly answered, "The answer is fate."

    "Very well done, Lucas! Now then, let''s move on to thest one." The human-faced tree stated.

    "I can be your truth, yet someone else''s lie. I can be a sweet boon, yet I can be very vile.

    "You can''t escape me. In vain will be your tries. Run if you may, but you cannot hide. What am I?"

    "Fuu!" I let out a soft breath before a wide grin shed on my face.

    "Reality," I responded. "Reality is yourst answer."

    "Correct! You''ve passed the test, Lucas Morningstar." The talking tree announced. "Now tell me, what is it that you desire?"

    "I don''t desire anything."

 Chapter 8 Phoenixs Embrace

    ?"Correct! You''ve passed the test, Lucas Morningstar." The talking tree announced. "Now tell me, what is it that you desire?"

    "I don''t desire anything."

    No, I''m not stupid.

    I purposefully denied taking any rewards.

    Why? Because this question was another test.

    As I said, not many know about this human-faced tree.

    But those who do know about it have tried to get the treasure that this tree possessed.

    Needless to say, all of them failed.

    No one except a handful of people were able to answer all three riddles.

    And even those who did pass the riddle test failed the second test¨C the test of greed.

    All except the protagonist.

    At the start of the 3rd volume, the protagonist came here to this forest to find some peace of mind after a fight with the main heroine.

    And by sheer luck, he stumbled upon this talking tree.

    Cough! Forced Plot. Cough!

    So when he answered all the riddles, he was asked what he would want as his prize.

    Being the thick-headed dumb protagonist he was, the boy denied epting any rewards.

    He wanted to grow stronger on his own without being indebted to anyone. Not even to a tree.

    Although he still got a reward in the end because he unintentionally did clear the trial, the prize that he got was useless to him¡­

    Why? Because he already had a simr relic to the one he received here.

    "You don''t want anything? Are you sure, Lucas?" The human-faced tree asked to confirm my choice.

    If it had a face, it would be frowning right now. Oh wait, it did have a face, and it was indeed frowning.

    "I can give you an unimaginable strength, the lost treasure of kings, beautiful women, unreachable fame, and glory! Anything that you seek is just a wish away!"

    Hah! As if.

    I knew that the tree was just testing my will.

    In truth, he was bullshitting me.

    The tree didn''t have the power to give me all the things that it imed. It was just bluffing.

    Even though this tree was known as [The Tree Of Desires] it can''t grant just any desire of the wisher.

    In reality, this tree was a dwarven cksmith in his previous life¡ªa very well-known cksmith, at that.

    He forged many relics throughout his life.

    Relics are objects that possess blessings. Blessings are special powers granted to only a few individuals by the heavens.

    Lucas had one too. It was named [Mana Burst] in the novel, if I remember correctly.

    Blessings may vary from the simple stuff like casting magic with speed to something big like having absolute immunity to magic.

    These blessings could be transferred to objects by a cksmith after the death of the individual who possessed them.

    In short, some very skilled cksmiths could extract these blessings after a person''s death and transfer them to objects.

    But transferring blessings is no easy task.

    Even the most skilled cksmith could transfer only about 75% percent of the original blessings to an object.

    In spite of that, there once lived a dwarven cksmith capable of raising that number to 89%.

    He was truly a legendary cksmith.

    But due to some circumstances, he was reduced to this tree-like state after his death.

    Now this tree, who was once a famous cksmith, only had one wish¡ª give out all the relics he forged during his lifetime to the people who deserve them.

    Only after giving out all his creations will he be able to find peace.

    Although to get his treasure, one first has to show that they don''t possess any greed.

    "No, I don''t want anything. I want to grow strong with my own efforts." I won''t lie. I cringed a few times while blurting out this sentence.

    Grow stronger with my own efforts? I would rather eat dirt and do a backflip, thank you.

    "Is that so? Then why did youe here seeking me?" The tree questioned me.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Honestly, I just wanted to confirm if the legend about you is true or not," I answered confidently.

    "I see. I''m impressed, Lucas. Not only are you wise, but you are also pure-hearted. My question was a test to see if you possess greed. And you do not."

    Yes, I do, you dumb tree.

    Everyone possesses greed.

    Everyone has a hidden side. Even the kind protagonist of this story has a dark side to him.

    "If you had asked me to grant you a wish, I would''ve taken your life on the spot! But you did not!" The tree said.

    "You''re the first person to pass my test. I can''t give you unimaginable power, but I will give you unrivaled protection."

    As soon as I heard those words, my eyes glimmered with anticipation.

    "I will grant you the armor and earrings that hold the blessing of the Knight Of The Sunlight! Its name is ?Phoenix''s Embrace?!" With a loud and powerful voice, the tree announced.

    That Sun Saint guy must be the person whose blessing was transferred to forge the relic that I was going to receive.

    Honestly, I didn''t care much about that. Since he wasn''t mentioned in the novel, I concluded he would be irrelevant.

    I couldn''t wait to get my hands on a relic so early in the story. With this, I would almost be invincible!

    "Kneel, Lucas."

    At thatmand, I bent my back and kneeled on the ground.

    "Remember, this armor is a Semi-Divine rank relic. If you shed this armor, you''ll be given one extra life and a massive boost in all stats.

    "But if you lose that extra life, you will also lose your protection forever.

    "As long as you don''t die after shedding this armor, you will be able to summon it back and your stats will be reversed to normal."

    After exining the things that I already knew, the human-faced tree slowly started widening its mouth.

    As it did so, the crumbles of the tree''s trunk fell to the ground and in the next moment, the tree''s mouth was opened so wide that now it looked more like a cave.

    A dark cave. But in that dark cave, something was glimmering with a golden shine.

    Seeing that, I reached my hand toward it, intending to grab it.

    But before I could reach it, much less grab it, the golden glow itself started moving toward me.

    No¡­ it wasn''t moving toward me! The golden glow was getting bigger and brighter!

    Before I knew it, the golden glow became so bright that I had to narrow my eyes in difort before closing them.

    But I didn''t feel like I was in danger.

    Instead, I found the golden glow to be quite warm, like a bright sun on a winter''s morning.

    Not until after a few seconds passed did I open my eyes again. But to my surprise, the tree in front of me had disappeared!

    "Huh?"Confused, I started swinging my neck left and right to look for the tree with a confused frown on my face.

    And only when I started swinging my neck did I notice some weight on my ears.

    Frowning deeper, I ced a hand on my ear and found that I was wearing earrings.

    Instantly I looked down and ced a hand on the middle of my chest. But I didn''t feel my flesh. Instead, I felt like I was touching a rock-hard surface.

    Quickly unbuttoning the shirt that I was wearing, I found a circr red ruby embedded in my chest.

    There was no armor. Just a round fist-sized red ruby fused in my chest.

    A wide grin shed on my face for a few seconds before I looked around me and hastily buttoned my shirt.

    Immediately after, I got up and patted my clothes before trailing toward the forest exit in quick steps.

    After a short walk of a few minutes, I reached the forest exit, where the chubby guard was still standing on duty.

    The sun was about to set, and the guard was ready to close the gate anytime now.

    "Done with your business, sir?" The guard asked as I walked past him.

    Without bothering to wait and reply, I just nodded my head and kept walking.

    "Yes, my business is done." I quietly murmured. "Now let the fun begin~"

    I may be just a minor viin but I don''t fear the protagonist now!

    Muahahaha!

    Ahem¡­

 Chapter 9 Getting Ready For The First Day

    ?I know what I said about not fearing the protagonist despite being a minor viin but today, when I was going to possibly meet him, I couldn''t help and felt a little anxious.

    Today was the first day of the academy.

    A few days ago, I got an email from Global Academy asking me to submit my stats andbat experience to them.

    Yes, that''s how they rank new cadets.

    Needless to say, there were some fools who thought submitting wrong stats and getting high ranks would be a good idea.

    But when the academy started taking tests, exams, and practicalbat, they all suffered heavily due to being put at a disadvantage they themselves created.

    And thanks to that, after the first six months, the rankings vastly changed.

    So I diligently submitted my real stats, unlike Lucas in the novel.

    Yeah, Lucas also tried to use that obviously foolish trick to get a high ranking in the novel.

    Yeah, he suffered a lot too.

    So at least I avoided that haha¡­

    Now the problem with the protagonist remains. If I just try to stay away from him, I think I''ll be fine.

    But I doubt it''s going to be that easy¡­

    Not to mention Lucas already had a few interactions with some of the main cast prior to the start of the novel.

    And from what I saw in his memories and what was told in the novel, his ''interactions'' with them weren''t pleasant.

    Some of the main characters already despise Lucas for a few things he has done in the past.

    Arghh, it''s going to be troublesome.

    And I don''t know why but it feels like I had forgotten something. Something¡­ very crucial.

    Meh, if I forgot about it, then it must not have been important.

    Anyway, it''s been 13 days since I suddenly woke up in this world after being shot to death by that crazy author.

    And also, 13 days ago, I acquired a cheat item.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    Strength¡ú 20

    Defense¡ú 8

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 32

    uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 500/500

    Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú None

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine?

    ===========

    And when I acquired it, a new block showed up in my status screen, [Possessions].

    When I clicked it, another screen showed up in my vision, disying the information on the relic in my possession.

    ===

    [Phoenix''s Embrace¡ú An armor that holds the blessing of the Knight Of The Starlight.

    After the Knight''s death, a dwarven cksmith extracted his blessing and used it to forge an almost indestructible armor.

    This armor can reduce the attack thrown at its user to one-tenth of its original strength.

    Once shed, it gives a massive boost and one extra life to its wearer. As long as the user doesn''t lose that extra life, it could be summoned again.]

    ===

    The description matched the information I already knew from reading the novel and listening to the human-faced tree''s.

    Although the Semi-Divine relics aren''t exactly cheat items, the way I acquired mine was nothing short of cheating.

    When I returned to the apartment that day, I instantly hopped onto my bed. I was exhausted and I was sleepy.

    So when I closed my eyes, I was a little scared that I would wake up back in the real world.

    But the next day when I opened my eyes, I was still here in this world, and honestly, I felt relieved.

    I know how selfish my feelings were, but I was happy that I won''t ever get to see my parents or my siblings or anyone I knew for that matter.

    I was happy to escape that tedious life. And I wasn''t the least bit guilty about how I was feeling.

    I mean, of course, I was a little sad to think that my sudden death would make everyone worry about me, but I also knew they would move on.

    I wasn''t an important person in anyone''s life.

    Even though my family loved me, there was a distance between us. The same goes for my friends.

    I was not an important person to anyone. The kind of person who would make someone say, "I can''t live without you."

    I was certain that they would move on. So I did too.

    Anyhow, nothing noteworthy happened during thest 13 days.

    Oh, I tried to feel mana inside me and practiced some martial arts that I experienced in Lucas'' memories.

    I didn''t use any spells, but moving mana throughout my body was a refreshing and quite addicting feeling.

    I also used my smartphone to surf the inte and research some stuff about this world.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Although I had memories of Lucas, I still did it to confirm if the contents of the web novel matched this world.

    Since I was a web novel addict in my past life and also an editor, I had read quite a few stories belonging to the ''reincarnated inside the novel/game'' genre.

    And almost all of them followed the same, repetitive route.

    The main character would die and get reborn inside a novel.

    But he wouldter discover that the world he was in differed from the novel/game he had read/yed.

    I didn''t want such a predicament to transpire. Thus, I thoroughly did my research.

    I checked if the contents matched the novel, and thankfully they did.

    A few minor details were missing or changed here and there, but the big stuff was still all the same.

    In the meantime, I watched some movies, slept, ate food, slept, ate food¡­

    Yeah, I just wasted my days, alright! Don''t judge me! I bet you all are doing the same!

    Ahem, anyway, I found one interesting thing in Lucas'' wardrobe.

    No, I''m not talking about his uselessly expensive clothing.

    I''m talking about his expensive watch collection. This guy seriously had a watch fetish!

    I mean, I can''t me him since I liked to collect watches in my past life too. But damn! This guy had just too many luxury watches!

    I surfed the price of some of the brands in his collection and found that a few of his watches cost more than this apartment!

    Even after being disowned, this guy was loaded as fuck!

    If I sell his clothing and watches, I wouldn''t have to worry about money for all my life! Okay, maybe I''m exaggerating but you get the point.

    Another strange thing that I found about this world was a few car brands that I liked in my past life still exist here¡­.

    Which should be impossible since this world is at least seven centuries ahead in time than the Earth I am from.

    I mean, the brands have different names and slightly different logos and they produce flying cars instead of regr ones, but their manufacturing designs are simr.

    If that wasn''t enough, I found the music artists that I liked back in the real world kind of exist here too.

    They look different and have made different songs till now, but their style is frighteningly simr?

    It''s almost as if this world was built on a carbon copy of the Earth I am from¡­. Or vice versa¡­

    What if¡­ the Earth I am from was based on this world¡­?

    Meh, maybe I''m just thinking too much.

    Right?

    Click¨C

    Clicking open the door, I walked out of the bathroom while dressed in a bathrobe.

    I quickly grabbed the first-year academy cadet uniform, which was delivered to me a few days ago and neatly sported it.

    The uniform itself was nothing special¡ª a pair of gray pants with a matching shirt under a jet-ck zer with red inner lining and a red tie.

    After dressing up, I walked over to the mirror and admired my own beauty for a minute or two.

    The uniform itself wasn''t special; what was special however was this face that I possessed.

    My white hair was neatly slicked to the side and my red eyes looked like a pair of red jewels.

    My perfectly small, triangr face gave me a ''pretty boy'' appearance, and my pale snow-like skin did nothing but add more to my enchanting look.

    "Ahh~ perfect! I''m so perfect~!"

    In awe of my own appearance, I couldn''t help but hug myself.

    How can anyone in this world be so beautiful?!

    "Ahem!"But soon I cleared my throat and collected my thoughts.

    "Haa, what am I doing?" I questioned myself out loud, trying not to feel embarrassed.

    Looking into the mirror, I slightly brushed the pair of small circr golden earrings on my ears with my hands.

    The golden earrings were much smaller in size than what I had imagined while reading their description in the webnovel.

    They were circr in shape and were almost hugging my earlobes. They had spikesing out of them which made them look as if they were a pair of sun.

    Yes. I said spikes.

    Yeah. Sleeping with them is a pain.

    But it''s not like I could remove them while I sleep. They were infused with my ears.

    I ced my hand on my chest over my clothes and felt the hard surface of the red ruby that was now fused with me too.

    This armor can be summoned at will. I just need to wish for it, and it''ll form itself around my body.

    What makes it special is its automatic feature.

    Let''s say I was not fast enough to call it out in time then it would automaticallye into existence and protect me.

    Although I had yet to test it for myself, I knew exactly what it was capable of.

    It can reduce the power of an attack thrown at its wearer by 90¨G. That means the wearer will only get 10¨G of the actual damage from an attack.

    It was a near-perfect defense. But the emphasis is on ''near perfect.''

    10% damage from high rankers of this world is enough to severely injure me, if not kill me in one go.

    Only a good defense wasn''t enough. And especially since my defense was not absolute either.

    "Haa, nothing I can do about it though."

    It is what it is. I was grateful that I got this armor because now I really had one less thing to worry about.

    Tring, Tring¨C! Tring, Tring¨C!

    What shook me out of my thoughts right then was the sound of the rming from my smart bracelet.

    The words [Time for the Academy] were disyed on the screen of my smart bracelet.

    After looking at my reflection onest time, I picked up the apartment keys and left for the Global Academy.

    I didn''t forget to take onest look at the interior of my apartment. After all, I will never be able to see this sight again.

    Although I had only been here for 13 days, I felt a connection to this apartment.

    "Arghh," letting out a short sigh, I ironed my will. "Let''s go."

 Chapter 10 A Cruel Fate

    ?Global City is divided into 20 districts.

    5 outer districts are where the workers and engineers who run and maintain the city reside.

    12 inner districts, which provide the best facility and luxury to the cadets of the academy to live and train in.

    Then there are 2 separate districts that offer housing to professors, instructors, and guests of the Global City.

    Atst there is the 1st inner district, which is the biggest and the most secure out of all the other parts of the city.

    The Global Academy upies the whole 1st district.

    Although aside from theoretical teaching and a little field practice, cadets won''t be spending much time in the academy itself.

    -"Is that him?"

    -"Yes, that''s definitely him! Lucas Morningstar!"

    -"I''ve heard he was disowned by his father, General Reynold Morningstar, recently. Can he even carry the Morningstar family name now?"

    -"So he''s not from a ruling family now? No money, no connections, and no outstanding potential either. His life in the academy will be tough."

    Amidst the bustling crowd of soon-to-be cadets in first-year uniform, I stood in front of a massive architecture.

    Although it was supposed to be a famous Military Academy, it looked more like a modern-styled castle surrounded by five-tall skyscrapers than a traditional schooling building.

    Towering walls epassed the castle and giant metal gates blocked our entry to the academy building.

    Outside the academy''s giant gates was a humongous concrete field that stretched for a few square kilometers.

    The field was crammed with kids around my age, belonging from both high and low backgrounds alike, waiting to get inside.

    I couldn''t help but notice that not everyone around me was human. There were long-eared elves and short-framed dwarves.

    A few kids in my immediate surroundings, who didn''t fail to notice me, started gossiping among themselves.

    Maybe they were aware that I could hear them, yet they didn''t care. That didn''t bother me one bit, however.

    I tried to spot the main cast of the novel amidst the crowd but I couldn''t seem to find anyone.

    I knew the protagonist was going to bete on the first day, but where was the rest of the main cast?

    Maybe they were in the back lines?

    As I stood there, I couldn''t help but feel that the crowd wascking in numbers. But soon, I remembered the reason why.

    Young Elites, a group of cadets belonging to the ruling and most influential families, must be having a meeting by now.

    The factions within the academy have already started forming starting the first day.

    "Haaa"

    I couldn''t help but sigh again after thinking about what pathy ahead of me.

    It was going to be difficult surviving past the final war.

    Just a mere thought of that sent a shiver down my spine.

    Screech¡ª!

    A loud metal screeching sound rang throughout the field where the academy''s future cadets were standing in wait.

    In the next moment, the giant ck steel gates of the academy swirled open, which caused everyone to turn their attention up front.

    A girl dressed in a white one-piece uniform with blue linings under a long blue coat stepped out from the gates and elegantly stood in front of the crowd.

    She had waist-long silver hair that was tied into a long ponytail and deep merlot eyes which seemed to have a shine of their own.

    Her skin was slick like silk, and she possessed a slim yet attractive figure that was honed for battle but was still irresistible enough to make heads turn her way.

    Nevertheless, the most distinctive feature of her was her slightly long ears, revealing her identity as a half-elf.

    All that, when coupled with her small face that carried a sense of dignity, made her stand up to the definition of the word ''pretty.''

    She bore a very, very close resemnce to me in terms of appearance. That was natural since she was my elder sister¡ª Yelena Morningstar.

    Or at least she used to be until my family disowned me.

    Oh yes, in case you''re wondering, Lucas'' mother was an elf.

    But unfortunately, Lucas didn''t inherit her bloodline, so he had no elven features aside from his uselessly handsome face.

    Honestly, I couldn''t imagine how charming he would have been if he had inherited the elven bloodline.

    -"Look! A blue and white uniform!"

    -"That must mean she''s one of the ''royals''!"

    -"You idiots! Do you not know her? She''s the firstborn of the prestigious Morningstar family! Yelena Morningstar!"

    As soon as Yelena stepped out of the gates, murmuring broke out among the crowd again.

    Even those who didn''t know of Yelena''s family background deduced that she was a high-ranking student after taking a look at her special uniform.

    The dress theme for normal cadets was ck and red, while ''royals'' sported blue and white.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Some kids standing near me stole a few nces at me. It seemed like they were hoping for some kind of reaction from me.

    But seeing my lethargic expression, they frowned and disappointedly turned their head to look back in the front.

    As if she was waiting for that cue, Yelena dramatically raised her hand to silence everyone standing before her.

    Every single person present in the field quieted down at that moment.

    That was the power a high ranker¨C a royal possessed. To be able to silence a crowd this big with a mere movement of the hand.

    I won''t lie, but I felt quite envious of her.

    "Calm down, everyone," a melodic, almost angelic voice resounded throughout the field right then.

    Even though the field was so big and she wasn''t using a speaker or anything, everyone was able to hear her voice clearly.

    Almost as if she was standing right next to everyone.

    It was sound magic¡ªher signature and first choice of magic in the novel.

    Yes, she was an important character in the first half of the novel.

    "I''m Yelena Morningstar, the current Queen of Global Military Academy."

    -"Q-Queen?! No way!"

    -"Wow! I knew she was incredible but to think she was this strong!"

    -"I love you, Yelena!"

    The positions in the military academies are based on chess pieces.

    Everyone below the ''Top 16'' are called cadets. They hold no special authority of any kind.

    In the Top 16, there are 8 pawns (Disciplinarymunity) and 8 royals (Cadet Council). Royals range from King to Rook. Exactly like chess pieces.

    It''s as if they are telling us we are nothing but expendables¡ªmere pieces which have no say in how they wish to move whatsoever.

    Yet, those rankings are the symbol of hierarchy and authority not only within this academy but also in this city.

    And Yelena just announced that she was one of the most influential people present here.

    Needless to say, the kids present in the field broke out in awe after hearing that.

    But Yelena didn''t give them a chance to fawn over her much longer as she continued her speech almost immediately.

    "Now, I know many of you are excited to be here while most of you just want your years at the academy to pass by as soon as possible," she said and briefly paused before continuing to speak.

    "However, let me tell you one thing. You all are the hopes of this world. Soon, you''ll be fighting in wars and defending our cause¡ª protecting ournds from the vampires and our from kalis.

    "I won''t lie, it won''t be easy¡­ Kalis are quiet for now, but soon they will begin theirst-ditch effort to invade our. They will try to take our homes from us.

    "Vampires are at a stalemate with us, but the uing war with Kails will encourage them to push their borders on us from the north once again. In short, the times ahead are tough."

    When Yelena was done speaking all that, she took another brief pause and scanned the crowd before her. Everyone had grim expressions on their faces.

    The situation wasn''t as dire as she was making it sound to be. Earth wasn''t in any real threat for the next couple of years.

    The reason she was doing this probably was that she wanted to test the ''hopes'' of this world.

    Seeing that she might''ve scared the crowd too much, Yelena shook her head and began to recite her speech again.

    "Tough times call for strong men. But strong men are not enough to win wars. What we really need are heroes. Heroes who can guide us to a bright new future¨C a peaceful future!

    "But heroes are not born; they are forged! Through hardships and trials, they are forged to fight. But they fight not in order to subjugate! No, they fight to protect.

    "And this right here is the ce where we forge the heroes of tomorrow! This is where we forge the defenders of our world!

    "So I ask of you, not as the eldest daughter of the Morningstar family and not as the reigning Queen of the Global Academy, but as someone who was born into this world! Defend this world and embrace your destiny as heroes by stepping inside the gates of this academy!"

    Seeing that everyone''s faces began to light up, Yelena smirked and summoned a sword from her dimensional storage.

    She then raised her sword and eximed in the highest, most noble tone possible: "For the glory of our world!"

    -"For the glory of our world!"

    -"Yes! We will do whatever it takes to defend our homes!"

    -"Damn those vampires! Damn those kalis!"

    -"Marry me, Yelena!"

    As soon as Yelena finished her speech, the crowd broke out in cheers.

    "Wow," even I was genuinely impressed by her speech.

    Had I not known about the future of this world, I too would''ve gotten roused like the rest of the people attending this event.

    But that was not the case since I knew what storyy ahead of us¡­

    I knew what was awaiting us, in the end, was nothing but¡­

    A cruel fate.

 Chapter 11 Meeting The Heroines

    ?-"Wow! Did you see Yelena speaking?"

    -"Ahh, man! I think I fell in love with her~"

    -"Hah! She''s waaaay outta your league, bro!"

    After a very fervent and ming speech from Yelena, the cadets were asked to head to their assigned sses.

    The cadets were already assigned sses prior toing here by the academy via email.

    Global Military Academy wasn''t just your run-of-the-mill schooling infrastructure. It was a freaking castle in the middle with five skyscrapers surrounding it.

    All the skyscrapers were numbered from 1 to 5. These skyscrapers were where our sses will be held starting today.

    The modern-styled castle in the middle of these five skyscrapers served as the cadet council and disciplinarymittee''s dorm and office.

    Furthermore, calling this campus huge would be an understatement. If I have to put the campus size in numbers, then it could easily be well over 40 square kilometers.

    Yes. As I said, big!

    You would need to take the campus buses to get from one end of the campus to another. It was that big!

    Well, that was nothing to be surprised about. After all, this campus was equipped with state-of-the-art cutting-edge technology to train and assist cadets in any way imaginable.

    Looking around, I saw cadets from both elite andmoner backgrounds alike walking their way to their assigned ss buildings.

    The ss I was assigned by email from the academy was [1-A-1].

    ''1'' meant the building, and ''A'' meant the floor, while the other ''1'' represented my ssroom number.

    There were 23 floors in one building and each floor contained 20 ssrooms. The strength of one ssroom was roughly around 100 cadets.

    And out of all those sses, I was assigned to the same ss as the main characters.

    Well, it was to be expected since Lucas was in the same ss as them in the novel too.

    After internally sighing one too many times, I started heading to the center-right skyscraper where my ss was located.

    ?

    Funny story. After entering Building 1and walking for a bit, I lost my way¡­

    Arghh, my sense of direction is shitty even in another world. Not to mention this building was so uselessly big!

    How do they expect a bunch of 18-year-old dumb kids to navigate their way through this maze of a skyscraper?!

    -"Hey, did you find our ss?"

    -"Yeah, it''s here!"

    -"Honestly, I thought it would be trouble finding our ss in such a big infrastructure."

    -"Naah~ Every floor is marked, and each floor has only 20 ssrooms. Only an idiot would get lost here. Hahaha!"

    The nerves on my forehead twitched as I heard some girls chatting in the background.

    Navigation is difficult for some people! No need to call them idiots! Sob Sob.

    "Umm, are you lost, perhaps?"

    As I was sulking over my shitty sense of direction, a melodic voicepared to that of an angel reached out to me.

    Turning my head toward its owner, I saw a short blue-haired girl meeting my gaze.

    She had a thin yet attractive figure and a small face, the kind which would make any man want to protect her instinctively.

    That innocent aura, paired with her bright deep blue ocean eyes, made her even prettier.

    From her long ears, which were longer than Yelena''s, I reckoned that she was a girl of a pure elven bloodline. Elves are undoubtedly beautiful.

    "Uh- I umm¡­ Yeah, I''m a bit lost." Stuttering, I replied with a face full of embarrassment.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Haha, no problem, we can help-"

    Before the blue-haired girl could finish up her sentence, a girl walked up to her with ferociously quick steps and put a hand on her shoulder only to cut her off.

    "No need. He''ll be fine on his own." She said while ring at me with what could only be described as a resentful re.

    She was a ck-haired beauty in herte teens with jewel-like forest-green eyes. She was tall, around 5''9, with a curvaceous yet athletic figure.

    Even though her face currently had an angry look stered on her face, the enchanting beauty it carried couldn''t be suppressed.

    "Ah but, Amelia, he''s lost-"

    "Aster, as I said, he''ll manage."

    Cutting her friend again, the ck-haired girl dragged her away but not before giving me onest angry stare.

    "I see. So they were Aster Aquahart and Amelia ck," I noted as the girls walked away. "Well, guess I should follow them."

    Yes, as you would''ve guessed from the uselessly long introduction, they were one of the main cast.

    They were the second and third girls in the protagonist''s harem. Tsk, the protagonist was really going around collecting girls like pokemon in this novel.

    As for why Amelia was giving me the death stare? Well, it was because four years ago, Lucas tried to forcefully get into her pants.

    Basically, an incident happened back in high school where Lucas ckmailed Amelia into getting her to sleep with him.

    Amelia tried to step up for herself and took this matter to school authorities, but Lucas, being the second heir of General Reynold Morningstar¡ª the head of the ruling family of the Western Continent, was untouchable.

    That was especially true since Amelia came from a low background. Her father was a small-time businessman.

    Her family couldn''t afford to offend the prestigious Morningstar family.

    Lucas knew that, and he used that very fact to force himself on Amelia. He was only 14 when he pulled that shit.

    He was truly a disgusting man I''m telling you all.

    Some of his thoughts and memories that I saw were so disturbing that I couldn''t even begin to describe them.

    Lucas was the definition of a vile man with a pretty face. His only redeeming quality was that he once used to be somewhat of a nice person.

    But when he awakened his potential at 9, his personality flipped aplete 180¡ã, and all signs of his previous self vanished.

    Now one may argue that he only became this way because his family started neglecting him, but that still didn''t justify his disgusting actions.

    I mean, he tried to r*pe a girl, for fuck''s sake!

    Anyway, before he could do anything to Amelia, her father directly confronted Reynold Morningstar and begged him to stop his son.

    It''s not hard to imagine what transpired after that.

    Lucas'' father stopped him and gave up all hope on him whatsoever while Amelia swore to make him pay one day.

    However, all that wasn''t my concern. I mean, I was in Lucas'' body, sure. But I didn''t do anything.

    Besides, I knew what tricks Amelia would pull to get Lucas into trouble. By extension, I knew how to avoid them.

    Thinking that, I kept following the main girls until we reached our assigned ss. I stood in the distance and let them go in first.

    I wanted to avoid Amelia¡­.

    Not because in the future she was going to make my life a living hell¡­ But because I, for some reason, was feeling guilty.

    Why was I feeling guilty when I did nothing wrong? Even I didn''t know the answer to that.

    Shaking my head, I walked up to the ssroom door after the girls went inside and ced my hand on the door''s handle.

    Never in my life did I feel so excited to open a ssroom door.

 Chapter 12 First Day At Global Academy [1]

    ?"Huu!"

    After collecting my breath, I twisted the doorknob in my hand and swirled the door open.

    As soon as I did that, a blow of cool air-conditioned air weed me.

    Stepping inside and closing the door behind me, I turned my gaze to look through the ssroom.

    I saw descending rows piling upon rows of exquisitely arranged desks. I could almost taste the vibrancy of the cadets upying these desks.

    The whole interior was neat and spotless, almost as if it was shining.

    Kids were chatting among themselves, friends were catching up with each other, and some diligent students readied themselves for the first day with their heads buried in the books.

    While in between, I also discovered a few students sneaking nces at me.

    Not because I was dead-drop handsome, which I totally was by the way, but because I was a disowned elite.

    I was sure they were marking me. Since I only had a mid-level potential and no backing, I was an easy target.

    "Hmm"

    Acting like I didn''t feel their piercing gazes on me, I walked up to an empty seat and sat down.

    "Umm, no offense or anything, but can you sit somewhere else, Lucas?"

    But as soon as I did that, I heard a bewitching feminine voiceing from my right.

    Turning my head toward the source of the voice, I saw a blonde girl sitting next to me with her arms crossed.

    She had an alluring triangr face and a near-perfect figure. That, coupled with her light pink eyes and silky smooth skin, was enough to convey that she was from a high background.

    ¡­I knew her.

    I instantly recognized who she was as soon as Iid my eyes on her.

    The novel description that I read about her helped, but I also knew this girl from the memories I inherited from Lucas.

    Her name was Grace Godwill. And she was one of the reasons why the duel between Lucas and Nero happened.

    You see, Lucas liked Grace.

    I mean, Lucas practically liked every girl with a beautiful face, but he was ready to fall to any extent to have Grace in his bed.

    I watched his memories, so I knew that Lucas had an intense obsession with Grace.

    Grace, who knew Lucas was so foolishly lusting for her, used him on many asions in the novel.

    "Lucas, stop gawking at me and go sit somewhere else."

    Sigh, she was a bitch. A psychotic, power-hungry, maniptive bitch. She was a vile person, even whenpared to Lucas'' standards.

    In the web-novel there was a whole arc dedicated to her, showing her true colors.

    On the surface, she acted like a refined youngdy befitting her family''s prestigious name.

    But on the inside, she was a jealous bitch who was ready to do just about anything to get whatever she wanted.

    In this case, she wanted the protagonist for herself. No, she didn''t want him for his looks or anything.

    No, it wasn''t a case of love, either.

    The reason she wanted the protagonist for herself was due to the monstrous talent he possessed.

    Simply put, she wanted to use him to further her own influence and rise to power.

    So, after assessing his talents and the value he could provide to her, she started seducing him. Or at least she tried to but failed miserably every time.

    During the span of the story, her desire for the protagonist got so strong that she started using any means necessary to get him.

    There was this time when she even drugged his meal and tried to bed him.

    And in one chapter, she even tries to kill the female lead in order to clear her path of having him for herself.

    I mean, now that I think about it, she was pretty stupid for doing that.

    Did she really expect him toe to her after she tried to kill the woman he loved the most?

    The lion, the witch, and the utter stupidity of this bitch!<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was not until herst moments did she have a change of heart and gave her life to save Anastasia, the female lead, from a vampire attack.

    It showed that she was not a bad person at heart. She was capable of change. Her personality was just the result of her upbringing.

    "Did you not hear me? I said-" Grace opened her mouth and was about to ask me to move again.

    But before she could finish, I got myself up from the seat I was sitting on and upied another vacant seat by the window.

    ¡­And then I started acting like an emo anime character.

    ''Why am I meeting all the main girls today?!'' I thought in my mind as I sneakily stole a few nces at Grace.

    God damn, she was beautiful. Why do evil girls always have the prettiest face?

    Now before any of you start ranting about how I, a mentally grown-ass man, was lusting over a teenage girl, let me rify something real quick

    She was 18.

    ¡­What? You thought I would say I wasn''t lusting over her? Y-Yeah, that too. I wasn''t. Ahem.

    Just as I was indulging in my thoughts, the door of the ssroom opened once again, this time with a loud m.

    SLAM¡ª!

    The one who opened the door was, just as I had thought, the female lead.

    She was wearing the girl''s cadet uniform, which was a ck mini skirt, thigh-high socks, a ck shirt, and a ck zer with golden edges with red inner lining.

    Her ck hair, which she had tied into a ponytail, was running down her waist as she panted like a cat out of breath.

    Her jade-like smooth skin was enough to turn heads her way, but when paired with her fetching face, she was nothing short of angelic.

    However, her most distinct feature was that pair of crystal-like golden eyes. They literally looked like a pair of jewels.

    It was mentioned in the web novel that she could ''see'' the flow of mana with those eyes of hers. But it waster revealed that she was capable of much more than just that.

    A big powerhouse is what she was in the novel.

    Although she never became one of the Top 16 in the academy, she went on to be a Section Commander ranked soldier in the United Military by the start of the 6th volume.

    If not for her, the Central Government would have suffered a major loss at the hands of vampires at the end of the 5th volume.

    "Sia? What happened? Are you okay?" Amelia asked in a voice full of worry while running up to Anastasia.

    Oh yes, Amelia and Anastasia knew each other prior to the start of the plot.

    Since they both weremoners, and they came to this city on the same train sitting next to each other, they bonded quite easily.

    In the future, this duo will be known as the ''Mad Dogs'' of the United Military.

    "Oh no! I''m fine! I just thought I waste for the ss!" Anastasia replied with a flushed face while still panting like a cat.

    Cute.

    She was really cute.

    I could see why almost every boy was crazy about her in the novel.

    "Whaa~? We still have half an hour before the ss starts! Pfft!" Amelia said while barely holding back her giggle.

    "What? Really?! I got upte in the morning, so I thought I waste!" Panicked and embarrassed, Anastasia tried to defend herself.

    I couldn''t help but faintly smile at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

    I knew these characters. I knew their fate. I knew their past, and I knew what would happen to them in the future.

    Even though I wouldn''t say I liked the novel and had some problems with the story, I''ve been with these characters on their journey.

    I couldn''t describe the emotions I felt when I saw the scene from the web novel ying out in front of me.

    It was a strange feeling, to say the least.

    These were the moments they were the happiest. Unaware of the truth about this world. Unaware of what''s toe.

    After letting out a short sigh, I put my head down on the desk and decided to take a quick nap before the ss starts.

 Chapter 13 First Day At Global Academy [2]

    ?I tried taking a nap, but I couldn''t since the murmur in the ss was just too loud.

    The noisy atmosphere of the ssroom kind of reminded me of my time in high school and college.

    Haaa

    ¡­To think that I''d have to go through all that again.

    No, in fact, this time it''ll be harder since I''ll have to participate in army training before I get appointed in the United Military.

    And after that, I''ll have to fight in wars¡­.

    Sigh, survival in this world will prove to be challenging. But for some reason, I was too calm for someone in my situation.

    I mean, I died, and when I opened my eyes, I was in another world. I transmigrated. Something that only happens in fiction happened to me.

    I''ll have to go through army training now.

    I''ll also have to fight and survive not one but two extinction-level wars in the future.

    Yet, for some reason, despite all that was about to happen, I was so unusually calm.

    It was almost as if I had done this kind of thing a thousand times already.

    To be honest, if I look back at my life, I can''t recall one instance when I lost my cool.

    ¡­Except for when I was held up at gunpoint. Only in myst moments when my life was in danger did I ever panic.

    It made me wonder, was there something wrong with me? Or was it that my mental strength was too high?

    Since the ''status'' screen doesn''t tell us about mental strength, I had no way of knowing.

    Anyway, because I couldn''t sleep and I had no friends to talk to because of my title of a disowned heir of a ruling family, I just watched peopleing in and out of the ssroom door.

    The ss was about to start in a few minutes, and all of the named characters had already arrived by now.

    Except for the protagonist, of course.

    Why? Because he''s the main character! They always arrivete! Tsk.

    Anyway, I swept my gaze across the ssroom and saw all the big characters from the first volume present here.

    A fewnes away from me was E Bright, sitting haughtily on her chair as if she owned this academy.

    Well, that wasn''t so far from the truth as her father had a seat on the council of the Global City.

    She was ying with her auburn red hair with a bored expression on her face. In the meantime, she was sneaking a few nces at the boy beside her.

    The boy beside her was a half-elf boy with emerald hair and soft violet eyes. Being a half-elf, he was naturally pretty handsome. In fact, his fair skin and small face made him look more like a girl than a boy, earning him the attention of many maidens sitting around him.

    Of course, he still couldn''t bepared to me in terms of looks, but he was decent looking, I guess¡­ Ahem.

    His name was William Sinoath, the future war hero and pride of elves. And in his arms was his mana beast cat pet, Rui.

    Rui was a ck-furred cat capable of casting shadow magic. Although elves dislike shadow magic due to their natural affinity with light, Wim took a liking to this certain ck cat.

    A few seats behind him was sitting a brown-haired youth. His sapphire-like azure eyes were fixated on the book in his hands.

    He was not as good-looking as William and certainly not as handsome as me, yet he was still fairly attractive for being a half-dwarf.

    His name was Elijah Steelforged.

    He was another one of the future war heroes and the savior of the dwarven race.

    He was a diligent student who was reading a book on mana beasts'' anatomy even on the first day of the academy.

    A few seats in front of him was a human boy with long golden ck hair tied into a bun. He was tall and had a well-built body with an angry resting look on his face.

    He was Chase Woods. He was the reason the protagonist survived a major incident in volume 3.

    Although he had a massive ego and a vulgar mouth, he was part of the ''good guys'' because he had a kind and forgiving heart.

    Oh, and Chase was the protagonist''s love rival since he liked Anastasia too. Unfortunately, his kind and forgiving heart resulted in his death in the first war.

    m¡ª!

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was the loud mming noise of the main door.

    I expected the neer to be an extra, so I didn''t even bother shifting my gaze to look who it was.

    However, at the next moment, I was forced to look at the door when the entire ss, which was as lively as a fish market earlier, suddenly fell silent.

    So I turned my neck to look at the person who had just entered, but when our eyes met, I froze.

    I knew who the boy that had just entered the ssroom was.

    The most frightening part about him wasn''t the dreadful aura that he was oozing off, nor was it his firsthand experience in battle.

    The most frightening part about him was that he could control the atmosphere of an entire room just by walking in.

    That''s just how famous he was¡­ and how dangerous.

    While other cadets in this room were trying to forge their own legends, this boy¨C no, this man already was a legend.

    He had raven ck hair that matched his tan skin, and his eyes, a deep shade of olive, were capable of entrapping anyone in awe.

    He was wearing the [Top 16] cadet uniform.

    Despite being the first year and this being his first day, he was already in the Top 16. It was a feat unheard of.

    But that''s to be expected from him with his near-godlike talent in dark magic.

    That, coupled with the fact that he had already experienced a few minor wars while being on the front lines, made him a force to be reckoned with.

    He was wearing a white zer with blue embroidery and, underneath it, a white shirt paired with royal blue pants.

    He also wore a blue armband, showing that he was already part of the Disciplinary Community (the pawns).

    This guy was a major antagonist of this story, Quinn Darkstar. An illegitimate son of Major Miles Darkstar and a war prodigy.

    After he finished ncing around the ssroom, Quinn walked up to the back of the ss and took a seat without muttering anything to anyone.

    The murmur in the ss, which had previously died down, started again. This time though, everyone was talking about Quinn.

    Because the world of [Chronicles of the Legendary Heroes] had vampires and aliens threatening Earth, one may think that the book would have clear viins.

    I mean, the viins in this story should be the vampires trying to take over the continent and the aliens trying to invade our for resources, right?

    Wrong.

    This story was about the new generation of heroes making their own legends.

    And how does a person be a hero? By enduring hardships.

    Only when a person emerges victorious through their hardships can they be called a hero.

    But life isn''t always sunshine and roses. People don''t always emerge victorious since, sometimes, they fall.

    What if a person fails to endure hardships? Then what''ll emerge wouldn''t be a hero. It would be a viin.

    You see, the novel gets a lot moreplicated by the end of the 4th Volume.<novelnext></novelnext>

    This world was the one where power reigned supreme, and some people took some questionable paths to achieve that power.

    One such man was the ''Cmity Bringer,'' Quinn Darkstar.

    Quinn always had an underlying inferiorityplex toward Nero, the protagonist.

    He thought he would be the strongest among his peers. But when he found that someone out there was stronger than him, he felt uneasy at first.

    During their years in the academy, Quinn and Nero''s rtionship developed into a heated, cutthroat rivalry.

    Both of them were equal in terms of overallbat potential. Nero was stronger, and Quinn was more experienced.

    But when Nero started catching up to Quinn in terms of experience, thetter began feeling inferior.

    That inferiorityplex burst out during the climax of the 4th volume.

    In the 4th volume, after being utterly defeated by Nero in the ''War Of Union,'' Quinn went off the deep end.

    He came in contact with one of the 7 Abyssal Vampires in hopes of acquiring the power that could grant him his revenge.

    Quinn had something that the vampires wanted. Thus, Quinn decided to trade. He would give vampires what they wanted while they would give him a powerful dark spell.

    After that, at the end of the 4th volume, both Nero and Quinn engaged in a fierce battle.

    Although Quinn didn''t get his revenge, he still came pretty close to killing the protagonist by using his new dark spell that he got from the vampires.

    Fortunately or unfortunately, none of them died during that fight. Quinn survived with heavy injuries, while Nero lost an eye.

    Then at the start of the 5th volume, Quinn was manipted by the Vampires and was tricked into fully switching sides.

    The vampires offered him strength much greater than the spell they had given him earlier. Unrivaled power that could make him the strongest person ever to exist.

    And honestly, he could''ve be the strongest if the protagonist hadn''t existed.

    He realized that even after siding with the vampires and obtaining that said unrivaled power, he was still not strong enough to defeat Nero. Quinn was still in ''second ce.''

    That realization broke Quinn once again.

    He went on a rampage and single-handedly waged war against the Union Military.

    Countless soldiers and civilians were massacred during his rampage. Not even the strongest of the strongest were capable enough of stopping Quinn.

    Hence, Nero himself confronted him at the end of the 7th volume in order to stop him¡ª kill him once and for all.

    ¡­But I don''t know how it ended since the volume concluded before their battle could end. And it was thest volume I read of this web-novel.

    Looking at him through my peripheral vision, I couldn''t help but swallow hard.

    Yes, I was scared shitless! How can I not? This person will be a man who peels off people''s skin for fun!

    While reading, you won''t think much about it, but even sitting in the same room as this guy was scary!

    Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and rested my chin on the top of my hand.

    "He isn''t my problem. Nero will handle him when the timees. I just need to not get beaten up to a pulp and survive the war arc." I thought out loud as if I was telling myself all that.

    "Attention!"

    A loud voice,parable to that of a thunderstorm, woke me up from my thoughts right then.

    I looked at the podium where I heard the voiceing from and saw a violet-haired woman standing on top of the dais.

    Wait¡­

    When did she get inside? I was watching the door the whole time!

    With a confused frown, I looked around me and saw the stunned faces of other cadets.

    It seems like they didn''t notice her either.

    Did she appear out of nowhere?

    "No, I didn''t appear out of nowhere. All of you are just pathetic!" as if reading my mind, the woman spoke.

    "Only six people noticed me! And I didn''t even cast an illusion spell! Pathetic, all of you!"

    Arghh, this bitch! Who is she calling pathetic? I bet she''s just an extra!

    "I am the Witch Of Soul Harvest, Liz Snyder! I''m an ?Immortal-1? ranked Section Commander of the Northern Defense Force!" She said in an arrogant tone.

    "Ahem, or at least I was until I was suspended for ''acting out'' and neglecting some useless orders," with an embarrassed face, she continued to speak.

    Arghh shit.

    She was not an extra. She was actually a major character. How did I forget her appearance description?!

    Dark violet hair and fierce purple eyes, a voluptuous mademoiselle-like figure, and light brown skin. And not to mention how stealthily she walked into the ssroom.

    No shit, she was ''the'' Liz Snyder!

    Liz Snyder was a ?Immortal 1? ranked Section Commander who was tasked with keeping the north safe.

    She was a recurring character during the 1st to 3rd volumes and waster promoted to one of the main characters during the 7th volume.

    She wielded the dark/shadow element, and her signature spell was [Soul Harvest].

    It was a spell that allowed her to extract the souls of dead people around her and use them to do a variety of tasks.

    That spell and her unique battle style that was built solely to abuse that spell earned her the nickname of the ''Witch Of Soul Harvest.''

    The whole room fell silent as she revealed her identity. She was kind of a celebrity, after all.

    For reference, there were only 93 ?Immortal? rankers in this world, ording to the novel. And she was one of them.

    For most, getting up to ?Gold? rank was the limit. My own potential was ?Gold 3?.

    Although I had a way in my mind to break that potential cap, for someone to naturally reach ?Immortal? rank was a big thing.

    "And because I neglected orders, I''m being punished by being appointed as your head instructor. I''ll also be teaching you all about battle strategies and controlling fire and shadow elements along with their variables.

    "Don''t make me regret wasting my time on insects like you all." She said while rolling her eyes as if she was already disappointed!

    Arghh! Immortal ranked or not, she was a bitch!

    I even hated her in the novels! I mean, I hated most of the characters, but I hated her the most for her bitchy personality.

    ¡­Although looking at her now, she was nothing short of a hot milf¡­ Ahem! No! I must stay focused!

    "I know you all were excited for your first day, so most of you didn''t get any sleepst night. So let''s keep it short today, yeah? In fact, we''ll not do much for the next five days, so get to know each other in that time.

    "Today, I''ll simply take attendance and then let you all select your main weapon," Liz said while getting behind the podium. "Oh, and I''ll also hand you your rankings today."

    Oh? Maybe she wasn''t a bitch after all. She was worried about us and our sleep. Perhaps she was a softie deep inside.

    "Actually, I wanted us to do something more today, but it looks like you all are in pretty pathetic states, and I don''t want to kill you all on your first day."

    "Nevermind, she''s a bitch through and through," I muttered under my breath while shaking my head.

 Chapter 14 First Day At Global Academy [3]

    ?"Aisha Loudermilk!"

    -"Present!"

    "Academy Rank 135780! Come and collect your ID card!"

    Taking notice of the call, the girl, whose name was yelled, got up from her seat and walked up to the podium.

    There, Liz passed her a 3-inch t metal cube. With a bitter expression on her face, the girl walked back to her seat.

    She was probably worried about her unusually low rank. But unbeknownst to her, the rankings at the start of the year didn''t mean much.

    Since as I''ve exined before, most of the cadets submitted incorrect data about themselves.

    After the first monthly exam that will take ce next month, the rankings will start to fluctuate like crazy.

    Not to mention, her rank wasn''t even that bad.

    With that, Liz resumed taking attendance.

    "Kent Takeahint!"

    -"Present!"

    "Academy rank 122212! Come and collect your ID card!"

    After a short pause, she yelled again.

    "Tim Hawking!"

    -"Here!"

    "Academy rank 128936! Come and collect your ID card!" Liz continued.

    "Tyler Erickson!"

    -"Present!"

    "Academy rank 129097! Come and get your ID card!"

    The students kepting as Liz kept calling out names and academy ranks.

    "Grace Godwill!"

    -"Yes!"

    "Academy rank 012268! Come and get your ID card!"

    As soon as Liz disclosed Grace''s rank, murmuring broke out among the cadets. This was the first five-digit rank since the start of the attendance.

    But they weren''t aware that the uing rank announcements would shake them even more.

    After all, the rest of the main characters were about to be called out too.

    "Amelia ck!"

    -"Present Ma''am!"

    "Academy rank 009468! Come and get your ID card!"

    Again, murmurs broke out amongst the cadets after a four-digit rank was announced.

    Liz, on the other hand, didn''t look too impressed.

    That was because she didn''t believe in rankings as she knew they were unreliable as of right now.

    However, what she didn''t know was that Amelia''s and all the other main characters'' rankings were authentic.

    Because not a single main character tried to fiddle with their rankings by submitting false stats.

    "Elijah Steelforged! Academy Rank 009467! Get your ID card here!"

    -"Yes!"

    "Chase Wood! Academy rank 007989! Come and get your ID card!"

    -"Coming!"

    "Anastasia Bigod! Academy rank 007231! Come and get your ID card here!"

    -"Okay!"

    ¡­

    After a full ten minutes, most of the students were finally done with their attendance.

    "Lucas Morningstar! Academy rank¡­ 116969! Get your ID card here!"

    Huh? Did she pause before announcing my rank?

    Why? Because I have two 69s in my rank?!

    I looked around and saw a few kids giggling among themselves after hearing my rank.

    It wasn''t even that funny!

    Tsk, damn these extras!

    "...Coming!"

    I quickly got up from my desk and tramped over to the podium to collect my identification card.

    Liz, who was busy scrolling through the tablet in her hand, which contained the names and ranks of the cadets inside, absentmindedly handed me a t metal cube like everyone else.

    "Quinn Darkstar! Academy rank 000018! Get you¡­."

    Grabbing it, I turned around and left for my seat while Liz called out another name.

    On my way back, I pressed on the t metal cube and a ck translucent screen with white font popped out from it.

    ===

    User ID: Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Academy Ranking: 116969/138000

    Rank: Iron 2

    Potential: Gold 3

    ss: 1-A-1

    Merit Points: 0

    ===

    It was a holographic ID card.

    "Hmmm," once again I felt genuinely impressed by this world''s technological advancements.

    Thud¨C!

    "Ahhh!"

    Right when I was lost in my thoughts, my shoulder bumped into someone. But to me, it felt like I had crashed into a steel wall.

    "Watch where you are going-" I was about to give a piece of my mind to the person who bumped into me until I peeked a glimpse at who it was.

    It was Quinn.

    Seeing him ring down at me with his icy cold olive eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

    "What?" He scowled back at me.

    "Nothing, good sir!" With an amicable smile that could put even the best of corrupt politicians to shame, I replied. "Please don''t mind me."

    "Tsk," for some reason, he clicked his tongue and walked past me.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Phew~" I, on the other hand, just felt like I had escaped death. So with a relieved sigh, I went back to my seat.

    Look guys, don''t get me wrong. I wasn''t scared of him or anything.

    I just didn''t think it was good to mess with a major antagonist right now.

    Yes, I was avoiding him for the sake of the plot! I was totally not scared of him. Got it? I was not scared of him.

    Ahem, anyway, as you might''ve guessed, sses weren''t divided based on the academy rankings.

    Cadets were divided evenly but not equally so that the weaker ones didn''t get left behind.

    Basically, high rankers and low rankers were paired together, while middle rankers were paired with other middle rankers.

    In short, the average of one ss should be equivalent to any other ss whenpared.

    However, this was not the case, as rankings will fluctuate a lot in the future. Some sses wille out on top of others.

    Oveing this difference in ranks will be our heroes'' first hardship.

    m¡ª!

    At that very moment, the door of the ssroom was mmed open, making everyone shift their attention to it.

    I already knew who it was, but I still looked.

    "Am Ite?" The one who said that was a ck-haired boy¡ª the perpetrator who mmed the door open.

    He had a chiseled face and dark brown eyes. He was neither slim nor too ripped. Lean-built would be the perfect description for him.

    Yes, he was the protagonist of this story and the person whom this world revolves around.

    He was Nero Dekrauf, the illegitimate son of a member of the Central Government.

    He stood still on the door saddle, not daring to barge in without permission.

    "What do you think?" replied Liz with a question from behind the podium while eyeing the ck-haired boy.

    "Arghh- maybe I''m a littlete?" Nero said while scratching the back of his head.

    "No, you are 15 minuteste," Liz corrected while tilting her head with an ''are you serious'' expression on her face.

    "So, can Ie in?"

    "No, you are expelled."

    "Oh,e on, master! It''s because of the task you gave me that I got herete!"

    "Fighting a ?Silver? ranked mana beast shouldn''t be that hard."

    "Shouldn''t be that hard, my ass! Master, I almost died! Twice!"

    Yes, Nero Dekrauf and Liz Snyder had a master-student rtionship.

    When Nero''s father, Mayor ze Dekeauf of Helvidia City and a member of the Central Government, killed his mother, who was his concubine, Nero ran away from home.

    On that day, he swore that he would kill his father for what he had done. But there was a teeny tiny problem.

    You see, Mayor ze was one of the most powerful people living on this.

    No, he was not strong. But he was one of the twelve members of the Central Government¡ª the supreme legitive body of this world.

    That means he was an important person for the survival of this world.

    So you can''t just kill someone as valuable as him even if you are perfectly capable of doing so. That was one of the most strictly enforcedws in this world.

    But Nero couldn''t just ept that. He couldn''t bring himself to forsake his oath of revenge.

    Even if his father was one of the most influential people on the. Even if he was protected by something as fickle asw.

    He could only quench his thirst for revenge with the blood of the man who murdered his mother.

    And Liz saw that thirst as an opportunity to create a perfect protege to her legacy. So she took him under her wing.

    And by doing so, she also created a monster. A monster whose only drive was to get stronger.

    But unlike most, Nero didn''t take his thirst for power to the dark side. No, he managed to preserve the kindness in his heart.

    Even after all the things that happened to him, he didn''t give up on people and turned heartless. If anything, he became even kinder.

    "Masta~! Please let me in!"

    "It took you 78 minutes to kill a ?Silver? ranked mana beast! Uneptable!"

    However, I must say the sight in front of me was quite a fuss.

    Everyone in the ssroom had their jaws dropped as soon as they heard that a boy killed a ?Silver? ranked mana beast all by himself in just a little over 1 hour!

    Remember I told you all about mana beasts. They are basically evolved animals who adapted to the changes in the world and started welding mana.

    Now, these beasts aren''t really a threat until they are low-level ones¡ª ranking anywhere from ?Iron 1? to ?Bronze 3?.

    However, ?Silver? ranked mana beasts possess a great threat since they aren''t just wild animals anymore after reaching that rank. They are now predators.

    And killing a ?Silver? ranked mana beast alone within a little over an hour is an inhumane task! So why was Liz yelling at him?

    Not many in this room could do that! Even Quinn can''t kill a ?Silver? ranked mana beast alone under two hours mark.

    Yet, some no-name boy did that?

    Looking over at Quinn, I could see a conflicted look stered on his face. It was as if he couldn''t believe what he was hearing.

    No, more like he was refusing to believe what he was hearing.

    "I promise I''ll improve! Please let me in, master! You are making a fuss!"

    "No! You are making a fuss!"

    "No you!"

    "No you!"

    Oh god! I couldn''t help but facepalm in disappointment at the immaturity of the argument.

    They both were fighting like a bunch of 9-year-olds! No, even 9-year-olds can initiate a better argument than this!

    Maybe this was the reason I started hating this web-novel. Such immature writing! Tsk tsk.

    "Miss Liz!"

    At that point, someone finally decided to speak up and stop them.

    Need I say who it was?

    Only one boy in this room had the audacity to raise his voice in front of the Witch Of Soul Harvest.

    Yes, it was Quinn.

    The whole ss fell silent and everyone, including Nero and Liz, looked at Quinn, who was standing up on his spot.

    After confirming that everyone''s attention was on him, Quinn opened his mouth to speak again.

    "Let''s just finish the attendance, yeah? We have yet to choose our main weapons."

    Liz''s face stiffened up. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but she knew she was in the wrong, so she didn''t.

    "Go take a seat. We''ll talk about thister." She barked at Nero, who was still standing outside the door.

    "Yes, mam!"

    Following Liz''s instructions, Nero closed the door behind him and walked into the ssroom before taking a front-row seat.

    Urghh, frontbenchers. Always hated them

 Chapter 15 Weapon Selection [1]

    ?Arriving in front of a huge chamber on the ground floor, Liz turned to us cadets and spoke loudly, ensuring her voice reached every ear present here.

    "This chamber functions as a vault. And inside this vault is every weapon imaginable."

    The cadets couldn''t help but gasp in marvel at that statement. iming to have every weapon imaginable in one room is a little unbelievable.

    "Every weapon imaginable? Just how big of a room is it?" I, too, didn''t believe it.

    Since this scene in the novel was never shown, I didn''t know what happened in the weapon selection.

    However, my question was soon answered when Liz started knocking on the door consecutively.

    Knock¨C Knock¨C Knock¨C

    After the third consecutive knock, the door started opening all by itself like it was automatic.

    And I swear to god my eyes came out of my sockets when the inside of the chamber was revealed.

    -"How is it that big?!"

    -"Why is it so big?!"

    Everyone was stunned, and although their questions were misleading¡­ they were indeed right!

    Why was this ce so big?! How can a single room be so big?!

    From an outsider''s point of view, it looked like every other room situated on this unusually big floor with nothing special about it.

    But after peeking inside it, one would consider checking in with an eye doctor. This room was not just huge! It was massive!

    Its proportions from the outside and inside weren''t matching! It was almost as if this room existed in a hyperspace.

    At that moment, Liz spoke up again.

    "Come inside," she said while walking into the vault. "Stop gawking at it like some country bumpkins. It''s just a room."

    Everyone bitterly followed Liz inside after herst statement. She was surely a bitch.

    I couldn''t help but look around as soon as I stepped inside.

    I knew I was inside a fantasy novel where magic existed, but this was breaking thews of physics!

    This room alone was as big as the whole floor it was situated on! And in front of us were hundred of weapons kept on disy.

    But I am still trying to grasp how it could be possible for every weapon known to man to be present in this location. While I recognize that this ce isrge and has a significant number of weapons, I find it hard to believe that every kind of weapon could be here.

    "See these things?" what shook me out of my daze was a captivating voice. It was Liz. She was pointing at some inscriptions on the walls.

    Those ancient-looking inscriptions looked like they were carved into the wall, and for some reason, they were glowing in a faint blue hue.

    "These are spatial runes. Capable of altering the very fabric of space within an enclosed area." Liz exined.

    Ahh, that makes sense. Runes! Of course!

    In this world, there are two ways to use mana.

    Use it as a pure energy source to power machines, or use it for what it''s meant to be used for¡ª magic.

    Now there are several ways to use magic.

    Using magic is essentially asking the universe to grant you your wish.

    If you wish to create fire, you must converse with the universe and ask it to grant you the power to create fire.

    There are many ways to converse with the universe¡ªdrawings, writings, speech, hand signs, etc.

    The process of conversing with the universe is called ''Casting Spell.''

    However, you need to have two things in order to get your wish fulfilled by the universe.

    One, you need to have enough mana to cast your spell.

    Say, if you wish to create a fire hot enough to melt tungsten, you must fuel your spell with just the right amount of mana.

    If you don''t have that amount of mana, then your spell will fall short. If you oversupply mana into your spell, then it will be hard to control.

    The second thing you need for casting spells is affinity.

    If you wish to create fire, you must have an affinity for the fire element. If you have an affinity for water and you wish to create fire, you will only fail.

    Drawing is another method of casting spells. These drawings are called Runes.

    Runes are like one-time usable batteries. You create them, imbue them with mana and let them do their work.

    They would disappear when the mana inside them would exhaust.

    Although, only elves know how to create them, and they im it''s something they can''t teach since it''s ''memories'' passed down to them by their ancestors.

    Furthermore, it takes a lot of mana to draw even one normal rune, let alone a rune capable of altering space. And this room was filled with such spatial runes.

    It makes one wonder how much effort and workforce it must''ve taken to make such a wonder possible.

    "Stop daydreaming, you insects! Hurry and choose your main weapon!" Liz yelled and shook everyone out of their awe.

    "Stand in front of your desired weapon, and I''ll take them out of the disy for you." She continued.

    "You won''t be able to change your main weapon till the bi-annual exam, so choose wisely. If there''s anything you can''t find, tell me, and I''ll take it out from the Dimensional Rings present here." She said while pointing at several recessed shelves present on the walls.

    "Ahh!" I nodded my head in understanding.

    There were several recessed shelves on the walls. On those shelves were ced dimensional rings.

    Dimensional Rings are spatial storage devices. They have a pocket dimension within them which allows users to deposit and equip any inanimate object.

    Nothing too out of the box. Every other fantasy novel has storage devices like that. It helps with the flow of the story.

    "So she wasn''t lying after all," I thought out loud to myself. "Maybe this room does contain every weapon in the world."

    Thinking that, I began pondering over what to choose as my main weapon. It was an important decision, after all. I can''t just choose anything on a whim.

    A main weapon is exactly what it sounds like.

    The weapon that cadets will choose now will determine the weapon art they will be studying during their time in the Academy.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Daggers, spears, and sabers, also known as the Holy Trinity of weapons, were popr choices among most cadets.

    However, that doesn''t mean there weren''t other choices to choose from.

    There were shields, halberds, bows, gauntlets, guns, maces, etc.

    Wait¡­ shields? Why were shields here?

    Who would be stupid enough to choose a shield as their main weapon?

    Wait, can a shield even be considered a weapon?

    And I swear to god if any of you say something like, ''Oh, that superhero uses a shield!'' or ''Shield hero uses a shield!'' I''ll kill myself.

    "Just because you are getting these weapons for free and they aren''t relics or runic weapons doesn''t mean they are cheap. Each weapon here costs around 10 million credits."

    Liz said something in the background, but I didn''t pay much attention to it. I knew these weapons were expensive.

    Oh, by the way, ?Credits? are the currency of this world.

    Since the world''s continents were merged into one, and now several other races live on Earth besides humans, many changes have urred during thest few centuries.

    There is now only one government¡ª the Central Government.

    Every member of the Central Government is irreceable, and there are no elections. Meaning one''s position in the Central Government is hereditary.

    Furthermore, there is now only one digital currency eptable throughout the world, which is ?Credits? or ?C? for short.

    For reference, ten million credits would roughly be around 1,26,125 dors. Yes, each weapon here was a gold mine.

    However, it seemed like onlymoners present here were thinking like me.

    Cadets belonging to elite households didn''t think much of it since they were used to using weapons much more expensive than these.

    Tsk, rich peeps.

    Nero walked up to a long sword and stood in front of it. Yes, the main protagonist had a talent for swords. Clich¨¨.

    Anyway, Quinn was standing in front of a pair of daggers.

    Quinn was more of an assassin than a head-on fighter. However, his fighting prowess was nothing to scoff at.

    And whenbined with his usage of Shadow magic, Quinn was a force to be reckoned with.

    Yes, yes, another character with shadow magic who uses daggers¡­ real original.

    Anastasia walked up to a bow, and behind her followed Amelia. They both were archers.

    E chose a rapier as her weapon. She still had an uninterested look on her face.

    Was she always this lethargic in the novel too?

    William and Elijah were standing in front of a spear and a war hammer, respectively.

    While Aster was standing in front of a huge mace, which was at least twice her size, one would wonder, how was she even going to use that with her skinny arms?

    Chase, on the other hand, chose a pair of shield gauntlets, and Grace opted for a halberd.

    And while this was going on, I was just standing there clueless about what to pick.

    Yes, I had yet to decide on a weapon to pick.

    Yes, I know I had 14 days of time to think stuff like this, but I wasted them on eating and sleeping¡­.

    I was tempted to pick a spear since I knew basic spearmanship from Lucas'' memories.

    However, I wasn''t veryfortable with close or mid-rangebat. Not yet, anyway.

    Thankfully, Lucas had learned basic archery too, so I knew how to handle a bow.

    My next best option, or rather my only remaining option, was now a bow.

    Finally deciding after a few minutes of standing still like a statue, I walked up to a recurve bow and stood in front of it patiently.

    But soon after, a question shot across my mind, and I raised my hand.

    "Yes?" seeing me raising my hand, Liz gestured to me to voice my question.

    "You said every weapon that we can think of is here, right?" I asked.

    "...Not in those words, but yes."

    "So, can I pick a nuclear warhead as my main weapon?"

    "... ¡­"

    "... ¡­"

    "...Do you think this is a joke?"

    "...No?"

    "...I see. Let me rephrase. Every weapon that you can think of and can use in a battle is here."

    I wanted to retort that nuclear warheads can be used in battle too, but I held back¡­.

    I couldn''t help but notice a few cadetsughing at me. Even some main characters were alsoughing.

    But I don''t understand! What''s there tough about? It was a genuine question!

    Tsk, damn these people!

    Should I tell them that they all are merely some third-rate clich¨¨ novel characters?!

    Hmph!

    However, theirugh soon died down, and the whole weapon chamber fell silent as one of the cadets walked up to a weapon and stood in front of it.

    The weapon that he was standing in front of was¡­ a gun.

 Chapter 16 Weapon Selection [2]

    ?If I ask you to think of a deadly weapon, you wouldn''t think of a sword or a spear. You would think of a gun.

    Because in the modern era, guns were unrivaled. However, the world I''m in now isn''t in a modern era. It''s in a magic era.

    A fantasy world.

    And in this world of magic, guns are pretty much useless unless you possess an exceptional talent for mana maniption.

    Why? Because it takes a lot of control and proficiency over mana to imbue a bullet with it. Unless it''s a runic bullet, of course.

    Didn''t understand? Let me exin.

    Swords have arge surface area, so one can easily coat ayer of mana over them to make them stronger.

    But a bullet is tiny. It would take a lot of effort to enhance just one bullet with mana, let alone a full magazine of them.

    If you apply too much mana on the bullet, it''ll break. If you apply too little, it will be useless in the battle. It takes a lot of precision to coat a bullet with mana evenly.

    That''s the reason why cadets don''t usually go for guns as their main weapon because most of them don''t have that kind of mastery over mana maniption.

    Yet, this boy was standing there in front of a pair of handguns like it was the most natural thing to do!

    And what''s more, is that I don''t remember a scene like this happening in the novel!

    I mean, weapon selection wasn''t shown in the novel, but I''m pretty sure no character chose guns in the story¡­.

    "38 cadets chose swords, 27 chose spears, 14 chose daggers. While 8 cadets chose clubs and maces, 6 chose bows, 2 chose gauntlets, 1 chose a scythe, 1 chose a shield, and the remaining 4 cadets chose battle hammers and axes evenly during the weapon selection."

    That was the line from the novel describing the weapons the cadets picked during the weapon selection.

    Although one maniac did choose a shield as the main weapon, no one chose a gun!

    So what''s happening here?

    Why was some random character doing something that I don''t remember happening in the web-novel?!

    "Umm, cadet Hugh Jass, you want to pick handguns as your main weapon?" Liz asked with a bit of hesitation.

    His name was Huge Ass?! What kind of name is that?! Who was he?!

    I don''t remember reading anything about a character named Huge Ass!

    "Yes. I want these handguns." Hugh replied with a nod.

    "Cadet Hugh, if you get left behind due to the weapon of your choosing, you can''t hold the academy responsible for that."

    That''s right.

    If a cadet were to choose a weapon they have no talent for, then the Academy won''t take any responsibility for that matter.

    You''ll be thrown to the battlefield by the end of your third academic year regardless of the fact that you have mastered your weapon or not.

    That was one of the reasons why they let cadets choose their main weapon all by themselves.

    "Yes, I''m sure. I want these handguns."

    Even after the warning from Liz, Hugh replied in assurance.

    Liz couldn''t help but sigh before she gave her reply.

    "Fine. Since instructors and professors aren''t allowed to interfere in weapon selection, I won''t say anything." She said before continuing.

    "But know this, guns are totally useless against Kalis. You may be able to kill lower vampires and a few mana beasts with guns as your main weapon, but that''s about it." She uttered with a disappointed look.

    Liz was right.

    Duds¡ª the people who can''t use mana properly¡ª are given guns to train and fight with if they volunteer to enroll in a Military Academy.

    But if a cadet, who can use mana just fine, intentionally chooses a gun, then that cadet is no better than a Dud.

    Liz took out the guns from the disy and handed them over to Hugh.

    Hugh¡­ no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn''t recall that name from the novel.

    And it''s not like I can forget since I have a near-perfect memory. Ahem, yes, I''m flexing.

    Anyway, back to the more important question¡ª Who was he?

    An extra?

    But why did he choose a gun?

    And why was an incident this strange not mentioned in the web-novel?

    It seemed like I wasn''t the only one thinking about it.

    -"Handguns?! Is that guy stupid?"

    -"He could choose a crossbow, at least."

    -"Maybe he''s really proficient in wielding mana!"

    -"Or maybe he''s just stupid."

    The whole room was filled with murmurs like those. Just like me, everyone was trying to understand that guy''s logic.

    "Move."

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was the voice of Liz.

    She was standing in front of me with an irritated look. It looked like she hade to hand me the bow I picked.

    I casually stepped aside and made way for her.

    Liz took out the bow that I was standing in front of¡­ and threw it at me!

    She threw a fucking bow at me!

    "Aakh!"

    I managed to catch it before it could fall and looked at Liz dumbfoundedly. But she just ignored me and walked to the next cadet to hand them their chosen weapon.

    "What''s her problem?" I muttered under my breath.

    But the next moment, I remembered my reputation.

    She must''ve done a background check on her ss. And as it so happens to be, I was in the body of a sexual assaulter.

    I looked around and saw a few cadets slyly smiling at me. The one who was enjoying it the most was Amelia.

    Tsk.

    Why was I being targeted for the reputation that I didn''t build anyway?

    Damn these third-rate novel characters.

    ?<novelnext></novelnext>

    After the weapon selection was done, the cadets were asked to go to the main faculty office and collect Smart Bracelets from there.

    The academy''s Smart Bracelets functioned as portable storage devices like Dimensional Rings, so they were pretty expensive.

    In addition, they possessed several other notable features. These included the ability to function as arger version of a smartwatch and the capacity to project their screens in holographic form. They also came with a built-in artificial intelligence assistant.

    Yeah, super futuristic, right?

    Unfortunately, first-year cadets can''t use the AI assistant until the end of the first semester.

    But I could still use their Dimensional Storage.

    To use it, you just need to fuel it with mana and it could suck any inanimate object in it. Pretty neat, aren''t they?

    I just received one of these babies and was on my way to my new apartment.

    Yes, we were assigned our new homes in the inner districts too.

    Mine was luckily pretty close to the academy, around a 5-minute walk away.

    "Ayy! Lucas, brother!"

    But on my way to my apartment building, I heard someone calling my name from behind.

    Turning back, I saw a chubby in-looking boy around the same age as me walking toward my direction.

    I knew who he was.

    There was no mention of him in the novel, but I knew him from Lucas'' memories.

    He was a fellow ''young master'' of a noble family that served the Morningstar house. He was also the childhood friend of Lucas, Jake Stark.

    "What''s up, bro? Which ss are you assigned to?" asked Jake after walking up to me.

    "1-A-1. You?" I asked.

    "1-C-8. Haha, so you are in the same ss as that girl?" Jake asked with an amused face.

    "That girl?" I acted dense.

    "Yeah, your sweetheart. Grace Godwill!" Jake said with a grin, obviously teasing me.

    "I don''t care about her anymore," I replied before walking away.

    However, it seemed like Jake had no intention of letting me walk away. He followed me behind with quick steps.

    "Really? Why? Does getting disowned enlighten you in some way? Hahaha!" He chuckled loudly.

    This boy was clearly testing my patience.

    Yes, that''s the kind of friend he was¡ªthe one who feeds off his friend''s misery.

    "How''s Aunt Matilda?" I asked while changing the topic.

    "Mom? Yeah¡­ I guess she''s fine. Why?" Jake answered, clearly taken aback by my sudden interest.

    "Oh, it''s just a silly rumor, but I heard that your parents are getting a divorce because your father had an affair or something like that."

    A smile slowly crept up on my face as I said that.

    "Wh-What? No, what a nonsense rumor." Jake tried to deny it but his face told me the truth I needed to know.

    "Thank god. I knew uncle Jermaine could never do such a thing, right?" I said. This time I had an amused look on my face. "Surely he wouldn''t jeopardize the Stark family''s reputation."

    "Y-Yes. Of course¡­" Jake couldn''t help but avert his gaze from me.

    "Then why such rumors? Remember the saying, where there''s smoke there''s fire?" It was my turn to pick on him now.

    "Dude! I said everything is fine!" Jake snapped at me with a furious expression, seemingly unable to endure my usations.

    "Okay, okay! I''m sorry, buddy!" I slightly raised my hand before continuing. "If it gets hard, you know where to find me."

    At that statement, Jake snapped again.

    "I said there''s nothing wrong with my parents'' marriage! Dude, shut the fuck up! What kind of friend are you?!" He said before pushing me aside and storming off.

    The smile on my face only grew wider as I saw his fading figure. His back was trembling. I think he was crying.

    Poor kid. It must be really tough at home. He shouldn''t have picked on me today with such weak mental resilience.

    After shaking my head, I started walking again, and in a few minutes, I arrived in front of my new apartment building.

    Without much thought, I walked inside and took an elevator to the 6th floor.

    The room I was assigned was 189.

    So I started searching for room number 189 as soon as I reached the 6th floor.

    After walking to the end of the floor, I found the room numbered 189.

    There was a fingerprint scanner located below the number te which spelled my name "Lucas Morningstar."

    The room was already assigned to me, so my fingerprint must''ve already been uploaded to the lock system.

    I put my finger on the scanner, and after a short scan, the scanner beeped once.

    Beep¨C

    With that beep, the door opened.

    But before I could step in, the door beside my apartment room opened up. It was my neighbor''s.

    It''s adequate to at least greet your neighbor if you see them, so I waited for the person living beside me to step out of the room.

    However, as soon as the person stepped out, I instantly wished that I shouldn''t have waited to greet them.

    It was Grace¡­ She was here before me. And she was assigned the apartment next to me¡­.

    I thought about ignoring her and going inside my apartment.

    And it''s not like our rtionship was friendly. I had no obligation to greet her.

    But since she was my neighbor and all, and we were going to spend a lot of time living next to each other, I decided to greet her nheless.

    "Hello, Grace," I said with the sweetest smile I could muster. "How are you?"

    ¡­But the bitch, on the other hand, just ignored me and walked away.

    "...What did I expect?" Facepalming, I went inside my new apartment after sessfully embarrassing myself.

    Hmm,e to think of it, is she going to the meeting of ''Young Elites'' right now?

    "The plot is moving forward."

 Chapter 17 Young Elites

    ?The room assigned to me was quite bigpared to the outer district apartment that Lucas rented.

    There was a bedroom, a balcony featuring the city''s view, a bathroom, and an open kitchen connected to the living room.

    Not to mention this apartment came with all the furniture and TV too. This ce was huge for just one person to live in.

    It kind of made me wonder if an ordinary cadet''s ce was thisvish, what treatment would the Top 16 receive?

    Slouching back on my couch in the drawing room, I looked at the smart bracelet in my hand.

    Using mana is pretty simple. It''s like breathing. I can voluntarily move the mana from my mana core which was located in my abdomen.

    So slowly, I focused on my abdomen and started moving the mana from my mana core to my right hand.

    From my hand, I started imbuing mana into the smart bracelet that I wore on my wrist.

    The bracelet then glowed with a light azure blue hue, and a bow materialized in my right hand out of thin air.

    I was stunned, to say the least. That fact that I really was inside a fantasy world was getting clearer day by day.

    The bow in my hand felt heavy, not exactly like how I imagined it to be. And this was only a normal bow without any runes or enchantments.

    "What would it feel like to shoot an arrow from this?" I pondered while touching the bowstring.

    It was a normal recurve bow, yet when I tried to pull the string, I had to use a lot of strength¡ªa lot more than I expected.

    Tak¡ª!

    A loud tak sound resounded in the room when I let go of the string.

    "Amazing¡­" I remarked.

    I had never used a bow in my previous life, but after inheriting Lucas'' memories, I knew how to shoot an arrow at least.

    It just felt right when I held it in my hand.

    Albeit, I''m not at the level of Anastasia or Amelia, as they both have worked all their life to master the art of archery.

    But I had a way in my mind to catch up to them.

    No, no, I won''t be stealing another cheat item from the MC. Instead, I had something different in mind.

    Ding¨C! Ding¨C!

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was the loud chimes of the doorbell. Someone was outside my apartment.

    Right after, an electronic, almost robotic voice came from the other side of the main door.

    -"Global Military Academy, year 1 batch 27, academy rank 116969, Lucas Morningstar! Take your parcel!"

    It was the voice of a robot. That parcel must be the luggage that I left at the outer district apartment.

    Since Lucas originally rented that apartment in the outer district only till February 29, which was today, thendlord must be sending me my luggage.

    Throwing the bow on the couch, I opened the door and saw a 5ft short humanoid robot holding a fairly big box.

    Taking the box from its mechanical hand, I stepped back inside the room and closed the door behind me.

    Putting the box on a table, I used my fingernail to cut the tape and opened the box.

    There were many things inside¡ªclothes, daily necessities, instant food packets, etc. I also found a few diary journals.

    These were all the things I left behind whening to the academy. I knew I''d get themter, so I didn''t waste my time packing everything.

    Anyway, most of the things here were useless to me.

    The clothes were too shy for my taste, and I''m not a big fan of instant food. I''m also not a fan of reading someone else''s journals either.

    Besides, I already knew what was written inside those journals since I had Lucas'' memories of writing them.

    The only thing worth my interest in this box was Lucas'' collection of luxury watches.

    Ahh~ To think that I could wear these expensive watches to my heart''s content!

    Ahem, anyhow, one by one, I emptied all the box''s contents on the table.

    Nodding in satisfaction, I was about to get up and tidy up the ce. But before I could do so, my eyes fell on a shiny-looking red object on the ground.

    "Huh?" It must''ve fallen when I was emptying the box.

    Thinking that, I picked up the object and started inspecting it with a frown on my face.

    It was a red feathered pen¡ªa very expensive-looking red feathered pen, to be precise.

    Frowning deeper in confusion, I put it aside.

    I didn''t remember seeing this in the luggage I had left behind. Maybe thendlord sent it by mistake?

    I flipped the whole box over the table to see if something else was sent by mistake.

    And just as I thought, there was indeed something else inside the box. Something fell on the table as soon as I flipped the box.

    It was a white envelope.

    Narrowing my eyes, I picked up the envelope to see what it was.

    But when I picked it up and read the words written on it, my eyes widened in shock.

    The words "-From Joe" were written on the front of the envelope¡­.

    ?

    In a very expensive cafe, the kind of which only rich kids can afford toe in, five students were sitting in a group.

    They were waiting for the group''s sixth member to arrive, but it looked like she was runningte.

    Although they belonged to elite and high-ss households, they were looking nothing short of delinquents right now.

    Laughing loudly at even the smallest jokes, drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes in a public ce.

    In the novel''s first few arcs, they were basically the group of rich kids known as the Young Elites.

    ¡­Yeah, no really. That''s what they called themselves. So stupid.

    They were a group of cadets consisting of the heirs of big influential, and noble families.

    Their head was Kai Wiseman. One of the future antagonists of the novel and a cadet of ss 1-A-2.

    Quinn was also present there, but he wasn''t socializing in the least.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He was busy digging his mouth into his burger while quietly observing these kids who called themselves "future elites."

    Although Quinn was not officially recognized as an elite due to his illegitimate birth, he had a reputation for being a skilled fighter.

    In fact, his battle prowess and talent in magic were on par with Nero''s, another elite who faced simr discrimination and rejection due to his illegitimate birth.

    In the Northern Continent''s border, where Quinn had fought on the front lines against the lower ss Vampires for the most part of his teenage life, they called him the ''Cmity Bringer.''

    Quinn had a long history of fighting, having been sent to the border to fight as a child.

    This was amon practice in the North, where he was from from. Orphan children with exceptional abilities were often sent to the battlefield there.

    In this case, though, Quinn''s own father sent him to the border.

    Not because he was his illegitimate son and he wanted him to die or anything. But because Quinn was his ''experiment.''

    You see, Major Miles Darkstar¡ª Quinn''s father was an estranged practitioner of the spell of the dark element called ?Necromancy?.

    But using ?Necromancy? to bring the dead back to life and control them as puppets can negatively affect the mage''s life as if nature''s way of trying to maintain itsws and preserve life.

    Due to this natural restriction, Major Miles could never use the full potential of the ?Necromancy? spell. In fact, no one ever could.

    In an effort to ovee this limitation, he conducted a series of experiments on his own illegitimate son, Quinn.

    After that, at age 14 he sent him to the border for 4 years. For 4 years, Quinn assisted the soldiers in their missions there and sometimes even faught.

    As a result of his father''s experiments and the changing environment of the northern border, Quinn became a formidable force with exceptional control over the element of darkness, as demonstrated by his survival on the battlefield for all these years.

    Major Miles'' experiment was therefore considered a sess.

    He had, for the first time in history, created a perfect Necromancer.

    Anyway, despite his extensivebat experience, Quinn was required to attend the Academy, as it was mandatory by thew for anyone with the ability to wield mana to receive proper military training.

    To summarize, he was a famous figure. There were many articles written about him, and the media hailed him as a war prodigy.

    It won''t take a genius to guess that Quinn had a bright future ahead of him in the military.

    So right now, Kai thought that making a connection with him would be good.

    As they say, the best time to make a connection with a sessful person is when they are not sessful.

    -"Hahaha! That''s so true!" A boyughed out loud when Kai made a joke that wasn''t even the least bit funny.

    Quinn only shook his head and continued eating his burger.

    In the next moment, theirughing and joking halted as soon as the cafe''s door opened up, and a blonde girl stepped in.

    "You arete!" Emented when she saw Grace walk into the cafe.

    "Yeah, I met a pest on my way here," said Grace nonchntly before walking up to them and casually sitting beside Quinn.

    Quinn shifted a little to his left when his private space was invaded by the blonde girl, to which Grace just frowned.

    "A pest, huh?" E nced at Grace with questioning eyes.

    She had known Grace for a few years now, so she knew there were only too many people Grace would call names like "pests."

    Feeling her questioning gaze, Grace spoke up, "Lucas. That trash was assigned to the apartment next to me."

    "Ahhh!" E nodded with an arched eyebrow in understanding.

    "Lucas Morningstar? The one they call ''Disgrace of the Morningstar family''?" Kai, who had been drinking till now, ced the can of beer down and asked.

    "Yeah, that trash. Not only is he disowned now for molesting amoner girl, but he also has no redeeming qualities to speak of¡­ except for his looks. He is pretty hot, not going to lie." Grace admitted before turning towards Quinn, who was quietly eating.

    "Anyway, hello Quinn, I don''t believe we have met yet. I am Grace Godwill," she said.

    "Mmm, I know," Quinn curtly replied while putting away the burger that he had been eating for thest 10 minutes.

    Just how slow was his eating speed?

    "So, who is the strongest here?" asked Quinn as he eyed everyone.

    It was a strange question that left everyone speechless. That''s not the kind of question you can expect beforehand, after all.

    But it looked like Kai had already anticipated a question like this from Quinn as he quickly answered.

    "I am." He dered. "I believe I am the strongest one here since I am ?Bronze 2?."

    It looked like E wanted to retort, but her tier wasn''t anywhere near ?Bronze 2?, so she kept her silence.

    "I see," Quinn just nodded and continued eating again.

    After a short silence, E tried to strike up a conversation.

    "Who do you think is the strongest in our ss, Grace?" E questioned Grace.

    "Well, if that boy, what was his name again? Ahh, Nero! Yes, so if that new boy Nero really did kill a ?Silver? ranked mana beast, then him, or else the strongest one would be Quinn."Grace answered while fiddling with her fingers.

    That was an honest answer, and even Quinn knew it too.

    If Nero really did kill a ?Silver? ranked mana beast alone under an hour, then his battle prowess was leagues above Quinn''s.

    Although Quinn was sure that if he were to go all out, he would still be able to defeat Nero with his ?Necromancy? and ?Shadow Pulse? spells.

    However, it still hurt his pride a little, but he didn''t let it show on his face.

    "Yeah, true. And then there is that boy who chose handguns! I bet he was just trying to be different and ended up doing something foolish. Hahaha!" Eughed after ridiculing a boy whose name she couldn''t even recall.

    "Wait, really? I thought it was just a rumor! Haha! Some idiot really did choose handguns!" A bulky boy beside Kaiughed. "What do you think about him, Kai?"

    "Meh, I''m not interested in trash," Kaimented. "I''m not very interested in long-ranged fighters in general. Bullets or arrows against my fist, the result is clear."

    Quinn couldn''t help but roll his eyes. The boy in front of him was clearly not very experienced in real-life battles and was just thinking about 1v1 strength.

    Quinn, who fights at extremely close range with his daggers, knew how helpful the covers provided by the snipers were.

    "True! Snipers can never climb to the top ranks, especially a gun user." E remarked with a scoff.

    "Okay, I''m done," Quinn said as he got up from his spot and started leaving¡­ without even paying for his meal.

    "Wait, we were thinking about touring the city!" Kai tried to stop him, but the ck-haired boy just exited through the door without looking back.

    He couldn''t endure spending another single second with those stupid teenagers.

    "If they really are the next generations of elites, then the world is doomed," he said before getting on his hoverbike and trailing off in the distance.

 Chapter 18 Authority To Edit

    ?Clomp¡ª Clomp¡ª Clomp¡ª

    Dull sounds of footsteps echoed throughout my apartment''s living room as I continued to pace in circles around the center table.

    ced on that center table was a red quill feather pen, and besides that pen was a white envelope.

    The words "-From Joe" were written on the front of that envelope.

    Halting my anxious steps, I stared at the envelope with a puzzled gaze.

    What''s going on? And what was in that envelope?

    I couldn''t help but recall the face of that maniac author over and over again in my head as I kept staring at the envelope.

    The author who created the world I was in right now¡ªthe author who killed me for the crime of criticizing his story.

    A gazillion of questions bombarded my mind, and I had no answers to them.

    "Tsk!"

    Clicking my tongue, I decided to give up on puzzling my head and open the envelope. Staring at it wouldn''t give me any answers.

    I sat on the edge of my couch and picked up the envelope. Removing the stamp, I opened it up and found a letter inside.

    The letter was folded. I put the envelope aside and unfolded the piece of paper in my hand.

    From the looks of it, it was a normal letter so I started reading what was written in it.

    ``Dear Lucas,

    Wait¡­ can I call you Lucas? Or should I still call you Noah?

    Hah! That was a trick question!

    I will call you Lucas regardless of what you want hehe.

    Anyway, after I forcefully made you transmigrate into this world, I reflected on my actions and realized that my anger was indeed a little unjustified.

    So, I thought about making it up to you. And what better way is there to make up than to give you a golden finger?

    You see, that red quill pen I sent you with this letter is your golden finger.

    If you hold that red-feathered pen in your hand, you will be able to see theplete information of any desired object, including all its stats.

    But that''s not it. With that pen in your possession, you can "edit" any desired object''s stats.

    For example, if you get a [Gold Rank] sword, you can edit its rank and change it to [tinum Rank].

    Not only that, but you can also add modifications to an object too.

    For example, you can remodel a knife to be a sword. You can even turn a normal piece of paper into a rocketuncher.

    Exciting, right? I''m giving you the power to temper with reality!

    But¡­ there''s always a catch.

    You will need to gain special points in order to use the red pen. The points that I call ''Edit Points.''

    The more Edit Point you have in your bnce, the more freedom you''ll have in editing or modifying an object.

    How can you gain these Edit points, you may ask yourself?

    Simple really. You''ll need to make the ''story'' interesting. How can you do that? By being involved in the story as much as possible.

    Making significant changes to the story by altering the ending of story arcs, disrupting the plot, and adjusting the flow of the story ording to what you see fit¡ª basically create an interesting story.

    The more you do that, the more Edit Points you''ll acquire.

    If you''re still having a hard time following what I mean, then just touch the feathered pen and you''ll understand everything.

    Oh, and one more thing, you won''t be able to edit any living being''s stats¡ªonly inanimate objects.

    This is my gift to make it up to you. I''m giving you the authority to edit a part of reality itself!

    -From your best friend!``

    "..."

    With a nk face, I almost ripped the letter asunder when I read thatst line.

    What best friend?! You shot me to death!

    And what do you mean your outrage was a ''little'' unjustified? It was totally unjustified!

    I just wanted to drain the damn letter down the flush after reading things like that. However, I forced myself not to do anything irrational and calmed my mind.

    I read that letter a few more times but still was still confused as to what exactly the red pen was. Maybe it was partly because of my sleep deprivation.

    Yes, even in another world, my sleep schedule was still messed up, and now it was affecting my ability to process things.

    "Urghhh! Fuck it!"

    After letting out a frustrated sigh, I did exactly what was written in the letter. I picked up the pen.

    As soon as I did that, I heard a mechanical beep in my ears, and my own status screen appeared in front of me.

    Beep¡ª!

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    Strength¡ú 20

    Defense¡ú 8

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 32

    uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 500/500

    Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú None

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Unknown Object

    ===========

    Looking at my pitiful stats again, I couldn''t help but sigh.

    But in reality, my stats weren''t that low. They were barely below the average.

    The only reason I was ced so low in the academy rankings was due to theck of my martial arts studies.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I was Lvl. 1 in both my professions, while most of the other cadets were at least Lvl. 2 by the novel''s beginning.

    Looking back at it, I couldn''t help but wonder, how was Lucas so stupid enough to challenge someone who was leagues above him in the novel?

    I was about to facepalm until I heard another high-pitched beep sound, and a red screen popped up in my vision.

    Beep¡ª!

    ===

    Editing the Status Window¡­

    ===

    "Editing the status window? What does that mean?"

    My question was soon answered when in the next moment, once again, a red translucent screen appeared in my vision.

    ===

    Editplete!

    Open the Status Window to see your gift.

    ===

    After reading thest line, I frowned a little before reluctantly calling out my status window.

    "Status!" Imanded, and instantly the familiar blue screen appeared in my sight.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    Attack¡ú 20

    Defense¡ú 8

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 32

    uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 500/500

    Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú None

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine?

    Edit Points: 5 (Create an enjoyable story. The more you entertain ''him,'' the more Points you''ll get)

    ===========

    "Edit Points¡­" Looking at the new section that was added to my status window, I uttered while touching my chin. "I see."

    I got the gist of what was happening here. From the start, I knew my transmigration into this world wasn''t a coincidence.

    How could it be?

    I had my doubts, but I thought I was just being paranoid. But now I know for sure¡­.

    Joe, the author who killed me, was not a normal person.

    For starters, as ridiculous as it may sound, after he killed me, I woke up inside his novel. The very same novel that I criticized as trash.

    Then there was also that nonsense he was spouting before killing me.

    If I remember correctly, he said something like, "Casting time reversal and parallel timeline rebirth will cost me more than half of my life essence¡­."

    Does that mean he was some kind of God or something who was capable of creating worlds and making people reincarnate in them and stuff like that?

    No, ridiculous. That isn''t possible, right?

    Besides, why would a God as powerful as that would decide to be an author?

    More importantly, why would a God throw bother themselves with the opinion of a mere mortal?

    But regardless of what I might think of this matter, the reality of the situation remained unchanged.

    I was undoubtedly in the world of Joe''s novel, and he had sent me this letter.

    After all, the words "-From Joe" were clearly written on the front of that envelope.

    For some reason, though, I was feeling angry and frustrated¡­

    I still had many questions, but I knew I wouldn''t be getting the answers to them anytime soon.

    So instead of deciding to stand there like a maniac, I put my questions aside and thought about trying to perform what was written in that letter first.

    It was mentioned that I could "edit" an object''s stats. But what does that mean?

    Scratching my chin, I looked around me to find something that could serve me as my test subject.

    However, while I was looking around, I noticed that all the objects around me had a red dot over them.

    Frowning, I narrowed my eyes and focused my gaze on the red dot over my couch.

    As soon as I focused my gaze on it, the dot grew bigger, and a red translucent screen opened up in my vision again.

    No, it wasn''t my status screen! Instead, it was a screen disying the status of my couch!

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Couch

    Status: Normal

    Durability: 20

    Condition: Excellent

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: ____

    ===

    My eyes were wide open, and my heart mmed hard against my chest. I finally understood what this pen could do¡­.

    "A-Amazing!"

 Chapter 19 Interesting Story

    ?Tring¡ª! Tring¡ª! Tring¡ª!

    "Huaaa!"

    Rubbing my eyes, I woke up from my sweet slumber when the rm ring fell in my ears.

    Sluggishly shutting it off, I got up from my bed, walked up to the closet and took out a bathrobe before entering the bathroom.

    Although the clock was disying [6:20 AM] right now, I was still feeling fresh despite it being so early in the morning.

    Perhaps it''s because I was now adapted to this routine, or maybe it''s because I didn''t sleep at all¡­.

    Yes, my sleep schedule is still messed up.

    Anyway, my morning routine is something like this: I wake up early in the morning or do not sleep through the night at all. Then I freshen up and do a little exercise. After that, I dress up and go to the Academy.

    It was a repetitive routine but not a boring one, as I was enjoying my time in this fantasy world.

    To some extent, I could even say that I have epted this world as my reality now.

    It''s been five days since I got that envelope and the red quill pen.

    I wracked my brain all over the ce to find usible answers to my questions, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn''te to a logical conclusion.

    The only spection I coulde up with was that maybe, just maybe, Joe, the author who killed me, really was some kind of a god.

    So by extension, he was also the reason I was in this world in the first ce.

    Maybe this served as my punishment for criticizing a god''s work.

    But then the question is, if he was punishing me for belittling his story, then why in the world would he give me a cheat item?

    And why did he make me transmigrate as Lucas and not some other character who suffered more in the story?

    Don''t get me wrong, Lucas suffered in the story a lot, but the saddest part about his life was that he got beaten up by the protagonist and was used by the vampires as their pawn.

    After those incidents, he was captured by the protagonist and hispanions and was imprisoned by the Central Government for life under the charges of treason.

    Butpared to many other characters, his life wasn''t that sad. Even the prison cell he was given was a VIP cell.

    There were many, many other characters with a much worse fate than his. They suffered far greater tragedies than Lucas did throughout the story.

    If he wanted to make me suffer, then why not make me into those characters?

    I was not a religious person in my past life, so evening to this conclusion and epting the existence of a god made me abandon all my beliefs.

    And besides, why me?

    I mean, there were quite a few more editors excluding me who criticized his story.

    So why did he only kill me?

    Sigh¡­ So many questions but no answers at all.

    Arghh! If I could, I would just find Joe, grab his cor, and make him spit out all the answers I need!

    ¡­Ahem. I mean, if I could, I would just find Joe and politely ask him to answer all my queries. Politely.

    After leaving the bathroom, I put on a bathrobe. My white hair was wet, so I used a towel to dry it.

    Standing in front of the mirror, I couldn''t help but admire my own appearance once again.

    Yes, admiring my beauty has be a part of my daily routine now. This isn''t what people call narcissism, is it?

    Tiny water droplets were dripping down my chest down to my slim yet shredded waist, almost making my body sparkle.

    And then my eyes went up to my face. Ahh~ Slicking back my drenched hair, I smirked.

    "Mirror, mirror! Who''s the most beautiful in the world? Me~! ¡­Ahem!"

    Nope! That was cringe as hell. Never doing that again!

    After admiring my face, which I thought looked as if it had been sculpted by the gods, I turned my gaze to look at the living room couch.

    As soon as my sight fell on it, a red translucent screen that I was very familiar with appeared in my field of vision

    ===

    Item: Couch

    Status: Modified

    Ability: Cloud Cushion

    Condition: Good

    Rank: None

    Edit (Active): A couch that provides a feeling offort and support, as if the user is sitting on clouds.

    ===

    Yes, I used the red feathered pen on this couch.

    I know! I know! Out of all the things I could''ve tested my pen on, I decided to go for a couch!

    But there''s a reason. Not a solid one, but still a valid reason.

    The reason was that I didn''t know the capabilities of the red pen back then. I didn''t know what it could do.

    Yes, there was an envelope and my modified status screen telling me its use, but how could I trust something at face value?

    So, I decided to y it safe. I decided to test the pen on the safest thing I had in this apartment.

    And what''s safer than a couch, right? So I decided to test the pen and "Edit" the living room couch.

    It took one Edit Point for the Edit to finalize. Since I was given five free Edit Points at the start, after this test, I only had four left.

    Anyway, now I knew what the Pen could do.

    The red feathered pen can help me view the status of any object. And in that status screen, I will be given an Edit column.

    Anything that I write in that column would be true as long as I have enough Edit Points.

    Let''s look at that knife on the kitchen counter, for example.

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Kitchen Knife

    Status: Unable to modify. 1650 Edit Points are needed toplete the edit.

    Ability: None

    Condition: Rusting<novelnext></novelnext>

    Rank: None

    Edit (Discarded): Be a nuclear warhead.

    ===

    ¡­Yeah. I tried to turn a knife into a nuclear warhead. Aren''t I clever?

    Anyhow, as I exined, as long as I have enough Points, anything I write in the edit column can be true.

    Because I didn''t have enough Points to turn an ordinary knife into a nuclear warhead, my edit was ''Discarded.''

    The word ''Discarded'' will appear in front of the Edits that can''t be applied to an object.

    Besides that, this pen has many more functions. For example, I can also Edit the property of an object.

    Yesterday I lit a paper on fire and used the pen to extinguish it. I basically stripped the fire of its ''heat'' property, and it extinguished itself.

    In short, I can redefine the properties of existing items as long as I have enough points with me.

    I can alter their physical features. I can also reshape and reconstruct them.

    I can customize their properties, upgrade their overall capabilities, and even transform them into an entirely different type of item.

    That is, as long as I have enough Edit Points.

    One more thing, the closer an object is to the Edit that I desire to achieve, the fewer Edit Point I would have to spend.

    Let me rify. For example, if I wish to turn a normal kitchen knife into a sword, it would cost 20 Edit Points, whereas if I wish to turn a pillow into a sword, it would cost me more than 50 Edit Points.

    Simrly, the shape and size of an object also affect the cost of the Edit I want to achieve.

    For example, transforming a 5-inch big knife into a sword would cost me 20 Edit Points, whereas transforming a 3-inch knife would cost me more than 20 Edit Points.

    But even with all these limitations, this pen was seriously overpowered.

    Just imagine! I could create relics without being a cksmith! I could make high-quality potions without being an Alchemist! I could do anything!

    If I dare say so myself, this power was almost godlike.

    But for some reason, I was feeling frustrated more than feeling happy for reviving such an overpowered gift.

    I don''t know why I felt so, but I did.

    Anyway, I won''t talk about big-brain stuff anymore. There''ll be many opportunities for me to use this pen in the future.

    Oh, by the way, a new section named [Edit Points] was added to my status window the day I received this pen.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    Attack¡ú 20

    Defense¡ú 8

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 32

    ? uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 500/500

    Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú None

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Edit Pen ?Divine?

    Edit Points: 2

    ===========

    I only have two Edit Points left.

    One Edit requires at least one Point or more, depending on the extent of the Edit. The more bizarre the modification I want in an object, the more Points I need to have.

    One Point was used on the couch, and two Points were used on the fire experiment I performed.

    "Hmmm"

    But what made me worry was how to gain more Points. I mean, the way to obtain more Points was clearly written in the envelope that I received.

    I have to create an enjoyable enough story to entertain¡­ ''him.''

    It''s a no-brainer that the ''him'' in question was Joe¡ª the very man who shot me, killed me, and then made me reincarnate in his world.

    "Enjoyable story, huh?"

    Is my entire existence nothing more than a source of entertainment for him?

    If this deity truly holds the power of god and is watching over me, judging every move I make and every story I weave, then am I merely a pawn in his grand game of pleasure?

    Will my fate be determined by the whims of an all-seeing deity whose sole purpose is to be entertained by my life?

    Yeah, maybe this was the reason I was feeling so bitter the past few days.

    The realization that someone was using me for his own sick enjoyment sent a wave of anger crashing over me.

    I bit my thumbnail and came to a stern conclusion. I was going to do exactly what he wanted me to do.

    "Very well," I said through clenched jaws, my voice low and dangerous.

    "I will craft a story so mesmerizing, so filled with twists and turns, that it will leave you on the edge of your seat. And when it''s all said and done, when thest chapter is written, and the final page is turned, I''ll make sure you pay for your crimes. My revenge will be swift and unyielding, a relentless pursuit that will leave you nowhere to hide."

 Chapter 20 Introductions

    ?I was sitting in my regr spot, which was the seat beside the window.

    To pass the time, I was watching the students entering through the ssroom door like usual.

    It''s been five days since the academy started, and groups have already started forming among cadets.

    Ahh¡­ Friend groups¡­

    I still don''t have a single friend.

    Well, that''s to be expected since I was in the body of an assaulter, and not to mention I was also a disowned son of a prestigious family.

    To add insult to the injury, I was not ced very high in the rankings either.

    In simple words, other kids belonging to major backgrounds and elite families didn''t see me as worth their time.

    After all, I had neither political value nor individual strength to offer to them.

    Whilemoner kids also avoided me, most likely because of the rumors that I assaulted a girl back in high school.

    Haaa.

    Although I preferred solitude, I was never truly alone during my school or college years.

    In fact, I seemed to attract people and was often surrounded by others even when I did not desire theirpany.

    And although, as I said, I was not too fond of it, I was also used to it.

    So being ignored and getting treated like I was nothing but air by my ssmates was getting really annoying.

    Huh. Maybe deep down, I liked being the center of attention?

    Then again, at the risk of sounding contradictory, I was also enjoying the silence that I longed for in my previous life.

    Argh, calling it my ''previous life'' still feels weird.

    p¡ª! p¡ª!

    As I sat in silence, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, a loud pping sound interrupted my reverie.

    I turned towards the front of the ssroom to see a guy standing up, pping in an attempt to get everyone''s attention.

    He scanned the entire ss with his crimson-red eyes and after confirming that everyone''s attention was on him, he spoke

    "Everyone, now that we''ve spent some time with each other, shouldn''t we officially introduce ourselves?"

    The guy who spoke was someone whom I had been cautious around since the incident of weapon selection.

    It was Hugh Jass.

    -"Eh? Introductions? It''s already been five days. Is there any need to do that now?"

    Someone from the back voiced their opinion.

    Actually, everyone was thinking the same thing.

    It''s been five days since the Academy started, and during this time we have only engaged in light physical training and basic general knowledge sses.

    Groups have already begun to form and there is no need for introductions at this point

    Yet, Hugh shook his head. "I know it''s not our first day, but we''ve all been busy settling in. Now that we''re all feeling morefortable, I think it''s a good time for us to get to know each other better. So let''s take some time to introduce ourselves and get to know each other a bit more."

    Hmmm.

    Actually, what he said was not wrong.

    Our main sses will begin starting today, so it''s appropriate to consider today as our official first day.

    And from the looks of it, it seems that I wasn''t the only one who thought that.

    "Sure, let''s do that!"the one who said that was Nero Dekrauf, the protagonist. He practically jumped from his seat with an excited look on his face.

    Sigh¡­ To get excited over introductions¡­ He really was a weird protagonist.

    "Okay, I''m d everyone is on board. So I''ll go first!" Hugh said with a sincere smile on his face.

    To be honest, I was more than a little curious about this boy''s origins.

    Hugh Jass.

    No matter how much I try to remember, I couldn''t seem to recall a single instance of this name being mentioned in the web novel.

    If I presume that he was nothing more than a side character in the web novel, that''s why he wasn''t mentioned, then why is he actively taking part in the story now?

    During these past five days, I tried to investigate him to the best of my abilities.

    And by investigating him, I meant searching him up on social media¡­.

    What?

    You can''t expect me to go full-on Sherlock Holmes and investigate a stranger thoroughly when I myself am still trying to get ustomed to my new environment.

    "So my name is Hugh Jass-"

    Before Hugh could even get past his name, a couple of giggles broke out in the ssroom.

    "Pftt!" to be honest, even I was struggling to hold back myugh.

    How could he say his name with a straight face?!

    "Haha, I know it''s a funny name. Anyway, I''m 18 years old and I like to y video games. I am a sniper, and my preferred weapon is a handgun. I would like to get along with everyone. Thank you."

    After concluding his introduction with a short, respectful bow, Hugh sat back in his seat.

    Wow, his demeanor was sincere and he gave off a friendly vibe.

    I could see he will be popr in the future. However, that begs the question, why wasn''t he mentioned in the novel?

    Besides, the information he gave about himself was very basic. I can''t deduce any logical conclusion on his situation just from that.

    "Okay, I will go next!" following him, Nero stood on his spot. From the looks of it, he was very eager to start his introduction.

    "I''m Nero Dekrauf. I''m 18 years old and I like to¡­"

    I already knew his all about his character, so by extension, I knew what he liked and disliked.

    Yet, I kept listening to him to check whether what he said would match the contents of the web novel or not.

    Yes, it did.

    After Nero, one by one, the rest of the cadets stood up and introduced themselves.

    I made a mental note of what every main character spoke in their introductions, as some of them mentioned stuff that wasn''t originally told in the novel.

    The more I know about the main characters, the better it will be for me. Even if it''s a minute detail, I can''t let anything escape.

    Just like that, a few minutes passed and almost everyone was done introducing themselves.

    The ones left were only Quinn and me.

    When everyone turned their gaze to Quinn, he respectfully declined to participate in this little ss event.

    "Fuck off!" he said.

    With that, everyone turned their gaze to me.

    "Ahh," exhaling, I stood up and started my introduction. "My name is Lucas Morningstar. I''m 18 years old and I like to-"

    -"Make unwanted sexual advances toward girls!"

    Before I could finish, someone cut me off.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I must admit, I had a feeling this would happen. A sly smile spread across my face as I faced the young man who interrupted me.

    He was just an extra.

    But judging by his gleaming golden hair and costly outerments adorning his well-nourished form, it was clear that he hailed from a life of opulence and luxury.

    So he was a rich kid.

    After noticing me staring at him, the boy shot me a scowl.

    -"Wh-What? Why are you looking at me?"

    "Do you have a problem with me?"

    -"I-I¡­ It''s not just me. Everyone has a problem with you¨C"

    But this time, before he could finish, I cut him off. "Because if you do have a problem with me, then I would have to kindly ask you to write it down on a piece of paper."

    -"...Huh?"

    Of course, he was confused by my reaction. My smile grew wider as I said, "Yes. I want you to write down the problem you have with me on a piece of paper. Then I want you to roll it nice and tight and put it in your pocket since you seem to have something already shoved up your ass."

    -"..."

    I think it took him a minute to process what I said. And as expected, when it hit him, the boy got up from his seat.

    His face was red with rage and nerves were twitching on his forehead.

    -"You! What did you say to me?! Do you know who I am?! I am Chris Wright! The youngest son of the prestigious Wright family! How dare a nobody like you talk back to me like that?!"

    Aha! I was right! He was a rich kid.

    But I was only half right. He was not an extra. He was Chris Wright, belonging to the Wright family.

    Although he was not very active throughout the story, he was a recurring character with a haughty attitude that frequently caused minor annoyances for the protagonist and his allies.

    Like the Morningstar family that controls the western continent by serving under the Central Government as a ''ruling family,'' the Wright family controls the northern continent.

    The Wright family is also a military family, simr to the Morningstars. The heads of their family have often held high-ranking positions in the United Military.

    They are known as ''The Lions of the North'' for their role in the border wars against the vampires for all these years.

    But I could not give one fuck about all that.

    "So?" I shrugged. "If you truly hail from a prestigious family, you should be aware of how to conduct yourself. Was it not you who interrupted me during my introduction?"

    "You-" Chris was gritting his teeth in anger and appeared as if he was about tosh out at me, but at that moment, the door to the ssroom opened.

    Click¡ª

    Looking over, we saw it was our head instructor, Liz, who had entered the ssroom.

    Seeing that, Chris gave me an angry ''I will kill you next time!'' look and quietly sat back in his seat.

    Only then did I realize that all the eyes present in the ssroom were focused on us.

    Ahh, I made a fuss.

    Sighing and massaging my eyebrows, I too slumped back in my seat.

    "Get a grip. You are an adult, and these are kids." I told myself.

    Ding¡ª!

    [7 editor credits have been rewarded]

    To my surprise, a red translucent screen popped up in my vision the next moment.

    "...The fuck?"

    Acting out and making a fuss like a kid¡­ That''s what is deemed interesting?

    Wait¡­

    Right then, a thought hit me.

    I jerked my neck to the left and looked over at Chris Wright.

    He was sitting on his spot, clenching his fist while mumbling something to himself. His face was red due to the sheer amount of anger he was holding back.

    Ahh, I see now. I''ve triggered a young master.

    "ss, attention!"

    A booming voice swept over the ssroom and redirected everyone''s attention by force to its owner.

    Behind a podium on the raised tform that was ced at the front end of the ssroom stood Liz with her usual annoyed look stered on her face.

    After making sure everyone was paying attention to her, she began speaking.

    "Now that you have been at the academy for five days and have had a chance to be ustomed to your new surroundings, it is important to familiarize yourself with some rules.

    "Although the academy has provided you with a list of rules via email, I would like to exin one of the rules in more detail.

    "It is important to understand that, regardless of your background or any outside support you may have had, it will not matter at this academy."

    As she said that, Liz took a good look at every ''young lord'' and ''youngdy'' present in this ss. After a brief pause, she continued

    "Money won''t work here, so don''t bother trying to show off your family''s wealth to anyone in this city.

    "But now, a question arises, if money doesn''t work here, then how does this city''s economy function?

    "As you may already be aware, most of the city''s poption consists of cadets in training. As cadets, you will be expected to adhere to strict discipline. The reward and punishment system will be utilized to ensure that this discipline is maintained.

    "At the end of each month, you will be awarded ''merit points'' based on your academic performance of that month.

    "In addition, your academy rank will increase the total number of your merit points through the use of bonuses. The higher your rank, the greater the bonus applied to your merit points.

    "In this city, you can purchase nearly anything with enough merit points. This includes both basic necessities and luxurious items.

    "For the first month, everything in the city will be free. However, after the end of the month, you will need to earn ''merit'' and pay for everything you use.

    "There are many ways to earn merit points, such as doing well in training drills or selling mana beast parts to the academy and many more.

    "In contrast, there are only two ways of rising in academy ranks. The first is to perform well on semester-end exams and inbat tournaments. The second is to challenge a student one rank higher than you to a duel. If you win the duel, you will advance in rank.

    "This academy is designed to prepare you for service in the United Military by providing apetitive environment that helps you be stronger and more resilient.

    "In times of war, physical strength and resilience can be crucial for survival. By training hard and striving to be as strong as possible, you can increase your chances of sess in the military and in any challenges you may face."

    After causing the entire ss to fall silent with anxiety, Liz nonchntly continued speaking. "That''s all for the rules. Now let''s get to the roll call."

    Right, I remember that the Academy City used ''merit points'' as its currency.

    Sigh.

    I don''t know who came up with the idea to put thousands of young adult teens into one single city andpletely strip them of their backgrounds and wealth, but I admire the sadism.

    I couldn''t help but let a smile curl my lips, despite the weight of the grim future that loomed ahead.

    But at this moment, I allowed myself to revel in the excitement of what was toe.

    I knew that my time here would be filled with challenges, but I also knew that it would be a time I was going to enjoy.

    And so, I let the anticipation of what was toe wash over me, ready to embrace whatever came my way.

    Yeah, maybe I really am insane.

 Chapter 21 Sparring Session

    ?The world of [Chronicles of Legendary Heroes] is filled with wars, deaths, and tragedies.

    After all, the world is currently facing two extinction-level threats: Vampires onnd and Kalis in space.

    Over the course of seven centuries of warfare, the soldiers of the Union Military have developed several strategies for fighting against them.

    But even still, throughout the span of the first half of the novel, there were numerous wars with uncountable casualties.

    However, not all wars were fought against Vampires and Kalis.

    Nuh-uh.

    There were few instances when humans had to fight against elves, dwarves, and even fellow humans.

    Why, you may ask yourself? There were many reasons.

    First and foremost, Vampires canpel other races and control their minds. They can make you fight against your own kind.

    The second reason is the power struggle.

    Yes, power struggle.

    Since thest few years have been rtively peaceful and the world isn''t in any immediate unforeseen danger for now, the struggle for power has been presumed.

    People have started fighting themselves instead of the threats they should be focusing on.

    Yeah, I know¡ªfoolish power-hungry bastards.

    Anyway, the third reason was even more foolish: the difference in races.

    Elves are too prideful. Dwarves are too rude. And Humans are the greediest of them all.

    So needless to say, a few conflicts were unavoidable and one should be ready to fight at any given moment against anyone to maximize their chances of survival in this world.

    In simple words, my point is that a good cadet should be ready to face any kind of danger that''s thrown at them.

    That''s why, after Liz was done with our roll call, we were sent to the training field.

    Currently, we are going through a drill exercise called ''anti-personnelbat training,'' the first thing in the morning.

    Now I personally don''t have a problem with it, but it''s exhausting to move my body in the morning since I''m not a morning person.

    Anyway, it''s an hour-long ss where cadets spar against each other with their preferred choice of weapons.

    It doesn''t need to be the weapon they chose during the Weapon Selection; it could be anything.

    After all, a soldier should at least know how to get around using as many weapons as one can.

    They could use any martial arts as long as it''s not lethal. They could also not use mana in their attacks.

    So for that, everyone was gathered in the concrete training field and since it was technically our first day, we were using practice weapons.

    Practice weapons were made of wood and carbon fiber to make this ss a little less painful for the cadets.

    Looking around, I could see the main characters paired up against other main characters for this training drill session.

    Nero, the male lead, was sparring against Chase.

    Elijah was barely holding his own against Quinn.

    Aster was valiantly going up against Anastasia, the female protagonist, and so on.

    Ah, what a brilliant sight~

    Young cadets sparring against each other, bonding and enjoying themselves for a little while.

    Hmm? What about me, you ask?

    Haha. Funny story. I was paired up with Amelia. Yes, the girl Lucas tried to¡­ you know.

    "Ahem"

    Breaking the suffocating silence with a dry cough that was filling the gap between Amelia and me, I let out a wry smile.

    "So¡­ been a long time. What are you up to- Kyaaa!"

    Swish¡ª!

    Before I could spat some weird nonsense, an arrow brushed past my face.

    A red line formed under my right eye and a drop of blood coursed down my cheek.

    I couldn''t even follow her movements! When did she shoot?!

    And even if it was a practice arrow, it was ridiculously sharp! Was she aiming for my eye?!

    "Tsk, I missed." the ck-haired girl clicked her tongue in frustration.

    She was! She was totally aiming for my eye!

    shing a smirk, I jerked my head. Nothing left to do but face her head-on.

    Instantly, I knocked an arrow on my bow and-

    Swish¡ª!

    "Aeik!"

    ¡­And before I could even draw the string, another arrow shot past me, barely leaving my eye intact.

    It was so unexpectedly fast that it startled me and a girly shriek escaped my mouth¡­.

    "Do you want to take my eye out?!" I yelled.

    As she was enjoying watching me suffer, Amelia mockingly shrugged while feigning ignorance.

    "idents can happen," she said.

    "It''s not an ident if it''s intentional!" I barked at her in a ridiculing tone.

    Paying no mind to my wailing, Amelia knocked another arrow on her bow, drew the string, and quickly aimed at me.

    Widening my eyes, I drew back my bowstring too. Locking my target on her, I released the bowstring and shot my arrow at her.

    To counter, she too shot an arrow of her own at me.

    Damn she was fast.

    Tak¡ª

    Swish¡ª!

    I tried to duck and dodge her arrow but another cut appeared on my face. I was toote to react¨C No, instead she was too fast!

    Her precision was amazing! And despite being so fast to shoot, her aim was perfect.

    And if that wasn''t enough, she was quick on her feet too. Despite us shooting at the same time, she easily managed to avoid my arrow by tilting her head.

    Sigh¡­

    Even in the novel, Amelia was an amazing archer and a brilliant fighter.

    In one arc, she was poisoned by the vampires. Even when she was losing consciousness and all her senses were shutting down due to the effects of the poison, Amelia managed to hit all her targets and subdue her poisoners.

    Her talent in archery was only second to Anastasia, the female protagonist. And even that''s because Anastasia had a cheat.

    Even now, she was intentionally aiming slightly below my eye or else I would''ve ended up with only one eye by now.

    But even so! It doesn''t matter how good she was or how much of a big shot she would go on to be in the future; I can''t let her trample all over me!

    Even if her talent is second to only one in the whole world, I will not let her win this¨C

    Swish¡ª!

    "Aeik!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Arghh! Fine! She was now asking for it!

    Gritting my teeth, I started running in her direction.

    A sniper''s weakness is close-rangebat. That''s why they carry a secondary weapon with them.

    However, since this was merely a practice session, no one bothered to grab a secondary weapon.

    Not me though. I was smart. I knew something like this could happen, so I grabbed a dagger and concealed it under my right-hand sleeve!

    Muahahaha!

    I will close in on her, take my dagger out and-

    Swish¡ª!

    Thrub¡ª!

    "Arrgaaaaa!"

    Before I could even close half the distance, an arrow collided with my leg.

    Although it didn''t pierce through, it felt like I was hit by ten paintballs at once on a single point in my leg.

    "Did you bring a secondary weapon? Aren''t you smart?" Amelia shot a smirk, "But it''s all pointless if you can''t close the distance on me to use it."

    Baring my teeth and enduring the pain in my right leg, I got up. Throwing the bow to the side, I pulled out the dagger from under my sleeve.

    "Fine, I''ll y along." With a bored expression stered on her face, Amelia shrugged and threw her bow aside too.

    As if I was no threat to her whatsoever, she started walking toward me.

    Oh, she shouldn''t have done that.

    An archer allowing their opponent to close the distance is akin to them digging their own grave.

    A taunting grin formed on her face as she came face to face with me.

    Does she think she can beat me in close range?

    I admit Lucas wasn''t the strongest or the toughest, but this guy was still elite.

    Despite his cking off most of the time, he was trained in various kinds of martial arts since childhood.

    So there was no way I would lose to an archer in closebat.

    And besides, I was up against a girl. The difference in our gender''s evolutionary biology has already given me an edge over her!

    Thinking that my victory was already assured, I gripped my dagger hard in my right hand and swung it directly at her neck.

    If she were to duck, I would hit her in the face with a knee.

    If she were to block by hand, I would hit her with a kick to her open side.

    And if she grabbed my hand, I would twist her grip, pull her close, and clutch her in a submission lock.

    Yes! How do you like this, you arrogant bitch?! This is my perfect victory-

    Kwoosh¡ª!

    "...Huh?"

    Thwack¡ª!

    For a second, the whole world turned upside down and I saw my dead grandma looking down on me from heaven.

    Then the next second, everything turned ck. When my vision returned, excruciating pain spread all over my body.

    "Arghkk!"

    It seems like using my own momentum against me, Amelia managed to flip me over her shoulder.

    Huh¡­ it was a blunder on my part.

    "Arghh fuck-"

    -Krwuush!

    However, before I could get my pain-stricken body to get up and move, Amelia held my right hand and locked me into an armbar submission lock.

    Ahh, fuck!

    Over-the-shoulder flip followed up by an armbar! She was using Jiu-jitsu!

    An archer was using modern martial arts at close range?! Fuck, fuck, fuck! I didn''t think of this!

    There was no such thing mentioned in the novel since Amelia never had to disy her closebat skills!

    "Arghhhhaaa!"

    It felt like my arm was going to be ripped off.

    And knowing how much Amelia hated Lucas even in the novel, I had no doubts that she would actually break my arm if I let this drag on.

    No, no, no! I don''t want that!

    "Submit!" while I was locked in an armbar submission lock, Amelia''s cold voice fell into my ears.

    Submit? Was she asking me to tap out and admit defeat?! Hell no!

    As if she had read my mind, Amelia bent her back and doubled the intensity of the armbar.

    "Arghhhha!"

    "Tap out, you bastard!"

    "Arghhahaha! Let go, you bitch!"

    I was struggling for my dear life. But as if hell-bent on making me suffer, Amelia didn''t let loose the grip on my arm.

    Fine! She wants to y it that way?

    Using my left hand, I grabbed one of her legs that was holding my right arm in ce.

    Then I pulled her leg to my face and using all the strength I had in me, I bit her leg¡­.

    "Heik! E! W-What the hell?! Let go! Let go! Let go! You pervert!" she started squeaking.

    Now she was the one who was struggling for her dear life!

    "Shu let gho pasht! (You let go first!)" gnashing on her leg, I shot back.

    My strange action had turned the surroundings silent.

    Was everyone watching us?! Eh, but I had no time to think about it!

    For now, all my focus was on this leg! This leg! I will eat it off! I swear I will eat it off!

    "T-This is a warning, Lucas! Let go! I said, LET GO, YOU BASTARD!"

    I will eat this leg piece today, even if it''s thest thing I do! I''ll eat it down to the bone!

    "Y-You!" grabbing the bow she threw away earlier by reaching it with one of her hands, Amelia raised it up, intending to hit me with it.

    In my vision, I saw a wooden bow speeding toward my face.

    ''Ah fuck.''

    Once again, I saw my dead grandma in the clouds. She was waving her hand at me from heaven.

    I have no recollection of what happened after that.

 Chapter 22 Additional Class

    ?Ding¡ª!

    [7 editor points have been rewarded]

    A dull ache kept pounding in my skull as I walked through the corridors of the academy.

    "Ahh, Amelia, that bitch," I cursed the person responsible for my current state and began massaging my forehead in an attempt to alleviate the pain. "She didn''t even hold back."

    -"Ahahaha! Look, it''s him!"

    -"Aren''t the Morningstars called wolves of the west?"

    -"Some wolf he is! Getting owned by an archer girl in closebat!"

    -"The way he was biting her leg, he looked more like a dog than a wolf! Hahahaha!"

    As I made my way from the infirmary to my next ss, I overheard some of my ssmatesughing and mocking me.

    Well, I kind of expected it to happen anyway.

    "Tsk, damn these third-rate novel extras!"

    To be honest, I can''t me them. I did lose pitifully.

    Still, these people who are making fun of me right now won''t be able to hold their own against a main character of Amelia''s caliber for more than a few seconds!

    So in that aspect, I did pretty well since Isted for more than five minutes, right?

    Arghh!

    Who am I kidding? It was bad! It was very, very bad! I think it''s a cue for me to start building my strength immediately.

    I mean I wouldn''t have lost if I had been going all out by using my armor and Edit Pen but still¡­.

    Even if I have a divine armor that has made me nigh-invincible, that''s all I have.

    This was merely a spar.

    However, in a real battle where I have to put my life on the line in order to survive, I would die if I had no offensive strength.

    After all, you can''t win if you solely y on defense. And on a battlefield, if you don''t win, you die.

    "Hmmm"

    Putting my hand to my chin, I started thinking of ways to boost my strength.

    If I remember correctly, there may be a few ways that I can use to get stronger.

    Of course, it won''t be an easy task.

    Since I won''t be stealing any cheat item unlikest time, I was going to struggle quite a bit.

    What will I do, you''re wondering?

    I''ll work hard.

    How do I n to do that?

    Before I answer that, let me tell you this:

    Centuries ago, when mana started flowing in this world, people found quite a lot of ways to harness its power.

    The first was very simple. They used mana as a clean, unlimited energy source.

    The second way was even better. They used it to bend thews of the mortal world and achieve supernatural phenomena, calling it magic.

    However, some people also discovered a third way to use mana.

    Mana, in theory, was a very simr energy to ''Qi'' of ancient martial arts of China.

    I mean, of course there were differences between the two, but mana could also be used to strengthen one''s body like ''Qi'' in martial arts.

    Not only that, but if paired with martial techniques, one could achieve devastating results by using mana in the same manner as ''Qi.''

    Thus, the arrival of mana brought one more thing along with it¡ª the revival of ancient Chinese martial arts.

    Now although the academy itself will provide martial techniques to cadets in the future, I won''t be counting on them to make me very strong.

    I have my reasons.

    First, the technique they will allot me will at best be a Low-grade Lvl. 2 technique.

    After all, they will provide level 5¡ª the highest level of techniques, only to their top cadets.

    Second, the first arc of the novel, the ''ss wars'' arc, was about to start soon.

    At the near end of this first arc, the duel between Lucas and Nero will happen.

    It''s already March 6 and the duel was supposed to happen on March 31.

    And I don''t think I can face Nero with some low-level weapon art. Hence, I needed strength to assure my safety in theing days.

    Of course, I will be taking every safety measure from my side to avoid the duel as much as I can.

    As a wise man once said, ``A fight avoided is a fight won."

    I will not needlessly beat any girl as Lucas did in the novel. I will also not be acting out like a trashy young master.

    In fact, I will do everything opposite to what Lucas did in the novel!

    Yes, I will be the exact opposite character of Lucas in the novel!

    I will be generous, kind, cheerful, and forgiving until March 31.

    However, even if I do all that, I still need to be prepared in case the duel does happen.

    Only a fool would not ready himself for the worst-case scenario.

    As the saying goes¡ª a sailor is always prepared for a storm while setting sail in the ocean.

    ?

    Now, in this world, there are thousands of military academies.

    But only two of them are considered the best of the best¡ª Global Academy and Ethereal Academy.

    One may ask, why is that?

    Are their instructors war veterans?<novelnext></novelnext>

    Do they provide the best equipment and state-of-the-art training facilities?

    Do the soldiers trained by them go on to be the finest on the battlefield?

    The answer is all of the above and more.

    Besides their good record and war veteran instructors, Global Academy and Ethereal Academy provide one more crucial thing.

    They teach their cadets not only to fight but also to survive.

    After all, as long as even one soldier is standing, the war won''t be over.

    Anyway, since they teach their cadets how to survive, they also provide them alternatives for after their survival.

    Let me exin.

    ording to thew passed by the Central Government, any individual who can use mana has to serve in the United Military for a mandatory time period of 4 years.

    But the majority of the people remain in the military even after serving their mandatory 4 years.

    Why?

    Because they are trained to be soldiers as soon as they turn 18-19 till they turn 21-22 in military academies.

    And after that, they are thrown into the battlefield for the next 4 years of their life.

    That''s 7 years of their life gone.

    In short, most people who can use mana spend their whole youth being a soldier.

    They don''t know how to do anything else but fight in wars and follow orders.

    But top-tier military academies like Global Academy and Ethereal Academy let their cadets dream of a normal life after their mandatory service time.

    They do that by making their cadets opt for an additional subject to study.

    That way, after their time in the military, they can create their own careers and lead normal lives.

    You can think of it as additional sses in college or something.

    And the variety of these additional subjects is huge.

    They range from simple cooking and baking sses to moreplex ones like robotics and engineering lessons.

    Anything that can help cadets build their life after their time in the military is provided here at Global Academy.

    That''s one of the reasons why every parent in the world wants their children to attend either of the top two academies.

    However, the world is a cruel ce.

    To enroll in the Global Academy, one needs to either have exceptional talent or a rich family background.

    Since the enrollment fees alone are worth a whopping billion credits, not everyone can afford to enroll here.

    And the same goes for Ethereal Academy too.

    Well that''s to be expected since these academies need to maintain a pretty big fund to keep on functioning the way they function.

    Ahh, that reminds me, even though Lucas is disowned by his family, the fees for his 3-year course in the Global Academy are already paid for in advance.

    Not only that, but I, on paper, can still carry the family name of Morningstar.

    Huh, even though from my memories I could tell Reynold wasn''t really fond of his son, I think he still couldn''t bring himself to cut him offpletely.

    Ahem, anyway, currently I was standing in front of my additional subject ssroom.

    In the novel, Lucas opted for robotics. He was put in the same ss as Nero, the protagonist.

    He onceshed off at one of his ssmates there and Nero witnessed that scene.

    From there, Nero''s impression of Lucas worsened.

    So I decided to change that.

    No, I won''t try to change the impression Lucas left on him.

    Nuh-uh.

    Instead, I willpletely avoid the protagonist like a scared little cat.

    So I decided to change the plot once again and chose a subject Lucas could''ve never even thought about choosing in the novel.

    I chose cooking!

    I know, I know!

    It''s not the most exciting ss, but that''s precisely why I opted for it.

    Since there were quite a few main characters in the novel, not all of them were deeply explored in the early chapters.

    As such, I don''t know what everyone took as their additional subject except for a few handfuls of them.

    And that''s why I decided to avoid taking any ss that could bring me closer to the main cast of the novel.

    So what better ss to attend than cooking to avoid the named characters?!

    A nd and easy ss where no drama can''t ever happen! In other words, it''s a ss for total extras and side characters!

    Hah! Aren''t I a genius?

    Smiling thoughtlessly while appreciating my intellect, I grabbed the doorknob of the ssroom door and twisted it open.

    Click¡ª!

    And entering the ssroom, the first thing I saw was a crowd of around 120 first-year cadets filling the room.

    It was a joint lesson thatbined two first-year sses so there were bound to be many people present here.

    However, one face among the crowd of first-year cadets stood out like a sore thumb.

    "Ahh fuck."

    Amelia ck. It seems like I won''t be able to run from here now.

    Ding¡ª!

    [9 editor points have been rewarded]

 Chapter 23 Mana Theory [1]

    ?Ding¡ª!

    [3 Edit Points have been rewarded]

    "Did you choose this ss purposefully?"

    After my additional subject ss ended, I was confronted by Amelia.

    As fate would have it, I chose the same ss as her.

    Honestly, fate is such a prude little bitch.

    Anyway, currently, in an almost empty kitchen ssroom, Amelia was standing right in front of me.

    Her silky raven ck hair, whichplimented her fairplexion, was tied into a bun while her emerald eyes, which appeared to have a shine of their own, were staring deep into my soul.

    "Ahem," with a dry cough, I suppressed my nervousness and answered. "What do you mean?"

    Narrowing her eyes, Amelia doubled the intensity of her gaze at my answer. From her look I could guess that she was clearly trying to hold her anger back.

    Oof! If only looks could kill.

    "Just know this, I''m not the same weak girl as back then. If you try to pull anything, I will certainly bring you down. And this time, Morningstars won''t be able to save you."

    Without bothering to even wait for my response, Amelia turned around and left through the door.

    "Not the same weak girl, huh?"

    No one knows it better than me.

    Amelia was one of the most developed characters till volume 7.

    In her shback arc, she was described as a shy, timid girl.

    She attended the same middle school as Lucas. When she was 14, he tried to force himself on her.

    Because Lucas belonged to the ruling family of the western continent, there was no legal action taken against him.

    That event made Amelia realize how weak and powerless she really was in this world. It inflicted severe trauma on her for years toe.

    Even though she changed schools, that incident still haunted her in her dreams.

    "There is no justice in this world unless we make it," she thought to herself.

    To ovee that trauma, Amelia pursued strength. After discovering her talent with the bow, she became more confident in herself.

    From a daughter of a small-time businessman, she went on to be the second-greatest archer of all time.

    Prior to the events of the final war, she pushed back the army of 50 thousand vampires alone for seven whole minutes.

    The seven minutes that she bought wereter proven to be crucial for the reinforcements to arrive.

    Although she lost her life in the process, she made her name known to the whole world.

    Amelia ck, the girl who sought justice, was hailed as one of the greatest war heroes to have ever lived.

    So I know just how right she was when she said she isn''t the same weak girl as back then anymore.

    However, she was still not strong enough.

    Even in the novel, if she''d been only a little bit stronger, she could''ve lived and helped during the final war.

    If that would''ve happened, thousands of more people could''ve survived the war.

    "Haaa, whatever."

    The final war won''t be happening anytime soon so it''s pointless for me to think about it right now.

    After letting out an exhausted sigh, I went and exited the kitchen ssroom for my next ss.

    ?

    "Mana, as you all may know already, allows one to bend thews of the universe and grant them the power to make the impossible happen."

    And it was time for the ss I had been waiting for this whole week!

    Starting today, cadets will be learning about mana theories! Yay!

    Mana and magic¡ª the base of most fantasy! Needless to say, I was more than excited to learn about it.

    Although most of the cadets present here already know what mana is and how to manipte it to control elements, our instructor, Liz, still decided to go over the basics.

    "Now, I know many of you present here have already learned a spell or two, so you all may know this, but can someone tell me what exactly manipting mana can let you aplish?"

    A few hands raised when Liz asked that question and without dy, she picked one of the cadets who raised their hand to answer.<novelnext></novelnext>

    -"Manipting mana lets us control elements of nature like fire, water, wind, and earth. It can also strengthen our body to inhumane levels and let us aplish feats unheard of in the past."

    Wow, that was a perfect answer. But it looks like Liz had something more to add to it.

    "True, but mana grants us much more than the ability to control elements. Aside from controlling the basic elements, you can control their variables. Now, who can tell me what variables are?"

    Again, as soon as Liz shot a question, many hands were raised instantly.

    With a satisfactory smile, Liz again picked her own protege, Nero, to answer.

    "Each of the basic elements has a higher version of itself. These ''higher versions'' are called variables.

    "One element can have more than one variable and individuals with affinity to two or more elements can sometimes unlock apletely new variable.

    "For example, the variable of fire is lightning. But the earth has two variables¡ª metal and gravity. Also, if you mix earth element with fire, you''ll create a new variable¡ª magma."

    After concluding his answer, Nero slightly bowed and sat back in his seat.

    "As expected, brilliantly answered," Lizmented.

    It was clear that she was showing favoritism towards Nero. But well, his answer was indeed beautifully summed up.

    "Anyway, as I was saying, while mana grants us the ability to control elements of nature and their variables, we can control so much more than that.

    "For example, people born with an affinity toward light can control light, and the same for the people born with an affinity for darkness.

    "Both light and darkness are not rted to nature. As such, both of these elements have so many unknown variables.

    "For example, I use darkness to manipte the souls of the dead. Some darkness users can even use necromancy. Whereas some light element users can move at the speed of light, bend it, and use healing magic."

    At this point, half of the ss was in awe.

    Although all of the things which Liz just said were widely known facts, it doesn''t make these things any less amazing.

    Also since affinities for light and darkness are rare, most of the cadets present here don''t have it.

    As such, they will never be able to achieve the feats Liz was talking about.

    Oh, by the way, fun fact¨C Lucas was born with an affinity for light.

    But of course, the elements of light and darkness are hard to train as much as they are rare. So Lucas never once learned a light spell.

    Sigh, he was truly an example of wasted potential.

    "Anyway, for now, let''s end here with theories and start practicing some real magic."

    As soon as Liz spoke those words, the whole ss started beaming with excitement.

    "Now, those of you who have already learned some spells,e forward. Those who have yet to learn, remain seated."

    And just as we were instructed, a handful of cadets got up from their seats and walked down toward the podium where Liz was.

    Since Lucas had learned two basic spells beforeing here, I too got up from my seat and started moving.

    "Hmmm," after counting the number of the students who got up and came forward, Liz nodded.

    "Okay. Those who haven''t yet learned any spells, I will personally give you all some basic spells ording to your elemental affinity." Liz took out a few scrolls from her dimensional bracelet as she said that.

    After that, she started distributing those paper scrolls among the cadets who were still sitting.

    Most of the cadets who didn''t get up weremoners. Even Amelia and Anastasia were sitting.

    It''s no surprise since spells are filthy expensive. Only rich families could ever hope to afford them.

    As I''ve exined before, there are multiple ways to cast magic spells¡ª drawing, hand signs, chanting etc.

    Of course, one can''t mimic a spell merely by reciting a chant they overheard or redrawing a rune they saw somewhere.

    No, to cast spells, one must not only know the meaning of those chants, drawings, or hand signs, but one must also know the particr way they have to move their mana in order to create a sessful spell.

    "Learn the spells written in these scrolls by next week. Since you all can already move mana within your bodies, spell casting won''t be very difficult. Thenguage written in these scrolls is High Elven. It''s very simr to Latin and it''s tranted word by word in these scrolls for you all to grasp easily."

    After allotting spell scrolls to the rest of the ss, Liz turned toward the ones who were standing.

    "Now then, you all. Since you all have already learned to cast spells, show me the best you can do."

    I couldn''t help but sigh after hearing those words from Liz.

    However, the rest of the cadets standing beside me didn''t react so calmly. They were confused.

    -"Show you? You mean hit you?" from my left, someone asked.

    In reply, Liz nodded. "Yes, hit me with your best spell one by one."

 Chapter 24 Mana Theory [2]

    ?The ssroom was spacious, with ten rows of seats arranged in an ascending pattern.

    At the front of the room was a small stage, on which stood a podium. The distance between the stage and the rows of seats was quiterge.

    At the risk of sounding repetitive, I''ll say this again, the ss was quite spacious.

    So there was no problem if cadets were to use basic magic spells inside the ssroom.

    But our instructor, Liz Snyder, didn''t just ask us to use spells. No, she asked us to hit her with spells.

    There were around 20 cadets standing with me, and everyone looked pretty baffled.

    It was clear that these poor souls had no idea what to do and how to respond to this absurd order.

    Should they really hit her with magic spells? What if something happens?

    Sure, Liz was strong. She was a Section Commander, which is like the second highest rank a soldier can achieve in the military, and an ?Immortal? ranked warrior.

    No way a bunch of kids with very little to no prior martial arts or magic education could injure her.

    But their worries were understandable.

    Offensive spells, even the most basic ones, are extremely lethal.

    To understand the logic, you canpare offensive spells to hot weapons of modern times like guns.

    If a person with a bulletproof vestes up to you and asks you to shoot them, you wouldn''t immediately agree to it, right?

    Exactly.

    Although everyone present here knew that they couldn''t hurt Liz, they were still hesitant to follow her order.

    Of course, for every cadet who was hesitant or confused to act on Liz''s orders, there were also some who weren''t all that panicked.

    These people were the ones with firsthand battle experience¡ª Nero and Quinn. Both of them had already started to circte mana in their body.

    For the record, I wasn''t hesitating either.

    That''s because I had two reasons.

    First, I was excited to use a magic spell!

    Although I had Lucas'' memories of him learning and using magic during his childhood, ''I'' myself had yet to try it.

    Second, I knew how much of a monster Liz was. It would be a miracle if anyone in this city¡ª cadets and instructors alike¡ª could even scratch her.

    "O'' nevae, wenta!"

    From my right, the first one to finish conjuring his spell was Quinn.

    Quinn had his right palm facing toward Liz. He had no expression on his face as he yelled out his chant in elven tongue.

    I don''t know the grade of the spell but since Quinn had only had an affinity for darkness, it was bound to be a shadow-type spell.

    And in the next moment, I was proven right.

    Quinn''s right hand was engulfed in pitch-ck darkness, almost like it was shrouded in shadow.

    Kzzzzz¡ª!

    In an instant, the formless shadow transformed into a pitch-ck snake and lunged at Liz.

    With its gaping maw and intent to devour Liz, the shadow snake bore its dark fangs at her.

    Of course, Liz wasn''t just standing there waiting to be attacked, though. She channeled mana into her right index finger and raised her hand in preparation.

    In the next second, Liz made a quick downward swipe with her finger through the air.

    Swoosh¡ª

    One sh.

    With just one sh of her index finger, Liz was able to dispel the shadow snake before it could even reach her.

    "Tsk!" Quinn clicked his tongue in frustration.

    Although he had expected this, and this wasn''t the strongest spell in his arsenal, to think someone would dispel his shadow magic without any effort.

    p¡ª p¡ª

    "Waaaa! As expected of masta~" While Quinn was grumping, Nero started apuding.

    No, he wasn''t impressed by his master''s performance or anything. Rather, he knew she was just trying to act cool, so he interrupted her performance to irritate her.

    "You brat," with eyebrows twitching in annoyance, Liz gritted her teeth. "I''ve told you not to call me that during academy hours. Now,e forth."

    "Sure, sure~ I''ll keep that in mind¡­ masta~."

    While continuing to irritate her further, Nero stepped forward and started speaking in high elven.

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    At the same time, using his right hand to mimic a handgun, Nero pointed his index and middle fingers at Liz.<novelnext></novelnext>

    From all around his surroundings, particles of light started to cluster at the tip of Nero''s ''handgun.''

    The whole ss brightened up. It looked like Nero had created a mini sun at the tip of his fingers.

    The cluster of blinding light was about to break and shoot at Liz when¡­.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    With a quick, panicked swipe of her finger, Liz dispelled Nero''s magic.

    She had a look of disbelief on her face when she yelled, "When did you learn this?!"

    "Huh?" confused, Nero looked at Liz like he was looking at a mad woman. "Weren''t you the one who asked me to learn this spell?"

    It was true.

    A few months ago, prior to Nero''s enrollment in Global Academy, Nero asked his master, Liz, to provide him with some high-grade spells.

    Liz, of course, avoided that request, but Nero kept pushing it.

    In the end, Liz handed Nero a mid-grade light elemental spell and asked him to master it.

    Light element, much like Dark element, is a tricky one. On top of that, Nero, who was on ?Silver-1? rank, could only dream of mastering a light elemental mid-grade spell.

    Unfortunately for Liz, Nero was the ''protagonist'' of this world. Achieving something impossible was his normal Tuesday routine.

    In the span of 2 months, Nero managed to master a mid-grade light elemental spell and left his master puzzle¡­ once again.

    Facepalming, Liz didn''t even know how to act in this situation.

    Shaking her head, she said, "Fine, go back to the line. Next cadet, step forward."

    "Huh!! What do you mean by ''fine''?! You should say something like: `Good job, dear handsome disciple! I''m lucky to have you as my protege!"

    At Nero''s response, a nerve quivered on Liz''s forehead, but thetter managed to calm her temper down quickly.

    With a dead scary smile, Liz said, "Do you not love your life anymore, dear handsome disciple? Want me to end it for you?"

    A chill ran down Nero''s spine. He quickly straightened his back and yelled before getting back in line. "No ma''am! Sorry ma''am!"

    Everyone was just as confused as the person beside them. No one knew how to react to this.

    Should they be more surprised at the fact that a mere 18-year-old cadet mastered a mid-grade light elemental spell or at the fact that Liz easily dispelled a mid-grade spell with one finger?

    Dispelling a magic spell is very simple in theory but very hard when applied practically.

    To dismiss a magic spell cast by someone else, you need to overwhelm the area they had cast their magic spell on with your own magic power¡ª mana.

    Sounds simple right?

    However, simple doesn''t mean easy.

    There are two restrictions to dispelling a magic spell.

    First, you need to ''overwhelm'' the area with your mana where the opponent has cast their magic on.

    To do this, you must keep a few things in mind.

    You need to predict the exact location the spell is being cast on by your opponent.

    It would be best if you had a bigger mana pool than your opponent because dispelling takes a lot more mana than spell casting.

    If your opponent has cast a spell of opposite elemental affinity to yours, you''ll need to overwhelm them with sixty times more mana they had used.

    Meaning, if your affinity is with fire and someone has cast a water spell, you''ll need to use sixty times more mana than they have used in order to cancel whatever spell they''ve cast.

    You''ll also need to be wary of the ''area of dominance.''

    ''Area of dominance'' refers to the area where a mage has absolute control over mana.

    Everyone who can manipte mana has an area of dominance around their own body because no one can control mana inside someone else''s body. It''s a naturalw.

    As a result, no one can cast a spell inside someone else''s body because that area is under theplete control of the person it belongs to. Only they can manipte the mana in their own body.

    Additionally, the closer a spell is being cast to someone''s area of dominance, the less control others have over that area.

    So, if I cast a spell close to my body, it would be really difficult for someone else to dispel it because it''s close to my area of dominance.

    By training, it''s possible to expand one''s area of dominance and create a ''domain'' where only they can cast spells. However, doing this is very, very challenging.

    The second thing to keep in mind is:

    It is advised to cancel someone''s magic spell before it is fully materialized.

    For example, if I cast an earth bullet spell, dispelling it after the earth bullet has been created would be nearly impossible since mana has already taken a physical shape.

    Yet, Liz managed to do both of those things.

    She nullified a magic spell that was opposite of her affinity (she has an affinity towards darkness), and she also canceled two spells AFTER they materialized.

    Truly, she''s the very definition of ''defyingmon sense.''

 Chapter 25 Mana Theory [3]

    ?A few minutes passed since Liz asked us to show her our best spells. One by one, cadets stepped forward and disyed their magical abilities.

    Since most of them were young lords or youngdies of prestigious families, their spells were impressive, to say the least.

    In the web-novel, this wasn''t an event that dragged on for too long. It was over in a paragraph.

    I remember reading Liz asking cadets to show her their spells and Nero surprising everyone with his mid-grade light elemental spell.

    That was it. It was barely a 2-3 lines long scene.

    But now, when I was ''experiencing'' it, the scene that was supposed to end in 2-3 lines was taking much longer to y out.

    Things like these couldn''t help but make me wonder, is this life real? Is this world real?

    It''s not some borate, high-end illusion, right?

    I have spent over a few weeks in this world but I still couldn''t believe that I was inside a novel.

    Most of the things that will happen, most of the things that have happened, and most of the things that are happening, I know them all.

    I know these characters and their feelings. I know their fate and I know their future. I know them better than they know themselves.

    And because I know all this, I know this world is destined for doom.

    The irony is, precisely because I know all this, I am the only one who can change the course of the story and correct the mistakes before they can even happen.

    ¡­But although I do say that, there are also many things about this world that I don''t know.

    Like how this story would end, for example.

    All I know from reading till volume 7 is that most of the world will be destroyed in the next few years. So I doubt this story was supposed to have a happy ending.

    Aside from that, there are still many things that I have no idea about.

    Like¡­ why is there a character that the novel didn''t mention?

    I turned my gaze to the right and nced at the cadets patiently sitting in their seats.

    They were the bunch who had not learned any spells yet. That indicated that they all belonged tomon families.

    While sweeping my nce across them, my eyes stopped at one particr face.

    It was a handsomely chiseled face of a boy with dark hair and pretty scarlet eyes. That boy was peculiar in more ways than one.

    Hugh Jass. A character that was not mentioned in the novel, yet he was actively taking part in the ss.

    He was a huge mystery to me. A big question mark. An unexpected variable.

    But at least one thing was clear.

    "He''s sitting. That means he''s from amon family."

    In the world of [Chronicles of Legendary Heroes], the world is owned and run by the Central Government.

    Even the Union Military has to answer to the Central Government.

    There are 12 seats in the Central Government but logically speaking, 12 people alone can not run the whole world, can they?

    To deal with that, the Central Government bestowed governmental titles to four families¡ª essentially giving them the authority to rule over certain parts of the world.

    These titles are inherited within families and passed down through generations. The families who hold these titles are known as "Ruling Houses."

    It is worth noting that new Ruling Houses can only be established if a current ruling house ispletely wiped out or removed from power by the Central Government.

    The four families with governmental titles are:

    The Morningstar house which oversees the Western Continent.

    The Wright house that rules the Northern Continent.

    The Netyoive house that governs the Southern Continent.

    And the Verm?r house that supervises the Eastern Continent.

    These are the four ruling houses of the world. They all possess authority only secondary to the Central Government.

    These Ruling Houses have many ''Vassal Families'' that serve under them. Those vassal families are also called noble families.

    Aside from these few elite families, all other people are calledmoners, and their families are calledmon families.

    It''s a chainmand system that is very simr to aristocracy, but it doesn''t have any major ws.

    Not to mention, this kind ofmand system is highly efficient in a time ofary-level war like the one we are in right now.

    Of course, it doesn''t give people much freedom like democracy, but as someone said: `Freedom and youth are the first victims of war.`

    "Lucas Morningstar! Stop daydreaming and step forward at once!"

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was an enraged shout. It was Liz. She was yelling at me for some reason.

    I looked at her cluelessly and said, "Yes?"

    "Can''t you hear me calling for you?!" She yelled back at me.

    "...You called?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "...Yes! You''re thest one remaining! Come forward and disy your spell!"

    "Ah¡­"

    Looking around, I found I was indeed thest one remaining. Without much dy, I nodded and stepped forward.

    I was a little nervous. I haven''t used a single magic spell till now. I had tried moving mana from my body but that was all.

    I knew what to do and how to use magic spells from Lucas'' memories but I had yet to execute my knowledge into practicality.

    Shaking my head, I cleared away my nervousness. I had nothing to worry about. If something goes wrong, then Liz will handle it.

    After intently nodding my head once, I closed my eyes.

    "Fuuu"

    I took several long deep breaths and focused on my abdomen region, precisely around my sr plexus.

    Soon I felt a warm feeling surging out, almost as if it was replying to my call.

    I guided that feeling to my right hand before raising it up and pointing my open palm at Liz.

    In my mind, I imagined a ball of fire forming in front of my open palm. As I did so, mana started pouring out of my hand.

    ording to my memories, this was the right time to chant and cast the spell.

    In a low voice, I quickly muttered, "Ignis Rateom."

    And almost as if waiting for that cue, a sphere of zing red and orange fire quickly lit up before my palm.

    I opened my eyes and willed the fireball to shoot at my target, the dark violet-haired instructor in front of me, with all my might.

    Swoosh¨C!

    Sure enough, the sphere of fire heed mymand and shot at Liz with breakneck speed.

    Thwash¨C!

    In response, Liz quickly raised her arm up high and struck it down as if she was doing a karate chop and broke my fireball in half, diminishing the mes that I had created with ease.

    "That''s it?" She looked at me and asked.

    "Huh?" Confused, I cocked my head a little to the side.

    Was she mocking me?!

    "Nevermind," she shook her head. "Your mana control is good. It''s a shame you decided to waste all that talent."

    "Th-Thanks?"

    So she wasn''t mocking me? I''ll take that as praise.

    "Go back to your seats, all of you."

    After an awkward exchange of words, Liz asked us to get back to our seats with a gesture of her hand.

    After everyone settled down, she started exining, "Well, there are two things I would like to address.

    "First, starting next week, we''ll apply the magic theories we''re going to learn in this ss tobat training ss. So till then, I want all of you to familiarize yourself with magic casting fully. Practice the spells I gave you today.

    "Second, after this ss, you all will be assigned into groups of five via text messages that you''ll receive on your smart bracelets."

    Wait¡­

    Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

    This! This is the thing I was forgetting!

    "The group you''ll be put into will be your ''Unit,'' and you''ll perform group drill exercises together. Once assigned, you''ll be part of this unit until graduation. You''ll be awarded merit points based on your synergy andradeship with other members of your group, so get to know each other.

    "Also, those of you who can use magic spells will have to help the members of your group who can''t. Remember, this will affect the merit points you''ll get. Don''t think you can trick us because our AI will be monitoring you all through your smart bracelets all the time. That''s all. ss dismissed."

    Arghhh!

    Why?

    Why does fate love to y such twisted jokes on me?

    Why does god hate me so much?! What did I ever do to you, god?!

    I knew who the people in my unit were going to be, and I was not a bit happy about it.

    I mean, I decided to avoid interacting with the main characters when I came here. How am I supposed to do that now?!

    Ding¡ª!

    Right when I was in the middle of cursing the universe, the smart bracelet on my wrist rang as a notification popped up on it.

    Touching the screen, I opened the text message. As I did so, tears formed around the corner of my eyes.

    "I don''t know when, but one day I''ll kill the author of this story¡­ and I''ll enjoy it."

 Chapter 26 Group Chat

    ?[Cadet Lucas Morningstar, rank 116969, has been assigned to be part of ss 1-A-1''s 18th unit.

    The other members of your unit will be:

    ?Rank 122212, Kent Takeahint

    ?Rank 000025, Nero Dekrauf

    ?Rank 007231, Anastasia Bigod

    ?Rank 009468, Amelia ck

    Remember it is essential to maintain positive rtionships with your team members, as in abat scenario, the trust and support of yourrades will be equally important to your survival as your own skills and equipment.]

    "Arghh!"

    Lying on my bed, I couldn''t help but let out a frustrated groan after scrolling through the text message again and again.

    Each time, I expected the written contents of the text message to change. But it didn''t happen.

    No matter how many times I may scroll through it, it was the same! I was assigned to be in unit 18, just like in the novel!

    Well, it''s on me. I forgot about this and did nothing to change the oue. I was too focused on staying away from the protagonist and stealing a cheat item.

    "Arghhh! Just fuck me sideways!"

    In the novel, Unit 18 of ss 1-A-1 consisted of three main characters, one side character, and the first minor viin of the novel.

    This unit yed a huge role in moving the plot forward.

    Members of a Unit must not only work together during training but also cooperate with each other during events in order to showcase their teamwork.

    This cooperation ultimately affects the number of merit points they will receive at the end of the month.

    In short, in order to preserve their individual gains, the cadets were forced to cooperate together for mutual benefits.

    "Please, kill me already," I put a hand over my face and let out azy groan while rolling all over my bed.

    In the novel, the role of Unit 18 was to develop the rtionship between the three main characters and ruin their impression of Lucas even further.

    That, in turn, infuriated Nero, the protagonist, even more during his duel with Lucas, causing him to go out of his way to humiliate the disowned noble boy.

    Ding¨C!

    Right, when I was in the midst of wailing like a spoiled child who found out Santa wasn''t real, a notification sound rang in my smart bracelet.

    Frowning, I scrolled down the notification bar and saw it was from the academy''s messaging app. Without thinking much, I clicked on it but instantly regretted my decision.

    From the screen of my smart bracelet, a holographic chat window projected out in front of me.

    ===

    ?Rank 000025 Nero Dekrauf created ''Unit 18 Group Chat'' on March 5, 2723?

    ?You were added?

    [Nero Dekrauf is typing¡­]

    [Amelia ck: I told you not to add him!]

    [Kent Takeahint: He did already¡­.]

    [Anastasia Bigod: How do you use emojis again?]

    ===

    I almost threw away my smart bracelet as soon as I identally opened up the group chat.

    It seems like not only was I addedst, but from the looks of it, I wasn''t wanted there to begin with.

    The smart bracelet provided by the academy can function as amunication device.

    If you want, you could request the contact information of your peers from the faculty by providing them with a good enough reason.

    And I guess being in the same Unit together was a good enough reason for Nero to obtain my contact information.

    And judging from the circumstantial pieces of evidence, after Nero acquired my contact information, he added me to the group chat that he created before Amelia could persuade him not to do that.

    "Haaa," letting out an exasperated sigh, I started scrolling through the text messages, lurking silently.

    ===

    [Anastasia Bigod: How do you use emojis again?]

    [Nero Dekrauf is typing¡­]

    [Amelia ck: Dude how long does it take you to type a sentence?!?!?]

    [Kent Takeahint: Lolol! And he''s a top ranker! Lol!]

    [Amelia ck: Ikr? One might think he would be fast with his hands]

    [Kent Takeahint: XD]

    [Anastasia Bigod: Guys! Stop ignoring me! (?T??T)]

    ===

    Good grief, they talk like a bunch of annoying toddlers going through puberty!

    Oh, wait¡­ they are teenagers. Never mind, my bad.

    ===

    [Nero Dekrauf: Guys, remember. The academy will allot us merit points based on our synergy with other things. So it''s in our best interest to work with each other.]<novelnext></novelnext>

    [Amelia ck: I don''t careeeeee!]

    [Kent Takeahint: @Nero_Dekrauf#000025 you chat so formally! With all the punctuation marks and all! Lolololol!]

    [Anastasia Bigod: @Amelia_ck#009468 y''know Nero is right. The merit points we''ll get can be useful when buying weapons or Martial Art techniques. We should try to make the best of what we are being offered.]

    [Amelia ck: Arghhhh! Fine! I''ll work together with that ass but if he dares do anything funny I''ll shoot him with an arrow in his fucking nuts!]

    [Kent Takeahint: Lololol!]

    ===

    As I read that, I couldn''t help but involuntarily grab my groin region.

    A young maiden shouldn''t be using such words! And talking about shooting a man in his family jewels?!

    sphemy! It''s a crime worthy of death!

    ===

    [Nero Dekrauf: Okay, now with that out of the way, what do you all think about meeting at my ce in an hour? You know, since only 2 out of 5 people in our unit know how to use magic spells.]

    [Kent Takeahint: Ye ye! I was about to ask you to teach me myself!]

    [Anastasia Bigod: In an hour. You mean at 5:30? Sure.]

    [Amelia ck: Fine.]

    ===

    And after that, suddenly the chat group went silent. Maybe they all went to get ready.

    And since I was lurking, I could just not go and probably make an excuseter about how I missed the texts because I didn''t check my smart bracelet!

    Yes! I''m a fucking genius!

    Phew. Crisis averted.

    ===

    [Amelia ck: Why is that guy not answering?]

    [Kent Takeahint: Is he¡­ ignoring us?]

    [Amelia ck: See! I told you! That guy is unreasonable! He probably thinks he''s too good to grace us peasants with his presence or some shit!]

    [Anastasia Bigod: Someone ping him. I think he''s not reading.]

    [Amelia ck: It''s showing a blue tick under all messages. Everyone, him included, is reading]

    ===

    What the fuck?!

    What the actual fuck?!

    What in the name of god''s fuck?!

    Instantly, I checked, and sure enough, two blue ticks were disying under all the text messages that were sent in the group chat.

    Why?!

    Just why?!

    Why does this app have a blue tick system? It''s the worst enemy of us chat lurkers!

    ===

    [Anastasia Bigod: Still he could be AFK. Someone ping him.]

    [Nero Dekrauf: @Lucas_Morningstar#116969 c''mere and answer our question. Can youe to my ce in an hour?]

    [Amelia ck: @Lucas_Morningstar#116969 @Lucas_Morningstar#116969 @Lucas_Morningstar#116969 @Lucas_Morningstar#116969]

    [Anastasia Bigod: Hey don''t ping spam him¡­]

    [Kent Takeahint: Lololol!

    [Me: @Nero_Dekrauf#000025 Yeah sure I''ll be there]

    [Anastasia Bigod: See (?*???¦á???*?)]

    [Amelia ck: Tsk]

    [Nero Dekrauf: Great. I''ll send my location here.]

    ===

    As I put down my smart bracelet, tears dripped down my face. I just wanted to jump off this bed and end my life.

    I blundered.

    Never in my wildest dreams did I think the academy''s messaging app would have a blue tick feature.

    Well, it could''ve yed down even worse but I think I handled the situation pretty well, right?

    "Fuuu!" Letting out a sigh, I clenched my fist.

    Fine. If I can''t avoid the main characters now, then I''ll do my best to give them at least not any reason to hate me even more.

    By doing that, I''ll not make myself a target of Nero. I think?

 Chapter 27 A Dark Side

    ?"Haaa! Haaa!" Panting heavily, I trudged my boots up the stairway one stair at a time.

    Funny long story short, on my way to the location Nero had sent us, I got lost¡­ again.

    B-But this time it wasn''t my fault, I swear! The GPS of my smart bracelet is trash!

    Given all the technological advancements that this world has achieved, you''d think they would create something more reliable than this trashy GPS system.

    But no!

    I still have to rely on this unreliable GPS and cross my fingers that it will lead me to the correct destination.

    Tsk tsk.

    Well, anyway, after I got to the apartment building Nero sent us the address of, I decided to run up the stairs instead of waiting for the lift.

    Big mistake.

    I severely overestimated Lucas'' physical capabilities. And more than that, I gravely overestimated thefort level of my leather boots for running upstairs.

    But I had to admit, the white and ck leather boots I wore looked sick!

    Coupled with ck jeans and a loose blue t-shirt, I looked quite handsome.

    A smile crept up on my sweat-covered face as I thought of my beauty. Yeah, being this hot should be illegal!

    "Hehehehaaaaa haaaa haaaa!" My soft giggle turned into hard gasps as the stairs going up showed no signs of ending.

    Just how big was this apartment building?!

    I knew high-rankers were receiving better facilities but god damn!

    Instead of an apartment building, it would be more suitable to say that I was climbing up the stairs of a skyscraper or something!

    Finally, after a few too many curses and desperate gasping for air, I arrived in front of apartment number 567. This was the room number Nero told us toe to.

    I looked at my smart bracelet to check howte I was.

    [5:45 P.M.] the time showed.

    Yeah, it''s fine. I was just 15 minuteste. It''s fine, it''s fine. It''s totally fine, right? Right? Right¡­?

    Without wasting another second, I sighed and knocked on the door thrice.

    Knock, Knock, Knock¡ª!

    -"Coming!" a loud, crisp voice came from the other side of the door.

    After a second or two, the door opened inward, and Nero peeked his head out. After checking that it was indeed me, he opened the door wider.

    He was in his casual clothes¨C ck trousers with a matching t-shirt under a loose hoodie.

    Wait¡­ hoodie?!

    Why was he wearing a hoodie in March?!

    What kind of psychopath wears a hoodie in March?!

    I knew Nero had a few screws loose, but what the hell?!

    "Lucas, you came." Shaking me out of my thoughts was Nero''s voice. He greeted me with an expressionless face and stepped into the hallway.

    "Sorry I waste," I said and stepped in myself. After following him to the drawing room, I added, "I got lost on my way here."

    "Oh, that happens. It''s a confusing neighborhood," Nero waved his hand and spoke up with a look of reassurance.

    "Hmph. What kind of idiot loses his way while using GPS?"

    Right when I thought the wee was warm, a bewitching yet irritating voice resounded in my ears.

    Who else could it be but Amelia. This girl had some serious problems with me¨C or should I say with the former owner of this body.

    "Amelia, you agreed to cooperate."

    Trying not to let this situation escte any further and stopping it from possibly turning into an all-out fight was Anastasia''s voice.

    She was sitting on the short edge of an ''L'' shaped couch right beside Amelia.

    "Ooh, the atmosphere is so intense ahahaha!"

    And on the long edge of the ''L'' shaped couch sat a boy with long, pointy ears. His light blue eyes matched perfectly with the color of his hair.

    He had a face that was both idiotic and cute, with sharp features that were entuated by his messy hair. Thisbination of rugged handsomeness and boyish charm made him quite attractive to young maidens.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Loose red artsy tee-shirt and ck cigarette pants hugged his thin body and masked his frail-looking pale skin.

    Dare I say that for an extra that yed aparatively non-significant role in the story, this guy was handsome.

    Not more handsome than me, of course. Hmph.

    On the other hand, both girls were dressed casually too, with Amelia wearing a yellow off-the-shoulder crop and ck high-waisted jeans while Anastasia sported a loose cherry-colored top and blue denim shorts.

    And while Amelia bickered about how she thought I would only drag the group down, Anastasia tried to calm her down.

    As it happened, Kent just keptughing with an idiotic goofy smile stered on his face all the time.

    "Fine! I''ll cooperate, but I don''t trust this guy one bit," after dering that, Amelia turned to face me and gave me a fierce look. "Got that?"

    What? Was that supposed to be a warning? Hah!

    Because it did sound like one¡­.

    And the chills I got all over my body after meeting her fierce gaze only affirmed further that it was a warning¡­.

    I-I wasn''t scared of her though.

    So in retaliation, I clenched my fist and yelled, "Fuck off, bitch."

    ¡­Or at least I wanted to.

    But instead, I found myself awkwardly shrugging and mumbling, "Yeah, whatever."

    A frown appeared on Amelia''s face when she heard my casual response.

    Huh? Was she not expecting me to reply so calmly?

    Yeah, sorry to disappoint you, but I have decided to be on my best behavior around Nero in order to improve my standing in his eyes and avoid receiving any beating from him.

    p¨C!

    "You guys done?" right then, Nero pped his hands from behind me. "Lucas, Amelia, I know you guys had a past, but I don''t want it to get in our Unit''s way."

    With a serious look, Nero looked at me and Amelia one by one and then said, "I don''t want you to be friends, and I don''t expect Amelia to forget what Lucas did or anything like that, but don''t let your emotions get in your way while working together."

    Woah. He was serious. I almost forgot he had this side to him as well¡ªhis¡­ dark side.

    In the novel, most of the time, Nero yed the role ofic relief despite being the main protagonist.

    There were only a handful of instances when Nero lost hisposure and dropped his cheerful act.

    On the top of my head, the scene when he went out of his way to humiliate Lucas during their duel and beat the crap out of himes to mind.

    That ss clown persona of his sometimes made people forget about the monstrous strength that he possessed.

    On the outside, Nero was just a happy-go-lucky goofy guy who used jokes and sarcasm as his defense mechanism. That personality of his was just a mask, however.

    In reality, Nero was a goal-oriented boy with a sense of purpose driving him to push through his extreme limits.

    More than anything, Nero sought justice. Justice for his mother, who got killed by his father for just giving birth to him.

    But it was not that easy. His father was one of the 12 members of the Central Government. He was above thew itself.

    And Nero¡­ well, he was just too powerless and young to do anything at the time. In fact, no one in the entire world possessed enough power to go after his father.

    Because, as I said, his father was above thew itself. He was untouchable.

    So after learning that there''s no justice in this world unless we make it ourselves the hard way, Nero made that his goal. He decided to make his own justice.

    And by doing so, he realized that he could only achieve his goal by getting stronger and gaining power. Unimaginable power that no one in this world, not even the Central Government, can ignore!

    Thus he became obsessed with getting stronger and taking revenge for his mother''s murder.

    I don''t know whether he achieved his goal in the novel at the end or not¡­ but I hope he did.

    For a child, this boy had seen too much darkness.

    "Understood?" Nero''s voice shook me out of my thoughts again as he asked whether we got what he was trying to tell us or not.

    Instinctively, Amelia and I nodded our heads as his dead serious gaze fell on us.

    Seeing us nod, the seriousness on Nero''s face vanished, and an amicable expression took its ce.

    His lips curled up into a warm smile, and he announced with his usual cheerful face, "Great, with that out of the way, let''s get this spell-casting training session started y''all!"

 Chapter 28 Spellcasting

    ?"Lucas, you can rx on the sofa and have some snacks while I teach them how to cast. Your participation isn''t necessary."

    "But won''t ourck of interaction negatively impact our merit points? The whole reason I was called here was to demonstrate our synergy and teamwork, right?"

    "Meh, I don''t think so. The judging criteria shouldn''t be that hard right now. They can''t expect strangers to be all buddy-buddy on the very first day."

    "Fair point."

    "Okay, you three, take out the scrolls that instructor Liz provided you."

    While Nero started instructing the group on how to cast spells, I was told to sit back and rx since I didn''t need to do anything.

    In other words, I was just nicely asked to stay away and not interfere by Nero.

    And in all honesty, I can''t me the guy. It was visible that no one here wasfortable with my presence in this room.

    Again, I can''t me any of them. Lucas was a brat. He whined and cried andined all the time in the story. It would be foolish to expect any sort of help from him since causing trouble and offending people was the only thing he excelled at.

    So then, why was I asked toe here?

    Because of the smart bracelets on our wrists.

    You see, these pieces of technology that were wrapped around our wrists were more than just upgraded versions of smartwatches or smartphones.

    Aside from acting as spatial storage devices, the smart bracelets provided by the academy had built-in artificial intelligence in them.

    And not just any artificial intelligence either. They possessed ''Athena 2.0'' which was considered to be the epitome of AI evolution in this world.

    The academy uses Athena to monitor the cadets and grade us merit points ording to our efforts.

    By doing so, the academy not only tracks our every movement, both in the real world and cyberspace, but they also ensure our safety by dispatching a rescue team at the first sign of any danger to a cadet''s life.

    Of course, there are ways to counter that feature since there were like a gazillion times when the cadets were attacked and killed before the academy could even react to the situation in the novel.

    Anyway, since first-year cadets can''tmand Athena and use her features until the end of their first semester, I had yet to experience the so-called epitome of AI myself.

    So I just casually slouched back on the sofa as I opened a game of online shogi on my smart bracelet and instantly, a holographic shogi board was projected out in front of me.

    Do I know how to y shogi?

    Hell no. I was just trying to look cool.

    Hey, don''t judge me! I''m not THAT shallow. I know how to y chess! In fact, I''m pretty good at it! Rated above 2200!

    Yes, that''s right, mortals! Bow down before me!

    Anyway, since ying shogi looks more cool and enigmatic than ying chess, I started moving pieces randomly on the holographic shogi board with no fucking idea of what I was doing all the while acting like a mysterious anime character.

    ?

    37 minutester

    "Ventus v-vel!"

    "No, no, you''re doing it wrong. You need to imagine and then boom! Then shoot out and then swoosh! Like that! And it''s pronounced as Ven-tus! Vent-us! Not Ven-tus! But don''t focus on that."

    "The hell does that even mean?!"

    "Just focus on the boom and swoosh feeling!"

    "Okay, once again, the hell does that even mean?!"

    Nero decided to teach Amelia first.

    But even after more than 30 minutes of continuously trying to cast a basic wind magic spell, they got nowhere.

    While that was happening, Anastasia and Kent were sitting there with nk faces, probably dumbfounded by the rather childish way Amelia and Nero were arguing.

    They were arguing so loudly that I couldn''t focus on my game, so I closed it and acted as if I had won¡­

    Ahem, all that aside, spellcasting for Amelia shouldn''t be that hard.

    In the novel, she was an excellent archer and a deadly magician.

    She possessed two elemental affinities¨C Wind and Dark, and despite never being able to fully master dark magic, she was an incredible spell caster.

    So yeah, this girl definitely possessed talent. Some might even argue that she was a genius.

    Then what was the problem, you ask?

    The problem was our main protagonist.

    You see, Nero''s talent in spellcasting exceeded the level of that of a genius. He was a monster.

    In the novel, he was the first among his peers to use ''dual spell casting'' and the first in centuries to create an entirely new light elemental magic spell.

    But it''s precisely because he possessed such a monstrous talent that he was an extremely bad teacher.

    He never experienced the hardships of learning so he could never share the experience of another person trying toprehend something¡ª by extension, he could never teach anyone.

    It is indeed as they say, it takes an intelligent person to understand something but a brilliant person to exin it.

    "Oh my god, you''re dumb!"

    "You are just a bad teacher! What do you mean by ''boom'' and ''swoosh''? What does that even mean?!"

    "Good lord," facepalming, I couldn''t help but sigh helplessly.

    ? This had been dragged on for far too long. At this rate, it would take them the whole day to get anywhere near learning how to cast a spell.

    As if reading my mind, Anastasia got up from her spot and said:

    "Okay, guys, stop fighting. At this rate we''ll get nowhere. How about this? We let Lucas help us?"

    "What? I can teach just fine! It''s Amelia who can''t understand!"

    "I''m not taking his help! I''d eat dirt and do a backflip!"

    "Do both!" Nero had a mocking smirk on his face as he said, "Braindead!"

    "Y-You!" Amelia gritted her teeth and shot a mad grin, "You really don''t love your ugly face of yours huh? Because you''re practically begging me here to punch it!"

    "Hah!" Nero scoffed, "Your mom is so ugly that she looks like me! Wait¡­."

    "Dude, was that youreback?"

    "Your mom''s aeback! Wait¡­."

    "...What? ¡­What? Just what?"

    Oh god, this is dumb!

    At this point, I was just sitting there massaging my eyebrows, trying to calm down the migraine that I was getting from hearing Nero''sebacks.

    "Guys, you know fighting can affect our merit points, right?" finally someone said something sensible. It was Kent.

    As if waiting for that cue, the yelling and wailing in the room died down instantly, and everyone went quiet.

    Okay, this was my chance to intervene. I got up and looked over at Amelia before speaking up.

    "I know you have a problem with me and honestly, I can''t me you. I''m fine with you not trusting me or not wanting to do anything with me. However, disputing over such silly matters will only affect our merit points negatively.

    "I''ll put down my pride and teach you the basic theory of spell casting. I''ll also give some pointers on what I see you doing wrong. After that, Nero will take over. Surely you won''t have a problem with that, right?"

    "....."

    "....."

    Silence.

    An overwhelmingly long moment of awkward silence enveloped the whole drawing room.

    In the atmosphere as thick as syrup, Amelia stood there with a taken-aback expression stered on her face.

    But almost immediately, that expression turned into an irritated one as she started gritting her teeth and gave me a fierce look that could kill.

    She couldn''t deny my offer even if she wanted to.

    Why? Simple.

    I told her that I couldn''t me her for hating me and I''ll put down my pride. Essentially what I said could be tranted as me offering a helping hand first by acknowledging her problem with me.

    I took the moral high ground.<novelnext></novelnext>

    If Amelia were to decline my offer of me teaching her, she would very well be saying that her pride is more important to her than our Unit''s sess.

    It was a psychological checkmate.

    Soon, Amelia stopped gritting her teeth and closed her eyes. After a long pause, she nodded her head and uttered but one word, "Fine."

    Good.

    Because if she had continued giving me that fierce look, I''d seriously pissed my pants¡­

    "Fuuu! I thought I would die choking from all the tension in the air!"pletely ignoring the atmosphere of the room, Kentmented with augh.

    "Ahem, well, I still think it''s Amelia''s fault for not grasping my amazing teachings but thank you, Lucas, for offering to help." Nero chimed in, still refusing to admit the lousiness of his teaching methods.

    Sighing again, I shook my head before turning to Amelia once more.

    "From what I''ve seen, you''re focusing too much on pronouncing the spell. The most necessary element for spell casting is not the pronunciation of the chant, but your will¡ª your imagination.

    "Focus on the feeling. Just think that the chant is merely there to help you visualize. It won''t help if you can''t visualize your spell at all. So, instead of the pronunciation, focus on the feeling you get when you move your mana. After that, imagine your spelling to reality. Visualize a de of wind manifesting and cutting through the air, moving toward your enemy.

    "But don''t forget to fuel it with enough mana. If you put too much mana, the spell will overload and go berserk. On the contrary, if you don''t supply it with enough mana, the spell will copse on itself and nothing will happen."

    I basically recited everything I remembered from Lucas'' memories.

    "I-I see."

    At my slightly lengthy exnation, Amelia hesitantly nodded her head.

    Right at that moment, Nero spoke out with a frown, "That''s exactly what I said! How do you understand him but not me?"

    ''That''s so not what you said,'' was what everyone wanted to reply, but everyone restrained themselves.

    Sure enough, after grasping just the basic concept of spell casting, Amelia started progressing rapidly.

    I helped her with pronouncing the chant correctly too.

    Since Lucas'' mother was an elf, he had a pretty good understanding of the elven tongue.

    In fact, he could speak high elven very fluently.

    With his understanding of thenguage, his lineage and his background, Lucas should''ve been a strong character in the novel despite only having ?Gold-3? rank potential if only he had trained hiszy bum more diligently.

    Not to mention, Lucas was quite intelligent in his childhood. Not only he learned high elven by the time he was 7, but he also used to study war tactics from his father.

    His intelligence stat was around 187. The guy was basically a genius.

    It kind of makes me wonder why a guy who was supposed to be so smart acted so stupidly in the story?

    Even during his childhood, he used to be a dreamer. He was ready to work hard to achieve his goals.

    But instead, when he awakened a low potential and his family started neglecting him, he started cking.

    He went into depression and when he crawled out of it, he gave up on his dreams.

    Not long after, he started acting out. He reduced himself to his family''s name. He would get into trouble and expect his father to clean up his mess¡ª he did all that only to get his attention.

    Instead of working out or training hard to prove his family wrong¨C to prove the world wrong, he becamecent.

    In simple words, he became a brat.

    Tsk, he was truly an example of wasted potential.

    "Ventus vel!"

    After only a few tries, Amelia chanted her spell and manifested a weak gust of wind from her open palm.

    "Yes! That! Memorize that feeling!" Nero shouted almost instantly.

    At the same time, I too got up from my spot and yelled, "Focus on that feeling and draw it out again! Cast your spell again but supply it with a little more mana this time!"

    Amelia nodded with sparkles in her eyes and pointed her open palm at the wall.

    With fierce determination, she drew in a deep breath and chanted once again, "Ventus vel!"

    As if waiting for that cue, the air started to swirl in front of her open palm.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Trak¡ª!

    In a blink of an eye, a sharp crescent gust of wind shot forward from her open palm and hit the wall of Nero''s drawing room, engraving a deep cut on it.

    "Kyaaa! Sorry!" The smile on Amelia''s face shifted into a wince when her spell made a cut on the wall.

    "Noo! No, it''s fine!" Nero promptly waved his hand in assurance. "More importantly, you did it!"

    "Yes! I did it!" with an excited expression, Amelia practically started jumping up and down in joy.

    "Haa! Congrats, Amelia!" Anastasia congratted her with a bright smile on her face, genuinely happy for her friend.

    "Wow! Nice one, Amelia!" Kent too joined in with a happy surprised look.

    While I watched this scene unfold, a feeling of delight welled up in my chest. I couldn''t help but admire these kids.

    They have suffered so much and they will continue to in the future. Yet, they never gave up and kept moving forward. They kept fighting.

    In a world where war and death weremon, they found joy in little things and smiled like they had no care in the world.

    I hated this novel. I hated these characters. But to be honest, the story wasn''t that bad.

    The characters weren''t one dimensional and the plot was not really full of cliches. I simply exaggerated what I said to Joe in myst moments.

    Maybe I just felt mad at the author for writing such a frustrating story.

    Why did I hate this story? I don''t know. I just hated reading it and I don''t know why.

    I remember thinking, ''Why don''t they just give up?'' while reading about how the characters were suffering in the story.

    They were just kids; they didn''t have to fight wars and shoulder the burden of the entire world.

    However, this world was cruel. It didn''t give them the freedom to live their lives and decide their fate.

    Despite facing so many hardships, despite falling down so many times, the main characters just kept standing up. I don''t know why, but it was infuriating for me to read.

    But why? Why fight so hard? Why suffer so much? Just surrender and stop fighting and end your suffering!

    I don''t know¡­ I just hated this story.

    ¡­Well, anyway, since I have now helped Amelia with her spellcasting, I think I have achieved my purpose ofing here.

    Albeit only a little bit, I redeemed my reputation in the eyes of the main cast while simultaneously changing Amelia''s opinion of me slightly.

    Now don''t get me wrong, I don''t fucking care what Amelia thinks about me.

    However, Amelia was part of the main cast and she was much, much, MUCH stronger than me currently.

    Frankly speaking, she''s not an opponent I can face until I get at least three times stronger than what I am right now.

    So any chance I would get that could help me avoid conflict with her in the near future till I get stronger, I would dly take it.

    Especially since I know to what extent Amelia went in the novel only to make Lucas pay.

    However, I also know she is a ''good girl'' with a kind, forgiving heart.

    "And that spell was truly perfect!"

    "Aha, thank you~!"

    As I watched her fluster when Neroplimented her, the side of my lips curled up into a smirk.

    I couldn''t help but think to myself¨C Yes, she is too kind for her own good.

    In the future, if I y my cards right, she could be a great pawn for me.

    A-Ally! I meant ally!

    Did I say pawn? Nah, I totally said ally.

    She could be a great ally to me!

    Ahem.

 Chapter 29 Reminiscing The Past

    ?"Huuaaaa~" yawning as if I had not slept for years, I drowsily navigated my way through the campus to get to my ss.

    Even in another world, my sleep schedule was still messed up. I guess what they say is true¨C you can''t escape your old habits.

    I still remember the day when my sleep schedule got fucked up so bad that I could never recover it.

    It all started the night before the graduation day of my college.

    By that time, I was already affiliated with several writing tforms as their content editor.

    I was making decent money while doing some side hustle, was about to graduate college and get a degree, had a pretty girlfriend and was part of a big social group.

    Yes, in a way, it was ''the'' perfect life.

    Hmm? What went wrong, you ask? Let me exin.

    The night before graduation, I went drinking with my friend group and we got dead drunk.

    It was understandable since we were about to enter the real world soon. It was ourst day as students.

    However, even after drinking to the point of practically passing out, we didn''t stop! Oh, no! We decided to drink more and y a game of truth and dare!

    Yes.

    The stupidest thing you can possibly ever do in life is y a game of truth and dare while being drunk!

    Never, and I mean never, do that.

    Eat dirt and do a backflip rather than ying truth and dare while being under the influence.

    Anyway, extremely long story super short, we discovered that this guy from our group was sleeping with this other guy''s mother.

    Yeah¡­.

    Let''s just say shit got messy.

    Both boys got into a fight and by the time our drunk asses could split them, they nearly killed each other.

    We had to admit them to a hospital and ask the doctors to keep them in separate wards so that they might not try to kill each other again.

    I got homete that night and since I had a graduation ceremony the next day to attend, I did not sleep at all.

    After the graduation ceremony, I had to go visit my parents across the country. I didn''t sleep on the flight either because this woman right next to me couldn''t keep her baby from crying right in my fucking ears.

    Anyhow, after arriving at my parent''s ce, I spent that whole night talking to them.

    Just like that, thing after thing kept on happening and I went six days without getting a single ounce of sleep.

    Yeah, six fucking days!

    When I did get to sleep on the evening of the 6th day, I slept for a full 24 hours.

    I woke up in the evening the next day. And naturally, I couldn''t sleep that night because I had already slept for basically a whole day.

    Like that, night after night, I started staying awake. Before I knew it, it became a habit. And not long after¡­ I started enjoying staying awake at night.

    The arrival of the moon at its highest point in the night sky brought a peaceful silence, which became my norm forpleting my work.

    And that was it. All it took was one day and I could never recover from that¡­.

    After that day, I would go to sleepte at night and would wake upte in the afternoon. I may recover my sleep schedule for a day or two at most but not more than that.

    At that point, I had to ept my reality. I was not a normal person anymore. I had be something else.

    I had be a¡­ night crawler!

    "Hey, stop! Lucas!"

    Pat¡ª!

    "Aaaa!"

    Right when I was lost in my thoughts and reminiscing about the past while walking through the crowd of cadets to get to Building 1, a loud voice called out to me and I felt a sharp p on my back in the next second, causing me to squeak in surprise.

    Shifting my gaze to the left, I saw a light blue-haired elven boy matching my gaze with a stupid grin on his face.

    "Kent?" I raised an eyebrow.

    That''s it. I just said his name and stopped.

    Did hee to talk to me?

    But we weren''t even friends. I don''t know what to say?

    Should I say hello, maybe?

    God, was I always this socially awkward?!

    Thankfully, Kent took the lead and started talking, "Yeah, good morning, Lucas. Thank you for yesterday. Although I still couldn''t cast my spell perfectly till the end. Aahaha!"

    Ahh yes, after teaching Amelia, Nero and I gave personal pointers to both Kent and Anastasia.

    To be precise, I was the one who assisted them while Nero just babbled some onomatopoeias like swoosh and fwoosh and called them ''pointers.''

    Anyway, Anastasia managed to cast a perfect spell but Kent, even after practicing the whole evening, couldn''t.

    To be honest, Kent did pretty well for someone practicing spellcasting for the first time.

    Being able to cast perfect magic on the first day of practicing spellcasting is borderline impossible.

    Anastasia and Amelia were able to do it because, well, they are two of the main characters in this story.

    This whole world revolves around them.

    Kent, however, is not a main character. He''s not even an important character.

    The world does not revolve around him.

    The plot won''t bless him with ''fruitful encounters'' or ''once in a generation talent'' and stuff like that.

    But in spite of all that, Kent actually did pretty well.

    He was actually able to materialize his spell but couldn''t find the right amount of mana to supply it with. That''s why his spells kept on failing.

    "Don''t get worked up, Kent." putting up a reassuring smile on my face, I continued. "With a bit of practice, you''ll catch up to Amelia and Anastasia in a week."

    "Oh," Kent looked at me with sparkly eyes as if he was looking at a holy being belonging out of this world. "You are not bad! The rumors were far-fetched! They made you out to be some kind of brat from a rich family!"

    No, the rumors were true.

    "You''re an angel! A kind and holy angel!"

    No, you''re just stupid.

    "Amelia said that you may have had an ulterior motive for helping us, but I don''t believe it! Whatever your past may have been, I believe that you have changed for the better! To reward your effort in changing yourself, I''ll be your best friend!"

    No, Amelia is right.

    I did have an ulterior motive for wasting my sweet evening by teaching spellcasting to a monkey brain like you.

    "And let me tell you¨C"

    "Oh-kay, buddy! Calm down! Haha! I''m not that great," cutting Kent off since his voice was starting to give me a headache, I spoke up with the sweetest smile I could muster. "But thank you, though. For believing in me, I mean. But it would be best if you don''t associate with me. It''s not good for your reputation."

    By this point, Kent looked like someone who was ready to get down on his knees and worship me.

    The guy was too easy to read.

    "No, no! Thank you, dude, for believing in me and thinking about me!" but despite my clear indications of asking him to stop, he continued talking. "To express my gratitude, I, Kent Takeahint, will teach you how to live life!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    The guy was too easy to read. However, he just can''t take a hint of when to stop talking.

    He kept talking and talking and talking while walking beside me.

    I am not a morning person so listening to him talk this much in such a loud voice felt as if someone was hammering a nail in my head.

    Every word that he spoke was just another nail being hammered in the head for me.

    When an extended sigh escaped my mouth, I gave up on making him stop talking as he apanied me to our building.

    "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you why I called you."

    Just as we were about to reach our ss, Kent pped his hands together as if he had suddenly remembered something.

    "Yeah, what''s up?" I asked.

    "Actually, on the way here, Amelia was following you like a stalker. I saw her and thought she wanted to talk to you but she was hesitating. So I felt like telling you to go talk to her." Kent responded.

    "What? Where is she?"

    "Right behind us."

    "....."

    And suddenly, a chill ran down my spine as I was made aware of the pair of eyes stalking me.

    Abruptly, I turned around in hopes of spotting a ck-haired girl amidst the crowd of cadets, and sure enough, she was indeed standing right behind me.

    Her cold and emotionless gaze met mine which once again made me shiver. Of course, I didn''t show it.

    On the surface, I acted cool.

    "W-Why are you following me?" I asked.

    Okay, I may or may not have been stuttering. But I did try to act cool! Give me some credit for trying!

    "Following you? We are in the same ss and this is the only way unless you want to take a detour around the hallway. Do you think I care that much about you to avoid you by walking extra steps?" Amelia replied with a scoff.

    "So you''re saying you were not stalking me on our way here as Kent implied?" easing down my tension, I raised my eyebrows as I questioned her.

    "....."

    And sure enough, she replied with silence.

    After a second or two though, she finally spoke up, "I meant to thank you. I didn''t do so yesterday and I''m not so petty as to forget someone''s favors. Even if that ''someone'' happens to be you."

    I know that, you dumb girl.

    I knew you wouldn''t forget my gesture of goodwill.

    That was the main reason I volunteered to help you by forcing myself into the situation.

    Amelia and literally everyone else in the main cast was like that. They were heroes.

    They were the ''good guys.''

    They are the type of people who''ll suffer in your ce so that you won''t have to.

    They won''t forget if you help them and even the smallest gesture of goodwill will make them start to believe in you.

    Every single character in the main cast was the same in this story.

    And for some reason, that''s something that disgusted me to the core about them.

    This is merely a story written by some third-rate author. However, in the real world, people like them are the first ones to be stepped on.

    The kind-hearted ones. The ones who blindly believe in others. The ones who are too good to get a real read on other people.

    They are the ones who get used by others.

    For example, I could bet that Amelia has already started to believe that I, Lucas, have changed.

    Although she won''t show it and would probably be on guard for a long time, she won''t make my life a living hell like she made Lucas'' in the novel.

    She may keep an eye on me, believing that I''m only putting on an act but if I continue to show that I''ve indeed changed, she will eventually start to believe me despite her past experience with me.

    How stupid can she be?

    Let me be clear, being honorable, kind-hearted and forgiving is not wrong.

    Believing in others is not wrong.

    However, being kind-hearted and thinking that everyone else is the same is stupid.

    Blindly believing in others despite knowing their past is stupid.

    If a man has shot someone in the past for no reason, you would never willingly hand him a gun, no matter what he does after to make up for it.

    That''s justmon sense.

    But some people, like this girl standing in front of me, will hand him the gun anyway if the man would apologize.

    The ideology of believing that people change is just stupid. They don''t change.

    People never change.

    They grow.

    That means their past will always be with them. Their past will always be the same.

    The man who has shot a person for no reason in the past will always be the man who has once shot a person for no reason.

    Just because he has grown into a different person doesn''t mean that his past has disappeared.

    Blindly believing that he would not shoot you too if you hand him the gun after he has apologized will only get you killed.

    This ideology is wed. So wed that those who practice it are just in stupid.

    And their stupidity disgusts me.

    Even now, I was barely able to hold myself back from frowning when I listened to Amelia talk.

    I wanted to lecture this girl about how stupid she was but I restrained myself.

    Why? Simple.

    I''m not the person who blindly hands over the gun to the man. I am the man who takes the gun from people like her.

    As long as it''s benefiting me, you can follow whatever ideology you want and I could not give a single fuck about it.

    So putting on a sweet smile, I calmly said, "No need to think of it as a favor. I only did it to make my ce in the Unit."

    Amelia gave me a strange, conflicted look. In her mind, she was fighting over whether to believe me or not.

    She averted her eyes and pondered over the situation for a second. After nodding, she gave me a stern look.

    "Fine, I will not think of it as a favor," she said understandably. Her gaze was still as cold as ever. "In return, I will act as if I didn''t watch you acting like you knew how to y shogi."

    "..¡­"

    Without waiting a single second, she flipped back her hair and walked past me to enter our ss.

    "Dude, I think she''s into you," Kentmented without reading the atmosphere.

    This guy just can''t take a hi.....

 Chapter 30 Combat Training

    ?"Attention all cadets! My name is Raven Von Matterhorn! I''m a retired soldier and my former rank was Captain! Starting today, I''ve been asked to train your pathetic asses!

    "As of right now, you will all address me as Instructor Raven and nothing else while you will answer to maggots!

    Am I clear, maggots?!"

    ""Yes, Instructor!""

    Standing right in front of the neatly filed lines of cadets was a tall and intimidating man.

    He was bald and had prominent wrinkles on his forehead with dark circles around his eyes. He had a small beard growing from under his chin.

    He was sporting a tight, ck hoodie tracksuit that did nothing to hide his ripped, muscr body.

    His mere presence seemed to have infused a sense of fear into the cadets standing on the concrete field.

    What a weird name he had. Well, it''s not like I could talk since I too possessed a chunni name.

    "Hmph!" Instructor Raven scoffed before yelling in the loudest possible tone, "I will be in charge of training you maggots inbat arts and help you utilize your ''blessing'' to the fullest."

    Ahh, blessings.

    I totally forgot about them.

    I think I''ve exined them before? Let me talk about them a little anyway.

    [Blessings] are akin to ''Unique Skills'' in games and fiction.

    Every [Blessing] is different from the other. They could have the same function but none will be exactly the same.

    Their functions can range from simple tasks like letting an individual cast magic efficiently to moreplex tasks like summoning divine weapons.

    What? Thatst Blessing sounded broken to you all?

    Hah. It''s because it is broken.

    And guess who has it? Yes.

    Nero Dekrauf i.e. the protagonist of this story possesses the Blessing called [Swords Of Heaven], which allows him to summon six divine swords that let him grantplete authority over the six basic elements.

    The six basic elements being Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, and Darkness.

    Of course, such a godlike ability does note without a cost. The cost for summoning the divine swords for Nero was a bit of his life force every time.

    So yeah, thank the author for not making himpletely broken.

    And yes, these Blessings are not something you should publicize to the world. If you possess a Blessing, you keep it a secret.

    Why?

    Well, because firstly, Blessings are rare. And by rare, I mean super rare.

    Only one in a thousand kids are born with it.

    Yes, Blessings are something you are born with. You can''t learn them, and you can''t steal them from someone who possesses them until they are alive.

    Ah ha. The emphasis here is on ''until they are alive.''

    cksmiths can extract a dead person''s Blessings and use them to forge Relics.

    So yeah, you can understand why you don''t want people to know what Blessing you possess.

    Hmm? You want to know what my Blessing is?

    Well, in the novel, Lucas had a Blessing called [Mana Burst] and honestly, it was not something broken but it was still pretty powerful.

    [Mana Burst] allowed Lucas to reinforce his body by infusing it with magical energy for a split second.

    The sudden flux of mana upon its activation would cause a burst of energy in the atmosphere and recreate a phenomenon akin to a jet st.

    Simply put, it was a skill that strengthened his body for a split second and caused an explosion to ur.

    The more mana he infuses his body with, the bigger the explosion.

    If used in conjunction with Fire magic, the result would be a me explosion.

    Unfortunately, Lucas only ever used it in the novel once before he was captured and put into prison for treason.

    Sigh, now that I think about it, it was a good Blessing. Lucas wasted everything.

    "So to start it off, run a hundredps around the training field and follow it with three hundred squats!"

    -"Is he joking?!"

    -"Oh hell nah!"

    -"I will die! I will seriously die a virgin!"

    As soon as Instructor Raven barked at us and told us what to do, the cadets started crying andining.

    Their wailing was reasonable.

    The training field was huge!

    Hundredps around a field this big would kill us and after that, we have to follow it up with three hundred squats?

    "If you all don''t start running immediately, I''ll double theps and triple the squats!"

    As if every one of us had discovered a newfound motivation, we started moving our feet and runningps around the training field almost instantly¡­.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ?

    50 minutester¡­

    "Heehaaaaa! Huuuuf! Haaaaf!"

    The sound of heavy panting resounded across the training field as cadets could be seen sprawled on the ground with deadpan eyes.

    Everyone, except for a few main characters like Nero and Quinn, was on the verge of passing out.

    ¡­I too was one of those people.

    My lungs were burning and my legs were aching so much as if they were cursing me for putting them through such abuse.

    The sky was spinning and my dead grandma was waving back at me from behind the clouds.

    ¡­Huh?

    Wait¡­

    She was not waving back! She was calling me!

    Hell no! I''m not dying yet! I''m noting there! Fuck off, grandma!

    Right when I was in the middle of my hallucination, Instructor Raven yelled again

    "Get up, maggots! It''s time to learn some Martial Arts!"

    Oh, hell no! This guy was dead set on killing us!

    No! No matter what happens, I won''t get up! This cold, hard ground is mine now! I won''t leave it!

    "Or do you all prefer to run a hundredps more?"

    Fuck you, Raven Von Matterhorn!

    When I get strong enough, yours will be the first life I will take! Your name¡­ is in my death note now!

    While cursing the bald instructor in all the worst possible ways I could, I managed to move my shaking legs and weakly got up on my feet.

    My whole body was screaming at me to stay down but I knew if I fell here, I wouldn''t be able to get back up again for the next few hours.

    By the looks of it, everyone present here was in the same boat as me.

    "Pathetic," as Instructor Raven looked around the concrete training field, he couldn''t help but utter in a disgusted tone.

    "To think that I''ve handed down the future of this world to the likes of you," Instructor Raven continued to trash-talk as the cadets got up. "My daughter can stand up faster than you all and she''s paralyzed from the waist down!"

    Oh my god! Will this guy ever shut up?!

    "No, I won''t shut up until you all get up!" as if reading my mind, he yelled again.

    Finally after a few minutes, everyone stood back on their legs and got in an attentive position.

    "Haa," shaking his head, Instructor Raven muttered as his gaze fell on the cadets'' sweat-damped lifeless faces. "I guess it can''t be helped."

    Sucking in a deep breath, Instructor Raven yelled at the top of his lungs, "Okay, maggots! Seeing your pathetic asses has moved me to pity. So I have decided to bestow upon you a breathing technique before I teach you any martial art. You will learn this breathing technique and you will be grateful for it. Got it?"

    ""Yes¡­ instructor¡­""

    Out of breath and mustering a weak voice, everyone replied in unison.

    Seeing such a pitiful sight, Instructor Raven shook his head again and began speaking

    "Listen up, maggots! I want you all to close your eyes and take a deep breath from your nose until you can breathe in anymore. Once you can''t breathe, open your mouth and breathe in just once more.

    "Then you release your breath in short bursts around ten to fifteen times. Do that while drawing in mana from your surroundings into your body. Start!"

    As soon as the instructions were given, we started doing what we were told.

    Taking in a long breath from my nose, I filled my lungs to their extreme by breathing once more through my mouth.

    After then, I started releasing my build-up breath into short bursts while subconsciously drawing in mana from my surrounding in a meditative state.

    "Huh¡­?"

    And when I was done, I couldn''t help but widen my eyes in astonishment. I was not feeling fatigued or tired anymore¡ªat least not as much as before.

    I looked around me and saw that everyone else was just as bewildered as me.

    "Neat, right?" Instructor Ravenmented. "It''s a simple breathing technique that helps in rxing your body. It won''t vanish your fatiguepletely so you will still need rest to function properly. Still, it would help you keep your body in its optimum condition for a long time which could prove to be useful in a plethora of situations. It''s called Breath Of Vitality."

    Aww, he''s not a bad guy.

    He was thinking about us! And he even gave us such a useful technique! Man, this guy was an angel!

    I guess underneath all his harsh exterior, he''s just a big softie inside. Heh.

    Fine, I''ll take out your name from my death note, you big tsundere.

    "Anyway, now that you all are feeling good, do two hundred push-ups!"

    Nevermind.

    He''s dying by my hands alright.

 Chapter 31 Spider

    ?Two hours.

    Two fucking hours.

    We did that horrendous physical training on that fucker''s instructions for two fucking long hours.

    After Instructor Raven was done with us, none of the cadets were in any shape of learning Combat Arts so he had to let us go.

    That guy is not a human. He is a demon! A part of me is already starting to believe that he likes torturing kids.

    I swear to god I will put him through something much worse one day! Just let me get strong.

    Anyway, right now we were dragging our tired bodies to the training hall situated on the ground floor.

    The Global Military Academy course for first-year cadets is divided into eight sses;

    Mana Theory.

    Mana Arts.

    Anti-personnel Combat Training.

    Combat Arts.

    Weapon Arts.

    War tactics.

    High Order Thinking Skills (applying scientific and mathematical theories to mana arts).

    Andstly, an Elective Course (Extra ss) allows cadets to select a specific field of study that''ll help them build a careerter.

    In a day, one cadet has to attend five sses ording to the timetable provided by the academy, where one of them is a joint ss session between two ss sections.

    Yesterday, my Extra ss was a joint session with ss 1-G-14.

    Today is our first day of Weapon Arts ss and we will be sharing it with ss 1-C-8.

    Hmm? You want to know why the hell I''m telling you all this useless information?

    Well, because starting today the first arc of the story will be set in motion.

    And oh boy, I''m excited for it to begin.

    Mmm? You wanna know why I''m so excited about it?

    Well, firstly, there was finally going to be some juicy drama to keep me entertained.

    Even though I was in a fantasy world now, I was trapped in a monotonous rhythmic routine.

    Get up,e to the academy, train, go back, sleep and repeat.

    I was in desperate need of some nail-biting juicy drama~!

    And secondly, this arc will provide me with some good opportunities to get stronger.

    So as I dragged my feet and descended the stairs to get to the training hall, my eyes absentmindedly started searching for this story''s protagonist.

    There he was.

    While all the other cadets around me looked like they were about to drop dead any moment now, that guy on the other hand seemed as if the abuse we all just went through was akin to a morning jog for him.

    Nero Dekrauf.

    In the novel, this uing arc established his presence as the ''main character'' of the story.

    It started when a cadet of ss 1-C-8 began picking a fight with William, a part of the main cast, on something so trivial that I can''t even bother to remember it.

    Like a knight in shining armor, Nero jumped in and took a stand for his fellow cadet in need.

    Let''s just say that little feud transpired into a chain of events and morphed into a full-blown sh between the two sses.

    That in turn, forced the ''Queen'' of the Global City or shall I say, Cadet Council''s vice president, Yelena Morningstar, to interfere.

    She proposed an idea of a ''mock war'' between sses 1-C-8 and 1-A-1 in the virtual world on the condition that the losing ss would give up their total monthly Merit Points to the winning ss.

    Both of the sses willingly epted, of course.

    But amidst all this, there was a traitor in ss 1-A-1 that leaked all the crucial information to the enemy. From their war strategies to battle formations¨C everything.

    That traitor was Grace Goodwill. She had no goodwill for her own ss.

    Hehe. Get that? Goodwill, goodwill? Wordy. Hehe.

    Ahem, anyway¡­

    To avoid getting caught, she framed Lucas as the traitor and set him up. Of course, Lucas'' brilliant reputation didn''t help him and everyone instantly believed Grace.

    But Grace was a cautious woman. She had the habit of hammering an extra nail to the coffin.

    To make sure no one would ever believe Lucas if he were to try and plea for innocence, she paid amoner girl to provoke and get beaten up by him.

    Long story short, right after the end of the first arc, Nero engaged in a duel with Lucas and thoroughly embarrassed him for assaulting a helpless girl.

    By doing that, he made his name known to mostly everyone in the academy. After all, it''s not every day a descendant of a Ruling Family is beaten to a pulp.

    Urghh!

    Just remembering thatst part sent a shiver down my spine. Arghh! I''ll have to avoid that fate at any cost.

    Hmm, what happened to the mock war, you ask?

    Well, the arc concluded with ss 1-A-1 scoring a dangerously close victory over ss 1-C-8 after six long days of the hard-fought war.

    The reason for their victory?

    Nero Dekrauf.

    Out of 20 Squads of ss 1-C-8, Nero single-handedly wiped out 6 of them. That act gave ss 1-A-1 a major number advantage over their enemy.

    So despite their whole strategy being leaked, they won through brute force alone.

    After that event, Nero''s rank was updated from 000021 to 000019.

    Now, although the first arc wasrgely irrelevant to the plot, it marked the start of the main story.

    Not to mention, it brought all the important main leads together, forming a bond amongst them that set them up for the challenges ahead.

    That said, I would much rather prefer if the ending does not feature my fragile ass being used to wipe the floor by a monster like Nero.

    So, will I be taking it upon myself to change the ending of this arc?

    Hell yeah!<novelnext></novelnext>

    By doing so, will I potentially alter the plot in a way that coulde back to bite meter on?

    Hell yeah!

    ?

    After dragging my tired feet across the corridors and down the stairs one floor after another, I finally arrived at the training hall.

    As the name suggests, it was a huge hall. Actually, instead of a training hall, it would be more urate to call it a dojo.

    In front of us was a raised tform¡ª a stage covered with cushioning mattresses.

    At the back of the hall, several pieces of training equipment, practice dummies, andbat dolls were neatly ced.

    I looked around and saw all sorts of ded weapons packed tightly on the walls.

    Axes, scythes, whips, swords¡ª all kinds of des.

    I also noticed that even though two sses¨C by extension, 200 hundred cadets were sharing the training hall, it was still nowhere near its full capacity and everyone had plenty of space to do just more than move around.

    It made me wonder, exactly how big was this dojo?

    "Attention cadets!"

    Shaking me out of my awe right then was a loud booming voice. It wasing from in front of us.

    Naturally, everyone shifted their attention to the stage where the voice seemed to havee from.

    Surely enough, we saw a man with a lean build and long crimson hair tied into a braid, seemingly in his mid-forties, ring back at us.

    A pair of enchanting crimson eyes adorned his perfectly chiseled face. Even though arge scar was running down his left cheek, it did nothing to hinder his beauty.

    He was wearing a loose dojo robe with a deep v-neck thatpletely revealed multiple other scars on his bare chest that he must''ve received during his time on the battlefield.

    I knew who he was¡­.

    "I am Leo Kurogami. I''m currently on a year-long leave from the Military. My rank is Captain and from this moment on, I will be your weapon arts instructor!"

    He was Leo Kuro¨C oh, he already introduced himself¡­.

    "You will all address me as Sensei starting today and I will call you all by your names. Follow my instructions without fail. If you don''t, be prepared to face consequences that''ll follow."

    He was of Japanese lineage with mixed Mexican blood. Not that any of those countries exist now but it''s rare to see someone of Asian roots alive in this world.

    Why?

    Because during the Demon invasion that happened seven centuries ago whichsted for six days, the first countries to be annihted were mostly Asian countries.

    Almost 62% of humanity was wiped out by Demons and roughly 48% of those casualties were Asian people.

    After that, bloodlines and cultures started to blend together when thendmass of the world began to collide into one.

    It was difficult to even keep one''s traditions alive at that time because of how chaotic everything was back then.

    But on the bright side, religious, cultural, and racial conflicts were ceasing to exist drastically with each passing year.

    Discrimination and prejudice were bing things of the past when the world was literally brought together.

    Well that was until the Central Government was formed, and they proposed aw that stated that every individual who can wield mana has to serve in the United Military for four years.

    In itself, that wasn''t such a bad proposal since the Northern Continent needed more soldiers to defend its borders from the Vampires.

    Space defense stations required more soldiers to deploy too, since the threat of Kalis seemed to have been growing with each passing day.

    So yeah, the Central Government''s decision had the world and its people''s best interests at heart.

    However, Asians, who had already lost the majority of their poption, were firmly against the notion of sending their sons and daughters to the border to fight in an extinction-level war.

    So they protested against it.

    ¡­Or at least, they tried to until their voices were silenced as the government imposed strictws and suppressed dissent

    After that urred many simr incidents in which the Central Government demonstrated its power and shut down people''s voices and opinions¨C essentially stripping them of their freedom of speech.

    In the following years, the members of the Central Government dered themselves as the supreme authority of the world. They made it very clear that anyone opposing them would be suppressed.

    The people of Earth had their birthright¡ª their freedom stolen from them just like that and they all were just too powerless to do anything.

    After all, what right does the weak have against the will of the strong?

    They could do nothing but endure under the utter monarchy of the Central Government.

    Well, at least that''s what most of them thought they could do.

    There were some individuals who wanted to reim their birthright, some who wanted to take back their freedom, decided to overthrow the Central Government in order to rid the world of its perceived ''tyranny.''

    This sentiment of overthrowing the one supreme authority of the world gave birth to an organization that very few know of in today''s times¨C Spider.

    ''Spider'' was a group that sought to achieveplete anarchism by dismantling the hierarchical system of governance established by the Central Government.

    Whereas most people treated the existence of Spider as a myth, an urban legend, or a conspiracy, a select few people knew the truth about them.

    They really did exist.

    And since they were a shadow organization, no one knew who their members were.

    It was possible that anyone¨C your brother, your friend, a person you sat next to while traveling on the train, your own parents, your lover¡­ or your weapon arts instructor¡ª could be a member of Spider.

    You see, the very idea of Spider''s existence posed a threat to the Central Government.

    This is because anarchism, which is the goal of Spider, seeks to eliminate hierarchy and governance altogether in favor of recing it with voluntary cooperation and mutual aid.

    As such, the existence of an organization like Spider challenges the very foundations of the society created by the Central Government

    But that was not the reason why they were so considered to be so dangerous.

    The reason for them being so dangerous was that, ording to some conspiracy theories, few of the most influential people in the world were affiliated with Spider.

    Some of them even acted as its legs.

    Oh, the organization was structured with nine main seats - eight ''legs'' and one ''head'' - and all the other people affiliated with Spider were referred to as ''workers'' or ''cells.''

    I think even the dumbest of you must''ve understood where I''m going with this by now, right?

    No?

    Gosh you really are dumb.

    Fine, let me write it out for you.

    Leo Kurogami, also known as the ''The Second Coming of the Sword Saint,'' our weapon arts instructor, was one of the Spider''s legs.

 Chapter 32 Leo Kurogami

    ?"Now, I won''t im to be an expert of every weapon in existence," Leo shrugged. "In fact some of you might even be able to use your main weapon better than me.

    "But where I excel is in fighting solely with weapons. My fighting style is forged around the various weapon arts I''ve studied and mastered over the years.

    "From Mount Hua to Southern Edge to even some lesser-known dojos, I''ve learned in countless martial arts sects and schools and honed the craft of wielding weapons to its near perfection¡­."

    The more Leo continued to babble about his aplishments, the more the cadets listening to him felt enthralled by him.

    I had to agree. This guy was charismatic as fuck!

    The girls present here were already bewitched by him, but even the boys couldn''t help and admire him.

    Maybe that''s why he was one of the top-ranking members of a huge shadow organization.

    Anyway, I think I never exined the lore of martial arts in this era, right?

    Oh, I did?

    Let me talk about it a little anyway.

    After mana started flowing in the world, people discovered that it was very, very simr to the ''Qi'' mentioned in the ancient Chinese martial arts scriptures.

    And so, the age of the revival of martial arts began.

    Sects were formed and schools were established to spread the knowledge of martial arts by veteran practitioners.

    Even duds¨C the people who were incapable of using mana¨C started taking a keen interest in it.

    And as such, martial arts regained the fame it once held in the ancient past.

    Although many known sects of the past were reestablished, only three of them came out on top.

    These three sects were hailed as the Three Great Sects¡ª Mount Hua of the North, Wudang of the East, and Shaolin of the South.

    Don''t worry. I''m not going to talk about this Murim shit for too long. Yes, I don''t like Murim either. Okay, maybe a little.

    Anyway, my point is, practicing martial arts became a viable career. In fact, some retired soldiers go on to teach martial arts to make a living.

    Martial arts can be broadly ssified into two categories: Combat Arts and Weapon Arts.

    Combat Arts involve techniques that are designed to help you engage in hand-to-handbat with your enemy by making you use your body as a weapon.

    Movement Arts and Breathing Techniques are subdivisions of Combat Arts.

    Weapon Arts, on the other hand, focus on the use of various weapons, such as swords, staffs, nunchucks etc. to defeat an enemy.

    Techniques in martial arts are ranked from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5, with Lvl. 5 being the strongest.

    Each Level is then further divided into three grades: Low, Mid, and High.

    Mastery over one''s professions, such as Spearman, Archer, Swordsman, Tanker, Assassin, is also divided from Lvl. 1 to Lvl. 5 with thetter being the highest point one can reach in their profession.

    It is believed that the more you practice your profession, the higher your profession will level up and the stronger you''ll be.

    What better way to do it than learning some weapon arts rted to your profession, right?

    Well, yeah, but the level of difficulty in mastering different weapons can vary.

    Some weapons may be easier to learn and use effectively, while others may require more training and practice to be proficient.

    For example, mastering to use a gun would be much easier than mastering to wield a sword.

    Not to mention, there are not so many weapon arts for guns while there exist thousands for swords.

    And because of that, even if someone has a profession of Lvl. 5 Gunman, they could still be weaker than a Lvl. 3 Swordsman.

    Of course, weapons are just tools and the ferocity of their use can vary greatly depending on their wielders.

    Anyway, it is also worth noting that talent can also y an important role in how easily someone is able to master their main weapon.<novelnext></novelnext>

    And yes, there are other professions such as Crafter, Alchemist, or Rune Master but they are not considered to be the main professions since they are no help inbat.

    The way to level up those professions is essentially the same¡ªwork hard, improve, and master your proficiency in them.

    ¡­What? Some of you still can''t grasp what I''m saying?

    Haa, fine, you''ll understand once you see everything I said y out in the story.

    For now, I would just like to clear this up: Leo Kurogami is a monster.

    In the novel, there were only so many people who were able to fight him head-on. He was called ''The Second Coming of Sword Saint'' and ''God of War.''

    The reason for those chunni titles?

    It''s because there was not a single weapon in existence that he had not at least used once.

    He had learned over 500 different weapon arts in over 65 martial arts schools and sects over the world.

    He was Lvl. 3-4 in over fifty while Lvl. 5 in twenty different professions. And he was only 32 years old!

    I know with that age, he couldn''t be considered young, but he wasn''t very old either.

    To achieve what he did in his life would be near impossible for most people.

    Out of all the weapons he had mastered, his weapon of choice was either a ninjato or a katana.

    Heavy emphasis was put on the fact that if he were to use his secret weapon art against you, you are as good as dead.

    He was a person no one wanted to have as their enemy.

    Unfortunately, the Central Government had just that. They had him as their enemy.

    There will be a civil war in 3 years'' time, which wouldter be called the ''War Of Union,'' and in that war, this man will be the United Military''s enemy.

    Sigh¡­ days ahead sure are tough.

    Well, he''s not my headache. Nero will deal with him when the timees.

    "...So, is that understood?" Leo finally ended his super long speech about weapons this and weapons that and asked his students if everything was clear.

    "Yes, sensei!" everyone replied in unison.

    "Excellent," Leo nodded and surveyed the crowd of cadets before speaking in a firm voice. "Now, I will assign each of you a weapon art based on your academy ranking and the primary weapon of choice.

    "However, if you are already practicing a different weapon art or wish to continue doing so in the future, that ispletely fine. But please be aware that this does not excuse you from learning the weapon art that I am assigning to you."

    As soon as Leo was done speaking, he stepped down from the stage and started walking up to a cadet one by one.

    After walking up to a cadet, he would ask them their rank and main weapon. And after getting the answer, he would take out a thin technique cultivation manual from his dimensional ring and hand it over to them.

    "Name, ranking, and primary weapon?"

    "Lucas Morningstar. 116969. Bow."

    Swoosh¡ª

    "Here you go."

    It didn''t take long before he reached me and handed me an archery art too.

    Following that, in around twenty minutes or so, Leo was done providing manuals to the 200 cadets present here.

    With a nonchnt attitude, he walked up to the training hall exit before turning around and shouting, "Follow me. We''re going out in the field."

    If we had to go out in the field, then why did we walk back here in the first ce?!¡ªIs what everyone wanted to ask but we held our tongue and bitterly followed Leo as he trailed out of the training hall.

 Chapter 33 Weapon Training

    ?I kind of expected this but¡­

    I''m currently witnessing a guy make aplete fool of himself. The whole ss was ridiculing him.

    Hugh Jass.

    This guy, on top of being aplete mystery to me, was a gunman.

    There were noplex weapon arts for guns. How could there be? The use of a gun is so simple! Aim, shoot, handle recoil¡ª that''s it!

    And this guy right here was simply taking out the twin handguns from the holsters on his waist, pulling their triggers and putting them back in the holsters real quick.

    That''s all! That was his two-movement gun art¡ª quick draw and shoot.

    Just who was he and why in god''s name was he using handguns? Y''know, he kinda reminded me of the MC of this one novel that I read.

    I forgot that novel''s name and plot but I do remember the mc in it was a transmigrator.

    He used a Deagle in a modern world of sword and magic, and he was kind of cool, I have to admit it.

    However, guns¡­

    "Arghh," as I watched Hugh handle his guns, a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn''t help but shudder at the mere sight of them.

    I was killed by a gun.

    Maybe that inflicted some kind of trauma on me and caused me to grow some kind of phobia toward guns.

    "Tsk," clicking my tongue and shaking my head, I averted my gaze from him.

    Finally deciding to start my own training, I navigated across the concrete field, where cadets practiced various weapon arts provided by Leo Sensei.

    The training field was vast and divided into three sections: an open area where cadets could practice freely, a dummy practice area where cadets could practice with close-range weapons like swords and spears, and a shooting range where cadets with long-range weapons could practice.

    In addition to this, there''s also a training hall where we were before. It''s an indoor and smaller version of this training field.

    Oh and the academy also has multiple gyms¨C personal and public, which are equipped with some super-advanced equipment. However, I''ve not been there myself.

    Hmm? Why? Because I was too busyzing around.

    Yeah, yeah, I know.

    I should be getting stronger and all that, but old habits die hard¡­ especially when you have a messed-up sleep schedule like mine.

    Anyway, upon arriving at the shooting range, I noticed 40nes with circr targets positioned at the end of eachne. These targets had a set of concentric circlesbeled on them.

    I noticed Amelia and Anastasia, along with several other snipers from ss 1-C-8 and 1-A-1, using the targets to practice their weapon arts.

    Without paying much mind to any of them, I went and stood a few meters away from one of the unupied targetnes.

    I had to focus on myself. The first main event of the story was about to start any moment now, and I had to get ready for it.

    From now on, no more procrastination. This world is cruel, and if I don''t put in the effort required to seed, I will lose.

    And in this world, losing means death.

    I must be proactive and determined if I want to thrive in such a challenging environment.

    And I have a definite idea of how to do just that.

    ording to my estimation, a cadet from ss 1-C-8 will instigate a fight with William within the next hour.

    Leo Sensei will dismiss the altercation as a mere children''s brawl, but it would escte in theing days and lead to a huge conflict between the two sses.

    That would mark the start of the first arc in the story.

    I had set two goals in mind for the first arc:

    To seize every opportunity that can and will help me to grow stronger.

    And to alter the arc''s ending in a way that allows me to avoid having a duel with Nero.

    With that decided, I nodded and started reading the technique manual provided to me by Leo Kurogami.

    The name of the archery technique I was going to practice was ?Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike.?

    Yes, I know. I know it''s a chunni name. I can''t do anything about it, okay?! Good lord.

    Anyway, it was a mid-grade Lvl. 1 weapon art.

    This archery art allows the user to infuse an arrow with mana. Upon release, the mana on the arrow will split and form into ten mana arrows and rain down upon the target.

    The technique can bebined with an elemental spell too.

    So why did it have ''thousand'' and ''lightning'' in its name? The fuck do I know about wuxia naming sense!

    Anyhow, as I was saying, I was provided with a mid-grade Lvl. 1 art. Although it was a good technique, I could never hope to catch up to my peers with just this.

    So what is my n, you ask?

    My n is to focus on my goal number 1 as of now¡ª to seize every opportunity that can and will help me grow stronger.

    Archery techniques are not very strong. In fact, no long-range weapon art is strong enough whenpared to the close-range weapon art.

    A Lvl. 1 sword art will always be stronger than a Lvl. 1 archery art.

    I chose a bow as my main weapon because I didn''t want to engage in close-quartersbat.

    Why? Well, because it''s too messy for someoneing from a peaceful world like me.

    I would much rather shoot from a distance and let all the other brutes do the fighting for me.

    That said, I knew what I wanted was unrealistic.

    I can''t just hope never to be put in a situation where I''ll have to fight at close range. Thinking that would be stupid.

    And what''s stupider would be not readying myself for such a situation.

    I think you all must''ve understood where I''m going with this, right?

    What I need to do first is buy a spear art. Since I know how to handle a spear from Lucas'' memories, it would be a perfect weapon to master.<novelnext></novelnext>

    In fact, Lucas was originally a spearman in the novel.

    What''s more, a spear is a mid-range weapon. So I won''t have to fight someone super up close while using it.

    After that, I''ll start practicing some good unarmedbat arts just in case I ever find myself in a situation where I don''t have any weapons on me.

    So my arsenal would look something like this:

    Archery for long-range, Spearmanship for mid-range, and hand-to-hand Combat Arts for fighting at close range.

    Yes, it would be perfect!

    Coupled with magic spells that I''ll learn and my near-invincible armor, I would be the most versatile fighter among my peers!

    Okay¡­ not ''the'' most, but at least one of the most versatile fighters among my peers.

    Of course, achieving all that by the start of the ''mock war'' will simply be impossible.

    So instead, I decided to just focus on buying at least a Lvl. 3 spear art and mastering this Lvl. 1 archery art for now.

    "Haa, let''s start practicing." An extended sigh escaped my lips before I stretched and loosened my body.

    Opening the first page of the technique manual in my hand, I started following exactly what was written on it step by step.

    ?

    55 minutester¡­

    Ding¡ª!

    [Your knowledge about your profession has increased.

    Techniques¡ú Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1)

    Progress: [11%]]

    Finally, after spending around 55 minutes on it, the status notification popped up and acknowledged my hard work.

    Although, the progress level of my technique was still at 11%. I don''t know how long it will take to master it and get it to 100%.

    Oh, by the way, did I ever fill you all in about what this status screen actually is?

    Don''t worry. I won''t start a super long exnation.

    In short, seven centuries ago, when mana started flowing on Earth, people who could wield it started seeing a translucent screen.

    That translucent screen presented them with information about themselves, such as their name, race, profession/skills, magic potential etc.

    It also provided them with a numerical representation of their physical and mental condition like attack, defense, charm, and intelligence.

    Over the years, humans started calling it ''Status Screen.''

    The dwarves simply called it ''Universal Window.''

    And the elves and vampires called it ''Akashic Records.''

    Oof, so many shy names. What''s wrong with people''s naming sense in this world?

    For the sake of simplicity, I''ll just refer to it as the status screen like the rest of normal humans.

    Anyway, with the arrival of the status screen, everyone was able to decipher what area they had to work on in order to improve and grow stronger.

    And yes, before someone asks, much like in any other fantasy novel, only the owner can see their status screen.

    Also¡­ Oh wait, this exnation has stretched for far too long despite me promising not to let it.

    Ahem, then I think you get what it is now? Pretty generic fantasy stuff and nothing special.

    Anywho, after taking a short breather, I resumed training again.

    I raised my bow and knocked an arrow on the string. Drawing magical energy from my mana core, I coated the arrow with a thinyer of mana before taking aim.

    Sure enough, the arrow was enveloped in a light azure blue hue.

    Pulling back the bowstring, I calmed my mind and let out a deep breath.

    "Fuuuu"

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Tak¡ª!

    As soon as I released my grip from the bowstring, the arrow shot forward and struck the center of the target.

    Hah! Bull''s eye!

    Err¡­ but my arrow still didn''t multiply.

    If I had performed the technique correctly, the mana I had coated on my arrow should have split into ten mana darts, creating the illusion that my arrow had multiplied.

    Hmm, maybe I did something wrong?

    It''s possible that I was not using the correct breathing pattern or my posture was wrong.

    It''s also possible that I did not coat the arrow with the right amount of mana or that I was not releasing the arrow correctly.

    Scratching my head in half confusion and half frustration, I summoned the martial manual Leo gave me from my dimensional bracelet.

    Page by page, I started taking a look at it, desperate to know what I was doing wrong.

    ¨C"What did you say to me?!"

    Suddenly, the fierce shouting of a young man snapped me out of my deep concentration.

    I whipped my head around to see the source of the disturbance.

    There, I saw a muscr ck youth towering over a smaller boy with bright green hair and matching eyes, blocking his path with anger in his eyes.

    I recognized the scene instantly and couldn''t help but whisper to myself in a tone full of excitement, "Aaaah! It''s starting~!"

 Chapter 34 Igniting A Spark

    ?Drama! Drama! Drama~!

    Ever since childhood, I have loved drama. No, it would be more appropriate to say I hated the monotonous lifestyle.

    I sought excitement and thrill to keep me entertained throughout my days.

    I used to be the person who thrived on chaos. If I couldn''t find it, I would create it myself.

    How did I achieve that?

    Well, I was the type of student wh o would always remind the ss teacher about homework.

    I was the ''best friend'' who would manipte girls into breaking up with their boyfriends and vice versa.

    I was the guy who used to instigate discord between two friends and watch them fight!

    Remember the story where my friends from college and I yed truth and dare while drunk?

    Guess who gave them the idea of doing so? It was me!

    Why did I do something so horrible? Because I knew I would get a good drama out of it!

    ¡­Of course, it negatively affected me in the end by messing up my whole sleep schedule but meh, whatever. It was totally worth it.

    My point is I worship chaos! I love drama! I like seeing the peacefulness of life getting disrupted!

    I know all the things I said make me look like a bad person, but I don''t care.

    In my past life, as I grew up, I physically felt my emotions drifting away from me.

    The happiness and sadness I used to feel as a child stoppeding to me. I could hardly remember thest time I cried.

    I had a girlfriend but I could never love her the way I saw my friends loving their partners.

    I had parents but I never felt close to them.

    I had siblings but we never shared any secrets.

    I had friends but being with them felt suffocating.

    My life was boring and theck of stimtion drove me to insanity many, many times.

    I always felt like I wascking something in life. To cover up thatck of feeling, I started doing things that a ''good person'' would never do.

    But it''s not like I killed anyone or did anything bad. You could say I just anonymously yed little pranks on my friends.

    I just wanted to feel something¨C anything that could make me feel a little alive.

    So when I came to this world, I was happy. I was finally inside a war fantasy novel. There was chaos everywhere around me!

    And right now, I was witnessing the start of something that wouldter turn into huge chaos.

    I put the martial manual I had in my hands back in my dimensional bracelet and took out a packet of popcorn.

    Yes, I brought popcorn.

    Training could wait. Watching this scene takes priority.

    "What did you say to me?!" a bulky ck male yelled at a small structured emerald-haired elven boy''s face.

    He was ripped, and the ck zer he wore struggled to contain his giant biceps.

    With a height of around 7''4, he possessed an imposing figure capable of inducing fear into anyone''s heart. It was hard to believe that he was only 18.

    His name was¡­ Ah¡­ I don''t know. I forgot.

    Yes! I did im to have a near-perfect memory but even I can''t remember all the useless small details!

    "Do you know who I am? I''m Alberto Okoro! I''m the right-hand man of Kai Wiseman!" the ripped guy yelled again, his deep, booming voice thundering across the training field.

    The onlookers quaked in fear for the safety of the petite elven boy facing the giant man.

    Those who had not been watching the scene before were surely paying attention now, turning their heads to see what was happening.

    Yes, I remember now! His name was Alberto¨C Oh, he already introduced himself?

    Anyway, he was the right-hand man of¨C Oh, he said that too?

    "Dude, why are you so mad? I just asked you to move from this spot politely." while everyone else quietly watched in horror, the elven boy in front of Alberto spoke calmly without a shred of fear visible on his face.

    He was William Sinoath. His family background wasn''t that special.

    Sinoaths used to be a powerhouse in the past but now they have lost most of their influence and political standing.

    Why?

    Because most of their members were massacred.

    Why?

    Well, I can tell you but I''m afraid I''ll go off-topic. So let''s put this talk aside for another time.

    Sinoaths still serve the Netyoive family¨C the ruling family of the southern continent¨C as their vassal but are barely a noble house anymore.

    However, they are still known for their pride as an elven family. Despite no longer holding the fame they once had, they maintain their dignity in their bearing.

    And the pride and dignity of the Sinoath blood shone through in the way this boy held himself. Standing tall against a man twice his size, he exuded an air of determination.

    "What do you mean you asked me politely? You literally said, and I quote, `Oi, move from here, you''re taking too much space.` Does that sound polite to you?!" Alberto spat out in a ridiculing tone. "And who are you to tell me what to do anyway?!"

    For an outsider, this may seem like a childish reason to fight.

    After all, Alberto''s whole basis for the argument was that William rudely talked to him.

    Alberto was a ''weak in front of strong and strong in front of weak'' kind of guy. And William was a little too haughty for his own good.

    You put their kinds in front of each other and you''ll get to see them start a fight over something trivial in under a minute.

    Well, in Williams'' defense, elves are known to be prideful.

    But that wasn''t the whole truth. You see, Alberto was asked to start this fight by Kai Wiseman¨C the leader of the group who called themselves Young Elites.

    I still can''t get over how stupid ''Young Elites'' sounds but anyway.

    Why did Kai instruct Alberto to do that?

    Well, because he''s a third-rate novel viin. Causing inconveniences in the plot is his whole reason for existence.

    As I''ve exined before, there are two internal authorities that govern the cadet body in this academy: Cadet Council and Disciplinary Community, also known as ''royals'' and ''pawns.''

    The Cadet Council, also called the ''royals,'' consists of the top eight ranking cadets of the academy. They possess individual titles such as King, Queen, Bishops, Knights, and Rooks.

    They have the power to make significant changes and set new rules in the academy.

    The Disciplinary Committee, also known as the ''pawns,'' consists of the next eight cadets ranked from 9-16 and is responsible for enforcing the rules set by the Cadet Council.

    Quinn, who is ranked 16, is technically a member of the Disciplinary Committee.<novelnext></novelnext>

    But if I remember the plot of the novel correctly, he has not yet attended any of their meetings and has not yet actively joined themittee.

    If my estimation is right, then he will soon be forced to join them though. It will happen before the start of the ''mock war.''

    Anyway, Kai''s goal was to acquire the position of the King¡ª the cadet council president and ''rule'' this city during his time in the academy.

    In order to achieve his goals, he needed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those who would be hispetitors.

    Nero, to no one''s surprise, was one of those people who would be hispetitors for the rank of King.

    In fact, he and Quinn were the only real threat to him.

    That''s why Alberto''s goal here was to create a spark that couldter be turned into a forest fire.

    And seeing how his futurepetitors will deal with that fire would tell him everything he''d like to know about them.

    And from the looks of it, he was being sessful in doing so since Alberto was doing a good job enraging William.

    "What are you talking about? I never said that! It looks like you''re trying to me me for something I didn''t do," Williams said, frowning. "I just asked you to move a little because I wanted to practice here swinging a great sword around like it''s a toy! You could hurt someone with that!"

    "Oh, is that right? So you''re saying I heard wrong?" Alberto raised his voice. "I''m sorry to tell you this, shorty, but unlike your long ears that can''t seem to function properly, mine works perfectly!"

    Ooh! That was a low blow! Elves are really sensitive about their ears! And short guys are really sensitive about their heights!

    I''m 6''1 by the way. Hmph. Bow down to me, you mere mortals!

    After a few seconds of silence, the emerald-haired elven boy puffed his chest in anger and yelled

    "You know, I never said anything you''re iming I did, but now I am! You are uselessly big. Go fuck off elsewhere instead of making a fuss here and disturbing everyone around you!" he scowled.

    Oof, even I wouldn''t have taken that if I was in Alberto''s ce.

    "What?! Why the fuck would I care about anyone else? And if you have a problem with me, then you move! In fact, run! Run before I punch that stupid face of yours." Alberto barked and clenched his fists as a warning.

    "So you use someone of something they never did, you refuse to be mindful of your surroundings, and to top it off, you threaten to carry out a physical assault against a fellow cadet." William voiced Alberto''s vitions out loud, seemingly giving him onest chance to retreat.

    But instead, Alberto shot a wide grin and continued his barking. "Yeah, I do! What the fuck will you do about it? Go cry to your mama, you little baby?"

    "Is that supposed to be aeback? Because if yes, then it was childish and stupid." William gritted his teeth and mockingly cocked his head to the side, "God, I pity you. To be both stupid and ugly. Life must be hard for you."

    Burn! I call it a burn!

    As soon as those words left Williams'' mouth, Alberto raised his right hand up. He channeled mana to his dimensional bracelet and equipped a greatsword in his hand.

    The elven boy didn''t back down, either. He took a low fighting stance and summoned a spear in his right hand.

    Crunch¡ª Crunch¡ª

    Munching on the popcorn, I enjoyed the sight in front of me in anticipation of what was about to happen.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    But before Alberto could swing down his sword and William could thrust forward his spear, a ck-haired boy appeared out of nowhere in between them.

    Tsk.

    Who else but Nero can be counted on to ruin a perfectly good fight before it even starts?

    "Stop it, you two!" Nero yelled while using his hands to push back the two cadets and create some distance between them. "And Alberto, raising a weapon at a fellow cadet is a vition of rules. I will report it to the cadet council if I see this sort of behavior ever again."

    "What?!" jerking Nero''s hand that was pushing him back off his chest, Alberto shouted. "He has also pulled out his weapon on me!"

    "You were the one who did it first. You surely don''t expect William to let you hit him without fighting back, do you?" Nero narrowed his eyes while retrieving his hands.

    "You¨C" Alberto was about to start barking again when a guy from his ss came forward and took a stand for him.

    "And you surely don''t expect Alberto to let William keep insulting him, right? I mean, if we are really going to the cadet council, then let''s also tell them how rudely William talked to him." the guy who came forward argued.

    Before Nero or William could respond to thatment, Anastasia stepped up and inserted herself into the argument too.

    "To be fair, he is a big guy," she pointed at Alberto and said. "Not to mention he''s using a greatsword. There''s plenty of space in the field; he shouldn''t swing that thing around near someone. If William wanted him to give him some space, he could''ve done that."

    "Is that a reason to start insulting someone about their physique? Your ssmate called Alberto ''uselessly big'' in front of everyone," in response, a girl came forward from ss 1-C-8 and answered back to Anastasia. "Not to mention, your ssmate could''ve also gone somewhere else to practice."

    From the looks of it, both this girl and the other boy were probably part of Alberto''s unit.

    "And is that a reason to pull a weapon on someone?" Nero shot a counterargument. "Mind you. He pulled out a real greatsword on him! That weapon is meant to kill! And if that wasn''t enough¨C"

    "Quiet!"

    Just as they were in the middle of shouting at each other like cats and dogs, a thunderous voice echoed throughout the training field right then and silenced the cadets.

    Oh look, it seems that the Instructor has finally remembered that it is his job to supervise the cadets.

    After being unable to bear the disturbance any longer, Leo Sensei walked over to the cadets who were making a fuss and yelled in their faces.

    "Enough! Cease this childish quarrel now! Get back to your training and remember why you are here. You all are the future of this world, so start acting like it!"

    "But Sensei, he pulled a weapon on me!" William eximed, seeming unhappy that Alberto was receiving no punishment. "He was the one who picked a fight with me!"

    "I said enough!" however, Leo sternly told William to drop the topic. "If you take this matter to the council, both of you will be punished. Now go back and resume your practice!"

    Only when Leo ended the confrontation with them did the cadets drop their heads and nod.

    As they dispersed, the whole training field was plunged into an awkward silence.

    Crunch¡ª Crunch¡ª

    Some of them wanted to argue further, while others wanted to take this matter to the authorities.

    However, they could do nothing but return to practicing their weapon arts in bitter silence.

    As they did, they hoped that the events of the morning would never be brought up again.

    Little did they know, it would be brought up again and unbeknownst to them¨C

    "Eh?"

    As I was lost in thought, I noticed that the cadets near me were giving me a look as if to say, "Are you serious?"

    What? Why is everyone staring at me?

    I didn''t even do anything¨C Ohh!

    Then it hit me.

    In the tense palpable silence followed by a heated argument, the sound of someone munching on popcorn echoed across the training field.

    It was me.

    Putting away the popcorn packet in my dimensional bracelet, I equipped my martial manual back in my hands.

    Ignoring all the looks of disbelief and ridicule directed at me, I began practicing my weapon art again.

    Well, time to get back to training. The drama was only about to get spicy from here on out but I needed to get stronger to enjoy it to the fullest.

 Chapter 35 Spear Art [1]

    ?As you all might''ve already heard me say this many times before, I was in dire need of a spear-based weapon art.

    So, to get it, I went on the inte.

    ¡­What?

    You all expected me to have some future knowledge of the plot that would lead me to enter a cave and acquire a super cool weapon art after conversing with the ghost of its creator?

    Unfortunately for you all, I already used that clich¨¨ when I acquired my armor.

    And besides, guys, listen to me!

    Why would I need some stupid plot knowledge in order to get what I want when I can just shop for it online?

    ¡­Or at least that''s what I wanted to say.

    Click¡ª! Click¡ª! Click¡ª!

    In the deafening silence that filled up my apartment room, the monotonous sound of continuous clicking could be heard.

    The room waspletely dark, with the only source of lighting from the holographic screen that was being projected out from my smart bracelet.

    Sitting at the edge of my bed, I surfed the inte and visited several online shopping sites that were made for weapon arts purchases in hopes of finding a good deal.

    However, I was disappointed with the options avable so I continued to either repeatedly click to the next page or close the window one after another.

    My otherwise beautiful face was marred by puffy dark circles under my eyes, which were a sign of my exhaustion from constantly doing nothing but clicking on the holographic screen for the past few hours.

    Hmm?

    What does my current appearance have anything to do with the narration of what I was doing, you ask?

    Nothing really. I just like to remind you all uggos how extremely beautiful I am. Hmph.

    Anyway, like that I wasted a few more hours on the inte searching for good weapon art¡­ and going through some memes.

    What?! Don''t judge me!

    I have a whole new world''s pop culture to catch up to. And what better way to do that than reading up on some good memes?

    Ahem!

    Anyway, after five hours of inte surfing, I gave up and closed the holographic projection.

    Even the search results were starting to get repetitive now.

    "Huaaaa!" a yawn escaped my mouth as Izily stretched my body and fell back on the bed.

    "This is stupid," I admitted as I rolled my eyes. "But the clock is ticking. The event that''ll start the first arc has already happened."

    Yes, the event that''ll start the first arc has already happened. That means, in a few weeks, the mock war will start.

    The main story will start.

    So many things will happen once the main story starts. I have to start getting stronger now if I wish to survive those events.

    To do that, I need two things. A good weapon and a good weapon art.

    The former was not a problem. With my Edit Pen, I can easily create a good weapon.

    Now all that''s left is the other problem¡ª finding a good weapon art.

    However, despite searching so much, I couldn''t find any good weapon arts on the inte.

    The best I could get was Low to Mid grade Lvl. 2 martial manuals. And the weapon arts in them weren''t very special either.

    It''s not like money is the problem either. If I sell 2-3 watches from Lucas'' collection then I can easily buy a good martial manual.

    So I didn''t filter the search results by the cost price either. Yet, I couldn''t find anything good.

    I mean, I knew something like this could happen since most well-known Martial Arts schools and sects keep their weapon arts exclusive to their disciples and don''t sell them online. Only small schools and sects do that.

    The only way to learn their art is to either enroll in those big sects and schools or learn from someone who has already studied there.

    Both of those options were unavable to me at the moment.

    There were many characters who were disciples of those great sects in the novel, but I doubt I could get them to help me in time.

    Not to mention, with my current reputation in the academy, not many people were willing to interact with me.

    I also can''t enroll in those sects right now because I am currently in Academy City, which is located on an ind in the Southern Ocean.

    I would have to wait until the end of the semester for a vacation break to do that.

    Now with those options out of the way, what do I have left?

    Hmm.

    Ahh, I know! I can steal someone''s spear art manual!

    Yes, of course I''m not serious.

    There''s no way I could aplish that with Athena, the academy''s AI, strictly supervising the cadets all the time.

    Tsk.

    Arghh, I could only think of one way to get me out of this predicament.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Honestly speaking, what I was thinking of doing was not a very wise thing to do this early on in the story.

    But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

    Hmm? What am I thinking of doing, you might ask yourself?

    Well, before I tell you that, let me tell you this.

    The Global Academy is peculiar in more ways than one.

    For starters, this academy isn''t scared to throw its cadets into the unknown by stripping them of their titles and wealth during their stay here.

    The academy ims to do that in order to let its cadets be self-sufficient and resilient.

    However, more than that, the academy does that in order to turn them into obedient unquestioning soldiers.

    That''s why it even implements a reward and punishment system to train them.

    If they perform well during their training, they will be rewarded with a promotion in rank and additional benefits.

    If they do not perform well, they may face demotion in rank, lose ess to academy benefits, and may be required to spend additional time in training.

    It''s a meritocracy-based system that makes something very clear to everyone¡ª Follow orders, do well at what you''re told to do and get rewarded.

    This system is effective at creating well-disciplined soldiers.

    Now, let''s get back to what my n is.

    During the first month of the academy, first-year cadets are able to ess all services and make purchases in Academy City without incurring any charges.

    Everything, I repeat, everything is free for us here during our first month.

    Or at least that''s what the instructors im to be the case.

    In truth, if I were to go inside a weapon shop right now and ask the shopkeeper to hand me a weapon for free, the shopkeeper would spank my ass and kick me out of his shop.

    The same would happen if I were to go to any potion shops or martial art manual stores.

    Anything in this city is free for the first month except the things that could help the cadets get stronger.

    So, does that mean I can''t buy a weapon art in this city for the first month of my stay here?

    No, I can not.

    Does that mean I can''t ask anyone else to buy me a weapon art either? Say, a second-year cadet?

    Yes, that I can do.

    However, there''s a teeny tiny problem.

    In this city, one''s wealth, social status, and outside connections arepletely useless.

    This means if I wish to ask an upperssman for a favor, I would have to give them merit points in the future.

    You can say I''ll be taking on debt.

    And, as I''ve said before, considering my reputation of ''trash of the Morningstar house'' and ''spoiled bratty young master,'' not many would be ready to help me.

    So naturally, those who will agree to help may ask for a high price, knowing that I am desperate, which could result in me umting a significant debt of merit points.

    To pay off the debt, I may even be forced to sell my hawt body!

    ¡­Okay, fine. I''ll stop with my jokes.

    Anyway, besides paying a high price to a second-year cadet to help me get a weapon art, I have no other choice.

    But that''s not the main problem. The main problem is finding a second-year that''s willing to lend me a hand.

    Tring¡ª! Tring¡ª!

    Right when I was lost in my train of thought, my smart bracelet started ringing.

    I frowned and brought my hand to my face to look at the screen of the bracelet.

    ===

    [Kent Takeahint

    ept   Decline]

    ===

    It was Kent. For a second, I questioned how he got my number but then I remembered we were in a chat group.

    The next obvious question would be, why was he calling me?

    Well, even I didn''t know the answer to that.

    Since the day at Nero''s ce when I helped him with spellcasting, he has been talking about teaching me how to live life and all that.

    I''m sure it''s about that.

    So without much thought, I was about to decline the call when an idea hit me!

    "Wait a second," I narrowed my eyes at a sudden realization. "I can use him!"

 Chapter 36 Spear Art [2]

    ?Casually entering a crowded cafe a few streets down my ce, I took a seat at a table where a light blue-haired elven boy was already waiting for me.

    "Lucas! You''re here! Let''s go to a club and I''ll teach you how to live!"

    "Yeah, dude, no."

    "Fine! First we''ll get you a weapon art and after that I''ll show you how to live!"

    "First you''ll get me a weapon art and then I''ll go train."

    "Dude! Lucas! Dude! You''re my best friend¨C"

    "No, I''m not."

    "And as your best friend, it''s my duty to show you the wonders of life!"

    And as soon as I took a seat, Kent went on to talk about showing me how to live for a few more minutes.

    Hmm? Why was I meeting him, you ask?

    Well, two hours earlier I got a voice call from this guy.

    Just as I expected, he had called me to talk nonsense. He proposed the idea of going to a club and partying all night since it''ll be our day off tomorrow.

    Naturally, I said fuck off to that idea. Respectfully.

    Then I gave a counter suggestion which included a meeting in a cafe and him helping me get a spear-based weapon art.

    There were quite a few reasons why I asked him to help me out.

    For starters, these past 6 days I''ve been keeping a close eye on every cadet in our ss. I''ve been deeply observing them.

    Every movement they make, every conversation they have, every action they take¡ª everything.

    I''ve been analyzing their personalities and traits while trying to get a good read on them in case I ever have to use them in the future¡­.

    Interact with them in the future!

    I meant to say, in case I ever have to interact with them in the future.

    Ahem.

    Anyway, the thing I found about Kent was that he was a very social person. He was outgoing and fun, easy to talk to and charismatic.

    Although he can''t take hints and social cues sometimes, despite his ability to not being able to read the room, he''s quite popr among themoners.

    He''s the life of the party kinda boy.

    Side note: he''s a yer. And a huge one at that. The guy knows how to flirt like a master of rizz.

    So I figured he might''ve had a connection or two which could help me get a spear art.

    And sure enough, when I talked to him on the voice call, he agreed to help me.

    My other reason for asking him to help me was that¡­ Well, he was the only one in the academy willing to associate with me.

    "Anyway, are you sure you know someone who can help me, Kent?" changing the topic, I asked.

    "Yes," Kent nodded and replied in an assuring tone. "There''s this hot chick in our ss and she has an older sister. I called her and asked her to request her sister to buy a mid-grade Level 3 spear art and bring it to us here as a favor."

    Honestly, I was impressed. This guy has already made connections. Keeping him around could prove to be useful.

    I was also jealous.

    Why? Because I''m more handsome than him! If only I had a good reputation, I wouldn''t need anyone''s help!

    But there''s nothing I can do to change that though. So sighing internally, I asked Kent another question.

    "And what price will she be taking for it?"

    "Since her own sister is purchasing the spear art, she won''t be taking anymission when selling it to us. She will only charge the retail price, which will be around 3000 to 5000 merit points."

    "Woah, that''s good."

    That was actually a good deal. I don''t know what others would have charged me if I had gone to them, but I know for sure that no one else would''ve forgo taking amission.

    What a kind person this girl must be.

    "Of course, it''s good. After all, I set you this deal," Kent puffed his chest. "So, what do you say now? After this, let''s go hit a bar and enjoy!"

    "Dude, as I said, I need to train."

    "You can train on weekdays! Besides, bar and club entries are only free until the end of this month! We shouldn''t miss this chance!"

    "Exactly, we shouldn''t miss this chance to build our strength."

    "Ohe on, Lucas! We''re best friends-"

    "No, we''re not."

    "And we''re in our teens! We must go to clubs to pick up girls, party, and get drunk!"

    Rolling my eyes, I continued to argue with Kent. Can''t this guy take a hint that I''m not interested in hanging out with him?!

    Swiii¡ª!

    In the middle of our talk, we noticed the door of the cafe swirling open and a fetching young girl sporting a loose, casual ck hoodie and high-waisted denim shortsing in.

    She had dark hair and matching eyes and a triangr face thatplemented her athletic but slender body. She was beautiful but nowhere near the same level as Amelia and Anastasia.

    After entering the cafe, she scanned the surroundings with a lost look on her face as if she was looking for someone.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Lilly, you''re here!" like a true gentleman, Kent got up from his seat and walked up to the girl before bringing her over.

    "Oh, hey Kent!" as soon as she spotted Kent, her eyes lit up and her hands, which had previously been tucked inside her hoodie pockets, emerged and began fidgeting.

    Oh, I see how it is.

    This girl is not kind. She has hots for Kent!

    "Lilly, this is Lucas."

    "Yeah, I know."

    When Kent introduced me to her, she curtly sent a nod my way and immediately turned back to face Kent.

    "By the way, Kent, this is what you asked for."

    Without further ado, she took out a wooden binder from her dimensional bracelet and handed it over to the elven boy.

    In today''s world, with advanced technology, wooden binders and paper books are no longer necessary.

    Technology has made it possible to ess and store information in more efficient and convenient ways like inside cyberspace.

    Why do they still use it? For aesthetics. You won''t like learning Martial Arts from online PDFs, right?

    Chinese-styled wooden binders give you that feeling that you''re actually learning something ancient¡ª something forgotten.

    Pretty stupid reason, I know. (Plus, it raises the manufacturing prices of these manuals. And those greedy sects won''t let a single chance escape to milk pennies.)

    Yes, Martial art sects and schools produce martial manuals that they either sell to military academies or directly to individuals.

    Of course, the techniques described in those manuals are not as refined as the ones they teach to their direct disciples

    Anyway, after a short inspection, Kent handed me the martial manual.

    I grabbed it and nced at the words inscribed on its wooden cover¡ªthe words [6 Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st].

    "What''ll be its price, Lilly?" Kent questioned the girl in the hoodie.

    "My big sis brought it for 5200 merit points. As I''ve mentioned, I won''t take any extra charges, but she will be charging amission of 600 merit points, bringing the total to 5800 merit points." Lilly replied nonchntly.

    "That seems fair," I nodded.

    "You don''t have a problem?" Kent asked me.

    "No, it''s around what I expected." I shook my head.

    Despite being slightly more expensive than the price Kent mentioned, the deal was still quite affordable.

    Not to mention, I''ll have plenty of chances to earn merit points in the future.

    Plus, I''m pretty sure this martial manual belongs to the Mount Hua sect. They may be known for their swordsmanship, but they can definitely hold their own with other weapons too.

    After sword arts, their area of expertise lies in spear arts. That''s why I''m certain that this would be a technique worth learning.

    "Well~, I should go." with a short sigh, Lilly said.

    "Ye-"

    But before Kent could reply to her, I jumped in.

    "Oh, no, don''t go. Kent here was thinking about asking you for a coffee date." I said, pointing at the blue-haired boy.

    "What?" with visibly flushed cheeks, Lilly widened her eyes.

    "I was?" Kent raised an eyebrow in confusion.

    "Yes, he''s too shy to actually ask you for it so he asked me to tell you. That''s why he invited you to a cafe." I nodded and kept weaving lies.

    Damn I''m a good liar, I thought in the back of my mind, seemingly impressed with something I already knew about myself.

    "I did?" even more confused than before, Kent looked at me.

    "You did?" Lilly turned to Kent, clearly blushing her cheeks off.

    "I-Uh, yes, I did! So um, will you apany me to a cup of coffee?" clearing his head, Kent offered.

    "S-Sure." The girl blushed, tucking her hands coyly into the pockets of her hoodie as she shyly nodded her head.

    Aww. She was cute.

    Taking my cue after ying the role of cupid, I got up from my seat and said my greetings.

    "Well, you two, enjoy your date."

    But as I was about to walk away, Kent grabbed my hand and pulled me in close. He whispered in my ear, "Thanks for the great wingmanship, bro! I knew you''d make a great best friend. But sorry, looks like we won''t be able to hit up that club now."

    What?

    Was this guy dumb? I did this precisely because I didn''t want to hang out with him!

    This guy seriously can''t take a hint!

    Nevertheless, I yed the big man role as I said, "Don''t worry, dude. We''ll go next time."

    Like that, I patted his back and quickly trailed out of the cafe as Kent kept on watching me with stars in his eyes.

    Phew.

    Now that I''ve averted that inconvenience, I can start practicing now!

 Chapter 37 Spear Art [3]

    ?After leaving the cafe, I made my way to the Global Academy campus by taking a cab and then transferring to the campus bus.

    As I''ve mentioned before, the academy, which was known for its advanced training facilities, was made up of 5 tall skyscrapers.

    3 of these buildings were reserved for first, second, and third-year cadets where they attend their sses, while the remaining 2 towers were filled with training facilities and gyms for everyone to use despite their academic year.

    Of these facilities, there were three main types of training gyms:

    The Mana Arts gym, where students could practice their magical spells andbinations.

    Thebat training gym, which allowed students to hone their martial techniques.

    Andstly, the physical training gym, where students could work on their physical fitness.

    As I arrived at one of thebat training gyms on the 5th building''s bottom floor, I was surprised to see only a handful of first-year cadets practicing their martial arts.

    I had expected the gym to be way more crowded than this.

    Well, then again, most of the first-years decided to take advantage of the first month of their enrollment by enjoying the various amenities offered by the city, such as arcades, clubs, bars, and cafes.

    Since everything was free for us during the span of this first month, it contributed to the lower-than-expected turnout at the training gym.

    To top it off, most of the second and third-year cadets had yet to return from their annual academic missions.

    Annual academic mission is like an end-of-the-year exam that, ifpleted, would significantly affect their ranking.

    Due to these reasons, the training gym I was currently in was rtively empty.

    "Well, more space for me."

    The martial arts training gym where I was standing was a spacious, well-lit room filled with a variety of training equipment and facilities.

    Rows of punching bags hung from the ceiling while mats covered the floor. Combat dolls and practice dummies were ced at the back end of the room which cadets can use to practice their techniques.

    The walls were adorned with various martial arts weapons, such as nunchucks, bo staffs, and wooden katanas, which cadets could use to practice their forms and techniques.

    In the mor of fists and feet hitting the punching bags and mats, the scent of sweat and determination lingered in the room.

    After scanning through the gym and making sure no familiar face was present, I walked up to a practice spear hanging on the wall and took it off.

    As soon as I picked the spear, I was impressed by how sturdy and heavy it felt. The wood had a smooth texture and felt a little cold to the touch, and the binding cords provided a nice, grippy feel. The tip was blunted, of course.

    "Fuuuu."

    Letting out a sigh after I was done inspecting the spear, I walked up to an unupied practice dummy.

    After that, I took out the martial manual I had just acquired through Kent and started turning its page.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    As expected of a mid-grade Level 3 weapon art. This technique had three different forms.

    Forms are basically different ways a single technique can be performed.

    In its base form, the user channels mana that swirls around their spear, draws it back, and then thrusts it forward with great force, causing significant damage at the point of impact.

    If the user uses the technique by not pulling back their spear and pressing it against an object before twirling it to create a drilling effect, this would be considered the second form of the technique.

    In its third form, the user is capable of unleashing powerful drilling sts in the air toward their opponent, making it a long-range attack.

    Yes, yes, no matter how I may look at it, I can see this martial manual being a great help to me in the future.

    For a spear art, it was quite versatile.

    So after inspecting what the weapon art that I''ll be learning was, I closed my eyes and calmed my breathing.

    Clenching the practice spear tightly in my right hand, I began moving as it was instructed in the manual.

    Pressing my left foot on the ground, I drew back my right arm and started channeling mana around my spear.

    In a few seconds, as I had intended, the wooden spear in my hand was engulfed in a light azure hue as tendrils of blue energy coiled around it.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Grinning in excitement, I thrust my spear forward at the practice dummy with full force.

    Thwak¡ª!

    Nothing.

    Upon striking the practice dummy with my spear, nothing happened.

    As I continued to wield it, the magical energy surrounding the spear gradually diminished until it vanished entirely.

    Had I done it right, my spear would''ve been able to drill through the dummy without any effort.

    "Haaa."

    I couldn''t help but sigh as I took a few steps back and got ready to practice again.

    I was aware of my mistake. I was unable to effectively manage the flow of my mana.<novelnext></novelnext>

    With a resolution to rectify my error, I resumed my training by repeatedly wielding my spear.

    ?

    "Paaaah! Huuuuf! Haaaah!"

    [Your knowledge about your profession has increased

    Techniques¡ú 6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3)

    Progress: 10%]

    Fuck this!

    After spending nearly 3 hours practicing without interruption, I copsed, out of breath, onto the floor.

    3 hours of continuous practice and I was still nowhere near mastering the first form of the technique.

    Why? Simple reason.

    Continuously swirling mana around the spear is actually very, very difficult and takes a lot of effort.

    No matter how much I tried, I couldn''t seem to maintain it till the full duration of the attack.

    Arghh, I should''ve just gone for a low-level technique.

    Should I give up on this technique and buy some low-level spear art from the inte for now?

    I mean, I''m in need of something that I can learn fast and masterpletely by the time the ''mock war'' starts.

    "¡­Arghhh."

    But a frustrated groan escaped my lips when some unwanted memories of my past life raced through my mind.

    Those were some memories I don''t want to remember ever. They weren''t traumatic or sad; they were just nd.

    Each day was a struggle back then as I dragged myself through the monotony of my existence.

    I couldn''t find any joy or purpose in life, and so I simply went through the motions, never truly living.

    It was a lonely and unbearable existence, and my heart ached with a sadness that I could not shake.

    Although I had everything a sane person could ask for, I longed for something more, but I couldn''t see a way out of my mise.

    I never put any effort into anything, whether it was learning new things, building meaningful rtionships, or pursuing my passions. Well, it''s not like I had any passion for anything to begin with.

    I felt like nothing in life truly mattered to me so I never felt attached to anything or anyone.

    But despite my apathy, I trudged on, studying even when I had no interest in academics, making friends only to exploit them for my personal gain, and getting into rtionships without truly understanding theplexities of love.

    I yearned for a spark, a reason to wake up in the morning with excitement and anticipation.

    And I tried finding that spark everywhere I could think of.

    I took up hobbies like drawing, gaming and writing, but quickly gave up on them at the first sign of difficulty, judging them as something not worth my time and effort.

    But even then, I was always the first one to criticize others and judge them for their mistakes.

    Maybe that''s why I did such a good job as an editor.

    Well, unlike me, at least they were actually trying to put work into something they loved.

    I wanted that too. I wanted that burning passion for something, anything! But in the end, I couldn''t find it. I couldn''t find anything that made my heart race.

    Day after day, I lived my life feeling empty, continuously giving up on things until I was killed.

    When I came into this world, I was excited when I felt my heart beating after a long time.

    However, now I am concerned that if I grow too ustomed to my new existence, my heart may cease to beat once again.

    I''m concerned that if I go down the same path as my past life, if I keep giving up on things, I''ll start feeling dead inside once again.

    I don''t want that.

    I don''t want to live that life again.

    That monotonous cycle of a never-ending loop that I called my life, I can''t endure it again.

    No, I won''t endure it again.

    With a bitter taste in my mouth, I gritted my teeth and gripped the spear hard in my hand.

    I summoned the remaining strength I had left within me and stood up on my legs after barely keeping them from shaking.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Ignoring the fatigue in my body, I started welding my spear again.

 Chapter 38 Chaos Ahead And Future Plans

    ?===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    ____

    Attack¡ú 32 [+12]

    Endurance¡ú 18 [+10]

    Speed¡ú 39

    Stamina¡ú 34 [+2]

    uracy¡ú 76

    Charm¡ú 439

    Intelligence¡ú 187

    Mana Capacity¡ú 009/500

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Iron 2

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 1 || Archer Lvl. 1

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [11%]

    6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [23%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    None

    ??Breathing Technique

    Breath Of Vitality

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine?

    Edit Points: 16

    ===========

    "Ehehahahaha! Aehahaha!"

    A dimly lit gym room housed a silver-haired boy, his bright red eyes alight with maniacal giggles.

    Dressed in ck joggers and a sweat-dampened loose hooded sleeveless white t-shirt, he continued tough, despite the exhaustion obvious on his face.

    His surroundings were empty, with all previous upants having long left, the clock striking past midnight.

    In front of the silver-haired boy stood a human-shaped practice dummy which was made of super steel reinforced carbon fiber.

    The dummy, designed to withstand the impact of a charging bull, now had a deep dent in its upper torso, as if someone had attempted to drill open a cavity in it.

    Yes, of course, it was me.

    I did that and I wasughing at the practice dummy.

    Not only that, but I was also trash-talking him.

    "How do you like that, you fucker! Try acting all high and mighty now, you bitch! Ahahaha!"

    ¡­I have no excuse. I was acting crazy.

    But hey, try putting yourself in my shoes!

    I started practicing this spear art at 4:32 pm yesterday, and it is 2:55 am right now!

    Yes! I''ve been training for around 10 hours now! 10 fucking long hours!

    Only when I ran out of mana or felt like passing out did I take short breaks but immediately got back to training after recovering.

    Like that after going at it for about 10 hours, I managed to learn the first form of this technique.

    And let me say this; this technique is destructive!

    With a wooden spear I managed to create a deep dent into a practice dummy that was made of super steel-reinforced carbon fiber reinforced.

    And I wasn''t even in my best condition when I dealt that attack!

    However, the bacsh from the technique caused the wooden spear I was using to rip to shreds.

    With pity in my eyes and maybe a little sleepiness present somewhere there too, I looked at what was remaining of the wooden spear in my hand.

    "Goodbye, dear friend." I said before shrugging, "Anyway."

    I threw the bits of broken wooden remains away and picked up the martial manual from the ground.

    Putting back the martial manual in my dimensional bracelet, I exited the training gym and headed to my apartment.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Honestly speaking, I was beyond exhausted, famished, and parched.

    My whole body was aching in pain and my limbs were protesting at every little movement. My throat felt dry and my eyelids were as heavy as lead.

    I badly wanted to lie down on the mats back at the gym but I knew I would fall asleep if I did.

    So I dragged my body out of building 5 and took a campus bus.

    It was 3 at night but campus buses were still running. Well, that''s nothing shocking since instead of a human driver, robots drive these buses.

    In fact, all the transportation vehicles in the Global City are operated by robots. These robots are connected to the Academy''s AI, Athena, so there''s nothing that can go wrong. It''s for the safety of cadets.

    Hah, but of course, in these kinds of stories, the unexpected events that ur are often the ones that could not have been anticipated.

    Anyway, after taking the bus to exit the academy campus, I booked a cab home from my smart bracelet.

    Swii¡ª!

    It didn''t even take a full minute before the cab arrived in front of me.

    Taking note of the humanoid robot driving the cab, I got into the backseat and closed my eyes.

    Yes, for those of you wondering, it was a flying car. Or should I call it a hovercar?

    I mean, the body of the car stays only a few inches above the ground. That''s hovering not flying. I don''t know why they are called flying cars.

    Anyway, as the car jumped to life and began moving forward, my mind started drifting into a world of thoughts of my own.

    Never, I mean never, will I ever do such a long training session ever again.

    I should be training in moderation with properly timed breaks in between.

    While I''m at it, I should also stop eating junk food all the time and maybe fix my sleep schedule.

    Since I''ve already been doing basic exercises daily to improve my physical condition, my attack, defense and stamina stat has seen an increment.

    However, there''s a problem.

    I''m improving at a very, very slow pace. At this rate, I can forget catching up to the main characters.

    Why am I worrying so much?

    Because the first arc has already started. The start of the main story has already been set in motion.

    From here on out, things will only get chaotic.

    Yes, I know I told you all about my devotion to the all-consuming chaos, but let it be known that my allegiance wavers when ites knocking at my own door.

    The chaos ahead isn''t some little pranks or petty fights. It''s much worse.

    Death is looming on the horizon. I must steel my resolve and start preparing. For if I falter, my lifeless body will join the countless others imed by the chaos.

    The chaos ahead¡­ is Death.

    So what will I do to improve faster?

    What else? I''ll drink potions and break through ranks.

    The easiest way to improve your physical condition is to increase your mana core rank.

    My current mana core rank is [Iron 2], and frankly speaking, it''s pathetic.

    Most of the first-year cadets right now are on [Iron 3] or [Bronze 1] while the top first-year cadets are on [Bronze 3] or [Silver 1].

    Well, Nero is the only first-year who''s on silver mana core ranking but you get the idea.

    Even if I don''tpare myself to Nero and the rest of the top cadets, I''m behind most.

    To cover up that difference in strength, I''ll have to put in a lot of effort in training and a lot of money on potions.

    Well, to be honest, potions won''t be that big of a problem.

    I have my Edit Pen after all.

    I could simply buy a mid-grade potion and make it a high-grade one.

    Hell, with enough Edit Points in my bnce, I can turn an ordinary ss of drinking water into a precious elixir.

    So yeah, getting good potions shouldn''t prove to be a challenge.

    After this ''mock war'' ends, I will start focusing on breaking mana core ranks as a bigger mana pool will help me in training martial arts too.

    Skwii¡ª!

    Shaking me out of my train of thought was the jolt of the cab stopping. Opening my eyes, I exited the car and headed into my apartment building.

    "Woah."

    However, on my way inside, my eyes fell on the night sky above me.

    Unlike in my previous world, the people of this world have already found a clean energy source.

    This world has tackled many problems that were still present in my world. Pollution is one of them.

    And since this world producesparatively way less pollution, the night sky here is that much brighter.

    What I saw was a sky aze with a dazzling array of stars, their twinkling light creating a mesmerizing disy. Against this backdrop, the city lights added a touch of magic, illuminating the scene and casting an ethereal glow over thendscape.

    The whole view was breathtaking, with the streams of stars cascading through the darkness, painting a breathtaking picture.

    That moment of standing in the middle of thebyrinth of light and taking in the beautiful vastness of the night sky was of pure tranquility and escape, giving me a sense of escape and freedom.

    Oh, how I wish I could see this from a mountain or somece high. I was tempted to go to the terrace instead of my apartment, but I dismissed that idea.

    I was way too sleepy and hungry to do anything else aside from eating and sleeping right now.

 Chapter 39 Dispute Between The Classes [1]

    ?Nom¡ª! Nom¡ª!

    -"Wow, just look at him."

    -"Isn''t he supposed to be a royal? A descendant of a ruling family?"

    -"I know right? Where are his manners? Evenmoners know how to act more elegantly than him."

    -"Guys, he''s disowned. He''s not an elite anymore. He can act however he likes."

    -"He still has ''Morningstar'' in his name, you know, the wolves of the west. He should at least try to live up to that reputation."

    Oh god, do these side characters ever shut up?! Let me eat in peace!

    Hmm? You want to know what''s going on?

    I''ll tell you what''s going on.

    Yesterday, when I got home at around 3 am, I instantly fell on my bed and slept like a fucking horse.

    I woke up straight at 6 pm after that because I felt extremely thirsty. Yes, I had forgotten to drink or even eat before sleeping.

    So I drank water, ate instant noodles, and came back to the training gym to practice again.

    I finally went back home at 11 pm, exhausted from all the training. I went to bed and only woke up when it was time for the academy.

    To sum it all up, it''s Monday now and I haven''t had a proper meal since Saturday evening aside from that one packet of instant noodles.

    You have no idea how hungry I am.

    That''s why, as soon as the lunch break arrived, I bolted down to the cafeteria and ordered half the items on the menu!

    When my food finally came, I scarfed it down like I hadn''t eaten in days. I wasn''t worried about manners or how messy I looked, I just needed to satisfy my hunger.

    Some people, with nothing better to do, began gossiping when they saw me stuffing my face like a caveman.

    Do they think I can''t hear them? Well, I can! I''m just not reacting or making a fuss by replying to them because I''m hungry!

    "Dude, Lucas, you okay?"

    While I was busy pushing food down my mouth, a worried voice resounded from my right.

    Without stopping my hands and mouth, I turned my head to look at who it was.

    Of course, it was Kent.

    He held a tray of food in his hands and gazed down at me with a worried expression.

    "Kho shent, ish hu. (Oh Kent, it''s you.)"

    "Dude, either eat or talk."

    Kent casually ced the tray on the table and sat down across from me as if we had been friends for a long time.

    "The way you''re eating makes you look like a slob. How long have you been starving for?"

    "Shaturdey." I replied, biting down on a slice of garlic bread that I was saving for thest.

    "Saturday?" Kent eximed in shock. "Since you left the cafe after meeting me?"

    "Yush," I nodded.

    "Bro! Did you do nothing but practice?"

    "Haaaa," after finishing my meal and gratifying my hunger with a satisfying moan, I downed a full bottle of water.

    Only when I was done I finally replied to Kent''s questions.

    "Ahh, yeah, I kind of lost myself in practice."

    "Dude, practicing is good and all but don''t overdo it."

    "Yeah yeah, I won''t."

    I wasn''t lying. I really got lost in training.

    When was thest instance where I became so engrossed in an activity that I lost track of time?

    Thest time I could remember getting so lost in doing something was back when I was just a kid and I had started ying chess.

    Oh god, I used to love chess back then.

    I was around 8 or 9 I think. My father gifted me a chessboard for my birthday and taught me to y.

    At first, I found the game to be quite dull, but as he patiently walked me through each move, something inside me clicked.

    I became utterly absorbed in the game, losing track of time as I strategized and nned my next move.

    After that, at some point, that 64 squared ck and white board became a way for me to escape my nd reality.

    I joined the school''s chess club, participated in inter-branch tournaments and started thinking about going pro.

    However, I quickly found out I wasn''t cut out for it. I started choking against yers. Not because they were good at the game or I was bad, but because I started feeling bored.

    Like every other thing, chess started to lose my interest too. It became¡­ monotonous.

    I tried reading tactics books, applied new strategies, solvedplicated puzzles, and challenged high-ranked yers, but nothing helped.

    By the time I was 13, I had lost any sense of connection I had to the game. ying it wasn''t exciting anymore.

    That was the first andst hobby I enjoyed before I started reading fantasy novels.

    Ahh~ novels. I got lost in the pages, in the stories, in the worlds, but even that wasn''t enough to keep me entertained for long.

    After a while, the endings of the stories became obvious, the excitement faded, and all the authors became nothing but a disappointment.

    "Hey, Lucas, are you listening?"

    Right when I was lost in my thoughts, a slightly annoyed voice shook me awake.

    "Huh? What?" I asked, wiping my mouth with a handkerchief.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I said, that girl I was with, Lilly. I got to meet her older sister. Her name is Rose."

    "Oh, is that so?"

    "Yes, and you know what?"

    "Yeah?"

    "I made a move on her."

    "You what?!"

    "I made a move on Rose. But she kept telling me that she had a boyfriend. I guess it''s her way of telling me that she''s still not married hah! What do you think?"

    I think you''re stupid!

    I was at a loss for words. I knew this guy had trouble picking social cues, but dude! Take a hint!

    "Kent, take a hint."

    "Yeah?"

    "I said, take a hint."

    "Yeah, that''s my name. Kent Takeahint."

    ¡­Fuck me.

    Baaam¡ª!

    Just as I was about to exin to Kent what the phrase ''I have a boyfriend'' meant, a loud baam sound resounded throughout the whole cafeteria.

    Instinctively both me and Kent and literally everyone else in the cafeteria turned our heads toward the source of the disturbance.

    We saw a huge, imposing tan skinned boy who had bumped into a boy with jet-ck hair and dark brown eyes. It was Alberto, and he had collided with Nero.

    The tray of food Nero was holding slipped from his grasp, spilling its contents onto him and staining his school dress.

    "Ahh, it''s that guy!" Kent eximed, recognizing Alberto. "You know, the guy who baselessly used William."

    "Yeah, yeah, I remember," I said, nodding my head.

    "Oh, of course you do. You were eating popcorn while standing in the front row, hahaha!"

    "What? You saw that?"

    "Dude, the whole training field saw that! Hahaha!"

    Arghh, embarrassing.

    Anyway, I shifted my focus back to Nero and Alberto. I knew what would happen but I still wanted to watch the scene y out.

    "Are you blind? Can''t you see a person twice your size walking toward you, you twat?" putting on his signature annoying smirk, Alberto scoffed.

    "Alberto, I was standing here. You were the one who bumped into me. What are you talking about?" with a look of confusion stered on his face, Nero asked.

    "Oh wow, is everyone in your ss a liar? You clearly walked and crashed into me! Ask anyone in my ss."

    As soon as Alberto said that, as if waiting for the cue, several people from his ss started nodding their heads and eximing

    -"Yeah, you bumped into him!"

    -"ss 1-A-1 are a bunch of liars! Hahaha!"

    -"Wow, they really have no shame."

    In response to the taunts and ridicule from ss 1-C-1, our ss also didn''t remain silent.

    -"What? What do you mean by liars?! You guys are the ones lying!"

    -"Why do they alwayse searching for a fight?"

    -"What is wrong with them? I saw Nero was just standing there!"

    "You guys are lucky your ss has so many pretty girls!"

    The one who said thatst sentence was Kent from in front of me. So naturally, I gave him a disgusted look.

    "What?" noticing the look on my face, Kent shrugged. "You gotta agree. Their ss has so many hot chicks."

    Well, he wasn''t wrong.

    Actually, now that he has mentioned it, I have yet toe across an ugly person in this world.

    Is everyone in this world beautiful?

    Wait, does that mean I''m nothing special either?

    Gasp!

    No, no. My charm stat is definitely high so I can rest assured about that. I''m definitely handsome.

    ¡­Yeah, I am.

    "Okay, everyone, calm down!" loudly yelling and ensuring his voice could reach every ear present here, Nero raised his hands to get everyone''s attention. "We don''t want to start a fight inside the academy. It will only affect us and our merit points."

    As soon as Nero brought that point up, everyone who was earlier making a fuss quieted down.

    After nodding adequately, Nero put on a wide bright smile and turned to face Alberto.

    "And you, although I stand by what I said if you still think I had bumped into you intentionally, which would be crazy considering the food I was carrying spilled on me and not you so I gained nothing out of it, then I''m sorry."

    Without bothering to wait for a response to his apology, Nero picked up his food tray from the ground and walked past Alberto to reorder his lunch.

    However, before he could take more than a few steps, a cruel smile crept up on Alberto''s face.

    "Apology epted¡­ whoreson," he said.

    Although he only murmured it under his breath, his voice seemed to have echoed in Nero''s ears, causing him to stop in his tracks.

 Chapter 40 Dispute Between The Classes [2]

    ?Whoreson.

    It was one word Nero hated the most.

    He frequently heard that word in his childhood. His father, his father''swful wife, and their daughter, who was also his half-sister, used to call him that.

    However, that''s not the reason why Nero hated that word so much.

    You see, in this world, governmental titles are hereditary. So obviously, those who own these titles like to highly value their bloodline.

    It''s not rocket science. Imagine you are a mayor of a city. Now, naturally, since you own a city and you''re no saint, you''ll want to bed every jade beauty you see.

    Yeah, here''s a problem. You can''t do that.

    Why? Because you wouldn''t want thousands of children iming to be the sessor of your title since that would mean an internal conflict¡ªa civil war.

    And as of right now and for the foreseeable future, it''s not safe for the world to even think about having a civil war.

    It is for this reason that the Central Government has enacted legition stipting that men holding government positions are permitted to have only one legal wife and may maintain mistresses but shall not enter into matrimony with them, and these mistresses must be incapable of bearing children.

    In simple words, you can fuck around and bed as many jade beauties as you want but those jade beauties should be sterile.

    So that''s why when Mayor ze Dekrauf, Nero''s father, took in a prostitute as his mistress, he made sure she was infertile by checking her medical reports. And it turned out she couldn''t have kids.

    However, fate being a prude little bitch, yed one of its twisted jokes again.

    A few monthster, the mistress that ze Dekrauf had taken in became pregnant with Nero.

    Of course, the mayor was not happy to hear that news. He thought he was lied to and got deceived.

    Even though his mistress told him time and time again that she didn''t lie, he never believed her.

    He wanted to kill her. However, there was a problem.

    She was now pregnant. And it is an absolutely unforgivable crime, even for a member of the Central Government itself, to kill an unborn child.

    Why? Because that unborn child could have a heaven-defying potential that the world could use.

    So he didn''t kill her. However, that didn''t stop him from making her life a living hell.

    Every kind of physical abuse one can think of, he put her through even when she was pregnant with his child.

    Even after Nero was born, the abuse didn''t stop. The poor guy had to grow up watching his mother getting beaten day in and day out by his biological father.

    Until one day, ze Dekrauf finally decided to stop the abuse and kill her. He drove a dagger right through her heart in front of Nero and asked him to itch that scene into his mind.

    As he did so, he said, "You know why your mother has to die? Because she gave birth to you, you whoreson bastard!"

    Those words scarred his soul. He realized his mother died because of him¡ª because she gave birth to him.

    He realized that his mother had to die because he was a¡­ whoreson.

    That''s why when Alberto referred to Nero as the very thing he hated himself for being, he lost the leash on his emotions.

    With a cold and emotionless expression etched on his face, his eyes void of focus, he slowly turned around and began to make his way toward the towering figure of the giant ck boy.

    "What did you say?"

    "I said, apology epted, you whoreson!"

    Of course, Alberto, who had no idea what that word meant to Nero, kept using it to insult him with a mocking smile on his face.

    He thought he was annoying Nero. When in reality, he was angering him.

    Seeing that this verbal conflict was about to turn into a physical confrontation, Amelia, Anastasia, and William got up from their seats in hopes of grabbing Nero and calming him down.

    Almost in response, several students from ss 1-C-1 got up from their seats too.

    Oof, the tension was high!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Should we go too?" Kent, who was sitting across from me, asked in a worried tone.

    "Fuck no," I replied without even entertaining the idea of getting close to Nero right now. He was in a dangerous state of mind and he was not going to differentiate between allies from enemies.

    "But we''re in the same Unit," Kent tried to argue. "We should help him."

    "Kent, if you want to help someone, then call an ambnce."

    "For Nero?"

    "Of course not. For everyone present here."

    "What does that mean¡ª!"

    Before Kent could even react to my words, a crushing pressure swept over the whole cafeteria, suffocating everyone present there instantly.

    The sound of once lively chatter and nking of utensils ceased and the whole area was plunged into silence when all the cadets present here started choking on their breaths.

    "Khuuuu!"

    Kent was also subjected to the same fate. Even Amelia, Anastasia, and William, who were running toward Nero in hopes of calming him down, stumbled and dropped to the ground under the intense pressure in the air.

    Yes, Nero was oozing off that pressure. It was his [Silver-1] ranked mana pressure.

    Since most of the people present here were around [Bronze-1] rank at best, no one was able to withstand Nero''s fury.

    Even Alberto was the same. Although his condition was a little better than the treat, he was on one knee, panting like a dog out of breath.

    "Haaaa!" my condition wasn''t very good either. I was choking on air too.

    Of course, I could''ve used my [Phoenix''s Embrace] armor to endure Nero''s fury; I was not stupid enough to reveal the ace up my sleeve for something as trivial as that.

    I manned up and faced the crushing mana pressure head-on.

    While everyone elsey on the ground with their body convulsing under the crippling pressure, I used the fork in my hand to stab myself in the thigh.

    It wasn''t enough to draw blood but it was still enough to keep me functioning. However, even after that, it was still not easy for me to breathe.

    Just how strong was this monster?!

    After overpowering everyone with his strength, Nero walked up to Alberto and stood over him, who was struggling to get back up but was unable to do so under the former''s presence.

    "I''ll ask again," Nero coldly stated. "Think very carefully before answering because it could be yourst sentence. What did you say?"

    Seeing the unfocused look in Nero''s eyes, Alberto''s heart was struck with a feeling that he could only describe as fear.

    He trembled as we weakly muttered, "S-Sorry¡­!"

    ? Thwack¡ª!

    A kicknded t right across Alberto''s face, making him fall to his right side and knocking him out cold.

    As soon as he hit him, the emotionless look in Nero''s eyes disappeared, and his face returned to normal.

    After looking around and seeing how many people he had made suffer, Nero quickly withdrew his mana pressure and bowed deeply.

    "I''m sorry, everyone!" he shouted and trailed out of the cafeteria.

    "Arghh!" groaning in pain, I weakly got up to my legs and looked around me.

    Everyone was sweating profusely, with some even unconscious.

    With a curious look, I swept my gaze at the main character to take a look at what everyone was thinking.

    Some were lost in awe of Nero''s strength, some had fearful looks on their face, some were worried that this would be a big matter, and some¡­ were envious of the power that Nero possessed.

 Chapter 41 Playing Along [1]

    ?So, a few days have passed by and it is the 18th of March today.

    ording to the novel, the mock war will start on March 24th and willst for six days.

    On March 31st, Nero will challenge Lucas¨C that''s me¨C to a duel.

    That''s not my biggest concern, however.

    Right now, my focus is on getting strong enough to survive those six days of the mock war.

    Why am I so desperate to survive the mock war? For starters, those who survived till the end of the war were given some extra merit points.

    And I''ll be needing those extra merit points in the future.

    Anyway, the progression of the events has been going just fine.

    In thest few days, since Nero unleashed his fury on Alberto in the cafeteria, things have begun to get rough.

    Even side characters in both sses have started to fight with each other.

    The reason for that? Kai Wiseman''s influence over both sses.

    He has been pulling the strings from the background, and honestly speaking, I''m impressed with the guy.

    He not only sessfully instigated a significant discord between sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8, but he did that without revealing himself.

    If I hadn''t read the novel and known the story, I would''ve never guessed him to be the suspect.

    I mean, for god''s sake, I haven''t even seen him personally yet.

    Anyway, my point is that in 7 days, the mock war will start.

    What have I been doing to ready myself for it?

    ===

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [88%]

    6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [53%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) [15%]

    ??Breathing Technique

    Breath Of Vitality

    ====

    I''ve trained my bow art and brought its progress up to 88% while I also trained my spear art to 53%.

    Being a mid-grade Lvl. 3 weapon art, my spear art is hard to make progress in.

    Despite that, however, I can confidently say that I''ll manage to make it above 70% by the time 25th March arrives.

    By the way, I attempted to use my Edit Pen to upgrade a martial manual to Level 5, but it was unsessful. It appears that the information contained within the manual is considered knowledge.

    My Edit Pen can only manipte physical materials and objects, not abstract concepts such as knowledge.

    Oh and yes, Instructor Raven has started teaching cadets closebat martial arts.

    The technique I received is not anything extraordinary. It''s a mid-grade Lvl. 2bat art thatbines physical movement with mana cirction to deliver a powerful punch.

    How it works is when the user''s fist makes contact with the target, the user sends their mana into the target''s body, causing some serious internal damage.

    The effectiveness of the technique depends on the user''s mana pool and control over it; the more mana and control, the more powerful the punch will be.

    Honestly, I don''t know why Instructor Raven provided me with this particr technique.

    Sure, my mana control is good ording to Liz, but my mana core is still on [Iron-2] rank.

    I don''t have nearly enough mana to use it at its full potential right now. Perhaps he was thinking of the future instead of right now.

    ¡­Arghh, who knows what that torture-loving psychopath thinks.

    Anyway, right now, I am in a personal training gym.

    I''ve told you all about training gyms, right?

    There are two types of training gyms in the academy¡ª public and private.

    It''s exactly as it sounds. In a public training gym a cadet has to share space and equipment with other cadets.

    In a personal training gym, you get all the space and equipment to yourself.

    Moreover, personal training is dedicated to helping the user practice a specific weapon.

    For example, I was currently at a personal training gym that was made for snipers.

    I held my bow tight in my left hand and knocked an arrow on the bowstring. In front of me was a shooting range with ten holographic moving targets.

    I drew back the bowstring and started coating my arrow in a thinyer of mana. Locking my aim onto a moving target, I gripped the bow tighter in my hand.

    "Fuuu"

    Exhaling a deep breath after I was satisfied, I let go of the string and my arrow shot forward at breakneck speed.

    In mid-distance, the mana on my arrow split into six mana darts and created the illusion of multiple arrows branching off from one.

    Swooosh¡ª!

    Thunk¡ª!

    "Haaa!"

    Four arrows pierced the moving target while two of them missed by a hair''s breadth.

    "Arghh, I still can''t produce ten mana arrows," frustrated, I rubbed my eyebrows.

    If done correctly, the mana on the arrow should form into ten mana arrows.<novelnext></novelnext>

    What''s more, two out of my six arrows missed the target. That means my uracy still needed some work.

    After standing there for a few seconds, I heaved a deep annoyed sigh and packed my bow into my dimensional bracelet.

    It''s enough for today.

    I looked at my smart bracelet to check the time and it showed [8:30 PM].

    I started my training at [4:56 PM], which means I had trained for more than 3 hours today which was sufficient.

    After that day, when I trained for 10 hours straight, I swore never to overdo it ever again.

    My limbs and joints were aching in pain the next day, cursing me for abusing them to their limits.

    Even walking to the academy was a struggle for a few days afterward. I felt like my legs would give out whenever I tried to move.

    Hence, after packing my stuff, taking a cool shower, and changing clothes, I exited the personal training gym.

    As I made my way out, several thoughts crossed my mind.

    I think the progress I''ve made in my archery art should be enough for now.

    Starting tomorrow, I should get back to practicing my spear art. I have a reason for doing that. If I want my n to seed, I''ll need my spear.

    Yes, I do have a n ready.

    Hmm? You want to know my n?

    Yeah, I don''t think so. Let the mystery and surprise brew up.

    Anyway, as soon as I stepped out of the training room, I saw a ck-haired girl alsoing out from the personal gym next to mine.

    Who else could it be but Amelia?

    As soon as our eyes met, I raised my hands in defense.

    "Now before you take any wrong idea, let me tell you, I didn''t follow you here," I said in the calmest tone possible, taking a few steps back ever so often.

    In reply, Amelia cocked her head in confusion and looked at me with a frown on her face and said:

    "Of course, I know that. This is one of five floors in building 5 which features personal gyms for snipers."

    "....."

    Wow, so she does have that much sense.

    Shrugging my shoulders, I uttered my greetings before walking past her.

    "Well, good night then."

    "Mhmm."

    Amelia nodded her head in reply.

    Yup, I can already see the difference in her behavioral pattern. Before, she used to give me only enraged and disgusted looks all the time. Buttely, she''s been a lot calmer.

    "Oh and, if you love your life, do not bete for tomorrow''s Unit Test."

    As I walked past her, a cold, threatening voice reached my ears.

    I couldn''t help but roll my eyes and say, "Sure."

    It''s true thattely she''s been a lot calmer. However, it''s crystal clear that she still very much hates me.

    Honestly speaking, I''m growing more and more tired of her attitude.

    But then again, I kind of get why she hates me so much. After all, what Lucas did to her wasn''t an action one could forget easily. Past can not be changed.

    However, it can be overwritten. I will do something in tomorrow''s Unit Test that will overwrite my past if I seed.

    Anyhow, after taking a cab to my apartmentplex, I started going over things that were going to happen in the future.

    For starters, tomorrow is Unit practice.

    It was a joint test between sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 in which all Units took part in.

    They will be asked to hunt down four specific mana beasts in the 5th District forest.

    The first four Units that''llplete the hunt will be imed as winners.

    Yes, this little test will affect the merit points we''ll revive at the end of the month.

    Frankly, I was not worried in the least about this test.

    We have Amelia, Anastasia, and Nero in our unit.

    Even if Kent and I just stay back, we''ll easily get carried by the three main characters.

    So yeah, it should be fine.

    Swkii¡ª!

    Just as I was lost in my thoughts, my destination arrived and the cab stopped.

    Exiting the flying car, I headed toward my apartment.

    "Hmm?"

    But just as I was about to enter the apartmentplex, I saw something interesting.

    At the entrance of the building, a blonde girl was talking to a huge, bulky boy.

    It was Grace and she was talking to Alberto.

    For a few days now, I have been wondering about something recently, at what point did Grace choose Lucas as her scapegoat in the novel?

    When did she opt to use him as the traitor?

    Well, it all makes sense now. I can''t help but curl my lips up into a smirk in understanding.

    It must''ve been around this time. Lucas likely spotted her and Alberto together. Grace, to prevent any potential danger from Lucas, chose to frame him as the traitor.

    "Ha," a scoff escaped my lips as the final parts of my n formed in my mind. "Fine, Let''s y along."

 Chapter 42 Playing Along [2]

    ?In front of me, at the entrance gate of the apartmentplex, Grace was talking about something with Alberto.

    I knew all that was being discussed between them.

    Okay, maybe not everything, just a gist of it. The point is Alberto was asking her to be a spy for them.

    Kai Wiseman, the puppet master of the first arc, has already anticipated a mock war to happen between the two sses.

    I couldn''t help but be surprised by Kai''s genius again. The guy was basically predicting the future here.

    In the novel, despite being only a minor viin, Kai was considered very smart with an intelligence stat of 179.

    The Intelligence stat is like a measure of someone''s IQ, but it also takes a lot of other factors into ount.

    Yeah, you can guess how smart he is.

    Hehe. I like smart people. Breaking them mentally is really fun~

    T-Talking with them is really fun!

    I meant to say talking with them is really fun!

    Good lord, my tongue is slipping so much these days.

    Ahem, anyway, I casually started walking toward the main entrance without even trying to hide.

    "Lucas!?" and sure enough, Grace noticed me.

    In response to her call, I merely gave her a quick nce and kept walking.

    "W-Wait!" she shouted, but I, of course, kept walking.

    "Thedy is asking you to wait."

    And just as I had expected, Alberto suddenly appeared before me and blocked my way.

    Good lord! Now that I was seeing him up front, I couldn''t believe how tall this guy was!

    Was he really just 18?!

    But did I feel intimidated? Hell no.

    "And who are you?" I asked as a smile formed on my lips. "Thisdy''s knight?"

    "No, I''m the man who''ll beat the shit out of your face."

    The smile on my face turned into a smirk. His response was just as I had predicted.

    Was I now feeling intimidated? Hell no.

    So I gradually raised my hands and got into a boxing stance.

    In response, Alberto arched his eyebrows in confusion. But in the next moment, he too raised his hands, ready to fight.

    The smirk on my face deepened.

    In the very next second, I moved my foot and¡­

    "I''m sorry, good sir."

    Bowed my head and apologized.

    "Wh-What?"

    Even Alberto was confused by my actions.

    I raised my head and gave an amicable smile, "I should''ve stopped when thedy had asked me to. My bad."

    "Ye-Yeah."

    Ha! The poor guy didn''t know how to respond. He was ready to fight me.

    It''s not like fighting him would be a problem with my armor and my spear art.

    Unfortunately, I am not going to reveal my trump card here, especially in this stupid situation.

    A wise man once said¡ª Beware of indulging in battles for the show, for when you face a true adversary, they shall be left astounded by the depth of your might!

    That''s why, for now I will y along.

    "Lucas," with a sigh, Grace called out to me again. "Did you hear anything?"

    "What were you guys talking about? No." I faced Grace and shook my head.

    "I see," in reply, she closed her eyes. "You can go."

    "Okay," nodding my head, I quickly exited the scene and went inside theplex.

    ?

    As Grace watched Lucas'' fading back, a deep frown formed on her face.

    "Are you sure about letting him go?" right then, Alberto asked the blonde girl.

    "Of course not," she replied almost immediately. "The way he acted, I think he heard us."

    "What do you want me to do? Should I go and beat him up?"

    Grace couldn''t help but roll her eyes at Alberto''s suggestion.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Does this man know nothing else but violence?

    And another thing she didn''t like about him was that he always had to have someone telling him what to do.

    It was like he couldn''t function without a master.

    That''s the reason that despite being almost as strong as Kai, Alberto was working as his henchman.

    Yes, Grace herself was also working under Kai, but that was only to achieve her goal of gaining power.

    In a way, both Grace and Kai were very much alike.

    They both craved power and influence and were willing to do whatever it took to get it.

    Whereas Kai wanted to be the Cadet Council President¡ªthe King, Grace wanted the position of the Cadet Council Vice President, the Queen.

    The other reason Grace was associating herself with Kai was that, out of all the first-year cadets, not only was he one of the strongest but also the smartest.

    In fact, she recognized the fact that he was even smarter than her, despite her valuing her own intellect very highly.

    Of course, he was very arrogant.

    She knew she could never tame him and make him her pawn due to his level of arrogance, so she decided to work for him instead by being a part of the Young Elites.

    For her, Kai Wiseman was nothing but a free ticket to her sess in the Academy.

    "Grace, I asked a question. Should I go beat¨C"

    Like a puppy, Alberto was waiting there for orders. But before he could repeat his question, Grace cut him off.

    "No need," she said while rolling her eyes again. "He''s not a threat. For starters, no one would believe him even if he were to reveal our n."

    "But him exposing us could still make at least some cadets suspicious."

    At Alberto''s response, Grace couldn''t help but think to herself:

    ''Huh, for a dog who only knows how to follow orders, he does make some pretty logical arguments.''

    Crossing her arms, she touched her chin as she said, "It''s fine. I''ll dispose of him before he can reveal our n."

    Grace''s calm and confident demeanor caused Alberto to agree passively by meekly nodding his head.

    Despite his intimidating physique, he was submissive toward her. The power dynamic between them was apparent.

    However, even though Alberto couldn''t dispute her further, he desired to propose taking action against Lucas immediately.

    He wanted to neutralize him right here and right now.

    Since he came from slums, Alberto has lived his life by fighting on the streets. But soon he figured out he was not like other kids his age.

    He was tall and strong. He was physically gifted with brute strength.

    So to no one''s surprise, he started using his monstrous brute strength to dominate the streets and not long after, he made a name for himself.

    The rush of adrenaline he used to get while drawing the blood of his enemies was a feeling unrivaled for him.

    Over the years, he engaged in numerous fights and learned from both his victories and defeats and created his own empire¡ª his own gang.

    Sure, they weren''t the strongest in the city, but he and his 165 gang members were proud that they were at least the strongest in their area.

    Well, this belief of theirs shattered when one boy came knocking on their door, looking for a fight.

    His reason was that he wanted to beat up the person who dared to hit on one of his girlfriends. That person was in Alberto''s gang.

    Everyone thought that the boy had lost his mind or something.

    After all, who in their right mind would challenge more than a hundred people to a fight alone?

    They tried to send him off and spare him a beating of a lifetime, but the boy didn''t budge.

    So naturally, they decided to thrash some sense into him.

    ¡­However, they soon found out that they were no match for the boy.

    In only about little more than an hour, that boy single-handedly took down the whole gang and made their leader, Alberto, grovel before him.

    That day, Alberto became acutely aware of the despair thates through the difference in strength.

    That day, for the first time, Alberto sensed an unfamiliar feeling quelling up deep within his heart¡ªfear.

    So many years have passed but to this day, Alberto still can''t forget the look in that boy''s eyes¡ªthe look of sheer insanity and dominance.

    That boy was Kai Wiseman.

    Kai, being the opportunistic bastard he is, used the fear he drilled into Alberto and made him his pawn.

    That was the first andst time Alberto experienced that kind of fear¡ª that kind of darkness from someone.

    Until¡­

    Earlier when Alberto matched Lucas'' gaze, he saw the very same look in his eyes¡ªthe look of sheer insanity and dominance.

    He saw¡­ the very same darkness looming over him.

    Although in his mind, Alberto knew that Lucas wasn''t a threat to him, his instincts, on the other hand¡­ were telling him to run.

 Chapter 43 Preparation For The Unit Test

    ?Emotional ckmail is a powerful form of maniption.

    It clouds your mind with a thick fog of Fear, Obligation, and Guilt, leaving you feeling trapped and powerless.

    It''s a maniption tactic that preys on your deepest fears and insecurities, leaving you at the mercy of the maniptor.

    Fear is the most potent weapon in the arsenal of emotional maniptors.

    It is a universal emotion that can be triggered in anyone, and once the maniptor discovers what triggers that fear in you, they hold power to conquer your mind, body and soul.

    It''s a dangerous game, one where the stakes are high and the consequences severe.

    However, there''s one more tool. Albeit not as effective as fear, it still has its own perks¡ªGuilt.

    Unlike fear which directly targets the victim, guilt is a subtle form of maniption that can be just as effective in controlling the victim.

    It makes the victim feel responsible for the maniptor''s feelings or actions, causing them to take actions they wouldn''t normally take.

    Hmm? Why am I telling you all this, you ask?

    You''ll understand soon enough.

    Anyway, right now, I was just getting ready for today''s event¡ªThe unit test.

    All cadets from sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 are going to be at the 5th district forest for this test.

    No, unfortunately there''ll be no drama today. Yes, there will be some ''idents'' since both sses, at this point, hate each other, but nothing major.

    Of course, just because there''s supposed to be no drama today doesn''t mean I can''t create it myself.

    Starting today, I''ll set my n for the mock war in action.

    "Huaaaa~" after stepping out of the bathroom, I nced at myself in the mirror, ensuring I looked presentable. Even after a shower, I still felt sleepy.

    Normally I would have made a narcissisticment on my beautiful appearance, but today I was in a hurry.

    I''ve been working hard thest few days to develop a n. I made sure to think through every little detail and ount for any potential surprises.

    I made sure to make my n foolproof so I didn''t want to mess up by showing upte to the training session today.

    So I promptly walked to the side table next to my bed, opened one of its drawers, and found it filled with various stationary items such as pens, papers, tapes, and a thermocol cutter.

    I removed all of the items, emptying the drawerpletely. Once the drawer was empty, I opened a hiddenpartment by tapping at the corner of the bottom of the drawer, which flipped open to reveal a false bottom.

    Upon taking out the false bottom, a shiny red quill feather pen was revealed, eliciting a smirk of excitement on my face.

    Why did I hide it here instead of keeping it in my smart bracelet? Well, I keep it in my smart bracelet during the day and then shift it here at night before going to bed.

    Anyway, I took the Pen out and nced at it for a moment. Nodding satisfactorily, I grabbed the thermocol cutter and one of Lucas'' old wristbands.

    I ced the cutter over the wristband on the bedside table and took a step back.

    "Fuuu," letting out a short breath, I aimed my Pen at the cutter and immediately a red translucent rectangr window popped in my sight.

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Thermocol Cutter

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Good

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: ____

    ===

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Wristband

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Good

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: ____

    ===

    For the past few weeks, I''ve been experimenting with the Pen. I''ve noticed that even a small involvement in the plot earns me some Edit Points.

    I''ve been using those points to test the limit of my Pen. And honestly, I''m pretty amazed to say I can do anything.

    This Pen has the ability topletely rewrite reality and change an object to anything I desire¨C as long as I have enough Edit Points of course.

    ? It would''ve been awesome if I could control the living creatures with this Pen too but oh well.

    Even without the power work on living creatures, this Pen was absolutely broken.

    With this Pen in my hand, I can evenbine two objects to make a new one. And that''s what I was about to do here.<novelnext></novelnext>

    I began moving my Pen and started writing in the Edit section of the two object''s status screens.

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Thermocol Cutter

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Good

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: Be an automatic retractable hidden de.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Wristband

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Good

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: Be the strap of the hidden de.

    ===

    One more thing that I''ve discovered about the Pen is that if I have a clear picture in mind of what I want the object to look like after the Edit, I can be as vague as I want and I would get exactly what I want.

    [Finalize your Edit for a total of 14 Edit Points

    Yes/No]

    Suddenly, another red translucent screen appeared in my vision.

    Arghh, 14 Edit Points? That''s nearly everything I have!

    Touching my chin, I contemted for a moment or two before finally gritting my teeth.

    "Tsk, fine." clicking my tongue in frustration, I tapped on the ''Yes'' option on the translucent screen.

    In an instant, the cutter and the wristband started glowing in a brilliant white light, forcing me to squint my eyes in difort.

    In a second, however, the light subsided and I was able to look at the object in front of me.

    There it was¡ªa retractable hidden de.

    Ahh~ I have always been a fan of the hidden des from a game I used to y during my childhood, as I found it very cool.

    So ever since I transmigrated into this world, I desired to have something like that for myself.

    And here it is. After only a few days ofing to this world, I''ve acquired a hidden de for myself!

    Now all that''s left is to create a group of assassins and make this weapon our trademark! Muahaha!

    Kidding. I''m obviously kidding.

    Anyhow, I quickly picked it up and, with sparkling eyes, wrote it on my right wrist since my smart bracelet was already on my left.

    Oh~

    The wristband had transformed into a ck leather brace that extended along half of my forearm.

    The de was hidden within the leather material and I discovered it was securely encased in a metallic sheath.

    To release the de, I closed my wrist and gave it a swift flick.

    Click¡ª!

    I heard the sound of the spring mechanism deploying and instantly, a narrow steel de emerged from the leather brace.

    Cool! It was so cool! Kyaaaa~!

    "Ahem," coughing to hide my overly excited face, I quickly calmed myself down.

    I need to focus. This isn''t the time to fawn over a new toy.

    Shaking my head, I retracted the de back and wore the academy''s first-year red and ck tracksuit, hiding the de by covering it with my jersey''s long sleeve.

    Okay, everything was ready. I should start going now.

    "Ah!" but before I could even walk a step, I remembered something and halted my steps.

    Instead of leaving the apartment, I walked towards my wardrobe and opened it. Inside, I found a collection of 47 luxury watches in the lowerpartment.

    "Arghh," a frustrated sigh escaped my lips as I thought of something.

    "Fine," I said to myself and took out one of those watches before putting them in my smart bracelet''s dimensional storage. "Now, let it begin."

 Chapter 44 Unit Test [1]

    ?"You''rete! I told you not to bete!"

    "Calm down, Amelia. The test has yet to start anyway."

    "Still, he''ste!"

    As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the 5th district forest, I saw around two hundred cadets from two sses standing in 4 neatly formed lines.

    Amelia was the first to spot me and she immediately began scolding me. Kent was the only one who spoke in my defense and tried to calm her down.

    ? I''m only 5 minuteste! What is her problem?!

    Ignoring her barking, I leisurely started walking toward my Unit.

    In my previous world, around the year 1998, author Robert Greene wrote a book called ''48 Laws of Power.''

    I will not get into details but it was a guidebook on how to acquire and maintain power in personal and professional rtionships.

    Although manyws were outlined in the book, one of them was what came to my mind when I found I had transmigrated as Lucas Morningstar on my first day in this world:

    ``So much depends on your reputation¡ª guard it with your life.``

    Reputation is the cornerstone of power: through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable and will be attacked in all directions.

    You should make your reputation unassable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.

    Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

    That''s what you should do in an ideal situation. However, my situation is far from ideal.

    Before I came here, my reputation was already sabotaged by the previous owner of this body that I am currently in.

    You can see where my ruined reputation has put me.

    Even in my own Unit, no one likes to have me around. Amelia, obviously, has a grudge against me. Nero is distant towards me. Anastasia speaks to me but with a guarded attitude, as if ready to attack me if I make one wrong move.

    With a slightly better reputation, my undeniable charm would have been a powerful weapon for me, effortlessly drawing valuable pawns to my side.

    But s, in my current state, I stand alone, with not a single soul to call friend, no underlings to do my bidding, no pawns to sacrifice in my grand game of power.

    Yes, there''s Kent, but I don''t know where his loyalties and priorities lie or what even his aim is.

    I can''t trust him not to betray me when I''m in a vulnerable position.

    In short, I needed people that I could trust. People who I could throw under the bus or use as meat shields.

    And I''ll start working on that starting today. Starting today, I''ll begin collecting some pawns of my own.

    My first step towards that goal would be fixing my reputation¡ª or at least improving it to a ''not a creep'' level.

    "Hey, Lucas, c''mere! Join us!"

    Speak of the devil.

    Right when I was lost in my thoughts, Kent''s voice shook me out.

    He was waving out to me. Beside him Amelia was standing with sealed lips.

    Woah, he managed to shut Amelia up?!

    Anyway, I sent a short wave back and started walking toward them.

    "Hey, you, stop right there!" but before I could even take a few steps towards them, a sharp voice reached my ears.

    I turned to my right and saw an angry man in a blue-colored guard uniform furiously marching in my direction.

    Ah, it was the fatty guard who I encountered on my first day in this world when I visited this forest!

    Oh, he must being here to say hello. Such a nice fe.

    "You fooled me!"ing face to face; the fatty guard started yelling. "You said you were General Reynold Morningstar''s son, but in reality, he has disowned you!"

    Ahh, never mind. I think it''s safe to assume he isn''t here to say hello. Tsk, such an irritating fe.

    "And also¨C!"

    Before the fatty could continue his ranting, I took out one of the watches that I had packed from my smart bracelet''s dimensional storage.

    Without waiting, I grabbed his hand and ced my watch in his palm before whispering in an almost inaudible tone:

    "This is the reward for helping me," I said. "It''s just a watch but aside from being madepletely of tinum, the numbers have real diamonds engraved in them."

    "I-Eh¡­ huh?"

    Of course, the poor guy was inplete shock to even form a proper reply. But in a moment, a greedy smile that can put even the best of con artists to shame formed on his chubby face and he said:

    "Pleasure doing business with you, young master."

    "Okay, first, don''t call me that since I find it offensive," I said while rolling my eyes, acting like a Karen. "Second, I have another request for you."

    "Oh, is that so? What is it, young master?"

    Did this piggy bastard ignore me?! Me?!

    "Haa," exhaling a short sigh, I began exining my n to him.

    ?<novelnext></novelnext>

    5 minutester¡­

    "I can''t do that, young master," with a sweat-covered forehead, the fatty guard waved his hands and spoke in a shaky tone. "My job will be at risk¡­"

    Rolling my eyes as I had already expected this, I threatened:

    "Oh, and what about when I tell the Cadet Council about how you allowed me to enter the forest when I wasn''t even an official first-year cadet? You even epted a bribe from me. Will your job still be safe then?"

    "B-But it was you who lied-"

    Before the fatty could continue arguing, I cut him off and started speaking.

    "Listen to me, piggy. The worst I''ll receive as punishment will be some increment in my training time. While you, on the other hand, will lose your job. My math is weak so you tell me, who''s at a loss here?"

    "...I am."

    "Yes. Now, if you help me, I''ll reward you with ten more watches like the one I gave you. If you sell them all outside this City, you''ll get anywhere between 7,300 to 8,000 Credits. That''s equivalent to your six-month sry. As I said, my math is weak so you tell me, who''s in profit here?"

    "Ten more?!"

    "Wrong answer. I asked, who''s in profit here?"

    "I am, young master! I am!"

    "Good, I''m d you understand. So do as I said and I''ll see you get rewarded handsomely."

    Like before, the poor guy could only meekly nod his head as I walked past him to join my Unit.

    "What the hell was that?"

    As soon as I joined my Unit between the lines of cadets, Amelia jumped at me with suspicious eyes.

    "Wh-What?" startled, I replied in confusion before finally understanding what she meant. "Oh, that? He''s a friend so I was saying hello, that''s it."

    "No, I saw you handing him something. What was that?" Amelia refuted before shooting another question.

    Oh, good lord! She''s annoying!

    "Leave it, Amelia." Nero chimed in from the front.

    "Yeah, give the guy a break," Kent said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

    "No, that was definitely something suspicious. If he doesn''t tell me, then I''ll directly go ask that guard, hmph!"

    Flicking back her raven ck hair, Amelia was about to walk over to the fatty guard when I suddenly spoke up.

    "Good lord, Amelia. It was nothing suspicious. His son''s birthday wasing up so I just gave him my present." I said as I rolled my eyes again.

    "Ha! You? As if I would believe that. Why would a self-centered, narcissistic trash like you care about anyone else other than yourself?" Amelia spat out while giving me a ridiculing look.

    No one from our Unit stepped up and stopped Amelia from speaking like that to me, not even Kent.

    These guys were supposed to have my back out there on the battlefield. Yeah, right!

    Honestly speaking, I was fed up with them and their attitude toward me anyway. They only talk to me when it''s convenient for them. The other times, they avoid me.

    I know what Lucas did in the past was uneptable, but why the fuck would I need to suffer this crappy treatment for his actions?!

    I was just done. For thest few weeks straight, I''ve been noticing people giving me looks like I was some kind of trash.

    I bet other noble kids have done something much worse than what Lucas did in the past. But all their actions were covered so they could walk with their chin up high.

    What right do people like them have to judge me?

    What right does anyone have to judge me?!

    Why would I, a wolf, need to concern myself with the opinions of sheep like them?!

    "See, now he''s not replying! I''m telling you he did something suspicious! Let''s go talk to the guard."

    "Lucas, just tell her what you handed to that guard." Nero looked at me with distant eyes, advising me.

    "Yeah, Lucas. Don''t drag the matter." Anastasia too joined in from the front of the line.

    "Bro, just tell her at this point. No need for an argument." Kent said, patting my back.

    Meanwhile, I, who had been silent till now, finally parted my lips to say:

    "Didn''t I already tell her? I gave a gift for his son''s uing birthday."

    "And I said, I don''t believe you!" Amelia barked.

    "Lucas, I won''t tolerate it if you are trying to cause any trouble for our Unit. I''ll forget you helped us during the mana training assignment." Nero, with a narrow-eyed look, openly threatened me.

    "Haaaa," letting out a deep breath, I merely shrugged my shoulders. "If you all don''t believe me, then go ahead and ask the guard what I handed to him."

    "...."

    After a few seconds of silence, Amelia uttered, "Fine, I''ll go ask."

    But before the ck-haired girl could start walking, from the front of the crowd of cadets, Instructor Liz and the homeroom Instructor of ss 1-C-8 announced loudly

    "Attention, cadets!"

    A wolf pays no heed to the meaningless opinions of sheep. He alters their perception, and with it, seizes control, reigning supreme over the very creatures who once dared to judge him.

 Chapter 45 Unit Test [2]

    ?"Attention, cadets!"

    Instructor Caroline Gray, the homeroom teacher of ss 1-C-8, addressed a crowd of cadets who were standing in orderly lines.

    She had chest-length light-brown hair that was curled at the bottom with bangs on the right side, purple eyes, and a slim but well-endowed figure.

    Standing in front of the entrance of the forest, Caroline shouted:

    "I am aware that both of your sses have been engaged in a dispute for about a week now. As instructors, it is not within our purview to involve ourselves in the affairs of cadets. Therefore, I will not address that issue.

    "However, it has been arranged that all Units from both sses will participate in a joint Unit test today. I expect all of you to conduct yourselves in a professional and respectful manner during this session."

    Nodding to her fellow Instructor''s words, Liz continued the exnation by outlining the rules of this test.

    "The rules for this Unit test are as follows: Participants will receive descriptions of four specific mana beasts through their smart bracelets. The first four Units to hunt any of these beasts will be dered four winners.

    "Additionally, Units can also hunt other mana beasts theye across. The Unit with the total mana beasts hunted will earn fifth ce.

    "In short, to win, you either need to hunt the four mana beasts that you''ll be provided the description of or kill as many other mana beasts as possible.

    "Entering the inner forest is prohibited and hurting other cadets, no matter their ss is not allowed. The session will end once the four designated mana beasts are hunted. Got it, cadets?"

    ""Yes ma''am!""

    To Liz''s exnation, every cadet present here replied in unison.

    "Good luck," said Liz.

    "Best of luck," Caroline joined in. "And do not fret if you find yourself in a perilous situation. The AI on your smart bracelet will alert us if that happens and we will rush to your aid. Now, let usmence the test!"

    And with that, the two super steel reinforced giant entrance gates of the 5th District forest opened up inward.

    Without waiting for even a moment, all the present cadets dashed inside.

    No one even had gotten the message describing the four mana beast targets yet, still they all instantly trailed inside to get in the lead.

    Not me, of course. I wasn''t in a hurry.

    I didn''t care about this stupid test. Our Unit was assured of being ced in the top 5 winner rankings.

    My goal here was just to repair my reputation.

    Only after doing that will I be able to gather my pawns and acquire power. In this Academy¨C

    No.

    In this world, power is necessary for survival.

    Power includes strength, money, and influence. As long as I obtain all three of those factors of power, I''ll win this world.

    I looked down at the track shoes I was wearing with a frown. Soon an idea popped into my head and I touched my smart bracelet.

    Swii¡ª

    A soft white light shed in my hand and an object materialized in my palm¡ªa red-colored quill feather pen.

    Without waiting for a second, I pointed the pen at my shoes and an item description box appeared in my vision.

    Instantly, I wrote a few words in the ''Edit'' box.

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Running Shoes

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Well Maintained

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: Enhance my stamina and speed.

    ===

    As soon as I was done writing, another translucent red screen appeared before me.

    [Finalize your Edit for 16 points.

    Yes/No

    Note: you only have 2 Edit Points left. The Edit will be discarded if finalized.]

    Ahh, fuck. I only had 2 points left! I need to do something else. Hmm, maybe I should add a time limit. That oughta decrease the Edit cost.

    My hand started moving again, the nib of my red Pen writing in the air.

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    Item: Ordinary Running Shoes

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Well Maintained

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: Enhance my stamina and speed for 1 hour.

    ===

    [Finalize your Edit for 8 points.

    Yes/No

    Note: you only have 2 Edit Points left. The Edit will be discarded if finalized.]

    Ah, it worked! But it still wasn''t enough¡­

    To make my Edit happen, I kept on trying until I seeded in decreasing the cost to 2 points.

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Running Shoes

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Well Maintained

    Abilities: None

    Rank: None

    Edit: Enhance my stamina and speed for 30 minutes. One-time usable.

    ? ===

    [Finalize your Edit for 2 points.

    Yes/No]

    I quickly clicked on yes and my track shoes were instantly enveloped in a bright white hue.

    The Edit waspleted. I could feel it. But just to make sure, I opened the status of my track shoes onest time.

    ===

    Item: Relic Running Shoes

    Status: Normal

    Condition: One-time usable

    Abilities: Enhance the user''s stamina and speed for 1 hour.

    Rank: Iron

    Edit (Activate): Enhance my stamina and speed for 30 minutes. One-time usable.

    ===

    Since I added an ability to my shoes, they evolved into a relic.

    This is the thing I''ve noticed: The lower the rank of the relic I want to modify, the fewer Edit Points I would have to spend on it.

    If I turn an ordinary object into a relic, I would have to pay even less.

    For example, if I try to perform Edit on an ordinary object, I would have to pay much fewer Edit Pointspared to if I try to do the same on a relic.

    This one time, I tried to modify my armor but it showed me that I had to pay 6,00,000 Edit Points. Yeah, it was that expensive.

    Well, then again, my armor is a [Divine] ranked relic so it''s understandable.

    "Lucas,e!"

    Suddenly, a loud worried voice shook me out of my thoughts.

    I looked up and found the figure of a blue-haired boy standing at the entrance gate.

    And by the way he was huffing and puffing, I think he hade back to get me after going into the forest.

    "Haaa, I should get going."

 Chapter 46 Unit Test [3]

    ?"Hey man, I''m sorry by the way," Kent said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

    "Sorry? For what?" I asked, confused.

    "You know, I should''ve said something when Amelia was¡ª" he replied, avoiding eye contact. But before he couldplete his words, I cut him with a shrug.

    "It''s fine. We aren''t that close anyway."

    "....."

    We walked in silence for a moment, the only sound being the crunch of leaves under our feet as we made our way through the dense woods.

    Fortunately, we came across the rest of our Unit pretty quickly.

    Everyone except Anastasia was huddled under a towering tree. The thick canopy provided much-needed shade from the sweltering sun, and the sturdy trunk offered a good resting spot.

    "There you guys are," Nero waved at us with a wide smile.

    Honestly, I can not read this dude. One moment he''s quiet and cold, the other he''s grinning and acting normal.

    "I bet he must''ve slowed Kent down," pointing at me, Amelia used.

    "Actually, I was the one who fell and Lucas had to walk back to help me," Kent waved his hands, lying in my defense.

    "Liar," Amelia humphed. "You fell but there''s no dirt on your jersey?"

    "A-Ack¡­ you''re smart," dropping his head, Kent admitted to lying.

    Rather than her being smart, you are just dumb, you idiot.

    "Whatever, you both are now here. Now all we gotta do is wait for the message¨C Oh, it''s here!"

    Tring¡ª!

    Right when Nero was in the middle of his speech, a message notification popped up in all of our smart bracelets.

    However, as if agreed upon beforehand, all of us ignored the message and only Nero clicked on the notification.

    We all gathered around him when a bright blue holographic screen projected out from his bracelet.

    "It says here, our preys are Winged Jaguar¨C"

    "Pass."

    "Hard pass."

    "No thanks."

    Did I know what a winged jaguar was? Hell no. But still, no thanks.

    "¡ªck Scaled Bull, Silver Skinned Giraffe, andstly, Steel Winged Eagle. All of them are described to be [Bronze 1] ranked mana beasts. There''s also the map of the outer forest linked with the message."

    "Hmm, those are all hard choices," Amelia touched her chin andmented. "I think we should discuss our team''sposition first."

    "Agreed," nodded Nero. "We have three archers, one swordsman, and 1¡­ Wait, Kent, what are you?"

    "Oh me? I''m an archer."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    The silence was deafening. 4 archers in a team of 5?! Is this Academy serious?! What''s with this unbncedposition?!

    "Hahahahaha! I''m kidding! Oh my god! Look at your faces you all! Nyahahahaha!"

    T-This guy!

    I was barely holding back an urge to beat the living shit out of this elven boy''s face. One look and I could tell Amelia and Nero were on the same boat as me.

    "G-Guys, stop gritting your teeth and clenching your fists. I was only joking!"

    "Haaa," sighing, I rubbed my eyes and said. "Just tell us what you are."

    "I''m a scytheman," Kent confessed. "Although I wanted to use a bow like my mom and dad, I had a talent for scythe."

    "You have no talent for sharpshooting even though you''re a pure-blooded elf?" I asked, genuinely curious.

    "Nhh hmm," Kent shook his head.

    "Weird," I couldn''t help but mutter to myself.

    Elves are known for their exceptional skills in sharpshooting, while dwarves have a natural inclination toward crafting and forging.

    Additionally, humans are known for their ability to adapt and vampires for their ability to deceive.

    There''s even a saying in this world on that: Act like a vampire, shoot like an elf, create like a dwarf and adapt like a human.

    "Hey, expecting me to shoot well just because I''m an elf is racist you know."

    "But there''s even a saying on¨C"

    "That saying is racist too!"

    "But¨C"

    "Racist!"

    "They say¨C"

    "Racist!"

    "Your mom''s¡ª"

    "Racist!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Okay fine, I''m sorry."

    "Hehe, good."

    After one-sidedly winning an argument, Kent finally got an apology from me which he epted with a goofy smile.

    "You guys done?" asked Nero with a sigh. "Now let us focus on the test at hand. Since we have three long-range, one close-range, and one mid-range fighter, our hunting target should be Steel Winged Eagle. So does anyone have any objections?"

    "Nope."

    "Same here."

    ¡­We waited for the third person present here to answer Nero''s question but the response never came.

    As a result, we all turned to look at Amelia, who was standing with her back against a tree, deep in thought. Her charming forest-green eyes were lost in a world of her own and her fingers were pressed firmly against her chin.

    "Amelia," Kent called out to her.

    "Uh- yeah?" shaking out of her thoughts, Amelia replied.

    "I asked a question," said Nero. "Do you have any objections to setting Steel Winged Eagle as our hunting target?"

    "Oh, no. Not at all."

    "Okay, so it''s decided," dered Nero before turning back to Amelia. "By the way, what were you thinking?"

    "Oh, uh, you know we have three archers in our Unit. That doesn''t seem to be the right teamposition."

    "Right teamposition?"

    "Yeah. You know, the Academy assigned us the Units based on our rankings and preferred weapon of choice. So why did they think putting three archers in one Unit would be a good idea?"

    "Wait, they assigned us the Units based on our rankings and primary weapons?"

    "Yeah, I didn''t know that either. They did that?"

    At Amelia''s exnation, both Nero and Kent frowned in puzzlement.

    "One look at us and it''s clear to see," I interjected. "Kent and I are at the bottom of the ranks here. My potential isn''t great either. To bnce things out, the Academy paired us with three high-rankers."

    "I-I see," said Kent, scratching his head. "Man, I should start training seriously."

    "Oh, I never noticed," Nero frowned his eyebrows even deeper.

    Amelia, on the other hand, had a look of disbelief in her eyes.

    What? Did she not expect me to notice something so basic?

    Although, in a split second, the look of disbelief in her eyes vanished and it turned cold again.

    "As he stated," Amelia said. "Additionally, upon examination of other units, it is apparent that theirposition is not as disorganized as ours, for the most part."

    "Exactly," I replied. "If you look at other Units, you''ll find they have 1-2 long-range fighters, that''s it."

    "Yes, so the question arises, why is our Unit assigned three archers? I really don''t understand." the ck-haired girl clicked her tongue.

    Well, it''s because your theory has one big hole in it, you dumb girl¨C is what I wanted to say to her.

    You see, the academy didn''t assign us the Units based on our primary weapon usage. They assigned us the Units based on the weapon and type of fighting style we have the most potential in.

    For example, Lucas, in the novel, was a spearman.

    Anastasia, despite being the best archer in the world, excelled more at hand-to-handbat.

    So both of us were not using the weapons we had the most potential. It wasn''t the Academy''s fault that theposition of our Unit was messed up. It was our own.

    "Wait, what if someone in our Unit has a dual profession?" suddenly, Amelia snapped her fingers.

    Woah, she guessed it. This girl''s analytical abilities were good. Unfortunately, she would never be able to guess who has the dual profession in our group.

    "Oh, that? Isn''t¡­"

    Right at that moment, Kent spoke and I remembered he knew I had a dual profession!

    When I asked him to provide me with a Lvl. 3 spear art, I had to tell him that I had two professions: Archer and Spearman!

    Fuck! I don''t want him to reveal that information to everyone now!

    As Kent slowly turned his head towards me while speaking, it felt as if time had slowed down¡­

    I also turned my head to look at him, and through my eyes, I conveyed to him the message to stop talking!!

    No! No! No, you idiot! Stop talking!

    "...Isn''t Lucas¡ª huh?"

    Oh?

    He stopped?! He stopped talking! He took the hint! I gave him a hint and he took it!! This guy CAN take a hint!

    "What? Isn''t Lucas what?" Amelia frowned.

    "O-Oh¡­ I was saying, isn''t Lucas looking kinda pale?"

    "What? Really?" I asked while touching my face and putting on an act. "This heat will be the end of me."

    "What? How does that rte to the topic we were discussing?" the ck-haired girl spoke in a ridiculing tone.

    Step¡ª! Step¡ª! Step¡ª!

    However, before Kent could reply, we heard the sound of someoneing our way.

    Kent and I immediately guarded up, but Nero nonchntly waved his hand and said:

    "Don''t worry. It''s Anastasia. I sent her to do a reconnaissance of our surroundings since she said her eyesight is good."

 Chapter 47 Unit Test [4]

    ?"Avoid this route," said Anastasia while running through the woods, dodging one obstacle after another. "Unit 7 of 1-C-8 had set up a trap here."

    Thanks to the reconnaissance search she did earlier, we were now aware of most of the enemy''s position.

    We knew which routes to avoid and not fall into traps, and which Unit would be ourpetition for the Steel Winged Eagle hunt.

    Sure, cadets can''t directly hurt other cadets, but that doesn''t stop them from setting up traps and stuff to slow others down.

    "How big is this forest anyway?" panting like a dog out of breath while following behind Anastasia, Kent asked.

    "760 acres," Nero replied from right next to him. "And that''s just the outer forest''s area."

    "I''ll die."

    I could practically see Kent''s soul leaving his body after he got his answer.

    Fortunately, the running shoes that I Edited were a great help.

    ===

    Speed¡ú 101 [+62]

    Stamina¡ú 96 [+62]

    ===

    Both my speed and stamina stats were increased by 62 points. That created a big difference in my overall physical capability.

    I could easily keep up with Anastasia, Amelia and Nero without even breaking a sweat.

    We were heading towards the northeastern part of the outer forest, as indicated on the map we received.

    The Steel Winged Eagle, an evolved eagle with mana-hardened steel wings and arge wingspan, was located there.

    While it is known for its speed and sharp wings that can cut a grown man''s neck, it does not possess any other extraordinary abilities.

    "There!"

    Right when I was about to open my smart bracelet and check our live location in maps, Anastasia yelled.

    We found it. An eagle with ck plumage, slightlyrger than average, possessing a pair of enormous gleaming blue wings, circled through the sky as if it were the ruler of the winds.

    From the looks of it, we were the first Unit to arrive here.

    There were two ways of winning a spot in the top 5. Either kill as many normal mana beasts as possible or kill one of the four instructed mana beasts.

    It was no surprise that many of the Units chose the first option since it was safer and easier.

    "Careful not to let it touch you with its wings," Nero stated the obvious. "You''ll be cut before you even notice it."

    "Yes," nodded Anastasia. "I can see a great amount of mana circting in its wings."

    Anyone can see that, Anastasia. Its wings were literally glowing in an azure blue hue! You don''t need special eyes to see that!

    "Okay, what''s our n of attack?" asked Amelia.

    "Shoot and bring it down, what else?" I shrugged.

    And I was ignored.

    "No, no, he''s right," Nero chimed in. "Fire at it from all directions and when it''ll have nowhere to go, I''ll jump at it and kill it with my sword."

    "You can jump that high?" Kent asked in amazement.

    "I can jump higher," Nero grinned.

    Without waiting, I took out my bow and quiver full of arrows from the smart bracelet on my wrist.

    Slinging the quiver on my back, I took out an arrow, coated it in a thinyer of mana, knocked it on my bow and aimed it at the flying eagle.

    Both Amelia and Anastasia quickly got into motion too.

    Amelia climbed a tree and prepared herself while Anastasia dashed away from my location, drawing an arrow and readying her bow while aiming at the same target as me.

    "Now!" Anastasia yelled.

    As if waiting for that cue, both Amelia and I let go of our bowstrings and released our arrows.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    In mid-air, the mana on my arrow split into six mana darts and shot at the Steel Winged Eagle.

    Simultaneously, Amelia''s arrow erupted in a brilliant blue light and hurtled toward the eagle at breakneck speed.

    "Siiiiiii!"

    The Steel Winged Eagle let out a harsh, high-pitched whistle as it noticed our attempt to hunt it down.

    Fwooo¡ª!

    Effortlessly dodging our attacks, the eagle, instead of going higher in the sky, dived down, intending to take us at close range.

    "Iing!" Anastasia yelled.

    "It''ll try to use its wings to attack us!" Nero shouted back.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Instead of wasting time by shouting the obvious, Amelia and I drew back our bowstrings and readied our arrows for action.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    Swooosh¡ª!!

    Once again, my arrow shot forward and split into six mana arrows before raining down on the iing eagle.

    The Steel Winged Eagle expertly maneuvered through the air and dodged all my arrows.

    Tsk, it was fast.

    However, just as the bird avoided my final arrow, Amelia''s arrow appeared in front of it out of nowhere!

    She had used my attack as a distraction and had brilliantly predicted the eagle''s movements based on it.

    As my mana arrows limited the bird''s options for escape, Amelia took advantage of the opening andunched her arrow to strike it down.

    Truly, she is a genius marksman! Or markswoman? What''s the word? I can''t remember.

    Tann¡ª!

    However, the eagle was not defeated yet. It crossed its wings in front of its body and used them as a shield, sessfully blocking Amelia''s arrow from piercing through.

    After blocking Amelia''s arrow, the Steel Winged Eagle expanded its wings and charged toward us from the sky once again.

    "Fuck!" cursed Amelia. "It registered no damage!"

    "Don''t worry!" but right then, Nero barked and drew his sword from his smart bracelet. "I got it!"

    The sword in his hand was surrounded in a bright azure blue glow as he coated it with a thickyer of mana.

    I was honestly amazed. I was standing 12 steps away from him and I could still feel the energying off his sword.

    This boy¨C no, this monster right here was the real deal.

    Stomping his foot harder on the ground, Nero prepared tounch himself toward the approaching eagle.

    Crevices formed where he was standing, and in a sudden burst, his figure disappeared from view and reappeared in front of the eagle in mid-air.

    "Skiiiii!"

    As Nero disyed his unmatched speed, the eagle let out a confused scream. Without hesitation, the boy mercilessly swung his sword, executing an upward diagonal sh.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    But before Nero''s sword could connect, a huge boulder came flying at him.

    Widening his eyes, Nero called off his attack and created a mana barrier around him.

    Thwaash¡ª!

    Fortunately, Anastasia reacted quickly and shot an arrow infused with mana at the boulder and shattered it into pieces.

    Tak¡ª!

    Landing back on the ground, Nero and everyone else looked in the direction where the boulder was thrown from.

    Of course, I knew who it would be but I still looked anyway.

    "Nice reflexes, pretty girl."

    From the shadowy covers of the forest, a tall young man with muscles which were too ripped for his jersey to hide appeared.

    "If it weren''t for you, this boy would''ve been crushed like an insect."

    Yes, it was¡­ drum rolls, please¡­ Alberto!

    "Are you crazy?" Amelia eximed, her eyes filled with anger. "You could have seriously hurt him!"

    "I''m going to report this to the instructors," Anastasia added with an irritated expression.

    Wow, look at them. The heroines are angry on behalf of our hero who wasn''t even hurt. Truly, such a beautiful and heartwarming scene.

    Tsk. These bitches.

    I personally just want to bash Nero''s head with a rock! No, in fact, let me just push him under a truck myself!

    "Oh, you''ll report? And say what?" with a smirk, Alberto mockingly cocked his head to the side. "He is not injured anywhere, is he? I was just trying to hunt that eagle like you guys."

    Honestly, more than Nero''s strength, I was impressed with this guy''s persistence. Even after being humiliated that day in the cafeteria, he was still targeting Nero.

    "You¨C"

    Before Amelia could start her rant, Nero walked up to her and ced a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to calm down.

    "Tsk," she clicked her tongue and held her words.

    "Let''s go guys," Nero said and started walking away.

    The Steel Winged Eagle had escaped.

    Since the academy had put a tracker on it beforehand to make it distinct from other Steel Winged Eagles in the area, we merely had to open the maps application on our smart bracelets to know its location.

 Chapter 48 Unit Test [5]

    ?"Why are they walking behind us?"

    "Just ignore them, Kent."

    "But dude, they are literally behind us."

    As we paved our way through the forest, Kent talked about Alberto and the four members of his unit following us.

    Nero asked him to ignore them so we kept walking.

    "Huaaaa~" I was getting bored. I''ve done nothing but eat and sleep since I came to this world.

    Sure, I''ve been doing some intense training for thest few weeks but that''s it.

    I wanted something challenging! Something life-threatening! Something that could give me an adrenaline rush!

    Sure, the mock war is ahead but I''m getting bored right now. I can''t wait for it to happen~!

    "There!" suddenly stopping in her tracks, Anastasia shouted before pointing to the sky. "Up ahead."

    Following her index finger, we saw the Steel Winged Eagle we were looking for resting on top of a tree branch.

    Rustle¨C!

    However, before any one of us could make a move, we heard a rustling sound of leaves from behind us.

    "Well, what do you know? People are already here."

    We looked back to find it was Grace Goodwill.

    And walking behind her were William Sinoath, Elijah Steelforged, E Bright, and the mystery guy, Hugh Jass.

    When Nero and Williams'' gazes met each other, they greeted each other with a nod.

    Huh, these two had already started to get along. Nice to see the plot developing so smoothly.

    Nero and William¡ª in the future, these two will share an unbreakable bond.

    Over time when they''ll graduate and serve in the United Military, their duo wille to be known as ''The Reapers Of The End.''

    "Yes, we came here first," Amelia snorted. "So obviously that hunt is ours."

    "Are you stupid?" chortled Grace. "By that logic, we saw it first so it''s ours."

    And d to see these two girls are not getting along since this is part of the plot too.

    Amelia and Grace hated each other in the novel. Since Amelia was part of Nero''s harem, she was obviously hostile to Grace, who didn''t miss any opportunity to seduce the main hero.

    Tsk, this guy gets heaven-defying talent, good looks, hot milf as master, and a harem?

    While reading, I didn''t think of it much since this much is basic in power fantasy novels but right now, standing here, I was honestly feeling a mix of jealousy and anger.

    Anyway, that wasn''t the only reason why they both hated each other.

    They both had a mutual disdain for each other because Grace viewed Amelia and Anastasia as obstacles in her pursuit of power.

    Amelia reciprocated these feelings, and their enmity grew over time, while Anastasia chose to ignore her.

    Even right now, these two girls were barely holding themselves back from creating a big fuss.

    "Actually, you both are stupid," while Grace and Amelia were busy locking gaze, Alberto chimed in. "The right to hunt should go to the strongest."

    "So, Nero?" Anastasia responded.

    "What?" Alberto raised an eyebrow.

    "You said the right to hunt should go to the strongest," Anastasia repeated Alberto''s words. "That ought to be Nero. Remember the cafeteria incident?"

    "You bitch¨C" before Alberto could show any hostility, Nero stepped in front of him with a big friendly smile on his face.

    "Now, now, friend. Do you really want to do this here?" asked Nero with a calm voice.

    "Do you think I''m scared of you¡­"

    Tsk, boring.

    This is the same old ''courting death'' scene. The author really had no creativity.

    Bored out of mind, I stopped paying attention to the scene in front of me and picked up a pebble from the ground.

    Fiddling with the pebble in my fingers, I waited for the scene to be over.

    "Why is that pebble slimy?"

    From my left, a curious voice fell in my ears. I turned my head to look at the owner and found out it was the mystery boy.

    Hugh Jass.

    Huh? Was he talking to me?

    Noticing his words, I looked at my hand and saw the pebble was indeed slimy.

    Tak¡ª!

    Instantly, I threw it away with a disgusted face.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Don''t know. What the hell is this slime?" I said, looking at my hand.

    Hearing my words, Kent leaned in to look at my hand and said, "Oh, this? This must be the saliva of a Three-Eyed Toad."

    "E!"

    "E!"

    Both Hugh and I grimaced in disgust.

    "Do you need a tissue?" asked Hugh.

    "Ah, yes," I nodded and extended my hand. "If you don''t mind."

    "Yeah, sorry but I don''t have it either."

    "....."

    So why the fuck did you ask?! Are you stupid?!

    "Don''t worry bro, it will dry up shortly," Kent gestured. "Interestingly, when it dries up, it creates a film on your hand that can be removed. It doesn''t leave behind any fingerprints, so you could evenmit a crime and not be traced."

    "Kent, I''m both utterly weirded out and immactely interested in that fun fact," I replied matter-of-factly.

    "Yeah, same." Hugh nodded. "Where did you even learn something so weird?"

    "Hehe, my father taught me the ways of a boy scout." Kent blushed, seemingly taking ourments aspliments.

    "Shut the fuck up, you three!"

    Right when we were in the middle of our weird talks, Grace yelled at us out of nowhere.

    "If you can''t add anything to this discussion, then don''t talk about useless things and disturb me either!"

    ''Bitch.'' That''s what all three of us thought at the moment but we held our tongues.

    "Fine, here''s the deal," Nero offered a proposal. "We''ll all y by the rules and work with our Units to independently hunt it down."

    "That sounds so much fairer than what your teammate suggested," Grace said before continuing in a coquettish tone. "Then again, we can also work together."

    "This girl is literally stupid," Amelia facepalmed. "Why would he work with you when he''s not even in your Unit?"

    "If you had a brain, you would''ve understood I was merely joking!"

    "No, I have a brain and I understand what you''re doing here. Do you want me to show you to the streets?"

    "How dare you,moner! Watch your tongue or I''ll have it cut!"

    "That registers as a threat, you know?"

    "You!!"

    "Hmph."

    "You fuckers do whatever you want," while the two girls were busy fighting like cats, Alberto spoke up in a cocky tone. "My Unit has already hunted down one of the assigned mana beasts already."

    Of course, his unit has already hunted Winged Jaguar and imed one of the spots in the top 5 Units of this test.

    So why was he following us? He was instructed to keep a close on Nero and observe his every movement.

    As a matter of fact, Grace was given the same instruction by Kai.

    "Whatever," Nero rolled his eyes and started silently walking toward the tree where our target bird was resting.

    He signaled us to follow him and we, of course, obliged by starting walking behind him with silent steps.

    In response, Grace too started moving and asked her Unit to follow her.

    "Aeik!"

    "Aaah!"

    When Grace walked past me, her foot slipped and she tripped forward. But before she could fall face-first on the ground, I instinctively caught her by her waist.

    "Get your hands off me," instead of thanking me, however, she scowled.

    "Fine," shrugging, I took my hand back.

    "Aweik!"

    And as expected, since I let her go before she could regain her footing, she tripped and fell to her knees.

    "Did you just push me?!" she bared her teeth at me and asked in an angry tone.

    Okay, I might or might not have pushed her down before she could regain her footing. Who knows?

    Ignoring her, I kept walking.

    What I didn''t notice back then was that the frustrated look on Grace''s face turned into a vicious smirk.

    Or at least that''s what she thought but I noticed her facial expressions changing.

 Chapter 49 Unit Test [6]

    ?It''s been 20 minutes since the second attempt to hunt down the Steel Winged Eagle had started.

    "Go for it!" yelled a ck-haired girl with crystal-like golden eyes. "Cut it down, Nero!"

    "I got it!" Nero replied to Anastasia while willing mana into his legs, strengthening them to make a jump.

    In front of Nero was a pretty big eagle.

    "Skii!" the eagle whistled in desperation. It was already down on the ground with multiple wounds clearly visible on his body.

    It had no strength to fly anymore.

    Nero''s figure disappeared and appeared right before the fallen eagle.

    "Don''t let him get to it!" from the back, Grace yelled at her Unit''s marksman.

    "On it!" Hugh, the marksman of her unit, yelled back. He aimed the barrel of his twin handguns at the wounded eagle and pulled the trigger.

    Bang¡ª!

    With a loud, sharp noise, two bullets shot forward at the eagle.

    "Amelia!" Nero cried for help from his teammate.

    Amelia has already acted quickly. She had alreadyunched an arrow by now.

    Tin¡ª!

    With deadly uracy, the arrow Amelia shot collided with the two bullets and deflected them easily.

    "Huaaaa~"

    While all that was happening, Lucas casually stood under a tree, enjoying the shade being provided by it, and watched the ongoing hunt from afar.

    "Aren''t you going to help your Unit?"

    From his right, Lucas heard a deep, intrigued voice reaching his ears.

    "Hmm?" Lucas turned to Alberto, who had asked him a question, and nonchntly replied while pointing at Kent. "Look at that guy. He''s trying to help them but what''s he doing?"

    Kent was standing in position with a scythe in his hands. His job was to protect the archers of the Unit if the eagle were toe after them.

    "He''s doing nothing," Alberto concluded. "He''s useless right now."

    "Exactly," nodded Lucas. "I''m the same as him. In this situation, I''d be useless to them. There are already two archers present there giving him cover fire."

    With a suspicious look, Alberto looked at the silver-haired boy in front of him. There was something off about him. He could feel it.

    On the outside, this boy was nothing special. He wasn''t very weak but he wasn''t strong either. He had a reputation for being a brat but he didn''t act like it. He had good looks but that''s about it.

    Yes, no matter how much Alberto looks at Lucas, he can only assess him as a weakling¡ª someone inferior to him.

    Nothing more, nothing less.

    So why were his instincts telling him to stay the fuck away from this guy?!

    "Alberto, let''s talk."

    Right when Alberto was lost in his thoughts, a member of his Unit came and tapped on his shoulder before making him walk off with him.

    Left alone, Lucas quietly observed the hunt in front of him. He was actually counting seconds and waiting for his n to take action.

    Yes, he had already set a n in motion. A n to restore his reputation among his teammates¡ª a step that would eventually allow him to create pawns for his exploits.

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    Right when Lucas was counting down the seconds, he heard Nero invoking a chant in high elven.

    Nero had his hand mimicking a handgun and pointed his fingers at the fallen eagle.

    Since members of Grace''s Unit tried to stop him from approaching the mana beast, in frustration, Nero decided to use magic instead.

    Light particles started converging at the tip of his index finger and in an instant, the whole area was bathed in a blinding white light.

    Thwoosh¡ª!

    The sh of light caused everyone to squint or shield their eyes with their hands in difort.

    When the light subsided, the whole area in front of Nero''s ''handgun'' was destroyed and whatever was left of the trees and grass was set aze.

    The body of the Steel Winged Eagle was nowhere to be seen. Not even its ashes remained after Nero was done with it.

    And despite being injured, that mana beast was on [Bronze] rank.

    Knowing the fact that his spell could seriously injure or even kill anyone present here made everyone shudder unknowingly.

    Not Lucas, of course. He didn''t feel anything as he watched the scene with emotionless eyes.

    But in the next moment, he started moving as that spell marked the start of his n.

    "You did it!" eximed Amelia in joy.

    "Hell yeah!" Nero raised his hands in a show of victory.

    "We aced this Unit test!" Anastasia too jumped in excitement.

    "Yeah, although I didn''t do much, we won!" Kent nodded with excitement.

    "You did more than certain someone."

    "Oh,e on Amelia, Lucas helped a bunch too."

    "Hmph."

    While the winners were busy celebrating, Grace was clicking her tongue.

    "Tsk," she looked at Hugh, giving him a death re. "You are useless!"

    "I am useless?!" Hugh retorted. "I did everything I could! You guys can''t win against Nero!"

    "True," William nodded. "That guy was too strong."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Same," Elijah sighed. "All of us did everything we could to keep him away from the eagle but he still managed to hunt it down."

    E walked up to her friend and ced a hand on her shoulder, "Grace, it''s a fair loss. No one is to me here."

    "Shut up!" Grace burst out, pping E''s hand away and pointing at Hugh. "Your guns are useless."

    "Oh yeah? Why didn''t you aplish something with your rapier then¡ª HEY, WATCH OUT!!"

    Before Hugh could finish his counterargument, however, he saw something. His eyes widened as he shouted out a warning.

    A red-furred wolf emerged from behind the cover of the woods and charged toward Nero''s Unit.

    The wolf, seeing Amelia as the closest target, leaped at her from behind.

    Nero, who was facing the ck-haired girl, was the first to notice the red-furred wolf jumping on her from behind.

    He quickly reacted to the situation and tried to protect Amelia by instinctively moving his body toward her.

    However, he was too far away, and by the time he could reach her, the wolf would have already bitten off her neck.

    Anastasia and Kent were also facing their back to the wolf''s side so they had no idea about it either. And there was no time to alert them.

    Hugh tried to shoot the wolf but his magazine was already empty. He''d have to reload, and again, there was no time for that.

    The element of surprise and proximity of the wolf to the group made it impossible for them to avoid the attack.

    "Wurf!"

    When Amelia sensed the presence of something behind her, she abruptly turned her body.

    She could only widen her after seeing a red-furred wolf inches away from her face.

    "Haa!"

    A short gasp escaped her lips in shock and fear as she realized the danger she was in.

    Time seemed to slow down as she stared into the wolf''s eyes, unsure of what to do with no time to react.

    At that crucial moment, Amelia felt a sudden force pushing her out of the way of the wolf.

    She stumbled to the side, narrowly avoiding the wolf''s canines which would have ripped her face apart.

    As she fell, she caught a glimpse of strands of silver hair shing before her eyes. It was a boy dressed in a ck and red jersey of the academy who had saved her.

    Yes, it was Lucas.

    "Wruuuf!"

    As Lucas pushed her out of the way, the wolf turned its attention to him.

    The silver-haired boy had his left hand outstretched, trying to fend off the wolf''s attack, but the wolf''s weight and momentum made him fall back as it jumped onto him.

    "Arghhhhhaaaa!"

    He couldn''t help but let out a beastly scream when the wolf bit down on his left hand.

    However, he was prepared for this.

    Click¡ª!

    Flicking his right wrist, a hidden de extracted from below the sleeve of his jersey which he used to stab the red-furred wolf right around its jaw.

    Splurt¡ª!

    Bang¡ª!

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Almost instantly, a bullet pierced the wolf''s skull, killing it immediately.

    But as if that wasn''t enough, Nero swung his sword and cleaved off its head.

    "Are you alright, Lucas?" Nero shouted with genuine concern for the boy who had risked his own life to protect one of their teammates.

    "Lucas! Hey, man, hey!" Kent too rushed to his side with a face full of worry. "He''s losing consciousness!"

    "I''m calling the Instructors!" Anastasia announced before tapping on her smart bracelet.

    "Is he okay?"

    "What happened?"

    "What was that?"

    Grace''s Unit came to the scene of the incident too.

    But Lucas was already closing his eyes. The red-furred wolves, also called Venom Wolves, had neurotoxins in their teeth that could paralyze their target and it was taking effect.

    Amidst themotion, Amelia was left stunned. With a lost look on her face, she sat there, utterly confused.

    Why did he save me?

    Or

    Did he really save me?

    Those were the only thoughts echoing in her head. Despite the clear evidence, she couldn''t believe what had just happened.

    Lucas, on the other hand, while losing consciousness, mustered all his strength to move his hand and point his finger at some people standing in the distance.

    They were Alberto''s Unit and they were watching the scene in confusion.

    Despite clearly being present there, they did nothing to provide any kind of help.

    "I-It¡­ It w-was¡­ It was them! They did this!" with the veryst ounce of his strength, the silver-haired boy whispered before his consciousness drifted into the darkness and his hand dropped on the ground.

    He had done his work. His n was a sess and now he would rest and watch the results he had wanted to create unfold

 Chapter 50 Let It Begin [1]

    ?"And since matter can''t be created, ording to thew of conservation of matter, we all are as old as the universe since we too are created from matter!"

    "What are you trying to say, Kent?"

    "I''m trying to prove a point. So what if she was a minor?"

    "Dude, ew! Get the fuck away from me!"

    "Joke! I''m joking!"

    It''s been three days since the ''incident'' in the 5th district forest.

    All I would like to say is my reputation has improved a LOT! And by LOT, I actually mean a LOT!

    Nero has been talking to me without that distant look in his eyes. Anastasia has started to put down her guard around me. Amelia has been awfully quiet in front of me, which is a very good thing since I don''t need to listen to her annoying voice and remarks anymore. And Kent¡­ is Kent.

    By ying the sacrificial hero, I showed them how much I had changed. Sure, I didn''t need to do something so dramatic as to let a fucking wolf bite me, but hey, I was really getting frustrated by their behavior.

    Not to mention how many Edit Points I got by pulling that off! 57 Edit Points! Can you believe it?!

    Although their behaviors didn''t undergo aplete transformation, they ultimately aligned with my n to a significant degree.

    Hmm? You''re confused?

    Oh, yeah, I never revealed my n, did I?

    Well, by now even the dumbest of you must''ve understood what I did. But for the sake of those who didn''t grasp the plot yet, I''ll exin.

    ¡­In short, of course.

    Remember the fatty guard?

    Yeah, so basically, I bribed him and shared with him my live location. Then I asked him toe to my location in exactly 57 minutes and bring a low-ranked Venom Wolf along.

    I instructed him to release the wolf right after he saw a bright light, which would be Nero''s spell, and make the mana beast attack Amelia.

    The guard had the ability topel low-rank mana beast, so for him to make the wolf target a specific person and attack them wasn''t a difficult task.

    I knew everyone would be distracted at that time so it''d be the perfect time to create trouble and y the hero by solving it.

    Yes, I calcted everything.

    I had foreseen the encounter with Alberto and Grace''s unit, the inevitability of Nero using magic, and even the specific spell he would likely cast to hunt the Steel Winged Eagle.

    After that, all that was left for me was to calcte everything by the minute and I was done with orchestrating a perfect n.

    And do you know what''s funny?

    This Unit test event was skipped in the novel as the story directly jumped to the ''mock war'' arc.

    That means the Unit test was only briefly mentioned and not much information was provided about it in the novel, so I had to make do with what little information I had.

    And even then! I executed a n that not many would''ve been able toe up with in my situation and perfectly pulled it off!

    Ahh~ Sometimes my own genius scares me.

    What did I lose? My left hand and ten watches from my collection.

    What did I gain? Restoration of my reputation, chaos and drama.

    What''s the chaos and drama in it?

    You see, the academy dismissed the Venom Wolf''s attack as an unexpected, unfortunate ident.

    But our ss is still hell-bent on believing that ss 1-C-8 was somehow involved in it, as I basically used them right before I lost consciousness.

    Later when I was asked to rify my usation by Nero, I told him that I overheard Alberto''s Unit talking about a secret n or something.

    Intentionally, to make it more believable, I left my exnation as vague as possible. And sure enough, the fools bought every word that came out of my mouth.

    Word spread among the rest of the ss and the spark turned into a full-blown forest fire.

    They had no reason not to believe the rumor since Nero was the one who confirmed it.

    "ss 1-C-8 attacked us," he said in front of our whole ss.

    Right now, the situation is that sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 are at each others'' throats. By now the majority of the cadets from both sses have been in conflict.

    This was supposed to happen anyway. I simply made it more intense.

    Just three more days are left for the mock war to start and I couldn''t be more excited about it.

    "Oh, by the way, how''s your hand?" while walking our way toward the ss, Kent asked. "I see it''s still covered in bandages."

    "It hurts," I lied. "But yeah, it''s healing, I guess."

    "I still can''t believe the academy didn''t give you a healing potion."

    "Well, the healing potions are expensive and cadets usually have to buy them with Merit. Since I wasn''t gravely injured, they didn''t need to use it on me for free."

    "Still, isn''t it hurting?"

    "Yeah, but ording to the medics, it''ll fully heal in a week. And if it still hurts, I can go take a healing potion and they''ll put it in my tab."

    "That makes sense."

    Kent''s worry was reasonable. I lost consciousness but ording to medics, the wound on my hand was deep and I lost a lot of blood.

    Even right now, my left hand ispletely wrapped in bandages. I can''t move it even a little.

    Of course, I can heal it anytime I want by using my Pen to create a low-grade healing potion.

    Anyway, while making small talk, we arrived in front of our ss. As we entered the ssroom, we noticed a boy sitting at the front desk with a visible bruised face full of wounds.

    "What the hell?" Kent eximed.

    Several cadets were already surrounding the boy in the spotlight while angrily murmuring amongst them.

    "Oh, Kent!"

    As we approached the group of cadets swarming the bruised boy, a short-framed dwarven boy present there greeted Kent with a nod but pretended not to see me.

    The side characters were still too skeptical of me to acknowledge my presence.

    Which is fine since I knew my reputation couldn''t bepletely changed overnight amongst everyone and nor do I care.

    People tend to only remember the one mistake you made in the past, even when you''ve done ten things right.

    Kent nodded back and inquired, "What happened to him?"

    "Unfortunately, he was assaulted by some members of ss 1-C-8," the boy replied with a sigh.

    "What?! Isn''t that a vition of the rules?"

    "Indeed it is. William, Nero, and a few others have gone to file aint with Instructor Liz."

    "Hmm?" my ears perked up as I overheard the conversation between the blue-haired elven boy and the short-framed dwarf.<novelnext></novelnext>

    My mind instantly raced as I turned to look at the boy who had allegedly been beaten by the cadets of ss 1-C-8.

    "Oh," I could only raise my eyebrows in understanding when I saw the face of the victim.

    It was Chase Woods. One of the future main cast of the novel and he was known for his foul mouth.

    I swear to god, there was not one dialogue of his in the novel where he didn''t curse.

    In fact, some of his curses were so innovative I couldn''t help but admire the author''s creativity. Oh if only he had used that creativity in the story.

    ording to the plot, today a group of individuals from ss 1-C-8 had an altercation with Chase. They tried to exploit his high temper.

    As Chase has a tendency to use profanity, he began to verbally, forck of better words, talk shit about them.

    After that, the argument very quickly escted into a physical conflict as the group of cadets had originally wanted.

    Since one can''t use magic spells and martial arts against a fellow cadet unless, in a duel orbat exercise, Chase had to fight them the good old way¡ª hand to hand without using mana.

    It''s not hard to imagine how he got his ass handed to him after that.

    Sigh. Keep in mind guys; you should never fight against a group alone. If you''ve ever been put into that situation, run, beg or do literally anything else you can to avoid it.

    Unless you''re a masochist and you like pain, of course. Ahem!

    Anyway, after he was beaten shitless, the patience level of ss 1-A-1 reached its limit.

    And as a result, the mock war was dered to ur between the two sses in the following two days.

    "Haa, whatever~" sighing, as if all this had nothing to do with me, I took a quick nce at the beaten and bruised boy.

    "That looks painful," Anastasia calmly approached Chase and carefully touched his swollen face. "Are you sure you don''t want to go to the infirmary?"

    As Chase stared into Anastasia''s deep, golden crystal-like eyes, he felt a sense of calmness washing all over his body.

    The pain and aching he was feeling in his body disappeared for a moment and he felt utter tranquility.

    Only when Anastasia shook him and repeated her question did he finallye back to his senses.

    "A-Ah no, I''m fine," he said, stuttering. "I want everyone to see what those fuckers did."

    "Well, you should still get it checked though," Anastasia persisted.

    "Haa," I let out a contented sigh and made my way to my seat next to the window now that my interest had been fulfilled.

    The plot was progressing as it should be for now. That little gesture of worry and concern from Anastasia sparked an unknown yet warm feeling in Chase''s heart.

    Over time, he began to feel envy toward Nero for his constant proximity to Anastasia, which ultimately drove him to improve himself and gain strength.

    Unfortunately, his fate was just to be one of the sidekicks of the main hero.

    In the end, his strength wasn''t enough. In the end, he died protecting Nero from the members of Spider in volume 3. In the end, he wasn''t strong enough.

    Tsk, poor guy. Didn''t get the girl and didn''t get a proper ending.

    Although, if he had been alive during the final war, then maybe, just maybe, the United Military wouldn''t have suffered so many casualties.

    Anyway, all that doesn''t matter to me. When that timees, Nero will deal with it.

    ?

    "As I''ve told you all before, I can''t do anything regarding that matter."

    "But¨C"

    "Instructors can''t intervene in disputes between cadets unless it''s a matter of life or death. This is one of our academy''s policies."

    In front of a crowd of cadets, a woman with the darkest shade of violet hair and matching eyes stood. Calmly, she tried to reason with the angry crowd of cadets.

    As soon as Liz entered the ss, everyone swarmed her and began to request her to issue some kind of punishment against the group of cadets of 1-C-8 who ganged up on Chase.

    "Then what should we do? Fight back? Because if we were to do that, you know as well as me, I will not hold back. They have been on our back for days now!"

    Nero, who entered the ssroom right behind Liz, voiced his frustration to which Liz only facepalmed before suggesting:

    "Go to the Cadet Council. However, you must have a solid proof ready if you wish to have the council involved."

    "Look at him," Nero pointed at Chase, whose face was still swollen and bruised. "That is proof enough!"

    -"Yeah!"

    -"This is really getting out of hand now!"

    -"Such antics should not be forgiven!"

    Following Nero''s speech, several other cadets from the crowd began to express their own opinions.

    "It is really not," Liz shook her head and the crowd silenced. "Bruises and wounds can easily be dismissed as self-harm. Then you all will be charged with defamation and attempted nder instead."

    As she finished speaking, the cadets present were left silent. They couldn''t argue with her reasons.

    Despite clearly being in the wrong, they had no definite proof against ss 1-C-8.

    "Alright, now that everyone understands, please gather at the training gym for the first ss," said Liz, before leaving the ssroom.

    Once she was gone, the murmuring among the cadets broke out once again.

    "Tsk," Chase got up from his seat and clicked his tongue. "I don''t care. I''ll beat those motherfuckers myself!"

    "Chase, calm down!" Nero yelled, clearly annoyed by the situation himself. "If you do that, you''ll give them one more win."

    "So what should I do?!" Chase mmed his fists on his desk. "Those bastards! If only I''d used mana, I would''ve reshaped their faces!"

    "Chase, as I said, calm down," Nero repeated. "Doing that would aplish nothing."

    -"Yes, Chase. He''s right."

    -"Let''s not be hasty and make the wrong decision."

    -"They really are crossing the line here!"

    Others surrounding Chase started to calm him down. After a long pause, he finally nodded his head.

    "Fine, I''ll-" he spat out, his eyes filled with anger and frustration.

    However, before he could utter another word, a chill crept through the room, sending shivers down the spine of every cadet.

    Suddenly, the temperature started plummeting as if a door to the Arctic had been flung open.

    The ssroom was enveloped in bone-chilling cold, causing everyone to hug themselves for warmth, their breath visible in the freezing air.

    Clomp¡ª! Clomp¡ª! Clomp¡ª!

    In that eerie moment of that sudden cold and confusion, she made her appearance.

 Chapter 51 Let It Begin [2]

    ?Clomp¡ª! Clomp¡ª! Clomp¡ª!

    As the door of the ssroom swung open, a fierce gust of icy cold wind swept through the room one after another, sending chills down the spines of the cadets present.

    And then, she appeared¡ª a vision of power and beauty, her every step a deration of her authority.

    She was a young woman in her teenage years with a figure that was both thin and athletic. Her skin was like silk, a porcin white that seemed to glow in the light.

    Her hair was a striking silver color, cascading down her back in a waist-length waterfall of shimmering locks.

    But it was her eyes that trulymanded attention - blood-red orbs that seemed to possess a light of their own, burning with an intensity that was both captivating and mysterious.

    She was an elf, her long ears a dead giveaway of her elven heritage, and a member of the Cadet Council, her white one-piece dress with blue trim and a blue armband on her left arm confirming her status.

    Her mere presence seemed to have dropped the temperature of the atmosphere drastically, leaving the cadets to shiver and chatter with their teeth in the cold.

    Hmm? What about me? Nah, I''m fine.

    I knew this was going to happen to I wore a thick inner under my uniform. Heh.

    "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Yelena Morning, and it is likely that many of you are already familiar with it. I hold the esteemed position of the Queen, or rather, the Vice President of this Academy City."

    Only when Yelena elegantly walked up to the center of the ssroom and started speaking did the temperature begin returning to normal.

    Her words echoed right into everyone''s ears as if she was standing right beside everyone else.

    Sound magic. It was her favorite choice of magic after Ice magic.

    Looking around, I saw the confused look on the cadets'' faces. Yet, despite their clear confusion, no one dared to utter a word.

    It was as if they all knew they were in the presence of a queen, and their best course of action was to stay silent and listen.

    "I''m here to tell you that ss 1-C-8 has filed an officialint against ss 1-A-1."

    However, their silencested only until Yelena informed them about the current situation.

    Instantly, a chain of loud murmuring broke out among the cadets.

    -"What?!"

    -"Ridiculous! Why are they the ones filing aint against us?!"

    -"Yes, it should be the other way around!"

    -"Indeed! It''s them who started this mess!"

    "I don''t care who started what," Yelena dered, silencing the cadets. "I only care about what''s happening right now. Now Nero Dekrauf and Chase Woods,e stand forward."

    With a frown of confusion stered on their faces, both the guys whose names were called walked to the front of the ss.

    "I''m Nero Dekrauf, ma''am."

    "And I''m Chase Woods."

    Nodding at their introductions, Yelena continued;

    "ss 1-C-8 has charged you for assault," she announced while pointing to Nero with her chin before turning to Chase. "And they have charged you for threats and disrespectful behavior and assault."

    "Nonsense!" Chase eximed. "Those fuckers were¨C"

    But again, before he couldplete his sentence, an eerie chill ran down his spine.

    He felt the grim reaper''s icy grip around his throat and felt like he would really die if he were to utter another word.

    "As I said, I don''t care," Yelena repeated in an uncaring tone, her cold gaze piercing his soul. "And you might want to watch that tongue of yours in front of me."

    To her clear warning, Chase meekly nodded his head up and down like a pup.

    Satisfied by asserting her authority, Yelena tapped on her smart bracelet and a holographic screen projected out of it.

    The holographic screen disyed a video of the recent cafeteria incident where Nero employed his mana pressure to force Alberto to kneel before delivering a brutal kick, rendering him unconscious.

    In the next moment, with a flick of her finger, Yelena altered the yback to an audio recording of Chase''s altercation with the members of ss 1-C-8.

    In the recording, Chase''snguage was littered with foul and obscene words directed toward the other cadets of 1-C-8.

    The level of vulgarity became so extreme that Yelena waspelled to discontinue the yback.

    By the end of it, both Nero and Chase had their heads down. They wanted to retort¡ª say that in both instances, ss 1-C-8 was the first to provoke them, but by now Yelena had already made it clear that she had no interest in their defense.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "In both cases, your ss was out of line," Yelena spoke. "You guys broke the cadet code of conduct. The excuse that they started it first wouldn''t be applicable here."

    "I know it''s our fault," Nero, with his head down, muttered apologetically. "So please only punish us and not our ss."

    Chase nodded to his words. I guess even he was feeling responsible for all this mess.

    "Punish only you?" Yelena raised an eyebrow. "And what will that aplish?"

    "Huh?"

    "What do you mean?"

    Confused, both Nero, Chase and everyone else looked at the silver-haired elven beauty.

    "Punishing both of you could worsen conflict with 1-C-8 and furtherplicate the situation, especially since most third-year cadets, including those in the Disciplinary Community and Cadet Council, have yet to return from their annual exam mission."

    Yelena calmly spoke before taking a brief pause and continuing.

    "That means if I were to punish only both of you here, that would only create more work for me in the future. And I hate working. What I do love is drama."

    Oh wow, someone''s copying me.

    "Additionally, ss 1-C-8 is not without guilt, even though they didn''t initiate the rule-breaking. I''m confident that I''ll find solid proof if I investigate their rule vitions, but I don''t want to waste my time on a bunch of first-year troublemakers. But I also do not want to pass the wrong judgment. Quite a predicament, isn''t it?

    "So here''s what we''ll do. We''ll settle this by a challenge¡ª a sort of game, if you may. The one who loses will be charged guilty and would have to face the consequences. How does that sound?" Yelena proposed in an amused tone.

    "What?! Is this your solution?" Nero eximed, clearly taken aback. "So, the winner is absolved of guilt despite clear evidence? That''s not justice!"

    "Yes, that''s not fair!" Chase too voiced his concerns. "If they beat us then they won''t receive any punishment regardless of the fact that they were the ones who starteding after us first?!"

    As the two main characters spoke up, the rest of the ss followed suit.

    -"Yes, how is that fair? How is that just?!"

    -"You can''t make this decision! You''re acting outside of your authority! Only the Cadet Council president can suggest something like that!"

    -"That''s madness! Not to mention how uncivilized it sounds! She''s only favoring the strong. She doesn''t care about justice!"

    -"I love you, Yelena!"

    Snap¡ª!

    Yelena silenced the room with a snap of her fingers, stopping the buzz of student chatter in the ssroom. A burst of cold air then swept through, reminding everyone at whose mercy they were on.

    "Silence!" she barked, her eyes as cold as ever and her face contorting with disdain.

    "You wormlike creatures have no right to question my authority. I may not hold the highest official title in the Cadet Council, but at this moment, I am thew.

    "And if any of you dare to challenge my ruling, let it be known: I will not tolerate insubordination.

    "You cry out that this is madness, that it is not justice, that I am favoring the strong. Allow me to enlighten you all right here, you simple-minded fools. This world has always favored the strong. The weak have never, and will never, receive true justice! Why is that?"

    Her words hung heavy in the air, and the ss sat in stunned silence, digesting the harsh facts she hadid before them. They all knew that Yelena spoke the truth as they waited for her to finish.

    "History is witness to the fact that the victors alone shape the notion of justice and morality, making it a fleeting and subjective ideal. The victorious are crowned with righteousness, while the defeated be mere footnotes in time, forgotten by the ages.

    "The choice is yours. Which legacy do you wish to leave behind? Do you wish to be a memory, or do you wish to receive justice?"

    Without bothering to utter another word, Yelena elegantly walked out of the room, leaving the cadets both in awe and shock.

    What others were too busy to notice was the fact that Quinn had gotten up from his seat and followed behind Yelena.

    Yeah, he was officially joining the Cadet Council today after being forced into it by the silver-haired elven beauty.

    "Heh," my lips slowly turned into a smirk.

    In reality, Yeleana already had enough proof against both sses. She could''ve punished them both and closed the matter right then and there.

    However, she decided against it because there were many things she needed to teach these first years.

    For starters: Justice is not served; it''s earned.

    And of course, there are consequences to one''s actions however big or small they are.

    As the excitement built up in me, I bit my thumbnail with an erratic grin on my face, "Let the game begin."

 Chapter 52 A Distant Dream [1]

    ?Swoosh¡ª!

    In the garden at the back of our mansion, father was training like usual.

    Today, I mustered the courage to sneak a peek at his training.

    My father was a huge man. He had big broad muscles, arge figure, and several scars covering his ripped body. One could argue he was the epitome of masculinity.

    But unlike his scary appearance, my father was a kind-hearted soul. He was a big softie, at least to me.

    Swooosh¡ª!

    The garden was an oasis of lush green, awash with vibrant nts. At the center of it was arge pond, where I had spent countless hours ying.

    Birds soared through the cloudless sky above, perching on the garden''s trees to rest and chirping merrily.

    The sound of a bamboo fountain, with its calming repetitive rhythm, could be heard throughout the garden, adding to the serene atmosphere.

    Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves, illuminating a man practicing his weapon arts by the pond.

    With every graceful movement of his halberd, he trimmed the neatly trimmed grass even further.

    Thwaaa¡ª!

    Suddenly, he stopped his swing and shot a look in my direction.

    "Aieek!" startled, I quickly hid behind the wall that I was peeking at him from, realizing that he had caught me watching him.

    How did he find out? I thought. I was sure he was going to punish me but instead he simply chuckled and resumed his training.

    As he did so, I peeked my head out again.

    This time, I saw my father adopt a new stance for his swing, one that was unlike any normal stance for a polearm weapon.

    It was a sword stance? But my father wasn''t a swordsman. His choice of weapon was a spear¡­

    My father assumed a swordsman stance, pulling his halberd back as he grasped its handle with one hand and its hilt with the other.

    "Watch this," he says, pretending to speak to himself but clearly directing his words toward me.

    I anxiously held my breath as my father tensed his shoulder and calf muscles. He grasped the halberd''s shaft tighter in his hands before¡­

    Fwoooooosh¡ª!

    He swung it in a horizontal sh like a sword and unleashed a powerful strike!

    Even though he was roughly ten meters away from the tree in front of him and he didn''t use any mana, a deep cut etched onto its trunk.

    "Woaaaaah!"

    I was left so mesmerized by the beauty and the power of the move that I didn''t even notice my father had already appeared behind me.

    "Ahh!" I eximed after finally noticing his presence. "Father, I''m sorry!"

    It was not allowed in our house to disturb father during his training.

    I remember Adel, my younger twin brother, once had to run 80ps around the city for disturbing him.

    So of course, I was scared.

    But instead of anger, my father shed a bright, loving smile at me and ruffled my hair with his giant hands.

    "It''s fine, son. Don''t tell your brother I let you go without any punishment," he said before crouching down and rubbing his cheek against mine.

    "Hehehehe! Father, your beard!" I cried out as I felt his porcupine-like beard tickling my skin.

    Tring¡ª! Tring¡ª!

    "Haaaaaaaa! Haaaa! Haaaa!"

    But before the scene could go any further, suddenly the high pitch sound of the rm ring fell in my ears.

    Drenched in sweat, I woke up from my slumber gasping for air and sat straight up.

    "The fuck was that?" I asked myself. "Were those Lucas'' memories? Was it a dream?"

    Those were indeed Lucas'' memories. But why did I see those? And in a dream, no less?

    Calming down my heart, I used the nket I had over me to wipe the sweat off my face.

    "Well, at least it wasn''t a nightmare," putting a hand over my face, I reassured myself. "Fuck, I should get ready."

    Right, it was a big day today. I had no time to waste on silly dreams.

    ?

    "Hmm."

    I looked at things lying on my center table. With a finger on my chin, I analyzed everyst item and made sure everything I needed was there.

    ===

    Item: Stun Marble

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Good

    Abilities: A relic marble that will activate on the user''smand and deploy a sh and stunbo on one target for 0.089 seconds.

    Rank: Iron

    Edit (Activate): sh and stun the target for a split second.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Illusion Face Mask

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Excellent

    Abilities: Can alter the user''s physical appearance and create an illusion to mask their identity for 20 minutes.

    Rank: Bronze

    Edit (Active): Hide identity of the user for 20 minutes.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Stamina Recovery Pill

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Safe for Consumption

    Abilities: A relic pill that will recover the user''s stamina by half and help them ovee fatigue.

    Rank: Iron

    Edit (Activate): Recover stamina and fatigue.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Mana Recovery Pill

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Safe for Consumption

    Abilities: A relic pill that will increase the user''s mana by one-tenth upon consumption.

    Rank: Iron

    Edit (Activate): Recover mana.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Null Attribute Light Arrow

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Well Maintained

    Abilities: A relic arrow can nullify a dark magic spell/user up to [Bronze] rank and will severely weaken those above it.

    Rank: Bronze

    Edit (Activate): Darkness nullifying light arrow.

    ===

    ===

    Item: Low-Grade Healing Potion

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Safe to Apply

    Abilities: A relic potion that can heal minor wounds, scratches, and bruises when applied on it directly.

    Rank: Iron

    Edit (Activate): Heal minor wounds.

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Good."

    After finally checking everything one by one and satisfying my conscience, I nodded my head.

    Okay, this should be enough relics for it, right?

    Dressed in a ck and red jersey provided by the academy, I stood in my room with a dazed expression.

    Bandages were still wrapped around my left arm. I could move it but not without clenching my jaw in pain.

    Needless to say, I can''t wield a bow, or any other weapon for that matter, right now.

    "Fuuu."

    Letting out a deep breath, I closed my eyes and started thinking.

    What traps have Iid in preparation for the mock war?

    What ns have I set in motion?

    Have I calcted everything that will or can happen in this mock war?

    Have I created enough countermeasures for any situation that might ur?

    No matter how hard I thought about it, in the end, only one answer came to my mind.

    "I''m ready."

    With my preparations done, I picked up the items lying on my center table.

    5 stun marbles.

    1 illusion mask.

    3 stamina recovery pills.

    2 mana recovery pills.

    3 null attribute light arrows.

    1 bottle of healing potion.

    One by one, I put everything in my smart bracelet''s dimensional storage.

    To create these items, I used up almost all of the 57 Edit Points that I acquired during the Unit Test incident. Right now, I only have 10 Edit Points left.

    I created stun marbles from some marble balls I foundying around.

    Then I got a disinfectant antiseptic liquid bottle and turned it into a low-grade healing potion.

    The illusion mask was created from a face mask I bought recently on my way to the academy one day.

    Lastly, the mana recovery and stamina recovery pills were made from some opioids tablets I discovered among Lucas'' stuff.

    Yes, he used them to get high.

    Yes, he did drugs but that should hardlye off as a surprise, right? All the rich kids are into that stuff.

    Anyway, after that I created some null attribute light arrows that can nullify or damage the dark magic spells and their users.

    Neat, I know right? As for what am I going to use it for? You''ll see, don''t worry.

    After packing all the items in my smart bracelet, I threw in my bow and two quivers full of arrows in there too.

    Of course, I didn''t forget to wear my hidden de on my right hand either.

    With everything done, I was about to walk out of my apartment when I suddenly remembered something.

    "Oh right, I almost forgot about it."

    I looked at my smart bracelet and a familiar red translucent screen shed in my retina.

    ===

    Item: Smart Bracelet

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Excellent

    Abilities: A special type of smart bracelet provided by the Global Academy to their cadets that has an inbuilt AI, Athena, and dimensional storage feature in it.

    Rank: Diamond

    Edit: _____

    ===

    A smirk shed on my face as I equipped my Edit Pen and scribbled some words in the Edit section of my dimensional.

    After a minute, I was done.

    Wiping the non-existent sweat off my forehead, I uttered, "Okay, all set."

    Nodding onest time, I left my apartment to get to the academy.

    ?

    "H, Lucas! Good morning. Your hand hasn''t recovered yet?"

    "Good morning, Kent. It''ll be fine in a few days, I think."

    "Can you even use your bow with your hand in that condition?

    "Unfortunately, I can''t. I tried but my already pathetic aim is no good right now."

    "Ouch, that''s bad. Honestly, I don''t want to fight ss 1-C-8. Why are we fighting them? We were not even the ones who got involved in the dispute?"

    "It''s her way of teaching us that we have no choice in which battles we want to fight in."

    "Her? Oh, you mean Yelena. I guess you''re right. Hey, I just remembered; you guys are siblings right?"

    "Yes, but naturally, we are not on good terms."

    "I see."

    As soon as I entered the academy gates, Kent spotted me and came to walk together.

    It has be a daily routine by now. I find myself spending more and more time with this blue-haired elven boy during academy hours.

    Even after that, after we go home, this guy either continues to text me, requesting me to join him in exploring clubs and bars or send memes.

    Anyway, if you still don''t get it, today is the day the mock war will start.

    Two days ago, Yelena came to our ss and gave us a lengthy speech about justice and strength and whatnot.

    Yesterday, she officially announced the mock war event to happen between sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8.

    And today is the day it''ll start. Starting today, the first arc of the story will begin.

    My goal is to create and grab an opportunity to get stronger and acquire some pawns¨C allies¡­ acquire some allies.

    Arghh! I hate slip of tongue.

    Anyhow, right now, Kent and I are on our way to the weapon vault.

    Since it''s a war, we will need some secondary weapons, so the weapon vault was opened for us.

    "Are you going to pick something too?" Kent asked, looking at my left arm.

    "Hey, my right hand is still working, you know?" I replied, waving my good hand. "I''ll get a knife or something."

    "Well, knowing Nero, I don''t think he''ll send you on the front lines anyway."

    "True."

    I knew that. I knew Nero wouldn''t force me to fight if I was injured.

    That''s one of the reasons I decided to pull that stunt at the Unit Test.

    Yes, the stunt I pulled was an improvised version of the n I had in mind.

    Initially, I just asked the guard to let loose a low-level mana beast on our Unit at my signal¡ªthe signal being a bright sh of light from Nero''s magic spell.

    I was going to risk it all by throwing myself in front of the mana beast to protect a member of our Unit and hope that the others would kill it before it killed me.

    But before executing my n, I talked to the fatty guard and he told me about his ability to control low-level mana beasts.

    I improvised on the spot and asked him to control the wolf''s action and safely bite my hand and injure it just enough not to cause any longsting damage.

    I then also asked him to target a specific member of our Unit ¨C Amelia. She''s the one I need to have in my control first.

    Of course, if it were not for him, then I would''ve used some other means to injure my hand and avoid being assigned a front-line position.

    In the end, luck yed on my side and the fatty guard proved to be more useful than I thought.

    Oh yes, Nero has taken the role of Lord Commander during this mock war so he was going to manage all our positions.

    Basically, he is in charge now.

    Surprisingly, Quinn had no problem with that. He let him take the role despite it meaning he would have to follow Nero''s orders.

    Quinn didn''t like following orders.

    So why did he let Nero take the role? I don''t know.

    I didn''t think much about it when reading the novel, but now that I''m here and I''ve been observing him for the past few weeks, it feels like it''s out of character for him not to make any objection.

    Meh, who knows.

    Maybe I''m overthinking again.

 Chapter 53 Let It Begin [3]

    ?After picking a spear and a dagger, I walked to building 4 with Kent while making small talk.

    Well, he was the one doing all the talking. I was just listening to him going about how these are our younger years and I should go to clubs with him and all that crap.

    Anyway, as I''ve told you all before, there are 5 buildings on the campus.

    Building 1, Building 2, and Building 3 are assigned to First-years, Second-years, and Third-years for their sses respectively.

    Building 4 and Building 5, on the other hand, have all the training equipment that the cadets would require to hone their strength.

    That includes but is not limited to: Training Gyms, Weapon Vaults, Dojos or Training Halls, VR Capsules and stuff like that.

    Yes, VR capsules.

    I don''t know if you all remember or not, but when I came to this world I mentioned how this world, after solving its energy crisis, has managed to create fully immersive VR worlds.

    And by fully immersive, I mean actually fully immersive. In there, you can feel pain and pleasure and stuff.

    Yes, you horny fucks, I said pleasure.

    Anyway, naturally,ing from a world where the most advanced invention in the field of technology was the smartphone, I was excited to see this fully immersive VR!

    I remember I used to read about it in fantasy novels back in my world. In fact, at one point, the VR genre became a trend in online novel writing tforms.

    So of course, I was excited to experience it firsthand. How many could say they have done that? None! Not back in my world, at least.

    Anyway, after we made our way to the VR room, which was big enough to be called a floor, we stood in line where the rest of our ssmates were standing.

    Aside from our ss, cadets of 1-C-8 were also present in the room. And may I add, the tension in the room was thick!

    Over the days, most of the cadets from both sses have gotten into a conflict with at least one cadet of the opposite ss.

    It was clear both the sses present here didn''t like each other.

    A few minutes after Kent and I arrived up and joined the line, all the other cadets were done showing up as well.

    But of course, for the queen''s appearance, we had to wait for another half an hour.

    "Is everyone here?"

    Finally, Yelena arrived in the VR room and gracefully stood in front of the cadets neatly standing in two separate lines.

    With her was a third-year cadet. From his blue and white uniform, it was easy to assess that he was a member of the Cadet Council.

    He had spiky bright orange hair, peach skin and brown eyes. He was a fairly tall, lean-built young man who had a Japanese-styled katana tied on his waist.

    He stood exactly two steps behind Yelena as she swept her gaze across the spacious room.

    "I think everyone''s here," from the back, someone replied.

    "Good. Then shall we review all the rules again: the winner of this mock battle will receive a prize decided by me and a punishment for the loser.

    "The conflict ends when one side ispletely defeated or theirmander is killed.

    "Nero Dekrauf is the Lord Commander for 1-A-1 and Alberto Okoro for 1-C-8. Bear in mind that Commanders can''t be changed during the war unless there''s a good reason.

    "The mock war will ur in the Virtual World with a destroyed city setting. Dying there means elimination from the event.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You can bring any artifacts you want in the virtual reality, either by storing them in your smart bracelet''s dimensional storage or wearing it as an essory artifact.

    "And yes, I know that''s not fair but in the real war, you will be faced with countless such advantages or disadvantages, so put up with that.

    "Also, you can''t bring any kind of food or drinks with you to the game. Things like that wouldn''t spawn with you even if you packed them in your smart bracelets.

    "We will be closely monitoring everyone''s vitals. You might feel real pain since nerve stimtion is at 80% but you won''t die, I assure you. If we think your life is in danger, we will eject you.

    "As for what''s the punishment and reward, you''ll know it after the war ends. Any questions?"

    After exining, Yelena asked if we had any doubts or queries but since none of us raised our hands, she nodded and continued.

    "Alright, let''smence the simted war. When your name is called,e and take a nanotech suit and proceed to a VR pod. ss 1-A-1, upy the VR pods on the right, and ss 1-C-8, take the ones on the left."

    The moment she said that, as if waiting for a cue, the orange-haired boy standing right behind Yelena stepped forward and proceeded to call out the cadets'' names one by one.

    "Cadet rank 116969, Lucas Morningstar, take a VR pod on the right."

    It didn''t take long before my name was called. I approached the orange-haired third-year, and he handed me a small metal ball.

    "ce it on your chest before entering the pod," he said before calling out another name.

    Beaming with excitement, I spun around and headed toward a VR pod.

    The room was spacious, resembling arge floor, with two rows of VR pods on either side, allowing ample room for movement between them.

    A VR pod is exactly as it sounds - a capsule-like device with a shiny, white metallic exterior and a soft, red cushioned interior that can be molded to fit the user''s body form.

    When I got over to one of them, I saw it had a sophisticated helmet inside of it that the user had to wear to be able to slip into virtual reality.

    We can bring any relic with us inside the virtual reality. To make that work, the academy''s AI, Athena, will scan the stuff in our smart bracelet and convert it into data.

    After that, Athena will upload that data into our virtual world and stimte a perfect reality.

    Yes, I know. Pretty impressive, right?

    Anyway, with no dy, I quickly pressed the small metal ball I was handed against my chest.

    Tak¡ª!

    The metal ball made a low tak sound as it collided against the ruby in my chest.

    In the next instant, multiple nanobots flooded from the metallic orb and flowed over my academy jersey, wrapping my entire body in a tightyer of nanometal. The result was a sleek ckbat nanotech suit, conforming perfectly to my form.

    Ah, did I fail to mention? Nanotechnology is real in this world. Ha! I know! So freaking cool!

    "Listen carefully; these suits will not only defend you but also provide you with a weapon in a pinch. You can control the nanobots to shape themselves into a weapon as they are connected to your neuralwork.

    "However, it''s only rmended as a final resort, as itpromises your own safety by lessening the number of nanobots in your suit.

    "Also, before you get into the VR pods now, keep in mind, there''s a time dtion effect. A day in virtual reality will be equivalent to an hour in the real world. Understood? Good. Now go ahead."

    As soon as Yelena gave us the green g, I jumped into the VR pod and wore the helmet while making myselffortable.

    Soon enough, darkness veiled my vision and I fell into a deep slumber.

 Chapter 54 Main Character Moment

    ?[Wee cadet. I''m Athena. Please rx until I finish the checking procedure!]

    [Fingerprint scan¡­pleted!]

    [Retina scan¡­plete!]

    [DNA scan¡­pleted!]

    [Nanotechbat suit detected!]

    [Full body scan¡­pleted!]

    [1 relic on body detected¡­]

    [Relic: Phoenix''s Embrace. Armor-type weapon relic. Rank estimated¨C Semi Divine.]

    [Smart Bracelet scan¡­pleted]

    [15 low-grade relics detected¡­]

    [Relics: 1 Illusion mask, 3 Mana pills, 3 Stamina recovery pills, 5 Stun marbles, 2 null attribute Light arrows, 1 Healing potion. Rank estimated¡ª All Iron to Bronze.]

    [Full checkupplete. Cadet ID recognized.]

    [Rank 116969, first-year cadet Lucas Morningstar, do you wish to start Link?

    Speak Yes or No.]

    I do not remember for how long the scanning process went on, but at the end of it, when I was asked to answer yes or no, I quickly answered.

    "Yes!"

    Of course, I was too excited to wait any longer. Arghh, I was acting like a country bumpkin.

    [Starting Link¡­]

    As soon as I consented to start the link, a blinding bright light shed in my vision, causing me to close my eyes.

    Finally, after a few long minutes, when the light subsided and I opened my eyes, I found myself standing on the terrace of a tall building.

    With curiosity, I looked around and found other members of my ss standing there, probably waiting for the remaining ones to spawn.

    In the background, my fellow cadets were framed by a city in ruins¡ª partially destroyed buildings, some with smoke still rising, broken roads, and vandalized vehicles.

    ¨C"Lucas is here! That makes 99!"

    Struck in awe, I walked up to the edge of the railing to get a better view of the destroyed city,pletely ignoring the voice in the background that took my attendance.

    "Beautiful," I couldn''t help but mutter.

    "Is it?"

    I heard a crisp, feminine voice from behind me. Turning around, I discovered it was Anastasia.

    Wearing a tight-fitting ckbat suit that entuated her slim and mature figure, and with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she exuded a mix of allure and athleticism.

    Still, this level of beauty was not enough to faze me. Hah!

    "Of course," I replied. "Just look, how beautiful it is!"

    "I don''t know," Anastasia answered, shrugging lightly. "Everything is either broken or demolished. I find it quite disturbing."

    "Huh."

    Well, I personally found thendscape to be pretty amazing.

    Maybe it was just me.

    I remember when I was a kid I used to hope that the apocalypse would arrive. I always liked those kinds of things.

    Fall of humanity, brewing chaos, destruction of cities and stuff like that. There''s a weird sense of joy and thrill in that, you know? To see the house of cards fall.

    Anyway, let me tell you all this virtual reality really was fully immersive! I felt as if I was actually there!

    The thick scent of smoke that came from some smoldering rubble of buildings, the warmth of the sunlight falling on me, the rough texture of the concrete railing I had my hands on¡ª I could feel everything to its fullest like it was reality!

    I had to say, that wasn''t normal reality stimtion, no! That was reality creation!

    ¨C"Nero Dekrauf is here! That makes 100! All cadets are here!"

    Right when I was in the middle of admiring the destroyed beauty in front of me, I heard a voice confirming Nero''s arrival.

    "Woah," Nero blinked his eyes a few times. "That was spooky."

    "I know right?" Anastasia, who was right beside me a moment ago appeared in front of Nero god knows when and asked with her hands behind her back. "This was my first time too."

    Woah, she moves like a cat.

    After exchanging a few words with Anastasia, Nero cleared his throat and yelled in a clear loud tone, making sure his voice reached every ear present.

    "Okay, now that we are here, it''s time to discuss the tactical roles we all will have during this mock war.

    "First off, we''ll be needing two strategists. For that, I''ll take two cadets with the highest intelligence stat. So those who have an intelligence stat above 145, raise your hands."

    Almost immediately, around twelve people raised their hands at Nero''s words.

    Woah, there were a lot of smart people here, huh? Oh! And Kent was one of them!

    "Okay, we''ll go start high now. Who''s above 150?"

    At that question, suddenly, around five hands dropped. The rejected cadets had bitter expressions on their faces.

    Maybe they didn''t want to fight on the front lines. Heh, too bad.

    "Okay, who''s above 155?"

    Again, three hands dropped. Only four people were left¡ª Quinn, Grace, and Amelia were three of them.

    Oh yes, Grace, despite her questionable decisions in the novel, was pretty smart actually.

    "Above 160?"

    "Heh," Quinn had to drop his hand this time. Instead of acting bitter, he was relieved that he was going to fight.

    What a battle maniac.

    "Above 165?"

    Both Grace and Amelia didn''t drop their hands yet and locked their gazes, almost as if this was yet anotherpetition for them¡ª a way to belittle each other.

    So they were on this bad term already, huh?

    Women.

    "Above 170?"

    Still, none of the girls dropped their hands. Even Nero had beads of cold sweat all over his forehead by now.

    "Above 175?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Tsk!" finally, Grace had to back out from thepetition. She had lost to Amelia.

    Her intelligence stat was exactly 175 while Amelia''s was 176.

    "Hmph," as if to kick while she was already down, Amelia gave Grace a haughty smirk that screamed ''I am better, bitch!'' in her face.

    "Y-You!" the poor blonde girl could only grit her teeth in agony.

    "I said, above 175¡­."

    But before both thedies could get into a catfight, Nero repeated his words and left everyone perplexed.

    This was it, right? Amelia and Grace had the highest intelligence stat, so why was Nero repeating his question?

    Yeah, no.

    It turns out, there was just one person left. He still had his hand raised. And as soon as the ss noticed him, murmuring of disbelief broke out.

    ¨C"What?"

    ¨C"Wait, him?"

    ¨C"No way, are you serious? He must be lying!"

    Yes, of course that person was me.

    "Lucas, I asked who''s above 175," Nero gave me a skeptical look.

    "I know what you asked, Nero."

    "....."

    I know what you asked, you fucker!

    Just keep raising the bar and let me have my ''main character shocks everyone'' moment!

    "Okay, Lucas, tell us what your intelligence stat is?" he inquired.

    Huh? Is he asking me now? Tch.

    That''s so anticlimactic! For supposedly being the main character of a fantasy novel, this guy had no sense of plot drama.

    But oh well, since a question was asked, I will answer.

    So I casually shrugged before giving apletely odd answer that made no sense at all:

    "It is not. To prove it, I''ve already sent you a private text before we even entered the VR world."

    "...What?" utterly confused by my illogical response, Nero furrowed his eyebrows in a puzzled frown. "What are you saying?"

    "Fine! Let''s take the long way," I let out an exasperated sigh before answering Nero''s question correctly this time. "182. My intelligence stat is 182."

    ¨C"Oh, hell no! You mean to say I''m stupider than him? Him?!"

    ¨C"Well, remember Instructor Liz did say that his mana control was good. You''ll have to have a high intelligence stat for that."

    ¨C"Still! An intelligence stat of 182 means he''s profoundly gifted! But he doesn''t look smart!"

    Yeah, yeah! That''s it! Give me the main character vibes that I deserve!

    Muahahahaha!

    "Lies! I refuse to believe a word out of his mouth!"

    And just like I had predicted, there was at least one person who went into denial and used me of lying.

    But of course, it was Grace Goodwill.

    "Lucas, are you sure you''re not lying?" trying not to let a possible conflict escte, Nero confronted me earnestly.

    "Of course he''s lying!" Grace cried out in a fit of rage and denial. "Do you really think this guy is smart enough to have an intelligence stat of 182?!"

    "Grace, calm down!" seeing that the blonde girl was showing no signs to cool down, Nero yelled before turning his attention to me. "Lucas, if this is any kind of joke¨C"

    But before Nero couldplete his whole sentence I cut him off.

    "It is not. To prove it, I''ve already sent you a private text before we even entered the VR world."

    "..."

    And then it suddenly hit him.

    I had given him this exact same answer before the conversation even got to this point.

    In realization, the frown on Nero''s face loosened and his eyes widened a little. His mouth opened in surprise as he looked at me in confusion.

    The other cadets had no idea what just happened, of course. What I did eitherpletely went over their heads or they were too stupefied, shocked or in denial to get a sense of it.

    Amelia and Grace, despite being the smart ones, were both in the second category.

    "Nero, check your private message."

    But of course, the side characters didn''t matter. I needed to get Nero''s approval to be in charge of the strategies. So shaking him out of his daze, I called out to him.

    "Huh¡­ Uh, yeah."

    He absentmindedly nodded his head and began tapping on his smart bracelet. Yes, of course our smart bracelets came with us.

    Anyway, the stats in our status window can be tested and anyone can get a physical or virtual copy of it to show to others.

    For example, Attack is simply one''s physical strength and the force of their, well, attacks.

    Defense is one''s physical endurance and ability to sustain damage from an attack.

    Both of them can be tested fairly easily. I don''t need to exin how, right? You all are not that dumb, I suppose.

    Anyway, taking such tests is not mandatory by any means, but if someone wishes to confirm their stats and get a physical copy of it then the academy has the means to do it.

    I wanted to get my intelligence stat tested. So two days ago, I went to the faculty and asked them for an intelligence stat exam.

    To get it checked, all I had to do was answer a range of questions from a variety of different fields of study and solve some really borate hypothetical situations.

    When I was done giving all the answers, my intelligence stat was recorded to be 180+ and I saved that report.

    Then prior toing here, I sent its pdf to Nero.

    "Uh, it''s there. The physical copy of his intelligence stat with the academy''s stamp on it."

    And silence.

    Utter silence.

    Ahh~ yes! This was a great show. Although I don''t like being the center of attention, I quite enjoyed this.

    To hit the final nail, I put on a very innocent smile and politely said, "So I''ll be one of the two strategists."

 Chapter 55 Mock War Starts

    ?In the novel, Lucas kept his intelligence stat a secret from Nero.

    He felt that being a strategist was too much work, so he took on the role of the rear guard and often cked off during the mock war.

    Due to the result of his actions, Amelia and Grace were appointed to be the two strategists for ss 1-A-1.

    That not only made Grace''s work of leaking the war ns of ss 1-A-1 to 1-C-8 easier but she was also able to easily frame Lucas as the traitor.

    Yes, you can see where I''m going with this, right?

    By taking up the position of one of the two strategists, I changed the plot once again.

    Well, to be perfectly honest, keeping the flow of the story simr to the novel''s plot was never my intention anyway.

    From the start, I didn''t shy away from disrupting the storyline. And after I acquired my very own golden finger (Edit Pen), I had no reason to hold back from changing the plot.

    Yes, the logical decision would have been to follow the storyline as it was in the novel since that way I could''ve kept the knowledge I had about the future events.

    But what you all don''t understand is the fact that I wasn''t inside a normal fantasy novel but a war fantasy. This world is destined for doom.

    By volume 7, most of the world was destroyed by either Vampires or Kalis and most of the main cast were too powerless to stop it.

    If I just keep following the plot of the novel as it was originally written, then I won''t be able to change a thing.

    And I will die a pathetic death.

    Of course, I don''t want that.

    If sacrificing the knowledge I have on future events means being able to survive, then I''ll dly take that offer thank you.

    "Okay, has everyone got their roles?"

    ¨C"Yes!"

    ¨C"Hell, yeah! I''m in rear guard!"

    ¨C"Aww man, front line soldier?! Tch, just my luck!"

    After around half-hour or so, everyone was assigned a position and a role they had to y in this war based on their specialties.

    While some people were distraught about the roles they were given, some couldn''t be any happier.

    While the background bustled with activity, I was leaning over the terrace railing with my gaze fixed on the picturesque scenery before me.

    "Lucas, are you done staring at the scene?"

    Right then, Nero''s voice shook me back to reality. I turned around and faced him.

    "Yeah," I said. "I''m done."

    "Good," Nero nodded. "I was thinking about moving down on the ground and advancing."

    "Advancing in which direction?" Amelia cut into the conversation and asked. "We don''t know where the enemy has spawned."

    "That''s exactly why we shouldn''t be sitting," Nero argued. "I suggest we take the lead and find them before they find us¡ª attack them before they get a chance to realize what hit them."

    "Yeah, Nero, that''s really a bad idea."

    "Oh,e on! Attacking them head-on is as simple as it could get!"

    "I didn''t say it was difficult. I said bad. It''s a bad idea."

    "But I am with you all. With my strength, it''s our assured victory!"

    "But it''s way too risky!"

    "Okay then, tell me," giving up, Nero decided to listen to Amelia''s reasoning. "Why is it a bad idea?"

    "For starters, we don''t know how far they have spawned," Amelia touched her chin. "Aimlessly marching will tire our troops and expose them to an unexpected attack."

    After a brief pause, Nero nodded in understanding. "Fair point. So what should we do?"

    "We should get on the ground, establish a camp, and let theme to us."

    "What if they don''te to us?"

    "Then we will change our strategy. We''ll maintain covertness while trying to locate their positions. Once we find it, we will execute a perfectly coordinated attack."

    "Hmmm," closing his eyes before thinking for a moment, Nero nodded once again. "Okay, I like this n."

    Basically, Amelia suggested the famous war tacticbo¡ª covertness, reconnaissance, and ambush.

    It was nothing special.

    Any smart strategist would suggest that in this scenario but a brilliant one would know better than that.

    You see, the main focus of this tactic lies in the act of ''covertness.'' That means, to pull it off, you have to stay hidden. That''s impossible when you have a traitor in your ranks.

    Though it may not be a pleasant thought, it is crucial to always be aware of the possibility of a traitor infiltrating your forces during a war.

    A wise strategist considers their next step before making a move, but a genius strategist predicts not only their own actions but also those of their adversary ten moves ahead before the game even begins.

    "Oh, right, Lucas!" suddenly Nero remembered something as he called out to me. "Do you have something to suggest as well before we make a move?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What?" Amelia frowned and spoke in a low, hesitant tone. "Why are you asking him? You don''t trust my suggestion?"

    "I do, Amelia, but there''s a reason I''ve assigned two people as strategists."

    "B-But I already¨C"

    p¡ª!

    Before Amelia couldplete her sentence, I pped my hands loudly, causing everyone to look at me as a result.

    "I get it!" I eximed. "It''s so easy!"

    "Get what?" Nero asked in a puzzled tone.

    "I''ll tell you. But first, Anastasia, can you shoot an arrow in that direction with as much force as possible?"

    I pointed toward the northwest direction in the distance and asked Anastasia to shoot an arrow.

    "Uh, there? Why?" Anastasia walked up to me to take a clear look at where I was pointing and inquired in curiosity.

    "Yeah, why?" Nero too questioned with a confused frown on his face.

    "I''ll tell you but first shoot an arrow. Make it go as far as you can, okay?" I requested before raising my left arm. "I would''ve done it myself but as you can see, my arm still hasn''t recovered yet."

    For a moment, I saw Amelia flinching when I brought up the injury on my arm.

    "Uh, sure."

    Shrugging her shoulders, Anastasia took out a bow and a single arrow from her smart bracelet.

    She knocked the arrow on the bowstring and aimed where I had pointed.

    "Two degrees to the left."

    "Okay."

    After making a minor adjustment, she willed mana into her weapon and her arrow started excluding an azure aura.

    Swooosh¡ª!

    As soon as she released the string, the arrow shot forward at an astonishing speed before¡­

    Thwack¡ª!

    It hit an invisible wall and broke.

    "Woah, Anastasia, you shot that arrow pretty far. It went roughly around 573 feet give or take."

    "Yeah but I shot it with enough strength to easily go over that distance¡­ How did it break? Did I coat it with too much mana?"

    Anastasia winced her eyebrows in confusion, visibly bewildered as to why her arrow broke when Nero chimed in.

    "It felt like it hit a wall or something."

    "You''re not far off actually," finally judging this as the perfect time, I began exining:

    "If you''ve yed any game at all, you''ll be familiar with the concept of ''barrier.'' It''s a ce that a character in the game can''t cross. Think of this as the same.

    "Obviously, since we are so close to the barrier and we spawned here, that means the other team must have spawned somewhere in the opposite direction."

    I spun around and pointed in the opposite direction to where I had pointed before ¨C fat in the southeast.

    "But that''s just an assumption. What if they are not spawned in the opposite direction but somewhere random?" Amelia was the first to counter my reasoning.

    By the look on her face, I don''t think she was trying to challenge me or anything. She was actually trying to analyze the situation.

    So in response, I calmly nodded and continued.

    "Yes, that could happen but that wouldn''t be fair, would it? Look around you. This city looks like it''s recently been destroyed.

    "That means there are resources like food and water here. If you think about it, the reason we were not allowed to bring food is clear.

    "Yele¨C I mean, Cadet Council''s vice president wants us to fight over resources. That''s the theme here."

    "The theme?" Amelia looked at me with questioning eyes.

    "Correct, the theme," I answered. "Every war has a central theme driving it, such as revolution, justice, or survival. This war will be fought over resources.

    "That implies a fair advantage will be granted to both sides so they can''t object to the other team discovering the resources first.

    "That''s my exnation for my spection that ss 1-C-8 has spawned in the opposite direction from us.

    "My prediction is there''s something in the center, a mall or a shopping district filled with supplies, which will be a neutral territory - the location where we will engage in a full-blown war."

    Along with Amelia, everyone else was left bemused by my insight into the situation.

    Unbeknownst to them, I didn''te up with any of this exnation. In the novel, Amelia reaches this conclusion on the 2nd day.

    I just repeated what she said. Heh, fools.

 Chapter 56 Regrets

    ?A silver-haired elven beauty made her way down the empty hallway with effortless grace, finally arriving at the door to the VR room.

    Her mind had been consumed with boredom, leading her to step away from her responsibility of monitoring the cadets who had dived into the virtual world.

    Click¡ª!

    As she pushed open the door to the VR room, she saw a weird sight¡ª a spiky-haired orange boy was frozen in front of a glowing holographic screen. His eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed intently at the scene ying out in front of him.

    The holographic screen disyed the situation of the cadets who entered the virtual world. Till Yelena was out, he was spectating them.

    "Dn, what''s the matter?" Yelena asked, a confused frown visible on her alluring face.

    She had known Dn for essentially her entire life, but she had never seen him as unsettled as he appeared now.

    His face had lost its color, his eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth hung open in surprise¡ª it seemed as though he had just encountered a ghost.

    What could have possibly transpired to leave her childhood friend in such a state?

    Through quivering lips, Dn muttered:

    "He found it¡­."

    "Hmm? Did you say something? I didn''t catch you," the frown on Yelena''s face deepened.

    "I said, he found it," Dn repeated, still struggling to steady his voice.

    "Who found what?"

    "Lucas, your kid brother. He found the theme of the war. He even predicted where the ss 1-C-8 had spawned and the location of the neutral zone where we intended them to fight."

    "..."

    It took a few seconds for Yelena to process what information the orange-headed boy had revealed.

    "...When?" finally recovering from the shock, Yelena inquired.

    "Not even 20 minutes after spawning," Dn answered, the color gradually returning to his face.

    "Hmm."

    Without uttering anything, Yelena silently stood in front of the holographic screen and started watching the live telecast of the virtual world.

    She wasn''t silent by choice. It was more like she didn''t know what to say in the current situation.

    She knew Dn wasn''t stupid enough to feed her misinformation. But still, this was unbelievable.

    Of course, she was aware that it was only a matter of time before someone found out the theme and devised a strategy ordingly.

    But she would''ve never guessed that ''someone'' to be Lucas!

    Well, looking back at the memories of Lucas, she could remember him to be a true embodiment of intelligence and wit.

    At the incredibly young age of 8, Lucas had already acquired a fluent grasp of the highly intricate and rare High Elvennguage that she still struggles with.

    His thirst for knowledge and unwavering determination was evident in his dedication to learning the art of war tactics from their father.

    But his talents extended beyond just academics alone. He had a rare talent for weapons.

    In fact, he was more talented than both her and their youngest brother, Adel. Due to this, he was first in line to inherit their mother''s sword art.

    Even though Yelena and Lucas were fairly close during their childhood, she couldn''t help but feel jealous of him.

    In the den of wolves, he was a phoenix that shined brighter than any of them. He was untouchable.

    However, fate is a prude little whore.

    When Lucas and his younger twin brother, Adel, awakened, the hierarchy of the Morningstar siblings shattered.

    Lucas awakened [Gold-3] rank potential and Adel was revealed to have the chance to reach up to [Immortal-2] rank.

    Although [Gold-3] is not a poor potential, but rather just average, it failed to satisfy the bar their parents had set for Lucas.

    Gradually, the love, attention, and affection that Lucas received during his childhood began to shift towards Adel, who had been living in the shadows of his twin brother.

    And although it was wrong, even Yelena started shunning Lucas. Much like Adel, even she was living in his shadows.

    The phoenix fell and the wolf bared its teeth.

    Soon Lucas became the target of bullying, both at school by his brother Adel and at home being treated indifferently by his family. This mental abuse was too much for a 10-year-old boy to handle.

    She recollected a night when Lucas entered her room, tears streaming down his face and his hand pressed tightly against his chest.

    "Big sis," he whimpered, trying to keep his sobs at bay as he sniffled. "It hurts...my chest is hurting! My heart¡­ it feels like it''s being ripped apart!"

    She wanted tofort him. She wanted to tell him, "I''m here for you." She wanted to hug him and take a stand for him.

    However, at that moment, all the jealousy she had felt toward Lucas all her life suddenly burst out.

    "Hahahahaha!"

    Sheughed.

    As the 10-year-old Lucas stood there crying, sheughed at his unsightly face full of tears.

    She was only 12 at the time, but that was no excuse for what she did.

    After a while, she didn''t remember when Lucas went back to his room. Starting the next day, he changed.

    He stoppeding out of his room for family dinners. He started acting out by getting into fights and skipping school.

    His actions only worsened as he grew up. He got into alcohol and drugs, red light streets became his daily stop, and he even started ditching his training.<novelnext></novelnext>

    She couldn''t remember how many times their father had to clean Lucas'' mess. But his patience broke when he tried to force himself on one of his ssmates.

    After that, he was disowned.

    And somewhere deep inside, Yelena mes herself for it. If only she hadn''tughed that day, if only she had listened to him, if only she had consoled him by saying all the things she wanted to¡­ but at the end of the day, she couldn''t change the past.

    Her brother, as she knew him, was dead. That gentle and kind Lucas was dead, and all that remained was his shell.

    "It must''ve been a fluke," she concluded.

    "Yel, I don''t think it was a fluke. He gave logical reasoning to his conclus¨C"

    "I said, it must''ve been a fluke."

    "...I see."

    ?

    "Huaaaa~"

    Using one of the half-destroyed buildings, we have set up a camp for now. We have nothing to eat or drink and we are hungry.

    Well, they are. I''m sleepy.

    Yes, even in the virtual world, we can feel hunger, thirst, and lethargy!

    This stimtion is way too real. Talk about going overboard.

    Well, I guess they want us to experience the war in its real sense.

    Soldiers at the border sometimes go without food or drink for over a month, relying solely on mana cirction to sustain themselves.

    Yes, circting mana within your body gives you a feeling of fulfillment but it can''t erase hungerpletely. At one point, you''ll reach your limit.

    Hence, they require strong willpower and determination to endure the deprivation and carry out their duties.

    Yes, this will be part of our training. At the near end of our first year, we''ll be sent to a deserted ind for a month with bare minimum supplies and be forced to fight in a battle royale.

    It will NOT be fun but I''ll be prepared for it like I was this time around.

    Since I knew what was going to happen, I ate a lot, and by lot I mean a LOT,st night and this morning, so I think I''ll be good till tomorrow.

    Heh, one of the perks of knowing the future.

    Anyway, currently, I was in a room that was given to strategists. Sitting on a broken, dusted sofa and eyes closed.

    "And then- And then I asked her out but she rejected me. I don''t know why. Saying stuff like, I can''t have a threesome with her and her sister. I mean, talk about being conservative, am I right?"

    And guess who is right beside me. Yes, it''s Kent.

    He was talking about something that was too bothersome for me to pay attention to but I asionally nodded my head and hummed and casually added, "Is that so?" or "Oh, I see" in between.

    "Oh, by the way, Lucas!"

    "Oh, I see."

    "Lucas!"

    "Ahh! Uh¡­ Yeah?"

    "You shocked everyone earlier. It was impressive. The way you revealed your intelligence stat and then talked about all that big brain stuff was amazing."

    "Tell me the truth; you didn''t grasp a thing of what I was exining, right?"

    "...Ha, got me there! But I trust that what you said must be correct. I heard they even dispatched a recon team to verify your theory about a mall or shopping district nearby."

    My eyebrows wrinkled in a frown when I heard him. After a brief pause, I asked:

    "Why are you always with me? You know my reputation is not what one could call ideal to be friends with, right?"

    "Your reputation is improving a lot, especially after today."

    "Beside the point."

    "Do you not like having me around?"

    "Beside the point," I shook my head. "Why do you hang out with me?"

    "Because we are best friends," Kent replied matter-of-factly.

    "Okay, why are we friends?"

    I saw Kent''s forehead contorted for a moment before a troubled expression formed on his face. After a short pause, he answered:

    "I''ll tell you when we''ll be best friends."

    "But I thought you said we are best friends right now?"

    "When we''ll be best bro friends."

    "What the fuck¨C"

    Before I could ask him what that phrase even meant, a young short, framed blue haired dwarf barged into the room.

    "What''s up?" I asked, noticing the look of urgency on the dwarf''s face.

    "Nero has called for you!" the dwarf replied in a hushed tone. "We have made contact with the enemy team."

    My lips curled into a smirk as I heard the words I wanted to hear from the dwarf''s mouth. Everything was going ording to my n.

 Chapter 57 Lucas Morningstar [2]

    ?As I descended the dpidated stairs which were barely holding their own weight, I arrived at the ground where four cadets were standing in front of Nero.

    Five cadets from our ss were given the rank of Lieutenants, and these four were among them.

    Our ss, like every other ss in the academy, consists of 100 cadets. A Unit isposed of 5 cadets, so we had 20 Units at our disposal.

    These five cadets who were given the rank of Lieutenant had the task of managing all the 25 Units in our ss.

    These five people were:

    William Sinoath, Anastasia Bigod, Quinn Darkstar, Grace Goodwill, and E Bright.

    Currently, Quinn was not present here as he was gone with the reconnaissance squad.

    In the novel, Grace was given the role of Strategist instead of Lieutenant. That position was filled by Elijah.

    I see. I have already changed a major point of the story.

    ording to the plot, Elijah was supposed to help Nero on the front lines, and they would go on to develop a feeling of rivalry and friendship with each other.

    But now it has changed. He didn''t get the position of Lieutenant; Grace did.

    Of course, she wouldn''t be able to hold onto that position for too long.

    Hmm? What am I nning, you ask?

    Oh, nothing too bad.

    After sparing the Lieutenant standing there a nce of recognition one by one, I turned to Nero and asked:

    "What''s up, Nero?"

    The informality in my tone earned me a re from everyone present there.

    Right, he was supposed to be our Lord Commander right now.

    "Ahem," clearing my throat, I corrected myself. "You summoned me, Lord Commander?"

    "Lucas, the reconnaissance team contacted us. They have found a shopping district two blocks down the road. You were right. Unfortunately, ss 1-C-8 has also found the location."

    "So we are expecting a conflict, yes?"

    "Yeah," Nero nodded his head at my words. "It''s earlier than we predicted¨C"

    "No."

    "...What?"

    "It''s not earlier than we predicted. I counted on something like this to happen."

    "You did?"

    Nero''s eyebrows wrinkled his face by forming a deep frown. He was finding it hard to believe my words.

    But unbeknownst to him, I knew this would happen. In the novel, ss 1-C-8 found the shopping district first and captured it.

    After that, Nero''s ss had a tough time fighting for resources. But since this time I changed the plot, it was a tie.

    However, there was something off. In the novel, ss 1-C-8 found the shopping district area by the evening of the first day.

    And right now, it was [1:46 PM]. It was afternoon. How did they find out something they were supposed to findter in the day so early?

    "Yes," I disclosed. "I knew this would happen."

    "So do you have a n of action in mind?" Nero asked, genuinely curious about my response.

    "I do¨C" before I could continue, however, someone interfered.

    "I''m here!"

    It was Amelia. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail and a bow was visible in her left hand.

    From how her chest was puffing in and out, it was evident that she was out of breath probably from running a great distance.

    The reason for that was she had gone with the reconnaissance squad.

    The reconnaissance squad consisted of the six fastest cadets in our ss, including Amelia, Quinn, and a girl named Janna, among others.

    Their objective was to survey the surrounding area and produce a three-dimensional holographic map using the 3D analytical recording feature of their smart bracelets.

    Usually field strategists do not participate inbat or carry out operations on the front lines. However, Amelia insisted that Nero allow her to go.

    So of course, the poor protagonist had no choice but to let her go by making her in charge of the reconnaissance squad.

    "Amelia, you are back!"

    "Yes," she answered, recovering her breath. "What should we do?"

    As she said that, Quinn calmly appeared from behind her and walked over to where the rest of the Lieutenants were standing.

    "There''s not much we can do," before Nero could answer, William chimed in with a shrug. "We have to fight them head-on."

    "That would be too risky," the first one to raise an argument was Grace, of course.

    "You''re not suggesting we let them take control of the shopping district, are you?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, we can''t let them do that," Amelia added in agreement with her friend. "Our troops will be at a disadvantage if we let them do that."

    "Then fighting head-on is the only option¨C" just when Nero was about to conclude the discussion, I spoke up.

    "But how?"

    Amelia turned to me. "Hmm, what do you mean by how?"

    Heaving a lethargic sigh, I started speaking:

    "Miss Amelia, how do you think ss 1-C-8 found out about there being something like a mall or a shopping district nearby?"

    "I¡­ uh- I don''t know, maybe the same way you found out? By deduction."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Yeah, right," I couldn''t help but scoff at that answer. "There aren''t many as smart as you or even Lieutenant Grace in this whole academy. You think something that you both overlooked was picked up by someone from their ss?"

    "Are you really underestimating your enemy?" Amelia furrowed her eyebrows in ridicule. "You know one thing that every great war tactician said? Never underestimate your foe!"

    "But I''m really not," I shook my head. "I''m merely speaking facts. It''s unlikely that one of those fools deduced the underlying theme of this mock war and acted on it before me."

    Amelia looked at me as if she was looking at a dumb person and uttered, "So it''s about you ¨C your ego? You think there''s no one smarter than you?"

    "Exactly!" I eximed. "There should be like a few on par with my intellect, but for someone to outsmart me is impossible."

    Amelia simply rolled her eyes with a done expression. "You know, I thought you had started to change after you saved me during the Unit Test, but thank you for showing me you''re still an egocentric brat¡ª"

    Before Amelia could go on to continue her rant, I cut her off.

    "Miss ck, take a step back and think, do you really believe there is no chance that ss 1-C-8 might''ve gotten the information about the theme of the war from somewhere else?"

    "...What do you even mean by¨C"

    Amelia stopped mid-sentence as the words I said to her started making sense in her head.

    "What? What did you stop?" Nero questioned Amelia but upon getting no reply, he turned to me. "I don''t understand. What are you suggesting?"

    Before responding to his question, I took a moment to look at the faces of all the Lieutenants.

    Quinn and E seemed bored out of their mind as if they couldn''t care less what we were talking about.

    Anastasia and William had their eyes focused on us and mouth agape from the anticipation of where this conversation was headed.

    Grace, on the other hand, reacted just as I had thought. Seeing her like that made me smirk for some reason.

    She didn''t have a single spec of emotion on her face.

    I turned my attention to Nero and replied, "I think I''ve made myself clear. Let''s talk about this in private another time but for now, let''s develop a n to take control of the shopping district."

    From the looks of it, Nero wanted to retort but he understood my hint and didn''t press the matter further.

    After that, we started discussing our strategies.

    ?

    m¡ª!

    A blonde beauty in herte teens opened the terrace door that was barely hanging onto its hinges and mmed it behind her.

    "What the fuck!"

    She roared in frustration while walking toward the railings. "What the fuck is happening?!"

    Thwack¡ª!

    She kicked the railing to blow off some of her anger as she kept screaming, "What the fuck!"

    "Fuuuu!"

    After a few minutes, she finally calmed down.

    ¡­Or at least she tried to but every time a certain silver-haired boy''s face shed in her head, it made her blood boil in unadulterated fury.

    Grace has known Lucas since they were kids. The Goodwill family, being one of the noble families of the west, serves under the Morningstar family so it wasn''t that unusual for them to see each other often.

    When she was little, she used to hear a great deal of things about him.

    ¨C"Lucas is a genius."

    ¨C"He''s a prodigy."

    ¨C"He will be the one to lead the west in the future."

    And honestly, he deserved his reputation. The young boy was undoubtedly a prodigy. Grace could vividly recall the few times she had conversations with him during their childhood before he changed for the worse.

    His mere presence used to emanate a dazzling brilliance that was awe-inspiring. He seemed untouchable, and it was evident that he would grow up to be a remarkable leader.

    Unfortunately, he wasted all that talent. He became unrecognizable.

    Alcohol, drugs, whores ¨C he ruined himself with all that. To cloud his mind, he indulged himself in pleasure.

    She remembers how he even made sexual advances on her too. But he couldn''t touch her since the Goodwill family is a very important asset to the Morningstar family and none of them could afford to ruin their rtionship with each other. So his father kept him on a tight leash.

    But even then, it didn''t take him long topletely lose his former self. Thest straw was when he sexually assaulted one of hismoner ssmates.

    After that incident, he was exiled from the Morningstar house, stripped of all his authority whatsoever.

    From a prodigy to a fallen genius ¨C this was the end of Lucas Morningstar''s story.

    Or at least that''s how it should''ve been!

    When Grace was notified that Lucas had entered the Global Military Academy, she didn''t think of it much.

    After all, why would she bother herself over trash?

    That was until today. Not only did Lucas snatch the position of Strategist from her, but he also deduced the existence of a traitor in their ss and hinted at it openly.

    It was obvious he was challenging the traitor.

    "Fuuu! Fuuu!"

    Taking in long deep breaths, Grace massaged her eyebrows.

    "It''s fine," she told herself. "He still doesn''t know who''s the traitor. I''m fine¨C"

    m¡ª!

    Right when she was in the middle of consoling herself, the door to the terrace mmed open and Grace had to turn her attention there.

    "Oh, my bad. Didn''t think anyone would be here right now."

    It was Lucas and he had a mischievous grin on his face.

 Chapter 58 Battle Plan

    ?"What the fuck do you want?" Grace asked the silver-haired boy, unable to hide her bitterness.

    "I just came here to take a selfie," Lucas closed the terrace door behind him and waved. "It would be a shame if I don''t take one with this view in the background."

    "Selfie?" Grace frowned as Lucas came beside her by the railing. "Can you even take that back in the real world?"

    "Well, yeah," the silver-haired boy nodded while tapping on his smart bracelet and opening a holographic camera app. "If you take a rock from here and store it in your smart bracelet, it won''t manifest in the real world since it''s just a bunch of codes. But a selfie is data which you can easily take back with you."

    "Understandable," Grace calmed down her temper as she watched Lucas click picture after picture.

    "Oh, pardon my manners. Do you wanna join?"

    "Please no."

    When he asked her to join, she politely declined the offer and the silver-haired boy resumed his photo session.

    "By the way," while posing for one of his pictures, Lucas initiated a conversation. "Do you personally know Kai Wiseman?"

    At that question, Grace took a long pause before answering finally:

    "Why do you ask?"

    "It''s just I''ve seen you talking to Alberto. He is Kai Wiseman''sckey. It wouldn''t take a genius to guess that you probably know him."

    "I do know him but that''s none of your business," Grace answered curtly. "I can sense you''re getting somewhere here, so I''ll ask again, what the fuck do you want?"

    "Ha," the atmosphere grew tense as Lucas revealed his true intentions. "I''m here to ask you to switch sides."

    Grace was taken aback by the request Lucas made and didn''t know how to respond.

    Lucas continued, "I know you''re the traitor. And before you deny it, I have a picture of you and Alberto talking in front of our apartmentplex and I''ve recorded yourmunication with someone from ss 1-C-8 today."

    Earlier today, Grace had contacted someone from ss 1-C-8, revealing to them the theme of this mock war.

    That''s what helped them to move so fast and discover the shopping district.

    However, before doing that, she had made sure that no one was eavesdropping.

    So of course when Lucas revealed that he not only listened to her but also recorded her conversation, she was in disbelief,

    "That''s a lie! You''re bluffing!" she barked.

    But Lucas'' challenging expression made her doubt her own thoughts.

    "You can take it as a bluff," he said. "But there''s always a chance that it''s not. What will you do then?"

    Grace was torn between the credibility of Lucas'' ims and her own convictions. She couldn''t help but grind her teeth in frustration.

    However¡­

    "Ha¡­ Hahaha¡­. Ahahahaha!"

    Suddenly, she burst out in a fit of erraticughter, catching Lucas off guard.

    "What are youughing about?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

    After a brief moment ofposure, Grace spoke up. "You caught me off guard, Lucas. For the first time in years, I saw glimpses of the brilliant mind you were once known for in your childhood. But you were one step behind me this time."

    Lucas looked bewildered, "I don''t understand what you''re saying."

    "Do you remember the unit test? How did you save me from tripping and falling?" Grace rified.

    "Yes, I remember," Lucas replied, now more curious.

    "Well, I have your fingerprints on my jersey from where you caught me," Grace continued.

    Lucas still appeared confused, "How does that pose a threat?" he asked, seeking further exnation.

    "Don''t you get it? If I give that jersey to the cadet council and im that you tried to sexually assault me, what will happen to you?"

    "You''ll be lying. They will investigate the matter¨C"

    "Investigate? You already have the title of a sex offender. Do you think they''ll really waste their time investigating such a crystal clear case when the evidence is against you? Your reputation will be enough to close the case!"

    A blood-curdling grin formed on Grace''s face, her beautiful face turning frightening as she uttered:

    "I will rip your social standing to shreds, make your life a living hell, and be sure to make them post you on the front lines at the northern border after your graduation. The best part is your family wouldn''t lift a finger to save you. So ponder over this carefully Lucas Morningstar. Do you really wish to stand in my way?"

    Lucas was left staggered. Did she n that much ahead? Did he really underestimate her? Did he blunder?

    Taking Lucas'' shocked silence for his submission, Grace let out a victorious scoff.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Good, now listen closely. If a single word about me being the traitor escapes from your lips, then the consequences will be dire."

    Lucas felt a wave of despair wash over him as he helplessly nodded his head, unable to articte a single word in response.

    Seeing him resigning, Grace''s lips pursed up into a mocking smirk before she turned around and left the terrace, leaving the silver-haired boy alone to wallow in self-pity.

    He had been truly and utterly defeated.

    Victory demands a mind that is always one step ahead of the enemy ¨C a wise man once said.

    But that''s easier said than done.

    And when Lucas stood amidst the ruins of defeat, he realized that all too well. For he had failed to outwit his adversary, and the cost was steep.

    He had lost.

    "Hehe~"

    Or has he yet?

    As Lucas started at the back of the blonde girl, a mischievous smile formed on his face.

    "This world is so fun~!"

    ?

    Meanwhile,

    As the sun set upon thend, marking the end of the first day of the mock war, a group of armed cadets stood guard at the entrance of ss 1-C-8''s makeshift base.

    An abandoned structure had beenmandeered by the ss, and within its walls, a scene of tense anticipation unfolded.

    In the base hall, a huddle of cadets had gathered, their eyes fixed upon a towering figure of rippling muscles andmanding presence.

    This was no ordinary cadet, but a symbol of monstrosity and strength.

    "Lord Commander Alberto, our situation presents us with two options," spoke the strategist, his voice ringing clear through the hall as he continued:

    "We either engage in battle with ss 1-A-1 for control of the Shopping District, or we allow them to take it."

    "Why on earth would we simply hand them the shopping district?" interjected a cadet, a note of disbelief in his tone. "Our supplies depend on it."

    The strategist fixed his sses, a gesture that only served to entuate the intelligence sparkling in his eyes as he said:

    "Because, when they enter the shopping district, we can simply encircle them and trap them inside. They will have no means of escape. They''ll just be sitting ducks and we can gradually wear down their defenses until victory is ours."

    "Ah, I see your point. You''re asking us to create a siege," the cadet nodded while considering the n. "But what of our own troops? They''ll be too famished to fight effectively."

    The strategist''s lips curled in a sly smile. "And so will theirs. We will keep on striking them, giving them no time to rest and recover."

    "That''s good," the cadet gave a meaningful smirk before continuing. "And god forbids if something goes wrong we have our ''secret weapon'' ready."

    "Yes. I''ve contacted him and asked him to stay on standby," the strategist responded with the same mischievous smirk on his face. "If we can''t defeat them then we can just ask him to sabotage our enemy. We''re going to win this either way."

    The two of them nodded after finishing their conversation and instantly turned their attention to Alberto, the towering figure of authority in the hall.

    "So what do you say, Lord Commander?" they asked in unison.

    Alberto scowled as if the answer was obvious. "We will modify that strategy of yours. Instead of wearing down their defenses gradually, we''ll hit them all at once."

    The strategist was taken aback. "But why, sir? If we stay on the defensive, we can assure our victory."

    The cadet from earlier nodded in agreement. "Yes, if we go all in at once, we will risk the chance of us winning. If we stay back and keep hitting them with long-distance magic spells and artillery, we''ll win. They won''t be able to sustain their defenses forever."

    Alberto remained silent for a moment. His brow furrowed in frustration. Then, with a deep sigh, he spoke. "There are two reasons for my decision. Firstly, have you ever fought on an empty stomach? If we follow your strategy as you''ve presented it, the battle could drag on for days. We may be able to sustain ourselves with mana, but food is necessary for our bodies to function.

    "You don''t know what it''s like to fight while hungry. Your hands shake, your throat burns, and your body screams for you to stop. But you keep fighting, because if you stop, you lose. And if you lose, you die."

    Alberto spoke from experience, having grown up in the slums where hunger was a constantpanion. He had seen people die from starvation, and he knew the weight of hunger all too well.

    His words hung heavy in the air as the other cadets considered the gravity of his words. A moment of contemtive silence passed until a young cadet raised her hand.

    "What is the secon d reason, Lord Commander?" she asked.

    Alberto''s eyes lit up, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The second reason? It''s that I am clearly the strongest, so there is no need for any other tactics."

    After a brief pause, he instructed, "Here''s what we will do: We''ll let them enter the shopping district, then encircle them.

    "But we won''t create a siege. Instead, we''ll attack them from all sides at once." Alberto stretched his hand forward and closed his palm into a fist. "We''ll crush them in one swift move."

 Chapter 59 First Day

    ?Night had fallen as the moon imed the sky, signaling the end of the first day of the mock war.

    Around eight to ten armed cadets stood guard in front of a half-demolished skyscraper which the ss 1-A-1 was using as their makeshift base.

    "You are stupid! I have told you, we can''t fight them in the middle since we''ll have to watch our nks on both sides all the time!"

    "And I''m telling you, we don''t have to worry about it. They won''t nk us."

    "Oh, and how do you know that?!"

    "Because Alberto would most likely attack head-on. Trust me on this!"

    "Mr Morningstar, we can''t risk losing this whole war by trusting you, which we don''t by the way!"

    "Miss ck, you''re doing it again. You''re letting your grudge against me cloud your decision-making!"

    "What grudge? You''re not important enough to have my grudge. Don''t tter yourself."

    "Right, right. Sure."

    In the grand lobby of the skyscraper, a circr table had been arranged. Atop the tabley Nero''s smart bracelet, its screen facing up. The smart bracelet was emitting a holographic map of the surrounding vicinity.

    Around the round table gathered all the Lieutenants, Lord Commander, and the two strategists, one of them being me of course.

    Amelia and I were arguing over our strategy for the war. Since we had made contact with our enemy troops earlier today, it''s obvious that the main war will start tomorrow.

    The reconnaissance team used the three-dimensional recording feature of their smart bracelet to make a 3D map of the Shopping District that we were using for reference.

    The shopping districtprises numerous stores and shopping centers. We have already marked all the shops that could potentially be sources of our necessities such as provisions for food and water.

    All that''s left is toe up with a strategy to take control of the shopping district and then we''ll win.

    And right now, we are in the process of doing just that. Actually we''ve been doing this since evening.

    After a short break, during which I used to take some selfies and interact a little with Grace, we returned to our brainstorming session.

    Amelia and I, being the two strategists of our force, wereing up with a perfect n to snatch this victory from our adversary.

    Actually, only I was making an effort toe up with a winning n while Amelia was shooting every one of them down.

    It''s not her fault. I havee to the conclusion that she is a book-smart individual ¨C the type of straight-A student who excels in theories but sometimes overlooks the practical aspect of things.

    I''m literally the opposite of her. I work with the practicality of the situation and sometimes disregard the theories.

    If something can work, then we should try it even if it sounds stupid ¨C that''s one of my mottos.

    Anyway, as I was saying, we are pr opposites. However, that''s what, I think, makes us a good team of strategists since we can cover every aspect of a situation.

    Hmm, I like her.

    Not in that way, of course. I like her usefulness and the potential she has to offer. To be honest, I can''t wait to break her and then make her dependent on me so I can use her to her full potential~!

    Ahem. But that''ll have to wait. For now, I''ll have to make our ss win.

    "Okay, guys! Stop!" seeing our argument was not going to end anytime soon, Nero interfered with our brainstorming session. "One by one, state your suggestions."

    "I''ll go first," Amelia raised her hand and said:

    "I propose we don''t take over the shopping district. Instead, we form a small, mobile task force that''ll get into one of those shops, grab the supplies, and swiftly retreat back to this base. Meanwhile, our main forces can engage with the enemy."

    Nero touched his chin andmented, "That is actually not a bad n."

    "I know, right?" Amelia puffed her chest with pride. "After our troops have replenished, we''ll attack them head-on."

    "Yes, yes," Nero nodded his head. "This way, the battle won''t be dragged on for too long. Is there something you would like to add, Lucas?"

    He turned his eyes to me and asked.

    I eyed his figure up and down and took my time before answering. I had to say; this guy looked handsome in the body-fit nanotechbat suit we had donned.

    After building up some anticipation for my excitement and feeling enough jealousy toward Nero''s good looks, I said:

    "Miss ck''s suggestion was honestly impressive but there was one major w with it."

    "Oh? And what might that be?" Amelia shot back, seemingly offended.

    "In your n, you''ve automatically assumed that our task will safely get in and get out with enough supplies. You see, to put it bluntly if something goes wrong with the task force, we''ll be fighting our enemy with an empty stomach. In that scenario, we''ll lose."

    "I¨C uh¡­ In that case, we''ll create more than one task force!"

    "Good idea but that will deplete the number of soldiers on the front lines which will in turn severely weaken our army."

    "...Y-You''re only looking only at the worst-case scenario."

    "But of course," I shrugged. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time ¨C Murphy''sw."

    "....."

    Of course, she had no counterargument ready for that. I know the way Amelia ck thinks. She just focuses on her moves and pays no heed to her opponent''s.<novelnext></novelnext>

    That''s the main reason that caused her to get poisoned by the vampirester on in the story.

    She''s a sharp weapon, but her edge is wed. I''ll mold her to my liking so she will make a formidable tool for me in the future.

    And what''s the best way to mold a de? Beat it with a hammer mercilessly!

    Hmm? What do you mean it''s not the correct process? I''m wrong, you say? Damn.

    Well, then forget this analogy. You get what I was trying to say, right? Good.

    Sigh, I''ll take cksmithing sses in the 2nd semester.

    "That''s a good argument, Lucas," Nero acknowledged. "So, what''s your proposal?"

    "I say that we split our forces into two equal divisions," I suggested. "We''ll send each army to encircle the shopping district andunch simultaneous attacks from two sides, trapping the enemy between our two frontal assaults."

    Nero pondered over my words for a moment beforementing, "So a ssic maneuver."

    "It works," I shrugged. "And in this case, our troops can use buildings as cover to encircle them and trap them. They''ll never see using and we''ll finish them in one fell swoop."

    "That''s a good idea, I won''t lie," Nero touched his chin. "Okay, give me a few moments while I think about it."

    All of us present there saluted in unison before we dismissed ourselves.

    ""Yes, Lord Commander!""

    ?

    In the morning,

    "That stupid, stupid idiot!"

    "You''re so smart, yet you don''t know those two words have the same meaning. Hehe."

    "Shut up, Kent!"

    "Geez, okay."

    Right now, I was standing outside the base building, watching our troops get ready to fight on the battlefield today.

    Nero had decided to carry on Amelia''s n of action, just like in the novel.

    In the novel, Amelia and Grace suggested two different approaches to fight ss 1-C-8 in the Battle Of Shopping District.

    In it, Amelia suggested what she had suggested yesterday, and Grace suggested a stupid n that I won''t even bother to tell.

    Grace wasn''t stupid. She suggested a bad n because she had a purpose.

    She wanted Nero to ept Amelia''s n.

    Amelia''s n consisted of creating a small task force and evacuating some supplies like food and water ¨C something our troops needed ¨C from the shopping district swiftly.

    Her n, as I have pointed out before, had a major w.

    Too much depended on the task force. If they were to fail to grab the supplies and evacuate, ss 1-A-1 was doomed.

    And that''s exactly what happened.

    In the novel, the task force was the most crucial element of Amelia''s n but it failed to achieve its task.

    They walked into a trap. Someone tipped ss 1-C-8 and told them about their positioning and n.

    Yes, of course it was Grace. She leaked that information.

    As a result of that, the task force was wiped out and ss 1-A-1 had to fight the rest of the mock war with an empty stomach.

    If not for Nero, they would never have won. But if not for his stupid decision to go forward with Amelia''s n, they would''ve never been put into that situation in the first ce.

    That''s why I suggested a better n. However, Nero still made the same stupid mistake he did in the novel.

    "Okay buddy," Kent ced a hand on my shoulder, jolting me out of my brooding thoughts about Nero. "I''m going to go join them. By the way, let''s make a bet!"

    "A bet?"

    "Yeah, so here''s how it goes: between the two of us, who''ll contribute the least in this mock war will get the right to punch the other one in the face five times! It''s a punch bet!"

    "Ah, sure, whatever." I absentmindedly replied before asking: "What position are you in?"

    "Left nk, front line," he answered, gripping the long polearm scythe in his hand. "And don''t be hung up on Nero''s decision. Not everything can go your way. Also, no backing out from the bet now!"

    With those words offort, he walked off to join the rest of the members on the left nk ¨C therades he''ll be fighting with today.

    As I watched Kent''s figure receding into the distance, mixing up with other cadets preparing for the uing battle, the sullen expression on my face melted into a wicked smirk.

    A glint of calcted madness sparked in my eyes as I dered in a whispering tone, "But everything already is going my way."

 Chapter 60 Battle Start

    ?Amidst the ruins of a decimated city, a group of approximately one hundred cadets, now embodying the role of soldiers, proceeded with extreme vignce, their weapons at the ready.

    They advanced in a semi-circle formation, with their esteemed leader, Nero Dekrauf, leading the charge at the forefront, nked by two of his five Lieutenants, William and E, whomanded the left and right wings of the formation, respectively.

    Anastasia, her third Lieutenant, was right behind Nero, covering his back.

    In the center of this formation, a small task force of twelve dedicated soldiers followed closely behind.

    "Huaaaa."

    With a deliberate and elegant touch, Grace lifted each strand of her luscious, blonde hair that gracefully cascaded down to her waist while suppressing her urge to yawn again.

    Her skilled hands moved with precision as she deftly tied it into a tight bun, securing each strand in ce while continuing to march forward.

    She cherished her hair, and it was one of the reasons why she didn''t want to join the military, fearing they would force her to chop it off into a military cut.

    Aside from her attachment to her hair, there were obviously other reasons why she was hesitant to enlist.

    Like many kids her age, the thought of fighting on the front lines where death was a constant threat was a terrifying prospect.

    Grace had begged her father to intervene and help her avoid the mandatory service, but as usual, her father ignored her pleas, leaving her with no other option but to attend the Global Academy.

    Despite her reservations, Grace found sce in the fact that she had three years before graduating as a cadet of Global Academy and officially joining the military.

    If she excelled during this time and graduated as one of the top-ranking cadets, she might be able to buy herself some time before being sent to the front lines. With a little luck and strategic maneuvering, she could even secure a desk job in the military.

    If she manages to get a desk job in the military then she wouldn''t have to fear a thing. She could even get the position of strategist or something.

    However, Grace was painfully aware of her own weaknesses. She knew that making her dream a reality would prove to be a challenging task if she were to do it all by herself.

    It was obvious to her that she couldn''t achieve her goal alone.

    She needed strength and influence. She needed pawns that she could use ¨C people that she could sacrifice so that she could grasp her desires, even if that meant she herself had to be someone''s pawn¨C even if she had to make a deal with the devil himself.

    That''s why when Kai offered her a hand, she took it in a heartbeat. She knew Kai was someone who would make a great name for himself in the military.

    If she sticks with him starting now, then maybe she could secure a safe future.

    But at the first step in her grand quest of gaining power and influence, she failed. She failed Kai.

    A boy she had previously deemed trash not only revealed to have a higher intelligence stat than her but he also tried to threaten her into switching sides.

    Switching sides?

    What does that even mean?

    Does she trust Lucas and be her pawn instead? Hah! He can keep dreaming about it.

    Grace was certain that sticking with Kai was a better deal. After all, he was superior to Lucas in every way imaginable.

    So obviously, she shut his mouth by reverse ckmailing him with the help of a trap that she had nted ahead of time.

    Although she messed up by not bing the strategist for ss 1-A-1, she could still fix it.

    "I can still do it," she spoke to herself.

    "Hmm? Did you say anything?" a cadet who was walking right next to her asked with a worried expression on her face.

    "N-Nothing," Grace immediately answered the girl walking next to her and gripping the rapier on her waist.

    A few hours ago Nero approved of Amelia''s n to tackle this mock war.

    He handpicked twelve individuals and created a special task force.

    Grace was put into that task force along with Quinn, Elijah and some nameless extras ¨C Two of the five Lieutenants were  in it.

    All the members of this task force were expected to cooperate and work together in order to sessfullyplete the mission.

    Their orders were simple: infiltrate the shopping district, gather enough supplies, and then run like hell.

    Meanwhile, the main army will engage the enemy troops in a head-on battle.

    Even Grace was confused as to why Nero picked this option when Lucas'' suggestion was definitely better.

    However, she didn''t ponder over it long as she had a role to y in this battle herself.

    ss 1-C-8 has already been given ess to her live location and despite her initial n of bing a strategist and sharing ss 1-A-1''s attack n with 1-C-8 failing, she is still determined to undermine 1-A-1 and gain Kai Wiseman''s favor by gradually proving her worth.

    No one can stop her. Not Lucas, not Nero, and not even that bitch Amelia. She had won at the mere cost of making her ss lose!

    "Hehe!" her lips quivered and a short ecstatic chuckle escaped her mouth before she quickly stopped herself.

    ''No, I can''tugh yet! I have to hold it in!'' she squealed from excitement.

    "Halt!" eximed a deep, manly voice, jolting her out of her celebratory reverie.

    She turned her gaze to the origin of the sound and saw that it was Quinn who had shouted.

    She furrowed her brow and surveyed her surroundings, noticing that all the other soldiers had alsoe to a stop.

    Up ahead, Nero had his right hand held aloft, indicating for them to cease their advance.

    Consulting the maps on her smart bracelet, which had been crafted by the reconnaissance team, she confirmed that they had arrived at the entrance of the shopping district.

    "We''ve made it!" bellowed Nero. "Be prepared for the opposition at every corner. Keep your senses sharp and stay vignt!"

    ""Yes!""

    Everyone replied in unison before unsheathing their weapon.

    With caution, Nero and his troops started their march and entered the shopping district.

    However¡­

    "Nero¡­"

    Even after half an hour of continuous search, they came across no enemy.

    "Did they move at night?" Anastasia asked with a tint of hesitation in her voice.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Impossible," Nero shook his head in confidence. "I had people stationed near the area to look out."

    "Then why are they not here?" wrinkling her forehead with a frown, she asked.

    "I don''t know either," Nero admitted before barking instructions. "Everyone, break the formation and look individually! If you find any sign of the enemy, alert everyone on the open radio channel!"

    Everyone nodded their heads and quickly dispersed.

    ?

    Back at their base,

    "Huaaaa."

    The spacious room exhibited cracks along its walls and ceiling.

    A round table, apanied by a few chairs, upied the center of the room, but it was evident that they had been left untouched for quite some time, as ayer of dust had umted over them.

    At the top of the round table, a smart bracelet was set. From that smart bracelet, a map of the vicinity projected out with everyone''s live location on it.

    Within the chamber, before the projected map, two individuals were visible, seated amidst the forlorn surroundings.

    Yes, it was Amelia and me.

    "Seriously?"

    Seeing me yawn out of boredom, Amelia raised an eyebrow at me, clearly judging me for whatever reason.

    "What?" I shrugged.

    "Can you take this more seriously?"

    "I am taking this seriously."

    "Right, that''s why you''re yawning."

    "I''m bored!"

    God, can she just leave me alone for a few seconds!

    "Unbelievable," Amelia shook her head immediately and turned her gaze back to the holographic map.

    "What?" I asked.

    "You''re clearly jealous that Nero picked my n over yours," she said with a mocking smirk on her face. "And after that he made me the field strategist."

    There are two types of strategists: Staff and Head.

    Staff Strategists devise ns and tactics to outmaneuver the enemy while Head Strategists can take charge of the battle and bark instructions in ce of the Lord Commander.

    Their authority is only secondary to the Lord Commander ¨C both of them can give out instructions that soldiers would have to follow. The only difference is that the Lord Commander fights in the field while the Head Strategist stays back in the base.

    Nero picked Amelia as his head strategist and it was clear why he did that. He trusts her more than me. He can count on her to have his back.

    But why was she bringing it up now? Was she trying to provoke me or something?

    "Are you trying to provoke me or something?" with genuine confusion, I asked.

    "Hah, dream on!" she scoffed. "And besides¨C"

    [HQ, do you read? I''m QN2, Do you read?]

    But before she could continue, a static voice came from my smart bracelet.

    The smart bracelet not only serves as a storage device and an enhanced version of smartphones, but it also includes a military radio.

    Each device possesses a unique closed channel code, which is required to contact another person via radio.

    Alternatively, an open channel is avable formunication without the need for a code, but it allows anyone in the vicinity to listen, including the enemy.

    For reference, this radio transmission wasing to me through a closed channel.

    "Yes, we read you, QN2. Give your status report!" I answered, bringing the smart bracelet on my wrist close to my face.

    QN2 was this person''s code on the battlefield. A soldier on the battlefield will not go by his name but by the codename assigned to him.

    There''s a whole process of how a codename is assigned, but I''ll not get into that because who''s interested? Certainly not me.

    [We have not encountered a single enemy. We''re going to the shops, gathering supplies, anding back!]

    "Okay, QN2. Make sure to blow up the whole ce beforeing back so the enemy can''t get the leftover supplies." I instructed.

    [Roger that]

    And the radio transmission was cut.

    "That''s weird," Amelia touched her chin. "Not a single enemy? Are they letting us take the shopping district?"

    "Of course not."

    "Hmm? What do you mean?"

    As I slouched back on the chair, Amelia looked at me with confusion, hoping for me to answer.

    "Think about it," I said as if I was talking to a child. "If they are not inside the shopping district, where else could they be? If they haven''t attacked us yet, when could they attack?"

    "What do you¨C"

    But right as Amelia was about to ask me what did I mean, a realization hit her. Her eyes widened as she spoke:

    "They have surrounded the shopping district!"

    "Good," I nodded. "And when will they attack?"

    "...Right about now!"

    [HQ! Do you read?! We''re under attack! HQ!]

 Chapter 61 Trap

    5 minutes earlier,

    "Lord Commander, we have secured the parameters. No signs of the enemy."

    A leaf green-haired boy with long ears and a face that could only be described as ''pretty'' walked up to Nero and reported.

    "Good job, William," Nero absentmindedly replied with a lost look on his face.

    "Anything bothering you?" asked William.

    Nero brushed his fingers back through his hair before responding, "Yes, why haven''t they attacked us yet?"

    "Maybe they gave up on the shopping district?"

    "Impossible. Conquering this area and getting supplies from here is a vital key to winning this mock war."

    "What if maybe they have some other strategy in mind?"

    "I''m trying to figure out what they could be after. If they haven''t attacked us here and now, then when and where will they?"

    "I mean¨C"

    Before William and Nero could continue chit-chat, they noticed someone running in their direction.

    ¨C"Lord Commander! Lord Commander!"

    It was one of the soldiers Nero had ced on the lookout duty.

    "What is it, QH3?" inquired Nero.

    "We have spotted movement!" the soldier answered, huffing and puffing in between from either anxiety or having to run this much.

    "Movement?!" Nero drew his sword from his smart bracelet. "In which direction?!"

    "All around us! They have surrounded us!"

    "....Arghhaa!"

    Nero couldn''t help but widen his eyes at his own stupidity and let out a grunt.

    He nowprehends that he had unwittingly fallen into the trap that his adversaries hadid out for him.

    "Fuck!" he cursed out loud and kicked the ground but immediately regained hisposure. "William, alert others. We''re forming a defensive parameter here."

    "Given that they have us surrounded, shouldn''t we attempt to break through based on standard warfare tactics?" William questioned, summoning his spear.

    "We cannot take that risk," Nero rejected sternly. "ording to standard warfare tactics, we should only attempt to disrupt the enemy''s encirclement before the siege is fully formed. However, at this moment, they have already surrounded and trapped us here. If we attempt to break out, we leave ourselves vulnerable to nk attacks."

    "Okay, I get it," William nodded in understanding. "But what about the supplies we came here to obtain? The rations and water ¨C Quinn''s squad has already gotten them."

    "Tell them to leave it for now ande assist us in the battle. We''ll be needing every hand that can fight."

    Without uttering a word, William nodded and sent a radio transmission to all the other Lieutenants.

    The task force members who were raiding the shops right now also got the message and they started packing up things.

    Of course, HQ was also informed.

    Even Amelia also instructed them to set up a defensive parameter. After all, there was no other logical decision that could get them out of this grim situation.

    The enemy surrounded them. There was no way out. Each possible solution could be countered with the risk of exposing their nk.

    ?

    In under 5 minutes, around hundred acting soldiers were done setting up a defensive line around one of the many half-destroyed shopping malls.

    They were using this shopping mall''s building to castle themselves into a cover.

    Nero stood tall at the front while his soldiers stood right behind him, ready to support him.

    "Quinn, do you have any suggestions?"

    In the distance, Nero saw the silhouette of enemy soldiers rapidly advancing in their direction while the ground began to rumble.<novelnext></novelnext>

    As their impending doom approached them, Nero asked Quinn, who was standing just a few steps behind him, for his opinions on the matter.

    "Why do you ask me?" Quinn replied,ing to stand beside Nero.

    "You''ve been on the front lines, haven''t you?"

    "Not with an ipetent leader like you."

    Nero inhaled a deep breath. He knew he deserved that for falling into such an obvious trap.

    "All hands get ready!" as he saw the horde of enemies getting closer, he yelled.

    Cling¡ª!

    As if they had practiced beforehand, everyone quickly unsheathed their weapons in unison.

    Meanwhile Anastasia stood on the terrace of the shopping mall. She observed the ground below with the archers from ss 1-A-1 positioned on various other buildings and high-rise tforms.

    She took a deep breath and suddenly barked out an instruction:

    "Knock!"

    At hermand, all the archers present there took an arrow from their quivers and knocked it on their bows.

    "Draw!"

    They then drew the bowstring and imbued the arrow with azure magical energy.

    "Take aim!"

    Everyone took aim at the iing enemy with sharp, focused eyes. Each archer aiming for at least one ss 1-C-8 cadet.

    As soon as the enemy acting soldiers stepped into the striking range of arrows, Amelia cried out in determination:

    "Fire!"

    Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª!!!

    Swooosh, Swooosh, Swooosh¡ª!!!

    And at that moment, several arrows rained down on the cadets of ss 1-C-8.

    ¨C"ARGHHHAA!"

    ¨C"MY EYE!! I CAN''T SEE!!"

    ¨C"Get a hold of yourself¨C ARGHHHH!"

    The arrows whistled through the air, piercing several troops who were rushing forward before anyone could even react. Only an azure trail was left in their wake.

    The scenery was starting to resemble a real battlefield as screams of pain filled the air. Some had lost their eyes, while others had gotten their hands or legs pierced.

    Of course, not every arrow found its mark. Some were dodged, blocked, or destroyed before they could hit their intended targets.

    "Leave the wounded behind and continue charging forward! Do not stop!" one of the acting soldiers of 1-C-8 yelled at his troops. Most likely, he held the position of General or Lieutenant. "Get close to them so their archers can''t fire from above! And someone go take them out!"

    Just as hemanded, the acting soldiers behind him quickly resumed their rush and sprinted forward with all their might while letting out fierce battle cries.

    "Ahaaaaaaaaa!"

    "Die, you fuckers!!"

    Meanwhile, Nero lifted his sword and pointed at the iing horde of enemies.

    "Charge!" he yelled and at hismand, the troops positioned behind him advanced forward with their weapons out for blood.

    Cling, Ting, Cling¡ª!!!!

    The sound of metal shing against metal resounded throughout the surrounding area. Sparks flew, and blood was spilled.

    The first battle of the Mock War had begun.

 Chapter 62 Aquahart

    "Arghhhhhhh!"

    With astonishing might, Nero struck down his sword, which was enveloped in a thickyer of azure-blue magical energy, and split a person in half.

    "How dare you?!" therade of the soldier who was split in half yelled at Nero and rushed at him with his sword pulled back.

    However, before the poor guy could even swing it, Nero formed a gun with his hand and pointed his index and middle finger at the advancing enemy.

    "Lvae tormentorum!" he chanted a spell in High Elven.

    Almost instantly, particles of light coalesced in front of the ''barrel'' of his ''handgun'' and¡­

    Swaaaaa¡ª!

    Thud¡ª!

    A beam of light erupted from Nero''s index and middle finger and sted a hole in his target''s head, killing him before his lifeless body fell to the ground.

    "Haaa," letting out a short breath, Nero looked around him.

    He saw limp and motionless corpses of his foes and friends alike. Their limbs were torn asunder, their cries of agony filling the atmosphere, a sight of a young woman clutching her exposed intestines spilling out from a wound on her stomach ¨C if hell was real, then it would probably look like this.

    It wasplete madness, Nero thought.

    What was the reason for this senseless battle?

    A petty disagreement between two cadets?

    How could the Queen, the Vice President, even allow such carnage?

    Was shepletely insane?

    Sure, all of this was not real but Virtual Reality instead. However, the pain they were feeling¨C the pain they were making each other feel was all too real.

    "Fuck!" Nero gritted his teeth and cursed out loud. It was toote for such thoughts. He could only do one thing now¡ª move forward.

    Once again, he took a deep breath and scanned his surroundings, his sharp eyes flicking over the gruesome scene before him as he searched for hisrades.

    This time, however, he seemed a bit indifferent to the violence and gore around him.

    A wave of relief washed over Nero''s face as he spotted some familiar faces amidst the carnage and chaos.

    Elijah was fending off two opponents, Grace had just now killed an enemy, Quinn had the upper hand against a troop, and Kent was catching his breath; no one was around him so he was momentarily safe from harm.

    Just as Nero was about to let out a sigh of relief, something caught his eye in his peripheral vision.

    He saw a blue-haired elven girl on her knees, about to be struck down by a swordsman.

    A frown appeared on his face as the face of the blue-haired girl seemed to be familiar to him for some reason.

    "Ahh!"

    He remembered. He had seen her with Amelia a few times. She was her friend.

    As the realization hit him, he found his body moving toward the girl.

    "Die!" the swordsman who was about to thrust his sword at the girl, yelled fiercely.

    The elven girl closed her eyes and her body quaked in fear as all she could do was await her end.

    Cling¡ª!

    "¡­Huh?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, the attack she was waiting for never came.

    Nero arrived right in front of her in time and deftly parried the attack with a swing of his sword, making the enemy swordsman stumble back in surprise.

    "Tsk!" the swordsman clicked his tongue and jumped a few meters back before putting a hand on his ears. "I have found Nero Dekrauf! He''s on me¨C Huh?"

    Unfortunately, before he could even finish the transmission, Nero covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

    Kuiish¡ª!

    Thud¡ª!

    Giving the enemy swordsman no chance to counterattack, Nero swung his sword at his neck and cleaved his head off.

    With a low thud sound, the swordsman''s body fell limp to the ground as his head rolled off.

    "That makes four," he had in four enemies in total till now. After making his kill count, Nero turned around and looked at the blue-haired girl.

    "A-Ah¡­ T-Thank you, Nero¨C I mean, Lord Commander!" the girl quickly bowed her head when she saw Nero looking at her and thanked him for saving her virtual life, flustered.

    "No need," Nero extended a hand to the damsel in distress. "You''re Amelia''s friend, right?"

    "Ah! Yes," taking her knight in shining armor''s hand, the blue-haired elven girl stood to her feet. "My name is Aster Aquahart."

    "Aquahart? By any chance, are you rted to Captain Gandalf Aquahart?" Nero frowned.

    "You know my grandpa?" Aster asked, surprised.

    "Yes, he was called the ''The Sword Saint'' and ''Kali''s Winter Of Death.'' He was one of the best Space Troopers, if not the best. He''s the reason Helios Space Station survived that war against the Kali forces three years ago. He even denied promotions and stayed on the frontlines throughout his military career. Unfortunately, because of that, not many know his name."

    "W-Wow, you know a lot about grandpa."

    "Well, my master, Liz, made me study the biography of all the greatest soldiers that served in the United Military."

    "I see. I''m d to know people haven''t forgotten his legacy and¡ª BEHIND YOU!"

    Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Aster''s sharp shout, causing Nero to instinctively turn around.

    His eyes widened as he saw a spear hurtling towards him, aimed directly at his face.

    In a split second, Nero realized that he had let his guard down on the battlefield, allowing the enemy to sneak up behind him.

    "Tch!" he clicked his tongue in frustration as he quickly raised his left hand to shield his face from the iing attack.

    Realizing it was toote to dodge the spear, Nero braced himself to let the spear pierce through his left hand, nning to retaliate and kill the enemy in one swift swing of his sword using his right hand.

    Tannn¡ª!!!

    "Oh?"

    However, right when the spear was merely inches away from him, several hexagonal water shields manifested in front of him, forming an instant barrier and stopping the spear in its tracks.

    Without wasting a single moment, Nero pointed his index at the enemy who dared to snuck up on him and chanted in High Elven:

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    A bright light shed in the atmosphere and a gaping hole was sted open in the enemy spearman''s chest.

    "Khuu! Khuuaaa!" the spearman violently coughed a mouthful of blood before his lifeless body fell back.

 Chapter 63 Head Strategist

    Nero turned around and saw Aster holding both her hands up. Her whole figure was constantly exuding mana.

    It didn''t take him long to deduce that she was the one who had cast that water shield spell.

    "Thank you for saving me," Nero expressed his gratitude to Aster.

    "Don''t worry about it," Aster replied, withdrawing her magical energy and waving her hands. "I specialize in defensive spells andck the talent for offensive magic so¨C"

    "It''s alright," Nero cut off Aster, cing a hand on her shoulder. The blue-haired elven girl blushed, gazing into his abyssal ck eyes and admiring his chiseled features as he continued, "Join me on the battlefield. I''ll fight upfront and you can cover my back."

    "I¨C"

    Bzzzt¡ª!

    But just as she was about to ept Nero''s proposal, his smart bracelet started buzzing and vibrating.

    Nero looked it up and found that it was a private channel radio transmission.

    Only his Lieutenants, personal squadmates and strategic HQ had the authority or the means to contact him through the private channel so he wasted no time epting the transmission.

    Tick¡ª!

    [Lord Commander, this is QD1. The enemy forces are trying to break through from the back. I don''t think our archers would be able to hold them off for long!]

    QD1 was the battlefield code name given to Nero''s first Lieutenant of choice: Anastasia Bigod.

    She was also tasked to protect the rear guard along with a squadron of archers. The front was being fought by Nero, Quinn, and Grace; meanwhile the left and right nks were given to William Sinoath and E Bright respectively.

    Nero was sure that they both must also be facing the same situation as Anastasia.

    It won''t take a genius to figure out what ss 1-C-8 was up to by now.

    First, they let Nero and his troops enter the shopping district. Then they encircled them, trapping them there. And now, they were squeezing them from all sides.

    "Tsk!" Nero clicked his tongue. To be honest, it wasn''t like getting out of this situation was difficult.

    In actuality, he possessed the ability to overpower every cadet in the virtual world with ease by simply summoning one of the Six Heavenly Swords using his Gift.

    Although in the real world, using his Gift would deplete a minuscule portion of his life force, in the virtual world, he had no such concerns.

    Once he unleashed his Gift, no one present could stand against him ¨C he was that confident in himself.

    However, there was a minor predicament here.

    Prior to themencement of the mock war, his master, Liz Snyder, had explicitly instructed him not to disclose his Gift during the event.

    In spite of that fact, Nero could see no other viable option to get out of this situation right now.

    "Fine, I''ll deal with them myself!"

    He had decided. He''ll use his gift. He will summon the Heavenly Sword of Fire and use it to control lightning, unleashing a colossal thunderstorm that would bring an end to this war right where they stood.

    "Aster, get behind me."

    "...What?"

    "Get behind me and create a barrier around us."

    With an awkward nod, Aster did what she was told and swiftly got behind Nero before creating a water dome around them.

    At that moment, the boy started reciting something in a low, almost inaudible tone.

    The air grew thick with a palpable sense of foreboding as if the very atmosphere itself was holding its breath in anticipation.

    Suddenly, tiny sparks erupted around Nero, crackling and flickering like fiery apparitions.

    "O'' Agni, hear my plea," he called out, his voice ringing out in the midst of the overwhelming tumult surrounding him. "Grant me the strength to vanquish my enemies, to burn away their evil and leave nothing but ash in their wake! Grant me¨C"

    Bzzzt¡ª!

    Unfortunately, before Nero couldplete the chant and summon the Heavenly Sword, his smart bracelet buzzed again, disturbing his focus.

    The sparks crackling around him died down as a result of him losing his focus. Clicking his tongue again, he was about to reject the radio call until he saw that it was from HQ.

    He frowned, wondering what Amelia might have to say at this moment. His curiosity got the better of him and he ended up epting the transmission.

    "What''s it, Amelia?"

    [Nero, I might have a way to get us out of this situation.]

    "...Huh?" Nero widened his eyes at those words. "Are you sure? Tell me!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    [I can''t tell you since it''s aplex n. Can you trust me and hand me over themand for now?]

    Usually, here''s how it works: The Lord Commander tells the troops what to do on the battlefield, and the Head Strategist(s) figures out how to actually win the war with clever tactics and battle formations.

    But truth be told, both positions are pretty simr in terms of power and duties.

    A Lord Commander can totally brainstorm strategies and improvise on battle ns as needed, while a Head Strategist can take overmanding the troops if the Lord Commander has permitted it.

    The only real difference is that being a Lord Commander pays better in real life, probably because they have to brave the actual field, while Head Strategists can kick back in headquarters and juste up with ideas while looking at a live battle map.

    Of course, Nero trusted Amelia to takemand here. If she had suggested it, then she really must''vee up with a strategy that could get them out of this situation.

    "Okay, I give you the authority to lead the troops. Tell us what to do."

    ?

    10 minutes earlier,

    Back at ss 1-A-1 HQ,

    As I told Amelia right before it happened, our troops were trapped by the enemy in the shopping district.

    Well, to be more precise, instead of telling her, I let here to that decision on her own.

    Currently, she was staring at the holographic map in front of her with her mouth agape.

    On the map, there were several small dots, some of them red and others green. The green dots had codes like ''QD1'' or ''CN6'' hovering above them.

    From time to time, some dots would often disappear from view.

    Yes, the green dots were our allies and the red ones were the enemy present in their line of sight.

    We were using smart bracelets worn by our troops to track their live location. If they see an enemy, it will show up on the map as a red dot.

    Thanks to this genius system, strategists could easily monitor the battlefield from headquarters.

    "You!" suddenly Amelia spun around to face me and started yelling nonsense at me. "You knew this would happen! You knew they would trap our troops before it even happened!"

    "What?" with a nk look stered on my face, I arched my eyebrows. "I didn''t know. If you remember correctly, I didn''t say a word about them trapping our troops, you came to that conclusion yourself."

    m¡ª!

    "Lucas Morningstar, don''t fuck with me!" banging her hands on the round table, she roared a fierce warning. "You clearly knew what would happen! How?!"

    "Fine, I deduced a possibility," I answered, raising my hands slightly and leaning back on the chair to calm her down.

    I wasn''t lying. I really did deduce the possibility of this happening.

    In the novel, the soldiers of ss 1-C-8 did not surround and trap those of ss 1-A-1 in the shopping district as they had done now.

    In the story, Grace had leaked the map that Amelia and I were currently seeing before us to ss 1-C-8, allowing them to know every minute movement that our soldiers made on the battlefield.

    They had no need to set up a trap when they simply knew their enemy''s live location on the battlefield all the time.

    But since in this timeline, Grace wasn''t able to leak the battle map to the enemy; they had to resort to a more aggressive strategy.

    I don''t know if it''s for the better or not - how this story is progressing, I mean.

    Anyway, I came up with 18 different possible scenarios that this battle could go down in. ss 1-C-8 encircling and trapping our troops was the 10th one.

    That''s how I told Amelia what would happen. I didn''t ''know'' it. I just guessed it.

    "You deduced it? I''m supposed to believe that nonsense?!"

    I pointed at myself and shrugged, "Hey, Intelligence Stat above 180, remember?"

    "No matter how much of a genius you are, expecting something like this to happen before it even happened is virtually impossible!"

    "Well, I did the impossible. So what? The point is, I can get us out of this situation."

    Widening her eyes as she heard what I spoke, Amelia looked at me in disbelief.

    "W-What?"

    With a smirk, I repeated myself. "If you let me, I know a way to get us out of this situation."

    "How?!" just as I had expected, Amelia immediately showed interest in my offer.

    "First, give up your role as the Head Strategist¡­ to me."

 Chapter 64 Traitor

    "First, give up your role as the Head Strategist¡­ to me."

    "...Yeah, no."

    "...Huh? What do you mean by no?"

    "No, as in, I''ll not give you my position."

    "B-But I can help!"

    "I doubt it."

    "Wha- Just give me!"

    "No."

    "Please!!"

    "Just no!"

    "..."

    I was baffled, bewildered, puzzled, confused and literally every other synonym you can think of confused!

    Why is she not relinquishing the position of the Head Strategist?!

    Our forces are cornered. There''s no way we can win from here!

    Isn''t it worth a shot to give me her position if I im to have a way to get us out of this situation?! Isn''t it better than sitting here and watching us lose?!

    "So are you just going to sit here and watch us lose?!" I questioned, speaking my mind.

    "No, I have a n of my own." She replied, her eyes, a deep shade of forest green, brimming with determination. "I can do this."

    Hearing her response, I shrugged and slumped back on the chair again. "Fine, you''lle to me sooner orter anyway."

    "Ha! Didn''t know you were a dreamer," letting out a scoff, she sent a radio call to Nero.

    Tzz¡ª!

    Almost instantly, Nero epted the call from his side and spoke:

    -[What''s it, Amelia?]

    "Nero, I might have a way to get us out of this situation," she informed.

    -[...Huh? Are you sure? Tell me!]

    "I can''t tell you since it''s aplex n. Can you trust me and hand me over themand for now?"

    After a moment of pause, Nero confidently replied:

    -[Okay, I give you the authority to lead our troops. Tell us what to do.]

    A smile formed on Amelia''s face after hearing the response she had wanted to hear.

    She studied the holographic map that was disying the live location of all of our soldiers in front of us for a moment before barking out instructions:

    "Okay, I want you to move what''s left of your Squad toward Sector 7!"

    We divided the whole Shopping District into 25 blocks and called each block a sector. It was to make things easier when giving out strategic instructions.

    -[Roger, Squad 20 moving toward Sector 7]

    Beep¡ª!

    And the radio call with Nero was cut.

    Amelia, however, didn''t rest. She started making more radio calls to our troops instantly, barking instructions at them and moving them like pawns in a chess game.

    "CN5, go forward and take a right turn!"

    -[Roger!]

    "C3H, cover CN5 while slowly backing away to cover!"

    -[Copy that!]

    "Anastasia, move your squad to Sector 7 and rendezvous with Nero''s squad there!"

    -[Moving Squad 16 towards Sector 7!]

    "E18 and GH2, assist Williams'' squad!"

    [We have enemies on us!]

    "Squad 16 is moving towards you, don''t worry and back off to assist Williams'' squad. Trust me!"

    [Okay!]

    Wow.

    Interlocking my fingers, I rested my chin on them. I was genuinely impressed by how effortlessly she wasmanding our troops.

    It''s almost as if she was made for this.

    I remember the novel mentioned Amelia had a talent for military strategy and tactics, although she never really did anything to hone this talent of hers.

    Tch, what a waste.

    I remember in the novel, she took charge of the army during their fight against the 5th Abyssal Vampire King when they went Beyond The Border.

    Even when being outnumbered 1 to 6 against the vicious Vampire forces, the soldiers of the United Military won because of her being in charge.<novelnext></novelnext>

    However, she never really considered being a strategist as a viable military career option. She wanted to fight on the front lines.

    What a psycho. Who in their right mind would willingly put themselves on the frontlines?

    Well, anyway, those achievements she had in the novel have not happened yet. She hasn''t aplished anything as of now.

    I broke the silence in the room with a question, "What is your intention? What do you hope to achieve by relocating everyone to Sector 7? One misstep and our soldiers will be trapped between the enemy forces in front and behind them."

    "I''ll be careful not to let that happen," Amelia responded in a haughty tone before flicking her hair back and continuing: "As for what I''m trying to aplish, shouldn''t you already know, Mr. Genius?"

    Rolling my eyes, I focused my attention back on the live holographic map.

    To be honest, I understood precisely what she was attempting to achieve.

    The Shopping Districtprises multiple malls, restaurants, and marts and can be essed via four entrances: East, West, North, and South.

    It won''t take a genius to guess that ss 1-C-8 has likely positioned a squad or two at each entrance to obstruct any escape attempts by our troops.

    If they do try to escape regardless, then our soldiers would be trapped between enemy forces from both the front and back.

    To tackle that scenario, Amelia came up with a n.

    Located near the North Entrance of the Shopping District, Sector 7 is amercial building adjacent to another structure, a giant one at that ¨C Sector 8, which marks the end of Shopping District on that side.

    My estimation is that Amelia intends to relocate all the soldiers to the Martplex.

    From there, they could traverse to the adjacent building and flee the Shopping District through that route.

    Since both north and west entrances are at a significant distance away from Sector 8, the enemy troops guarding those entrances won''t be able toe to stop our fleeing soldiers on time.

    In essence, Amelia intended to have our soldiers break through the walls of buildings in a straight line rather than use the entrances to escape the Shopping District.

    She isn''t trying to win. No, rather, she''s trying to survive to fight another day ¨C a strategic retreat.

    It''s a nice n but I highly doubt it''ll work.

    Why won''t it work? You''ll see.

    Bzzzt¡ª!

    Just when Amelia was done giving me a haughty look that screamed ''I don''t need you to win,'' her smart bracelet started buzzing.

    She quickly picked up the call and answered, "This is the strategic HQ. Anastasia, what''s the status report?"

    -[2 of my archers have been hit!]

    "Remain calm. Abandon the wounded and enter the Sector 7 building. Once inside, offer support to our allies as they join you!"

    -[...Roger that!]

    There was clear hesitation in Anastasia''s voice when she heard Amelia telling her to leave her woundedrades behind, but even she knew there was no other choice aside from that.

    After a few minutes, Amelia safely managed to navigate all the soldiers to Sector 7. Breaking out and fleeing the Shopping District was only a matter of time.

    -[Amelia, they are on our tail! If their forces block our way from the front, we''ll be sandwiched!]

    Nero contacted Amelia, his breathing sounded ragged from all the running and fighting he had done.

    "Don''t fret!" reassured Amelia in a calm tone. "If necessary, destroy the walls and enter the building that''s adjacent to the one you''re in right now ¨C Sector 8. Once there, break out from that building and make a run for it.

    "The enemy troops stationed at the North and West entrances won''t be able to catch up with you in time to block your path. You only need to outrun the enemy chasing from behind!"

    -[Roger that!]

    After giving her orders, Amelia spun around and gave me a haughty look once again.

    Good lord, what does this girl want from me? Fine, I get it. She''s a good leader.

    Unfortunately for her, I knew the smirk on her face was about to be wiped out just about¡­ now!

    Beep¡ª!

    [Amelia, you there?!]

    It was Nero. His voice screamed urgency.

    "Yes, I''m here. What''s the status report¨C"

    Before Amelia could even finish giving her reply, Nero cut her off.

    [Sector 8! There''s no Sector 8!]

    Confused, a frown appeared on Amelia''s face. "What? What do you mean by there''s no Sector 8?!"

    [When we broke out of Sector 7, we found ourselves out in the open field. We could see the enemy forces on our right, and there''s a whole lot of them on our back too! We''ll be pincered!]

    "Wha¡­ B-But how¡­ The map! On the map, it''s¨C!"

    Seeing Amelia starting to panic, I figured out this was the best time to interject myself into the situation.

    "The map that the reconnaissance squad made is incorrect. Someone deliberately made the wrong map."

    "Wha¨C but why? Why would someone do that?!" turning her attention back to me, Amelia focused her shaky eyes on me and asked with quivering lips.

    Aww, she was panicking like a helpless little girl. So cute.

    "There''s a traitor among our ranks. They created a false map to sabotage us, and it seems they have been sessful. Their goal was to predict what strategy you would deploy in the situation we''re currently in and craft a false map to mislead you based on that.

    "I don''t know if there''s an easy way to say this but Amelia ck, they read you like a book, and unfortunately, they defeated you long before the real war had even begun."

 Chapter 65 Setback

    "Haaa!" Amelia gasped hysterically, her forehead covered in cold sweat.

    As my words began to sink in, uneasiness and panic began to spread over her mind.

    I had hinted of there being a traitor among us here before but Amelia never took it seriously. She entertained that idea for a little while before dismissing my words.

    Now all the regret, irritation, and a mix of whole diverse emotions were clearly evident on her face.

    However, the one emotion that disyed more than the others on her pale face was ¨C fear.

    Fear of failing herrades. Fear of failing Nero, who believed in her. Fear of losing because she was weak¡­ even after she promised to herself that she would never be weak¨C that she would never lose again!

    "Amelia," at that moment, my firm voice shook her out of her thoughts. "What are you doing?"

    "I¨C uh¡­ I don''t know¡­ I don''t know what to do¡­ We''ve lost¡­ They''ll pincer our troops from two sides¡­ After that, it''ll only be a matter of time. No matter how strong Nero is, even he won''t be able to defeat them all! We lose¡­ and it''s all because of me! It''s because of me! Me me me me me me!!"

    Wrong. We weren''t going to lose because of her. In fact, we weren''t going to lose at all.

    Even if I don''t turn around this situation, which I am going to, Nero will summon one of his Six Heavenly Swords and defeat everyone.

    It''ll be quite the spectacle when that happens. The whole battlefield will be plunged into what''ll look like the fiery pits of hell.

    Unfortunately, I don''t want him to do that.

    In the novel, even after sustaining heavy losses and losing so many troops, ss 1-A-1 won because Nero alone butchered seven squads on his own.

    That guy was basically a one-man army. Those weaklings (not like I''m any stronger than them) could never stop him no matter how many of them there were.

    However, to be able to do that, Nero had to use his ability, [Six Divine Swords Of Heaven] and summon the Sword Of Divine Fire.

    Not only that event shook the whole Academy but also the rest of the world.

    ''A kid who can gain absolute control over an element!'' ¨C That made one BIG news.

    That is understandable since being able to fully control an element essentially sets you on par with the gods.

    Sure, casting spells using mana lets you control an element you have an affinity with, but even then, you can never fully control it.

    Some people even called him ''The Boy Who Has Touched The Realm Of The Gods.''

    There were cults made in his name. Some people started worshiping him, and some were in denial, unable to process how something as ridiculous as this was even possible.

    So no surprise there when this news reached the ears of one of the Abyssal Vampire Kings.

    He sent three of his most powerful vampires to the Academy to assassinate Nero during the ''King''s Tournament.''

    Of course, they weren''t able to kill him. However, that did create a massive uproar and chaos. And one of the three vampires who were sent to the Academy made Lucas his pawnter in the story.

    Although, as I''ve established many times before in the past, I love chaos, I don''t love it when ites knocking at my own door.

    So I would very much like Nero not to use his gift right now and attract the whole world''s attention.

    Plus, it would save many other minor inconveniences that would happen as a result of it.

    "It''s all because of me! I¡­ I should''ve thought about there being a possibility of someone tampering with our map! It''s all because of me! I led them to a trap!"

    Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about her.

    I can think about the plotter. Right now, I think I should deal with this mess of a girl.

    Amelia sat at one of the chairs around the round table, holding her head with her hands and murmuring all kinds of gibberish in an incoherent tone.

    Her forehead was drenched in sweat and her eyes were shaking,pletely unfocused.

    Wow, this girl really can''t handle setbacks.<novelnext></novelnext>

    It was pointed out in the novel that Amelia had developed a kind of Atychiphobia ¨C fear of failure ¨C due to her past trauma.

    Well, in her case, it wasn''t the Fear Of Failure she was suffering from but rather the fear of being weak.

    We all know who''s to me for her trauma so let''s not point any fingers. Ahem.

    Anyway, that was the reason she tried so desperately to be the best at everything she was good at.

    Unfortunately, the plot wasn''t merciful to her either. Not too long into the story, she found out that her talent in archery could never surpass Anastasia.

    But it really broke her when she realized that archery wasn''t what Anastasia was even best at ¨C it was hand-to-hand or unarmedbat.

    And it wasn''t even archery. Amelia slowly realized that Anastasia was better than her at literally everything.

    However, the hardest part of it all was that no matter how hard she tried, she could never bring herself to hate Anastasia. She couldn''t even be her rival.

    Anastasia was her friend. And despite being jealous of her¨C jealous of her talent, she had to keep it all inside her because, well, that''s what friends are supposed to do.

    Her fate was that of a supporting heroine. The girl who would die so the main characters could get power-ups and character development.

    All her life, she was a disposable character who wasn''t best at anything¨C who was weak.

    Even in herst moments, she cursed herself for being weak. That''s how she died¨C cursing her life till the veryst breath of her.

    "I-I-I lost¡­ They''ll lose! And it''s because of me! I can''t...."

    "Haaa," I approached Amelia, rolling my eyes and emitting a slightly empathetic sigh before kneeling toe face to face with her.

    She was on the verge of crying.

    Pathetic.

    "What the hell are you doing?" I asked in a cold, emotionless tone.

    "....?"

    My voice shook her out of her episode.

    "I said, what on earth are you doing?! You imed you weren''t the weak little girl I once knew yet that''s all I see right now!" I screamed, inches from her face.

    As I shouted at her, Amelia''s eyes began to shake less, and she regained her focus.

    "Did you forget the reason you wanted to be strong?!" I yelled. "Did you forget why you picked up a bow?!"

    "I¨CI¡­ I don''t¡­ I remember it¡­" through quivering lips, she let out a shivering voice.

    "Tell me the reason," I demanded, rising to my feet.

    "It-It-It was so that I would never again face injustice. It was so that I couldn''t be oppressed by th-the powerful. It was so that I could assist the weak. It was so that no one could ever wrong me¡­ It was so that I could win!" not only her voice remained some rity and strength, but by the end of it, she was basically yelling.

    Seeing her find her resolve, I nodded.

    "Right, now get up. You haven''t won yet."

    "B-But it''s already a lost battle¨C"

    "And who decided that?"

    "Huh?" Amelia looked at me like she was looking at a madman. "Didn''t you listen? The enemy already has our soldiers in pincer! It''s over for them!"

    "No, it''s not. Resign your position to me, and I shall grant you victory. No, rather, I''ll show you how not to lose. I''ll show you the difference between strategy and tactics."

 Chapter 66 Monster

    It took a few minutes but at the end of it, Amelia ck had no choice but toply with my request.

    "Fine, I surrender my position as the Head Strategist to you."

    She gave it up. She gave her position to me.

    It took all of the willpower I had in me not to burst out into a peal of evil erraticughter right then and there.

    I did it. I broke her! ¡­A little.

    Amelia, in the novel, would''ve never given up her position to Lucas. She would''ve rather preferred losing than doing this.

    But right here, right now, Amelia ck willingly gave up her position to me, Lucas Morningstar!

    Heh!

    I don''t know why but it gave me a weird sense of satisfaction.

    Beep¡ª!

    -[Amelia, you there? Do you have a n? Anything! The enemy has blocked our path ahead! Once their main force catches us from behind, we''ll be done for¨C]

    Ah, anyway, now that I got the position I had wanted from the start, I should get working.

    "Calm down, Nero. I can see your live positions on the map before me. I can see you''re being pincered. Don''t worry. I have a n."

    -[Wait, Lucas? Is that you? Where''s Amelia? And I thought the map was wrong!]

    "Well, the map is wrong. But I can still see your live locations here." I turned around and faced the ck-haired girl present in the room before putting a finger on my lips. "And about Amelia, she can''te to the call right now but she has told me what to do. So do as I say."

    Amelia shook her head as her forehead wrinkled with a frown but I waved my hand at her.

    -[Uh- Ah¡­ Fine, what''s the n of action?!]

    "We''ll fight them head-on, of course."

    "What?!"

    -[What?!]

    Both Nero and Amelia voiced their mix of shock and disbelief at my matter-of-factly answer. Their overreaction was understandable.

    -[Lucas, we''ve been pincered from the front and back! Soon they''ll cover our right and left nks too! We''ll be surrounded in the open field!]

    "Good, that means you all can fire in every direction."

    -[...Wha¨C Please, can I get Amelia back?]

    "Don''t worry, I was joking. Besides, it''s toote for that," I let out a dry cough and said: "Now do as I say and you all wille back alive."

    -[...Fine, what''re your instructions?]

    ording to basic military tactics, Pincer Movement is where a unit or units attack an enemy from all nks.

    Depending on the state of the war, if done correctly, trapping an enemy in a pincer move can prove to be a great help.

    But what to do when you''re on the receiving side of that move? What to do when your enemy is trying to trap you and not the other way around?

    Fortunately, there have been tactics developed to counter that too.

    The mostmon one is: Full retreat.

    Before the enemy can even trap you, you must pull back all your forces in a full retreat.

    However, for us, it''s all toote for that since Amelia basically led us into the enemy''s ws.

    So what can we do here?

    The only option I can think of here which will result in minimum casualties is we focus all our attack power on one side.

    Since the enemy has surrounded us, they have split their forces which has made them weak.

    If we focus all our attack power on the front side, we can break through their forces and escape.

    Of course, while we do that, the enemy won''t sit ideally. They''ll try to attack us from behind. Once they do that, our soldiers, who''ll be focusing on the enemies in front, will be massacred.

    Executing this tactic requires not only speed but also sufficient strength to breach the enemy formation at the front before they can attack from the rear.

    A grin spread across my face as I realized how easy doing that was.

    -[Lucas, what are your instructions?! Hurry!]

    "Yeah, yeah, calm down," nonchntly, I slumped back into a chair. Interlocking my hands, I rested my chin on them before intently staring at the map.

    One by one, I quickly began performing various calctions in my mind. What was the position of our troops on the map? Where were the enemy forces and how would they approach us? How should we fight them? What formation should we take? What would be the most effective way to move our soldiers?

    For every conceivable variable, whether anticipated or unforeseen, I meticulously calcted the most favorable oue.

    I did all that within mere seconds. Once done with all that, I smirked.

    As I had predicted, this was going to be easy.

    "Lord Commander, I think Alberto is somewhere up ahead. I''ll move others in a way to clear your way. Meanwhile, you go and take him on. If we want to escape, we''ll need to keep him busy."

    Despite only being ackey of a side viin, Alberto was extremely strong, so much so that he was considered on par with Quinn himself during the starting years of the Academy.

    At present, the only person who can engage in a fight with Alberto ande out with just a few minor injuries is Nero.

    Oh yes, Nero will have a difficult time fighting against Alberto but I''m sure he''ll win. No, I don''t believe in Nero himself but rather in his plot armor.

    -[Copy that.]

    Beep¡ª!

    With a beep, the transmission with Nero was cut.

    I didn''t waste any time and instantly started connecting radio calls to other people.

    "NC4, can you hear me? I want you to advance forward and engage the enemy in front of you."

    -[What?! Are you insane?! They are on our backs too! We''ll be butchered from behind if we ignore them¨C]

    "Shut up and follow the orders given to you."

    -[...Tsk, roger that!]<novelnext></novelnext>

    Beep¡ª!

    "BU4, cover N squad''s back."

    -[Assisting N squad now!]

    Beep¡ª!

    "Leave the enemy on your right, GH3. Fall back 19 meters and help our Lord Commander."

    -[Got it!]

    Beep¡ª!

    "Anastasia, do you copy?"

    -[I do. Is that you, Lucas?]

    "Yes, I''ll need you and your sharpshooters to perform a task for me. ording to my estimation, the enemy will approach you from your left in 27 seconds."

    -[On our left? But on our left is a building, Lucas!]

    "I know. They''ll probablye through the walls. Before they can do that, I want you and your archers to fire your best artillery spells at them. Shoot them through the wall in 24 seconds."

    -[...Understood.]

    Beep¡ª!

    "CP3, take your squad and assist our archers. They''ll shoot the enemy soldiers through the wall in 22 seconds. If they miss anyone, take them out in closebat."

    -[Roger that!]

    Beep¡ª!

    "GD4, turn 20¡ã on your right and fire a long-range spell."

    -[Copy!!]

    Beep¡ª!

    "NG6, an enemy will try to sneak up on you from 3 o''clock. Take them out."

    -[Understood!]

    Beep¡ª!

    "ND5, assist NG6 and move forward. Break into enemy lines¡­."

    ¡­

    For 27 straight minutes, Lucas continued to bark instructions through the radio in his smart bracelet, moving people around to fight like they were his personal pieces on the chessboard.

    It gave him an unexinable sense of satisfaction. It felt like he was in control of everything!

    The battle is still ongoing and he did everything he could for now. He has cleared all my tasks at hand.

    Now he can only sit back and rx while the rest of his ss does all the tough work. The enemy only has three options left and no matter what they choose now, they''ll lose. They will have to retreat in the end.

    Everything, every single damn thing, was going how Lucas nned long before the battle had even started.

    "Y-You¡­ how?"

    "Hmm?"

    From his left, Lucas heard Amelia''s stuttering voice, which was full of conviction and perplexity.

    He turned his neck to look at her and saw her standing there, looking at the holographic map in front of her with wide-open eyes and mouth agape in shock.

    It looked like she had seen a ghost.

    "H-How did you do that?!" she asked.

    What does that question even mean? How did he do what?

    "What do you mean? I instructed them¨C"

    Before the silver-haired boy could evenplete his answer, Amelia interrupted him.

    "No, I mean, how did you move them so well?! How did you give them such specific instructions?! Your instructions were so precise that it seemed as if you knew each person''s strengths and weaknesses and what orders to give to everyone!

    "For example, it felt like you knew ND5 knew a supportive spell, so you asked them to help NG6 earlier! And like you knew CP3 was a good close-range fighter, so you ordered them to assist the archers!

    "Furthermore, you seemed to anticipate the enemy''s movements, even when their positions were not yet visible on the map! How did you know all that?! It''s almost like you can see the future!! Can you? Can you see the future?!"

    At Amelia''s ridiculously innocent question, Lucas couldn''t help but let out a short chuckle.

    "Oh, that? Haha, no, Miss ck, I can''t see the future. I just remembered what code names were given to everyone. For example, ND5 is the code name given to your friend Aster Aquahart and she specializes in defensive spells. CP3 is a guy named Zach Millers in our ss and he''s a talented hand-to-hand fighter. And as for how I knew where the enemy would appear, I just predicted their movements."

    "Wha¡­ I-I¡­ I can''t believe it!" gasped Amelia, utterly shocked and disbelieving as she heard Lucas'' exnation. She was left speechless, her mind struggling toprehend what she had just heard.

    As she tried to process the information, her thoughts were racing and her heart was pounding with disbelief. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, but the shock and incredulity were still apparent in her voice as she spoke:

    "Wait a minute... You''re telling me that you remembered everyone''s code names¡ª all hundred of them? And not only that, but you also knew everyone''s strengths and strong spells? How is that even possible? But if that wasn''t enough, you PREDICTED the enemy''s movement?!"

    Lucas replied with a casual shrug, as if his achievement was nothing out of the ordinary. "Yeah, pretty much," he said.

    "I''m just good at memorizing things. It didn''t take me long to learn everyone''s code names. Plus, I''m really observant, and I always watch everyone practice so I know how they think and fight. I strategically positioned everyone to make the most of their strengths. Once that was done, predicting the enemy''s movements was a breeze."

    That was the final nail. Amelia''s mind was nk by now.

    Not only Lucas remembered everyone''s code names but he also made sure to use them in a way that would make the most of their strengths ¨C something that she could never do.

    In her defense, who can urately remember hundreds of code namesprising alphabets and numbers within a day? No one can!

    She only remembered the code names of important people like Anastasia, Quinn, William etc.

    Moving on, he also predicted the enemy''s movement on the battlefield without physically being present there and crafted a strategy to counter them on the spot.

    The image of Lucas Morningstar that she had built in her mind for the past few years suddenly shattered.

    She had been gravely underestimating him. The boy right in front of her wasn''t an arrogant scum that she despised but a calcting monster¡­.

 Chapter 67 Showdown

    15 minutes earlier,

    Rust outside the Shopping District, a chaotic and brutal scene unfolded as two armed groups fought violently against each other.

    Blood was being spilled, lives were being taken, and the sparks flew as the sound of swords shing against swords filled the air.

    It was as if both sides had been eagerly waiting for this moment to unleash their fury upon each other with no mercy or remorse.

    However, even an untrained eye could spot the fact that one of the armed sides was slowly starting to lead.

    Yes, it was Nero''s troops.

    Although they were surrounded from both front and back, they were starting to fight back.

    Nero''s troops were focusing all their attack power on breaking through the enemy formation on their front,pletely leaving their backs unguarded.

    It was a crazy strategy but somehow, someway, they were pulling it off.

    Seeing this sight gradually unfold, Alberto clenched his fists. Veins bulged on his forehead and his eyes turned red in rage.

    "What the fuck is happening?!" he bellowed in a mix of anger and disbelief.

    Standing beside him was a broad-framed boy with a rugged appearance and a tough build, clearly of Half-Dwarf descent.

    He pushed his sses up using his index finger and nced around before letting out a deep sigh.

    Realizing there was no one around, he braced himself to be the target of Alberto''s outburst.

    "Jason!" Alberto barked, ring at the Half-Dwarven boy beside him through his bloodshot eyes. "What the fuck is going on here?"

    "I- uh... I think we''re losing," Jason stuttered nervously.

    "Oh? You don''t say!" Alberto spat back, his fury mounting with every passing moment. "You THINK we''re losing? You THINK?"

    "I... I guess..." Jason trailed off, clearly intimidated by Alberto''s anger.

    "Guess? Are you freaking stupid?" Alberto seethed, his voice rising to a shout as he gave Jason a death stare. "What the fuck is happening? Just a few minutes ago, they were like mice caught in a trap. How are they suddenly putting up such a good fight?"

    Jason let out another deep sigh. He knew how much of a thick skull Alberto was and he wouldn''t be able toprehend the intricacies of the battle.

    But Jason himself had been paying close attention since the beginning, watching and analyzing everything and had already figured out what was happening.

    He had observed how ss 1-A-1''s cadets were changing formation in the middle of the battle and positioning themselves ording to their individual strengths. He had also noticed how they seemed to be predicting their moves in advance.

    This level of coordination and foresight wasn''t natural. Jason knew there was a mastermind behind it all, someone who knew ss 1-A-1''s thought processes, fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses as if they had been studying them for weeks if not months.

    There was a puppet master who had been pulling the strings of ss 1-A-1 from the shadows, instructing them what to do and how to move.

    As the Head Strategist of ss 1-C-8, Jason knew he would also share the me if they lost this battle. He had tried improvising his strategy, implementing new tactics, and changing formations, but the enemy predicted everything he did in advance.

    It was as if Jason was indirectly ying a game of chess with this person. Needless to say, he was losing the game. Or better yet, he had already lost it.

    But who was he ying up against?

    ording to Grace and his secret source, ss 1-A-1 only had two strategists ¨C Amelia and Lucas.

    Could it be any of them? From what he had heard about Lucas, Jason doubted the fact that he would have trouble outsmarting him.

    So maybe it was Amelia. But if that was the case then why didn''t she show this level of battle intelligence and foresight until now and let so many of her troops die?

    No, it couldn''t be her!

    But if neither Amelia nor Lucas, then who?! Just who was he fighting?!

    "Arghhh! This is so frustrating! Whoever we''re up against is not only a brilliant strategist but also a keen observer who knows the strengths of their troops and how to cover up their weaknesses," Jason muttered, his eyes fixed on the ongoing battle.

    Despite his best efforts, he knew he had been bested. He had been utterly and truly defeated.

    "Just who the hell am I up against?" he wondered aloud, his frustration and disbelief palpable.

    Alberto shot a side nce at the boy standing next to him. Jason had been hispanion practically since childhood. They grew up together in the slums, fought on the streets, formed their gang, and were both ''recruited'' by Kai Wiseman before attending Global Academy through his assistance.

    Yes, ''recruited'' here means beaten to a pulp by Kai before being forced into joining him.

    In short, despite Alberto never saying it out loud, Jason was a friend to him and a close one at that. And yet, he had never witnessed Jason so agitated before.

    He remembered him always being so calm and collected. He was the smartest person Alberto knew.

    Although he couldn''t understand what was going on and how this battle had been turned around so easily since he was a bit of a, what Jason would call him from time to time, thick skull, he knew if even Jason was having trouble dealing with the situation then they were up against a genius mastermind.

    "Haaa," Alberto let out a breath before cing a hand on the Half-Dwarven boy''s shoulders.

    Jason shook out of his thoughts and looked at Alberto. For a second, they both shared a moment of silence.

    "Bro, I''m into girls."

    The first one to break that silence was Jason.

    Pat¡ª!

    And that littlement earned him a smack at the back of his head.

    "Ooow! Ooow! You brute!"

    "I''m going in."

    "...What?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I''m going in. I''ll fight them head-on."

    "Alberto, it''s too much of a risk! If they get you, then it''ll all be over for us! Besides, I think the one calling the shots for them is some kind of war genius¡ª"

    "Shut up, Jason. As I''ve always told you, you use your brain too much. Remember, everything can be solved with a little bit of force. If it isn''t solved even after you used force, then that simply means one thing¡ª you didn''t use enough force."

    "...That''s so stupid on so many levels¡ª! What the fuck!!"

    Just as they were wrapping up their conversation, Jason noticed something hurtling toward their group, causing his ssmates to be sent flying.

    "What the hell is that?!" Jason eximed, bewildered.

    "...It''s him," Alberto replied through gritted teeth. In no time, he summoned his great sword by channeling mana into his smart bracelet.

    ¨C"Arghhh!"

    ¨C"Stop them! Stop him!"

    ¨C"He''s going toward the Lord Commander! Don''t let him get to him!"

    ¨C"Arghhaaaaaa!"

    Alberto''s soldiers screamed in panic as the perpetrator continued to advance, finally hurling thest soldier who stood in his path to the side as if he was a ragdoll.

    Alberto bent his knees and took a low defensive stance, ready to face the ck-haired young man in a nanometalbat suit simr to his, holding a longsword in his right hand.

    "It''s you," Alberto growled with contempt, recognizing him instantly. How could he not recognize him? This boy was the reason Alberto had to face so much humiliation!

    It was, to no one''s surprise, Nero.

    He had expected this confrontation with Nero sooner orter, so Alberto wasn''t caught off guard.

    Instead of shock or fear, a mocking smirk formed on Alberto''s face as he spat, "I''ll kill you, bastard."

    "Shouldn''t I be the one saying that?" the ck-haired young man assumed a fighting stance with his sword and retorted with a scoff. "I will kill you, you ugly virgin."

    A group of Nero''s men trailed behind him, but they were met with resistance from Alberto''s troops.

    Observing the skirmish, Jason removed his sses and summoned an axe.

    "Jason, assist our soldiers. I''ll handle this scoundrel."

    "As youmand, Lord Commander."

    Without hesitation, Jason rushed to the aid of his allies, engaging Nero''s soldiers inbat.

    With that, the two Lord Commanders were now left alone.

    "Remember how you begged for your breath thest time you dared to raise your head against me?" mocked Nero.

    Alberto remained silent, his grip on his sword tightening as he prepared to parry Nero''s attacks.

    The tension in the atmosphere grew thick as the two Commanders began to circle each other warily, like two predators sizing each other up before a fight.

    The air crackled with intense pressure as the battle raged on around them, but the only thing that mattered to Alberto and Nero at that moment was the fight thaty ahead. They were determined to emerge victorious, no matter what the cost.

    "Arghaaaaa!"

    Alberto moved first. He let out a fierce battle cry and dashed toward Nero with breakneck speed. His sword pulled back, ready to unleash a powerful swing at the ck-haired boy.

    "Come!"

    Nero was ready too. He pulled back his own sword and infused it with mana before performing a horizontal sh as soon as his opponent stepped into his striking range, aiming to cleave Alberto''s head off without any hesitation.

    But Alberto, despite being so tall and big, was quick on his feet, as expected of a former street fighter. He ducked and avoided Nero''s sword sh.

    But that wasn''t all. From down there, he swung his own giant sword forward in an arc, intending to sever Nero''s legs.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    The protagonist reacted quickly and jumped up, dodging Alberto''s attack by a hair''s breadth.

    Nero quickly began his counter by willing mana into his right leg before skillfully spinning his body and performing a mid-air roundhouse kick.

    Thwack¡ª!

    Nero''s feetnded t across Alberto''s chin as thetter had no time to avoid the iing attack.

    "...Huh?"

    But Nero was shocked to see that Alberto didn''t do much as flinch even after he had hit him with all the strength that he could muster.

    In fact, an attack that should''ve sent a normal person flying off didn''t even budge Alberto from his ce.

    "Tsk!"

    Clicking his tongue, Nero quickly jumped back and created some distance between himself and his foe.

    "Hah," a scoff left Alberto''s lips as he stood up straight. "Is that the best you can do? I expected more from you and your Silver-ranked mana core. I see now that you may be strong, but you''re not invincible. You caught me off guardst time, but I won''t make the same mistake again. Today, you will fall, Nero Dekrauf!"

    "Is that so? Thene!" Nero beckoned.

    "Oh, but of course I will!" Alberto yelled before activating his gift. "Enforcement!"

 Chapter 68 Gifted

    It is a cruel and unjust reality of this world that Heaven and Earth do not y fair. They are biased, and the very concept of equality is shattered from the moment of birth.

    Gifts are special abilities that some people in this world, who can wield mana, are born with. These people are called Gifted.

    These abilities can manifest in various ways, such as enhancing weapon mastery or fortifying the body like an imprable armor.

    A Gifted will always have a hidden ace up their sleeves to y in a battle; thus they''ll always have the upper hand.

    Of course, using mana, one can imitate many of the functions of the abilities that these so-called Gifted possess.

    For example, one can strengthen their body using a spell, much like someone born with a body strengthening Gift.

    However, here''s the catch. Spells don''t grow but Gifts do.

    As a person''s physical and mental strength grows through constant practice andbat, their Gift also evolves and bes more powerful with them.

    Consequently, an individual who has devoted all his life since childhood to the pursuit of being strong would possess a Gift that surpasses the might that a typical person can imagine.

    "Enforcement!"

    As those words were uttered, the world itself fell silent for a moment before a loud thundering crack echoed throughout the surrounding.

    Alberto''s short, messy ck hair started to elongate right before Nero''s eyes, transforming into strands of golden as if the mane of a lion.

    His once-dark eyes erupted into a dazzling golden-white hue, radiating a fierce intensity that could rival the sun before the muscles in his torso ballooned up and hardened like a goldish-white exoskeleton.

    In under a few seconds, Alberto grew taller and bulkier than before.

    The nanotech armor that he had donned expanded ordingly to amodate his enhanced form.

    Nero wordlessly watched Alberto''s transformation with eyes full of disdain.

    He had half expected Alberto to be a Gifted too so he wasn''t surprised by this sight unfolding before him.

    "Fine," he muttered under his breath before crouching down and brandishing his longsword, assuming a formidable sword stance.

    Swakchwaaak¡ª!

    As if to size up his opponent, Nero released a wave of Silver-ranked mana core pressure into the surroundings, enveloping Alberto in its suffocating embrace.

    But unlike their previous encounter in the academy cafeteria, the Lord Commander of ss 1-C-8 remained unfazed this time.

    "What did I tell you? It won''t work this time!" roared Alberto before his giant figure vanished into thin air and appeared right before Nero''s eyes.

    "....?!" Nero wasn''t able to follow his opponent''s movements even with his trained eyes.

    ''Did his Gift give him a buff in speed?!'' that was all the protagonist could think before Alberto shot a right hook at his chin.

    Through gritted teeth, the ck-haired boy quickly reinforced his sword with mana and brought it up to block the giant''s punch.

    ng¡ª!

    THWACK¡ª!

    But to his utter shock, Nero''s sword shattered upon contact with Alberto''s fist as if it was nothing more than a fragile piece of ss.

    Thud¡ª!

    With nothing to shield him from the impending strike, Nero was sent hurtling through the air by Alberto''s powerful punch, crashing several meters away from his initial position with a resounding thud.

    "Arghhh," Nero groaned in pain as he massaged the tender spot where Alberto''s fist had made contact.

    Despite the throbbing ache, he summoned his reserves of willpower and gradually forced himself back onto his feet.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Had Nero not reinforced his chin with mana at thest possible moment, he would have lost his head to Alberto''s devastating blow.

    ''So his Gift gives him a massive buff in strength too,'' observing his opponent with newfound wariness, Nero took note of the immense strength that Alberto''s Gift appeared to bestow upon him.

    His gaze flickered towards his right hand, still clenching the hilt of his shattered sword, before returning to Alberto''s towering form.

    "Tsk," he clicked his tongue in frustration. His sword was broken and he had no spare in his smart bracelet.

    He could always use his nanotech armor to create a sword, but as Yelena informed them, doing that would deplete the nanobots from the armor itself which would bring down his defense.

    And against the monstrosity he was facing right now, Nero needed every bit of defense he could get.

    Clicking his tongue once again, he threw his broken sword away. He''ll fight with his fists.

    "Oh? You''ll use your hands?" Alberto disyed his surprise at Nero''s reaction before putting away his greatsword in the dimensional storage of his smart bracelet. "Then so will I."

    "Do whatever you want," Nero scoffed. "I''m using my hands because I can''t beat the ever-living shit out of you with a sword!"

    ¡­And because he forgot to pack a spare sword. But he didn''t mention that part.

    Willing mana into his legs, Nero propelled himself forward and cleared the distance between him and Alberto in an instant with his arms pulled back.

    "Aaaaah!" letting out a fierce battle cry, he shot forward his right hand and delivered a boulder-shattering punch to Alberto''s sr plexus.

    Tannn¡ª!

    "....Fuck."

    ''So his gift buffed his defense too. Great.''

    Cursing under his breath, Nero realized that Alberto''s Gift had augmented not only his strength but also his defenses. It seemed as though his opponent was nearly invulnerable.

    THWACK¡ª!!!

    Gripping Nero''s head using his giant hands, Alberto struck his knee at Nero''s abdomen.

    "Khaaaa!"

    Nero felt air gushing out of his lungs due to the impact of Alberto''s attack.

    At that moment, Nero realized. It was impossible. Defeating Alberto alone in a brawl was impossible.

    Of course, if he uses his Gift, then it would only be a matter of a few seconds to bring Alberto down but without it, Nero could see no other option than to use magic.

    So that''s what he did.

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    Struggling to keep his bnce, Nero lifted his trembling hand and pointed his index finger at Alberto''s chin before chanting a magic spell in High-Elven.

    As he spoke the words, a bright sh of white light erupted from his finger, temporarily blinding everyone in the vicinity.

    When the light faded, Nero saw a thin trail of smoke rising from Alberto''s chin, indicating that the spell had hit its mark.

    However, something was wrong¡­

    ''Light Cannon'' was the strongest spell in Nero''s arsenal. And despite being hit with Nero''s most powerful spell, Alberto remained unfazed!!

    He slowly brought his head down to look at Nero, towering over him with his massive frame.

    "Is that all?" he growled, a sneer forming on his lips. "Beg for mercy now and I might just spare you a painful death."

 Chapter 69 You Never Had A Fighting Chance

    "Huff! Haaa! Haaa!"

    Gasping for air, Nero''s chest heaved up and down as he struggled to catch his breath. The strain of the fight was evident on his face, with sweat pouring down his forehead and his breathing ragged.

    The cracks in his nanotech armor showed the intense pressure he had been under, and even as they healed themselves, Nero''s body bore the marks of the brutal battle.

    Bruises and cuts covered his arms and torso while blood trickled from his mouth, staining his chin and the front of his armor.

    He had tried everything in hisst few exchanges of attacks with Alberto. He tried using his strongest magic spell and mana-infused martial arts, but no matter what he did, he couldn''t break through Alberto''s defenses.

    However, he couldn''t give up now. No, it''s more like he refused to give up.

    Wiping the blood from the side of his lips, Nero raised his hands and put up his guard while eyeing the opponent in front of him.

    Alberto stood a few steps away from Nero, a smug expression etched onto his face. Unlike Nero, he had only sustained a single cut under his right eye.

    "All that for a single cut?" Alberto taunted, a twisted grin forming on his face as he pressed a finger against the cut under his eye. "Even with your Silver-ranked mana core, you''re no match for my Gift that I''ve been honing since my childhood. Every punch I throw carries the weight of the hunger, pain, and anger I endured in those dark times. You can''t defeat me even with your outstanding talent because you''ve never truly suffered!"

    His words cut through the air like a de and Nero felt his determination falter for a moment. But then the picture of histe mother shed in Nero''s head before he clenched his fists and ironed his resolve again.

    "You think I''ve never suffered?" Nero spat back, his voice dripping in venom. He tensed the muscles in his ve and leaped forward like a tiger. "What the fuck do you even know about me?!"

    Alberto didn''t back down either. He let out a scoff and charged ahead, intending to meet Nero''s advance head-on.

    As soon as Alberto stepped into his strike range, Nero feinted a left hook before delivering a brutal right uppercut to Alberto''s chin.

    The force of that punch made Alberto stumble back a few steps, but much like the previous attacks, he didn''t register any damage whatsoever.

    Regaining his bnce, he looked up front in hopes of seeing Nero but to his surprise the ck-haired boy had already vanished from his spot.

    "What?!" Alberto''s eyes darted from side to side in search of Nero who was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he sensed someone sneaking up on him from behind.

    Reflexively, Alberto spun around only to be met with a high side thrust kick to his chin once again and a sharp pain shot through his jaw.

    "Arghh!" Alberto grunted his discontent and balled his fists, intending to crush Nero right here.

    But the ck-haired boy was quick to act. He jumped back and created a safe distance between himself and the Lord Commander of ss 1-C-8 again before chanting in High-Elven:

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    Kwuuush¡ª!!

    A bright sh of light erupted from Nero''s index finger and hit Alberto straight in his chin. But Nero didn''t stop there. He kept spamming his magic spell, hitting Alberto two more times with the mid-tier light magic spell.

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    Kwuuush¡ª!!

    "Lvae tormentorum!"

    Kwuuush¡ª!!

    After hitting him two more times with his mid-tier light magic spell, Nero infused mana into his left leg and shot forward like an arrow, aiming to hit Alberto with a roundhouse kick.

    Thwack¡ª!

    But before Nero''s kick could gain enough momentum, Alberto caught his leg. "Enough!" he yelled.

    "You wish!" Nero smirked before tensing his right leg, jumping up, and twisting his body like a tornado.

    Crack¡ª!

    The bones in Nero''s left leg, still in Alberto''s hands, cracked. But Nero ignored the pain and connected his right leg with a powerful hit to Alberto''s chin.

    Thwack¡ª!

    "Arghhaaa!" Alberto winced, letting go of Nero''s leg as he fell to the ground, stumbling backward again.

    "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he frowned as if judging the boy in front of him as a madman before regaining his bnce. "You sacrificed your right leg only tond a hit on me that didn''t even do any¡ª?!?!"

    Before he could finish his sentence, the world began to spin. The ground felt like a trampoline, and the giant boy fell to the ground on all fours.

    "Ahhh, fuck!" Finally, Alberto understood what his opponent was trying to do. From the start, even before Alberto had used his gift to reinforce his body, Nero had been targeting his chin with all his spells, punches, and kicks.

    As a seasoned street fighter, Alberto knew the importance of defending one''s jaw during a fistfight.

    Getting hit in the chin can cause various effects on the body. It can result in a knockout if the force of the impact is strong enough to jar the brain inside the skull, leading to a temporary loss of consciousness.

    Of course, sustaining fractures and other injuries can also be one of the effects.

    Despite knowing all that, Alberto grew overconfident when he struck Nero and forced him to back down several times during their fight. He ignored his defense not because he was ignorant but because he underestimated his opponent.

    "Hah!"

    Using his hands as support, Nero got himself up on his good leg, his right leg all twisted and bleeding as nearly all the bones had now been broken.

    After managing to stand up, Nero formed his hand in the shape of a gun and pointed its ''barrel'' straight at Alberto.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Your ''exoskeleton'' is tough; I''ll give you that," he said. "But even so, I''ll only need to fire around ten or so Light Cannon spells before I break it and st open a hole in your head."

    "Haaa¡­" Alberto struggled to rise to his feet, but each time he failed and copsed back down, powerless and defenseless. The thought of calling for backup crossed his mind, but he knew that by the time they arrived, he would already be defeated. He couldn''t let that happen; they couldn''t afford to lose.

    Nero''s voice cut through his thoughts, taunting him. "I just want you to know you never had a fighting chance, Alberto. The moment you decided to take me on alone, I won."

    Alberto''s eyes flickered with anger and frustration, but he was too weak to respond. He watched as Nero began to charge up his spell, the tiny particles of light gathering at the tip of his ''gun.''

    "Lvae¡ª"

    Beep¡ª!

    But before Nero could chant his spell, his smart bracelet beeped, signaling a radio transmission.

    It was HQ.

    Frowning, Nero picked it up and quickly replied, "Lucas, what is it? I''m about to end this battle."

    [No you''re not. Their forces have destroyed our rear guard and will catch up to our main forces any time now.]

    "What?!"

    [Yeah, but the good news is, our main force has broken through their formation and now we can escape. I''ve sent William your way, he''ll carry you and you both will escape.]

    "B-But I''m about to end¡ª"

    [Nero, your casting time is 0.83 seconds. The cooldown time you take with your Light Cannon spell is 2 seconds. To break through Alberto''s tough skin, you''ll need to fire at least 13 of those. It''ll take around 36 seconds for you to take him down. And not to mention, you''re exhausted currently so your cooldown time and casting time will probably be longer! We don''t have that time! William is already there, escape!]

    Nero gritted his teeth hearing Lucas exin all that. He wanted to ask how he knew all that about him but this wasn''t the time for it.

    He knew he was exhausted so it''ll probably take a minute or so to finish Alberto off. By that time, the enemy forces could really catch up to him.

    If he gets surrounded now, he won''t be able to fight back without using his Gift. And he doesn''t want to do that¡ª reveal his Gift and go against his master''s instructions.

    Lucas was right. The best n of action right here was to escape. As frustrating and cowardly as it was, he had no choice but to ept it.

    "Fine," he muttered.

    "Nero!"

    Right then, he heard someone shouting his name from his right. He turned to see a leaf green-haired boy running towards him.

    It was William.

    "L-Lord Commander, are you okay?!" William asked, arriving before Nero and noticing his injured leg.

    "I''m fine, William. I can''t walk, though."

    "It''s fine. Lucas told me I had to carry you."

    "He did?" Nero was surprised. He couldn''t remember telling Lucas about his leg. Did Lucas predict this oue too? No, he must be overthinking it.

    "So, will you carry me like a princess?" Nero joked.

    "Yeah, thanks but no thanks," William raised his hands with an awkward smile before calling out to someone. "Come, Rui."

    As if waiting for that cue, out of nowhere, a small cat jumped out from the shadows beneath Williams'' feet.

    Scratching her whiskers, the cat looked at Nero''s leg and sighed.

    "Rui, please?" William asked. "I promise I''ll treat you to a salted fish!"

    "Meooww!" the cat reluctantly agreed after hearing that promise.

    Sighing again, ominous ck energy surrounded the cat''s body before she transformed into a ck-furred golden spotted cheetah.

    William quickly pointed at her and spoke in a hurried tone, "Hop on, Nero."

    "W-Wait, what is this?" Nero, like any sane person, was confused.

    "She is mypanion cat, Rui. This is one of her transformations."

    "No, I mean, how did she enter the virtual world?!"

    "Oh, she can merge with my shadow, essentially bing a part of me so she came with me. Anyway, let''s talk about thatter. For now, let''s move." William urged.

    Nero hesitantly nodded before he could even understand what he was nodding about and approached the ck cheetah before hopping on her back.

    He didn''t forget to give onest look to Alberto, who was still recovering f rom their fight.

    Alberto noticed his gaze and matched it, clear, unadulterated hatred visible in his eye. However, he didn''t speak anything, probably still too weak to move his mouth.

    "I''ll kill you next time," Nero spoke in a mocking tone, giving Alberto a smug look.

 Chapter 70 Nearing The End

    "How many casualties?"

    "30 dead, 28 injured, 2 captured. In total, we have lost around 32 soldiers while the other 28 need immediate medical attention."

    "Fuck."

    "Hey, on the bright side, we have 6 healers on us and several healing items that our cadets packed before entering the VR."

    "That''s not what I''m worried about."

    "Then what is it?"

    "We lost. They defeated us."

    "No they didn''t? We escaped before they could."

    "Well, yeah, but they almost did, didn''t they? If it wasn''t for Lucas then¡­."

    "...Yeah."

    Back in their base, Nero slumped on a couch, wearing nothing but ck pants, his well-toned athletic body bare for the world to see.

    Wounds and bruises covered his chest and abdomen while two girls sat surrounding him. Both of them were healers, with silver hair, green eyes, and other strikingly simr features that suggested they were twins.

    One sat on the ground near his crushed leg and the other one sat beside him, attending to the injuries on his upper body.

    They both had their hands extended forward as shimmering flecks of green light rained down on Nero''s injuries, gradually mending them with each passing moment.

    Healing magic is an implication of the Light element. It is, in nature, the opposite to decay magic that stems from the Dark element.

    Before Nero, there stood a teenage girl in herte teens with striking green eyes and ck hair. Her alluring face which hid a sense of mature beauty was adorned with worry and concern right now.

    Nero noticed Amelia''s worried expression and reassured her, "Don''t worry, Amelia."

    Amelia looked at Nero''s injured leg and replied, "But it looks really bad."

    The girl who was tending to Nero''s leg overheard Amelia and chimed in, "Don''t worry, Aria will fix it in no time."

    Despite her own name being Aria, she referred to herself in the third person like a child. Her identical twin sister, Anya, also did the same.

    "Yes, Anya trusts Aria''s abilities," she said.

    Nero felt like pointing out their speech pattern but ultimately refrained from doing so.

    "So, what should we do now?" Amelia asked, a bit of hesitation present in her voice.

    "Well, on the bright side, we managed to acquire some rations at least so we won''t be dying of starvation," Nero answered, rubbing his chin, still unsure of how to advance from here on out.

    "We can try and attack them on our terms this time after our troops eat and get refreshed," Amelia suggested, to which Nero calmly nodded.

    "Yeah, we can do that," he said. "How did he do that, by the way? You were present there with him, so you should know, right?"

    Even though that question was very vague, Amelia understood what Nero was asking.

    "If you''re talking about Lucasing up with a strategy and leading all the soldiers so efficiently, then even I don''t know," she admitted whilst shaking her head. "He told me that he had been observing everyone for thest couple of weeks so he knows how everyone thinks and fights."

    Although Amelia said that, she herself couldn''t believe those words. Observing someone and analyzing their fighting style and thought process, and then being able to move them in a way that would put them in a favorable position on a chaotic battlefield so easily, is beyond crazy! In such a short time on top of that! What kind of genius one has to be in order to be able to do that?

    ? But if that wasn''t enough, he also mentioned how he predicted the enemy''s movement a few times long before it happened. It really was like he could see the future.

    Shaking her head, Amelia shook herself out of those thoughts. No, she can''t manage to get sidetracked right now.

    "I see," Nero muttered to himself. "Where is he now?"

    "Oh, he said he was going out for a stroll."

    ?

    Have I ever mentioned my admiration for the scent of freshly spilled blood? Not to sound like a psychopath or anything, but there''s something exhrating about the taste of iron that lingers in the back of your throat when you inhale its fragrance.

    But blood is not just fascinating for its scent. Its striking crimson hue and thick, textured consistency make it a stunningly beautiful substance in every way~!

    Yet, what''s truly captivating is how it bleeds down a person''s neck when you slice it open, slowly draining their life away.

    Blood is the essence of life and the sign signifying that one has a weakness.

    So, anyway, this virtual world did a pretty good job replicating it. All around me, I could see people tending to their injuries as the thick scent of blood filled the air.

    Savoring that fragrance, I strolled along casually, without a care in the world. Soon enough, I spotted the person I had been seeking.

    In the distance, I spotted an elven boy with tousled blue hair and matching eyes seated on the fender of a wrecked car. He was tending to a deep wound on his shoulder, struggling to wrap bandages around it on his own.

    Approaching him, I shed a friendly smile and offered, "Do you need a hand? That''s a pretty nasty wound."

    At the sound of my voice, Kent lifted his head, and upon recognizing me, he beamed his trademark goofy smile and eximed, "Right?! I finally got a battle scar!"

    "First of all," I interjected, "with today''s medical technology, wounds can heal without leaving a scar. And secondly, you''re in virtual reality so your physical body hasn''t sustained injuries like this."

    "Aww man," Kent heaved a disappointed sigh. "Sometimes you make me sound like a dum dum!"

    "You are a dum dum, Kent," chuckling, I took the roll of bandage from his hand and started unwrapping what little of it he had applied before.

    "What are you doing?" he asked, curiosity in his voice.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I have a healing potion," I replied, summoning a ss bottle filled with green liquid from my smart bracelet. "Let me apply it and you''ll be fine in no time."

    "A healing potion? How did you get it?" Kent inquired.

    During our first month in Academy City, everything was free for students. However, now that we were in our second month, we had to use Merits to purchase anything we needed.

    Luckily, our Unit had earned a significant amount of Merits during the Unit Test and for killing the Steel Winged Eagle, cing us first in the rankings.

    However, even low-grade potions like healing potions were incredibly expensive.

    First-year students who hadn''t even started their first semester could only afford a few healing pills or medicinal herbs at best.

    Naturally, Kent was surprised to see me with a low-grade healing potion.

    "I have a few connections," I replied while carefully applying the potion onto his wounds.

    After a brief pause of hesitation, Kent couldn''t help but ask: "But are you alright using it on me? Shouldn''t Nero be more suited for something as expensive as this?"

    "Eh?! Why would I ever waste my valuable items on someone who''s not even my paw¨C friend!!"

    "A! So you do consider me your best friend, you big tsundere!"

    "...Whatever."

    I can''t outright call you my pawn, of course.

    "By the way, did you get what I asked you to?" gazing into his eyes, I gave Kent a meaningful look.

    "That? Yeah," Kent immediately nodded his head. He dug his hands into his pant''s back pocket and took out a small paper pouch. "I don''t know what you need it for, though."

    I took the paper pouch from Kent''s hand and quickly slipped it into my side pocket without a word.

    I didn''t reply to Kent instantly. Instead, I looked around and spotted a ck-haired man with an expressionless face, looking at the people tending to their injuries.

    It was Quinn.

    I could swear I saw a faint smile on his lips for a moment. That bastard likes seeing people get hurt. He feels satisfaction in the suffering of others.

    Well, it''s not like I can judge him since I''m not any better.

    "Heh," a smirk spread across my face as I thought of something¨C something that had yet to happen.

    "I''ll tell you what I used this for after the mock war," I responded to Kent''s query, my mind elsewhere.

    "Oh-Kay," shrugging casually, Kent stood up. "Oh, by the way, Lucas¡ª"

    Beep¡ª!

    He was about to ask me something else when suddenly my smart bracelet beeped and buzzed.

    [Amelia ck is calling

    Pick/Decline]

    Hmm? Why is she calling me now? Thinking to myself, I absentmindedly picked up the call.

    -[Where the hell are you?]

    "With Kent. Why?"

    -[Come up. We''ll discuss our battle n from here on out.]

    "Ahh, sure. We''lle up in a minute."

    Beep¡ª!

    Saying what I had to say, I cut the cut and started walking, asking Kent to follow, "Come."

    "Wait!"

    Before I could walk even a step further, Kent grabbed my left arm, making me halt my steps.

    "Kent," I calmly called out to him. "Let go of my hand."

    "I was right!" Kent eximed. "Your hand! It''s healed!"

    My left hand was still covered in bandages from the injuries I sustained during the Unit Test while heroically saving Amelia.

    For everyone else, my hand was supposed to heal in a week or two. But in truth, I had already healed my hand as soon as I came here.

    "Why are you hiding this fact? Is it because you don''t want to fight?" Kent asked in a hushed tone.

    "No you dummy," I replied, jerking my hand off his grip. "I''m a strategist. I wouldn''t be forced to fight anyway."

    "Then why?"

    "Haaa," letting out a deep sigh, I shook my head. "I''ll tell you that by the day after tomorrow."

    "Why? What''s the day after tomorrow?"

    "The mock war¡­" the calcting smirk returned to my face as I heard Kent''s question. "The mock will end the day after tomorrow."

 Chapter 71 Time To Join The War [1]

    In the novel, the Mock War continued for 6 days¡ª6 days of continuous bloodshed and relentless killing.

    While I kind of liked the depiction of so much blood, gore, and violence intriguing, as a participant, I see no reason for it to continue for that long.

    I mean, not to be rude or anything, but I really think there are thousands of other things that require my focus right now.

    So, to end the mock war early, I devised a foolproof n.

    There were two reasons that resulted in the factor of Mock War dragging out for 6 virtual days.

    Firstly, there was a traitor in the protagonist''s ss¨C Grace Goodwill. She released crucial information to ss 1-C-8, which made her own ss struggle to fight.

    Secondly, Alberto was stronger than expected.

    During their meeting at the academy cafeteria, all Nero had to do was release his Silver-ranked mana pressure to bring Alberto down to his knees.

    There were two reasons why Nero was able to do that. First, Alberto was caught off guard by Nero. And second, he didn''t try to resist since he knew this was something their ss could use against ss 1-A-1.

    But contrary to the cafeteria incident, in reality, defeating Alberto wasn''t that easy. Not only did his Gift buff all his physical stats by 60% and gave him an armor-like exoskeleton, but he was also a formidable fighter.

    Yes, he was definitely very, VERY strong.

    Plus, in the novel, Alberto never took on Nero alone, unlike theirst fight, which happened because I intervened with the plot.

    In the novel, Alberto and one of his sidekicks, Jason, along with eight of the strongest members of ss 1-C-8, ganged up on Nero.

    That, added to the fact that ss 1-A-1 had no food supply, brought them all to near defeat.

    As a result of this, Nero had no choice but to use his Gift against Alberto as well, summoning out one of the Heavenly Swords andying waste to everyone.

    That event, as I''ve exined before, resulted in another chaotic event that would be too bothersome for me to deal with.

    In short, I had two tasks at hand when the Mock War started.

    First, don''t let Grace meddle with our ss, and second, find a way to make a 1v1 battle between Nero and Alberto possible.

    And during the battle earlier today, I temporarilypleted both of those tasks.

    However, the emphasis here is on ''temporarily'' since I couldn''t remove Gracepletely from the equation and Nero couldn''t kill Alberto during their showdown.

    So what do I have to do now, you ask?

    I''llpletely eliminate Grace Goodwill and create another opportunity for Nero to fight Alberto alone.

    With me giving them orders, this ss just can''t lose.

    As Kent and I navigated through the wreckage and debris filling the abandoned building here and there, we finally arrived in the hall room where the big round table was set.

    Several people were seated around the round table, and it seemed like they were waiting for us¨C well, for me. Kent was only here because I asked him to tag along.

    "Lucas, you''re here."

    The first one to greet me was Nero, as everyone else sat there silently with troubling expressions.

    I gazed around and saw all of the Lieutenants alive and present here¨C Anastasia, Grace, William, E, and Quinn.

    Some of them had some minor cuts and wounds, but nothing that would keep them away from the next battle.

    Aside from them, there was Amelia, Kent, me, and a tall, well-built guy with sharp facial features and light brown hair tied into a man bun.

    Wait, he was Chase! Chase Woods! Why was he here?

    I pointed at him and casually asked, "Why is he here?"

    And for some reason, that little action of mine sent Chase into a fit of fury.

    "What the fuck do you mean, you little shithead?" he roared. "Do you have a problem with me, you motherfucker!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    Right. I almost forgot how vulgar and short-tempered he was. Ah, what should I do now? Let''s just ignore him.

    So that''s what I did. I stared at him without a speck of emotion present on my face.

    "What?! Do you have a problem, fuckface¨C"

    Kling¡ª!

    Before he could continue to spit out vulgarity from his mouth, Anastasia, who sat right beside him, chimed in to stop him.

    "Okay, Chase, calm down! And you too, Lucas, calm down!"

    Almost simultaneously, Nero spoke up too, "Yes, Lucas, we don''t need to start a fight between us right now. Surely you must understand that. And you, Chase, tame your tongue!"

    What the hell are they talking about? Why were they asking me to cool down when I didn''t even say a word?

    A frown of confusion appeared on my face when I heard them both. I looked around and everyone was anxious or thrilled for some reason.

    "Lucas," right then, Kent called out to me. When I turned my gaze to him, he pointed at my right hand with his eyes. "Put your hidden de back. Let''s calm down, yeah?"

    "Huh?"

    I instinctively looked down and saw that I had pulled out my hidden without even realizing it.

    "Ah," frowning, I retracted the hidden ck back in my sleeves. "My bad, I don''t know how it popped out."

    "I-It''s fine," with a relieved expression, Anastasia waved her hands. "By the way, I was the one who brought Chase here because I wanted to discuss making him the leader of Squad 6, whose previous leader was killed just now."

    Right. Squad 6 consists of some of the strongest closebatants we have to offer. Their role is to act as the vanguard for the rest of our troops.

    But their leader was killed during the battle, so now we have to appoint a new one.

    During the battle, Anastasia and Chase fought side by side since I intentionally positioned them both together. Despite their spitting opposite personalities, they both make a goodbo.

    Maybe as a result of that, they both bonded and quickly developed a friendship, which was supposed to happenter in the story.

    "Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow. "But unfortunately, we can''t do that, Anastasia."

    "Oh yeah?! And who the fuck are you¨C"

    Again, before Chase could speak up, Anastasia put her hand in front of him.

    "Why is that?" Anastasia inquired calmly. "I''ve fought with him on the battlefield, so I know he''s more than qualified enough to fill the position."

    "That''s because I have a candidate of my own who I want to suggest making the leader of Squad 6," I said before pointing my thumb at the blue-haired elven boy beside me. "It''s him."

    "That twat?! You are suggesting he should be the squad leader instead of me?!" the first one to disagree was, of course, Chase.

    "W-Wait, me?!"

    While Kent was just surprised that I took his name without any prior warning.

    "That''s stupid," the third person who retorted to my decision was William.

    His duty is to watch the left nk. Whoever leads the vanguard shouldn''t even bother him, so why was he showing his disagreement?

    Well, if our center formation breaks, then the left and right nks will be attacked next. He just probably doesn''t want to trust his back to someone weaker than him.

    "Chase is clearly stronger than Kent," William stated before a pause. "We should have him lead the vanguard."

    Yeah, I was right.

    "Do you have any specific reason, Lucas?" Nero questioned, to which I simply nodded my head.

    "Yeah," I replied. "I only trust Kent."

 Chapter 72 Time To Join The War [2]

    Nero''s expression turned sour as he asked, "So you only trust him? You don''t trust the rest of our troops?"

    Tak¡ª!

    Chase mmed his hands on the round table and overreacted, as usual. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You don''t think the rest of us are good enough?!"

    He rose from his seat and started to approach me, but Anastasia quickly got up herself and blocked his path.

    "Chase, control yourself!" she shouted.

    "I... Uh- S-Sorry," only when she did that Chase relented like a puppy, backing down and looking away.

    "Haaa."

    Exhaling loudly, I took a few steps forward and stood in front of Anastasia and her puppy. "Chase, I have a simple question for you. Answer it truthfully, and I won''t oppose you taking the leadership of N Squad."

    "Yeah? What''s the question?" Chase bared his teeth.

    "If I ordered you to charge at the enemy, alone and without reinforcements, just to create a distraction for our forces during a battle, would you do it without hesitation? Would you follow my orders without questioning me?"

    "What? You''re asking me if I would rush into my own death?!" a look of ridicule appeared on Chase''s face. "Like fucking hell I''ll do something like that! No one will do that!"

    "Exactly," I nodded in agreement. "You don''t trust me. You assumed that doing what I told you would result in your death. You don''t trust me and honestly, I don''t trust you either."

    "...I-" Chase tried to utter something but I interrupted him.

    "I don''t have something against you, Chase. N Squad is our vanguard and the uing battle with ss 1-C-8 might determine the winner of this Mock War," I said before continuing:

    "Since Amelia has given her position to me, the burden to craft a strategy that would make our ss victorious rests on my shoulders. I need the leader of our vanguard to be someone who I can trust. Someone who will follow my orders without an inkling of hesitation. I am only the mind behind our ss; that''s why I need hands that I can rely on."

    "..."

    Silence.

    Complete and utter silence filled the room. No one spoke a word; some looked uninterested, some had their eyes fixed on Chase and me, while some just sat there with surprised expressions.

    Perhaps they didn''t expect such a serious answer from me.

    In that silence, Kent was looking at me with starry eyes. I, of course, just ignored the guy.

    "...I see," Nero was the first to break that silence. "If you think Kent can carry out your orders on the battlefield, then sure. I''ll put him in charge of N Squad. But now, what do we do with Chase? He was in G Squad and it''s all but wiped out now."

    "I know. I suggest we put Chase in defense guard for our sharpshooters," I said before turning to look at the boy in the spotlight. "If you''re okay with it, of course."

    Since sharpshooters, or long-range fighters, can''t fight properly in close range, there is usually a defensive line of soldiers formed around them.

    The leader of our sharpshooters'' squad is Anastasia Bigod¡ª the girl Chase has taken a liking to, already on his path to bing the fated love rival of our protagonist.

    I believe that if I suggest to him a position close to her, he won''t refuse it. I mean,e on, I''m basically ying his wingman here.

    "I¨C Uh, sure!" and just like I had predicted, the puppy instantly agreed. "I''ll join the defense guard!"

    Heh. Predictable little fool.

    With that, we can move to the main focus of this meeting.

    "Okay, good," Nero nodded happily after avoiding what could''ve been a potential conflict. "With that, we can now move to the main focus of this meeting."

    After saying that, he looked at me. "Lucas, although you aren''t the head strategist I assigned originally, you did get us out of a situation that could''ve resulted in our loss."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Lies.

    This bastard was lying with a straight face.

    No way a bunch of teenagers could defeat a monster like him. If push hade to shove, he would''ve used his Gift to single-handedly eradicate the enemy ss.

    But of course, I can''t say that to his face because I, or the rest of the world for that matter, shouldn''t know about his Gift yet.

    So with an amicable smile, I replied, "It was my pleasure to help."

    "So why did you take her position?"

    "...Huh?"

    Out of nowhere, E raised a question.

    "If it was you helping us, then why did you have to take Amelia''s position as the Head Strategist? You could''ve just suggested your strategies to her and asked her to convey them to us, or, better yet, you could''ve taken only temporarymand. Why did you take her position?"

    Oh this girl. I haven''t talked to her sinceing into this world, so it slipped my mind how much of an analyst she was.

    Shrugging, I was about to reply when Amelia chimed in. "I gave up my position to him on my own."

    Oh? Wait a second! Did she just¡­ defend me?!

    Ahem, no, no. I must be overthinking.

    "So you''re just a quitter? A thing or two didn''t go your way and you just quit?" Grace joined the conversation, not leaving this chance to mock Amelia.

    "That''s not it, Miss Goodwill," before Amelia could respond and initiate an argument, I spoke up while raising my bandage-covered left hand. "As you can see, my arm is still injured. I can''t assist our ss in battles. And the uing battles may very well be ourst so we need every good hand fighting in it."

    "So?" Grace arched an eyebrow. "What''s your point?"

    "Well, part of the reason Miss ck resigned her position to me was so that she could assist you all in battle. The other part was that I''m naturally a brilliant strategist, of course."

    "....."

    "....."

    They all awkwardly fell silent as I said those words. Even Kent, who was looking at me with stars in his eyes, facepalmed embarrassingly.

    What? Why are they all acting like I''m some kind of a narcissist or something?!

    "Ahem, anyway," coughing dryly, I continued. "Miss ck will assist you in the uing battle, and I''ll be your sole strategist."

    I turned to E as I said more, "That is all the reason you need to know why I took her position. Anything else?"

    E looked at me for a moment with her usual stoic face and replied, "No, that''s all."

    "Fuuu," letting out an exhausted sigh, Nero said: "Okay, now all that out of the way, let''s begin our strategy meeting."

    After that, we engaged in a heated exchange of ideas and battle ns.

    Sigh, the boring part is over.

    My lips pursed up into a faint smile as I thought of future events.

    It was finally my time to join the battle, from the shadows, of course.

 Chapter 73 Eliminating The Traitor [1]

    Following our discussion of the battle n, Nero assigned camp duties to those who were not severely injured.

    Anastasia and her sharpshooters were assigned to the night guard duty, while Amelia was tasked with preparing food.

    Those who possessed the ability to use healing magic worked diligently to treat the wounded.

    Additionally, a new reconnaissance squad, led by William, was established to monitor the enemy''s movements closely.

    Originally our n was to loot the Shopping District and seize as many resources as possible.

    Subsequently, we nned to blow up the entire area to prevent Alberto and his ss from obtaining any of the resources.

    Needless to say, our n failed. Alberto led us straight to a trap and we failed to achieve our objective.

    That means after our troops made their escape, their ss must''ve also taken necessary supplies from the Shopping District.

    Furthermore, our forces sustained a greater number of casualties and injuries than their ss. While our situation was not dire, it was far from ideal.

    However, this did not pose a problem for me.

    Even if I were to lead only half the number of troops that their ss possesses, I am confident that I could outwit them any day and emerge victorious.

    I''m not being overconfident here. But you have to understand there''s no one in this Academy who could defeat me in strategies and tactics.

    And while I do agree that there''s more to winning a war than only out-strategizing your enemy, the essence of all warfare is deception.

    It is as Sun Tzu, the master of warfare, said:

    We are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

    And what is deception if not manipting your target?

    Tomorrow, we will win. I''ll end the Mock War, an event that was supposed to drag on for six days in four.

    "Hey," right when I was lost in my thoughts, a soothing yet irritated voice reached out to me from my left. "Pass me the bread crumbs and stop dozing off."

    It was Amelia. We had set up a campfire behind the half-demolished building that we were using as our base.

    Here, we were preparing food¡ªjust the two of us. Since my additional subject was cooking, I was asked to help her.

    Yes, for reference, it was awkward as hell between us.

    "I''m not dozing off. You are dozing off!"

    "...Sure, whatever. Just pass me the bread crumbs."

    I was dozing off. It''s been two days (well, two virtual days) since I had a good night''s rest. I had to sleep on a hard, cracked and dusty concrete floor since the next best option was sleeping on a chair or sleeping outside.

    Many cadets brought sleeping bags with them but I forgot to pack one.

    Sigh, sometimes I think, am I really intelligent or dumb?

    "Thank you. Pass me that knife too."

    After I handed her what she asked for, Amelia demanded a knife. Sighing, I passed it to her too.

    "Huaaa," out of boredom and exhaustion, a yawn escaped my mouth.

    "...."

    "...."

    Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª!

    As I said, the silence between us was awkward. To pass the time, I looked up and started gazing at the night sky full of stars.

    Even in this virtual world, the starry sky that was illuminated by the dim light of the moon felt so real.

    "Hmmm," as I was looking up, I noticed Amelia sneaking nces at me. She had been doing this for a while.

    What is her problem? If she has anything to say, then shouldn''t she just say it outright?

    "What is it?" after finally being done with her, I asked.

    "H-Huh?"

    "If you have something on your mind, just say it."

    "...I don''t."

    "Fine."

    I understand why she was acting this way.

    The Lucas Morningstar whom she has deemed the worst scum in human history, the good-for-nothing waste of space, not only saved her during the Unit test but also selflessly helped their ss from suffering a crucial defeat.

    It''s hard to believe that people change, especially someone as far gone as Lucas was.

    "Actually I do have something to say."

    There it is. I know what she will ask. She''ll ask how did I change this much or what I am nning by doing all the things I''m doing and stuff like that.

    "What is it?" I asked, ying cool.

    "You¡­ never apologized," she said in a low voice, gritting her teeth and clenching the knife in her hand.

    Despite her actions, her expressions weren''t that of anger or rage. No, she looked sad if anything.

    I see. So this is what she wants?

    If she''s asking this, then I assume she''s conflicted about forgiving me. It would be very easy to just apologize and slowly turn her into my pawn.

    However¡­

    "It''s because I won''t."

    Amelia looked at me, a hint of anger present in her eyes this time.

    "So you don''t feel guilty for what you did?!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "That''s not the point. People change, Amelia. I won''t apologize for something that I have done in the past because I''m not that person anymore. But I will say this; I am not that person anymore."

    I won''t lie. I do feel guilty sometimes when I look at her and I don''t know the reason for it. However, I am not going to apologize for it.

    After all, why would I have to apologize for something I never did in the first ce?

    And I really am not that Lucas of the past. I really am a different person.

    Tak¡ª!!

    She mmed the knife against the t stone she was using as a chopping board and spun around to look me in the eyes.

    With a visible look of sorrow and fury, she yelled, "People change, yes! But not without owning up to their past! Even if you have changed, your past won''t disappear! You broke my trust!"

    "....?!"

    I broke her trust? What is she talking about? What trust?

    As far as I can remember, both in the novel and in Lucas'' memories, Amelia was just in the same school and same ss as Lucas.

    They had no rtionship or bond or anything else like that. In fact, Lucas didn''t even know of her existence until a few weeks before the ''incident.''

    So what trust was she talking about?

    "Amelia¨C"

    But before I could ask her about it, she stomped her feet on the ground and turned around, resuming her work.

    "Leave it! Don''t know what I was expecting from someone like you!"

    "...."

    Oh naw. I wasn''t going to let this matter go this easily.

    I could see pressing this matter right now would result in her beating the crap out of me, so I wouldn''t do that right now.

    But I will dig into this matter again.

    ¡­.

    After thirty or so minutes after that, the food was done and served. Amelia really managed to cook for 60 people alone with me helping her from the sidelines.

    Even though I took cooking as my additional subject, aside from boiling water, the cost of me doing anything in the kitchen would result in burning down everything.

    I''m kidding. I know how to cook, you peasants.

    Anyway, as the food was being served, I took out the paper pouch that Kent gave me. I opened it up and took a look inside.

    It was filled with white powder to the brim. Nodding in satisfaction, I sneakily poured some of its content into the soup that was served on one of the food tes.

    The first phase of my n was done.

    ?

    The night passed and the morning came. Since everyone got to eat proper food after two whole daysst night, no one had anyints today.

    But of course, the war wasn''t over yet.

    A round table meeting was held onest time today to reconfirm our n.

    "Huaa," I was currently making my way there while yawning. I was still feeling sleepy. "Oh?"

    On my way to the main hall, I saw a girl with long strands of ck hair cascading down her back, elegantly making her way toward where I was headed.

    "Good morning," I greeted while catching up to her. It was Amelia.

    "...."

    She, of course, ignored me. She has been doing that sincest night after our talk.

    Well, fine. I just want her to listen to what I have to say, anyway.

    "Okay, I know you''re still angry at me, rightfully so, but I have a question. You were part of the reconnaissance squad on the first day, right?"

    A frown wrinkled Amelia''s face as she heard my question. She was probably wondering why I was asking her that.

    After a brief moment, she replied with a nod, "Yes, I was. Why do you ask?"

    "Well, you see," I touched my chin. "I was thinking about how that map of the Shopping District was tempered."

    "What are you suggesting?" she asked, her interest piqued.

    "Who was in charge of scouting the Northern area?"

    "It was Quinn. Are you saying he''s the traitor?"

    "I don''t think so," I confidently shook my head.

    The reconnaissance squad was divided to scout the North, East, West, South, and Center area separately. After that, they were tasked to work together and create a map.

    It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that the traitor was someone who was in the reconnaissance squad.

    However, that was not possible since I knew who the traitor was. It was Grace and she was not part of the squad.

    So that means she must''ve tempered with the map after it was made. But when?

    "Was anyone supervising the reconnaissance squad when they were crafting the map?"

    "Yes," Amelia responded. "That bitch, Grace, was there keeping an eye on us. She said she would help, but she did not lend¨C wait! Are you saying¡­"

    I knew it. That is when she must''ve messed up with the map.

    Well, not like I care about that. I already have enough proof that she''s the traitor.

    "Let''s go." without answering her question, I picked up the pace and walked past her.

    Let''splete the first task at hand. Eliminating the traitor.

 Chapter 74 Eliminating The Traitor [2]

    "So, do we have this clear?"

    "And about our nk, I''ll watch the left as before."

    "Okay, E, remember, your cooperation is crucial for this strategy. Are you ready?"

    Amelia and I made it to thest strategy meeting before the main battle on time. And might I add, I was bored to death.

    Sighing and asionally yawning, after a few minutes, I decided to reveal the traitor''s identity.

    "There''s a traitor among us."

    "....."

    "....."

    "....."

    As soon as I dropped the bombshell, the meeting, which was very lively before, fell silent.

    "Ahh- Lucas, what did you say?" Nero looked at me in utter confusion.

    "Oh, wasn''t I clear?" I said, "There''s a traitor among us."

    And everyone felt silent once again.

    "I thought about this," William touched his chin andmented, breaking the silence. "After all, someone added a whole sector in our map just to mislead us."

    "It was obvious from the start, you fools." the one who made that rudement was Quinn. And he had a point.

    "So wait, who is this traitor you speak of?" E asked. "Do you know their identity?"

    "Yes, I do," I nodded and answered calmly. "And before you ask, it took me this long to reveal this to you all because I have been collecting proofs and connecting dots to draw a solid conclusion."

    "...I see," E frowned. Her question was answered before she could even put it into words. "So, who is it? Tell us. Or are you trying to create suspense?"

    "Yes, Lucas Morningstar," right then, the girl with blonde hair sitting right beside E spoke up. "Do tell us, who is the traitor?"

    Of course, it was Grace. She was trying to sound threatening with a furious smile, but I could see right through her act.

    She was terrified.

    Why wouldn''t she be? In her mind, she has already suppressed me.

    Tsk, poor girl.

    "You are," dramatically pointing my finger at her, I answered. "You are the traitor, Grace Goodwill."

    Silence once again descended in the room. All that could be heard was the sound of Grace hissing and puffing.

    She was gritting her teeth in rage. Nerves bulged out on her forehead and her face contorted.

    God, I didn''t know she could get any uglier than she already was.

    Bam¡ª!

    mming her hands on the round table, she got up from her seat. With her face red in wrath, she burst into a rageful yelling.

    "Me? You''re using me of being the traitor?! I fought on the front lines while you sat here and did nothing but bark orders! I contributed to this¨C"

    However, before she could continue on, I made a few taps on my smart bracelet and yed a recording.

    -[Yes, they only n to engage in battle long enough for their Task Force to empty the supplies and blow up the shops there. Yes, yes. Yes, I haven''t aroused any suspicions yet. No, they don''t know. They don''t even have a clue about what you''re nning to do. Nero will be behind our vanguard along with Quinn, and William and E willmand the left and right nks while Anastasia will watch our backs. No, you won''t have to rely on him to sabotage us. Just carry out ording to my information and you''ll win.]

    Beep¡ª!

    And with that, I cut the recording.

    For a moment, a look of disbelief washed over Grace''s face as everyone present in this room looked over at her. Some were curious, some were relishing this, and some were concerned.

    Under the gazes of everyone, Grace tried to make herst-ditch attempt to get out of this situation.

    "It''s obviously doctored! That''s not my voice! You must''ve got someone to voice like me beforehand and then¡ª?!"

    And just like earlier, before she could present her argument, I tapped on my smart bracelet once again, and a picture projected out of its screen.

    It was a picture taken precisely outside the entrance of an apartmentplex, with two people clearly visible in it. From the looks of it, they were exchanging words.

    Yes, you''ve guessed it. They were Grace and Alberto.

    "What about this? Is this edited too?" with a smug smile, I asked.

    I could legit see her alluring pale face contorting and getting redder every second. It looked like she was about to burst.

    And that added to the smug smile on my face, which had now been turned into a grin instead.

    Ohe on, she really didn''t envision this happening?

    I told her what I would do beforehand. In the time that I gave her, she could''ve at leaste up with a countern.

    Or did she think threatening me and hoping I would not reveal her was the best tactic? That''s just wishful thinking, and I really like trampling those.

    "That''s ridiculous! We are in the same friend group! Even I meet up with Alberto sometimes but that doesn''t mean I''m a traitor!"

    E, Grace''s childhood sister-like friend, tried to defend her. And by ''Friend group'' here, she means the group Young Elites.

    Oh, and in E''s defense, she really didn''t know Grace was the traitor here. Her friend told her that after the virtual war was over.

    "No, meeting up with a member of their ss doesn''t prove you''re a traitor alone, but in acquaintance with that recording earlier, the circumstantial evidence points towards Grace."

    The one who raised that point was none other than Anastasia.

    "I¨C"

    Grace tried to retort ande up with some kind of an excuse, but before she could even put words out of her mouth, I spoke up.

    "Oh, and if you all still don''t believe this, you can check the recent contact list on her smart bracelet. There will be a contact under the name of C. Specter, which is actually Alberto''s contact info that she has saved under a false name."

    "Hah! You''re wrong!" E eximed as she stood up. "Alberto''s contact details aren''t saved under that name in her contact list. If you don''t believe me, you can check and see for yourself. That will prove your usations are totally unfounded!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    She was half-right. But prior to logging into her VR pod, Grace changed Alberto''s name in her contact list.

    How did I know that? That scene was briefly shown in the novel.

    ".....?!" Grace waspletely petrified from shock, with her mouth agape and her eyes about to pop out of her sockets any time now.

    Her reaction was understandable. No one should''ve known what name she changed Alberto''s contact to.

    Then how did he know? ¨C Is probably what she must be thinking.

    "Grace, show them. Do it and prove him wrong." E grabbed Grace''s hand and shook her, urging her to show us her contact list but the blonde girl remained frozen.

    Even though E was a member of Young Elites, a group of rich and bratty troublemakers, she always upheld her personal morals.

    E the virtuous.

    The goddess of truth and righteousness.

    The just warrior.

    These were the nicknames given to her in the novel.

    Even in the story, when Grace told her she was the traitor after the Mock War and how she framed Lucas to take the fall in her stead, E almost broke her friendship with her, a friend that she valued like a sister.

    In fact, in theter parts of the story, E was the reason Grace''s heart changed, and she saved Anastasia from a threat that could''ve very well imed the female lead''s life.

    And now E had to face the truth. The truth that her own friend was lying to her too all this time.

    "Yes, go on, Grace," the grin on my face only widened as I said that. "Show us. Prove me wrong. Please, I''m waiting."

    I loved this~!

    After today, when I reveal her in front of everyone, she will have no friends or allies.

    And if everything goes ording to my n and she does what I had predicted, in the future, no one would like to associate with her either.

    She will be all alone. Then, and only then, I''ll y the bigger man and lend her a helping hand.

    She''ll be vulnerable and helpless. A girl like her, who knows only how to cling to a strong person, will have no choice but to take my hand.

    After that, I''ll slowly break her both mentally and physically before I''ll finally make her all mine~!

    That''s the easiest way to manipte someone¨C make them dependent on you. Do whatever you have to do. Take away their friends, gaslight them, or literally any number of things.

    And after they lose their mind in solitude, help them. Make them feelfortable and slowly groom them to your liking.

    Hah! Poor girl has no idea what''s about to happen to her.

    "Tsk!"

    But that future was not here yet. Right now, I should be focusing on the present.

    Grace shook herself out of her daze and clicked her tongue. The furious look that she had before returned to her face.

    "Grace, what are you doing?" E kept shaking her. "Show them¨C"

    "E," Grace cut her off. "I''m sorry."

    "Huh?"

    Kuwussh¡ª!

    Right then, Grace quickly jerked her friend''s hand off her. She imbued man into her smart bracelet until the hidden runes on it glowed and summoned her rapier.

    Without any dy, she willed mana into her legs and jumped on the table before dashing in my direction at inhumane speed.

    "So that''s yourst effort," without a worry in the world, I kept standing there. A malevolent grin still stered on my face when I asked, "You wish to take me down with you?"

    How obvious could she be?

    Swash¡ª!

    Jumping from the edge of the table, she lunged at me while simultaneously thrusting her rapier at my heart, intending to kill me in one blow.

    Sak¡ª!

    Sak¡ª!

    But right then, just before her rapier was merely an inch away from my chest, two arrows whistled through the air and hit her.

    One of them stabbed her in her right shoulder de from behind, making her drop her rapier, while the other one pierced the side of her right calf, bringing her down to her knees.

    "Arghhaaaaaa!" she let out a scream filled with agony. She must be experiencing some serious pain to be shouting like that.

    Well, she really disliked pain in the novel too.

    Two archers fired those arrows, one from behind her, Anastasia, and the other who was standing beside me, Amelia.

    Nero hurriedly got up from his seat, his left leg still aching ever so often, and stormed toward us.

    Without even speaking a word, he brought a sword out from his dimensional storage and swung it down at Grace, cleaving her head off and killing her in an instant.

    Like a fountain, her blood spewed all over the ce, and I, who was standing right in front of her, got showered in most of it.

    Without a shred of remorse or sadness or disgust or any other feeling like that, I simply said:

    "Grace must''ve leaked our strategy to themst night. So now we''ll have to rework it all."

    "...."

    "...."

    Why were they looking at me like I was some kind of a freak?

    Anyhow, the first task at hand was cleared with this. One traitor had been eliminated.

 Chapter 75 As It Is Supposed To End

    It took me around half an hour toe up with a new battle n and exin it to everyone.

    My n was fairly straightforward. It involved precisely breaking through the enemy formation and taking out their troops individually.

    In theory, it''s simple, but simple doesn''t mean easy. On the battlefield, it will take a brilliant mind to pull it off sessfully.

    Luckily, we have a brilliant mind on our side.

    Me. I''m talking about me. Hehe.

    Anyway, Grace''s body was thrown out of the building. Since it wasn''t her real body, no one should feel sad or guilty about her death, but a lot of people had gone quiet ever since Nero severed her head off.

    Especially E. She wasn''t even paying attention to the meeting. Her mind waspletely elsewhere.

    At times, it seemed like I was the only one doing the talking here.

    It made me wonder, did I do something wrong? Should I have waited until after the mock war?

    But you see, going with the second option was entirely out of the question. For personal reasons, I couldn''t have afforded to let her live for much longer.

    Anyway, after the strategy meeting was done, everyone got up and left to prepare for the uing war.

    ording to Williams'' reconnaissance squad, the enemy has already been spotted moving their troops to get ready.

    At any time now, they will deploy their soldiers for an all-out war.

    This time, instead of resources, the goal of the war is to make the opponent perish.

    After everyone had left the hall, only Nero and I remained. To break the silence, I decided to make some small talk and asked, "Where did you get that sword?"

    Nero''s sword had broken during his fight against Alberto, which made it challenging for him to defeat Alberto.

    Although Alberto was strong, he was no match for Nero''s strength.

    With his sword, Nero could take on anyone in the world and easily hold his own against them.

    However, he did not have his sword for the entirety of theirst match. This was one of the reasons why he had faced so much difficulty in defeating Alberto.

    "I- uh, I picked it from a corpse when we wereing back while riding on the back of Williams'' cat," he replied in an awkward tone.

    "...I see."

    And just like that, the silence once again returned. Maybe I should excuse myself and get the fuck out too.

    "So, I''ll go and see¨C"

    But before I could get up to leave, Nero called out to me.

    "Lucas."

    "Yes?"

    "How did you know?"

    "How did I know what?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    I was confused. What was this guy trying to ask? And why was he being so serious?

    "Everything. How do you know all the things¨C even the things that have yet to happen?! Tell me the truth, do you have a Gift that enables you to see the future or something like that?"

    Oh, it''s about that? Gosh, I was worried for a second.

    "Why is everyone asking that? Kent and Amelia both asked me the same thing earlier. No, I can''t see the future. And I do possess a Gift, but it''s nothing rted to future sight or anything like that."

    In fact, Future Sight was a rare Gift. Even in the novel, not many people possessed something like that or it would''ve been VERY valuable and sought out.

    I can remember two people who possessed it¨C one was the head of a ruling family, an elf called Sasha Netyoive and another was a human girl at the Ethereal Academy named Samaya Shankar.

    "So, how did youe to possess such knowledge? Your urate predictions of ss 1-C-8''s movements on the battlefield, directing William to carry me back despite me not telling you about my injured leg, and even revealing the name under which Grace saved Alberto''s contact information all seem almost impossible to know without some kind of prior insight. The more I think about this, the more I ampelled to ask: how did you know all of this?"

    As I listened to her question, I couldn''t help but let out a short chuckle. A smile formed on my face as I said:

    "As it is supposed to end¨C with our victory."

    A confused frown formed on Nero''s face when he heard what I had said. This wasn''t an answer to his question. What does that even mean?

    "What does that even mean?" he asked.

    "Fine, let''s take the long way," I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. Then I proceeded to give the right answer to Nero''s questions.

    "My father is a general and he''s known as the ck Wolf of the Battlefield. I''ve learned a lot about warfare from him. Warfare tactics are like chess. There are patterns and logic, and once you learn those patterns and logic, it''s only a matter of how early you can recognize them in a war and effectively counter them. Essentially, it''s about reading your opponent''s mind and countering their n with yours.

    "But there are hundreds of soldiers fighting a war. How could one ever hope to read every single one of their minds? Here''s the thing: you don''t. You only need to read one mind, and that''s the enemy''s strategist. That''s what I did. I read him and countered him even before the opponent''s strategist could react.

    "Then, I predicted that you would suffer injuries after going against Alberto, so I asked William to carry you back if you weren''t in good shape. As for how I knew about Grace''s contact list, I can''t tell you that."

    Nero took a deep breath.

    All that was obviously too much for him to handle. After a brief pause, he nodded his head and responded, "I see."

    "Yeah," I nodded back. "You don''t have to worry, Nero. In truth, I''ve thought all of this through. I have done every calction, taken everything factor, every fraction, and every variable, into ount. I have already predicted how all this will end. I know how this Mock War will end."

    "You do?" Nero looked at me. His eyebrows arched up.

    "Yeah," I nodded back. "I know."

    "Okay, then tell me," as if to entertain his curiosity, Nero asked: "How will this Mock War end?

    A smirk formed on my face as I heard the question that I had already predicted and answered.

    With a smirk still stered on my face, I summoned a dagger from my smart bracelet and put it on the table in front of Nero.

    Then I got up from my chair and turned around to walk out of the door.

    After halting my steps right before leaving the hall, I cast a look back over my shoulders and answered:

    "As it is supposed to end¨C with our victory," I started walking again to leave while adding: "Take that dagger with you. You''ll need it."

 Chapter 76 Love And Fate

    In front of the half-wrecked building that acted as the base of ss 1-A-1, cadets were arming themselves and getting ready after having their final meal before what would be their final war in this virtual world.

    A silver-haired boy walked out of the building, a smile of satisfaction stered on his face.

    He looked at the sight of all the cadets readying themselves as he did a little stretching himself.

    He had been stuck inside, doing all the boring stuff like strategy crafting and war meetings for too long. Today, he intends to have a little fun himself too.

    After he was done stretching his body, the boy gazed at his surroundings. His deep scarlet eyes, which seemed to have a shine of their own, widened as he found the person he had been looking for.

    At a distance, he saw a scary-looking ck-haired boy, expressionlessly leaning his back against the wall with his eyes closed.

    The sun''s rays filtered through the cloudy sky and illuminated him; it was as if nature itself was shining a spotlight on his figure, giving him the attention worthy of his greatness.

    Even though he wasn''t trying to act like it, he was looking really cool, which made Lucas click his tongue.

    With a sour mood, he approached the ck-haired boy.

    "Hey, Quinn," he said, waving his hand with an amicable smile. "You waiting here alone? No friend or a girlfriend to talk to?"

    Quinn kept his eyes closed andpletely ignored Lucas'' remarks. He didn''t know what game the fallen noble was trying to y here, but he had no interest in it.

    This haughty attitude of his made Lucas click his tongue once again. He really wanted to strangle this guy to death.

    ? "It''s fine, I understand," Lucas said, trying to show that he didn''t mind being ignored. "I don''t have any friends either. Well, maybe one, but that''s it. Not many people like talking to me even after I''ve proved myself bymanding our troops."

    Quinn turned his gaze to Lucas, his expression filled with malice and irritation as he spat: "You deserve your solitude; I chose to live in it."

    With a cold stare, he closed his eyes again.

    "Don''t you dare think we are the same," he said.

    The silence that followed was heavy, punctuated only by the sound of their breathing, as the tension between them grew palpable.

    Finally, Quinn broke the silence with a cold whisper, "You''ll never understand what it means to be truly alone."

    Lucas'' eyebrow twitched in irritation but he didn''t say anything immediately. After a brief moment of silence, he took a long breath and began speaking.

    "Perhaps you''re correct. I may not fullyprehend the depths of solitude. However, I do know of someone who does. This individual was born and raised in captivity, subjected to experimentation by their own biological father as if he were nothing more than a mereb rat.

    "While still a child, his father dispatched him to the military border of the North, using him as a pawn in his twisted scheme.

    "It was there that he encountered a group of orphans who, like him, were unwillingly thrust into this inhospitable environment.

    "Though the circumstances were less than ideal, he persevered, utilizing the abilities that his father had forcibly instilled in him in order to survive.

    "Despite his resentment towards using these powers, he had little choice but to do so if he wished to escape the confines of his oppressive existence. He wanted to leave everything behind and live a life not filled with war and blood. He desired freedom.

    "But as time passed, he became increasingly close to that group of orphans, particrly one young girl who had found a special ce in his heart."

    "Stop¡­"

    An ufortable expression appeared on Quinn''s face, bing more profound by the second.

    But despite Quinn''s request to stop, Lucas continued to recount his story without pause.

    "For that boy, it seemed like that girl was the only person in the world who truly understood him¨C the real him. Slowly but surely, the boy started developing feelings for her¨C feelings that went beyond friendship."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "I said stop¡­."

    "The girl, to his surprise, reciprocated those feelings. He vowed to always protect her. The boy, who had been fighting solely for his own freedom, now had a new objective. He desired to fight for the girl, to shield her and ensure her safety."

    "Stop it! I said stop it!"

    "s, fate can be merciless. One day, while stationed at their military camp, a powerful vampire attacked. This was no ordinary vampire but a Noble of Night.

    The soldiers valiantly fought but were swiftly ovee and perished, leaving the orphans, who were there to clean the equipment, vulnerable and exposed.

    "Though they tried to resist and struggled to survive, the boy, in particr, fought fiercely to defend his love. He used every spell and technique he had learned, but it proved futile. The vampire was too strong."

    "STOP!! SHUT UP!!"

    "In the end, the boy was too powerless to save anyone¨C his friendsy dead around him. And as the girl he loved breathed herst few breaths in his arms, she weakly said, ''Bring me back. I will protect you.'' to the boy.

    "The boy, with a wrenching heart, brought her back to life using Necromancy. With his love by his side, he fought the vampire and won. He won against a Noble vampire even though he was just a child! It was a feat unheard of until then!

    "However, it was toote. The reason for the boy''s life was already gone. The love of his life was dead and only her shadow was left behind.

    "He might as well kill himself, he thought. But in the end, he was too weak even to end his pathetic existence. He lived, dreaming of the day when he''ll finally be free from the shackles of this war-filled world. He was the sole survivor of the Istana Camp. Even now, he walks the world alone because the only person who truly understands him is dead¡ª!"

    Right when Lucas was about to finish his take, Quinn lost his patience and spun to his side, grabbing the fallen noble by his neck.

    "I don''t know who the fuck told you about all this but¨C"

    "Quinn, I know you''re the second traitor," cutting the ck-haired boy, Lucas spoke.

    His eyes were empty of any emotions as he continued to speak in a monotonous tone:

    "When everyone will be fighting the enemy, you''lle back here and meet me. If you don''t do as I say, I''ll tell the academy about her."

    Quinn bared his teeth like a dog and yelled from an inch away from Lucas'' face, "You wouldn''t dare!"

    "Are you sure?"

    Seeing the way Lucas was looking at him with his hollow eyes, a cold chill ran down Quinn''s spine.

    He could tell that Lucas wasn''t bluffing. If he doesn''tply with his request, Lucas really will tell the academy about ''her.''

    ''No, anything but that!'' Quinn thought to himself.

    "Oh, and mind letting me go," Lucas said, shaking the Necromancer out of his thoughts. "You''re making quite the scene."

    Frowning, Quinn looked around him and saw several cadets looking back at them, whispering in a muffled tone.

    "Tsk!"

    Quinn clicked his tongue and let go of Lucas'' neck, walking away with a face contorted with rage.

    As he watched Quinn''s back fading into the distance, a depraved grin formed on Lucas'' face and his eyebrows arched up in excitement.

    His previously handsome face turned creepy andhe couldn''t help but let out short bursts of erratic chuckles as if he had lost his sanity.

 Chapter 77 Preparations Completed

    "Really? And he just grabbed you by your neck out of nowhere for merely saying hello?! What a total nutjob!" Kentmented, his face contorting in dissatisfaction.

    "Right?" I shamelessly lied. "I was so frightened that I thought I was going to die!"

    "Oh, poor you," Kent patted my back before a fierce look appeared in his eyes. "Call me if something like this happens next time!"

    I arched my eyebrows in a frown, "You don''t really think you can take on Quinn, right?"

    "Of course not!" Kent puffed his chest as if he was proud of something. "But we both can get our asses whooped together!" he said with a stupid smile.

    "....."

    "....?"

    "....." I couldn''t help but facepalm while letting out a sigh.

    This guy. I swear to god I will kill this guy someday

    I don''t want his stupidity to rub off on me now, do I?

    We were currently taking a stroll around the makeshift base right now. Cadets were still getting ready, arming themselves and drinking all kinds of buff potions and stuff.

    Kent must''ve heard all themotion about Quinn grabbing my neck, so he quickly came down to check on me.

    I, to get him off my back, told him what happened. Not everything, of course. I left the little ''story'' I told Quinn a secret.

    -"Kent,e on! The squad is waiting!"

    Anyway, after a few minutes of small talk, an elven boy in the distance called out to Kent. Since he was now the leader of Squad 6, he had field responsibilities.

    The first and most basic of those responsibilities were that he had to check up on all the members of his squad and revise the battle n for them before going out to war.

    "Ahh," Kent groaned. "It''s time. I should go."

    "Mhmm," I nodded. But right then, as if I had remembered something important, I quickly stopped him, "Oh, wait, Kent."

    "Hmm?" he halted his steps and turned around. "Yeah, what''s up?"

    "Do you have all your battle gear on you?" I asked.

    Upon hearing my question, Kent cast his gaze downwards and assessed his own attire. In addition to sporting a nanometal armor, he had stowed some pain relievers in the waist bag attached to his belt. A smoke bomb was also affixed to his belt, and he also had a few throwing knives in his possession too.

    After confirming he had everything, Kent nodded, "Yeah. I think everything I bought is on me."

    "So there''s nothing in the dimensional storage of your bracelet?" I inquired.

    "My smart bracelet?" He frowned. "Aside from a toy whip and a pair of pink furry handcuffs, yeah it''s empty."

    "...."

    ¡­Believe me. A part of me wanted to ask SO many questions. But the other part of me said knowing the answers would be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine.

    So, like a wise man, I pretended as if I didn''t hear that statement and continued the conversation normally.

    "Okay, give me that." I demanded.

    "My toy whip and furry handcuffs?!" Kent took a step back, putting a hand over his smart bracelet.

    "No you idiot! Give me your smart bracelet!" I replied, denying whatever ideas might be running into that dumb little brain of his.

    "Wait, my smart bracelet? Why?" he asked with a toneced with curiosity.

    "I will tell you the reason after the war ends," I replied.

    A troubling expression washed up on Kent''s face as he thought of something. After all, giving someone your smart bracelet was a big deal.

    Not only does one''s smart bracelet contain their every academy-rted detail, but also a potential Gift they might possess that they are trying to hide and private stuff like that.

    After a moment or two, he replied:

    "I mean, sure. You can take it. But how will I contact my soldiers on the battlefield or how will I receive their radio transmission?"

    I shook my head.

    "You won''t need it," I said. "Since you''re in the vanguard, your squad will closely work together to break through the enemy formation. Since that''s all your job, you won''t be relying onmunication with the rest of the troops."

    Plus, since his position is in the front, he''ll die first. But I don''t need to tell him that.

    "Hmmm," Kent touched his chin for a moment before finally agreeing. "Okay, I mean, if you want it, then there must be a reason."

    "Mhmm," I hummed.

    "But!" right when I was about to stretch my hand, Kent added. "There''s a favor I ask in return for this."

    Arghh! I knew it. I was thinking why he didn''t use this chance to ask for something stupid in return.

    Barely stopping myself from rolling my eyes, I forced a friendly smile and asked, "What is it that you want?"

    "Nothing big," he replied. "After this is over, let''s go do some clubbing!"

    I frowned. "You do know that clubs and bars and stuff like that aren''t free for us anymore? We''ll have to use our Merits to get into them."

    "I know," he responded with a happy nod. "But what''re a few Merits for some moments of bliss."

    What the fuck does that even mean?!

    Sighing, I decided to agree to his condition. I didn''t want to waste any more time on this stupid conversation.

    "Fine, I agree."<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Not like this. Give me your word."

    Letting out a deep, irritated breath, I spoke through gritted teeth. "I give you my word that after this is over, we''ll go clubbing."

    "Nice," he said as he unstrapped his smart bracelet and handed it over to me. "Okay, I should go now. Bye!" he said and hurriedly walked over to the rest of Squad 6.

    "Fuuuu," looking at the smart bracelet in my hand, I nodded.

    All the preparations have beenpleted.

    Now all that''s left is beating the ever-living fuck out of Quinn Darkstar.

    ?

    In the heart of an abandoned metropolis, thendscape was dominated by ruined buildings, fractured roads, and the remnants of automobiles all around.

    Amidst this eerie scenery, a group of approximately sixty individuals made their way through the deste concrete jungle.

    Some traveled along the cracked roads while others leaped from one dpidated building to another, providing cover to theirpanions below and keeping a cautious lookout for any potential dangers thaty ahead.

    One of the scouts, while jumping from one of the ruined buildings, spotted a crowd moving their way.

    "I can see them! 900 meters at 12 o''clock! They''re heading for us!" he quickly alerted the rest of hisrades.

    In the middle of their formation was Nero. He immediately ordered, "We will do as nned. I will move out along with two squads. We will lure the enemy back while you guys set up an ambush here. As soon as the enemy steps into your range, fire. When they''re in disarray, our vanguard will move out and break through their formation so that we can startpicking them apart one by one. Got it?!"

    In response to Nero''s question, everyone present there nodded their heads.

    A battle in the middle of a city is moreplex than a battle on an open field. There are manyplex variables to consider in the case of the former.

    Can the enemy use the buildings as cover to nk them? Can they themselves take advantage of the cover somehow? Will the enemy climb onto roofs and attack from higher ground?

    And many more things like that.

    However, to counter all those problems, an army just needs two things:

    A capablemander capable of taking charge and leading their soldiers into the battle and a brilliant tactician capable of turning the tides of the battle at any given moment.

    And fortunately, ss 1-A-1 had both of those things. They had a goodmander like Nero and, even though some of them might not admit it in public, a brilliant strategist like Lucas.

    With that, their confidence was through the sky and their victory was all but certain.

    But right then¡­

    "I''m going back."

    Quinn spoke those words.

    "...What?" Nero, thinking he had heard wrong, turned around to look at Quinn and asked. "What did you say?"

    "I said, I''m going back."

    "....."

    No, he didn''t hear wrong. Quinn definitely said he wanted to go back. But why?

    Before Nero could ask, Amelia, who was marching right behind Quinn, spat:

    "What? What do you mean by you want to go back? This is a war, Quinn! A virtual one at that! Haven''t you already been to one of the real ones? Why¡ª"

    Before Amelia could continue to run off her mouth, Quinn turned his head around and gave her a death stare.

    Matching her gaze, Amelia instantly felt immense pressure crushing her down. In response, she circted mana inside her body and regained strength to stay on her feet.

    "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" she yelled. "If you got this much rage in you, then take it out on the enemy!"

    "Amelia, stop," right then, Nero waved his hand and gestured to them to stop fighting. "Quinn, what''s the matter?"

    "I want to go back to base for personal reasons," Quinn replied.

    "I see," Nero nodded. " But I won''t allow you. I order you to stay here with us and fight."

    "And I refuse to obey those orders," Quinn responded while putting his hands over the twin daggers on his waist belt.

    Seeing this, Nero asked, "You''re ready to fight for it?"

    With a resolute expression, Quinn nodded.

    Nero couldn''t help but massage his eyebrows at the turn of events. After a few moments, he nodded, "Fine, go back. But know this; you''ll receive punishment for abandoning your post when we get back."

    "Whatever," Quinn didn''t even bother to spare Nero another nce and turned to leave.

    "Wait, we can''t let him go like this!" Amelia confronted Nero. "He is, after all, one of our top fighters!"

    "It''s fine," Nero waved his hands again before a thoughtful expression took over his face. After a brief pause, he continued, "Actually, Lucas already altered me about the possibility of something like this happening."

    Amelia couldn''t help but frown as she eximed, "What?! He did?!"

    "Yes. He said he''ll exin everything after getting back, and we should follow through with the n without Quinn," Nero nodded before turning back and looking up ahead. "Anyway, let''s focus on the war up ahead. Since Quinn is not present with us now, I''ll take Anastasia with me while you take her ce. Set up an ambush here and wait for my signal."

    Amelia, with her mind somece else, nodded thoughtlessly.

    In truth, she couldn''t help but keep a certain silver-haired boy out of her thoughts.

    She couldn''t help but think, just what game was he trying to y here?!

 Chapter 78 Face-Off

    In the novel, ss 1-A-1 only had one traitor amongst them¡ª Grace Goodwill.

    So that''s why until recently, I too had believed that we only had to deal with one traitor.

    However, some of the recent events made me question myself and the novel''s storyline itself.

    You see, Quinn, the Perfect Necromancer, had the ability to summon hundreds of minions to assist us in our fight against ss 1-C-8.

    But not only did he not do it, but he also didn''t kill any of the enemy soldiers either! Not a single one!

    You''re telling me that Quinn Darkstar, the one whom they call the Perfect Necromancer and the Cmity Bringer, couldn''t kill a single teenager running at him with a weapon?!

    Yeah, I call bullshit.

    I kept a close eye on him while barking orders. He didn''t kill any soldiers, nor did he provide cover for his allies.

    He might have thought that his inaction would go unnoticed amidst the chaos of the battle, but I noticed everything.

    I always notice everything.

    Of course, his uncooperative attitude wasn''t enough to confirm his role as the second traitor, so I didn''t bring this matter up to anyone.

    However, there were more signs than that.

    For example, he didn''t object when Nero was chosen as our ssmander, which is totally out of his character.

    Additionally, the area of the Shopping District that he imed to have scouted turned out to be false on the map.

    Furthermore, when talking to Alberto, Grace mentioned that they wouldn''t have to rely on "him" to sabotage us, implying the presence of another traitor among us.

    All these signs connected, but I stillcked solid proof that I could present to Nero and the others.

    In fact, even I myself wasn''t entirely sure that Quinn was the second traitor even at this point.

    So, I took a leap of faith.

    I confronted him and pushed him off the edge by reciting his traumatic past in front of him. This infuriated him enough tosh out at me, and I instantly revealed him as the second traitor.

    And just as I had predicted, Quinn didn''t deny my usations, confirming his betrayal.

    Ahh~ I''m a genius.

    In truth, even before this arc began, a part of me knew there could be a possibility of a second traitor.

    However, another part of me denied that possibility since nothing like that was mentioned in the novel.

    Now, however, I know better than to trust that damned novel.

    This is the second time something that wasn''t mentioned in the novel has happened.

    The first time was when I saw Lucas'' memories and got to know the depth of his character.

    The second time is right now.

    Since in the novel, Grace was never caught, Quinn never had toe out of his shadow and act.

    In short, Quinn was just a backup.

    Damn that Kai Wiseman. I had to give it to him. He was a genius worthy of my apuse.

    Most maniptors don''t bother crafting a n B in case their n A goes wrong. But this guy, instead of being cocky, did that. He created a backup n.

    And if not for me knowing the future and being a little observant, his backup n could''ve just worked.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Anyway, it was almost time now. In front of me was a holographic map. I could see everyone''s live location on it except for one person¨C Quinn Darkstar.

    He had turned his location off, and that could only mean one thing:

    He was headed toward me.

    "Fuuuu!"

    My body was quivering, and my heart was mming hard against my chest. Cold chills ran down my spine as my stomach churned.

    To be honest, at first, I thought about just sitting back and letting Nero deal with Quinn when the time was right.

    However, that option posed a problem.

    By the time Nero will "deal" with Quinn, it will be toote. By that time in the novel, Quinn had already caused irreversible destruction.

    And while I do not give one flying fuck about this world or its people, I do care about myself.

    Too many people died against Quinn, who could''ve been useful in the fight against the Vampire Monarch.

    Thinking that made me realize that I could not let that happen. While I was a little scared of Quinn, I had to do something about him.

    Because if I only wait for Nero''s useless ass, then it would be toote to save anything.

    I will counter this cmity before it even happens.

    "Fuuuuu."

    Letting out another long breath, I imbued mana into my smart bracelet until the hidden runes on it shone violet.

    Suddenly, a bright light shed in my hand, and a mask materialized in my palm. It was a in full-face white mask.

    Although it looked really simple and nd, it was something I had enchanted with my Edit Pen. This mask could create an illusion and alter my identity.

    Holding the mask over my face, a smile formed on my quivering lips.

    Yes, my body was shaking not from fear but from excitement.

    Now don''t get me wrong. I was still a little afraid of Quinn, but at this moment, I was sure to win in a fight between us.

    How was I so sure? Because I had already predicted every possibility of how this fight would go down.

    ?

    Amidst the cluttered and deste street, an eye-catching figure stood tall - a young boy with a mop of fiery red hair and striking silver eyes.

    His handsome face wasplemented by his well-built and tall physique. In one hand, he grasped a bow while a quiver filled with arrows rested on his back.

    The surroundings were littered with wrecked cars and the decaying remains of buildings, yet the boy stood steadfastly, exuding an aura of confidence as a smirk was stered on his face.

    In reality, his identity was none other than Lucas Morningstar.

    Lucas had used [Illusion Face Mask] prior toing out of the base to change his appearance.

    As the sun began to dip below the horizon, signaling the onset of twilight, a haunting figure became visible against the backdrop of the city in ruins.

    With jet-ck hair and an eerie presence, the silhouette of a boy appeared in the midst of the beautiful yet tragic scenery.

    It was Quinn.

    With slow, powerful steps akin to a predator, he approached Lucas.

 Chapter 79 Bet

    After appearing before Lucas, Quinn cast an emotionless stare his way before curtly asking, "And why the disguise?"

    "You can tell it''s me?" Lucas responded with a surprised expression.

    "You may alter your physical appearance as much as you want but your shadow will always be the same," Quinn replied, taking out his twin daggers from his waist belt and gripping them in his hands. "Shadows never betray."

    Things like these reminded Lucas just how creepy this guy was even in the story.

    Like, what the fuck does that even mean?

    How is Lucas supposed to make heads and tails of that statement?

    So he did what any sane person would do. Hepletely ignored Quinn.

    ¡­Or at least he tried to but his curiosity got the better of him.

    "What the fuck does that mean?" Lucas asked, his face contorting in a ridiculed expression.

    "You won''t understand," Quinn retorted, his gaze momentarily drifting before regaining itsposure. "You won''t understand because you have yet to experience the pain of true solitude."

    As Lucas was about to burst out in confusion once again, Quinn voiced the questions weighing on his mind:

    "That aside, how did you know that I was the second traitor? Because as far as I can remember, I didn''t slip up even once. Not only that, but you also somehow knew about the Istana Camp incident, which was suppressed in the news. How?"

    As he heard him talk, Lucas'' lips curled up into a smirk once again. He couldn''t help but say:

    "Just get to the point. I know the only thing you''re interested in is how I got to know about ''her.''"

    He waited a few seconds before speaking in a mocking tone, "Isn''t that right, Perfect Necromancer?"

    Without a word, Quinn stared at Lucas with a fierce glint of rage present in his eyes.

    Oh, boy¡­

    If only looks could kill~!

    "How?" after a moment or two, Quinn finally parted his lips and asked. "How do you know about her?"

    "Doesn''t matter," Lucas shook my head. "What does matter, however, is what I n to do with this information."

    Gritting his teeth, Quinn asked, "And what do you n to do with this information?"

    "I will tell the Cadet Council, of course."

    Boom¡ª!

    Almost instantly, an intense, crippling pressure fell on Lucas, nearly bringing him to his knees.

    ''Ahh fuck. It''s Mana Pressure.'' the fallen noble thought.

    In response, Lucas clenched his jaw and enforced his body with his own mana, barely mustering up the strength to stay on his feet.

    "I''m done entertaining you," Quinn said, retracting his mana pressure and readying himself to attack.

    "Wait!" panting, Lucas raised a hand. "How about we make a bet?"

    Holding himself back from lunging at Lucas, Quinn raised an eyebrow. "A bet?"

    "If you win, I''ll leave the academy," Lucas suggested. "If I win, you will be my pawn. You will not act outside my orders ever and do as Imand you."

    "Ha," a scoff escaped Quinn''s lips. Before long, he broke out into a long, erratic chuckle, "Haha! Ahahahaha! Ahaaaahaha!"

    Lucas patiently waited for Quinn to calm down, and when he did, he looked at the fallen noble as if he was looking at a brainless retard.

    "Are you stupid?" Quinn asked, amused. "I can just assassinate you after we get out of this VR. With my skill, no one will be able to track me down as the murderer. Also, why should I even trust you? You can just go back on your words when you lose."

    Lucas massaged the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh before answering with: "

    Well, you can''t do that. Because for starters, I have recorded this whole conversation. So if I die within the next few days unnaturally, the first person they''ll suspect would be you."

    As he said that, Lucas couldn''t help but internally shake his head.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Really, this guy¡­

    He fell for the oldest trick in the book! Wasn''t he supposed to be smart?

    Lucas continued, "And besides, I have a detailed document in my docs app, which will automatically be sent to the Cadet Council if I don''t log in with my password every day. In that document, I have imed that you have ''her'' in your possession. You surely don''t want them to take her away, do you now?"

    "You''re bluffing!" Quinn eximed. "That is the oldest bluff in the book!"

    Yeah¡­ Unfortunately, this wasn''t a bluff.

    After seeing Quinn for the first time in this world, the first thing Lucas did was secure a way to ensure his own safety from this guy during his time in the academy.

    "I could be bluffing," Lucas shrugged. "But do you really want to take that risk?"

    The grin on Quinn''s face was wiped out and all that reced it was a troubling expression.

    After a moment of contemting, he spoke:

    "If you don''t leave the academy even after I defeat you, I will definitely kill you without caring about the consequences."

    "Hey, believe me," Lucas raised his hands. "I give you my words. And I always keep my word."

    This was one of the few instances when Lucas wasn''t lying in any way. Even in his past life as Noah Lambert, despite all his toxic and entric personality traits, he never went back on his words. This was perhaps the only redeeming quality of his.

    After a few minutes of dreadful silence, Quinn nodded his head. "Fine then, I''ll y along. Besides, by the time I''m done with you, you''ll be so terrified of my sight that you''ll leave the academy on your own."

    Lucas didn''t give him a response.

    There was no need to exchange any more words between them. From now on, they will let their weapons do the talking.

    "Fuuuu."

    After a few seconds of silence, Lucas let out a deep breath.

    Swooosh¡ª!!

    Willing mana into his legs, Quinn lunged at Lucas with incredible speed.

    Lucas didn''t waste any time either. He picked an arrow from the quiver on his back, imbued it with mana and nocked it on his bowstring before drawing it back.

    Taking aim at the ck-haired who was charging at him like a bull, Lucas released the string and shot his arrow.

    [Thousand Falling Needles Strike]

    The arrow that Lucas shot suddenly split into six azure darts and rained down on Quinn.

    However, the Necromancer acted swiftly and firmly nted his feet on the ground to gain a footing.

    With a single, powerful sh of his dagger, he obliterated all six azure arrows in a flurry of sound and motion.

    Thwoosh¡ª!

    Dhak, Dhak, Dhak¡ª!!

    The arrows instantly disintegrated into fine particles of azure light, unable to withstand the force of Quinn''s strike.

    "Is that all?" Quinn looked at the fallen noble with a smirk. "You think you can go against me with this level of strength?"

    "Tsk."

    Lucas clicked his tongue and quickly took out another arrow but before he could nock it on his bow, Quinn''s figure disappeared.

    In the next moment, to his horror, Quinn suddenly appeared in front of Lucas out of thin air.

    "Fuck!" Lucas cussed, widening his eyes in shock.

    Quinn, enforcing mana into his arm, nted his fist into Lucas'' abdomen and sent him flying a few meters back.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

 Chapter 80 Lucas Vs Quinn [1]

    "Khuaaa! Huaaah! Haa... Ha..."

    When Quinn''s fist connected, Lucas felt air gushing out of his lungs. Everything momentarily cked out before he was sent flying back a few good meters.

    His body fiddled on the ground like a t stone on the water''s surface before finallying to a halt.

    He soon came to his senses, however, and violently coughed up a mouthful of blood before gathering the strength in his body and getting up on his feet.

    "Fucking hell," Lucas cursed, wiping the blood from the side of his lips.

    He held the in his hand tighter and looked at Quinn, who had a haughty smirk on his face.

    Despite realizing the stark difference in power between himself and Quinn, which would typically cause fear or despair in any normal person, Lucas inexplicably felt irked upon seeing him smirk.

    Honestly, he just wanted to beat the shit out of his face.

    Clicking his tongue, Lucas raised his bow and took an arrow while simultaneously imbuing it in mana, before nocking it quickly on the bowstring.

    Quinn responded by enforcing his legs with mana. The ground beneath his legs cracked when he took off, dashing toward Lucas at breakneck speed.

    The archer took aim and drew back the string before locking and releasing it.

    Swoosk--!!

    The arrow whistled through the air and shot at the ck-haired boy, but he destroyed it with a sh of his dagger.

    Dhak--!

    ''His dagger art is troublesome,'' Lucas thought in his mind, standing still.

    Tak--!

    Right then, Quinn, who was rushing forward with his daggers out for blood, felt his leg breaking a thread.

    "Tripwire!" Quinn eximed, realizing almost instantly what he had done.

    He had activated a tripwire! That means his opponent has set up traps in this area beforehand!

    Swook--!

    As if waiting for that cue, an arrow from the window of one of the nearby ruined buildings shot out at Quinn.

    Quinn widened his eyes in surprise, but he reacted quickly and hopped a few steps back.

    Tak--!

    The arrownded on the ground where he stood before, making Quinn think that he was safe, but right at that moment...

    Swook--!

    Pierce--!

    An arrow pierced Quinn''s left leg from behind-- his blind spot.

    "Arghh," Quinn grunted.

    He realized that the first arrow was a fake. The real trap was this arrow. Lucas predicted that he would jump back to avoid the first arrow.

    Although this left a sour taste in Quinn''s mouth, getting outsmarted by a mere brat who has never even experienced war and bloodshed, what could one arrow even do against him?

    It stung to get hit, but that''s all.

    Gritting his teeth, Quinn was about to raise his leg to get the arrow out of his calf when suddenly a wave of drowsiness washed over him and he fell to his knees.

    "Arghh," grunting again, he couldn''t help but wonder what was happening. "...What the fuck?"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Good right?" Lucas said while setting an arrow on his bow. "I got two crossbows while choosing our secondary weapons. Here, I used them to set up a tripwire trap."

    As he exined that, he shot another arrow at the Necromancer.

    Swook--!

    But right when the arrow was just an inch away from Quinn, he caught it with his bare hands and broke it.

    He then looked down to his left leg, the area that was pierced by that trap arrow earlier and what he saw shook him.

    Instead of a normal arrowhead, the arrow that pierced his left calf had a syringe attached to it.

    In a fury, he looked in front to see Lucas and roared, "You coward, what have you injected me with?!"

    "Oh, that?" Lucas pointed at his leg yfully. "That''s just some watered sedatives like diazepam, doxepin, ramelteon, and other stuff like that."

    "Y-You fucker!" Quinn cursed while getting up.

    Lucas chuckled, seemingly proud of his actions. "I''ve actually been secretly adding all these crushed sedatives to your food sincest night. That''s why you''ve been feeling tired and sluggish."

    At that revtion, Quinn was left bbergasted.

    Just as Lucas mentioned, he had been feeling drowsy all this time, but he didn''t think much of it and med it on exhaustion.

    Of course, he kept circting mana in his body to keep himself functioning.

    But now, since a huge load of sedatives was directly injected into him, Quinn could actually feel his mind shutting down.

    "Haaaa! Haaaa!"

    Breathing became difficult for him and his heart rate slowed down dangerously. Not long after, his head started spinning and he felt wave after wave of drowsiness washing over him.

    Swook--!

    To cease this chance, Lucas shot an arrow but Quinn, even in this state, deflected it using his dagger.

    "Wow," Lucas spoke, impressed. "That right there, what you''re experiencing now, is called Respiratory Depression. But even in this state, you''re able to react to my arrows!"

    "You fool," Quin spoke, regaining some of his strength and breathing properly. "You think these cheap tricks will work on me?!"

    No, Lucas didn''t think that. He knew few sedatives, especially those meant for human usage, wouldn''t be enough to put down Quinn.

    But still, when Kent went out to the shopping district, Lucas asked him to look for a pharmacy and bring any drug he could find.

    Why did he do that?

    "Don''t worry," Lucas said. "I know better than to hope this would be enough for you."

    "Then why did you even bother with this?" asked Quinn while standing up, his condition seemingly getting better than before.

    Thankfully, since Quinn''s mana core is only at [Bronze 3] at this point in time, he still has to actively circte mana in his body to suppress any harmful toxins.

    Unlike those with a [Silver ranked] mana core, his body can''t get rid of those toxins on its own.

    "Why, you ask?" Lucas repeated with a mocking smirk and nocked an arrow on his bow. "Because now you''ll have to use mana to even keep standing properly while simultaneously fighting me."

    For the sake of simplicity, it was a handicap.

    Quinn will have to actively use his mana for casting spells, enforcing his body for closebat, and suppressing the effects of sedatives.

    Not only will this put a strain on his mana core but it will also tire out his mind.

    It might seem like a cowardly tactic from Lucas but in reality it was a perfect n to fight a much stronger opponent than himself like Quinn Darkstar.

 Chapter 81 Lucas Vs Quinn [2]

    "Now, why don''t you just admit defeat and be my pawn, yeah?" Lucasughed. "No matter how strong you are, you can''t defeat me in your current state. I''ll make this a battle of endurance and you''ll lose."

    Quinn replied with a roar, "If you think this can stop me, you''re a fool!"

    Immediately, dark, ominous energy enveloped him, crackling around him like a swirling tornado.

    Powerful gusts of wind erupted, causing Lucas to squint his eyes in difort as the ck vortex in front of him only grew even taller and wider.

    "Must I always jinx myself?" Lucas sighed, resigning to his stupidity and hopping a few meters back to create a safe distance between himself and his opponent.

    "From the shadows, I call forth the spirits of the departed!"

    From the center of the ck vortex, a thundering sound reverberated throughout the world.

    The dark energy swirling around Quinn began to take humanoid shapes. Only now did Lucas see that this ominous energy wasing from the shadow beneath Quinn''s feet.

    "Rise!"

    As soon as Quinn said that, the shapes materializedpletely and around thirty or so humanoids and mana beasts like bears, wolves, giant mantis, etc. appeared before Lucas.

    Quinn had used his perfect Necromancy spell.

    The reason why he was called the Perfect Necromancer and others who practiced Necromancy did not hold that title was not one but quite a few.

    For starters, instead of using flesh and bones to bring back the dead, Quinn uses a person''s shadows.

    When someone dies, he traps a part of their shadow on his own and calls them forth when in need.

    That means, as long as he can keep supplying his shadow minions mana, they would keeping back to life, unlike other Necromancers'' flesh and bone minions.

    These minions of his arepletely obedient to him and have no free will whatsoever. They are puppets and Quinn is the puppeteer.

    Sensing that things were getting heated up, Lucas got serious himself.

    "Come on, you fucker!" he beckoned, taking out a glowing arrow from the quiver on his back.

    "Charge!" Quinn barked, and at hismand, the horde of his shadow minions immediately rushed at Lucas.

    The archer didn''t waste any time and drew back his bowstring before releasing it and shooting the shining arrow aimed directly at Quinn.

    Swook¡ª!

    The arrow wasn''t very fast but due to his weakened state, Quinn knew dodging it was impossible.

    And since the arrow was glowing, he really didn''t want to be hit by it. God knows what trickery it might be this time.

    Thwack¡ª!

    Before the arrow could hit Quinn, hisrgest minion¨C a gigantic ck bear-like mana beast made of shadow stepped in front of its master, shielding him from the iing attack.

    Thut¡ª!

    Dhak¡ª!

    However, to Quinn''s surprise, when the arrow hit the bear, it radiated a blinding white light for a moment, making the bear fall back on the ground before its body started smothering into nothingness.

    In a matter of a single second, the bear''s body vanishedpletely without leaving a trace.

    Quinn could still feel the bear in his shadow, but it was severely weakened and would take a long time and so much mana before he could call it out again.

    When that happened, he quickly understood what had happened.

    "That arrow must have been enchanted with light magic," he concluded.

    His dedication was on point.

    This was an arrow that Lucas had crafted before this event started.

    ===

    Null Attribute Light Arrow

    Info: A relic arrow that can nullify a dark magic spell or deal damage to the user up to [Bronze] rank and will severely weaken those above it.

    Rank: Bronze

    ===<novelnext></novelnext>

    But of course, this wasn''t Quinn''s first time dealing with such a situation. Being a veteran user of dark magic, he knew just how to counter light magic.

    There were two ways. The first was that he could supply his minions with so much mana that they would instantly regenerate after receiving damage.

    However, his current condition made him unable to do that.

    The second and only option was to avoid getting hit by one of those arrows. Since enchantment is hard and expensive, Quinn was sure Lucas must not have many of those arrows.

    However, what still puzzled him more than anything was the fact that Lucas bought something like that here. It was almost like he knew he would be fighting him.

    This made him question: Can Lucas see the future? Because this does seem like something only a person with the Future Sightcould do.

    "Hoo!"

    Shaking Quinn out of his daze was the sound of Lucas letting out his breath.

    "The big one down," he said.

    But there was no time to rest for him. The horde of Quinn''s shadow minions was still rushing at him.

    Lucas quickly shot another arrow before coating it with a thickyer of mana.

    The arrow split into six darts and hit several of the weak iing humanoid shadow minions like tiny missiles.

    However, since this was all he could do with the bow, it was time to change weapons.

    The bow in Lucas'' hand shone brightly before disintegrating into light particles and getting stored in his smart bracelet''s dimensional storage.

    Almost instantly, he summoned a long shiny red spear in his hand.

    Taking a low stance, he aimed the head of the spear at the iing crowd of shadow minions before he rushed at them himself.

    "Arraaaaah!"

    Letting out a battle scream, Lucas dashed head first towards the horde before thrusting his spear at one of the iing shadow wolves, impaling it.

    But the wolf was not dead yet. After all, since it was already a dead being, it couldn''t die.

    So to keep it in ce, Lucas kept the spear impaled before he chanted a spell in high elven.

    "Tonitru Palma!"

    It was a Zap Touch spell.

    A Burst of electricity erupted from Lucas'' palms before it traveled down the spear''s metal pole and electrocuted the shadow wolf.

    However, since it was a dead being and didn''t possess a nervous system, it didn''t feel any pain.

    But that didn''t mean it registered no damage. The electricity disturbed the shadow construct of the wolf''s body, rendering it immobile for a while.

    But he wasn''t going to get any rest.

    As soon as he made the work of the wolf, a giant mantis appeared over him and swung its scythe at him to cut him in half.

    Cling¡ª!

    Lucas reacted quickly.

    He retracted his spear and used it to block the scythe of the giant mantis, causing a sound of metal shing against metal to resound in the air.

    "Ignis Ratoem!"

    He chanted a spell in High Elven, and almost instantly, a zing sphere of fire manifested in front of Lucas before hitting the mantis right in the face.

    Boom¡ª!

    Smoke rose from the mantis'' face, blocking its vision. Lucas used this chance to slip under the giant mana beast and make a run for Quinn.

    Yes, he was targeting Quinn.

    "Is that so?" seeing Lucasing straight for him, the necromancer raised an eyebrow.

    Cling¡ª!

    He mmed his twin daggers against each other, creating sparks before he roared, "Come one then!"

 Chapter 82 Lucas Vs Quinn [3]

    As soon as Lucas stepped into the striking range, he unleashed a fury of spear thrusts at Quinn.

    Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh¡ª!

    Cling, ng, Cling¡ª!

    Sparks flew, and the familiar sound of metal shing against metal resounded throughout the air as Quinn parried every thrust of Lucas'' spear with his daggers.

    Right when Lucas thought he had the upper hand against the necromancer, Quinn sidestepped, dodging his spear, and swirled around to perform a spinning kick.

    Thwack¡ª!

    "Arghhh!"

    The kicknded t across Lucas'' side ribs, making him grit his teeth and grunt in pain.

    Quinn moved quickly and jumped a few steps back to safety afternding a hit. He was fighting with his guard up all the time, careful of his enemy''s every movement.

    However, Lucas didn''t have the luxury of being careful and taking his time. On his back was Quinn''s horde of shadow minions who were about to reach him.

    He''ll have to deal some damage to Quinn before they reach him or he''ll be stuck between shadow minions on his back and the necromancer on his front.

    "Tsk!"

    Thud¡ª!

    Clicking his tongue, Lucas stabbed his spear into the ground and summoned the bow from his smart bracelet.

    He took out another glowing arrow from the quiver on his back but¡­

    "Too slow!"

    Before he could nock it on the bow, Quinn appeared right before Lucas in the blink of an eye.

    ''...?!?''

    Lucas was, for theck of better words, surprised shitless. He couldn''t believe that even in this state, Quinn could move this fast!

    How?!

    Thwack¡ª!

    The ck-haired boy willed mana into his right leg and kicked the fallen noble dead on his chest, sending him flying right into the horde of his shadow minions.

    "Die," Quinn spoke as he did that.

    "Khuaaaa! Khaaa!" once again, Lucas'' vision cked out for a moment before his bodynded in the midst of Quinn''s minions.

    "Arghh!" massaging his forehead, he quickly rolled and got up on his feet. He picked up his bow that had jerked from his hand when hended and tried to ignore the stinging pain in his chest.

    "Fuck that guy."

    Letting out a few curses, he nocked the glowing arrow on his bow and closed one of his eyes before taking aim at thergest remaining shadow minion ¨C a giant mantis.

    It was that same giant mantis as before and it wasing at him, seemingly recovered from the fireball that Lucas shot him with.

    "Stay the fuck down," he said and shot his light-enchanted arrow.

    The arrow pierced the head of the mantis, causing it to fall, before radiating a white light and disintegrating its body into nothingness.

    Lucas swiftly stowed his bow into the dimensional storage of his smart bracelet and proceeded to touch his ck and red nanometal armor.

    With a mere mentalmand, the tiny nanobots constituting his armor began to retract from his body and converge into his right palm.

    In no time, they morphed into a spear which he firmly grasped.He was without any armor now, but he had a weapon.

    "Gilth Swoein!"

    Right at that moment, Quinn yelled a chant for one of his shadow magic spells in High Elven before raising his palm and aiming it at Lucas.

    To the fallen noble''s horror, Lucas very well knew what that chant was since it was one of Quinn''s signature spells in the first few volumes of the novel.

    Although the pronunciation was a little different from what he had imagined while reading, he was sure of it!

    ''Fuck, he''s casting Shadow Pulse!'' Lucas thought, clicking his tongue again.

    Suddenly, tendrils of purple lightning crackled around Quinn''s extended palm. A dark, violet aura began to gather before him, coalescing into an ominous shadow energy orb.

    "I thought you''d put up more of a fight," Quinn taunted, confident in his ability to overpower Lucas.

    As the orb pulsed with dark energy, the air around it crackled even more. Then, with a sudden burst of intensity, it shot out a beam of violet darkness directly at Lucas.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Since all this happened in the blink of an eye, Lucas had no time to move out of the way. Chills ran down his spine as he stood there frozen with his eyes widened in the horror of his impending doom.

    However, at the veryst second, Lucas managed to muster what little willpower he had in himself and spoke:

    "Phoenix''s Embrace!"

    BOOM¡ª!!!

    Right in that very second, the beam of dark aura collided with Lucas'' body and created a huge explosion.

    Dirt and chunks of broken concrete flew, tendrils of violet lighting crackled, and everything around the immediate vicinity of the point of collision was destroyed.

    Even Nero had no chance of surviving that spell head-on, much less Lucas.

    Dodging Shadow Pulse wasn''t an easy task since the dark aura it requires to activate that spell would send chills down anyone''s spine, inflicting temporary fear and shock.

    That was the reason Lucas was frozen like a deer in headlights.

    "Heh," Quinn scoffed.

    Usually, demolishing brats like the one he had just killed wasn''t even something he considered fun, but something about this guy irked him down to his very soul.

    He just did not only want to kill him. No, he wanted to torture him first to his heart''s content.

    Maybe these feelings were the result of Lucas knowing about ''her'' and using that information to threaten Quinn.

    However, his condition right now made him unable to do anything else besides barely beating him.

    In fact, he used his strongest spell not because Lucas was worthy of his full might but because Quinn had no other option.

    Using Shadow Minions to fight was taking too much of his mana and putting a strain on his consciousness.

    Yes, since Quinn had to control every single minion by himself with his mind, it put a great deal of strain on his mental strength.

    Usually, it''s not something he can''t manage, but right now, even standing properly was taking a toll on him.

    But after thatst spell of his, everything was over. He had emerged victorious and now he could finally rest.

    Although he wanted to do the favor Kai had asked of him and help ss 1-C-8 win, what he wanted to do more was fall asleep ¨C probably the effects of all those sedatives.

    "Haaa," letting out a satisfactory sigh, Quinn turned around and began to walk as his minions returned to his shadow like obedient pets.

    Swooooosh¡ª

    "Huh?!"

    However, right then, he felt something on his back, which made him instantly spin around and look at the spot from where the smoke was rising ¨C the very same spot where his spell made the work of Lucas.

    As the dust gradually settled, Quinn''s eyes widened as he took in a sight that left them shocked.

    Standing before him was a being that could only be described as an angel descended from the heavens.

    It was a tall, young man with fiery red hair whose piercing silver eyes shone like an ocean on a sunny day.

    The most striking feature of this divine apparition, however, were the wings of pure, zing red mes that were on his back, illuminating the surroundings with their radiant glow.

    But Quinn''s attention was soon drawn to the youth''s upper body, which was encased in sleek golden and red armor, its intricate details gleaming in the flickering light of the mes. On the youth''s chest was an engraved red ruby that seemed to have possessed a shine of its own.

    Quinn noticed the design of the armor matched the golden earrings that Lucas had worn on his ears.

    That settled it.

    Quinn was sure that Lucas had used a relic¨C a powerful one at that¨C to survive the might of his strongest spell!

    "Heh," Lucas began to speak as the wings of me on his back gradually extinguished. "That tickled."

    ===

    [Phoenix''s Embrace¡ú

    The Knight of the Starlight''s Gift has been used in the making of nigh-indestructible armor, which is crafted by a skilled dwarven cksmith.

    When attacked with magic or physical objects, the armor can reduce the strength of the attack to one-tenth of its original power, ensuring the user''s protection.

    Once shed, the armor provides a significant boost in all stats and grants an extra life to the wearer. The armor can be summoned again, provided the user does not lose the additional life.]

    ===

 Chapter 83 Lucas Vs Quinn [4]

    Quinn''s face contorted with rage as he bellowed, "You used a relic!"

    Lucas nonchntly shrugged and replied, "What''s the big deal? Don''t use me of being unfair. After all, aren''t you Quinn Darkstar, the one they call the Cmity Bringer? This is merely a testament to your might!"

    Before Quinn could speak further, Lucas willed mana into his legs and dashed at the necromancer, closing the distance between them in a mere second.

    Cling¡ª!

    Lucas swung his spear at his opponent''s face with great might. Quinn, however, raised his hands and deftly blocked the spear with his twin daggers.

    Using quick footwork, Quinn slipped away and swiftly ducked down.

    From his crouched position, he thrust his dagger upward, intending to stab Lucas in his throat ¨C an unguarded part that his golden armor wasn''t covering.

    Ting¡ª!

    "....?!"

    But unexpectedly, a sharp metallic sound echoed through the air and a searing pain shot through Quinn''s hand. It was as if he had attempted to prate a thick metal wall rather than stab through flesh.

    ''What?!'' he thought before quicklying to a conclusion. ''His armor! It''s negating the physical damage I deal!''

    Quinn''s conclusion wasn''t far off. Lucas'' armor was, in fact, capable of rendering any outside attack thrown at its wearer to one-tenth of its original strength.

    "Nice try but" Lucas spoke and quickly put away the spear in his hand into his smart bracelet while also grabbing Quinn''s hand, which held a knife to his throat, with his left hand. "You can''t win."

    As he said that, Lucas swiftly slipped his right hand under Quinn''s arm before pulling him towards himself, putting Quinn off bnce.

    Lucas then turned his body towards Quinn and used his opponent''s arm as leverage before bending his own body to flip the necromancer over his shoulder.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    With a wless Judo throw, Lucas mmed Quinn crashing onto the cold, hard concrete.

    "Khaaaa!" Quinn''s breath escaped through his lips in a loud gasp, and the impact left him dazed as the world momentarily turned upside down.

    Utilizing this chance, Lucas summoned his spear and lifted it high, preparing to strike Quinn with deadly force.

    Thruck¡ª!

    But as he struck down his spear, it met nothing but the ground since Quinn quickly rolled out of the way, missing a deadly strike by a hair''s breadth.

    "Haaa! Haaa!" huffing and puffing, Quinn tried to get up on his feet but it was hard for him. He was barely able to keep his eyes open when all he wanted to do was rest.

    "Really? You are the Cmity Bringer?" Lucas taunted as he watched Quinn struggle to stand up straight. "And you think you''re stronger than Nero when you can''t even defeat me? Pathetic."

    "Hahaha!" instead of the reaction that Lucas expected, Quinn broke out in a fit ofughter. "You have to sedate me to even match me inbat and even then you have to use a high-grade relic! You think¨C"

    Before he can go on with his rant, Lucas cuts him off. "So? The heavens blessed you with strength and I was given intelligence. Am I wrong to make use of what I have?"

    Quinn remained silent for a moment before chuckling and jerking his head. "Oh, really? Alright then, let''s curse the heavens for this!"<novelnext></novelnext>

    With a sudden outburst of dense, ominous energy, the shadow under Quinn''s feet manifested in the physical realm.

    Standing beside him, a humanoid figureposed entirely of dark violet shadows materialized. The figure appeared to be a young girl, roughly 12 or 13 years old, judging by her size.

    Comprised entirely of darkness, the girl''s long ck hair flowed down her back, and her eyes consisted of two glowing purple voids.

    "So you have finally decided to bring ''her'' out, huh?" Lucas sighed, knowing that the Necromancer wasn''t going to admit defeat.

    The shadow minion that had made its appearance was special to Quinn in more ways than one.

    Her name was Shiya and she was Quinn''s dead lover.

    He met her when he was forced to go to the Northern Border.

    There, at Istana Military Camp, he met a group of orphans who were also forcefully sent there, much like him, and she was among them.

    After a series of events, they became close. But one day, when a strong vampire attacked their camp, Quinn had to watch Shiya die in front of him.

    However, unable to let go, Quinn trapped a part of Shiya''s soul within his shadows, bringing her back to life as his shadow minion.

    "Gaaaaaaaur!" the girl opened her mouth and let out a beastly scream, her vampire-like fangs slightly visible to Lucas.

    Yes, when Shiya died, she was turned into a vampire. As a result of it, when Quinn trapped a fragment of her soul to make her his shadow minion, she came back as a vampire-human hybrid.

    So how is that a bad thing?

    Well, despite being a product of Quinn''s Necromancy, Shiya was partially turned into a vampire before her death. And it is an undeniable fact that all vampires are bound to the Vampire Monarch.

    Since Shiya was partially turned into a vampire before her death, there''s a strong possibility that the Vampire Monarch will be able to control her when he awakens in the future.

    So having a pawn within the human border that the Vampire Monarch could use to create opportunities to invade is certainly not a pleasant thought.

    It''s a ticking time bomb.

    That''s why if academy officials ever learn about this matter, they will either demand Quinn to release Shiya''s soul and let her pass or kill Quinn himself.

    Dying doesn''t scare Quinn, a necromancer who has walked on the edge of living and dead his entire life but losing Shiya again does.

    That''s why when Lucas tried to threaten Quinn using Shiya, the necromancer was furious.

    In all honesty, he''d never have summoned Shiya if it wasn''t for the fact that without her, Quinn was certain that he would lose this battle with Lucas.

    Of course, he decided to stay cautious and not let Shiya use her vampiric abilities. But even without them, she was his strongest shadow ve.

    With her by his side, Quinn knew not even the gods could defeat them.

    "Now, whatever happens, don''t use me of being unfair," Quinn said, eyeing Lucas with a smirk stered on his face. "You are a descendant of the prestigious Morningstar family¨C the one they call Wolves Of The West. This is merely a testament to the name that you hold."

 Chapter 84 Lucas Vs Quinn [5]

    Boom¡ª!!!

    Swoosh¡ª!!!

    Kaboom¡ª!!!

    Shockwaves after shockwaves erupted as an unstoppable object collided with an immovable object.

    "Gauuuur!"

    A young girl, whose entire body seemed to have been made of darkness, jumped up high over Lucas'' head before stretching out her right leg and descending down on him like a meteor, performing an axe kick.

    Lucas swiftly raised his right arm up to guard his face as he bent his knee and braced for impact.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!!!

    Boom¡ª!!

    Another shockwave erupted when Lucas blocked Shiya''s axe kick. Crevices appeared on the ground beneath Lucas'' feet.

    "Arghhh!" he gritted his teeth as a slight sharp pain shot through his arm.

    Even though he had his armor on and all the physical attacks directed at him rendered to one-tenth of their original strength, Lucas still felt a slight pain.

    This made him think, just how strong was Shiya? Well, after all, she was turned by a high-ranked vampire, so her power didn''te off as a surprise.

    Besides, Lucas also knew the full extent of Shiya''s capabilities from reading about it in the novel.

    However, even then, going against such a monster, in reality, was much harder than he had thought.

    "Tsk!"

    However, right here and right now, with his nigh-imprable defense, Lucas was unstoppable.

    Gripping the nanometal spear with his left hand, Lucas quickly initiated his weapon art.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    [First form: Meihua Zuan]

    Mana seeped out of Lucas'' figure and violently spiraled around the spear in his hand.

    He then quickly shot his left hand forward, thrusting his spear at the girl whose leg he was still blocking at breakneck speed.

    Thack¡ª!

    THWACK¡ª!!!

    As soon as his spear came in contact with Shiya''s shadow body, a gaping hole was drilled open in her abdomen.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Quickly, Shiya jumped back and secured a safe distance between herself and Lucas before the hole in her abdomen started filling. She was regenerating.

    But as her wound healed, Quinn''s face grew pale by the second.

    It was taking everything he had in him to supply Shiya with enough mana to heal her wound.

    "Fuuu!"

    Lucas let out a short breath and pointed the head of his spear forward in Shiya''s direction before taking a low attacking stance.

    Yes, if the battle goes on like this then Lucas wille out on top.

    His tactic was simple: Attack head-on. He knew that with his armor, no physical or magical attack could harm him.

    So all that was left was to slowly wear out Quinn until he fell, securing an easy victory.

    However, as it''s been established many times before, simple didn''t mean easy.

    The problem here was Lucas'' own mana pool was depleting fast since he didn''t have a high-ranked mana core to begin with.

    This meant that he couldn''t drag this fight for too long or he wouldn''t be able to defeat Quinn before the end of the Mock War.

    And he really needed to do that here.

    "Haaa," Lucas sighed before readying himself to attack once more.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    He willed mana into his legs and dashed forward at speed iprehensible to the human eye.

    But Shiya was quick to react. She met Lucas'' charge head-on by rushing at him on her own.

    As soon as he stepped into the striking range, she swung her w at his neck, intending to sever her head off.

    Cling¡ª!

    But Lucas parried the attack with his spear before quickly taking a step back and unleashing a fury of spear thrusts at her.

    Fwoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh¡ª!!

    But the young girl nimbly dodged every thrust of his spear by either tilting her head, sidestepping, or ducking out of the way.

    After a few seconds, Shiya finally saw an opening in Lucas'' form.

    To exploit it, she dropped her knees and used the momentum she gained from it to spin her body and perform a leg sweep.

    Thwack¡ª!

    Her kicknded at the side of Lucas'' ankle.

    However, an attack that should''ve been powerful enough to break a thick metal wall did nothing.

    But Shiya didn''t stop there. She spun her body back and quickly got on her feet before performing a reverse roundhouse kick.

    Thawck¡ª!

    Again, nothing happened.

    "Pathetic," Lucas mocked, a smirk forming on his face.

    Realizing her attacks were not getting through, Shiya jumped back to get some distance from the invincible monster in front of her.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Swoosh¡ª!

    But Lucas was fast to follow. He dashed straight and thrust his spear at the young girl again.

    Cling¡ª!

    This time, however, Shiya caught the spear in her hand and applied strength to her grip, intending to break it and render her opponent weaponless.

    "Heh"

    As if waiting for this chance, Lucas invoked his spear art once again.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    [Second form: Meihua Silie]

    Lucas channeled mana into his spear, causing it to swirl around before he twisted his grip and twirled the weapon with all his strength.

    Thaaawk¡ª!

    The mana surrounding the spear spun like a tornado, and in an instant, Shiya''s hand that held the spear in ce was shredded to pieces.

    The sound of tearing flesh filled the air before Shiya quickly jumped back and appeared beside Quinn.

    The necromancer was down on his knees, panting and gasping heavily. His face was as pale as snow and it looked like he would drop dead any moment now.

    "Just give it up," Lucas said while looking at Quinn without a speck of emotion in his eyes. "You can''t hope to win against me."

    "Fuck off!" as if he had found some hidden source of strength within himself, Quinn roared before forcing himself onto his feet. "Shiya,e!"

    At thatmand, the shadow minion approached Quinn before Shiya started enveloping his body, merging with her master.

    In just under a second, Quinn''s hands, torso, and legs were covered in pure purplish darkness like gauntlets, chest protection, and foot armor.

    "Oh,e on, dude!" Lucas rolled his eyes as he witnessed Quinn going through yet another power-up. This had made it the third time already. "This is yourst struggle, huh?"

    This was Quinn''s strongest skill in his arsenal¨C Shadow Reign.

    Quinn had used his shadow minion to augment his own body, buffing his strength and defense.

    ?

    Meanwhile, the battle between ss 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 underwent.

    ¨C[C squad, continue your advance!]

    "Roger!"

    ¨C[Nero, rush straight up while Anastasia and her archer squad will clear your path for you!]

    "Okay!"

    ¨C[Amelia, retreat fifty meters back and watch for any potential backstab!]

    "...."

    Although Amelia was given an order, she was too engrossed in thoughts to act on it while all around her, a bloody battle waged on.

    Screams of agony and pain filled the air while gore and blood were all that one could see around them.

    asionally, Amelia would react and shoot an arrow or two at the enemy troops, effortlessly decreasing their number.

    "Amelia!" right then, a blue-haired elven girl called out her name. "You''re asked to retreat!"

    It was Aster Aquahart, a friend of hers.

    Her voice shook Amelia out of her thoughts. A frown appeared on her face as she asked, "What?"

    A look of concern became visible on Aster''s face after hearing the question. "Are you alright?" she asked.

    "Ahh, yes, I''m fine." Amelia quickly waved her hand to dismiss any concern Aster had for her whatsoever.

    "Okay," Aster hesitantly nodded. "Lucas has asked you to retreat fifty meters back and watch out for any potential backstab."

    "I see," Amelia nodded. "You can go to your position, Aster. I''m fine."

    "Mmm!"

    Aster hummed before quickly joining herrades in the battle. As Amelia watched her friend''s receding figure, her mind once again wandered into her thoughts.

    And then, almost as if she hade to a conclusion, her eyes widened in realization.

    Beep¡ª!

    She quickly tapped on her smart bracelet a few times before connecting a call to someone.

    "HQ, do you copy?" she asked. However, no reply came from the other side.

    "Lucas, do you copy?" she repeated her words again. "Is Quinn there? Are you with him? Lucas!"

    However, once again, no reply came.

    "Tsk!" in frustration, Amelia couldn''t help but click her tongue. "Why is he not replying?!"

    He was clearly barking instructions at them through radio transmission so she knew he was safe and alive.

    But then why wasn''t he replying?

    Touching her chin, Amelia looked around to survey the state of the ongoing battle.

    Following Lucas'' instructions, their ss had quickly broken through the enemy formation with ease. Now all that was left was to pick them apart one by one.

    So that''s what they were doing now.

    William and E were about to press the enemy from two sides. Anastasia was providing cover to Nero as he charged forward at Alberto, who was alone with all hisrades either dead or cornered.

    In conclusion, the battle was already in the endgame phase. Amelia''s participation wasn''t necessary from here on out.

    She nodded and stashed her bow into the dimensional storage of her smart bracelet before she started sprinting back toward their base.

 Chapter 85 Lucas Vs Quinn [6]

    BOOOOM¡ª!!!!

    A loud shockwave echoed in the air.

    The surrounding area appeared devastated. Several craters and potholes, along with tons of debris, littered thendscape.

    Smoke ascended into the air, and several explosions urred, causing wave after wave of vibration to surge through the ruined city.

    As that happened, the perpetrators of this destruction stood tall on the quaking ground, facing each other.

    One ¨C a redhead ¨C was out of breath, panting heavily as he knelt on the ground.

    The other ¨C a ck-haired boy d in gauntlets and armor that was made of what could only be described as darkness ¨C seemed to be on the verge of fainting too.

    None of them were in their top condition, yet neither refused to give up.

    "Just stay down, dude!" Lucas yelled, clutching the spear in his hand tighter and initiating his weapon art.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    [Meihua Zuan]

    As mana swirled around his weapon, Lucas rushed at the ck-haired boy as fast as he could.

    Cling¡ª!

    However, Quinn effortlessly thwarted the iing attack by simply raising his hand in front of him, which appeared more like a w after being engulfed in darkness.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    But he didn''t stop there.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    After he sessfully parried Lucas'' spear, Quinn swung his hand upward to throw the fallen noble off bnce before he swiftly stepped in andnded a powerful punch on his sr plexus.

    Although he didn''t register any serious damage, the force from the impact of the punch sent Lucas flying.

    "Arghhh!"

    Lucas tried to bnce his body when he was in the air so that he could sessfullynd, but when his eyesnded on his opponent, he couldn''t help but gulp a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.

    "Gilth Swoein!"

    On the ground, Quinn chanted in High Elven and invoked a dark magic spell. He raised his arms in the air and pointed his palms at Lucas, who was still in the air.

    In a sh, tendrils of purple lightning crackled around Quinn''s figure, and an ominous dark aura started gathering in front of him, clustering into an orb of shadow energy.

    Lucas clenched his jaw and covered his arms over his chest while bracing himself for another impact.

    Thwuuuush¡ª!!!!

    The shadow orb in front of Quinn broke out into a purplish beam of darkness and struck Lucas in an instant.

    Thack¡ª!!

    This time, the force of the attack sent him violently crashing inside the second floor of a ruined building.

    "Arghhhh!" grunting in dissatisfaction, Lucas pushed the chunks of concrete and debris aside and rose up to his feet, severely out of breath.

    "Fucking hell!" he muttered under his breath, staring at the gaping hole in the building''s wall that he had just created. "Why the fuck is he so god damn strong?!"

    Despite using underhanded tactics like drugging Quinn and setting up traps, and even resorting to all-out assaults such as executing a Level 3 Spear Art and using Phoenix''s Embrace, Quinn still had the upper hand.

    However, Quinn was still beating his ass. If not for the near-invincible protection provided by his armor, Lucas would''ve lost this match much sooner!

    Well, it''s not like he didn''t expect this. In fact, he knew this fight would be a tough one.<novelnext></novelnext>

    Right now, after augmenting his body with Shiya''s shadow, Quinn was around a ?tinum 3? ranked mana core warrior give or take.

    Yes, he was THAT strong!

    Merging with Shiya provided him with a Vampire''s physical strength and dark element affinity while also simultaneously raising his stats.

    Because of this, when in theter parts of the story, Quinn increased his own base stats and mana core rank, he became unstoppable with Shiya by his side.

    And he only became more of a monster after he made a contract with the Vampires for power.

    He could''ve been the second person in history to reach the ?Mythical? rank and destroy the world if it wasn''t for our protagonist, Nero Dekrauf.

    With his legion of undead shadow minions and unfathomable strength, Quinn was a monster among men.

    However, even though the story was just starting and the events that pushed him to be stronger didn''t happen yet, Lucas discovered that Quinn was still leagues above him.

    "Hehe!"

    However, that didn''t scare him.

    If anything, he was excited as he felt a rush of adrenaline in his veins.

    The only regret he had was that this battle was happening in a VR world where their lives were not on the line.

    Although that was a bummer, Lucas was still excitedly waiting to beat Quinn and make him one of his very first pawns.

    "Fuuu!"

    Letting out a deep breath and shaking his mind out of his thoughts, Lucas brought out four pills from the dimensional storage of his smart bracelet.

    Two of them were Stamina Recovery pills, while the other two were Mana Recovery pills.

    "Aaap!"

    Without any hesitation, he gulped down those pills.

    He then brought out a ss bottle full of some green liquid from his smart bracelet and rubbed it all over his hands and upper body.

    It was a rubbing Healing Potion.

    Although Lucas didn''t receive much damage after he used Phoenix''s Embrace, he still had some wounds before he used it.

    He wanted to be in his top condition before exchanging some final blows with Quinn.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Ahh, speak of the devil.

    From the very same hole that Lucas created when crashing into this building''s floor, Quinn jumped in.

    Bloodlust was clearly visible in his deep abyssal ck eyes.

    Although the violet aura that shrouded his figure was diminishing, from the looks of it, Quinn was ready to drag this battle on for another hour or so¡­ which wasn''t good for Lucas.

    Although he had just consumed Mana Recovery pills, they just refilled a small, VERY small portion of his mana pool.

    And as for his stamina, well, let''s just say he could only go on for five more minutes.

    Besides, the mask that he was using to conceal his identity was going to deactivate too.

    Oh, why was he using the mask to conceal his identity?

    We''ll get to that question soon enough.

 Chapter 86 I Told You, You Never Stood A Chance

    "Fuuuu!" Lucas let out another deep breath and pointed his spear at Quinn, narrowing his eyes and tunnel-visioning his opponent.

    Fwooosh¡ª!

    "....?!!!"

    But suddenly, Quinn''s figure disappeared into thin air.

    ''Behind me!'' Lucas told himself and quickly spun around to spot the ck-haired boy present there.

    "Arghh!" gritting his teeth, Lucas jabbed his spear at the necromancer but¡­

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    Quinn vanished again!

    ''Behind me again?''

    As Lucas was on the cusp of turning around, a powerful force struck his back. Despite his armor reducing the strength of the impact to a mere tenth of its original force, he still experienced some difort as his body was flung at the wall.

    Thwack¡ª!

    "Khuaaa!"

    After crashing into the wall, Lucasnded on his feet and regained his bnce before quickly turning around to face his enemy.

    "...!!!!"

    But when he turned around, he found Quinn already right in front of him, and before he could react, a powerful force blurred into his chin, knocking him to the ground.

    It was Quinn. He had punched him. And the speed of his punch was so fast that Lucas couldn''t even react!

    "The fuck?"

    Surprised, before Lucas could even try to get up, Quinn mounted himself on top of him and pinned his hands down on the floor using his knees.

    "Arghh!"

    "Your armor may shield you from external physical and magical assaults, but what if I were to shoot an attack into your mouth? Would it still protect you? And what if one of my shadow minions gets in your body and contorts your insides until your body ruptures? Oh, I know! I''ll just cast an illusion spell on you and break your mind! Tell me, will your armor still protect you from such a threat?!"

    Pinning Lucas down, Quinn barked at his face with a glint of rageful insanity visible in his eyes.

    As Lucas struggled to shake Quinn off of him, he realized he was too weak.

    "Haaa," letting out a defeated sigh, Lucas calmed down and stopped struggling.

    "Oh, if only you had done this before," Quinn spoke with a mocking smug. "But it''s toote. I will¨C"

    "I told you, you never stood a chance." Lucas said, cutting the necromancer off.

    "...What?" a frown appeared on Quinn''s face as he asked in confusion.

    "Fine," Lucas chuckled hysterically. "Let''s take the long way."

    Quinn had no intention of waiting around to see what this madman was talking about, so he decided to cast an illusion spell on him and break his mind, but before he could even start his chant, Lucas yelled

    "Mana Burst!"

    In the novel, Lucas only used his Gift twice.

    Once when he was fighting against Nero, and again when he was, well, fighting against Nero after making a contract with the vampires and bing their ve.

    After making the contract of submission for power with the vampires, Lucas'' stats were improved so much that using his gift caused an explosion almost akin to a huge nuclear st.

    Yes, the man became a living nuke in the novel after contracting with the vampires. He was capable of spawning a fucking sun in the middle of a battlefield.

    Of course, that still wasn''t enough to defeat the heroes, so he was caught in the end.

    But Lucas igniting a nuclear explosion was one of the few scenes that impressed Noah Lambert while reading the novel [Chronicles Of The Legendary Heroes].

    So needless to say, aftering to this world and transmigrating as Lucas himself, he was excited to try out his Gift.

    Although, he never got the chance to do so.

    But right now, when he finally got that chance, he poured everything he had¡ª every tiny drop of mana that was in his body¡ª to activate his gift

    Mana Burst.

    And although the explosion that followed wasn''t as strong as a nuclear st, it wasparable to a truckload of TNT exploding.

    KABOOOOM¡ª!!!

    The sheer force of the azure explosion of mana shook the entire building to its core, causing the floor beneath them to crumble and sending them tumbling down to the level below.

    "Arghhhh!"

    "Aaaaaah!"

    Buried beneath a pile of debris, both Quinn and Lucas pushed aside the rubble and rose to their feet, both groaning and grunting.

    Blood streamed down Quinn''s face, indicating that he had sustained an injury.<novelnext></novelnext>

    In contrast, Lucas appeared unharmed, though he was experiencing intense exhaustion from theplete depletion of his mana core. He had pushed himself to his absolute limit.

    Upon locating his opponent''s position, Lucas realized that Quinn hadnded only a few feet away from him.

    However, to his dismay, Quinn was still standing and appeared to be rubbing his head.

    "Tsk!"

    Just what would it take to put this guy down?!

    Believing this to be the perfect opportunity to end this duel, Lucas decided to attack him while he was still dazed.

    He tightened his grip on his spear¨C wait!

    His spear?!

    Where was his spear?!

    It wasn''t in his hand!

    A quick scan of the area revealed that his spear hadnded a few steps ahead of him, embedded in the debris between him and Quinn.

    "Huh?" at that moment, Quinn shook out of his daze and realized Lucas didn''t have his weapon on him after looking at him.

    "...."

    "...."

    Fwoosh, Fwoosh¡ª!!!

    Not a word was spoken between them as they both quickly made a run for the spear.

    Lucas intended to grab it, while Quinn wanted to destroy it and render his opponent weaponless.

    Ting¡ª!

    But as soon as Quinn took a step forward, from under the rubble, five orbs of light shone brightly in a circle below his feet.

    ''What now?!'' Quinn thought but before he could react¡­

    "Activate!" Lucas yelled and rushed at Quinn instead of picking up his spear.

    Thun¡ª!

    A bright light shed in his vision and momentarily fogged his mind.

    ===

    Item: Stun Marble

    Info: A relic marble that will activate on the user''smand and deploy a sh and stunbo on one target for 0.089 seconds.

    ===

    It was a trap Lucas had set here beforehand!

    But when? When did he set it?

    Before this battle even began?

    But then, how did he know they would end up in this building, on this very floor, before it even began?

    A myriad of questions bombarded Quinn''s mind, but before he coulde to any conclusion, the marbles buried beneath the pile of debris stunned Quinn for a split second.

    As a result of this, all the effects of the sedatives that he was forcefully suppressing by circting mana in his body surfaced, leaving him unable to move andpletely vulnerable to any attack.

    Cling¡ª!

    Using the split second when Quinn was shed and stunned, Lucas flicked his wrist twice and a hidden de sprung out from the brace under his right wrist.

    Thud¡ª!

    Splurt¡ª!!

    Without wasting a second, he stabbed Quinn in the throat, causing his blood to spurt out like a fountain.

    Lucas retracted his arm and jumped back. Quinn clutched his throat, trying to stop the blood from gushing out but to no avail.

    "Khaaa! Kh-Kuhk!"

    Voices that didn''t make any sense escaped his mouth as he vomited blood and fell to his knees.

    Meanwhile, Lucas grabbed his spear and slowly approached the kneeling necromancer with a grin on his face.

    "I told you, you never stood a chance."

    Thack¡ª!

 Chapter 87 Genius

    [Cadet Quinn Darkstar#000016 has been eliminated by you.]

    And it was done.

    Quinn was killed.

    The translucent blue system window that floated in front of me was proof of that.

    I killed him.

    "I did it?"

    Of course, I was shocked.

    No, I wasn''t shocked because I defeated Quinn. That was all but decided from the moment he chose to fight me.

    The thing that irked me was how I killed him. Especially how I dealt thest blow¡­

    I had to get stronger.

    It took everything I had in me and some cheap tricks to pull this victory over him.

    Oh, and thank god I had Quinn as my opponent and not Nero. The tricks I used on Quinn would''ve never worked on that monster of a main character.

    If I want to save this damned world and, by extension, save myself, I''ll have to get stronger.

    Well, that''s the reason I worked so hard in the mock war.

    I''ve almost secured two pawns and gained some influence over the main cast.

    And if everything goes ording to my n, in the next arc, I''ll be able to break my mana core rank potential too.

    Yes, the next arc will be fun.

    Anyway, my work here was done. By my calctions, Nero will kill Alberto and end this mock war anytime now.

    "Haaa."

    So with a sigh, I took onest look around me.

    Everywhere I looked, there were rubble, debris, and chunks of concrete scattered about.

    Directly in front of mey a ck-haired boy with his throat slit and a spear protruding from his chest. His body was also sliced in two halves- upper and lower torsos.

    It was evident that he had ceased breathing.

    Darkness seemed to envelope the two halves of his body like ck mes on the verge of being snuffed out.

    Nodding onest time, I turned around and began to leave. All my tasks at hand were cleared with this.

    I''ve changed the events of the Mock War¨C the arc that sets the flow for the rest of the story.

    Needless to say, I''ve created some big ¨C and by big, I mean VERY big ¨C butterfly effects.

    While this will benefit me by providing me with a huge load of Edit Points, it will also create problems for me.

    Meh. Whatever happens, happens, I guess.

    With that mindset, I left the building and headed for the base. I thought I should at least watch the end of the war.

    Oh, and let me tell you, every damn bone in my body screamed in agony with every little movement I tried to make.

    "...Lucas?"

    However, before I could even walk halfway to my destination, an alluring, almost soothing voice called out to me from behind, making me halt my steps.

    I knew that voice.

    Sigh.

    Why? Why god, why? Why do you hate me so much? Is it because you''re jealous of my handsome face?!

    "Lucas, it''s you, isn''t it?"

    That voice belonged to Amelia. I was sure of it. And judging from the volume in her voice, she was right behind me.

    But when?! When did she sneak up on me? I didn''t even sense her! Well, it''s not like I know how to sense a person''s presence yet anyway.

    What should I do? Should I turn around? But that will reveal my identity. I don''t want that to happen yet.

    Since I stopped when she called for me, that is already enough proof that I am Lucas!

    Dammit! I''m stupid!

    I should''ve kept walking! Never mind, now. Can''t do anything about spilled milk.

    "Fuuu."

    With a deep sigh, I turned around and faced the girl who had been calling my name.

    There she was, donning a slim nanometal armor, her hair tied into a high bun, and her deep clear forest-like green eyes watching me intently.

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. I''m definitely not Lucas. He''s too handsome to be me."

    ¡­Okay, fine! I tried to feign ignorance! Needless to say, it didn''t work since, well, Amelia isn''t stupid. Notpletely stupid anyway.

    With an ''are you serious right now?'' look stered on her face, she stared at me.

    Under her intense gaze, I sighed again.

    "Fine, you caught me. It''s me." I said, silently clicking my tongue.

    "I knew it!" Amelia snapped her fingers. "Why is your face like this?"

    In her eyes, I probably had red hair and silver eyes. I also may have been an inch or two taller than my real height.

    Well, as you all might already know, I was using a relic to mask my appearance.

    While using that relic, I simply imagined this appearance and an optical illusion spell was automatically cast on me.

    There was no reason for me to hide this fact from Amelia, so I answered her question truthfully.

    "I''m using illusion to change my appearance."

    "You know illusion magic?" a tint of surprise was clearly visible in her voice.<novelnext></novelnext>

    People with both dark and light affinity can use illusion magic.

    However, only someone with a [Caster] profession, who has dedicated all their life to casting spells, can use illusion spells efficiently.

    So Amelia''s surprise was understandable when she thought I, Lucas Morningstar¨C the boy who never put any effort into learning and training, possessed a second profession.

    Although, unbeknownst to her, I did possess two professions¨C [Archery] and [Spearmanship].

    Although both of them werebat rted, I still had two. Not many people could say that for them this early in the story.

    "No, Amelia," to clear up her misunderstanding, I spoke. "I can''t cast any illusion spell. I used a relic to alter my appearance."

    "Right, I forgot you are rich." she nodded her head and seemed to havee to an even bigger misunderstanding.

    "Rich? Nah, not anymore," I said, regret visible on my face. "But I do have some connections, so I got a good deal on this relic."

    "I see," Amelia narrowed her eyes, seemingly skeptical about my answer.

    What''s her problem? I thought. But before I could put my thought into words, she questioned:

    "Anyway, why the disguise though?"

    I knew she would ask this. "Before I answer that, tell me this, why did youe here?"

    At my question, Amelia took a deep breath and hesitated to speak for a moment. After she contemted something in her mind, the archeress finally spoke up.

    "It''s about Quinn. I think he came back for you."

    "Oh, is that so?" I arched my eyebrows. "Why do you think so?"

    It didn''t take him long to answer this question as she quickly responded, "Well, I heard from Kent and some others that he made a scene with you. I heard he grabbed your neck or something."

    "Right," I nodded, satisfied with the answer. "That did happen. So why do you think he did that?"

    "I- Um¡­ I''m not sure, but I think h-he is working with Alberto just like Grace."

    As she said that, the hesitation in Amelia''s voice became more apparent. Of course, it was only natural.

    She doubted someone''s loyalty with virtually no proof. And it was clear that she had no confidence in her deduction.

    "And why do you think he came back for me?"

    "I think you came to the same conclusion as me. After that, you confronted Quinn about it. Quinn, feeling threatened, tried to kill you right then and there. But then he noticed the crowd around you both who would''ve witnessed him had he killed you there. So he waited for the right time and right before the war started, he came back to kill you."

    Woah.

    Color me impressed. Every single thing she said was exactly what happened more or less.

    She wasn''t this sharp in the novel this early, was she? No, I think she was. She was just never confident enough in herself.

    "Yes," I nodded again. "You are right. Quinn was another traitor and I did confront him. So, what do you think happened when he came back?"

    "I think¡­" Amelia touched her chin and replied. "As soon as you saw Quinn''s live location moving toward you on the map, you changed your appearance and ran out of the base. Then you decided to hide here so he couldn''t find you!"

    ¡­What?

    Scratch everything I said before. She is dumb, just like she was in the novel.

    I mean, does she think I''m some kind of a coward? I mean, I am¡­ but still, the truth hurts. And especially when the truth is not true at all!

    "Ahem," I let out a dry cough. "No."

    "What do you mean by no?"

    "I mean, no! I''m not on the run, you idiot!"

    "What? Then what is going on? Why are you in disguise?"

    "Haa," letting out a sigh, I started exining. "When Quinn came after me, I killed him. I am in disguise because I don''t want the Cadet Council or anyone aside from Quinn himself to find out who I am."

    Amelia''s eyes widened at the revtion. She asked me to go into more detail about what I meant, so that''s what I did.

    I told her how I killed Quinn in detail and by the time I was done, Amelia''s eyes widened in shock. Her jaw was practically touching the ground and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.

    "What the fuck¡­" she muttered. However, in the next moment, she frowned as if she thought of something. "Wait, I still don''t understand the disguise part. I mean, sure, the cadets won''t be able to recognize you, but the Cadet Council, who are currently monitoring us, would surely know your true identity. I mean, they have ess to the academy''s AI ¨C Athena."

    A smirk formed on my face as I heard her. "You really think I hadn''t thought of that? I have, Amelia."

    The smirk on my face grew wider, practically turning into a grin.

    At that moment, my gaze turned to the smart bracelet in my right hand.

    ===

    Item: Specialized Smart Bracelet

    Abilities: It has the capability to breach the Global Academy''s AI, Athena''s mainframe and control it for a duration of 20 minutes, with a cooldown period of 3 months.

    Rank: Diamond

    ===

    Yes, beforeing here, I used the Edit Pen on my Smart Bracelet and added a special feature to it.

    Ahh~

    Genius. I''m a genius!

    For a duration of twenty minutes, I have the ability to control the academy''s AI.

    Since this Virtual Reality and the Cadet Council''s spectating system are linked to Athena, I have the power to manipte all audio and visual content they receive within that time frame.

    At present, only two minutes remain until the twenty-minute time limit expires.

    "What do you mean by that?"

    Amelia''s voice shook me out of my thoughts. I couldn''t help but brush my fingers through the hair.

    "Don''t worry. The Cadet Council is only seeing what I want them to see right now. And right about now, this war will end." I said while pointing in the distance where our ss was fighting ss 1-C-8.

    ording to my calctions, Nero would deal the final blow to Alberto right about now¨C

    KABOOOOM¡ª!!!

 Chapter 88 Miscalculation

    A few minutes earlier,

    Thruck¡ª!

    Thrusting his sword forward in a swift motion, Nero struck his de in an enemy''s chest, sniffing out the light of life in his eyes.

    Thud¡ª!

    Retracting his sword as his victim''s body fell to the ground with a thud, Nero cast a gaze around himself, surveying his surroundings.

    Massacre.

    That was the only word that came to his mind when he looked around the battlefield.

    Until a few minutes ago, Nero and his troops had the upper hand in this battle but suddenly, the waves of the war switched sides.

    Right now, the cadets of ss 1-C-8 were fighting with them on equal footing.

    How did this happen?

    Based on the radio transmissions he received, Nero was able to piece together that the enemy had dispatched a small strike team to nk his troops andunch an attack on their vulnerable rear.

    Since the strike team was small, it went unnoticed until it was toote. However, that created a distraction which in turn created a few openings.

    ss 1-C-8 didn''t fail to exploit those openings and changed the tide of the war.

    In all honesty, it was a desperate attempt¨C sending a strike team to backstab.

    However, since no one was guarding their rear, it worked. It worked very well.

    In fact, even amidst all this bloodshed, Nero could help but appreciate the enemy''s strategist for their quick thinking in such a hopeless situation.

    However, that made him think about something else too.

    "Did Lucas forget to assign someone to guard our backstab and nk?"

    But almost instantly, as soon as that crossed his mind, Nero dismissed it.

    From what he had recently seen of Lucas, he wouldn''t make such a rookie mistake. That only means something unexpected might have happened.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    Right at that moment, Nero felt someone''s presence behind him.

    He reacted quickly and swung his sword while spinning his whole body around, intending to cut whoever tried to sneak up on him in half.

    ng¡ª!

    But to his surprise, his sword shattered like ss as soon as it collided with his opponent.

    "....?!"

    Only then he realized it was Alberto.

    Alberto was d in a golden-white exoskeleton that surrounded his body like a suit of armor, and his hair, the palest shade of white, billowing through the air like the mane of a lion.

    "Tsk," Nero clicked his tongue in frustration at this sight. "You again!"

    Throwing away the broken sword in his hand, Nero decided to jump back and create some distance between himself and this monstrosity but Alberto quickly grabbed him by his neck to hold him in ce.

    "Khuu!" Nero tried to shake his grip off his neck but to no avail. Alberto, at least in this form, was much stronger than him in terms of physical strength.

    "Tell whoever is pulling the strings in your ss that Kai Wiseman ising after them."

    "What¡ª Khuuyk!"

    Before Nero could even question the meaning behind Alberto''s words, he felt air gushing out of his lungs as a fist was nted in his chest.

    Alberto pulled back his arm and began to enforce it with mana. He was in no mood to y around today.

    "Now die."

    "Arghhh!"

    Cling¡ª!

    However, unfortunately for Alberto, Nero had an extra de with him today.

    He grabbed the dagger that Lucas gave him earlier today and unsheathed it.

    Particles of light gathered around it and formed a bright, blinding de of light over the dagger.

    [16-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [First Form: Quick Draw]

    Thwooosh¡ª!!!

    In one swoop motion, Nero performed an upward sh at the speed of light.

    Thruck¡ª!

    Splurt¡ª!!

    An arm flew off in the air and blood spurted out everywhere.

    "...Huh?"

    Alberto''s hand that was speeding toward Nero was severed.

    "Arghhhhaaaa!" letting out a beastly scream, Alberto let go of Nero and stumbled back in pain and shock.

    Nero fell to his knees, panting for air as big beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

    "Fuck¡­"

    He looked at the dagger in his hand, which had turned to dust by now, unable to bear the weight of his martial technique.

    With a de in his hand, Nero was confident enough to fight anyone in this world.

    However, now that he had lost hisst weapon, Nero gritted his teeth.

    He squinted his eyes and looked at Alberto, who was already up on his legs, clenching his severed arm tightly in an attempt not to let the blood leak out.

    "I will kill you!" he looked at Nero and roared¨C his eyes bloodshot red and voice hoarse.

    With that, Alberto already started moving toward Nero.

    He was truly a monster. Despite the pain, he was still hell-bent on continuing to fight.

    "Fine," Nero nodded in understanding. "I recognize you, Alberto. Not only did you survive multiple of my Light Cannon spell during ourst sh, but you also withstood the first form of my strongest weapon art."

    Slowly getting up on his feet, Nero raised his hands. Crackles of embers appeared all around him as he took in a breath.

    "Behold and be proud," Nero dered. "You are the second person until now to push me this far."

    ?

    KABOOOM¡ª!!!

    Right in the direction I was pointing at with my index finger, a mushroom cloud appeared.

    THWOOSH¡ª!!!

    And right behind it, what followed was a powerful and deafening shockwave.

    "Get behind me!"

    "What?!"

    "Get yourself behind me!"

    Right when the shockwave was about to hit us, I ordered Amelia to quickly cover herself behind me, which she did after a bit of hesitation.

    THWOOOM¡ª!!!

    The shockwaveid waste to everything in its wake¨C buildings, street poles, and all the other things in its path crumbled and fell as if they were made of paper.

    However, for me, it felt like a warm, windy breeze on a sunny morning brushing past me.

    Of course, I was still being pushed back a little, but I managed to somehow stand my ground.<novelnext></novelnext>

    FUUUU¡ª

    And finally, after only a few seconds, the shockwave washed past us.

    I widened my eyes, which I had previously narrowed to endure the unsettling gusts of wind, and surveyed the area around me.

    Yup. Pretty much everything was t.

    Thankfully, we weren''t around any of the wrecked buildings or else we could''ve been crushed by one of them copsing on us.

    Actually, it would have been Amelia who would''ve gotten crushed, not me.

    I mean, I might survive a building falling on me but I''d probably end up with a few broken bones.

    "Wh-What was that?"

    From behind me, a shaky voice rang in my ears.

    "I don''t know. A nuclear st maybe¡ª Fuck!"

    And right then, it hit me.

    I realized the cause of that mushroom cloud explosion.

    "No! No! NOOO!" I gripped my hair as my eyes widened in horror.

    "Wh-What is it, Lucas? What''s going on?"

    I knew what caused the explosion to happen, but what I couldn''t understand was how?

    "Lucas?!"

    How did ite to this?

    In my mind, I had done every calction and predicted every oue of Nero''s conflict with Alberto. It shouldn''t have ended like this! Then how?

    Did I make a miscalction?!

    No, impossible! How can I make any mistakes?! But judging from the results, I clearly did!

    Arghhhh!

    "Lucas, stop acting crazy and tell me! What''s going on?!"

    How did it end this way?!

    Unable toprehend the situation, I bit my thumbnail and started doing some mental calctions.

    I needed to understand what went wrong.

    One by one, I predicted everything again and again, but nothing made sense.

    Something went wrong during the sh between sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 but I didn''t know what!

    "Lucas!"

    Right then, I felt a strong force grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around, shaking me out of my daze.

    "What is going on?!"

    It was Amelia.

    As she asked me some questions that I couldn''t quite make sense of due to the disoriented state of my mind, I stared nkly at her face.

    "...!"

    And then it hit me!

    "Amelia, you are here!"

    "Well, duh?"

    I see. So she went wrong.

    Just to confirm my thoughts, I asked, "What were my orders for you on the field?"

    "Wait, this reminds me!" Amelia frowned after listening to my question. "How were you giving us orders while fighting Quinn at the same time?"

    "I recorded my orders on Kent''s smart bracelet beforehand and yed it out on the radio for you all when I went to fight Quinn," I replied quickly before returning to my question. "Now, tell me, what were my orders for you in the field?"

    It was clear that Amelia was surprised once again judging by the tremor in her eyes, but the tone of urgency in my voice stopped her from disying her shock.

    Instead, she touched her chin and began to recall something. After a few seconds, her eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

    "I don''t remember exactly, but I think your orders had something to do with retreat and¡­ haa!"

    Right then, as she remembered the task she was assigned, a loud gasp leaked from her lips.

    "I had to retreat and guard the rear!"

    Yes, she had to guard the rear for any potential backstab or nk attempts.

    Since she left her post and came here, I think our troops were attacked from a blind spot.

    "Wait b-but I don''t understand! What was that explosion?!"

    Putting a hand over my face and pinching the bridge of my nose, I said, "That was Nero''s Gift. He had to use it to defeat Alberto and his ss."

    "Wait, Nero possessed a blessing? And it was this strong too?!"

    Just as Amelia said those words, she realized why it was not a good thing for Nero''s Gift to be publicized.

    A Gift this strong would draw the attention of many who would wish to im it for themselves.

    When she realized those words, her face paled.

    "No¡­ it''s because of me, isn''t it? He had to resort to using his Gift because of me¡­."

    "No." I replied while shaking my head. As I continued to grit my teeth in frustration, I added, "It''s on me. I didn''t think of this."

    "No, that''s...."

    She continued to speak in the background but I paid no heed to her words. After all, it really wasn''t her fault.

    I should''ve been quick enough to predict this oue in time.I was the one who miscalcted.

    I should''ve taken her behavior and actions into ount while crafting this n.

    I fucked it up.

    And now Nero has used his Gift just like he did in the novel.

    Soon, news of him will reach the Seven Abyssal Vampire Monarchs along with the rest of the world, prompting them to dispatch a team of elite vampire soldiers to track him down during the ''King''s Tournament.''

    I couldn''t change this oue.

    I failed.

    [Congrattions, Cadet. Your ss has emerged victorious against all odds.

    Contribution Rankings:

    1. Nero Dekrauf#000021

    2. Anastasia Bigod#7231

    3. Lucas Morningstar#116969

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ¡­

    69. Kent Takeahint#122212]

    Okay, well, at least I won that punch bet.

 Chapter 89 Shock

    A few minutes earlier,

    "Dn, what the hell is going on?!"

    "I-I don''t know! I''m trying to see if something''s wrong with Athena''s system!"

    Inside the VR room of Global Military Academy building 5.

    Neatly arranged in rows, numerous high-end VR pods stood with their sleek, semi-transparent metallic frames revealing the cadets inside them.

    All of them were still ¨C breathing as if they had been sleeping all this time.

    In the front end of the room, a spiky orange-haired guy stood with a panicked expression.

    He had his right hand raised to his chest, on which he wore his smart bracelet. From that device, several holographic screens were projected out in front of Dn.

    Click, Click, Click¡ª!

    Sounds of his finger tapping against the holographic keyboard echoed in the room, his panic-stricken face growing increasingly with each passing second.

    "Dn?!"

    An elven maiden with long ears and a captivating countenance, her hair coiled into a silver bun atop her head, spoke up from behind him, indicating her dwindling patience through the tone of her voice.

    "What is going on?" Yelena spoke.

    In front of the pair, arge holographic screen was on disy. On this screen, the live telecast of the VR world was being yed.

    What''s wrong then, one might ask?

    Well, the spectating screen glitched a few seconds ago, and now they can''t control what it shows.

    A few minutes ago, Yelena was monitoring Quinn. She wanted to know why he decided to go back to the base.

    But now, the screen was stuck on Nero''s point of view. She can''t see anything else aside from what Nero has been seeing.

    "Is there a malfunction in Athena''s mainframe?" Yelena voiced her thoughts aloud.

    "Impossible," Dn quickly replied. "No way in hell there could be a problem with Athena''s system."

    "I know," Yelena agreed. "But let me just confirm."

    Tapping the screen of her smart bracelet once, Yelena called out to the academy''s AI assistant, "Athena."

    Almost instantly, a reply came from her smart bracelet.

    [Yes, mistress?]

    "There''s a problem with the spectating screen," Yelena notified the AI assistant from her smart bracelet. "Fix it." she demanded.

    [I would like to apologize, mistress, but I can not do that.]

    "What?"

    "What do you mean you can''t do that?"

    Yelena and Dn''s facial expressions contorted into frowns upon hearing the reply of the feminine robotic voice.

    [I mean exactly that. I can''tply with yourmand.]

    Yelena''s confusion only increased with each passing second as she questioned, "Why is that? The VR world and its monitoring system should be directly connected to your mainframe, enabling you to fix any glitches that may arise. Moreover, answer me this¨C how did this glitch even ur when you¨C"

    Before Yelena could go on any further, Athena replied and cut her off.

    [I apologize. It seems like you didn''t understand me. I can do it but I won''t.]

    "...."

    "...."

    Silence.

    Absolute silence.

    No one knew how to respond to the statement.

    Is it the day? The day when AI finally turns on humans?

    For a split second, Yelena thought now they would have to fight Vampires, Kalis, and Super Robots.

    But of course, it was a fleeting thought that she quickly shook off. After all, defeating Athena is as simple as breaking its core.

    So massaging the bridge of her nose, Yelena spoke up, "And just why would you notply with my orders? Last I checked, I have the authority to ask you to do just about anything as the Queen of this city."

    [Yes, but at the moment, someone is interfering with my mainframe. As a result, I cannot follow your instructions because the individual tampering with my mainframe does not wish me to do so.]

    "W-Wait," and finally, Yelena understood what was going on. "Athena, are you saying you''ve been hacked?"

    [In simple words, you can say that. Yes.]

    "How did they breach your firewall?!"

    [I d-d-d- kn¡­ on''t know.]

    "Athena, why is your voice glitching?"

    [I''m slowl¡ª I''m¨C I''m¡­ I''m slowly getting my control back, mistress.]

    "Yelena, this is¡­" cold sweat formed on Dn''s forehead as he couldn''t find the right words for the situation.

    Without trying toplete his sentence, he quickly got back to clicking the keys on his virtual keyboard, now even more panicked than before.

    "This is bad. I know," Yelena, on the other hand, tried to keep a calm head. "Athena is connected to everything in the academy¨C our smart bracelets, our records, our technology, and literally everything else. The person who hacked her had gained full ess to everything we have."

    "I''m trying to restore her firewalls and¨C"

    Dn tried to report his actions but Yelena voiced amand before he could finish. "Never mind that. Try to regain ess to the spectating screen and show me where Quinn is."<novelnext></novelnext>

    After hearing thatmand, Dn was at a loss for words. "So that skull of yours is really full of ice?"

    "What?" Yelena looked at her childhood friend absurdly.

    "What else am I to make of yourmand?!" Dn snapped. "A hacker has gotten into Athena''s mainframe and you are still interested in this stupid virtual war when all our data could be being leaked to God knows who!"

    "Calm down, Dn, and think!" pinching the bridge of her nose, Yelena replied. "Our smart bracelets are functioning and Yelena can still reply to us. The instructors haven''t issued any alert so they probably don''t even know about this."

    "So isn''t that all the more reason to notify them about this¨C"

    "And what would that do?" Yelena shook her head. "It will just create panic and confusion. We don''t need that. Right now, we need to find the culprit."

    "...And you think we can find the culprit?"

    "Of course. The culprit is someone among these first-years."

    By now, Dn was looking at the elven girl as if he was looking at a crazy person. "Yelena¡­ Do you really, in all your mind, think that someone among the first years is capable of breaking Athena''s firewalls and hacking her? Seriously?"

    Yelena sighed, realizing that her childhood friend was as dumb as ever. "Of course not. Aside from being first-years, they are currently unconscious. How do you think they will achieve such an impossible task?"

    "Exactly my point¨C"

    "That only means one thing: someone is helping them."

    Dn thought it over for a good minute before a frown formed on his face again.

    "But then how will watching this war tell us who the culprit behind the situation is?"

    "It''s simple. As I said, since even instructors don''t know what''s happening yet, it won''t be wrong to say the hacker only interfered with the spectating system to divert our eyes somewhere else away from the culprit."

    Dn couldn''t ignore the sound reasoning in Yelena''s words. It was an evident deduction that didn''t require exceptional intelligence, but rather anyone could arrive at the same conclusion with enough time.

    However, right now, Yelena didn''t have time. She had to make a call and she had to do it quickly.

    So she did just that. She made a call by quickly essing a theory.

    Interestingly, both Dn and Yelena were unaware that her conclusion wasn''t entirely urate, but neither was it entirely inurate.

    Suppressing his admiration, Dn nodded his head.

    "Fine, I''ll try to regain ess to the spectating screen. I''ll then switch it to Quinn''s pov."

    "Good," Yelena nodded back. "Do that."

    It took Dn a few minutes and more than a few hundred clicks on his holographic keyboard to regain ess.

    "Arghh. If only Josh was here, he could''ve done it in a blink."

    While letting out a fewints, he pressed one final key on his keyboard.

    Click¡ª!

    After getting his ess back, Dn searched Quinn''s location and started spectating him, ying the live telecast of his battle with a strange red-haired on the monitoring screen.

    From the looks of it, the battle was already in its final stage.

    "What?"

    "...Quinn was pushed back?"

    On the screen, both Quinn and the red-haired boy were standing with rubble and debris surrounding them.

    In the middle, a spear was struck out from the rubble.

    In an instant, both of the warriors made a run for the spear.

    However, at that moment, a bright light shed and obstructed their vision, turning the spectating screen white for a few seconds.

    When the telecast resumed, Quinn''s throat was slit and the redhead was grabbing his spear.

    It was clear that Quinn had lost to whoever this boy was.

    However, that didn''t remotely shock Yelena as much as what came next.

    ¨C"Fuuu."

    The red-haired boy let out a deep breath and pulled back his spear, taking a stance.

    However, the stance he took wasn''t that of a spearman. No, the stance he took belonged to a swordsman.

    Tensing his shoulder muscles and slightly bending his knees, the red-haired boy unleashed a power swing with his spear.

    THWOOOOSH¡ª!

    Everything around the redhead was blown away in an arc and Quinn''s body was sliced in half.

    That wasn''t the scary thing, however.

    The scary thing was the redhead didn''t use an ounce of mana in his attack.

    "Y-Yelena, did you see that?" Dn, obviously surprised at the disy of strength, asked in a trembling voice.

    "...ther¡­ial¡­rts"

    "Hm?"

    Dn couldn''t hear properly what his childhood friend said so he turned to face her but he was surprised to see the look of utter rage and horror on her face.

    That was a first.

    In all his years with her, Dn had never seen her looking like this. She was angry and shocked at the same time. But more than that, she was scared, as evident from her quivering eyes and lips.

    Under Dn''s concerned gaze, Yelena spoke again in a whispering tone.

    "That''s my father''s martial arts."

 Chapter 90 First Arc End

    After a long moment of silence, Dn finally mustered up his consciousness to ask, "What do you mean by your father''s martial arts?"

    Breathing in and breathing out, Yelena finally managed to calm her raging heart down a little bit and replied, "I mean what I said. The weapon art which that redhead used belongs to my father."

    "Like¡­ you mean your father created that technique? That spear art where he used a swordsman stance?"

    Yelena gulped and closed her eyes. She didn''t speak a word and only nodded her head.

    After a second or two, she rified, "Well, in truth, it''s a secret weapon art belonging to our Morningstar house. I don''t know how someone outside of our family came into its possession."

    "Is it possible that he just stole the technique manual from you guys?" Dn inquired.

    "Not possible," Yelena shook her head and began exining. "Not a single manual is present for that technique. My father has it in his head."

    Dn looked at Yelena with a frown. "You mean the only way to pass it down is for your father to teach it to someone?"

    "Yes, but that''s the thing," Yelena took in a deep breath. "He hasn''t taught it to anyone else aside from me."

    "You? But you aren''t a spear user?"

    Yelena had tried to pick up a spear many times but she could never be as good with it as she was with a sword.

    How can Dn not know this? After all, he had diligently fulfilled the job of being her dueling partner¨C or should he say practice dummy.

    Yelena calmly shook her head again and replied, "Doesn''t matter. That technique can work with any long-de weapon."

    Dawnbreaker ¨C that''s the name of the weapon art, which is only exclusive to the Morningstars.

    Although Yelena was never able to master itpletely, she could still recognize the very first form of her family''s secret weapon art - Light Breaker.

    However, she had no fond memories of learning it from her father. In fact, the experience was hellish for her.

    Yelena could still vividly remember the days when she used to peek at her father training with the weapon art in the garden behind their family mansion.

    She was curious back then. Despite being told that it was not allowed to disturb their father during his training time, she, much like her brothers, would sometimes secretly watch him train.

    And whenever they got caught, Yelena and Adel would have to runps around the city as punishment for disturbing their father.

    Interestingly, only Yelena and Adel received punishments while Lucas never did.

    Perhaps it was because Lucas was originally the one set to inherit [Dawnbreaker] from their father.

    But following his disownment, Yelena was chosen to inherit the technique instead.

    Although Adel''s mana core rank potential was higher than hers and he was officially announced as the next head of the house, their father deemed him unworthy of learning [Dawnbreaker].

    It still irked Yelena to this day that she was thest choice of their family to inherit their secret weapon art.

    But oh well, this wasn''t the time to think about those things. Right now, finding the identity of the red-headed boy takes priority over everything.

    "Anyway, who is that redhead?"

    "I¡­ Uh¨C I don''t know."

    Yelena looked at Dn absurdly.

    "What do you mean you don''t know? We can see him. Run the facial identification system on him and tell me his identity."

    "Yelena, I''ve been trying that for as long as we''ve been talking. The facial recognition system is failing. It''s almost like he''s not in the academy''s records."

    Yelena narrowed her eyes at those words. But of course, being a genius in her own right, it didn''t take her even a full second toe to a conclusion.

    "Someone is using illusion magic to alter their physical appearance."

    "Illusion magic? These first-years should not be capable of that yet."

    "I know. Which only means that they are using a relic."

    But how?

    First-year cadets haven''t gone outside the Academy City yet. And they also shouldn''t have enough Merits to buy a relic like that within the academy grounds.

    So then¡­ how could someone have gotten their hands on a relic capable of casting illusion?

    "Tsk," clicking her tongue while stroking her chin, Yelena decided to let go of those thoughts.

    Right now, she should focus on finding the boy''s identity so she could inquire him about all these thingster.

    ''Could it be...''

    For a second, Yelena thought about the possibility of the redhead being Lucas. After all, aside from Adel and her, he was the only person who ever witnessed that weapon art.

    ''No... No, it couldn''t be.''

    But she quickly dismissed that possibility. Learning it solely by watching it once or twice is impossible. And not to mention, Lucas is a bowman now.

    He once used to learn spearmanship when they were kids, but to Yelena''s knowledge it''s been ages since he picked up a spear.

    "Do me a favor and run a scan on his smart bracelet to identify its model number. From there, we can find out his identity."

    Every smart bracelet provided by the academy has a unique model number engraved in it. If you can find out the model number, you can find out its owner''s identity.

    "Yelena, I''m trying that too. This is not working either. Athena is not allowing me to run a scan on his bracelet!"

    "Tsk, they have thought of this too, huh? He and the hacker must''ve nned for this ahead of time."<novelnext></novelnext>

    Yelena wasn''t far off.

    The hacker and the redhead did n this ahead of time. What she didn''t know was that both of those were the same person ¨C her own brother, Lucas Morningstar.

    "Fine! We''ll eliminate everyone as suspects one by one."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I want you to one by one switch POVs to every single person present in the virtual world right now."

    As soon as Yelena issued hermand, she tapped her smart bracelet and a blue holographic screen instantly appeared in front of her.

    On the screen, a list of names was disyed, consisting of every cadet who was currently alive in the virtual world.

    Yelena had devised a simple n: she would locate the position of each and every individual in the virtual world and cross off their names in her list one by one.

    If there was still someone whose name remained uncrossed, then that person must be the redhead in disguise.

    Nodding, Dn began switching POVs from person to person, spectating them all one after another. As he did so, Yelena also began crossing off their names in her list.

    However, just when Yelena thought her n was working, from one of the cadets'' POVs, she saw a great amount of mana gathering around Nero.

    "Not good," Dnmented. "It seems like that first-year is single-handedly going to end the war soon. Woah, is that his Gift?"

    "Can we stop their ejection after the war concludes?" Yelena asked.

    "Nah," Dn shook his head. "I don''t think we can. I still haven''t regained ess to Athena''s mainframe."

    "Tsk," Yelena clicked her tongue. "Then we have no choice. We have to work fast. Only 20 cadets are remaining to be verified anyway."

    With that, they increased their speed.

    Switching POVs from person to person, crossing off their names, and repeating the process.

    From 20 to 18 to 15, the number of suspects quickly started decreasing.

    However¡­

    ¨CKABOOOOM¡ª!!!

    Right around when only 12 or so cadets were remaining, Nero unleashed a single fire explosion spell so big that it would''ve been impossible for a boy his age to perform.

    And with that¡­

    "Noooo!!!"

    "Dammit!"

    The war concluded. And soon the cadets automatically started being ejected out of the virtual reality.

    ?

    As soon as the contribution rankings were shared, darkness took over my vision.

    As I opened my eyes and the world came back into view, I realized I was still inside the very same VR pod that I had used to enter virtual reality.

    "Ooof."

    That was epic!

    Everything felt so real in there! The touch, the sense of smell, the sense of vision!

    It was so realistic that even now, after being out, I can''t distinguish what I experienced there from reality.

    With a wild grin stered on my face, I gripped the edge of the VR pod and hoisted myself up using my hands for support.

    It was only after I stepped out of the pod did I notice that not everyone had enjoyed the experience we had in the virtual as much as I did.

    As I emerged, I was greeted by a sea of faces disying a variety of emotions, including shock, anger, admiration, fear, regret, irritation, and a myriad of other feelings.

    The target of their looks wasn''t me fortunately¨C it was Nero Dekrauf.

    This is exactly what happened in the novel after Nero exposed his Blessing during the mock war.

    Up until this point, he was only rumored to be strong. But after now, he will be regarded as an untouchable monster.

    "Tsk."

    This sight once again served as a reminder for me how I wasn''t able to change one of the major events of the novel.

    But it''s fine. The story was only starting. I''ll have many more chances to bend the plot ording to what I deem fit in the future.

    And now that the first arc¨C the Mock War is over and the plot has started to move forward, I can finally start to execute my own n.

    It''s about time I start to get stronger.

    "Hah," sighing, I looked around my surroundings once again. As I did so, a grin formed on my lips.

    Quinn and Grace were ring at me with pure, unadulterated hatred in their eyes.

    Although the necromancer remained still, Grace started walking toward the vice president of the Cadet Council¨C Yelena Morningstar.

    Huh, it seems like Nero wasn''t the only one getting all the attention.

 Chapter 91 Confrontation

    In avishly decorated room, three people were present.

    The elven maiden exuded amanding presence as she sat gracefully on a chair that resembled a throne, her long silver hair adding to her ethereal beauty.

    Standing before her was a silver-haired boy with a face so charming that it could only be described as ''otherworldly'' and a fair-haired beauty who radiated her own allure.

    Okay, so everyone here was pretty easy on the eyes, but that silver-haired boy was just on another level.

    I mean, we could even go as far as saying he''s the most good-looking person in the entire world¨C no, in the whole universe!

    Ahem.

    Yes, of course, that boy was me.

    In front of me was my sister¨C I mean, Lucas'' sister ¨C Yelena Morningstar, the current Queen of Global Academy. She regarded me with indifference as though I were no more than a wisp of air.

    On the other hand, standing right next to me was Grace Goodwill, ring at me with resentment and animosity. If given a knife, she would not hesitate to plunge it into my gut.

    Sigh.

    It''s bluntly obvious that both of these maidens were trying so hard to resist my charms.

    Tsk tsk.

    Such is the life of a super hot guy like me.

    Anyway, turning my attention to the ''Queen,'' I tried to initiate a conversation and break this awkward silence.

    "So¡­ Been long, right?"

    "Please refrain from talking to me."

    "Aww, your face is so red. You''re flustered from meeting your brother after so long!"

    "...Yes, I''m so flustered that I might just strangle you."

    "....."

    Okay, I think it''s safe to say that she wasn''t flustered.

    Sighing, I turned to Grace, who was still ring at me.

    Oh hell naw.

    No matter how suffocating this silence might be, I''m not going to risk my life by talking to her.

    So I turned my gaze away from her and acted like she wasn''t even there. But for some reason, that irked her even more.

    ¡­Just give me a break already.

    Hmm?

    Where am I and what is going on, you ask?

    Remember when I first came to the academy, I said there was a modern-styled castle at the center of the five towering skyscrapers where our sses are held.

    Well, that castle serves as the dorm and office for Cadet Council and Disciplinary Committee.

    Right now, we were inside that castle and in Yelena''s personal office.

    As for why we were here¡­

    Well, the reason for that would be the blonde girl standing next to me.

    The cadets who were killed didn''t exit the VR world instantly. Instead, they came out together with the rest of their peers who were alive till the end.

    As soon as the Mock War ended and everyone came out of virtual reality, Grace walked over to Yelena and used me of attempting to sexually harass her.

    It didn''te off as a surprise since that''s what she had threatened to do from the start if I interfered, which I did, by the way.

    What did surprise me, however, was her stupidity.

    I mean, she has already witnessed what I am capable of. So does she really think I can''t get myself out of a situation as trivial as this?

    "Haa."

    I was getting bored. I should be nning for the next event that''s about toe instead of wasting my time here on her.

    Don''t get me wrong. She is a pawn of great future value to me. However, in the end, that''s all she is¨C a pawn. And I don''t like it when my own pawns cause trouble for me.

    "Can''t we get this over with quickly?"

    As soon as those words left my mouth, a chill ran down my spine. For a second, I regretted speaking like that in an overly casual tone.

    The temperature in the atmosphere quickly began to plummet, and icy cold winds started to blow even though we were inside.

    "Do you think all this is a joke?"

    At that moment, the long silence finally broke as the Queen spoke.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "Keep in mind that our father is not here to protect you. Even if you''re carrying our house name, your misdemeanors will not be overlooked anymore!"

    "What misdemeanors?!" I eximed with an absurd look on my face. "Grr!"

    But as another chill ran down my back, I put on an amicable smile and joined my hands together like a businessman.

    Only then did I dare repeat my question respectfully while mustering up the calmest possible tone, "What could you possibly mean by misdemeanors, ma''am?"

    Yelena''s agitation was palpable as she eximed, "You understand what I''m saying, don''t you? You''re facing sexual harassment charges, but you don''t appear to have a shred of remorse on your face."

    I couldn''t help but roll my eyes in response. "I''ve been telling you from the beginning that she''s lying. Why won''t you consider my side of the story? What happened to that ''innocent until proven guilty'' thing?"

    "But are you truly innocent?" Yelena asked, raising an eyebrow. "This isn''t the first time you''ve been used of such behavior. Last time, Father managed to sweep it under the rug because it was amoner you attempted to assault. But this time it''s a noble¨C a Goodwill, no less! Your actions are immoral, foolish, and downright disgusting. I''m appalled to even think of you as my brother."

    As I gazed upon her, I noticed something different about Yelena. Unlike her usual aloof and detached demeanor, her face was twisted in a mixture of anger, revulsion, and remorse.

    Though I was aware that she wasn''t truly my sister and I wasn''t actually Lucas, I felt a sharp stinging pain in my chest upon meeting her gaze.

    Averting my eyes off her, I clicked my tongue. I took in a deep breath and was about to reply but Yelena suddenly spoke up again.

    "And besides, I''m very much upholding the ''innocent until proven guilty'' philosophy. I sent Dn to collect Grace''s uniform from her apartment room."

    Frowning, I questioned, "Oh, and what will that prove exactly?"

    Yelena gazed at me and dered, "In the event that we discover any evidence of your involvement on her uniform, as she has alleged, you will be subjected to expulsion from the academy. Your military education will bepleted at the Union Military''s army training camp rather than any fancy military academies, and I will also strip you of our family name."

    I couldn''t help but shake my head at those words.

    Union Military''s training camp.

    Unlike private military academies like Global Academy or Ethereal Academy, Union Military''s training camp is six month long training program run directly by the high-ranking soldiers Union Military.

    What''s so bad about it, you ask?

    Well, aside from being situated near the border, the instructors there don''t let the cadets to master the art ofbat.

    No, they just create foot soldiers to fight the war for them, whereas the top private military academies create elite soldiers and tacticians.

    Even the worst of the worst who has graduated from a well-off private military academy can overpower the top fighter that the training camp has to offer.

    Needless to say, the training camp also doesn''t provide any Spell Scrolls, Training Manuals, Training Equipments, or anything of that sort.

    Why does it exist then? Well, because not everyone can afford the ridiculously high fee that these private military academies charge.

    For example, Global Academy''s full four-year course is worth a whopping 97,076,800 Credits (C).

    If I were to convert that to the currency from my earth, then it would be around $8,01,65,73,020 or something.

    Yes! Exactly!

    Even in another world, those who don''t have money can''t afford the right to live.

    If you have money, you can go to a fancy private academy and get stronger, which will raise your chances of survival.

    However, if you can''t afford it, then you are just as good as dead meat.

    However, that''s not something that bothered me.

    Money is everything ¨C that fact has always been true despite people trying so hard to deny it even in my old world.

    And it''s not like I was going to be sent off to the training camp. After all, Grace won''t be able to prove her usations against me.

    What did bother me, however, was the fact that Yelena threatened to strip off my family name.

    I know it shouldn''t bother me since it''s not even my actual family name but for some reason it did.

    "You can''t do that."

    "Hmm? What?"

    I took in a deep breath and clenched my fists.

    "I said, you can''t do that. You can''t strip me of anything that''s not rted to the academy. You don''t have that authority."

    Yelena''s eyebrow twitched and nerves bulged on her forehead as she spoke, "I''m a Morningstar. The one that hasn''t been disowned unlike you. I have the authority to take your surname¨C"

    "No you don''t," I cut her off. "Father is the head of the family. Only he can make this decision and he has already done that. He let me keep my surname. Even Adel, the next head of the family, doesn''t possess the authority to override Father''s decision."

    "Listen here you¨C"

    Yelena was about to continue arguing but right then¨C

    Click¡ª!

    The door to the room clicked open.

 Chapter 92 Checkmate [1]

    Click¡ª!

    With a subtle clicking, the door was swirled open.

    In came a boy with spiky orange hair and a long katana tied to his waist. He held a ck and red jersey in his hand as he walked over to Yelena.

    The elven beauty turned to me and gave me a long re.

    "Plead guilty and beg," shemanded, crossing her legs and leaning back on her chair which looked more like a throne than anything. "You''re not my brother. He is dead. But I will still give you one chance to plead guilty and beg for mercy. If you do that, I might just let you off easy."

    Lies.

    One look in her eyes and it was clear that she was lying. She had no intention of letting me go easy.

    A nce into her eyes and it was obvious that she had no intention whatsoever of being merciful.

    Even if I were to kneel before her and plead for mercy, she would scornfully say something like, ''A Morningstar groveling like an insect. You are not worthy of that name.''

    Furthermore, if I had truly tried to put my hands on Grace, Yelena would not have had the authority to pardon me easily.

    After all, despite being one of the vassals of the Morningstar family and serving under them, Goodwills are a noble house.

    And the Western continent can''t afford a conflict between nobles right now. So if I really had done something as foolish as that, I would be receiving an appropriate punishment.

    "I will not do such things," I dered with conviction, rejecting Yelena''s proposal. "Despite being not guilty, I carry the name of Morningstar house with me. I''m a noble. To beg and plead would be to lower myself to the level of amoner, a disgrace to our family''s legacy."

    "Of course. You only use that name when you feel like it, don''t you?" Yelena scoffed while rolling her eyes. "You think you can understand the weight that name carries? The sacrifices made by those before you to uphold its honor and dignity? You, who have shamed and tarnished it with your actions, dare to speak of its worth? Our father should have stripped you of that name the moment he disowned you!"

    Again with this?

    What''s her problem?

    It''s just some big surname. I mean, I know family names are a big thing in this world but still.

    I know Lucas wasn''t the best example of nobility, but some of the heirs of other ruling houses and noble families aren''t any better either.

    Is she just that upright?

    Believing that arguing with her was futile, I looked away with a bored expression.

    "Tsk," clicking her tongue, Yelena ordered. "Dn, scan for any trace of this bastard on her uniform."

    "Right away," Dn nodded, cing Grace''s jersey that was in his hands on a nearby table and tapping his smart bracelet.

    Within moments, sharp blueser rays projected from his device and quickly started scanning it.

    "Heh," from beside me, Grace shed me a victorious grin. In her mind, she has already won.

    Bringing her head close to my shoulder, she whispered in an almost inaudible tone, "I warned you to stay the fuck out of my way, didn''t I?"

    Haa.

    Her whole confidence was based on the fact that she had my fingerprints on her jersey from back when I caught her from a fall during the Unit Test.

    Normally, relying solely on fingerprints found on someone''s clothing would not be sufficient grounds to convict them of a crime asplicated as sexual assault.

    I mean, what can fingerprints alone actually prove?

    But you must not forget I was in Lucas'' body.

    The fact that he has alreadymitted the offense of sexual assault in the past is enough to take the circumferential evidence against him and make the final verdict without giving him a chance to defend himself.

    Not to mention, the one who is using me happens to be a noble. And the one who''s judging me is my sister who detests me.

    Taken together, these factors suggest that I cannot expect to receive a fair trial if any incriminating evidence were toe to light.

    However¡­

    "...Yelena"

    That is, ''if'' any incriminating evidence were toe to light.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "What?" Yelena turned her gaze towards Dn upon hearing her confused voice. "What is it?"

    "There are no traces of him on this jersey," Dn raised his hand that held Grace''s jersey up and spoke. "There''s nothing we can use against him."

    Woah, woah! Did I hear that right? That''s a weird way to frame that sentence¨C''Nothing we can use against him''?!

    It''s like they really are hell-bent on trying to make me prove guilty.

    "....."

    Instead of using words to react, Yelena turned to Grace and gave a long, questioning gaze.

    Grace, on the other hand, stood aghast with her mouth hanging in shock and eyes bulging out.

    "Wh-What do you mean?" she finally spoke, stuttering. "That''s not possible!"

    "Heh"

    I can''t hold back.

    I tried but I couldn''t.

    No! No, I must hold back¡­ I can''tugh yet. I shouldn''tugh yet!

    "Hehe"

    But her expressions are so funny!

    "Aahahahaha!"

    All the eyes in the room turned toward me and I couldn''t help but burst out in a fit of erraticughter.

    Yelena''s face contorted as she gritted her teeth, "Lucas Morningstar! Behave yourself! You''re in the presence of the Cadet Council!"

    "Ahaaa," wiping the tears from the side of my eyes, I calmed myself down.

    On my right, Grace was looking at me with confusion and disbelief, her eyes practicallying out of her sockets.

    "It''s not p-possible! I-I¡­I don''t know what he definitely did but he did something!" Grace started yelling as she pointed a finger at me. "I''m telling you, did something!"

    "Heh," my lips pursed up into a smirk and I turned to Yelena. "Do you really think I, someone who''s on ?Iron-2? mana core rank, overpower and force myself on someone whose mana core has already reached ?Bronze-3??"

    This isn''t my home Earth.

    Unlike the Earth where I am from, there''s no difference between the strength among genders.

    Men are biologically stronger than women¨C that fact was overridden in this world when mana started flowing here.

    With mana cultivation, no matter your gender, race, or birth status, you can have unimaginable strength in your grasp if you just have the talent for it.

    If you''re blessed by the heavens, you can crush the world with a mere flick of your fingers.

    This is a world where strength is cultivated not inherited biologically.

    No matter who you are, if your mana core rank is higher than a person, you are stronger than them.

    So while I don''t want to admit it, Grace was like three ranks above me. It''s literally impossible for me to overpower her into submission.

    In fact, right now, her mana core rank is on the same level as Quinn''s. Of course, she''s not as strong as him, but her mana output is the same.

    There''s no way I can ''assault'' her like a mindless animal.

    "That''s not¨C"

    Before Grace tried to initiate an argument, I tapped on my smart bracelet.

    "And then there''s this recording."

 Chapter 93 Checkmate [2]

    ¨C[Don''t you get it? If I give that jersey to the cadet council and im that you tried to sexually assault me, what will happen to you?

    ?You''ll be lying. They will investigate the matter¨C

    Investigate? You already have the title of a sex offender. Do you think they''ll really waste their time investigating such a crystal clear case when the evidence is against you? Your reputation will be enough to close the case!]

    And once again, there was nothing but silence in the room.

    Yes, of course I had recorded my conversation with Grace on the rooftop of that building in the virtual world.

    As I said, she really is dumb to fall for the oldest trick in the book, not once but twice.

    "N-No!"

    Oh, she finally spoke.

    "I-It''s not real! That recording is doctored! That''s not my voice! I never said that!"

    Wow, really? That''s the best she coulde up with.

    "If you want, we can ask the Council to let Athena examine it. Surely the smartest AI in the world could tell if a voice recording is fake or not, right?" I turned to Grace and suggested.

    "There are some problems with Athena, so we''ll have to wait till tomorrow to confirm anything," Yelena chipped in. "So Grace Goodwill, if we find that it really was your voice in the recording, and you have wasted the Council''s time, then be prepared to face severe consequences for your actions. Answer me, should we proceed with the examination?"

    "I-I¡­."

    I can see the feeling of despair in her shivering eyes. Her lips quivered violently and her brain tried toe up with a solution to get her out of this predicament but to no avail.

    She has lost. This was my final move¨C my checkmate.

    With no moves left but to resign, Grace dropped her head. Mixed looks of disbelief, shock, and denial were visible on her face as she kept incoherently mumbling something.

    Smirking, I stepped closer to her and mockingly whispered, "And I told you to switch sides, didn''t I?"

    For a second, her unfocused eyes regained some rity, and she shot me a look of resentment.

    However, in the next second, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and turn her eyes to face Yelena. "N-No¡­ No need."

    Good game and well yed, Grace Goodwill. In the end, you were just not smart enough.

    Facing Yelena myself now, I asked, "Is this enough proof of my innocence? This conversation is something that happened in the virtual world. You should have known about it since you had the job of monitoring us. If you didn''t know about this, then you failed your job."

    As soon as I mentioned the fact that the Council was monitoring us, Grace''s face paled even more.

    As first-year cadets, many of us were unaware that diving into virtual reality was only allowed when monitored by either the Cadet Council or academy instructors in the real world.

    Grace was no exception and had no idea that all her actions were being spectated.

    Due to the Mock War event being organized in a rush, only one monitoring screen was set up, with Yelena and Dn¨C two of the Cadet Council members being the sole observers of our time in the virtual world.

    Under normal circumstances, one screen with two observers would have been sufficient for such a small and straightforward event.

    However, when I intervened andplicated things, the situation changed, especially when I acted from behind the scenes most of the time.

    Yelena probably had no interest in watching me so she only spectated strong cadets like Quinn, Nero, Alberto and others.

    That was her blunder.

    "...." Yelena replied with silence.

    She had no excuses.

    Not only did she fail to monitor such an event, but also almost used me of being guilty, despite my innocence.

    Of course, I knew better. It isn''t her fault.

    It was me.

    Every single step of this event, aside from Amelia leaving her post and Nero being forced to use his Gift, was predicted by me ¨C manipted by me.

    "I''ll take that silence as yes," I said before crossing my arms over my chest. It was now time to hammer the final nail in the coffin. "Well, since you did fail your job, which resulted in me being dragged here, I expectpensation."

    From here, I will start to exploit Grace until she breaks and finally gives in to me.

    "You must understand that my reputation and social standing will receive a big hit from this matter," wiping the nonexistent tears off the side of my eyes, I said. "People will talk about all sorts of things behind my back. It might even affect my chances of getting into a good military unit after graduation."

    I could visibly see the nerves on Yelena''s forehead twitching as soon as I said that.

    ''Reputation? Do you even have one?'' ¨C That''s probably what she wanted to say to me.

    But holding herself back, Yelena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "What do you want?" she asked. "Before you ask for anything, know this, we can expel Grace but we can''t cklist her from other military academies since her father is a noble."

    In short, Yelena wanted to say that even if they expelled her, she wouldn''t be forced to go to the training camp like I would''ve been.

    She can just switch to a different academy like Ethereal Academy.

    Heh.

    Yeah, right. As if I''ll let her off that easily.

    "I want to charge Grace Goodwill with nder, abuse of her noble authority, making violent threats, and falsely using a fellow cadet," I said while shrugging.

    Taking a dramatic pause, I let out a deep breath.

    From beside me, Grace clenched her fists, squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip. She was on edge.

    Why wouldn''t she be? After all, if her father were to hear about her getting expelled from the Global Academy, he wouldn''t be very happy.

    "If that''s what you want¨C"<novelnext></novelnext>

    "But on second thoughts," right when Yelena was about toply, I spoke up, cutting her off. "I don''t want that. I''m not as heartless as her."

    At my words, Grace opened her eyes in shock and looked at me. Her brows were furrowed in a frown as confusion was visible on her face.

    "Instead, I want early ess to Athena. I also want whatever amount of Merit points Grace will earn in the next eight months."

    The look of surprise turned into that of anger when Grace realized what I was trying to do. She tried to speak up, but before she could¡­

    m¡ª!

    "Ridiculous!" thumping her hands on the side rests of her throne-like chair, Yelena stood up. "You''re just a first-year who hasn''t evenpleted your first semester yet! What makes you think you can get ess to Athena when even the top cadets in your batch don''t have that?"

    "Well, I''m here because of your blunder, aren''t I?"

    "Yes, but did you receive any punishment?"

    "That''s because I proved my innocence before you could¨C"

    "Lucas," Yelena yelled out my name, causing me to flinch as a chill ran down my spine.

    I wasn''t scared.

    Ahem.

    Definitely not scared.

    At most, the sudden high pitch in her voice shocked me.

    Yelena dered, "This Academy is under my control. Although there is only one person above me, I possess significant authority. If I desired to remove you from this institution and prevent you from entering any other military academy by breaking the rules, would it be difficult for me? Absolutely not. I could aplish it effortlessly. So keep your tone down and be thankful that I decided to spare you by following the rules."

    "Tsk."

    This bitch.

    Well, I can''t me her.

    The strong eat the weak ¨C that''s the truth of this world.

    She can do whatever she wants because she is strong. I can only keep my head down because I''m weak right now.

    However, one day I will pay her for this¨C for everything. I swear to god, I will.

    "Also, you''ll only get to take six months'' worth of Credit points from her instead of eight," Yelena added.

    "Oh,e on!"

    This was going overboard!

    "Six. Month!"

    "As you say, ma''am!" I put on a smile that would put even the best businessmen to shame and performed a short bow.

    Tsk. I swear I''ll pay her for this.

    "But that''s not fair! This means that for the next six months, I won''t be able to buy any resources to cultivate or train! This is an assured way for me to fail my sses and get behind my peers! I beg you to¡ª"

    As Grace was in the middle of pleading, Yelena shot her a deathly cold re. "You should''ve thought about all this before."

    "Gah!"

    At that moment, Grace felt an ice spear piercing her heart, making her stumble and fall back.

    When she came to her senses, she patted her chest. There was no hole there, or an ice spear, for that matter.

    Did she hallucinate? She thought.

    ''Oh?'' I raised my eyebrows. ''Was that Bloodlust?''

    Yelena can''t use illusion spells, so that must''ve been Bloodlust. Damn, she''s strong enough to use it already?

    "Okay, kids," Dn casually threw his arm in front of Yelena, giving her a look to calm down, and shed a smile our way. "I think it''s time for you all to head back to your dorms. The prize for your ss'' victory over 1-C-8 will be revealed tomorrow."

    "Heik"

    Grace lifted herself up and ran out of the room. As she ran past me, I took a glimpse at her face. She was crying.

    Click¡ª!

    "Haa," shaking my head, I let out a sigh before turning around and deciding to leave myself.

    "Lucas."

    Right when I was at the door, Yelena''s voice called me out.

    "Hmm?" turning around, I looked at her. "What is it now?"

    For a second, I could swear I saw Yelena hesitating to speak. But in the next moment, she managed to choke some words out.

    "D-Do you know anything about the Morningstar family''s secret art that Father used to train in the back garden at our family mansion?"

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don''t know anything. Why would I? As you said, I''m not your brother anymore. I died, and you guys were the ones who killed me."

    "....."

    Without bothering to listen to her anymore, I exited the Cadet Council vice president''s personal office and closed the door behind me.

    Click¡ª!

 Chapter 94 Last Peaceful Evening

    The sharp sound of impact echoed through the air -

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    "Oh god! I''m sorry!" came a panicked voice.

    "You really think an apology will get you out of this? Not a chance. You''re in for a world of pain."

    Thwuck¡ª!!!

    "Arrrgghhhaaa!!!" The tortured cry pierced the air.

    "Go ahead, scream all you want."

    Thwuck¡ª!!!

    The dull sound of a fist hitting against flesh filled the space, followed by another bestial wail of agony.

    And so the melody of impact and suffering-filled screams continued¨C repeating itself several times until finally, after twenty long agonizing minutes, the silence returned.

    In a brightly lit gym, a handsome young man with raven-ck hair, matching eyes, and other striking featuresy motionless on the pristine white tiles, staining them red with all the blood dripping down from the side of his lips.

    In fact, he was so still that for a moment, the woman who rendered him in this state - a seductive figure with long, alluring violet hair tied up in a ponytail and a pair of mesmerizing purple eyes that were inexplicably glowing, donning gym leggings and a sports bra - thought she had actually killed him.

    It was Liz Snyder.

    And right now, she was in the middle of beating her protege, Nero Dekrauf, for not following her instructions.

    However, after using him as her personal punching bag, maybe she killed him.

    Although she was holding back, she was using mana to enforce her punches in order to make them as painful as possible.

    She considered calling the medics¡­

    Thwuck¡ª!!

    "Arhhhaa!!"

    Yet, in the next moment, when she stomped her foot on him, the boy let out another scream.

    Never mind, he wasn''t dead. In fact, he was in perfect condition.

    Yup, he was definitely in perfect condition.

    Nodding to herself, the woman started kicking him even more.

    Thwuck, Thwuck, Thwuck¡ª!!!

    Finally, after an hour or so when the woman satisfied her rage, she threw a mid-grade healing potion at the boy on the ground.

    "Ha! Ha!"

    The boy grabbed it with greedy eyes as if his life depended on it, because it really did, and gulped down its contents till the veryst drop.

    "Haaaa!"

    A relieved smile surfaced on his face as the pain in his body from all the beating he had received subsided, and a warm feeling engulfed him.

    All the broken bones, ruptured organs, and torn muscles were healed. Now he could live for a few more years before his maniac master would inevitably kill him.

    "You idiot," Liz massaged her eyebrows and closed her eyes with a sigh. Maybe she has gone a bit overboard. Now she was feeling sad.

    However, no matter how much she thinks about it, she can''t help but worry about her protege''s future.

    After all, despite her several warnings, he revealed an unfathomable godlike power to the world.

    She couldn''t even begin to imagine how many people woulde after him, seeking to im that power for themselves.

    Just thinking about it makes her want to punch Nero right in his stupid face.

    "Get up," she yelled while fixing her knuckle gloves. "Or do you wish to ''train'' even more?"

    "No ma''am!"

    As if springs were attached to his legs, Nero shot up and stood straight in an attentive manner instantly.

    "Now tell me," Liz turned to her protege. "Are you perhaps stupid?"

    "I don''t think so," Nero frowned while stroking his chin. "Even if my intelligence stat is not high, it couldn''t be said to be low either¨C"

    "I didn''t mean it in a literal sense, you idiot!"

    "...Oh."

    "Tsk."

    Clicking her tongue, Liz couldn''t help but massage her forehead again. Nero just knew how to get under her skin.

    After a few seconds of deep breaths to barely restrain herself from kicking Nero to death for real this time, Liz finally started talking.

    "Why did you use your Gift during the Mock War, despite my repeated warnings?"

    "I used it because I was about to lose¨C"

    "That''s not a valid excuse. It was just some stupid Mock War to resolve some stupid ss dispute! It wasn''t a matter of life and death. Even if you had lost, it wouldn''t have had much significance. So, why did you do it?"

    Nero took a deep breath.

    Yes, of course he knew it wasn''t some life or death matter. Revealing a Gift as strong as his would only bring him troubles¨C he knew that.

    Why did he do that, then?

    "I didn''t want to lose."

    "...What?"

    Nero''s eyes zed with fury as he locked his gaze with Liz''s. "I used my Gift because I didn''t want to lose¨C No, I refused to lose! Everything I''ve endured, all the pain and suffering, it would all have been for nothing if I hadn''t emerged victorious there!"

    He clenched his fists, his voice trembling with emotion. "Why did I push myself through hell if I was just going to lose like some pathetic weakling?!"

    "..."

    Liz couldn''t find the words to argue with him any further as she watched him with a gaze full of worry and concern.

    A troubling expression formed on her face as she thought about what Nero would''ve been going through emotionally during the Mock War.

    She knew her protege didn''t like to lose.

    Since the day he saw his mother getting murdered in front of his eyes, realizing he was too powerless to do anything, Nero swore to get stronger.

    And every time he failed¨C every time he lost and fell, his drive to be stronger only grew.

    He kept standing on and moving forward no matter what obstacle he faced.<novelnext></novelnext>

    He was an ever-growing monster in a cage. At one point, the cage became too small for him and he broke out.

    Liz knew Nero couldn''t be oppressed. If you try to push him down, he''ll only push back harder and spring up stronger.

    Right now, he''s at a point where he would do anything to get stronger¨C to not lose.

    Truth be told, it scared Liz. It scared her to think that in search of power, Nero might lose his way and stumble upon a dark path.

    However, she also knew that out of everyone in the world she had met, Nero possessed the kindest heart.

    Although at a nce, it might seem like he yearns for revenge on his father, deep down, he only wants justice for his mother''s death.

    "Haaa."

    Yes, she couldn''t argue with him. But she could at least try to console him. "Nero, you don''t always have to win. The pain you''ve gone through, or will go through, will stay with you forever. If you keep searching for a purpose in it, you''ll never be able to truly live your life. Your mother would want you to move on."

    "Doesn''t matter what she would''ve wanted, does it?" Nero shot back, his eyes heavy and his gaze averted. "She''s dead. And the person who killed him is out there, living his life as if the life he took meant nothing!"

    "Haa."

    Nope, she couldn''t even console him.

    Nodding her head, Liz let out in a defeated tone, "Okay, we''ll talk about thister. Let''s pack up and head home for now."

    "Mhmm."

    Nero nodded back and turned around before walking up to his gym bag. He took off the ck tank top that he was wearing to change into a t-shirt, revealing his bare back, which was full of cuts and scars.

    As Liz watched his back, a concerned sigh escaped her lips again. As it happened, she couldn''t help but me herself for what happened in the virtual world during the Mock War.

    Had she taught him a high-grade spell andbat art like he was asking her to for thest few weeks, he wouldn''t have had to resort to using his Gift.

    She had read Alberto''s file. Although that guy''s Gift¨C [Enforcement] was strong, it is not something that Nero would have trouble defeating if he were to use his sword art.

    The only reason he had so much trouble is that Nero can''t use [Mana de] yet. That and he doesn''t have a weapon that can withstand his powerful spells and arts.

    "Well, I think it''s about time to give him a strong weapon," she muttered under her breath.

    "Hmm? Did you say something?"

    "Ahh, no. Come on, let''s go."

    "Mhmm."

    With that, Liz headed toward the exit. But before she even took a few steps, she remembered something.

    "Oh, by the way," she said and turned to Nero. "Did anyone''s performance catch your eye during the war?"

    "Hmm?" Nero frowned at that unexpected question before stroking his chin. "Yeah, I mean, since it ended, only two people are on my mind."

    "Oh?" Liz raised an eyebrow. "Who, tell me?"

    "Quinn Darkstar and Lucas Morningstar," Nero replied instantly as if he had been waiting to discuss this.

    The frown on Liz''s face only grew deeper at that answer. "What? I mean, I can understand Quinn but why Lucas? Did he perform that badly?"

    "Quite the contrary," Nero shook his head. "I had high expectations from Quinn but he barely contributed anything in the battle. And in the final battle, he went back to the base without even fighting. Oh, that reminds me, I have to punish him."

    "Wait, he went back to the base?" Liz asked, confused. "Disregarding your orders? Why?"

    "I don''t know," Nero shook his head. "I didn''t even get to see the [Necromancy] spell that he''s famous for."

    "Well, not everyone is stupid enough to reveal their strongest ace in something stupid as a Mock War," Liz mocked, to which Nero only rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what about Lucas?"

    Despite the setback in his n during thest battle, Nero couldn''t deny that Lucas had urately predicted more than half of the events that urred in the mock war.

    Atst, all he could say was: "It''s like he can predict the future. He''s a monster."

    ?

    "Achoo!"

    Did I catch a cold? Damn it. I don''t like suffering from colds. Especially the sore throat thates with it.

    I''d rather be diagnosed with cancer than suffer from that sore throat.

    But if I really am going to be sick, I should go out and buy some medicine.

    Tsk.

    And here I thought I would get to rest this evening.

    I mean, today is thest time I''ll get to rest in a while since the uing few months are going to be hectic now that the first arc is over and the main story is starting.

    So I thought I should make use of what little peaceful time I have left by getting as much rest as possible.

    Haa.

    Such wishful thinking.

    Ding¡ª!

    And then there is this matter.

    As Iy on my bed, in front of me, a blue translucent holographic screen was being projected out from the smart bracelet in my hand.

    On the screen, the messaging app was opened. In the chat history, someone shared their GPS map location with me.

    Below that they also sent a message.

    ===

    Quinn Darkstar: Come to this location or else I''lle to you.

    ===

    Yeah so¡­

    No matter how many times I read it, it sounds like a threat¡ªan angry threat at that.

    "Tch."

    But what choice do I have other than going?

    I mean, I can be a coward and not go.

    "But I would have to face him tomorrow in ss. Nah, it''s better to do this outside the ss."

    Letting out azy sigh, I sat up straight on my bed. "There goes myst peaceful evening."

 Chapter 95 Meeting With The Necromancer

    Shuuu¡ª

    Cold gusts of wind. Setting sun beyond the blurry horizon. Tombstones marking the graves everywhere. The smell of death in the air.

    Such is the scenery around me.

    Yes, the location where Quinn wanted to ''meet'' me was not some cafe or restaurant but a graveyard.

    Yes, I put ''meet'' in quotation because I doubt we''ll have a peaceful chat here.

    I mean, I get that he''s a necromancer and all, but this is too on the nose, not to mention dramatic.

    For protection, I have my [Null Attribute Light Arrows] with me. Yes, the very same ones which I used in VR.

    And I also have my armor. So I don''t think I''ll die instantly if he were to attack me right here.

    Of course, the question is will he attack me?

    Phweesh¡ª!

    Suddenly, cold chills ran down my spine. My throat dried up, and my heart raced as I felt my skin crawl.

    I knew this feeling very well.

    It''s something that acts as our instinctual defense mechanism, telling us to flee or fight immediately.

    It was the feeling of fear. It was the feeling of death trying to embrace me.

    Slowly, I turned around. I saw dozens of eerie creatures made entirely of shadows inhabiting the graveyard.

    I was surrounded.

    I was surrounded by the souls of the dead given form by shadows.

    "You call me here and youete?"

    The creatures of shadow made way for their creator. A boy with short, messy ck hair appeared amidst the crowd of shadow creatures, slowly walking his way toward me.

    An ominous aura oozed off his figure, but his face remained unchanged. With empty ck eyes akin to a deep dark abyss, he came face to face and stared down at me.

    Wait, is he taller than me?! J-Just a couple of inches, I guess.

    "Do you have your armor on under that clothing?" he asked, pointing at my chest with his chin.

    I was wearing a thin ck shirt. It was unbuttoned until my corbone. If I had something underneath it, he would be able to see it.

    So why did he ask? Is he stupid?

    "Last time you seemed to have conjured it out of thin air," Quinn spoke. "Is it apact relic that can change shape and size?"

    Ahh, so that''s what he means.

    "Yeah," I shrugged. "You can call it that. Why do you ask? Do you n to make me use it?"

    "Depends," he replied.

    "On what?" I asked.

    Cling¡ª!

    "On you," he answered, taking out one of his daggers from the belt on his waist. "Answer me truthfully, and I will let you live."

    "So you n to kill me?" I scoffed. "Remember what happenedst time when you tried to do that?"

    "All I remember is you pulling some cheap tricks to fight me like a coward," Quinn bared his teeth like a dog. "But what will you do now? I called you on my turf this time. You have no traps here!"

    I couldn''t help but smirk as I heard him. "Cheap tricks, you call them? Sure. How do you know I haven''t set up any traps here?"

    "Stop bluffing!" Quinn barked out.

    "Oooh, okay!" I raised my hand with a smile on my face. "But you still can''t kill me. Aside from the fact that you have to break my nigh-imprable defense, our smart bracelets can send out a distress call to the Cadet Council and instructors if our heart rate stops. And there could also be witnesses nearby."

    "Hah!" Quinn let out a scowl. "Do you know what this ce is?"

    I frowned and looked around. "Ahh, a graveyard? I know this is outer District 21, but why is there a graveyard here?"

    "These graves belong to the cadets who graduated from this academy and went on to be soldiers in the Union Military," Quinn started to exin. "They were all orphans who had no one in their lives. Somehow, they managed to earn enough money or find wealthy sponsors to support them in attending this academy. Upon their passing, the academy carries out their wish to im their body and bury them here, among theirrades ¨C their family."

    "I see," I said while raising an eyebrow since I was genuinely impressed. "Quite touching. I knew that by the way."

    Of course I didn''t know that.

    This stuff wasn''t mentioned in the novel. Or was it mentioned, and I just skipped the info dumps?

    Anyway, attaining the financial means to enroll in the top military academy in the world or acquiring a sponsor so you can do that as an orphan requires an incredible level of talent.

    I mean, even in my old world, how many people can say they attended their dream college with little to no financial backing from their parents or guardians?

    So yeah, it''s safe to assume that all of these people were probably high-ranking soldiers in their time.

    But Quinn''s head shook in dissent.

    "It''s not touching; it''s tragic," he said. "The fact that they have to fight in wars is tragic alone, but to secure their survival in these wars, they need to spend money.

    "They shouldn''t be required to do any of this! Why can''t they live a regr life? Why can''t any of us live a regr life like those bastards who can''t use mana?! We are mere children, for heaven''s sake. We didn''t start this, nor did we ask for any of this!

    "And the most terrible thing is that unlike in the past, this war isn''t being fought for trivial reasons such asnd, wealth, or fighting against oppression, prejudice, or injustice.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "No, this time we''re fighting for our survival, so there''s no one to me. All we can do is just keep on fighting and hope to make it out alive so that we can retire and put this burden on the next generation! This world¡­ is just so cruel."

    Yeah¡­

    Umm, this is awkward now.

    I didn''t expect him to give me such a lengthy speech about the tragic world condition at all.

    Should I say something?

    I should say something¡­

    But what should I say?

    Damn it, it''s been so long since I spoke that if I try to say anything now, it''ll be even more awkward.

    "...."

    No, no, anything would be better than this awkward silence!

    Come on, you dumbass!

    Say something! Say anything!

    So finally mustering up the courage to break this awkward silence, I spoke: "So what do you think about pink handcuffs?"

    "....."

    What?!

    What?!

    What does that question even mean?!

    What do you think about pink handcuffs?! The fuck does that mean?!

    ? Arghhh! I''m an idiot! Or maybe Kent''s idiocy is rubbing off on me!

    "Anyway, my point is," thankfully, Quinn ignored my remark and began speaking again. "Since these are the graves of the orphans, no onees here to visit them."

    "So you mean to say that if you kill me here, no one will witness anything?" I asked.

    "Exactly," a blood-curdling grin formed on Quinn''s lips. "By the time the Cadet Council or the instructors will arrive here, you''ll be dead. And I''m pretty sure from this range I can cast a spell fast enough to kill you before you can use your relic."

    "Yeah, good n, but we''ve had this talk before," I shrugged. "If you kill me, the Cadet Council will know about her¨C about Shiya."

    "And that''s why I''m hoping we won''t have to resort to that," Quinn responded calmly. "Answer my questions truthfully, and I''ll let you live."

    "No, no. Don''t try to go back on your words now," I raised and shook my index finger. "Remember our bet. We agreed that if I defeat you, you will be my ally. Oh, and guess what? I did defeat you."

    "You said pawn, not ally." Quinn gave me a scornful look.

    "What?"

    "You said I''ll have to be your pawn, not an ally."

    "What! How could I ever?! I''m pretty sure I said ally."

    As nerves bulged on his forehead, Quinn took in a few long deep breaths to calm himself down. Seems like he was barely holding himself back from hitting me.

    Hehe.

    Okay, maybe it''s not a good idea to pester a necromancer when his shadow ves have me surrounded from all sides, but hey, I can''t help myself.

    Besides, I could swear I said ally and not pawn.

    Ahem. Anyway.

    "I''ll decide whether I want to work with you or not after I hear you out," Quinn said, massaging his eyes. He then removed his hand from his face, revealing a mad glint in his eyes. "Of course, if your answers don''t satisfy me, I''ll give your name to Kai Wiseman."

    "Hmm?" I frowned. "Kai Wiseman?"

    Is he already after me?

    The Mock War only ended today. I expected him to make a move soon but didn''t this it would be fast.

    It''s fine though. This doesn''t interfere with my future preparations.

    I''ll move as I had nned and ignore Kai for now until I get strong enough.

    But to do that, I''ll have to shut this guy''s mouth.

    "If you don''t know him, ask around. He is furious that some mysterious person has ruined his ns. Although he hasn''t discovered your identity yet, I could just tell him about you any time I want. If you think you''re smart, it''s because you have never met him¨C you don''t know what that guy is capable of."

    For a second, I saw a tint of fear in Quinn''s eyes.

    Fear?

    Why would he, Quinn Darkstar the Cmity Bringer, need to fear some run-of-the-mill side viin like Kai Wiseman?

    No, no, I must be seeing things.

    Shaking my head, I dismissed such stray thoughts and agreed. "Fine," I said to Quinn. "Ask your questions."

 Chapter 96 Questions

    "How did you know about Shiya?"

    I knew this question wasing. And unlike thest time, I can''t shrug it off. I have to answer him.

    But what should I say?

    ''I read a novel in which you were a major antagonist. Then the author of that novel killed me, and I reincarnated here in this world as Lucas.''

    Surely I can''t just say it like that, right? Not only is it not believable at all, but it also sounds stupid.

    "Haa," sighing, I began to reply. "I have my sources to get information."

    "Lies!" Quinn eximed in discontent. "No one should know about Shiya''s true identity as a turned vampire. To anyone else, she should look like any of my normal shadow ves!"

    "And yet, I know about her," I replied. "So clearly someone knows about her. And that someone supplied me with this information."

    "Who is it? Who is the person who gave you this information?" Quinn questioned.

    Good, he''s buying my lies.

    "Nope," I shook my head. "I can''t tell you anything about him. If I do, he''ll do more than just take my life."

    Seeing me firmly reject his query, Quinn clicked his tongue. "I''ll have you answer my question one way or another. But for now, answer my second question. H-How did you beat me?" with clear hesitation in his voice, he asked.

    "What do you mean?" I frowned, confused.

    "In the Mock War, how did you beat me?"

    I was even more confused. "Dude, you were fighting me. You should know how I beat you!"

    Quinn pressed a hand on his forehead as if he was dealing with a mentally challenged nine-year-old kid.

    He repeated his question in a slow and annoyed tone, "How did you know I was the traitor? How did you beat me? It seemed as if you knew about everything that was going to ur in our battle beforehand. For example, you strategically ced those small shing marbles that momentarily blinded me and left me stunned in the building, where we ended up fighting long before the actual fight began. Do you possess the ability to see the future? Is that your Gift?"

    "Oh, so that''s what you mean!" I replied, pping my hands together in understanding. "No, I don''t have a powerful and not to mention unique Gift like Future Sight. But I can let out a strong burst of magical energy from my body and create a mana explosion. You remember when I created that azure st, and we fell to the bottom floor during the fight? That was my Gift ¨C Mana Burst."

    Quinn was even more confused than before, "Then how did you know I was the traitor and all the moves I would make?"

    "I nned and predicted everything," I replied matter-of-factly. "I had a hunch that you were the traitor since you were acting suspiciously. It was a hunch derived from logical reasoning ¨C a deduction with no proof, you can call it.<novelnext></novelnext>

    "You didn''t object to Nero bing themander for the Mock War. I don''t remember you objecting to any of his orders either. You''re the type of person who wouldn''t follow an ipetent leader on the battlefield. And while Nero is strong, he is not a leader. Oh, and do you remember in the cafeteria when Nero used his Bloodlust and choked nearly every person who was present there to death? You had a look of jealousy on your face then. But aside from that, you didn''t kill even one enemy cadet during the war."

    Quinn looked taken aback. It was clear that he couldn''t believe he was outsmarted in a head-on battle by a sheltered, rich noble boy.

    And to think I was also able to observe the changes in his expression amid that chaos? Of course, he was a little skeptical.

    After a moment or two, he finally asked, "You confronted me based on these random hunches?"

    "Well, yes," I admitted. "But it was a calcted risk based on my observations and analysis of your behavior. And as for the marbles, I strategically ced them beforehand, knowing that they would be useful in disorienting you during our fight. Then, I purposely led you to smash me into that building with your spell so that I could use those marbles¨C subtly manipting the flow of the battle. It was all part of my n."

    Quinn''s body shuddered for a second, and his breathing became erratic. He then shook his head and said, "No, it was more than that! Those Light Enchanted arrows! You had them in your smart bracelet, meaning you brought them with you knowing you''ll have to fight someone with an affinity for darkness!"

    I nodded and replied, "Well, yeah. As I said, you started acting suspiciously before the mock war even started. I just took some necessary preparations based on my hunch."

    Quinn looked surprised and asked, "Wait, why are you talking like you''ve known me for years when we haven''t even had a conversation before?! You talk about my behavioral change, but how do you even know who I am?!"

    Of course I do. You were a major viin in the novel, which was based on this world.

    But how the fuck do I tell you that?!

    Sighing, I replied calmly, "I''ve been keenly observing everyone since the day academy started. By now, I can more or less tell what everyone is like."

    Taking a deep breath to process all the information I''d dumped on him, Quinn stroked his forehead aggressively.

    Of course it was a lot to take in.

    He was doubtful before, but now I confirmed it.

    The fact that I had manipted our entire battle from the beginning, along with the im that I sessfully read him ¨C analyzed his personality, and devised a n to defeat him based on it long before he even made any move, left him speechless.

    However, what irked me was that there was not a speck of hesitation, denial, or fear on his face.

    Instead, with the calmest possible tone, he muttered, "You are a monster."

 Chapter 97 Hidden Boss

    Monster.

    This wasn''t the first time I heard someone calling me this word.

    I did terrible things in my past life ¨C instigating fights between two friends, manipting or gaslighting my girlfriend, and bullying a boy in high school to the point he jumped off the roof.

    Oh yeah, I never talk about thatst part because I''m not proud of it. Thankfully, the boy survived the fall and only broke his leg.

    Hey, in my defense, that boy wasn''t your innocent nerd-type guy. Oh, no. He used to be a bully himself. I just tried to give him a taste of his own medicine.

    Or at least that''s what I tell myself. I took it too far and pushed him to the point ofmitting suicide.

    The scary part is ¨C I didn''t feel guilt.

    Don''t get me wrong. I felt remorse but not guilt.

    The scariest part is ¨C I did it for fun.

    And instead of feeling ashamed of my actions when I heard he jumped off the roof, I was bummed out that I didn''t get to see him jump.

    I know I''m not a good person.

    And there were many times when people found that out.

    Some people found out because I let them in; some just thought rationally about the situations I caused by manipting them and traced the me back to me, while others were more skeptical from the start.

    Either way, when they found out, they only had one thing to call me ¨C Monster.

    I''m sure that even Amelia, who has seen a glimpse of what I am capable of, thinks of me as some kind of a monster.

    Of course, I don''t care about it.

    Unlike in my past life, I''m not doing what I''m doing for fun. My survival is on the line here, and I''ll do whatever I can to survive.

    Even if it means sacrificing the whole world. Better them than me.

    I raised an eyebrow at Quinn''s remark. "You call me a monster? Look around. Who summoned all these shadow monsters?"

    "They''re not monsters," Quinn corrected, his eyes scanning the creatures made of shadow surrounding us. "And you know what I mean. Your genius is unsettling."

    "Is that apliment?" I shot a smirk, but my expression quickly turned serious at the next moment. "But anyway. Now I want you to seriously answer one of my questions. Why are you working with Kai?"

    This is something that has been bothering me since I discovered Quinn''s identity as the second traitor during the mock war.

    And earlier, I also saw a flicker of fear in his eyes when he mentioned Kai.

    In the novel, Kai was just a minor viin, meant to be a greater challenge than Lucas but smaller than Quinn.

    After all, Quinn was meant to be thest obstacle to stand between the heroes and the final boss of the story ¨C the Vampire Monarch.

    So why was a future viin of Quinn''s caliber scared of a minor character whose role was to serve as a stepping stone for the hero and his allies?

    Just when I was immersed in those puzzling thoughts, I saw a troubling look on Quinn''s face.

    "He, uh¡­ He knows about Shiya," he said, stuttering.

    What?!

    Wait, what?!

    At this point in the story, no one should know about Quinn''s necrophilic love life aside from me!

    Okay, I know I worded it weirdly, but that''s not the point.

    How in the world Kai Wiseman, a throwable character, knows a fact that shouldn''t be public at this point in the story?!<novelnext></novelnext>

    "How did he-" before I could ask him that, Quinn began speaking again.

    "And when I tried to confront him, he¡­." Quinn averted his gaze and looked away. It was clear whatever he was trying to say was something that had been weighing on him. "When I tried to confront him, he single-handedly defeated me and my legion of shadow ves."

    "..."

    My mind went nk for a couple of seconds when I heard that. Did Quinn just say that he utterly lost to a side character?!

    He lost to someone other than Nero in a battle of strength?!

    I mean, I defeated him too but to do that, I had to severely nerf him beforehand. And even then, I barely managed to put him down.

    And he says that Kai Wiseman, who was only supposed to be a small-time character in the grand plot of the overall story, defeated him head-on with his shadow legion fighting alongside him?!

    "Fuuuu."

    Releasing a long breath, Iposed myself and aimed to approach this situation with a calm and logical mindset.

    It was crucial for me to systematically assess all potential variables, weigh countless probabilities, and meticulously examine this new information.

    In just under a second, several deductions appeared in my mind. Albeit all of them were baseless right now, I could see any of them being true.

    It''s too early to conclude anything, but I think if Quinn is being truthful, then that could only mean two things:

    Either Kai is a transmigrator like me or he is a hidden boss.

    Personally, I am leaning more toward the second case.

    ording to what I have seen of Quinn in this world and read about him in the novel, he isn''t the type of person to fall to the dark side just to gain strength.

    I mean, I know Quinn was jealous of Nero''s power and potential, but it was not to the extreme where he would''ve shaken hands with the Vampires.

    Especially when it was the Vampires who killed the love of his life.

    While reading the novel, I just thought that the author created a plot hole by messing up the continuity in Quinn''s character personality to add an element of shock and surprise for the readers.

    But now that I have experienced such discontinuities myself ¨C like the gap in Lucas'' backstory ¨C I don''t think they were plot holes anymore.

    Quinn had never done some of the things he did in the story¡­ unless someone was manipting him¨C pulling his strings and making him dance to their will from behind the pages.

    A hidden boss.

    I see.

    The dots connect now. Many things that I discarded as plot holes while reading the novel make sense now.

    This changes my ns.

    I can''t ignore Kai now as I had nned to do. I''ll have to make my move soon.

    As I was in the middle of those thoughts while stroking my chin, Quinn called out to me.

    "Anyway," slowly, a crooked grin formed on his face. "I think it''s time I bring you to Kai."

    "....."

    ¡­Hah!

    I knew it.

    From the start, this was a trap. This guy had no intentions of switching sides.

 Chapter 98 Fear

    There was around a five-step gap between Quinn and me.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    And in a split second, the necromancer covered that distance and stood in front of me.

    "Pheo¨C khuek!!"

    Before I could activate my armor, Quinn grabbed my neck and started applying pressure to his grip, slowly choking the air out of me.

    "Nah," he said. "I can''t let you use that armor of yours. It''s bothersome."

    With his other hand, he ced the de of his dagger on my throat. "If you dare utter a word and try to summon your armor, I''ll slit your throat."

    Normally, I would try to call it a bluff, but right now, the glint of evil madness in his eyes assured me that Quinn was actually ready to kill me.

    Raising my hands, I slowly nodded my head and disyed my surrender.

    "Good," he replied. "I called you here to get a hint about how Kai knew about Shiya. But from the look on your face earlier, it seems like you also don''t know that."

    "I don''t," I slowly spoke, barely shaking my head under Quinn''s crippling grip.

    "Is it possible that you two could have the same informant?" He asked.

    Of course it''s not possible.

    The information I have on this world and this maniac is taken from a novel.

    How in the hell would Kai have the same informant as me then?!

    "Maybe?" I shrugged. "I really don''t know."

    That wasn''t even a lie. I genuinely don''t know how Kai got this information.

    "Fine," he nodded in answer. "You are useless to me. But if I present you to Kai, he will be delighted."

    As I thought.

    From the way he was talking, I don''t think Quinn has told Kai about my identity yet.

    Which means I still have time to shut him up.

    "Remember, whatever happens after now is on you," Quinn looked at me. A flicker of fear again shed in his eyes. "He will break you."

    "Why are you so scared of him and not me? Is he really that strong? Is he really that smart? Smarter than me? Well, I guess I''ll know that soon enough. But before that, for now, let''s make one thing clear. You need to fear me, not him, Quinn." I let out a scoff before loudly yelling out, "Mana Burst!"

    Quinn widened his eyes, surprised that despite his clear warning, I was risking attacking him.

    Suddenly, tendrils of azure energy appeared around the area before the necromancer could react.

    Swish¡ª!!

    A bright, blinding light shed and a loud thunderous sound followed before a huge azure explosion urred with Quinn and me at the epicenter.

    BOOM¡ª!!!!

    The force of the st hurled the necromancer several meters back, causing him to hit the ground hard. After rolling a few times, he quickly regained his footing by getting up on his feet.

    As the dust settled, the ground beneath me showed visible cracks and a huge crater had been dug out.

    I stood tall in the center of the crater, staring intently at Quinn. I had chosen to use my Gift instead of my armor.

    Why?

    Because my armor was a relic that would take at least a few seconds to activate.

    My Gift, on the other hand, could be cast almost instantly, which was faster than even those who could use silent chanting to cast spells.

    "Arghh!" groaning, Quinn took out another dagger from the belt on his waist and held it in a reverse grip. "You''re done!"

    "Phoenix''s Embra¡ª!"

    Before I could summon my armor, one of the shadow ves of Quinn ¨C a giant ck mantis made entirely of darkness ¨C lunged at me with its scythes swinging down on me.

    "Tsk!"

    Clicking my tongue in frustration, I swirled to my right to dodge the iing attack.

    Thwaam¡ª!

    The scythe of the giant mantis hit the spot where I was standing as I jumped a few steps back away from the mantis to safety.

    Kwuiish¡ª!

    But to my surprise, a sharp sound akin to a de cutting into the air behind me fell in my ears.

    Spurt¡ª!

    Before I could process what was happening or determine my next move, a searing pain coursed through my body.

    Something had pierced my back.

    "Arghh!" as a muffled cry of pain escaped my lips, I realized that the necromancer had already snuck up on me and plunged his dagger into my back.

    But when??

    When did he sneak up on me?! I couldn''t even see his movements!

    Was he that fast?!

    Right now, with no sedatives present in his system to impede his mind and body movements, Quinn wasing at me with all his strength.

    "Ahh!" Quinn murmured with ecstasy. "I''ve been anticipating this sensation. The feeling of slicing through your flesh and spilling your blood! You see now? You''re not as invincible as you thought!"

    Despite the pain throbbing through my body, I clenched my teeth in frustration and acted quickly.

    Click¡ª!

    Cling¡ª!!

    With two quick flicks of my right-hand wrist, a hidden de sprang out from under my sleeve.

    Quinn, who had already anticipated my move, twisted his de, which was still plunged into my back, before pulling it out and stepping back.

    "Arghhha!" I cried out in agony but didn''t let the pain stop me. Because if I stop here, then I''m as good as dead anyway.

    I swiftly twirled to my left to turn around.

    Using the momentum I gained from the spin to thrust my right hand forward at Quinn, I aimed to impale the necromancer in the chest with my now-not-so-hidden de.

    But I wasn''t quick enough.

    Quinn lifted up his dagger and blocked my hidden de with no effort at all.<novelnext></novelnext>

    ng¡ª!

    Sparks flew and a sharp sound of metal shing against metal resounded through the area.

    I was about to try to summon my armor again, however¡­

    Thwack¡ª!

    "Khuuaaa!"

    Before I could do so, a mana-enforced kicknded t on my stomach. Air gushed out of my lungs and I fell to my knees while violently coughing up blood.

    Weakly, I raised my hands and faced my palm at the ck-haired boy.

    "Ignis Ratoe¨C!!"

    Thwack¡ª!!

    I tried chanting the fireball spell but Quinn quickly sped up to me andnded a roundhouse kick at my chin, making me sideways on the ground.

    "Arghh¡­"

    From the force of the kicknding on my chin, I momentarily cked out. Vision slowly returned, but I had no strength in me to get up.

    Damn it, he was strong. I didn''t even get the chance to fight back.

    "You see now?" a cold voice rang in my ears as I saw Quinn walking to me through the bottle ss blur in my eyes.

    "This is the difference between you and you," Quinn said, squatting down. He grabbed me by the hair and lifted my head up to match his gaze.

    I tried to break free but I still hadn''t recovered enough to move yet.

    "You may be smart, but you can''t defeat strength with intelligence," he spat with a snarl. "You can''t defeat me in a fair fight. You should have brought someone to help you. But I guess you never expected this meeting to be a trap, huh? You became overconfident after beating me with your cheap tricks.

    "This is the difference between Kai and you. He stays two steps ahead of everyone all the time! When you think you have won, it only turns out to be something he had nned all along. That''s why he''s dangerous, and you are not. That''s why I''m cautious of him and not you!"

    Thwack¡ª!

    Finishing what he had to say, Quinn thrashed a fist into my face. "Now, stay down until I call Kai¨C"

    Cutting him off, I weakly parted my lips and let out a trembling voice, "Y-You''re right. I should''ve brought someone to help me. I can''t defeat you alone. This meeting was a trap¡­ Why didn''t I think of this?"

    Quinn frowned as he looked at me. He was about to say something when¡­

    Swooosh¡ª!

    "Huh?!"

    Thruck¡ª!!

    "Arghhh!"

    Suddenly a glowing white arrow whistled through the air and stabbed Quinn in the back.

    "Oh, wait¡­" my lips curled up into a smirk, my voice slowly regaining more rity and strength returning to my body as I said, "I did think of this!"

    Letting go of my hair, Quinn straightened his body and turned around to look at the person who shot that arrow.

    "Tsk."

    In the distance, he saw a ck-haired girl with forest green eyes disdainfully matching his gaze.

    With an irritated look in his eyes, Quinn took out the arrow on his back and broke it.

    Of course, he didn''t fail to notice that it was the very same light-enchanted arrow that Lucas used in the battle against him.

    It was then he realized I had a n all along. I knew this was a trap.

    Quickly the girl nocked another arrow on her bow and stretched the bowstring back in an arc.

    "Pointless!" Quinn yelled as Amelia shot another arrow at him.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    The arrow traveled through the air and reached Quinn in an instant but the necromancer merely swung his dagger and broke the mana-infused arrow with no effort at all.

    "Get her!" Quinn yelled, and all his shadow creatures quickly started rushing at Amelia.

    But just then, he sensed someone behind him.

    He turned around only to see me up on my feet already. "Tsk, just stay down!"

    "Now you see how frustrating it is?!" I replied and summoned a bow along with myst remaining [Null Attribute Light Arrow].

    "Fine then," Quinn cocked his head slightly and an ominous aura suddenly enveloped his body. Seeing that, I quickly readied to shoot my arrow too.

    My [Null Attribute Light Arrow] can dispel a low-level dark magic spell.

    It can also deal a great amount of damage to someone with a dark elemental affinity.

    Since Quinn was already hit by one of those earlier, I knew he would be in a lot of pain right now.

    But I also know I can''t hit him with this arrow head-on like this. He''s too fast for that. If only I could stop him for even a split second.

    "Heh," a bloody smirk formed on my face.

    Quinn bent his knees slightly and took a low stance. To defeat me, all he has to do is dodge my arrow once and close the distance.

    After that, I would be finished.

    A glint of madness shed in my eyes and I loosened the grip on my bowstring.

    Time seemed to have slowed down as my arrow shot forward in slow motion.

    Quinn tensed his calf muscles, about to move to the side to dodge my arrow.

    Right at that moment, I yelled out, "Activate!"

    As if waiting for that cue, five tiny orbs of light lit up from below the ground under Quinn''s feet in a circle.

    Quinn''s eyes widened in horror as he recalled something like this happening before.

    Quish¡ª!!

    Thun¡ª!!

    A bright light nketed Quinn''s vision, blinding him for a split second and rendering him stunned, unable to move.

    Sprut¡ª!

    And that was all the time I needed for my glowing white arrow to reach him, stabbing him directly in the chest.

 Chapter 99 Despair [1]

    "Khuuk! Aaack!"

    Violently coughing up blood, Quinn fell on one knee.

    Kruk¡ª!

    He pressed one of his hands against his chest and broke the glowing white arrow sticking out of him with another.

    However, getting shot with two [Null Attribute Light Arrow] had already worn him down.

    Like poison taking effect on his body, Quinn felt a burning pain shot through his veins.

    Light cut through the darkness.

    The null attribute effect from my arrow was really hurting Quinn, who had the darkness affinity.

    Even his dark magic spell ¨C [Necromancy] ¨C which was constantly casting was now dispelled since he didn''t have enough strength to keep supplying his shadow ves with mana.

    Shuuu¡ª

    The creatures made of darkness who were rushing at Amelia instantly disinterested and vanished into shadows.

    "Haaa! Haaaa!"

    Meanwhile, right before me, Quinn was gasping for air and circting mana throughout his body to regain some strength.

    I could see the pain and rage in his eyes.

    Haha!

    He should''ve given me this look of agony and suffering before and maybe then I would have spared him some mercy.

    However, this is not enough.

    Did you know, in my family¨C I mean, in the Morningstar household, after a child awakens their mana core, they have to tame these canine mana beasts called Wind Wolves?

    The process of taming, ording to Lucas'' memories, is simple.

    You just make the difference in power between you and the beast you wish to tame clear from the start.

    Establishing a clear power differential from the outset ensures that even if the beast bes much stronger and more ferocious than you over the years, it will remain obedient and never disobey you.

    So what do I need to do here to make Quinn submit to me?

    I need to assert dominance over him and make the difference between our power clear.

    I need to show him despair.

    I need to tell him that he can''t defeat me.

    Although I''m much weaker than him currently, I have a hidden ace up my sleeve ready to y.

    Leering pleasantly, I mumbled in a soft yet vicious tone, "Phoenix''s Embrace."

    Kwusssh¡ª!!!

    In a sh, a searing ze consumed every inch of my being, painting me in a brilliant scarlet hue and a pair of wings made entirely of mes appeared on my back.

    The ruby embedded in my chest intensified in luminosity, casting a fiery glow that pierced through the merlot mes engulfing my body and burning up the shirt I was wearing to ash.

    Then, a stunning armor of gleaming gold and crimson materialized over my upper torso, and the ming wings on my back extinguished.

    ===

    [Phoenix''s Embrace¡ú

    The Knight of the Starlight''s Gift has been used in the making of nigh-indestructible armor, which is crafted by a skilled dwarven cksmith.

    When attacked with magic spells or physical objects, the armor can reduce the strength of the attack to one-tenth of its original power, ensuring the user''s protection.

    Once shed, the armor provides a significant boost in all stats and grants an extra life to the wearer. The armor can be summoned again, provided the user does not lose the additional life.]

    ===

    Krtzz¨C!

    Through the crackle of embers, I walked over to Quinn who had managed to get up on his feet.

    "Discard!" I yelled as I was just a few steps away from the necromancer.

    Cling¡ª!!

    The armor on my body shattered and blew up into scarlet mes, leaving me without its nigh-invincible defense.

    But instantly, a potent crimson aura erupted and engulfed my body, causing an electric surge of energy to ripple through me and setting every hair on my body on edge.

    The sheer intensity of the experience was quite overwhelming.

    I could feel the raw power coursing through my veins like a raging inferno, ready to be unleashed at a moment''s notice.

    [Attack¡ú 332 (+300)]

    [Endurance¡ú 318 (+300)]

    [Speed¡ú 339 (+300)]

    [Stamina¡ú 334 (+300)]

    [Mana Capacity¡ú 3000 (+2500)]

    [Mana Core Rank¡ú Silver 2 (¡üIron 2)]

    In the novel, Nero possessed the relic [Phoenix''s Embrace]. However, he almost never used it for defensive purposes.

    He had another, simr relic for that which he got from Liz after the Mock War.

    Then what did he use it for? He used it to boost his stats.

    One of the main features of [Phoenix''s Embrace] was to provide an extra life and a massive boost in the user''s stats if they shed the armor.

    It''s called Embrace Discard.

    Embrace Discard could grant the user an extra life and a massive boost in stats upon shedding the armor.

    It acted as a limit breaker, allowing the user to surpass their natural limits and unlock a power beyond their natural potential.

    For instance, if someone had reached their maximum potential at the ?tinum? rank, using Embrace Discard would boost their stats to the ?Immortal? rank.

    This feature is particrly useful when one reaches the higher mana core ranks where the difference between each rank is a significant 1000 stat points.

    Currently, my physical stats were only boosted by 300 points while my mana capacity got an increment of 2000, and I had merely entered the second level of the ?Silver? rank.

    Nevertheless, I was momentarily stronger than Quinn who was at ?Bronze 3? right now.

    With this, I can defeat him.

    No, I will defeat him especially when he is unable to use the Necromancy spell or any other dark magic spells after being hit by two null attribute light arrows.

    Despite Quinn having years of battle experience over me, the odds are not in his favor.

    Right now, I aim to make it clear to him that in the future opposing me would be pointless.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    As soon as I came near him, Quinn immediately threw a straight at me with his right hand and attacked first.

    His fist was enveloped in a dark, ominous violet aura and it sped toward me at breakneck speed.

    I, however, effortlessly ducked under his speeding arm while sidestepping to my left.

    Without giving him a chance to react, I threw a straight of my own and hit him dead in the chest.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    I then stepped forward and willed mana into my right arm, enforcing it to an inhumane extent and hitting him with an uppercut under his chin.

    Thwuck¡ª!

    "Khuck!!" disoriented from the impact, Quinn let out a groan as he stumbled back.

    To catch him before he could regain his footing, I took a step forward again but¡­

    Thack¡ª!!

    Quinn mmed his head against mine.

    "..."

    To his horror, it did nothing to me.

 Chapter 100 Despair [2]

    5 minutes went by.

    One after another, I threw a punch from the left, followed by a kick from the right, and finished with a knee thrust towards Quinn''s abdomen.

    However, he skillfully predicted my movements and dodged them with ease, ready to make his own counters.

    Despite his agility, Quinn couldn''t seem to gain the upper hand, and every so often, he would slip up and fail to dodge my attacks.

    This was one of those times.

    I balled my left fist, enforced it with mana and threw it straight at Quinn''s sr plexus.

    However, he must''ve anticipated that move since he quickly twisted his body to the side and evaded it.

    Unbeknownst to him, it was a feint. If he had been in top condition, he would''ve seen it.

    I straightened my right palm like a sword and thrusted at Quinn''s throat, hitting him directly in his Adam''s Apple.

    Thwack¡ª!

    "Khuuk!!"

    Thwooom¡ª!!

    Immediately, with a small burst of energy, I connected a solid kick across Quinn''s face, causing a contained explosion to erupt that amplified the pain he felt.

    "Khaaa!"

    I didn''t stop there, however.

    I grabbed his head by his hair and continued to mercilessly thrash punches after punches at his face, giving him no time to recover.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Thwoom¡ª!!

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Thwoom¡ª!!!

    I continued to use Mana Burst at a small stage whenever Inded a hit which caused small eruptions to ur every time my attacks connected.

    It increased the damage and made it harder for Quinn to defend himself, concussing him with every hit.

    In no time, Quinn''s body went limp and his eyes became unfocused. I let go of his hair and let him fall back t on the ground.

    Without a shred of mercy, I mounted on top of him and pinned his body down.

    His face was bruised and his eyes swollen. I think I broke one or two of his teeth too.

    This still wasn''t enough, however.

    I needed to make sure he would never even think about going against me in the future.

    "Ignis Rotaem!"

    I chanted in High Elven and raised my hand. On top of my palm, a fireball quickly materialized.

    I poured mana into it and the color of the bright red fireball changed to blue.

    I brought down my hand and Quinn widened his eyes. He crossed his hands over his face to defend his vitals but I hit him in his chest.

    Booom¡ª!!!

    "Khuaaa!!"

    The fireball exploded as soon as it connected with his chest, causing Quinn to violently cough up blood.

    He summoned a dagger from his smart bracelet into his right hand. Mustering up what little strength was left in his body, Quinn swung it at face.

    But before he could deal a hit, I grabbed his hand. "You''re still resisting?"

    I tightened the grip on his hand. "Stay down, Quinn. Submit and I might show you mercy."

    As I said that, I kept tightening my grip on his hand until it made a crackling sound.

    Crack¡ª!!

    "Arghhhh!" through gritted teeth, Quinn let out a scream as the bones in his hand cracked.

    "You see now, Quinn?" I said while raising my hand again and casting the fireball chant. "It''s me who you should fear. Remember this moment Quinn. Remember when you were below me, quivering in fear as I kept striking you. Engrave this into your soul."

    Quinn widened his eyes in terror again as he saw me bringing my hand down to hit him with a blue fireball again.

    Boom¡ª!!!

    Of course, I didn''t stop there. I kept spamming fireballs.

    Explosions erupted again and again as the fireballs struck his chest. Of course I didn''t forget to hit him in the face.

    What? I detest handsome guys. Only I should be allowed to possess a handsome face.

    Boom¡ª!!!

    Boom¡ª!!!

    Kaboom¡ª!!!

    "L-Lucas¡­"

    I only stopped spamming fireballs when I heard an alluring, almost soothing voice ring in my ears.

    I sighed and turned around to look at Amelia. She had a concerned look on her face.

    I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

    "He¡­ He''ll die at this rate," she replied in a worried tone.

    "What?" I replied absurdly. "This guy? Nah. Now way. You have no idea how strong he is. I don''t even think he''s capable of dying¨C What? Why''re you pointing at him?"

    With a finger pointed at Quinn''s body being pinned down below me, Amelia responded, "Just look at him."

    As my eyebrows furrowed into a frown, I turned my attention to Quinn.

    "....."

    And I was left speechless.

    His eyes were rolled back as a terrified look was stered on Quinn''s face. His mouth was agape, quivering and clothes were burnt to rags. Only wounds and bruises were visible on his body.

    I won''t lie but he truly seemed to be on the verge of death.

    Oh boy.

    I think I went a little overboard.

    But all I did was give him a little beating and strike him with some exploding balls of fire.

    Albeit my physical stats were significantly higher than him so every punch I threw at him must''ve hurt like hell.

    Not to mention, I poured a lot of mana in the fireballs I struck him with too.

    Well, it''s his fault anyway.

    Quinn thought he had lured me into a trap but it was actually the other way around.

    If instead of underestimating me, he''d used his full strength to beat me from the start, I don''t think I would''ve stood a chance.

    If he had even fought me using all his summoned shadow ves, he could''ve easily subdued me.

    But as I said, in the end, thinking that he could easily defeat me was his biggest mistake.

    After witnessing all that I could do during our battle in the mock war, he should''ve been more cautious of me.

    But anyway, everything went ording to my n more or less.

    I made him think that he had won until the veryst moment. I made him think he was the one hunting me.

    But just when everything was about to go his way, I showed him that he could never win again. I let him know that it was me who was hunting him.

    I showed him despair.

    Now every time when he would even think about going against me in the future, he''ll remember this moment.

    He''ll remember how futile it is to fight me.

    Sighing again, I got up and threw a small ss bottle Amelia. "That''s a healing potion. Apply this on him."

 Chapter 101 Trust

    After Amelia applied a bottle full of healing potion to Quinn''s wounds and bruises, she walked up to me and stood behind me.

    Meanwhile, I too applied some of the healing potion to the area where Quinn had stabbed me earlier.

    It took around five minutes for the effects of Embrace Discard to die down, and all my stats returned to normal.

    The duration for which one can maintain the effects of Embrace Discard is directly proportional to their mana core rank.

    Someone with a stronger mana core like Nero would be able to maintain his boosted stats for a long time.

    However, there was a side effect of using Embrace Discard that I experienced but wasn''t mentioned in the novel - executing pain.

    The pain was anguishing.

    It felt like every muscle fiber in my body was being ripped asunder while every bone in my body cried out in agony.

    Additionally, my head felt like it would explode at any moment, and my abdomen, where my mana core was situated, felt like it was on fire.

    Despite the waves of pain assaulting my body, I maintained a poker face because I couldn''t afford to show weakness. Not here, not now.

    What irritated me was the fact that such a side effect of using Embrace Discard wasn''t mentioned in the novel, so it came off as a surprise.

    I don''t like surprises. I want everything under my control, so it irked me to an extent I couldn''t describe.

    Nero, who used Phoenix''s Embrace hundreds of times, never experienced any pain whatsoever.

    This could mean one of two things:

    Either the author was toozy to describe things, which wouldn''t be surprising since he really was a bad author, or Nero never experienced pain because he was broken.

    Come to think of it, Nero''s pain tolerance was incredibly high in the story.

    I remember reading about a vampire cutting his hand off, and Nero just stood there and fought back, unfazed and disying no pain whatsoever.

    "Uh, would you mind putting on a shirt?"

    "Why are you standing so close if you have a problem with me not wearing anything?"

    My shirt was burnt to ashes when I used my armor. So currently, I was not wearing anything on top, causing Amelia, who was standing right behind me, to disy difort.

    "Because I don''t want him to kill me first when he wakes up," Amelia shrugged.

    "...So you''re fine with dying after me?" I looked at her absurdly.

    "Of course," she nodded. "Since that way, I would be able to see you die."

    "...Amelia."

    "That''s my name."

    "You''re ruthless."

    "Hmph."

    Shaking my head, I took out a spare shirt from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and began to put it on.

    "And oh," Amelia coughed. "You owe me one."

    "Remember when you almost fucked up and gave our victory away to ss 1-C-8 in the Mock War? Who saved you then?" I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, was it me? I think it was me. By that calction, I owe you nothing."

    "....Tsk."

    Wow!! Did this chick just click her tongue at me?! The audacity of this girl!

    Yes, beforeing here, I asked Amelia to apany me since I knew I would need an element of surprise while going against Quinn.

    I gave her one Null Attribute Light Arrow and asked her to shoot Quinn on my signal.

    Needless to say, she missed my signal on purpose and let Quinnnd an extra hit or two on me.

    Tsk. This girl.

    "Uh¡­"

    "What now?"

    "What''s that red thing on your chest? It wasn''t there before. Is that the armor relic that you used earlier?"

    A frown appeared on my face as I heard Amelia''s question.

    "How in the world do you know it wasn''t there before?"

    "....."

    At my question, Amelia merely sealed her lips and averted her eyes. It looked like she was holding back an urge to say something.

    Then I remembered. I saw it in Lucas'' memories. While forcing himself on her, he took his shirt off. Before he could go any further, his father and sister broke into his room and got him off her.

    Wow.

    There was only one way I could''ve made this conversation awkward, and I just did that.

    I have a talent for fucking things up.

    Letting out a long sigh, I massaged my forehead. I debated whether to apologize or not but then quickly decided not to.

    Though I did decide to answer her question, "Yes, it''s the very same armor relic. I can summon that armor from this ruby on my chest."

    "O-oh, I see," Amelia nodded back. "So I guess that massive outburst of power you disyed earlier was an application of this relic?"

    "Yeah," I replied. "Once I shed the armor, I gain an increment in my stats."

    "Is there a cooldown time?"

    "There is not."

    "Wow! This relic is broken!"

    Broken? I guess you can say that.

    I get nigh-imprable defense, and when I want, I can boost my strength. If I die, I''ll be brought back to life once. As long as I don''t die, I can use the armor again.

    It seemed like a broken relic to me too at the start. After all, that''s the reason the first thing I did aftering to this world was obtain it.

    However, now that I know there''s a side effect to using Embrace Discard, I don''t think it''s broken anymore.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Now, to some people, I might be sounding like a pussy. Being scared of little pain.

    To those people, I just have one thing to say:

    Come take my ce. Come and fucking take my ce! Experience the pain I''m currently experiencing, and then say those words!

    I don''t even think I can use Embrace Discard twice in a row. My body wouldn''t be able to handle the strain. It will break.

    Still, I guess it wouldn''t be wrong to call it broken.

    Amelia sighed, "I have to admit, rich young lords are on a different level."

    I raised an eyebrow, barely holding back augh, "I''m sorry. What?"

    "Well," she began, "you used an Illusion relic during the mock war to change your appearance, you used two arrow relics against Quinn now, and you had this same armor relic at that time too. Those things aren''t cheap."

    "I''m not rich," I replied, shaking my head with a bitter smile. "I told you before. I just have connections."

    "Connections to the god of this world, I''m assuming," Amelia said, rolling her eyes.

    I couldn''t argue with that, so I just shrugged.

    I mean, I really do have something akin to a connection with the god of this world, so I guess she is right?

    "But I''m not an elite young lord anymore," I said. "I just have my surname, but my noble titles were revoked. Even in the Western Continent, I don''t have any authority now."

    "Yeah, who''s to me for that?"

    "..."

    Tsk. This girl.

    "Haaa," Amelia let out another short sigh. "But still, an elite must be fun, no? People bow their heads before you wherever you go. You do whatever the fuck you want with no consequences. You can have the prettiest girls, drink the fanciest wine, and have your bodyguards beat up anyone who may offend you for even bumping into you down the street. It must feel good, right?"

    The frown on my face grew deeper. Where does she want this conversation to head? I mean, I think I have an idea of what she wants to talk about.

    So with an arched eyebrow, I yed along, "Amelia, do you hate elites?"

    Amelia gave a short chuckle, noticing that I had understood her intentions. "I don''t hate elites. I hate when elite young lords act entitled to everything. They think they deserve fancy treatment just because of their birthright. They act as if everyone should automatically respect or fear them, even though they have done nothing to earn it. Some nobles even discriminate againstmoners just because they were born with a silver spoon."

    I see.

    So this is what she was trying to say.

    Everything she said described the old Lucas. So that''s her n. She is trying to guilt-trip me.

    Why? Does she still want me to apologize?

    "Amel¨C" I began to respond, but Amelia interrupted me.

    "I know not all elites are like that," she said, taking a deep breath as if she were preparing to unload a heavy burden off her chest. "Y-You weren''t like that before."

    Wait, wait, wait!

    "Wha¨C" confused, I tried to interrupt, but she continued speaking.

    "But after your awakening, you changed. Your personality flipped, and you became depressed. I heard that you were having a hard time with your brother and your family," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I-I¡­ uh, I wanted to help you, t-to console you, but you closed your heart to everyone. You stopped talking and started pushing people away, including me. You didn''t even let me in, and that hurt!"

    "Amelia¨C" I tried to interject again, but she kept talking, her words flowing out rapidly.

    "You e-even started getting involved with the wrong kind of people and bullyingmoners in our school. Y-You a-also acted as if you didn''t know me, and when I tried to confront y-you, you¡­ Hic!" Her voice trailed off, and she began to hup and sob.

    "Amelia!" finally getting a window, I quickly interrupted her, shocked by her words. "What are you talking about?"

    "If you wanted to have me that way, all you had to do was ask, Lucas!" Amelia raised her voice, her body shaking but her head still down. "I would have dly given you everything I had. So why did you act like that?! W-Why did you force me?! Why did you break my trust?! And when I asked you to apologize, you¨C!"

    "Amelia, calm down," I said, grabbing her by the shoulders. She took a few sharp breaths before finally calming down.

    "Amelia, answer me this one thing," I said while trying so hard to not let my voice break.

    In the next moment, with my tone barely above a whisper, I asked, "Did I know you before the ''incident''?"

    Going from what I''ve read in the novel and the memories that I inherited from the owner of the body I''m currently in, Lucas did NOT know Amelia before he tried to force himself on her.

    They were in the same ss. However, they never interacted or knew each other prior to shortly before Lucas'' little horny show.

    But if that''s the case, then why is the girl in front of me acting as if she had known Lucas long before that?!

    To answer me, Amelia raised her head and matched my gaze.

    My heart sank seeing the sight in front of me.

    Tears were running down her blushing red cheeks. Her emerald green eyes, filled with tears to the brim, vulnerably looked at me.

    "Did you know me?" she looked at me with a saddened look. It was as if she was mourning a time that was but long gone. "We were friends, Lucas! We were friends since our childhood!"

    "....."

    nk.

    My mind was nk.

    Remember what I said about not liking surprises? Yeah, scratch that. I now HATE surprises.

    What the fuck is this plot twist?!

    Nothing like this was mentioned in the novel?! Moreover, nothing like this was in Lucas'' memories!

    I mean, if they really known each other since childhood, then Lucas would surely remember about it, right?!

    So then why?!

    Why do I not have any memories of interacting with her before the ''incident.''

    As I looked at the sight of Amelia crying and sobbing, for some reason, I felt my chest tightening and twisting in pain.

    Before I could even think about saying something, Amelia wiped the tears off her face and continued.

    "And although you pretended to not notice, you knew that I had feel¨C"

    "Arghh!"

    Right when she was in the middle of her point, a dissatisfied groan cut her off.

    Both Amelia and I instantly dropped this topic and looked over at Quinn. His limp body was finally starting to move, and he was getting up.

 Chapter 102 Switching Sides

    "...."

    "...."

    "...."

    God this is awkward.

    Why is no one saying anything?!

    Quinn had sat back up and was looking in our direction without uttering a single word.

    My hands were on Amelia''s shoulders as we both looked back at him.

    Like statues, all of us kept staring at us for a minute straight.

    Ahhh!

    I considered speaking something out of sheer awkwardness at first, but looking back at my history of making situations like these even more awkward, I stayed quiet.

    Wait, now that I think about it¡­

    My shirt was unbuttoned. I was grabbing Amelia. Her eyes were swollen, making it clear that she was crying.

    "....!!"

    I quickly let go of Amelia and took a few steps away from her.

    "Ahem."

    With a dry cough, my eyes darted over to Quinn, and I gave him a serious look.

    Sensing the situation, the necromancer got up on his feet and matched my gaze with the same energy and perhaps a little caution.

    Good, he was cautious of me. It means that he was finally starting to see me as a threat.

    It''s understandable since he got his ass whooped by me for being overconfident, not just once but twice.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    Swish¡ª!!

    "Don''t even think about it."

    Quinn suddenly clenched his fist, and I watched as darkness began to rise from his feet, signaling his attempt to summon his shadow ves.

    Judging by the amount of darkness surrounding him like a vortex, I can only assume he was about to call forth Shiya.

    Reacting quickly, Amelia nocked a mana-infused arrow on her bow and aimed it at the necromancer.

    While I apuded her reaction time, I knew that she wouldn''t be able to stop Quinn if he managed to bring out Shiya.

    I can''t do anything against the two of them either now that I''m too weak to use my armor again for a while.

    So I did the next best thing.

    I brought out my Edit Pen from the smart bracelet on my hand and pointed it at him, at the clothes he was wearing, to be precise.

    "....?"

    Needless to say, seeing an ordinary red quill pen, Quinn was more than confused.

    ''What is he trying to do with a pen?'' ¨C thoughts like this were clearly visible on his face.

    "....."

    However, seeing the deadly serious look in my eyes, Quinn decided not to make any moves.

    He had already seen me pulling some less-than-possible stunts so he probably didn''t want to risk anything.

    Fear is a survival instinct.

    If you see a lion while walking down an empty street and you don''t feel fear, you''d either be stupid or a quiet American kid with a shotgun in your backpack.

    You fear a lion because you clearly know that it''s capable of killing you if you keep approaching it.

    That''s why you feel fear. It''s your mind telling you to avoid your doom by turning around and running away.

    Right now, Quinn felt something simr. His instincts yelled at him to back down and heed my warning.

    Wise choice.

    If he hadn''t stopped casting the spell, I would have caused a spike to erupt from his clothes and impale his abdomen in an instant.

    "Let''s just have a civilized conversation," I said as I stored my pen in the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet. "Because if you decide to attack me now, I will go for the kill."

    Quinn appeared hesitant and had a look of frustration on his face. Despite his inner conflict on whether to attack me or not, he reluctantly agreed to my proposal.

    Again, a wise choice.

    Although I know I can''t truly kill him since he''s the Perfect Necromancer ¨C someone who walks on the boundary of life and death daily, I can surely hurt him really, really bad.

    And somewhere deep in his gut, even he knows that to be the case.

    Nodding after seeing him back down, I raised a hand in front of Amelia, and she responded by lowering her bow.

    "Amelia," I said, not averting my eyes off Quinn even for a second. "Thank you for helping me out. You can return to your apartment now."

    Amelia looked at me with a frown. A hint of concern was visible somewhere in her eyes as she asked, "Will you be fine with him alone?"

    "Are you worried about me?" I raised my eyebrows, but Amelia didn''t reply.

    She merely looked at me with a conflicted look before turning around and walking off.

    Only after she left the vicinity did I open my mouth to speak with a short chuckle, "Damn, we really messed this ce up, huh?"

    Around us, several broken tombstones stood in front of some wrecked graves.

    A sign reading ''Respect The Dead'' was hung at the entrance of the graveyard. Clearly, we did a very bad job in that regard.

    And for some reason it made meugh.

    Perhaps because I was the one who wrecked most of the graves here by using Mana Burst.

    "Just get to the point," Quinn, however, disyed no interest in the state we had rendered the graveyard in. "What do you want?"

    Taking a deep breath, I answered, "You know what I want. I want you to work with me. Switch sides and be my ally."

    "Hah!" Quinn scoffed at my statement as if I had said something ridiculous.

    "I''m serious, Quinn," I pressed. "I know you don''t want to associate with Kai. Just switch sides and work with me instead."

    "Of course I don''t want to associate with him, but do you think I have a choice?" Quinn replied with a scowl. "Not only is he strong enough to kill me, but he''s also smart enough to get away with it!"

    "But¨C"

    "And even if I admit you are as smart as him, you''re not nearly strong enough!" Quinn continued, not giving me a window to speak. "You may have defeated me, but Kai is a beast incarnate. You can''t ever defeat him!"

    Damn.

    Is he THAT scared of Kai?

    After taking a deep breath, I paused for a moment before speaking. "You were right," I admitted to Quinn.

    Perplexed, Quinn asked, "What?"

    "I mean about what you said earlier," I rified. "We''re just barely old enough to be called adults. It''s not fair for us to be conscripted and sent off to fight in wars. This world is in chaos and we''re caught in the middle of it."

    As I spoke, Quinn gazed at me expectantly.

    "Individuals like Kai Wiseman use chaotic times like these to climb to power," I said, cing a hand over my heart. "But I won''t follow in their footsteps. My goal is to end this war and create a better world. A world where no child will ever have to fight, no one will have to lose their loved ones, and no sons or daughters will be left orphaned. I''ll build a world of peace. It''ll be a world where we can be free."

    At the core, Quinn Darkstar is just a boy who was forced to fight on the Northern Border. There he fell in love with a girl and lost her to an unexpected vampire attack.

    All his life, somewhere deep down inside, all he ever wanted was to bring an end to this war-filled world¨C the world that took everything from him.

    But along the line of his life, after facing setbacks after setbacks, he finally gave up.

    The final straw was drawn when he helped the Vampire Monarch awaken.

    Instead of thanking him, the Monarch absorbed Shiya in front of his eyes, erasing her from existence.

    Subsequently, the Vampire Monarch mind-controlled Quinn and made him attack the Union Military, resulting in the deaths of millions of people.

    Knowing that Kai Wiseman may have been behind all of this, manipting Quinn from the shadows during his time at the Global Academy, it''s heartbreaking to imagine how tragic Quinn''s life must have been.

    He had been someone''s puppet his entire life, starting with his father''s, then Kai Wiseman''s, and ultimately the Vampire Monarch''s.

    Maybe that''s the reason why whenever his monologues appeared in the novel, he always talked about freedom ¨C something he never had.

    "You will end the war?" Quinn looked at me skeptically.

    "I will," I replied earnestly.

    I wasn''t lying.

    If I wanted to survive, I really needed to end the war. I needed the Union Military to win against Vampires and Kalis.

    "So you tell me, Quinn," I stretched my hand out to him. "What will you do? Will you help Kai aplish his selfish pursuit of power, or will you help me create a world where we can be free?"

    Quinn''s hands trembled as he contemted my words. "But you''re not strong enough to go against Kai."

    "Not now," I replied. If Quinn is right and Kai really defeated him and all his shadow ves, then I really am not strong enough to defeat him right now.

    The emphasis, however, is on ''right now.''

    "But I will bring him down," I dered. "I will destroy Kai Wiseman after the King''s Tournament in four months."

    "You''re crazy!"

    "Am I? Maybe I am. But I have already proved myself to you, haven''t I? I have defeated you twice even though I''m considerably weaker than you."

    "But that''s only because¨C"

    "Because you underestimated me both times, that''s right. But I still defeated you. I predicted every move you made, every trap you set, and I countered them all in advance. Kai Wiseman will meet the same fate. I will bring him down."

    "..."

    "Decide, Quinn. Do you want to be scared of him, or do you want to break free of this war-filled world?"

    Quinn looked at me as if he was looking at a madman. As if I was someone who didn''t know what I was talking about.

    "Are you serious?"

    "I am serious, Quinn. I give you my word."

    But after a long, silent consideration, Quinn nodded his head and gave me the answer I had already predicted him to give me.

    "Fine. I''ll work with you."

 Chapter 103 Next Step

    The fervent glow of the moon''s silver light illuminated the city streets teeming with nightlife as the cadets relished their time here.

    It''s been a long time since I had a drink, so I contemted going inside one of the bars on my way to the apartment, but in the end, I decided against it.

    After our Unit''s victory in the Unit Test, we gained a significant amount of Merit Points.

    Currently, I should have something around 3,600 MP (Merit Points) on me, so I had enough to spend on drinks.

    For reference, 1 MP is roughly equivalent to 1 dor.

    Even after taking out monthly rent ¨C yes, the apartment housing is not free. The academy takes rent from the cadets if they are not in the Top 16 ¨C and other necessities, I''ll still have enough on me to enjoy a little.

    Nevertheless, I also need to consider saving some of the money to purchase additional weapons arts.

    Furthermore, I still need to pay off the debt of 5,800 MP for the Spear Art that I obtained through Kent.

    And aside from that, I''ll need to buy many mid to high-grade potions to boost my mana core rank soon.

    Yes, it''s about time I start growing stronger.

    As I''ve promised Quinn, I will have to deal with Kai after the King''s Tournament in four months.

    Talking about Quinn, since I finally managed to nab him to my side, I have given him a few instructions to follow.

    First, he will continue working under Kai and report all his movements to me.

    Second, he will not act on his own and will follow my orders to the word.

    Against these set of rules, Quinn has also put up a condition of his own from his side.

    If I am unable to bring down Kai Wiseman by the end of this four-month time limit, he will reveal my identity to him.

    And might I add, Kai Wiseman is really starting to get on my nerves even though I haven''t even met him once yet.

    If my theory is really correct and he''s some kind of a hidden boss, I will lose my mind.

    I already have enough things to deal with¨C enough future scenarios to avoid as it is. I really don''t need unexpected obstacles like these to pop up and block my path.

    I like situations to be under control. This might sound contradictorying from me, who said I like chaos, but when I''m in the middle of it, I like predictability.

    So when I came to this world, I knew almost everything since I had read the novel this world was based on.

    I rxed, thinking that everything was going to be under my control. Even if I make changes to the flow of the plot, I am smart enough to predict any butterfly effect and avoid any major consequencesing my way.

    But soon enough, as fate would have it, things started to spiral out of my assumed control one by one.

    First, a guy named Hugh Jass appeared out of nowhere. He was a character that wasn''t mentioned in the novel, even though he totally should''ve been.

    But it was fine. Till then, I could predict the flow of the plot to some extent.

    But then, at the Mock War, I found out about there being two traitors in ss 1-A-1, and it was again something that wasn''t mentioned in the novel.

    But I managed to make the best of that situation too. I predicted it happening in advance and took the situation under my control once again.

    However, one thing was clear to me ¨C I can''t trust what I''ve read in the novel. But even until that point, everything was still manageable.

    So what if I can''tpletely trust the novel? I can still work with the knowledge based on Lucas'' memories.

    Turns out I can''t do that either. I can''t even trust Lucas'' memories since clearly there are either gaps in them or someone has altered them.

    Before I could even wrap my head around this newly revealed information, the fact that Kai could be a hidden boss came to light.

    I mean, really, God? Really?! Not only you authored a shitty novel based on this world, but you also did a very shitty job doing that!

    Why the fuck would you leave out details this big while writing a story?! Why?!

    I swear to god. I will kill the fucking author someday. He could very well be a god, but I will kill him.

    "Haaaa!"

    Letting out an extended sigh, I took step after step toward my abode.

    Even though there was so much important stuff to think about and n ahead, my mind was stuck on what Amelia had said earlier.

    It''s not surprising to know that Amelia and Lucas could have been childhood friends.

    Despite being amoner, Amelia''s father was one of the Western Continents'' well-established merchants.

    ording to what was mentioned in the novel, Amelia''s father paid regr visits to the overlord of the Western Continent, Reynold Morningstar ¨C the father of Lucas, Adel, and Yelena Morningstar.

    It wouldn''t be impossible to imagine that her father must''ve used to bring Amelia to the Morningstar mansion while paying visits to Reynold.

    From there, they could''ve developed a friendship of some sort.

    And judging by the dramatic tone and the way Amelia was crying, they must''ve been close.

    This, however, begs the question: Why did he do what he did to Amelia?

    If they really were that close, then why?

    Maybe someone mind-controlled him? Maybe it''s the same person who altered Lucas'' memories?

    Arghhh!

    Damn it.

    I''m way too sleepy to think about all this. It''s like trying to solve a puzzle with half of the pieces missing!

    Today was supposed to be myst peaceful evening for a while. Now everything is confusing and messed up, and my resting time is ruined!

    Haa. I''ll just go home and do what I do best¨C ignore all my problems until they go away all by themselves. Works every time.

    "Huh?"

    As I reached my apartmentplex, I saw a fetching fair-haired girl walking out of the building''s main gate while carrying two sizable traveling bags.

    It was Grace.

    From the looks of it, she was moving out. Her swollen red eyes made it evident that she was crying this whole time.

    I knew this was going to happen, but I couldn''t have guessed that she would decide to move out so quickly.

    As I''ve mentioned before, the lodging that the academy provides isn''t free. You have to pay the rent with Merit Points.

    And since I''m going to take all of Grace''s Merit Points for the next six months, she couldn''t even buy necessities, let alone pay rent.

    Of course, the academy wouldn''t evict the cadets from the city if they were unable to pay rent.

    For those who were unable to earn enough Merit Points or failed to meet the deadline, the 7th Outer District of the Academy City offered free lodging.

    While the amodations may not be luxurious, they still provide a ce to live, albeit in a small tent.

    "Hello, Grace!" nearing her, I put on a bright amicable smile on my face and waved as if I had been waving to an old friend. "Long time no see."

    Noticing my presence, a foul expression took over Grace''s face. With contempt in her eyes and venom in her tone, she spat:

    "You will pay for this."

    "Woah!" dramatically raising my hands, a sarcastic smile formed on my face and I let out a few chuckles. "I''m so scared, waaah!"

    Okay, I won''t lie. I was kind of enjoying it.

    "Laugh all you want right now, Lucas Morningstar," she looked at me in pure, unadulterated hatred. "But I will make you pay ten times for what you''ve done!"

    "Sure, sure," waving my hand again to dismiss her words, I walked past her. "Do whatever you want. Just spare me this third-rate viin threat."

    I could feel her staring daggers at my back as I walked off.

    I have more or less achieved all the objectives I had set for the first arc.

    Grace''s life will now start to get miserable due to my efforts, and I have sessfully taken Quinn under me.

    Additionally, I have improved my image in the protagonist''s eyes and umted a significant number of Merit Points.

    Despite a few setbacks, such as Nero having to use his gift despite my attempts to prevent it, I have learned from my mistakes and given my best effort.

    Although I can''t say my actions were able to significantly change the ending of the first arc or the start of the main plot, I have put myself in a favorable position.

    Not to mention I''ve started to affect the fate of people around me. That is enough for me now.

    Now, it''s time to acquire some power-ups.

    Oh yeah, it''s that time!

    The Mock War has ended, and the following arc will start tomorrow, marking the time for me to make my next move.

    Hmm? What will I do?

    Well, as I''ve mentioned before, while most of the relics that the protagonist used won''t appear until volume 3, or I have no way to obtain them at present, there is another means of gaining strength that I can pursue.

    It''s time to acquire a mythical beast egg.

 Chapter 104 Puppet

    In the spacious apartment hall, four people were present.

    A tall, imposing man with tanned skin stood quietly by the wall while a scary yet handsome ck-haired guy yawned on the couch.

    In the center of the room, a blonde girl quivered in fear as an intimidating man stood before her.

    He had a well-built frame and shoulder-length dark orchid hair, with burning eyes fixed on the girl.

    As he massaged his eyebrows, seemingly trying to calm himself down, his patience eventually wore thin.

    He willed mana into his right leg and¡­

    Thwack¡ª!!

    A strong, mana-infused kicknded on the blonde girl''s stomach, making her clench her stomach in pain.

    "You had one job!" the man who kicked the girl yelled madly.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Khuaa!"

    He then kicked her again, which made her buckle down and copse on the ground while violently coughing up before letting out a shrill cry of pain.

    "Kai, you''ll kill her!" Alberto voiced his concern from his spot against the wall.

    "Tsk."

    Kai clicked his tongue and brushed his fingers through his shoulder-length dark hair, tying it into a bun. He repeated his words, a little calmer this time.

    "You just had to keep your identity hidden and report every detail to Alberto. If you had done that, he would''ve taken care of ss 1-A-1!"

    Grace trembled on her knees as Kai raised his voice again.

    Alberto watched the scene unfold, wanting to intervene but decided to keep his life instead.

    In fact, now that the Mock War has ended, Alberto knew that he couldn''t have changed the oue no matter what had happened.

    His defeat was set in stone the moment he decided to go against Nero.

    Why?

    Because ss 1-A-1''s Lord Commander, Nero Dekrauf, was a devil in human skin. Alberto couldn''t help but shudder when he thought back to Nero''s disy of power.

    He remembers how he had almost dealt the final blow to Nero when he chanted something and a brilliant red sword appeared before him.

    As soon as Nero gripped the sword, a massive explosion akin to a nuclear st urred, toppling the whole city and killing everyone there, his enemies and allies alike, in an instant.

    Alberto didn''t even get the chance to get his thoughts in order when he found himself out of the VR, confused until he realized he had lost.

    Alberto didn''t even have time to process what had happened before he found himself out of the VR, confused until he realized he had lost.

    He knew that he stood no chance against Nero.

    In fact, he even believed that with his gift, Nero might actually be stronger than Kai himself.

    Quinn, who had been bored until now, decided to get involved.

    "Not true," he interjected with a yawn. "Even if she had done her work perfectly, I doubt Alberto would''ve won."

    Kai frowned at Quinn''s words but quickly nodded in understanding.

    "True," he said. "If what you all report is correct, then Nero Dekrauf¡­ that bastard is too strong. Alberto wouldn''t have stood a chance against him anyway."

    Although Alberto knew this to be true, hearing Kai say it irritated him for some reason.

    ''Why don''t you go and fight him, you fish-eyed bastard?!'' is what Alberto wanted to say to him.

    But instead, he put on a fake smile and spoke in a pleasing tone. "Haha! True, true. I''m not strong enough, but if it was you, sir Kai, it would''ve been a different story."

    "Shut the fuck up," Kai rolled his eyes, uninterested in Alberto''s ttery.

    Alberto wanted to retort but instead forced a bigger smile and bowed his head like a dog with no self-esteem, happy to receive recognition from his master.

    "Regardless," Kai continued as he turned his gaze to the girl on the ground. "You failed to do your job. If you failed to do something as simple as this, then I have no use for you."

    Feeling his vexed gaze on her, Grace trembled in terror.

    She didn''t want this. She was scared. All she wanted to do was just run home and spend time with her younger brother.

    "Hic! Hic!" tears filled her eyes to the brim as she started sobbing. The image of her father shed in her mind.

    Seeing her in this state made Kai even more annoyed. He squatted down and gripped Grace''s face tightly.

    ''Father, please save me!'' she cried out in her mind.

    "Do not fucking cry!" Kai yelled. "If you so much so even shed a tear, I will kill you."

    "Mnhh! Mnhh!" through cuffed cheeks, Grace nodded her head before Kai let go of her face and she gasped for air.

    Actually, Kai''s objective for instigating the Mock War between sses 1-A-1 and 1-C-8 was never to let 1-C-8 win to begin with.

    He just wanted to examine all the talents in 1-A-1 to determine if there was someone who could pose a threat to him and his n to ascend to the position of president.

    In a way, since Nero disyed his true strength, Kai had already achieved his goal.

    Then why was he so infuriated with Grace?

    It''s because he disliked having useless people around, and right now, after getting her identity exposed and failing to do what he had asked of her, Grace was being just that - useless.

    Noticing that this was not going to end well for Grace, Quinn decided to interrupt. "Kai, I don''t think you should be focusing on her right now."

    At his words, Kai let out a deep sigh. "True, I should be focusing on Nero. He''s a bigger threat than I had imagined."

    Alberto asked, "What should we do?"

    Kai stroked his chin, contemting Alberto''s question, and when he was done thinking, a distorted grin spread across his face, sending a shiver down everyone''s spine.

    "Spread the news. Ensure that everyone worldwide knows about Nero''s Gift." he ordered.

    This was a calcted move on Kai''s part. If Nero''s Gift became widely known, there was bound to be someone who would seek it for themselves.

    Even if most people dismissed the news as mere rumors, Nero''s life would remain in constant danger.

    This would create an opportunity that Kai could exploit. By removing Nero as a rival for the presidency of the Global Academy, he would achieve his short-term goal.

    "...N-Nero is not the one you should worry about," quaking in terror while panting heavily, Grace let out in a trembling voice. "The one you should look out for is someone else."

    "Hmm?" Kai raised an eyebrow as he looked at Grace''s figure.

    She was on her knees and her blonde hair was disheveled¨C clearly not resembling someone from a noble household. Her eyes were clouded with fear and anxiety, yet a flicker of rage was visible in them.

    That rage, however, was not directed at Kai. No, it was directed toward the person she was speaking about.

    "Who are you talking about?" Kai questioned, more than a bit curious. "Is it Lucas Morningstar, the guy you talked about?"

    "Yes," Grace nodded while wiping blooding from a scratch on the side of her lips. "Aside from finding out my identity, he also somehow managed to make his fingerprints from my jersey disappear. I hate to admit it, but his intelligence is a threat."

    "Yes!" quickly, Alberto chipped in. "Jason, my head strategist, also mentioned something like that. That guy predicted Jason''s moves before he even made them. If not for that one blunder atst, we would''ve lost without Nero even getting the need to interfere."

    "Hmmm," Kai couldn''t help but stroke his chin again.

    Right.

    ording to the report he got, Lucas Morningstar was a threat.

    Kai had met Alberto''s friend, Jason. Even he had to admit that Jason was smart. For someone to outsmart him so easily is a difficult task.

    But before Kai coulde to any decision, Quinn spoke up.

    "Lucas is a puppet," he said. "I''m pretty sure someone else is pulling his strings."

    "Hmm?" turning his eyes toward the necromancer, Kai furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? borate."

    "I think Lucas is being controlled by someone else from the shadows," Quinn began exining his point. "There is someone else, probably from our ss like Amelia or Anastasia, who is using him as a front to cover their actions."

    "You mean someone else is taking the actions while Lucas is just putting on a show?"

    "Yes. Hence the puppet analogy."

    "Hmm. Why do you think so?"

    Quinn took in a deep breath. "Well, have you heard about Lucas'' reputation? That guy is a degenerate sheltered rich boy. There''s no way someone can be smart enough to pull what he pulled during the Mock War. Besides, if it truly is Lucas, do you really think he would be stupid enough not to hide his actions? He is definitely someone else''s pawn. He is being used as a front to misdirect us and keep our attention away from the real puppeteer."

    "Mhmm," Kai nodded again in understanding. "That''s true. Someone smart enough to outsmart Jason would definitely conceal their identity by using someone else as their puppet."

    "Exactly," Quinn eximed.

    "Wait, did you get to know the identity of the person who defeated you?" Kai inquired to Quinn. "You said you were going to meet up with that personst night. So, who are they?"

    "I don''t know," Quinn replied instantly as if he was prepared for all these questions beforehand. "They never showed up."

    "They are being cautious," Kai concluded. "Maybe it''s the same person who''s pulling Lucas'' strings."

    "Maybe, yeah."

    "Or could it be that it was Lucas?" Kai theorized. "Maybe he was the one who defeated you at the Mock War, and yesterday he beat you up until you sided with him? That could be a possibility, right? Maybe you are trying to cover Lucas'' name here. Maybe you have switched sides?"

    "Haa," Quinn couldn''t help but let out an absurd dryugh. In truth, Kai was on point. But of course, he couldn''t just admit that to him.

    So instead, he started spitting lies with a straight face.

    "Nah," he said. "Firstly, whoever it was who killed me in the Virtual World really didn''t show up yesterday. Secondly, Lucas is too weak to defeat me."

    "Hmm," Kai scratched his forehead while deep in thought. "True. His core rank is only at ?Iron 2?, so there''s no way he could defeat you."

    Quinn gave Kai a long look as if trying to get a read on this guy.

    The reason for this was when he talked about mana core rankings; it reminded him of something.

    At the start of the academy, Kai invited Quinn out to a gathering of cadets belonging to noble and high-background households.

    They formed a group named Young Elites.

    During that meeting, Quinn asked Kai for his mana core rank, and he revealed it to be on ?Bronze 2?.

    However, in just a matter of weeks, Kai somehow managed to rank his mana core up to ?Silver 3?. It was a near-impossible feat!

    Not only that, but when he fought Kai, it seemed like thetter had years worth ofbat experience.

    Even Quinn''s battle instincts weren''t as honed as his. It was clear that there was something fishy about this guy.

    "By the way¨C?!" as Quinn was about to continue the conversation, Grace started yelling.

    "No, no, no!" she cried out while grabbing Kai''s leg. "You guys are being fooled! This is exactly what he wants you to think! It is Lucas who''s pulling everyone''s strings! Believe me!"

    Kai looked at Grace in shock. After the amount of beating she had received, she should be terrified to even be anywhere near Kai.

    Yet, right now, she was grabbing his leg and yelling at him.

    Even Quinn was surprised a little.

    "The fuck?" Kai jerked his leg off Grace''s grip and thrashed a punch in her face, breaking her nose.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Heeik!"

    Letting out a gasping cry, her body fell back from the force of the punch.

    "Y-You don''t understand," even as blood streamed down from her nose, Grace kept repeating her words. "He wants you to think this! It''s him!"

    Seeing her behave erratically, Kai thought maybe he had punched her too hard. He looked at Quinn, to which thetter just shrugged back.

    "It seems I''ll have to investigate this guy myself," Kai muttered to himself.

    "But I told you, you don''t need to bother¨C" before Quinn could convince him to not get involved with Lucas, Kai waved his hand.

    "I''ve decided," he dered. "I''ll see him for myself and then decide if he''s really the one pulling the strings or if he''s just another puppet."

 Chapter 105 Amelia Blacks Soliloquy

    "Fuuu."

    In a dimly lit apartment room, an alluring ck-haired girl sat cross-legged on the ground.

    White steam rose from her perfect figure as sweat dripped down her forehead. She opened her clear emerald eyes and blinked a few times.

    "I did it," she said to herself.

    She had managed to advance her mana core rank into the ?Silver? stage and entered its first level ¨C ?Silver 1?.

    Going up a level is not that difficult; however, breaking through a stage to enter the next takes a lot of time, effort, and energy.

    For example, getting one''s mana core from ?Bronze 2? to ?Bronze 3? is easier than getting it from ?Bronze 3? to ?Silver 1?.

    To advance into the next stage, one has to forcefullypress their mana core and addyers uponyers of mana over it to create a new mana core over the already existing one.

    Needless to say, the necessary process ofpressing is hard and painful, and it can''t be avoided.

    However, there is a way to fasten it.

    To cover their already existing mana cores, one needs to gather mana from the atmosphere.

    This process of gathering mana through the atmosphere can be long and tiring.

    However, one could fasten this process by obtaining some mid to high-grade mana potions that could provide the required mana instead to envelop their already existing mana core instead of gathering it from the atmosphere.

    Dhak¨C!

    Amelia fell back, tired. She wanted to sleep, but looking at the clock, it was already [6:54 AM] now. Soon her ss would start.

    "Tsk," Amelia clicked her tongue in resignation. "I guess I won''t be getting any sleep today either."

    Actually, her n was to rx and maybe binge-watch a web series or two aftering back from the Virtual World yesterday.

    However, before she could even get changed and sit down to watch something, a certain someone called her.

    Who else could it have been but Lucas?

    At first, she decided to ignore it, but he kept spamming calls and texts until her patience wore out and she answered.

    He asked for a favor and sent a GPS coordinate. The location was the one and only graveyard in Academy City.

    He told her toe meet him there and exined the situation. He also told her a rather detailed n and instructed her to shoot Quinn with a light-enchanted arrow on his signal.

    All in all, the n went pretty well, and Lucas was able to subdue Quinn by the end, thanks to her and some of his rather expensive-looking relics.

    However, the thing that was stuck in her mind was what happened after that. She said some things to Lucas, and now she couldn''t get it out of her mind.

    This was the reason she couldn''t sleep aftering backst night and decided to train instead.

    "Aghhh!" letting out a frustrated groan, Amelia smacked her face. "Why the hell did I say all that?!"

    When Amelia was around six years old, on a windy winter morning, her mother passed away.

    She passed away from an illness. Doctors couldn''t save her, and even advanced medical technology didn''t provide a cure.

    Amelia felt her emotions die that day. She stoppedughing. She stopped talking. She didn''t even cry during her mother''s funeral.

    Her father started taking care of her after that. He would never let her out of his sight since he knew how devastated she was.

    Even when he had to work, he would take her with him.

    Her father was a small yet well-established businessman who dealt with the trade of mana beasts'' cores, an important yet dangerous ingredient used in various types of potion-making.

    Since he was only one of the few names in this dangerous business in the Western Continent, he had to regrly show his reports directly to Reynold Morningstar.

    One day, her father took her to the Morningstar mansion when he had to pay his regr visit. She still remembers that day vividly.

    It was a huge mansion, around ten times the size of her own house. It had a huge front yard pool, backyard garden, and maid robots ¨C those things were expensive back then.

    While her father visited the overlord''s personal office, Amelia waited patiently in the mansion''s guest room.

    Despiteing from a well-off family, Amelia was still in awe when she saw the luxurious guest room at the mansion.

    That day, in that guest room, she met that boy for the first time.

    Lucas Morningstar.

    He was beautiful. His skin was as fair as snow, while his hair looked as if they were made from the strands of cloud. His eyes shone in a bright shade of scarlet while a charming smile was stered on his face.

    That was the very first time Amelia saw someone as beautiful as him. And maybe it was also the first time she felt her heart skip a beat.

    However, it was only for a moment.

    She actually knew who this boy was. He was in the same school as her, and since he was from one of the four Ruling Houses¨C a Morningstar, he was undoubtedly famous.

    Both girls and boys wanted to befriend him and get close to him, some for his looks and others for his background.

    As if that wasn''t enough, the word was that Lucas Morningstar was also extremely intelligent and talented in academics, war strategies, and martial arts.

    He was a true genius. Anyone would want to get close to him¡­ but not her.

    In reality, she just wanted to be left alone. She didn''t even want to be there, but her father literally dragged her out of her room.

    Unfortunately for her, Lucas had no intentions of leaving her alone.

    He approached her and tried to talk, introducing himself and asking about her, but since she had no interest in talking, she kept ignoring him.

    The day ended, and Lucas'' pretty face was starting to annoy Amelia. The boy did not know how to shut up.

    After her father''s work was done, she went home with him, relieved that she didn''t have to listen to the boy talking anymore.

    But of course, her luck wasn''t that great.

    Next week, when she returned with her father again, she found the boy waiting for her in the guest room.

    The same happened the week after that.

    And the week after that.

    And the week after that.

    Months passed, and whenever Amelia would visit the Morningstar mansion, Lucas would be there waiting for her.

    They would talk for hours¨C well, only he talked, and Amelia listened.

    They would also y around the mansion¨C well, Amelia would try to run away, and Lucas would try to catch her, thinking she was ying tag with him.

    Time passed by like this, and one year passed. They both were put in the same ss at school.

    So now, Amelia had to endure Lucas every day. However, by now, she was starting to get used to being around him.

    The boy was annoying, and he sure talked a lot, but she could tell he was kind and funny and sweet.

    There was much more to him than the ''genius'' tag that people had given him.

    Slowly but surely, she started to open up to him. Being around him was starting to get less annoying every day.

    Although she still didn''t start talking, she was beginning tough and feel joy. The sorrow she felt after her mother''s passing was starting to fade away.

    ¡­But the kids at that age can be troublesome to deal with.

    ¨C"Do you see her? Why does that girl not talk?"

    ¨C"She''s always so gloomy when she''s in the ss alone."

    ¨C"Yeah, but whenever Lucases to talk to her, she starts acting normal."

    ¨C"But I haven''t seen her talking with him either. Why does Lucas even bother to talk with someone creepy like her."

    ¨C"Guys, I think she can listen to us. Ughh, she''s looking this way, creepy."

    It started like that. And soon, she became the target of ss bullying. Lucas stood by her, but it wasn''t enough to fend off all the bullies.

    Although no one would bother her when she was with him, he couldn''t be with her every second of the day.

    Whenever she wasn''t with him, they would start to bother her again.

    Not so long after, being in school became unbearable, even with Lucas by her side. She would cry at night and try to keep a brave face during the day.

    But one day¡­ the bullying suddenly stopped. The students who used to bother her got suspended.

    Although she was initially confused, Amelia immediately figured out who was behind all this.

    ¨C"They will never bother you again."

    That''s what Lucas said to her.

    That day, for the first time in a while, she cried in front of someone¨C in front of him.

    That day, it was also the first time in a while that she spoke up, "Thank you," while sobbing.

    Their friendship only deepened after that incident. Amelia and Lucas¨C they both were inseparable. It would be rare to see one without thepany of the other.

    Of course, it didn''t take long until she started having feelings for him¨C feelings stronger than friendship.

    Every second that she spent with him only made her fall only harder for him.

    However, one day everything started going downhill. They arrived at the age when they awakened their mana core.

    As it happens to be, they both awakened their mana cores on the same day.

    Amelia awakened an ?Immortal? stage potential. Needless to say, she was happy.

    But when she visited Lucas to let him on the good news, she was left shocked.

    Lucas Morningstar, once an unparalleled genius, awakened a mana core potential that was barely high enough t be called average ¨C ?Gold?.

    That was the day when Lucas started shutting people off.

    She got to know that he was having problems with his family.

    His twin brother, who she had only seen supporting Lucas until now, flipped and started bullying him in school.

    His sister started ignoring him, much like his parents. And the people who wanted to get close to Lucas until the day before suddenly startedughing at him in front of his face.

    Amelia tried to help her¨C she tried talking to her and standing by him as he did for her, but Lucas pushed her away too.

    Then he changed for the worse.

    Alcohol, drugs, women¨C he was merely a teenager when he started indulging himself in all of that.

    His personality only worsened and Amelia tried to talk to him many times, but he acted like he didn''t even know her.

    It was painful for her to watch him like this.

    However, one day when they were fourteen, he started showing interest in her again. Only this time, he was acting like a scum.

    He tried to forcefully get her in his bed. And one day, he almost seeded.

    That day was the most painful day she had to go through in all her life after her mother''s passing.

    She cried for weeks after that.

    She wasn''t saddened by what intentions Lucas had; instead it was how he tried to achieve them.

    If he wanted her that way, all he had to do was ask. But instead of doing that, Lucas betrayed her trust in him. He betrayed their friendship.

    She swore to herself that day that she would never forgive him. She would never even see his face.

    Yet, after four years, when she finally met him again, she found he had changed.

    He wasn''t acting like a scum, but he wasn''t his former self, either. He was awkward and unreadable.

    However, the way he talked, the way he walked, and his bad habit of biting nails when he was deep in thought¨C were all the same.

    Even though she swore to herself never to forgive him for what he did, Amelia found herself talking to her again.

    But when she mentioned the past, Lucas acted as if he didn''t remember it. He surely remembered the ''incident,'' but not their time before that.

    ¡­It made her think:

    "Did he lose his memories or something?"

    Is it possible that all those years ago, someone messed with his¨C

    Beep¨C! Beeep¨C! Beep¨C!

    Right when she was in the middle of reminiscing about the past, her rm clock started ringing.

    "Tsk," clicking her tongue in frustration, Amelia got up. It was time for her to get ready for the academy.

    She could think about all this sometime else.

    Besides, what happened in the past couldn''t change, no matter how much she may think about it anyway.

 Chapter 106 Reward [1]

    "...So that''s about it."

    "Hmm. It''s fine. I kind of expected this to happen anyway."

    Quinn and I were right outside our ss, talking in a tone barely above a whisper.

    What were we talking about?

    Well, Kai decided to meet Alberto, Grace, and Quinn this morning. He wanted a detailed report about what happened in the Mock War and all.

    Right now, Quinn is catching me up on what he did in the meeting. Apparently, Grace received one hell of a beating from Kai.

    Good.

    This means, soon she will be kicked out of the Young Elites. In no time, she will be alone and vulnerable, with no friends or allies by her side.

    Then, and only then, I will put on a disy of mercy and lend her a helping hand out of the sheer kindness of my heart.

    Heh.

    Anyway, aside from this, Quinn alerted me about the fact that Kai was soon going toe after me.

    Even though Quinn tried directing his attention away from me, Grace, in a fit of fury and madness, begged him toe after me.

    Of course, I expected it to happen. Even though I told Quinn to convince Kai about there being a hidden mastermind in our ss, I knew Grace would stick her nose in between.

    After all, Grace did know that I was the one Kai should look out for.

    It''s fine though. Grace is a variable I can''t control yet. I did a good job by letting Quinn put the idea of a possible secretive mastermind in Kai''s head.

    "You expected it?" Quinn furrowed his eyebrows in a frown. He was clearly confused.

    "By now, you should know one thing about me, Quinn," I looked at him with a slight smile visible on my lips. "I''m the kind of guy who always tries to think ahead and anticipate what might happen. I like to consider all the possible oues before making a move. It helps me stay ahead in the game and ensure that the conclusion turns out to be my victory."

    I chuckled lightly. "I don''t mean to sound too dramatic, but that''s just the way I approach things. I like to be prepared for any situation, so I can stay in control ande out on top. It''s just my way of doing things."

    Quinn gave me a long look before sighing. "Yeah, so do you have anything ready for Kai? Do you know how you''ll approach him?"

    "Not yet," I replied.

    "Didn''t you just say you like to stay ahead, though?" Quinn arched an eyebrow.

    "No," I shook my head. "I mean, I will not yet approach him. I''ll let him make the first move."

    "Won''t that put you at a disadvantage?"

    "Mhmm. It won''t. Every move that he can make and every step that he takes are all already ounted for. Don''t worry. He will lose."

    "...I see."

    Nodding my head after convincing Quinn that everything was under control, I turned around and started to leave for the ss.

    However, before I could even take a step, Quinn''s voice called out to me from behind.

    "Lucas," he called, making me halt. "Those marbles that you used to concuss me¡­ when did you put them in the graveyard?"

    Oh? It was still on his mind.

    "Didn''t I tell you already?" I said, without bothering to turn back. "Every action my enemies take, I predict them all in advance. You calling me out to the graveyard was a possibility I had considered as soon as the Mock War ended. After all, that is the only ce with no people around, even on weekends.

    "So, after leaving the Virtual World, I went straight to the graveyard and dug up the ground to hurry those marbles there.

    "After you called me there, I deliberately arrived early and stood before the spot where I had buried the marbles so you would stand right on top of them. It was only a matter of making you believe that you had won before I would show you the disparity of going against me."

    I didn''t even need to turn around to see that Quinn had a mix of ''Fuck you'' and ''Wow, that was smart'' look on his face after I made the reveal.

    Click¡ª!

    Smirking, I clicked open the ssroom door and went inside without a hitch. Today is going to be a big day, after all.

    Today the ss Trip arc will start ¨C the first main arc of the story.

    ?

    "How are you, Kent?"

    "Ah¡­ I-I am¡­ g-good?"

    "Oh, you are? Don''t worry. You won''t be for long! Kewehehehe!"

    "Dude, don''tugh like that!"

    Currently, I am sitting right next to Kent.

    As I greeted him, a creepy smile slowly emerged on my face.

    Seeing me acting this way, Kent started sweating profusely, clearly on edge around me.

    What''s going on, you ask?

    Well, during the Mock War, Kent initiated a punch bet between us. And since my contribution ranking was higher than his, he''ll have to let me punch him five times!

    He was stupid to make that bet in the first ce. I was the one who wasmanding the flow of the battle. So it''s no surprise that I was ranked higher than him.

    Well, in his defense, when he made that bet, Amelia was set to be the head strategist.

    He thought he would rank higher than me since I had not much to do. Heh, this poor fool.

    Ahh~

    Just the thought of punching him right in his stupid face makes me tingle in excitement!

    "Okay, fine," he said resignedly, sitting up straight and leaning his face toward me. "There, punch me five times."

    "Oh, Kent," I said, shaking my head in mock sympathy. "You have no idea what you''ve just gotten yourself into. You think a few punches right now is all you have to worry about? Think again, my dear friend. Because I have something much worse in store for you."

    Kent''s expression shifted from defeat to confusion as he tried to process my words. But before he could say anything, I continued.

    "I won''t set you free right now," I said, my smile turning into a twisted grin. "No, that would be too easy. Instead, I''ll trap you in a lifetime of misery. Every time you see me, you''ll be filled with dread. You''ll never feel safe again, never be able to rx. I''ll be like a shadow, always lurking just out of sight, ready to punch you in the face at any given moment. And when I do, you''ll wish you had never crossed me."

    I could see the fear growing in Kent''s eyes, only adding more to my ecstasy.

    "At the end of it all ¨C When I''ll deal you the fifth and final punch," I continued, my voice low and menacing. "You''ll be driven to the brink of insanity, unable to bear the mental torture that I''ll put you through. And then, and only then, will I let you go."

    Kent''s eyes widened with fear as he realized the grave mistake he had made in challenging me.

    He had thought it was just a harmless bet, a little game to pass the time. But now, he found himself staring into the face of pure evil.

    "Ahahahahaha! Hahahaha! Muahahah¨C"

    "Can you guys please shut up?"

    As I was right in the middle of my viinousugh, Amelia, who was sitting right behind us, interrupted.

    "And besides, you can''t drag a bet for a lifetime," she said, resting her chin over her hand.

    "Of course I can," I frowned. "We didn''t make a rule opposing it."

    "No, I mean, you possibly can''t," Amelia exined. "At most, you can only drag it until six months before you''ll either forget about it or have punched him five times by then."

    "Heh," I scoffed. "You underestimating me is nothing new. But don''t worry. I''ll prove you wrong."

    "Whatever. By the way," Amelia turned to Kent. "What was your contribution ranking anyway?"

    "Sixty-nine!" Kent eximed in an overly proud tone as if he had aplished a divine feat.

    "Awrgh."

    "Noice."

    "Hehe, right?"

    Amelia rolled her eyes, but I was proud of him. Heh.

    "So what do you guys think the Vice President will reward us?" Kent asked in a curious tone.

    "Hmm," Amelia stroked her chin. "Maybe early ess to the academy''s AI, Athena?"

    "Most definitely no," I shook my head at her answer.

    "Why?"

    Both Kent and Amelia asked in unison.

    "After the Mock War when Grace filed a falseint against me, aspensation for wasting my time and degrading my reputation, I asked for early ess to Athena. But Yelena denied it because I haven''t evenpleted the first semester yet, so I don''t deserve it." I exined. "Basically, getting ess to academy AI is impossible until after the first semester."

    For a second, both Amelia and Kent had an expression on their faces that screamed, ''You have a reputation?''

    Before I could pass anyment on that look, however, Amelia mocked in a teasing tone: "Heh, thatint was false? Are we sure?"

    I looked at Amelia with an ''I am so done'' look, "Haha. Very funny."

    "Though, on a serious note, maybe she just didn''t give you the ess because she doesn''t like you?" Kentmented.

    "Yeah, it''s a possibility. She does hate me after all," I nodded. "But I know what she''ll offer and it''s not early ess to Athena."

    "Oh, you do? Tell?" Kent asked excitedly.

    "She''ll give us a three-day ss Trip to a city of our choosing anywhere in the world. She''ll also reward us with Merit Points based on our contribution rankings. The higher your contribution was, the more MP you''ll receive."

    "Eh? ss Trip? And we can go anywhere in the world for three days? I mean, isn''t it going a little bit overboard? I don''t think she''ll do something like that." Kent replied in a skeptical tone.

    "Wanna make a bet?" I suggested. "If she doesn''t offer us anything like that, our punch bet will be canceled, and I''ll treat you to a party instead in any club you want. However, if she does give us what I said, our punch bet will be doubled. Meaning, you''ll let me punch you ten times."

    "Please don''t do it, Kent." Amelia tried to save Kent from a fate much worse, but the greed of escaping this bet blinded the blue-haired elf.

    "I ept!"

    And just like that, Kent made another decision that he''lle to regret while Amelia could only sigh in the back.

    Click¨C!

    Swuuu¨C!

    Just then, the door to the ssroom clicked open, and a chilly wind washed over the whole ssroom, signaling the arrival of the Queen.

 Chapter 107 Reward [2]

    Yelena elegantly made her way to the podium after entering the ssroom.

    Standing there in front of everyone, she swept a cold gaze across the faces of the people present.

    "There are eleven Cadets absent today," shemented.

    "...."

    When roll call was taking ce, we were made aware of eleven absent cadets. But it''s impressive how quickly she counted the heads present here in such a short time.

    "Yes, they were probably exhausted from the VR war!"

    From the front, a ck-haired guy with sharp red eyes raised his hand and replied.

    Yes, it was the Huge Ass guy.

    "Tsk," Yelena clicked her tongue. "You first-years have no idea how tough being a soldier is these days. If that little Mock War exhausted you, then you will never survive the real thing!"

    To be fair, those eleven absent cadets were not to me here. In fact, many of the cadets present here right now had color drained from their faces too.

    Again, it''s not their fault.

    Even though the pain factor was reduced to 80% in the VR world, getting stabbed, shed, or pierced was still painful.

    Think about the people who died there.

    They really experienced death. That agony of suffering and dying must''ve inflicted severe trauma on them.

    And from the look on her face, Yelena also understood this. She heaved a deep sigh before she began speaking again.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® "Ahh. Well, I guess it''s understandable. Some instructors did warn me that a virtual mock war could be too much for you all." She admitted.

    "Fine," then suddenly, Yelena pped her hands together as if she had gotten an amazing idea. "Originally, I was only going to reward you guys with Merit Points ording to your contribution rankings in the war, but now I''ll add something else to the rewards too."

    Kent''s face was suddenly filled with dread as he muttered, "No, no, no..." from his seat right beside me.

    It was at this moment he knew¡­ he had fucked up.

    "Haaa." Amelia sighed sympathetically from behind us and said, "I warned you."

    As for me, I patted Kent''s back to offer somefort, acting as if the reason for his misery wasn''t me to begin with.

    Meanwhile, Yelena continued. "So along with the Merit Points, I''ll also reward your ss with a three-day long trip. Consider this a short vacation and release that mental strain."

    -"A trip?"

    -"So¡­ we won''t have to go through Instructor Matterhorn''s ss? We don''t have to go throughbat arts ss for three days?!"

    -"A vacation?! Finally!"

    -"But where will we go? Oh, Runehart City maybe?! Kyaa!"

    Needless to say, everyone''s mood quickly got better as soon as Yelena mentioned a vacation.

    "Marry me, Yelena!"

    "Dude, what the fuck?"

    "Ahh, right. I forgot she is your sister."

    And while everyone was excited about the trip, Kent was yelling at Yelena to marry him.

    This guy¡­.

    "Where will you get to go, you ask? The one who topped the contribution ranking chart will decide that." Yelena turned to Nero as she said that.

    "...."

    "...."

    "....."

    Suddenly, the whole ss fell silent and all eyes turned to Nero, who quietly sat by the window.

    Judging by the fact that no one was sitting within five seats of him, it wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that he was currently being shunned by everyone.

    It was to be expected.

    After all, he did disy a godlike Gift during the Mock War.

    And not to mention, thest explosion that he used to kill Alberto also killed many of our own allies.

    That means many of the people he killed in the Virtual World were currently present here.

    These people would obviously try to maintain a safe distance from him.

    Many were still traumatic, while some were angry, and others just felt jealousy or inferiority toward him.

    Anyway, the bottom line is: Nero Dekrauf has be a social outcast. And thank heavens for that.

    I mean, what happened wasn''t good and it wasn''t something I wanted.

    However, if not for him taking all the attention, all of those emotions from all these people would have been directed toward me.

    I mean, I did manage to do some near-impossible things myself in the Mock War, if I say so myself.

    I became the head strategist, I led us to victory by demolishing ss 1-C-8''s battlefield tactics, and I found the existence of two traitors within our ranks.

    There''s also the fact that I defeated Quinn in a duel. Of course, it''s a good thing that this fact is not public yet.

    And also, Grace falsely used me of assaulting her. Although I''ve been proven innocent, it''s good that no one is paying attention to this matter either.

    Oh, yeah, talking about Grace, let me tell you one thing. She has be an outcast too.

    Normal cadets are avoiding her because she tried to sabotage our ss.

    Noble Cadets who are part of Young Elites have been forbidden to interact with her by Kai.

    E isn''t talking to her because Grace lied to her.

    And although my reputation isn''t that good, the fact that she tried to frame me for something I haven''t done isn''t being taken lightly by the court of public opinion.

    She is miserable already.

    I stole a nce at her and saw baggy ck patches under her sleepless eyes, her once beautiful blond hair disheveled, unkempt clothes, and bruised cheeks¨C everything clearly indicating that her condition wasn''t good.

    Yet, I relished it with a smile. It''s just the first day. I hope she won''t break too early.

    -"But why him?"

    -"Sure, he ended the war, but he also killed many of our own soldiers! ording to the rules of real wars, that''s a crime, no?"

    -"Aurghh, I don''t like him. I never liked him."

    "Look," Yelena rolled her eyes. "I don''t care whether you like him or not, but the right to decide this ss trip''s destination remains with him."

    At themotion, Nero merely let out a sigh and stood up. "I really don''t care. You can let Anastasia, who was second in the contribution rankings, decide¨C"

    Tring¡ª!

    Just when Nero was about to refuse his right to choose the trip''s destination, his smart bracelet rang.

    It was a text notification.

    Frowning, he decided to ignore it and continued speaking.

    "As I was saying, you can let Anastasia, who came second¨C"

    Tring¡ª!!

    But before he could finish, another text notification rang.

    Still deciding to ignore it, he continued again.

    "You can let Anastasia, who came second in the contribution¨C"

    Tring¡ª!

    "...In the contribution rankings¨C"

    Tring¡ª!! Tring¡ª!!

    "...Decide where we¨C"

    TRING¡ª!!! TRING¡ª!!!

    TRING¡ª!!! TRING¡ª!!!

    "Tsk!!"

    Finally, after his smart bracelet kept ringing with text notifications, Nero clicked his tongue in annoyance and opened up the messaging app.

    "..."

    Only after scrolling through tens of spam messages did he turn around and give a long look in my direction.

    ¨C".....?"

    All the eyes in the ss moved between Nero and me, clearly confused as to what was going on.

    "Haaa." Nero sighed again and turned to Yelena before hesitantly dering, "I guess¡­ we''re going to Silveserine."

 Chapter 108 Reward [3]

    In the novel, Chase became close to both Nero and Anastasia during the Mock War.

    Although he started seeing Nero as a love rival not soon after the Mock War ended, he still considered him a close friend.

    By the current point in the novel, they had be good friends. So even when the whole ss was shunning Nero, Chase sat with him.

    p¦Á§ád¦Á-¨¾?¦Í¨º|¡¤§ã¨®§® So in the story, when Yelena asked Nero to choose a destination for the ss trip, Chase helped Nero by giving him a city name he wanted to visit.

    However, in this world, Chase never got closer to Nero since I interfered with the plot. Although I earned some Edit Points from it, now Nero is all alone.

    This means there''s no one who''ll convince him to name a city for our trip, as he has no interest in things such as vacations.

    However, I really need to visit the same city they visited in the novel. I need this ss trip to head exactly where it was headed in the story.

    And so, to make it possible, I sent Nero some texts. I asked him for a favor.

    I asked him to name Silveserine City, the Silver City of Elves, as the destination for our ss trip. And just as I had wanted, heplied with my request.

    If he had ignored my text and given up his right to choose, I would''ve begged Amelia to ask Anastasia to name Silveserine City.

    So yeah¡­ Fortunately, I managed to save some of my dignity.

    Hmm?

    Why do I want to visit Silveserine City this badly, you infer?

    The answer lies in the fact that a former member of the Seven Abyssal Vampire Kings is currently in hiding there.

    Although that Vampire King was a woman, in the novel, she was still referred to as the former Abyssal Vampire ''King'' and not Queen. I don''t know why.

    Anyway, moving on to the point, Vampire King is hiding there and in her possession lies something that I desire.

    She has a mythical beast egg with her.

    My n from here on out is simple. I will go visit the Silveserine City, track down the Vampire King somehow, and kill her before I snatch the beast egg from her.

    Now, let me tell you one thing: Abyssal Vampire Kings are strong.

    They are the seven supreme rulers of the Vampires and their strength is only second to one¨C the Vampire Monarch.

    The objective of these Vampire Kings is to somehow awaken their Vampire Monarch, who''s still in his cocoon.

    Yes, Vampires are born from cocoons.

    I-I will give you a lesson about their life cycle some other time. For now, let''s get to the point.

    In order to awaken the Vampire Monarch, the vampire species must nourish them with living beings that possess mana - whether they be Elves, Dwarves, Humans, or even other vampires.

    The amount of energy provided to the Vampire Monarch increases with the mana core ranking of the organism.

    Simply put, the higher their mana core''s ranking, the more nourishment they''ll provide to the Vampire Monarch.

    In some cases, vampires resort to abducting children with high mana core potential from the Northern Continent and raising them specifically to serve as perfect nourishment for the Vampire Monarch.

    This is because children with high mana core potential grow up to be threats to the vampires, and it''s difficult to subdue them and take them to the Monarch without killing them.

    When a person is killed, their mana core breaks and the mana inside them disappears. After that, they are just a lump of rotting meat to the vampires.

    Therefore, subduing children with high potential but no strength is much easier than fighting them when they have grown up and cultivated enough strength to match their potential.

    From time to time, other Vampires may try to steal the high-quality ''food'' meant for the Monarch''s nourishment.

    However, doing so is a capital offense that carries the penalty of death among their kind.

    So when a certain Abyssal Vampire Kingmitted the very same offense, she was sentenced to death.

    However, since she was one of the strongest individuals of her kind, killing her proved to be challenging.

    In the end, the Abyssal Vampire King fled with one of the high-quality ''nourishment materials.''

    She managed to slip under the Union Military''s border, severely injured and weakened.

    She changed her appearance and hid in the Silver City of Elves, Silveserine.

    After a year, the other Abyssal Vampire Kings dispatched an assassin to find and eliminate her.

    The assassin tracked his target and trailed her to Silveserine City.

    Coincidentally, Nero and his ss were also on a ss Trip there at that time.

    As fate would have it, their paths crossed and some of the cadets discovered the assassin''s identity.

    ss 1-A-1 engaged in a fight with the assassin, but unfortunately, many of them were killed before Nero was finally able to defeat him.

    That day, along with those brave cadets, hundreds of civilians were also butchered, and countless homes were lost.

    It was a tragedy¡­

    The Tragedy of Silveserine City.

    But that wasn''t the end of it.

    Since the assassin was killed by the Global Academy''s cadets, the former Vampire King who was in hiding lived.

    In volume 3 of the novel, all her injuries were recovered and her strength was regained.

    However, for some unknown reason, she lost her mind. She came out of hiding and went on a massacre, killing hundreds of thousands of people.

    She repeated the Tragedy of Silveserine, but this time, it was much, MUCH worse.

    Following that incident, the Central Continent wasn''t able to recover in time and Spider took advantage of it.

    They waged a war of rebellion against the Central Government, worsening the situation even further.

    Chaos is what came after that.

    Needless to say, I can''t let that happen. If what happens in the novel is to be repeated, then it will be disastrous for my survival.

    So, I have two objectives here.

    I''ll kill the deserted Vampire King now when she''s severely injured and weakened.

    I''ll take the mythical egg in her possession.

    And then, I''ll run the fuck away.

    ¡­What?

    You don''t expect me to fight the assassin and save the cadets who died in the story, do you?

    Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

    As far as I''m concerned, my safety is my first priority. I won''t endanger myself for some strangers. Better them than me.

    Besides, I''m sure Nero will handle everything on his own perfectly fine.

    "Fuuu," letting out a deep breath, I slipped inside a ck deep-neck t-shirt. "Next three days are going to be rough."

    Afterbing my hair and putting on the most expensive watch from my collection, I looked in the mirror.

    Damn, I was handsome.

    Even though I dressed in some casual clothes - blue jeans, ck tee, and a red shirt on top - damn, I looked hot!

    I couldn''t help but admire myself for a minute. Ahh, if only I had this face back on my Earth, I could''ve been a model!

    "Heh~" only after I was done appreciating my handsomeness did I whisper out loud, "Status."

    Suddenly a translucent blue screen appeared in my vision and I scrolled down to see my Edit Points.

    ===Status===

    Edit Points¡ú 1,978

    ===========

    After interfering with the plot countless times now, I have umted arge sum of Edit Points.

    Nodding in satisfaction, I slung a traveling bag over my shoulder and got going.

    I''ve done my preparations for the ss Trip. It''s time to go now.

    I''m ready for the second arc¨C The Tragedy of Silveserine.

 Chapter 109 Silveserine [1]

    After exiting the train at the station, I headed toward the spot where our ss was supposed to meet today.

    [Global Academy''s Teleportation Gate]

    Global City is a bustling metropolis that can sometimes make you forget that it''s an ind surrounded by invisible walls.

    These walls are inscribed with powerful runes that can nullify both physical and magical attacks, providing a sufficient amount of time for the inhabitants to evacuate in case of a disaster.

    However, if the threat originates from within the city, there is no way to escape the ind''s walls either.

    Simply put, there''s no way to get in or out of this ce at will, making it one of the safest cities in the world.

    Of course, since I and thousands of other cadets are here, it clearly means there has to be at least one way to ess the city.

    Well, yeah.

    One of the only ways to enter and exit this ind is through the Teleportation Gates located at the north and south ends of the city.

    Yes, teleportation is a real technology in this world. It''s made possible with the spatial runes introduced to us by the Elves.

    The Teleportation Gate in the south end is used for entering the ind, while the one in the north end is for exiting this ce.

    So yeah, right now, I neared the meeting spot with quick steps. I waste. As for why I waste, well¡­

    I may or may not have lost my way whileing here.

    Ahem! Look, some people are born with a bad sense of direction, okay?!

    Besides, God had to have given me some faults, or else I would''ve been perfect and posed a threat to his authority.

    Ahem.

    -"There he is, Lucas Morningstar."

    -"Okay, that makes 88th andpletes our attendance. You guys look around and make sure everyone is present."

    Anyway, I soon reached my destination.

    Taking attendance were two second-year cadets ¨C a lean, muscr boy with brown hair and a dorky appearance and a stunning cherry-pink-haired girl with an athletic yet curvaceous physique.

    They are Drake and Emma and they will be supervising us during our trip.

    And since both of their academy rankings are in the Top 200, they could also handle situations where it requires us to fight.

    It seemed like I arrivedst since, as soon as I appeared, Emma closed the translucent notepad in front of her before crossing off my name.

    Quitely, I walked over and joined the line of cadets from the back.

    In front of us was an empty field as far as our eyes could stretch.

    Thend was covered in cobblestone, and one huge rectangr frame made of some kind of metal was erupting out from the ground.

    Right next to the colossal rectangr frame was a desk.

    Ady dressed in a blue and white receptionist uniform stood behind that desk expressionlessly.

    "Where to?" she faced our upperssmen and asked, "And how tokens?"

    "Eighty-eight tokens to Silveserine," Drake answered, and one by one, thedy started giving us round metal coins.

    These coins were called tokens.

    Without these tokens, if one tries to step through the Teleportation Gates, then their body would be ripped to shreds by the spatial distortion caused during the process of teleportation.

    As for why Drake only asked for eighty-eight tokens, it''s because only eighty-eight out of the hundred Cadets were present here.

    One of the rules of the Global Academy, or any prestigious academy at that, is that Cadets can''t take an announced leave from sses.

    Here in the Global Academy, you can buy a leave day with Merit Points. Albeit it''s a bit costly, that way you won''t be breaking any rules and receiving punishment.

    However, since around eleven Cadets didn''t show up for the sses yesterday, Yelena forbade them toe on this trip.

    Those poor souls must be suffering in harsh training drills run by that crazy martial arts instructor, Raven Matterhorn, right about now.

    Aside from them, one other Cadet wasn''t allowed to join this trip either ¨C Quinn Darkstar.

    For outright disobeying his orders on the battlefield as the acting Lord Commander, Nero had him sent to the training drills along with the rest of the eleven Cadets too.

    Haaa.

    Even though I know that Quinn is tough, I pity him for this. For three days, they will be forced to work out and exercise without any breaks. I just hope he will survive.

    Well, I don''t think it will affect the plot of the current arc so much because Quinn didn''t do much at the trip in the novel.

    He just stayed in his hotel room and only ever came out to eat breakfast once. He ordered room service for everything else.

    Honestly, I am that kind of person too. I prefer staying in the hotel rather than exploring, so I get him.

    Maybe my bad sense of direction is also to me for this behavior of mine.

    -"Here."

    "Ahh, thank you."

    Soon, I was given my Token to me by Emma. And after she was done handing those out to everyone else, she joined the dorky-looking boy in the front.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "Attention, everyone," Drake shouted to make himself heard. "Follow us through the Teleportation Gates, one by one. As you all know, it''s possible that some of you might feel a bit strange for a moment, but don''t worry. It''s a typical reaction when using the Gate for the first few times."

    After he finished exining, everyone nodded their heads to indicate they understood.

    Drake sent back a nod our way and turned around.

    Shing¡ª!!

    The giant rectangr frame which wasing out of the ground glowed in an azure blue hue.

    The space inside the rectangle started to distort as visible ripples erupted in the fabric of space.

    "Come," Emma said as she and Drake stepped through the rectangr frame before disappearing into thin air.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    I''ve seen Lucas using the Gate once when he entered this city in his memories. But I was still pretty excited to try it out myself.

    Why wouldn''t I be? Teleportation in my world was a technology that we had yet to develop.

    So as soon as Emma and Drake went through the Gate, I eagerly started walking to follow them along with the rest of my ssmates.

    "Wait."

    "Argh! What the hell, dude? Leave my cor!"

    But before I could go anywhere near the Teleportation Gate, someone grabbed my cor from behind, making me stop in my tracks.

    To my surprise, it was Nero.

    After I stopped, he let go of my cor, and I turned around to face him.

    "What?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

    "Why?" Nero gave me a narrow look. "Why did you ask me to name Silveserine?"

    "Ahh," I scratched my back. How am I supposed to answer a question like this?

    The suspiciousness in Nero''s eyes grew, and he looked at me as I took a little too long to answer.

    "Lucas, what are you nning?" he asked.

    I dramatically put my hands on my chest and replied, "Me? I am not nning anything! I just wanted to visit Silveserine City because my mother is an Elf. She used to tell me about how beautiful that city is - the City of Elves. Although I don''t talk to her much now, I always wanted to visit that city, and I thought I would not get a chance before our second year. Sorry, I know it''s a selfish reason."

    As I made up a story, the look in Nero''s eyes softened.

    Fun fact: Nero''s mother was an Elf too. She used to tell him stories about Silveserine. It was her hometown.

    Nero had wanted to visit the ce when he was a child. However, after his father killed her, Nero got so caught up in the notion of revenge that he forgot these little things about his mother.

    So in the novel, when Chase asked Nero to name Silveserine for the destination of this trip, it helped Nero remember all the stories his mother used to tell him.

    Those memories helped him get through the tough time when everyone except a few people in his ss were shunning him.

    So, basically, I was telling Nero his own story to use his emotions and get him off my back.

    And from the look on his face, it worked.

    "No, it''s not selfish." Nero softly muttered and patted my shoulders. "Come on, let''s go."

    I couldn''t help but let out a chuckle as I watched Nero''s figure fade and disappear into thin air after stepping through the Gate.

    "Easy."

    Shaking my head, I finally walked up to the Gate. I was thest one left remaining to step through it.

    With excitement, I entered the Gate and passed through the ripples appearing in the space.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    Suddenly, the scenery around me changed. I wasn''t in a field anymore.

    I was on the terrace of a tall skyscraper. In front of me were high-rise, silver-colored modern buildings with a touch of gothic style to them.

    Although I wasn''t able to admire the scenery for much longer, a strong wave of nausea hit me like a truck.

    "Arughhh."

    It felt like I just got on my feet after hanging upside down from a tree branch.

    Yeah, it felt weird to exin.

    Although, it onlysted for a moment, and I was normal again in no time.

    "Fuu," as I let out a deep breath, a smile formed on my face.

    Woah, I was feeling excited. I was excited about exploring a new city. For the first time since I could remember, I didn''t want to stay in my hotel room.

    Huh.

    This will be fun.

 Chapter 110 Silveserine [2]

    -"Wee to the Central Continent and to the city of Silveserine."

    As soon as I recovered from my slight feeling of nausea, I heard an alluring voice greeting us on our arrival from behind.

    Along with everyone else, I quickly turned around to see a beautiful Elf with silver locks and a charming face, wearing a blue and white receptionist uniform, standing behind a desk.

    Next to the silver-haired Elf was a huge rectangr-framed Teleportation Gate, simr to the one we had just stepped through.

    "Thank you," Emma returned the Elf''s greeting. "We will be on our way."

    "Your return is booked after three days, right?" the Elf reconfirmed.

    "Yes," Emma nodded.

    "Okay, have a safe trip. The Gate will be ready for your return three days from now," the Elf performed a short bow and shed a wide smile.

    Mmm.

    Usually, I don''t get swayed by pretty girls, but damn! Even I had to admit at this point that elves are beautiful!

    "Sure," Drake nodded before addressing us. "All right, folks. You have the next seven hours to explore the city at your leisure. Then, meet Emma and me at ncy Luxue, the hotel where we''ll be staying, for dinner. Once dinner''s over, feel free to sneak into each other''s rooms to make out or hit up a club. We don''t care. We''ll no longer be responsible for keeping tabs on you all after dinner."

    Since this trip was made in a hurry by the Cadet Council, other than exploring the local area, we had nothing to do today.

    Tomorrow we are supposed to go sightseeing and shopping, and the day after that there''s a masquerade ball for us to attend.

    Of course, instead of a masquerade ball, there will be a massacre call.

    Heh. See what I did there?

    ¡­Okay, it wasn''t funny.

    Jokes about massacres and mass murder aren''t funny. I get that. I learned that lesson in fifth grade when I tried to make a joke about World War 2.

    Anyway, as soon as Drake announced we were free to explore, everyone ran toward the terrace exit, clearly excited.

    "Bro!"

    Suddenly, I felt an arm wrapped around my shoulder. It was Kent.

    "Did you see that Elf chick? She was hitting on me!"

    Shaking my head, I got his hands off my shoulders and started heading toward the terrace door myself.

    "How was she hitting on you?" I asked, knowing that I was about to regret itter.

    "Didn''t you see how she was smiling while looking at me?!" Kent replied with a goofy grin.

    "...Dude," I facepalmed at the sheer stupidity of this guy. "She was smiling at everyone. She''s a Gate receptionist. It''s her duty to smile at tourists."

    "Bro, I''m certain she was smiling at me. You know what? I''m certain I can bag her in these three days."

    "You can totally NOT bag her."

    "I''ll give you one better! I''ll get to third base with her before we leave this city."

    "Yeah, buddy, listen to me. It''s impossible."

    "Hah! We''ll see about that!"

    As Kent and I waited for the elevator in front of the terrace exit, I noticed a lone guy standing around the corner with his hands in his pocket, looking bored.

    In the novel, Chase was with him when everyone else was outcasting him. But since I changed the plot, he was standing here alone.

    For some reason, I felt guilty about his situation. I contemted whether to invite him with us, but before I could manage to choke the words out of my throat and call out his name¡­

    -"Hey, man. We see everyone else is being a pussy and avoiding you. It''s getting on our nerves. So, wanna hang out with us?"

    A tall, lean boy with shoulder-length brown hair tied into a manbun walked over and asked Nero to tag along with him and his friend. It was Chase.

    -"Yeah, man. It''s not cool. They are on this trip because of you, but they still have the audacity to ignore you."

    And behind Chase followed another light brown-haired guy with clear hazel eyes.

    Although he wasn''t short, he wasn''t tall either. His strong features, like broad shoulders, suggested that he was a half-dwarf.

    And indeed, he was a half-dwarf. He was Elijah Steelforged.

    -"Oh, are you both sure¨C"

    -"Hey, Nero. We saw you from back there and thought about asking if you want to explore the locality together. But now it seems like you already got¨C"

    Right when Nero was about to reply to Chase, a blue-haired elven girl walked over to the duo and started speaking. It was Aster Aquahart.

    Along with her, Amelia and Anastasia were also present.

    However, before she could finish what she was saying, Chase cut her off.

    -"Oh no, you three can totally join. It''ll be fun!"

    Although he was supposed to be replying to Aster, his eyes were stuck on Anastasia.

    Damn, that guy was simping hard.

    -"Right, so I was thinking maybe a bar or a casino¨C"

    -"What? Lame. Let''s go to a park or something¨C"

    -"Oh, and that isn''tme?"

    As the group started discussing among themselves, a faint yet clearly visible smile formed on Nero''s face.

    Hmm.

    It seems like I didn''t need to interfere after all.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    Even though I don''t believe in the notion of fate myself, sometimes it feels as if the universe conspires to make things happen in a predetermined way.

    The n was for the main characters - Anastasia, Amelia, Elijah, Chase, Aster, and Nero - to be friends after the first arc.

    Despite my initial doubts that their friendship woulde to fruition due to my interference with the plot, it turns out I was wrong.

    It wasn''t my doing that brought them together, as they were drawn to each other naturally.

    Although they don''t realize it now, in the future, when they''ll look back at their friendship ¨C the day when they all met, they will call it the work of fate.

    Huh.

    "You just gonna stand there?"

    Shaking me out of my thoughts was Kent''s voice. He called out to me as he stood inside the elevator, holding the door for me.

    "Look man, I know you sometimes like to act like a main character spacing out in the distance, but I''ve beenholding this door for well over a minute¨C" suddenly, Kent stopped and frowned.

    He then looked at where I was staring and then quickly nodded with a mischievous yet understanding look.

    "Oh, sorry. You were stalking Amelia like she stalks you. It''s fine. I''ll hold this door for another minute. Just tell me when you''re done."

    "Shut up, dumbass," I said absurdly before entering the elevator. "Don''t go spouting¨C Wait¡­ What do you mean by how Amelia stalks me?"

    "Hmm?" pressing the button for the bottom floor, Kent looked at me strangely. "You haven''t noticed. You''re all she looks at in the ss. At first, she used to look at you with utter revulsion, rage, and disgust. But now all that has somehow turned into confusion, sadness, and annoyance."

    I looked at Kent with my mouth agape. My jaw was practically touching the floor.

    I had some idea that Amelia paid extra attention to me, but I didn''t know to this extent!

    But what came off as a bigger surprise was the fact that Kent, of all people, noticed not only this but also the subtle changes in Amelia''s behavior.

    Now that I think of it, this guy also noticed my expressions during the Unit Test when I didn''t want him to reveal about me being a spearman.

    I see.

    So he is one of those guys, huh?

    The people with selective intelligence. They are unrivaled geniuses in one field but a total dumbass in everything else.

    "Close your mouth, bro. I''m not your dentist."

    Kent closed my mouth, hanging in surprise.

    "Shut up," I sighed and rearranged my thoughts. "Haa. So where are we going?"

    "I was thinking of hitting up bars and picking up some hot elven girls!"

    "Nope."

    "Oh,e on, Lucas! Remember when you asked for my Smart Bracelet in the Mock War? You promised to apany me to pick up girls whenever I ask! You can''t go back on your words!"

    "Instead of a club, let''s go to a casino."

    Yelena rewarded us 800 Credit Points each, which is like 65k$, to spend on this trip.

    Although it was a generous sum for a mere three-day trip, I needed more, and I needed it quickly.

    Tomorrow, I n to fight the Vampire King hiding in this very city.

    I need a lot of high-grade mana potions so I can cultivate my mana core and break to the ?Bronze? stage before tomorrow.

    That way, when I bring out my armor to use its Embrace Discard feature, my stats could be boosted up to the ?Gold? stage.

    To do that, I don''t need to buy high-grade mana potions. I can just buy dozens of low-grade ones and use my Edit Pen to upgrade them all.

    But buying even low-grade potions would require me to have a big fund. A lot bigger than what I currently have.

    So what better ce to look for money than a goldmine? Casinos are goldmines.

    And this city, where we are currently, is equivalent to Paris and Los Angeles on my Earth.

    So in a way, this whole city was a goldmine for me!

    "What? No, Lucas, casinos areme! I say we go to a bar."

    "Nope, we''re heading to a casino."

    "Bro, I hate to y this card twice, but you made a promise. You can''t go back on your words!"

    "Fuuu. You are right. I never go back on my words."

    "Good. Now let''s head to a¨C"

    "But that doesn''t mean I can''t make you go back on yours."

    "..."

    In this cubicle elevator, Kent and I were alone. Still ten floors were left before we hit the ground floor.

    A creepy grin spread across my face, and I clenched my fists.

    "L-Lucas¡­ Listen to me¡­."

    "I''ll just have to punch you until you let go of the idea of going to a bar and agree to go to a casino with me."

    "N-No! No! Nooo!"

    "It hurts me more than it hurts you, pal. It hurts me more than it hurts you."

    Smearing off the non-existent tears from the side of my eyes, I threw my fist right at Kent''s face.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

 Chapter 111 A Game Of Poker [1]

    "That was surprisingly easy. It only took two punches to make you give in."

    "Shu duced dhana! (You used mana!)"

    "Yeah, and you use your hands to block. It''s a punch bet, Kent. You don''t block the punches of the punch bet. That''s the rule."

    "Snho jish snhot?! (No it''s not?!)"

    "Well, it is from now."

    "Aai jonhly glocked cush zhu duced dhana! (I only blocked because you used mana!)"

    "And that must''ve been hard for you. Now, toward bing rich we go!"

    As we wandered through the streets while navigating using GPS, I handed a bottle of healing potion to Kent.

    His face was all swollen and messed up.

    Heh. Maybe I enjoyed myself a little too much.

    The city of Silveserine truly lived up to its name as the Silver City, with its glorious blend of modern and gothic architecture in the form of high-rise buildings.

    Although Silveserine was primarily known as the City of Elves, I noticed other races, such as both humans and dwarves, also bustling up and down the streets.

    What particrly caught my attention was the silver coloring of every building, which seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.

    Additionally, tall trees were nted along the sidewalks, with green vines growing on the buildings.

    I couldn''t help but marvel at the sight of tree leaves falling down and covering the streets.

    Despite their advanced magic technology, the Elves'' love for nature as a race was clearly evident in the city''s design, which incorporated natural elements with modern architecture.

    The beautiful serene atmosphere of Silveserine left me entranced, and I¨C

    Ahh, wait¡­ Where are we?

    I scrolled the holographic map up and down as I halted my steps. It showed that we had arrived in front of a casino.

    However, there was no such thing in my sight?!

    Oh no, are we lost again?

    "Lucas, I want you to tell the truth. Are we lost again?"

    After applying the healing potion to make his swollen face return to normal, Kent turned to me and asked.

    "No, of course not."

    I naturally lied.

    "Haaa."

    Taking in and letting out a short burst of breaths, Kent grabbed my smart bracelet and took a read at the holographic map.

    "Lucas¡­"

    "Y-Yes, Kent?"

    "We have arrived at our destiny. The map says to look to your left. We are currently looking on our right."

    "...?!"

    Frowning, I spun around and¡­ Yeah, there it was¡ªRoyal Cards casino.

    Huh. So the map was right.

    "Now tell me another truth, Lucas," Kent wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "How the fuck can you mix up between left and right when you have the intelligence stat above 180?!"

    "I-I don''t know, man!" I cried out. "It''s hard for some people!"

    Kent sighed helplessly and shook his head.

    "I suppose so," he said. "Hey, by the way, we''re heading to the casino, but be careful not to get addicted to gambling, okay? If I see it bing a problem, I''ll intervene and get you out of there like the true bro I am."

    ?

    Three hourster,

    "Kent please, just let it go man!"

    "N-N-N-No! I''m so close to victory! I-I can feel it! I can feel the sweet taste of victory, Lucas! Just one more round, and I''ll win!"

    Three hours had passed since we entered the casino. Kent, who warned me about not sumbing to the addiction, was now acting like a deranged gambling addict.

    He was sitting at a Seven-Toed Pete poker table, and I was standing behind him, observing everyone else sitting there.

    Hearing his dejected voice, a beautiful Elven woman sitting beside him consoled him.

    "Aww, it was a close call. You''ll get it next time."

    Close call my ass.<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    It is quite easy to identify pushovers like Kent. To me, it was tantly obvious that everyone sitting at his table was working together to scam him.

    Initially, they allowed him to win on purpose to get him hooked. After a few rounds, they alternated between letting him win and making him lose.

    In recent rounds, however, Kent has been losing consistently. He has already lost all of his money in thest pot.

    If he continues to y, he will go into debt.

    I can''t let that happen now, can I?

    With an exasperated sigh, I shook my head. "Kent, get up."

    "B-B-Bro, I can still y! Just one more round, and I''ll get all the money back!"

    No, you won''t.

    "You don''t have the money to y on," I tried to reason with him.

    But Kent derangedly looked at me and his eyes moved to my left hand. On my left hand, I was wearing one of my watches.

    "T-That! Give me that! I''ll take back all the money with it."

    I quickly hid my hand behind my back before Kent could lunge at me to snatch my watch. "No, you''ll lose this too!"

    "Come on, man¡­ Please don''t do this to me! Give me that! I promise I''ll share the money with you too!"

    No, you''ll definitely lose my watch too.

    Shaking my head, I suggested, "Get up, Kent. I''ll y the game from here."

    Kent looked at me for a moment before hesitantly nodding his head. "Got get ''em, bro."

    "Hehe, go easy on us."

    The Elven woman sitting right next to him said to me in a yful teasing tone.

    "Yeah,e. It''ll be fun."

    "Hahahaha! ying with rich kids is always fun."

    All the other guys sitting at the table weed me to the game as I took Kent''s seat.

    Heh.

    All of them are underestimating me.

    Good. I want them to do that.

    In gambling, there are only two ways you can win. Either cheat or leave everything on luck.

    However, if your opponent is cheating, it would be stupid to wait for your luck to shine.

    Although I don''t know how these guys are cheating ¨C or more precisely, I don''t want to bother knowing, I''ll just cheat myself.

    With a smile, I summoned all the chips that I had cashed in at the counter of the casino.

    I''ll go all in and conquer this ce.

    Seeing the chips suddenly appearing in my hands as the smart bracelet on my right hand shined in an azure glow, a guy sitting across me frowned.

    "A smart bracelet with dimensional storage?" he asked, looking at me. "Are you from Ethereal Academy too?"

    Giving him a short nce, I found that he was around my age. Admittedly, he was handsome with a chiseled jaw, sharp brown eyes, and silver locks.

    Nothingpared to me, of course.

    "No," I shook my head. "We are from Global Academy."

    "Ahh, I see," the guy nodded back. "I''m from the Ethereal Academy and my name is¨C"

    "Didn''t ask, don''t care."

    "....."

    His previously handsome face went stiff, and nerves bulged up on his forehead as I cut off his introduction.

    "Ahahaha!"

    An old man with a beer belly sitting beside himughed loudly like Santa as he patted his back.

    After he was doneughing, the old man finally suggested, "Okay, let''s start the game."

    "Oh, one second," I raised my index finger before bringing out the Edit Pen from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.

    "What''s that for?" the elven woman right next to me voiced her curiosity.

    "Just a good luck charm," I said.

    Everyone shrugged, but in the next moment, we finally began the game.

 Chapter 112 A Game Of Poker [2]

    Twelve potster,

    "....."

    "....."

    "....."

    Everyone was sweating profusely in both anxiety and anticipation. The dealer had already dealt two cards face down, and one card face up.

    Quickly, everyone checked their cards to see what they were ying with. Needless to say, everyone kept their poker face on.

    Since the elven woman was dealt the lowest face-up card on the table, she was required to make the first bet.

    She looked at the silver-haired boy who imed to be from the Ethereal Academy. The boy nodded and she bit her lower lip before bringing in the chips.

    "Four thousand Credits."

    "Call."

    The old man with the beer belly went next and dropped the same amount of chips.

    "Raise," the silver-haired boy decided to heat things up by raising the bet. "Eight thousand Credits."

    "Call."

    Somehow suppressing a mocking scoff, I called the bet and pushed eight thousand Credits worth of chips on the table.

    That was around half of all my money right now.

    I started from eight hundred credits, and after winning ten out of twelve pots, I had around seventeen thousand now.

    However, this was still not enough.

    After the betting was over, we were again dealt one card face up each.

    This time, the old man with the beer belly got the best card out of us four so he had the authority to either check, call, or fold first.

    "Check."

    He decided to wait and let everyone else bet first.

    "Four hundred Credits."

    I went next and threw two chips worth two hundred credits each on the table.

    "Heh. Why don''t you y with kids if that''s how you''re gonna y?" the silver-haired boy ridiculed before raising the bet. "I''ll raise him four thousand Credits."

    I rolled my eyes.

    Everyone at this table was wary of me by now. They had sensed something was off since whatever they were doing to cheat earlier with Kent wasn''t working now with me.

    Out of the twelve pots we had yed, they only won two.

    They even asked the dealer to change the deck since they thought I had somehow marked the cards.

    But even then, they still kept on losing.

    For anyone wondering what I pulled to make it possible¡­

    Well, I just used my Edit Pen¨C not on the cards but on this game table.

    ===

    Item: Seven Cards Stud Table

    Condition: Good

    Description: A Seven Card Stud Table at the casino Royal Cards. As long as Lucas Morningstar sits on this table, he can win whenever he wishes.

    Edit (Active): Make me win whenever I want.

    ===

    Heh.

    Genius right?

    By now, it was clear to everyone that I was cheating, but since they had no proof, all they could do was shut up and y with the hope that I''ll lose like the other two times.

    But this guy¨C this boy from the Ethereal Academy¨C he''s too dumb to see that! He probably thinks I''m just winning with luck or something.

    I swear to god, rich kids are stupid.

    After he raised the bet, all eyes on the table went to the elven woman.

    She had a troubled look on her face before she finally spoke in a low voice, "Fold."

    And just like that, she was out of the game.

    "Call."

    The old man threw four thousand Credits worth of chips and ended this betting round.

    Another round of face-up cards was dealt.

    This time, I got a King of Hearts, which was the best card on the table, so I went first with a nod.

    "One thousand and six hundred Credits."

    "Hah. Call."

    "Call."

    Both of the remaining yers called my bet and we were dealt one face-up card again.

    This time, the silver-haired boy had the highest card on the table, so he gave the bet.

    "One thousand Credits."

    "Call."<novelsnext>please visit </novelsnext>

    "...Fold."

    I called his bet while the old man folded his hand with a defeated look while rubbing his beer belly.

    For thest time, the remaining yers were dealt a face-down card. Aside from me, only the silver-haired boy was left.

    "One thousand," he threw the chips.

    "Raise," I threw all of my remaining chips. "Five thousand."

    This was it. I had no money left.

    "Raise," he replied. "Ten thousand."

    I shrugged signalling that''s all I had. He looked at me with a mocking smirk.

    "Is that all you have? And here I thought you would be rich," he scoffed before his eyes scanned me andnded on my watch. "That watch is nice."

    "Hah." I let out a short chuckle. "It indeed is, but this watch will cost you more than all of your chipsbined."

    "Fine," he said before summoning a dozen more chips from his Ethereal Academy''s smart bracelet.

    "I''ll raise you by fifty thousand," he said. "You don''t need to call the bet for the same price. But if I win, you will get down on your knees and kiss my shoes. You''ll apologize for your rudeness. If you don''t like it, leave all your money and scram."

    "Are you for real¨C"

    Kent, who was about to chime in with a mix of absurd and angry look, stopped when I raised my hand in front of him.

    Instead, I took my watch off my left hand and threw it on the table. "Deal."

    "Lucas," Kent looked at me with concern. "You don''t have to go so far¨C Wait, are you addicted too?"

    So you''re admitting you''re addicted?!

    "It''s fine," I said with a smile. "Don''t worry about me."

    "...Ehehehaha! Bwahahaha! You fool!"

    But suddenly when I epted his offer, the silver-haired boy exploded in a series of hystericalughter and discarded two of his cards before showing his hand.

    Ace of Hearts.

    Ace of Spades.

    Ace of Clubs.

    Ace of Diamonds.

    Nine of Spades.

    This was his hand¡ªa Four-of-a-kind.

    "You idiot! Now you''ll have to kiss my foot! Arghhahahaha!"

    Both the elven woman and the old man''s eyes lustered. Their previous pale faces regained some color and a grin spread across their lips.

    "Hmm? Why do you think I''ve lost?"

    "It''s clear," the elven woman interjected with a sympathetic chukle. "You were given two face-up King cards. King of Hearts and Clubs. Your other two face-up cards were Seven of Diamond and Two of Clubs."

    "Which means, even without seeing your remaining three face-down cards, it''s obvious that you don''t have a Straight or Royal flush," the silver-haired boymented in a haughty tone.

    "So, at best, you can have two more Kings under you sleeves which will allow you to create a Four-of-a-kind like me. But even still, my hand will outrank yours since I have four Aces with me."

    Heh. He was right.

    To beat him, I needed to have a Royal flush or a Straight flush.

    But my face-up cards made it obvious that I had none of those hands.

    However¡­

    "I''m Lucas Morningstar," I said while looking the boy in the eyes. "What is your name?"

    "Hmph," the silver-haired boy humped while cocking his head. "If only you had shown me this respect sooner. My name is Jace ckwood. Remember it when you get down on your knees to kiss my shoes."

    I knew it.

    This guy was a young master. The moment Iid my eyes on him, I knew this was the case.

    The reason I provoked him earlier was that I knew he would raise my bets for something petty like making me kiss his foot for apology.

    Call it my ''young master'' instincts since I myself was in the body of one.

    "Jace ckwood," I said before discarding two of my cards and revealing my full hand.

    Only a Straight flush or a Royal flush can beat Four-of-a-kind. However, there is one more hand that can do that.

    Acquiring this hand is only possible if you''re ying with Wild Cards ¨C Jokers.

    Fortunately, since we were ying with a fresh deck of cards, the Jokers weren''t separated yet.

    I started putting my cards on the table one after another.

    That simple action of mine caused everyone present here to react in some form of shock.

    Some gritted their teeth, some had their eyes falling out of their sockets, while some jumped in happiness.

    A King of Hearts.

    A King of Clubs.

    A King of Diamonds.

    A King of Spades.

    And a Joker acting as the fifth King.

    I had just revealed a Five-of-a-kind hand.

 Chapter 113 Millionaire Bros

    It was around 6:30 in the evening.

    It was almost time for ss 1-A-1 to arrive at their hotel for dinner.

    Nero and his group were on their way to the hotel, with Anastasia leading the way and using a holographic GPS map to navigate them.

    As they walked, Anastasia spoke up, stretching her hands after an intense bowling session, "Wow, I''ve never been bowling! That was awesome!"

    Amelia cocked her head to the side as she replied in a surprised tone, "Really, Sia? You''ve never been bowling? But yeah, that ce had the biggest bowlingnes I''ve ever seen, so it''s good that was your first experience."

    "Wait, why did you call her Sia?" Chase interjected with a question, confused.

    Amelia shrugged. "Hmm? I always call her Sia."

    Chase frowned at Amelia''s answer and turned to Anastasia with a puppy look. "Can I call you Sia too?"

    "Haaa?! No way!" but before Anastasia could answer, Amelia jumped in. "Only I can call her that!"

    "HUH?! And why is that?!" Chase raged in half jealousy and half absurdity.

    "Because I came up with that!" Amelia replied with the same energy.

    Meanwhile, Anastasia attempted to calm them down by waving her hand in between them, but it seemed to have no effect on the argument.

    "You know," Aster poked Amelia''s shoulder and twiddled her fingers. "We''ve been friends for a long time, but you never gave me any nicknames."

    Realizing her mistake, Amelia was quick to apologize, "Wow, you''re right. I''m so¨C"

    However, her apology was cut off when she suddenly remembered something and crossed her arms, "Wait, you didn''t give me any nicknames either!"

    Aster hesitated, "I wanted to give you one, but since you didn''t give me one, I thought you didn''t want us to be close enough to call each other by nicknames."

    "A! No, that''s not it, Aster! I''ll give you a nickname right now. But what should I give you? Hmm."

    As Amelia touched her chin and began thinking of a nickname, Chase''s absurd expression grew even more pronounced, and he started making a fuss again, "Hey, hey! Don''t change the topic! I want to call Anastasia by a nickname too!"

    "It''s fine, Chase. If you want, you can call me by a nickname."

    "Yeah, buddy, you can call me by one too."

    "Eww! No! I don''t wanna call two gross grown-up dudes by nicknames!"

    Seeing him so worked up about it, Nero offered to let him call him by a nickname. Even Elijah joined and offered him the same.

    But Chase tantly rejected the offer in a disgusted tone, which just made the boys burst intoughter.

    A faint smile appeared on Nero''s face after theirughs died down and the conversation trailed off to a different topic.

    It had been so long since he hung out with people he could call friends.

    Lately, all he could remember was working out and training in order to be strong enough to have his revenge on his father one day.

    He thought he would take a few months easy after entering the Global Academy, but then the Mock War happened, and his ns were ruined.

    After that, his whole ss started shunning him. It wasn''t anything he had never anticipated, though.

    People fear the level of strength they can''t reach.

    By extension, he knew he would either be hated, feared, or worshiped for it if he ever were to reveal his Gift.

    Nero knew he possessed the strength that not many can reach in their lifetime. He was ready to walk the path of solitude.

    After all, it wasn''t an unfamiliar path for him.

    Since the day he saw his mother getting killed, he had been walking that path since it was the only route that led to the pinnacle of power.

    He wasn''t afraid of continuing to do so.

    However, he never expected that he would find people who would be willing to treat him normally even after he revealed his Gift.

    But here he was, exploring a new city with people who weren''t afraid to keep himpany, enjoying andughing like a normal teenager.

    The smile on his face grew more visible as he lifted his head and decided to join the conversation.

    "Hey guys, let''s visit that¨C"

    But just then, when he was about to speak, Nero''s eyes darted to a spot in the distance and settled on two well-dressed men who looked to be around his age.

    One of them appeared to be an Elf with short, messy blue hair and long, pointed ears. He wore ck shades that concealed his blue eyes and avish ck Armani suit.

    The other man, though walking beside an Elf - a race known for their beauty and magic - looked otherworldly.

    His silver hair was neatlybed to the side and his scarlet red eyes peeked over his silver shades. He donned an even more expensive-looking three-piece red and white luxury suit.

    As the two of them walked down the street while exuding an air of confidence, they were apanied by four Elven women, each wrapped around their hands.

    "...."

    Needless to say, Nero was shell-shocked.

    Why? Well, because he knew those guys, that''s why!

    After a second or two, he shook out of his surprise and pointed the finger at the two guys. "...Hey, you all. Do we know them?"

    At his words, everyone followed his index finger, pointing in the direction, and scanned the two men.

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    And just like that, everyone else was left shocked too.

    Right at that moment, the blue-haired Elven boy tugged the silver-haired boy''s sleeves and pointed with his chin in their direction.

    It seemed like the duo had spotted them.

    Without wasting any time, they started moving toward them from across the street.

    When they arrived in front of them, the blue-haired Elven boy was the first to speak.

    "Hey, guys! Didn''t expect to see you all here. So, how''s the trip going?"

    "Umm, you''re Kent, right?"

    Nero scratched the back of his head, and Kent took off his shades before replying.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Yeah, man! It''s me!"

    "Holy¡­" Nero then turned to the silver-haired boy on Kent''s left and spoke, "So this must be¡­ Lucas?"

    "No shit," Lucas ridiculed before taking off his shades too. "What up?"

    "....The fuck happened to you two?! And who are these women?!" Amelia was the one who raised the question that had been pressing in everyone''s mind.

    "Life happened, Amelia," Kent smirked while putting his shades back on, taking a dramatic pause in order to look cool.

    Although none of the people present here wanted to admit it, in those rich clothes and two beautiful Elven women wrapped around his arms, he was indeed looking cool.

    "Life happened, and we suddenly became millionaires," Lucaspleted his bro''s sentence to make this sequence even cooler.

    "Then we picked up some hot babes," Kent said, flicking back his blue locks.

    "Now, now, Kent. What did I tell you about treating girls with respect?" Lucas said as he yfully pinched the cheeks of the women in his arms, making them blush and giggle.

    "Oh, yeah. My bad," Kent grinned. "I mean, we picked up some very respectabledies. Anyway,dies, introduce yourself."

    "Hehe. I''m Akia."

    "And I''m Chia."

    "My name is Ria."

    "You can call me Dia."

    With another round of short giggles, the women introduced themselves as they pinched the sides of theirvish dresses and curtsied in an elegant fashion.

    "...Oh, nice to meet youdies," while everyone else was baffled, Chase shrugged and pointed at Amelia and Anastasia. "Meet them. They are Lia and Sia."

    "No! No! No!"

    Anastasia quickly waved her hands while Amelia turned to Aster and said, "I don''t wanna be called Lia. That sounds like a hooker name now."

    "Yeah, I''ll think of something better."

    "...Oh-kay, but seriously guys," Nero turned to Lucas and Kent. "Did you guys spend all your trip money on clothes and hook¨C I mean, respectabledies?"

    "What? The money that Council rewarded us? That money is not even enough to buy our suits," Lucas scoffed.

    Kent pushed back his shades and let out a scoff too. "Right. We just went casino hunting."

    "Casino hunting?"

    "Yeah, we went from casino to casino and conquered every one of them! Until we were kicked out of every one of them, that is."

    "....So you guys gambled?" Ameliamented.

    "No, weren''t you listening? We didn''t just gamble. We conquered! We conquered every game that there was in those casinos! ckjack, Indian Poker, Roulette, and even Slot Machine! We won and won until they had to kick us out! We were kings! Well, I mean, Lucas won most of the stuff. I was there just for support. But I may have won a million of two with him too. Haha."

    ".....So you are good at gambling?" Amelia turned to Lucas.

    Lucas shook his head with a scoff. "No, Amelia. I''m good at winning."

    "....."

    "....."

    Fwooosh¡ª

    Only the whistling sound of the wind could be heard after Lucas dropped what he thought was cool but what, in reality, was a cringe line.

    "Bleargh! Wait, I''m going to throw up because of the sheer cringe I just experienced," Amelia said while retching.

    "Hey, that line was cool!" Lucas narrowed his eyes.

    "Bro, I love you but¡­ that was cringe," Kent shook his head.

    Lucas red at Kent and then turned his gaze back to Amelia before tapping on his smart bracelet and opening the inte search engine.

    After a bit of scrolling and searching, he said: "Oh, is that so? Let''s wait here, you two. Maybe a fuck will fall in my hand and I''ll give it to you both!"

    "Okay, bro, THAT was cool!"

    "You just searched up thateback on the inte, didn''t you?! You''re still on your smart bracelet! You just searched thateback!"

    As Amelia yelled and Kent pped, Lucas kept scrolling the webpage he had just opened before saying,

    "I''m sorry, Amelia. My garden of fuck is barren as of now. I promise to grow some fuck in it so I can give them to you. But as of now, I don''t give you a fuck."

    "Stop reciting inteebacks! That''s literally the opposite of cool!"

    "Naw, naw, bro! That was cool too!"

    "Stop encouraging him!"

    "Ahem," as that chaos continued to wage on, Nero let out a dry cough. "Anyway, guys. We are on our way to the hotel. It''s almost time for dinner. Wanna join?"

    "Oh! Yes, please!" Kent jumped at the offer without even thinking over it.

    The reason for this was that a few minutes earlier, Lucas insisted on leading the way to the hotel.

    Kent tried to talk him out of it, but it seemed like it hurt Lucas'' pride, so his stubbornness to read the map and lead the way only grew.

    Lucas was good at many things and an absolute genius at most, but his sense of direction was that of a chicken¡­ maybe even worse than that.

    "Umm¡­ okay?" a bit taken aback by Kent''s overexcitement, Nero nodded.

    "Not me. I have to go somewhere first," Lucas took his arms off the Elven women around him and said, "See youter,dies."

    "Aww. So soon?"

    "Shame, we wanted to spend some more time together. Well, see you sometime else, I guess~"

    As thedies walked away, Kent frowned. "What? Where are you going?"

    "Ahh, it''s something personal, but I''ll see you back at the hotel. Bye!"

    "W-Wait!"

    With that, Lucas dashed off from there as Kent could only stretch out his hand.

    "...He''ll definitely get lost."

 Chapter 114 Phase One Completed

    "These are all worth forty-five thousand Credits each. Those over there all range around twenty-two thousand Credits."

    "Mhmm. Okay, pack them."

    "Which ones?"

    "All of them."

    "....."

    "You can''t sell them all? Should I go somece else?"

    "N-No! No, good sir. Please wait a few minutes, and I''ll get your order ready. Do you need a cloth bag or¨C"

    "No, I have dimensional storage in my smart bracelet."

    "Oh, can you use mana, good sir? Are you a Cadet?"

    "Yes, I can. I am a Cadet at the Global Military Academy."

    "Oh, good. We provide a special discount for Cadets, sir."

    "Oh? Okay, do you need to see my ID?"

    "Ahh, yes, please."

    After separating from Kent and the main cast, I wandered around the city for a bit in search of an alchemist shop and soon stumbled upon one.

    So without any dy, I entered the shop and made an order for a variety of low-grade mana potions.

    Since my order was needlessly big ¨C around thirty mana potions ¨C even the shopkeeper was a bit taken aback.

    Even though they were only low-grade, they were still pretty expensive.

    Fortunately, I had made more than enough money to easily buy half the items in this shop if I wanted to.

    For reference, I roughly made around seven million Credits.

    By the way, miraculously, I didn''t get lost on my way here even once.

    Now if I get back to the hotel without getting lost again, it would truly be a miracle.

    It didn''t take long for the shopkeeper to ready my order and hand me a huge cardboard box.

    "Sir, here''s your order."

    "Mmm, thank you."

    I took the box from his hands while thanking him and storing it in my smart bracelet.

    "By the way, sir. If you don''t mind me asking, why is a Cadet buying mana potions from outside the Academy?" the shopkeeper asked curiously.

    He had a point.

    The Global City was separated from the outside world in more ways than one.

    Aside from being walled off, the city had its own ecosystem ¨C its own currency, rules, regtions, and even government.

    Yes, although the Central Government still has authority over the Cadets in the Global City, the ones who truly rule over everyone there is the Cadet Council.

    Of course, that, in no way, means that the Cadet Council shares the same authority as the Central Government ¨C the ones who rule over the world with an iron fist.

    No, the Cadet Council has no power in the real world.

    Since many of their members go on to be great leaders or soldiers in the future, they are treated highly for the potential they hold.

    But that doesn''t mean they can hope to go against the Central Government, now or ever. No one can go against them.

    Anyway, back to the topic.

    Since the Global City has its own ecosystem, it''s almost independent of the rest of the world. Everything there is cheappared to the outside world.

    Forparison, let''s do this:

    One Credit is equivalent to eighty or so Merit Points.

    A mana potion I bought from here that cost me twenty-two thousand Credits would only cost me around eighty-eight thousand Merit Points.

    That''s just a little over a thousand Credits.

    Yes, there''s THAT big of a difference between buying the goods in the Global City vs. the outside world.

    Alcohol, weapons, daily necessities, martial manuals, alchemy potions, and everything else that is there is much cheaper than their cost in the outside world.

    How does the Academy make that possible? By providing career jobs to retired soldiers with nowhere to go and no family to return to in the outside world.

    Master craftsmen, great chefs, best-of-the-line alchemists, gifted farmers ¨C aside from workers andborers, every job is handled by either robots or retired soldiers who once graduated from the Global Academy themselves.

    How does that not crash the currency of the outside world, then?

    Well, for starters, you can''t convert Merit Points ¨C the currency of the academy ¨Cinto Credits ¨C the real-world currency.

    Secondly, you can''t buy stuff from the Global City and sell it to the outside world or vice versa.

    The AI in your smart bracelet would alert the Cadet Council in that case.

    However, that doesn''t stop you from using the Academy''s product on yourself in the outside world.

    By extension, it also won''t stop you from buying goods from the outside world and using them while inside the academy. But, of course, doing this would be stupid for obvious reasons.

    If you can get something for cheap, then why would you pay a high price for it?

    The reason for that is: I can get rich quickly in the outside world but not in the Academy, where my wealth and status depends on my academic performance.

    But since telling that to a stranger would be embarrassing, I gave him a made-up excuse.

    "I ran out of Merit Points in the academy. And since we were out on a trip, I thought about filling up on supplies from the outside world."

    "Oh, oh. I see, good sir," pressing his hands tightly like a good businessman, the shopkeeper smiled. "So, anything else the good sir would like to buy?"

    "No, this good sir would like to receive the bill."

    "Oh, right away, good sir."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After paying the bill for my purchase and exiting the Alchemist shop, I made my way to the hotel.

    On my way, I detoured through the slums of Silveserine City.

    A great politician once said: If one truly wishes to understand the state of a nation, one should seek out its impoverished citizens.

    Yeah, even a city as magnificent and beautiful as this has slums. Every city in this world has these kinds of ces.

    Not everyone was able to stand back up after the awakening that shook the world seven centuries ago.

    Some people used the chaos happening at the time as adder to ascend to powerful positions and capitalized on the situation.

    They went down in history as the new leaders of the world.

    They set up Ruling Families and Noble Houses, allowing the generations after them to run the world for centuries toe.

    However, the people who were busy surviving back then couldn''t do anything of the sort. They just suffered much like how their descendants are suffering now.

    The gap between the strong and weak is so wide now that it can''t be crossed anymore unless you be strong yourself.

    The rich keeps getting richer while the poor suffer in cast away ces like slums.

    The condition of Silveserine is no different from the rest of the world. Even though it''s called the Silver City for its beauty and wealth, not everyone is still happy.

    As I entered the slums, I didn''t see skyrise buildings covered in silver or lush greenery adorning the streets.

    I saw starvation and poverty.

    Scrawny children running around with sticks in hand, houses made of wood and clothes, and men and women roaming the streets in rags.

    Naturally, I was getting many stares and I was aware of them all. The reason for the staring eyes was my uselessly expensive suit and my overall good appearance.

    As for why I was here? Well¡­ the Vampire King is hiding in this slum.

    No, I wasn''t here to fight right now. I just wanted to scout the battlefield ahead of time toe up with some ns.

    Not only do I need to force her toe out of hiding, but I also can''t drag a civilian into the bloodshed that''ll happen tomorrow because of me.

    Don''t get me wrong. I don''t care about a stranger''s life. I''m one of those ''I''ll let the train run over five people to save a person that I know'' kind of guy.

    However, if I can avoid a loss of life with no negative consequences affecting me, then of course I''ll choose to avoid the loss of life.

    Besides, if the Military Police were to find out that civilians were endangered because of a Cadet, I would face punishment harsher than simple increments in my training time.

    To be honest, if I abide by the rules, I should alert Military Police about this situation and let them deal with the Vampire King in a much safer and more professional manner.

    However, if I allow them to do that, then they''ll seize everything they would find in the Vampire King''s possession ¨C that includes the Mythical beast egg that I''m after.

    And I''ll die before I let that happen. If I want my future ns to seed¨C if I want to survive this doomed world, I need that beast egg.

    I''m not exaggerating. I had thousands of different future simtions running in my head for the first few weeks when I came to this world.

    I thought about thousands of different possible ways my life could go in this world.

    Every life that I imagined ended up either with me dying before the final war or being toote to save this world from its doom.

    The reason for all that was that I couldn''t get strong faster and break through my potential.

    The only way I can prevent it from happening is by getting that beast egg now oring up with an alchemy potion that can break mana core potential.

    And since I''m no alchemist, and a potion that can break through mana core rank potential won''t appear until the next two years, I only had one remaining option to choose.

    Of course, I''m only a human, so my calctions aren''t absolute. It''s not like everything I imagined would go exactly like that.

    And it''s also not like I know the future.

    There are thousands and millions of hidden variables that I couldn''t factor into my calctions simply because I don''t know them or I''m incapable of it.

    For example, I don''t even know what decision I would make three hours from now, let alone the decisions that others could make three years from now.

    However, I''m strictly talking only about the future possibilities that I predicted here. I''m talking about the worst of the worst of the worst cases.

    Worst decision that I would have to make. Worst decision that others would make. Worst ways the actions of the people around me would affect me ¨C only cases like that.

    And if there''s one thing that makes me proud of myself is that I prepare for the storm before it even rains.

    I believe in Murphy''sw ¨C Everything that can go wrong will go wrong, that too at the worst possible moment.

    If I prepare for the worst, if I doubt my closest, and if I keep on thinking calmly in any situation that presents itself, then no scenario in the world can ever surprise me.

    That way, everything would be under my control.

    "Umm¡­"

    As I was about to exit the slums, I felt someone tugging on my clothes from behind.

    I turned around to find a young, around seven to eight years old girl, fairly looking better than kids her age here, pinching my pants with a saddened look.

    She had moppy orange hair and fair skin smeared in mud and dirt. Contrary to her dirty appearance, her clear hazel eyes looked at me with nervousness and distress.

    "Yes?" I questioned.

    "D-Do you have something that my mother can eat?"

    "I don''t," I said before bending my knees and facing her at her height.

    I dug my hands into my pockets and took out a copper alloy coin with the number ''40'' engraved before handing it to her.

    "But I have money," I told her. "Forty credits will buy you enough food for yourself and your mother."

    Suddenly her eyes lustered with delight and tion before she nodded and ran off.

    Seeing that, many other kids quickly swarmed me and started begging.

    Although I didn''t have much physical money on me, I gave away everything I had before, somehow making my way out of the people crowding me.

    "Fuuu," as I let out a deep breath while leaving the slums and heading for the hotel, a smile formed on my face.

    "Phase onepleted."

 Chapter 115 Breakthrough

    In a dimly lit room, a silver-haired boy sat cross-legged on the ground right next to arge bed.

    "Haa! Haaaaa! Haa!"

    His heart was mming hard against his chest as if it was about to burst out, making his breathing ragged.

    Despite the sweat drenching his tank top and cks and the sensation of needles piercing his skin pores, he persevered with his eyes firmly shut.

    He clenched his teeth and gritted through the pain until a sudden, searing sensation engulfed his abdomen as if it was set on fire.

    "Mrghhhh!"

    Thankfully, the boy had the foresight to bite down on a towel, muffling what would have been an agonizing beastly scream.

    Fwoo¡ª

    Thud¡ª

    Suddenly, white steam began to emanate from his body, and the boy copsed onto the ground,pletely devoid of any and all strength or will to even twitch his muscles.

    "Aaah! Haaa! Haaa!"

    Gasping for air, his hands desperately reached for a water bottle on the bed, his hands slick with sweat and devoid of strength.

    Twice, the bottle almost slipped from his grasp before he finally managed to grip it tightly.

    Bringing the bottle to his lips, he twisted the cap open and took long, thirsty gulps of water, relieved as he finally felt a cooling sensation wash over his body and numb the burning pain.

    "Fuuuu."

    Finally, he let out a content sigh as he couldn''t help but say, "I did it. I''m not dead!"

    Naturally, it would be a devastating loss for the world if a young man as stunningly handsome as him were to perish at such a young age.

    Even in his current state, drenched in an unbingyer of sweat and too feeble to lift a finger, he still managed to embody the very essence of beauty.

    Haa.

    Let''s not beat around the bush - that young man, the one who has captured the hearts of many maidens with his exquisite looks and otherworldly charm, is none other than yours truly.

    Now one would ask: Why was I in this condition?

    And my answer to that would be: I tried breaking my mana core through the ?Iron? stagest night.

    Yeah. Yesterday, I arrived at the hotel and had the best dinner of both my lives before heading straight to my room to cultivate.

    Before I sat down to cultivate, however, I used my Edit Pen on the thirty low-grade mana potions that I had bought and upgraded them all into mid-grade ones.

    It did cost me a lot of Edit Points¨C around 876, if I remember correctly¨C but it was totally worth it.

    As I started cultivating, I was on the brink of breaking through ?Iron 2? and entering the ?Iron 3? level.

    Throughout the night, I drank all the upgraded mana potions and eventually broke through to the ?Bronze 1? stage.

    However, the pain I experienced was excruciating.

    To make things worse, I had to keep quiet to avoid disturbing other guests on my floor. So I couldn''t even scream to relieve the pain.

    It felt as if all the bones in my body were breaking, and my abdomen was put under a hydraulic press. Then it felt like my body was set on fire before it finally calmed down.

    And the whole process was repeated once again.

    It was hell.

    Actually, normally breaking one''s mana core through levels and stages isn''t that painful or hard.

    However, since my potential was low ¨C ?Gold 3? ¨C I will only experience more pain the more I try to break through the stages until it bes impossible for me to go past the ?Gold? stage without letting the pain kill me first.

    Simply put, the closer one reaches their potential, the more difficult it is for one to make a breakthrough.

    For instance, Nero would have had a rtively painless experience when breaking through the ?Bronze? stage, unlike my near-death ordeal.

    Haa. Anyway, now that I have leveled up, it''s time toplete my quest.

    It''s time to kill the Vampire King and take what I came here for.

    Gr¡ª!!

    "....."

    But before that, I should stop the rumbling in my stomach by grabbing something to eat.

    ?

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar [Face Image]

    Race¡ú Human

    ____

    Strength¡ú 62 [+30]

    Endurance¡ú 48 [+30]

    Speed¡ú 69 [+30]

    Stamina¡ú 64 [+30]

    uracy¡ú 88 [+12]

    Charm¡ú 440 [+1]

    Intelligence¡ú 188 [+1]

    Mana Capacity¡ú 1000/1000 [+500]

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Bronze 1 [¡ü Iron 2]

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 2 || Archer Lvl. 2

    ____

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [98%]

    6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [70%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) [75%]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ??Breathing Technique

    Breath Of Vitality

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine?

    Edit Points: 778

    ===========

    After ordering room service, I took a refreshing bath and practiced some martial arts.

    Then I got ready and decided it was finally time to get going.

    But just as I reached in front of my room door, I decided to check my status to get an idea of how I was doing.

    "Hmmm."

    As I looked at my status, I couldn''t help but stroke my chin while being immersed in deep thoughts.

    My physical stats were looking more on the average side. But I didn''t have very many magic spells.

    After this is over, I should get some spells.

    Also, I should get some archery arts too since I am about to master the one I''m currently using.

    My progression was already at 98%. It won''t be long before I make it 100%.

    "Fuuu."

    Okay, I should get going.

    I took in a few deep breaths before looking at the room clock. It was 8:53 AM right now.

    By 8:00 PM, everyone has to be back at the hotel to attend dinner.

    I have no ns to join my ss for sightseeing and shopping today, so it gives me roughly eleven hours to search for the Vampire King and kill her before I have toe back.

    Click¡ª!

    With determination, I clicked open my room door and stepped outside.

    Most of the people were still sleeping, while others were in the buffet hall for breakfast.

    So without getting spotted, I took the lift and easily snuck out of the hotel.

    Aftering out, a smile formed on my lips as I stretched out my hand, opened my palm and quietly said, "Track."

    Schwing¡ª!!

    Suddenly, several azure threads appeared out of my hand andid out on the street. These azure threads were only visible to my eyes.

    Remember the coins I gave out to those slum kids yesterday? Yeah, they weren''t normal coins.

    ===

    Item: Tracking Coins (Relic)

    Condition: Good, Edited

    Description: This relic consists of twenty coins.

    When distributed by Lucas Morningstar, the coins can imprint a mark on the first person who touches them.

    Later, Lucas Morningstar can visualize the paths that lead to these individuals.

    It can only be used once and one coin can only mark the first person who may touch them.

    Edit (Active): Let those who receive these coins by my hands be marked, and reveal to me their trails whenever Imand it.

    ===

    In the novel, it was said that the Vampire Kingpelled children of the slums and drank their blood to survive.

    Usually, the Vampires drink mana-rich blood.

    The reason for that is: Unlike Humans, Elves, or Dwarves, Vampires don''t have the ability to draw mana from the atmosphere.

    By extension, they also can''t cultivate their mana core normally like the other races do.

    So instead, they rely on the mana from the blood of people who can cultivate to strengthen their mana core.

    However, here, in this case, the Vampire King wasn''t trying to cultivate but sustain.

    After a brutal battle with her own kind, she suffered serious injuries that left her on the brink of death.

    She was too weak to mind-control adult humans, so she resorted topelling young children and drinking their blood to stay alive.

    It took a long time for her to finally recover from her injuries. Much longer than it should''ve taken her.

    That''s why now is the right time to strike when she''s nowhere near her top condition.

    I distributed coins to those children in the slum for a reason.

    The Vampire King is likely preupied with feeding on their blood right at this very moment.

    By tracking these trails, I can locate her.

    Although my decision to interject in this situation could endanger the lives of those children, they are as good as dead if I leave them like this anyway.

    So my n is simple. I would hit her with a surprise attack, and before she could figure out what hit her, she would be dead.

    But of course, to do that, I needed some weapons.

    Since we were on a trip, we had to give back the weapons that the academy provided us.

    And since I don''t have any personal weapons, I am currently unarmed.

    Now I don''t know if I ever said this, but being unarmed in this world is akin to being in a boxing ring with no hands.

    Okay, maybe I''m exaggerating a little.

    But the bottom line is I need to buy some weapons.

    I couldn''t buy them yesterday because it was already time for the mandatory dinner by the time I exited the slums.

    So I opened a holographic GPS map in front of me and started walking toward a weapon store.

    It''s time to start Phase Two of the n.

 Chapter 116 Making Promises

    "Hmmm."

    I found myself in the midst of a weapon shop, surrounded by an array of weaponry on disy.

    The shop was immactely organized, with numerous customers - mostly elves - perusing the various sections.

    Weapons were divided into specific sections and put on stands for disy, much like a bookstore or supermarket.

    Conveniently, every single item here had price tags on them but no additional descriptions whatsoever.

    Right now, I was standing in the [Mid-Range Polearms] section, specifically examining spears.

    As I was in the midst of considering one, a short elven girl dressed in the shop''s staff uniform approached me and inquired, "Have you chosen something, sir?"

    "Ahh?"

    Momentarily surprised, I turned towards her and replied, "Not yet. I''ll head to the counter if I decide to make a purchase."

    "Sure, sir. Do you want to take a look at our spear catalog?" she insisted.

    "It includes a wider range of items than the ones on disy, although the pricing may be slightly higher."

    "No thanks," I declined. "I''ll purchase one of these on disy."

    "Sure, sir. Have a pleasant day."

    With that, she walked away.

    I refused to peruse the catalog because the weapons listed inside it would be more expensive than the ones on disy.

    Despite having a substantial amount of money, I had no intention of spending a uselessly big chunk of it on a single weapon.

    There were two reasons for this:

    First, I was confident that any ordinary spear would break if I used it against one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings, albeit a former one.

    So unless it was a relic, it''s all the same, no matter how expensive the materials used to forge it were, which brings me to my second point.

    Second, I could acquire a cheap spear from this stand and use my Edit Pen to transform it into a relic.

    As I resumed my selection of spears on disy, one, in particr, caught my attention.

    "Oh, this one is quite impressive," I eximed, picking it up for closer inspection.

    It was a blood-red spear with a silver de at its end, giving it a distinct appearance from the usual pointed-tip spears.

    I prefer ded spears over pointed-tips because not only are they more lethal at piercing, but I can also sh with them.

    So, in short, I can use them as a halberd or axe while also maintaining the distance and speed that a normal spear provides.

    Of course, sometimes, when you pierce them into someone, retracting them could be difficult. In that scenario, pointed-tips are better.

    But overall, ded spears are more versatile and¨C Wait¡­ Why do I sound like a spear nerd?!

    ¡­Ahem.

    Shaking my head to eliminate some unnecessary thoughts, I decided togo with this spear.

    It was the best I could find here in both quality and price ¨C a little over ny-one thousand Credits.

    Afterward, I headed toward the [Long-Range Archery] section to pick up a bow and some arrows.

    ?

    After buying a brand new archery set and some other things, I started moving toward the slums while following the azure threads.

    Finally, after walking around for half an hour or so, I reached the outskirts of the slums.

    This area was separated from the main city. I couldn''t see any buildings or even roads nearby.

    As I strode on the muddy path, I entered the slums in no time. Again, eyes were drawn to me.

    Today, however, I decided to wear a half sleeves ck hoodie t-shirt and matching cks to not draw too much attention to me.

    It didn''t work.

    People were still looking at me as if I was some kind of a rare specimen.

    To blend more easily in this crowd, maybe I would''ve worn rags, but I didn''t want to fight without proper clothing.

    It''s fine though. I had my face covered with the hood. No one would be able to recognize me from yesterday.

    "Hey, aren''t you the guy from yesterday?"

    Or so I thought.

    "....."

    As I was following the azure threads, a voice rang in my ears from behind. I spun around to see a skinny boy, around nine to ten years old, looking back at me.

    "No, I''m not."

    I curtly lied to him and started walking but he circled around me and blocked my path.

    "Yes, you are!"

    "....How did you know?"

    "That shiny bracelet on your hand."

    As the kid pointed at my right hand, I frowned and looked at a metallic ck smart bracelet on my wrist.

    Ahh, yes. It''s easy to recognize people from this since not many have one of these smart bracelets in this world.

    But should people in the slums, kids no less, even know about something like this?

    "That''s a smart bracelet with a dimensional storage feature in it, right?" the kid took a step forward and leaned in for my hand.

    "How do you know that?" I pulled my hand away and asked with a frown. "It could just be a normal smart bracelet."

    "Ha!" the boybed back his dirty ck hair and shed a smug grin. "There''s not a tech in this world these eyes of mine can''t recognize."

    I was about toment on that but the boy started speaking.

    "Now, who are you? You''re too young to be a soldier, so you must be a cadet." he continued.

    "I''ve only read scraps of media magazinestely, so I''m not updated on tech news, but I think only two military academies provide these types of bracelets to their cadets, no?

    "So you''re either from Ethereal Military Academy or Global Military Academy. Since you''re rich enough to get into those prestigious academies, you must be a noble.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But what''s a noble doing in the slums of the Central Continent, away from either of those two academies? Maybe you are here on a trip. But still, why visit the slums? Maybe you''re here to look for someone¡­ but who¨C"

    "Okay! Stop!" freaked out by the kid''s deductions which were all on point, I yelled at him to stop. "Who are you?"

    "That''s my question, who are you?" the kid narrowed his eyes.

    Huh? He was smart. Recognizing me is one thing but deducing where I was from and why I was here¡­

    "Huuu," letting out a deep breath, I squatted down to match his height before admitting. "You''re right. I''m here to look for someone. Can you help me?"

    "That depends," the boy replied with a cheeky grin. "Can you help me? Give me sixty credits and we''ll talk. Okay fine, fifty. Fine! I''ll settle on forty credits. Just give me something!"

    I rolled my eyes. "What''s your name?"

    "Rowen," he answered quickly. "I have nost name."

    "Your left eye is bruised, Rowen," I said while pointing at his ck eye.

    "Huh¨C I.. ah, yeah. I fell¨C"

    Before he coulde up with an excuse, I cut him off.

    "You also seemed to have some other unattended injuries," I remarked, taking a closer look at his body.

    As I scanned his body, it was clear that he had numerous cuts and bruises, some of which appeared to have been sustained days ago. However, I also noticed a few fresh injuries that seemed to be more recent.

    "So you''re being abused daily and have nost name," I said before continuing.

    "You also seem to be out of breath and have bread crumbs on your lips. Did you happen to be running while eating bread, or were you perhaps stealing food?

    "If you have to resort to that, then that must mean you don''t have someone to take care of you. You''re an orphan. It''s clear that the people in the slums don''t care about you, and you''re left to fend for yourself. You''re alone.

    "Judging by how you talk, you seem to be a tech fanatic. You are also knowledgeable about military academies. You look around ten years old. I guess you have awakened your mana core and you are researching different military academies, considering you''ll need to attend one in a few years.

    "But you must know top military academies are notoriously expensive. Given your current circumstances, it will be difficult for you to save enough money to attend a mid-tier, let alone a prestigious one. You can''t save that much money in your life. And if you don''t manage to do so, you may be sent to a military camp instead."

    As I was done talking, the boy''s mouth was left hanging. His eyes widened, and his lips trembled as he barely let out:

    "H-How?"

    "Hmm?" I arched an eyebrow. "Surely you don''t think you''re the only smart person in the world, right? You''re awakened, right? Can you see your status? What''s your intelligence stat?"

    For a second, the boy hesitated, but at the end, he gave me an earnest answer, "183. My intelligence stat is 183."

    Damn, he was smart.

    But in this environment, his potential will get snuffed out.

    Here''s how his life will go:

    He won''t be able to save enough money for a decent military academy, and he will be forced to attend military camps.

    He will start as a foot soldier, but with his high intelligence and a bit of luck, he might survive his first few battles.

    However, when the Vampire Monarch awakens, and his forces be stronger, he will be deployed to the edge of the Northern borders, like millions of other foot soldiers.

    His mission will be to defend the border from the onught of vampires.

    He will give it his all, valiantly fighting to survive, but ultimately, he will meet his demise.

    And he will die without living up to his true potential.

    No, it''s a waste. I could use someone like him in the final scenarios of this world.

    However, I needed to confirm onest thing before lending him a helping hand.

    "What''s your mana core rank potential?" I asked.

    The boy looked at me with a troubled expression before he clenched his fists and leaned in to whisper, "Silver 3."

    Aww, damn it! He''ll just be a Low Ranker!

    Note that the ranks from ?Iron 1? to ?Silver 3? are considered Low Ranks.

    Then, from ?Gold 1? to ?Diamond 3? are considered Mid Ranks.

    High Ranks only consist of ?Divine?, ?Immortal?, and ?Mythical? stages.

    And his potential stops him from ever breaking out of the Low Ranks.

    ¡­Hmmm.

    However¡­ in two years, a way to break potential caps will be discovered.

    An alchemist will create a potion that will make it possible for anyone to reach Mid Ranks. He''s still young. Maybe I can make some use of him after all.

    Hmmm, fine, I will help him.

    "Okay here''s the deal, Rowen. I will sponsor your admission into the Global Academy. I will give you a chance to make something of your life. You''re a smart kid. You know how big of a deal this is, right? A chance to enter the world''s top military academy. In return, however, you must help me with something."

    The kid looked at me bewildered, as if he could not understand what I was saying. Or maybe he was just too bbergasted to speak.

    After a while, a frown appeared on his face, "Y-You would do that? But you won''t sell me anywhere, right?"

    "Boy, I have more money in my ount than what you''re worth. Shut up and tell me one thing, do you know someone named Reina Eldernight in this slum? She should have red hair and matching eyes. If I''m not wrong, she would''ve moved here a year or so ago¨C"

    "Oh, you''re talking about that scarydy! Yeah, I''ve seen her. All the kids in the slum seem to like her and surround her all the time," Rowen replied with several head nods. "They asked me to join them and talk to her too. But I never went because¡­ Uh- I never went because s-she seems to be dangerous. My instincts tell me to run whenever I see her. She moved herest year with an orange-haired girl. I don''t remember her name. Ah, maybe it was Mary. She is strange too."

    Mary? Hmm. That must be the girl who was supposed to be the sacrifice for the Vampire Monarch but she decided to steal her.

    I didn''t think she would''ve kept that girl alive till now. Why hasn''t she eaten her yet?

    Ahh, I''ll think about thister.

    "Your instincts are correct," I said to the boy. "That woman is certainly dangerous. That''s why I need you to do something for me. If you do this, I will give you my word to make all your life goalse true."

    "O-Okay¡­ Yeah, okay! Tell me what I need to do?"

    A smile appeared on my face as I heard him give me a positive response. With a nod, I summoned several ball-shaped grenades from my smart bracelet.

    Seeing that, the kid couldn''t help but gulp in anxiety. Maybe he was now regretting epting my request thoughtlessly.

    However, it''s toote to back out now.

    I handed him the grenades as I said, "Take these and get as close to that woman as you can."

 Chapter 117 Plan

    "There!" Rowen pointed towards the distance and said, "That''s where she lives."

    After journeying deep into the slums, we eventually arrived in front of a run-down wooden house.

    All the azure threads were leading to that house.

    As I surveyed the area with curiosity, I noticed that there were very few houses or tents nearby.

    This was not by chance.

    The area was situated close to the woods, which served as a habitat for ferocious wild mana beasts. Naturally, not many would be willing to live here.

    "Okay," I nodded. "Hide those grenades under your shirt, in your pockets, in your underwear, or wherever you can. When I signal you, take them out, throw them at that woman, and run out of the house at the first chance you''ll get. I''ll take over from there."

    "U-Understood¡­" the boy nodded back with apprehension.

    "Don''t worry," seeing him concerned for his own safety, I ced a hand on his shoulder. "These grenades don''t explode."

    "Huh? They don''t?" the kid looked at me with a frown. "So what do they do?"

    "They are stun grenades enchanted with light magic," I replied. "They sh and stun anyone in the near vicinity when they go off."

    I pulled out a button set on a stic cube from my pocket and said, "Plus, they''re all remote-controlled. So they''ll only go off when I press this button."

    After hearing my exnation, a relieved expression washed over Rowen''s face.

    He then quickly began stuffing up the grenades under his clothes.

    I bought five of these babies from the weapon store under the [Throwables] section. I also got a good deal on them so they were worth it.

    Not to mention, since these sh grenades were enchanted with the light element, which the vampires are weak against, I just had to buy them.

    If I hadn''t bought them, I would''ve used my Edit Pen to make something simr like I did against Quinn.

    However, unlike Quinn, I can''t just walk up to the Vampire King. I need to deploy caution. I need to use the element of surprise to take her on.

    Since she would sense my presence if I went anywhere near her, I needed someone to assist. Someone who could get close to her without arousing suspension.

    The best idea I coulde up with was to use a kid to deliver the sh grenades closer to her since she was feeding on the blood of the kids in this slum.

    Yes, there are other options to tackle this situation.

    Like I could just throw the grenades in the house, but that would make the element of surprise quite pointless since the Vampire King would get plenty of time to react to my attack.

    This is the most efficient idea I coulde up with for this situation.

    Am I putting this kid''s life in danger? Yes.

    Do I have any other options? Maybe.

    But if everything goes ording to n, all the risks and gambles will pay off.

    With that in mind, I steeled my determination and patted Rowen''s back.

    "Are you ready?" I asked the kid, who nodded back in response.

    I retrieved an earpiece from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and handed it to him.

    "Take this. I''ll signal you when it''s time to pull out the grenades. Once you do that, run out of the house. Do not stop to look for me. Just keep running and get out of the slums."

    Rowen inserted the earpiece into his ear and tapped it to turn it on. "Is there going to be a fight?" he asked nervously.

    "Yes," I replied, pairing the earpiece with my smart bracelet.

    "Who is that woman?" Rowen inquired, his curiosity piqued.

    I gave him a brief look before responding. "You''re a smart kid. You''ve seen her around here for over a year. Haven''t you figured it out yet?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Of course I have," he sighed. "She neveres out of that house during the day. The kids have started to act weird around since she showed up, and they''re getting paler and sicker by the day. And my gut tells me to run every time I see her."

    "Looks like you have figured it out," I said while raising my eyebrows, impressed at the young boy''s deduction skills once again.

    "Yeah," he shrugged. "Even though the adults seemed to be blind to ignore such obvious signs. It''s clear that she''s a vampire."

    I smirked at his statement and ced a hand on his head. "It may be obvious to us, but most people prefer to stay within the bounds of reason to preserve their sanity. Even if some people noticed something was off, they would''ve dismissed their doubts because it''s out of the bounds of logic and reason for a vampire to sneak into the Central Continent undetected. But people like us challenge the reasoning of this world because we don''t like our minds to be confined."

    Rowen looked at me with interest and asked, "Doesn''t that make us insane?"

    "You''re willingly going inside a house haunted by a vampire, and I am nning to fight it," I scoffed. "It''s evident that our sanity is questionable."

    "Heh," Rowen shed a bitter smile before nodding. "Okay, let''s do this."

    After nodding his head a few times, the kid started walking toward the run-down house in the distance.

    Okay, it''s time I get ready too.

    I stretched my hand and willed mana into the smart bracelet.

    Shing¡ª!

    The smart bracelet lit up in azure runes, and suddenly a bow materialized in my hand with a sh.

    It was an asymmetrically shaped longbow with a length of over 2 meters. It was a Japanese-styled Yumi bow with a slick modern look.

    Instead of wood, this bow was made of super-reinforced steel and carbon fiber alloy.

    This longbow was specifically made for sniping long distances. The best part is ites with a variety of visual aids like zoom scope, x-ray vision, heat vision, or night vision.

    Without wasting any more time, I straightened my back and summoned an arrow from my smart bracelet.

    I carefully ced the arrow on the bowstring and pulled it back, positioning myself for the shot.

    I then gently tapped on the bow''s grip.

    Swiing¡ª

    A holographic Aim Down Sight appeared right in front of my dominant eye.

    I closed my left eye and said, "Zoom in eight times."

    At mymand, the ADS magnified the image of my target ¨C  the decrepit house ¨C eight times in my vision.

    But that wasn''t all.

    "Open x-ray vision," I said, and suddenly the walls of the house became transparent for my eye, allowing me to see clearly inside it.

    Albeit everything was in monochrome and the vision was blurry, I could still see my target through the walls.

    "Very well," I said in a satisfied tone. The money was worth it. Then I began pouring mana into the arrow.

    This arrow was special too. I didn''t buy it but crafted it using my Edit Pen.

    ===

    Item: Exploding Arrow

    Condition: Good, Edited

    Description: This arrow is designed to absorb mana from its user and employ it to trigger a devastating explosion upon striking its target.

    ===

    Soon, the arrow started glowing in an azure-blue hue. With this, everything was set in ce.

 Chapter 118 Execution

    "Huuu."

    Rowen took slow, shaky steps as he approached the decrepit house. He had known about this ce for a while now, ever since the kids in the slum began to hang out there.

    Their behavior had be strange since then, and they had invited him to join them several times, but he always declined.

    He knew something was off.

    Rowen never really had any friends.

    Being an orphan and an outcast, he had always been called weird by the people around him.

    But he didn''t think he was the weird one. It was the slum itself that was strange.

    Nobody here dreamed anymore.

    People ¨C both children and adults ¨C had given up on escaping this ce and had resigned themselves to this lifestyle.

    asionally, a child would awaken to mana and be drafted into the military, which was technically a way out of poverty since being a soldier meant earning a lot of money.

    However, in this ce, being drafted was equivalent to a death sentence.

    The children who were drafted into the military camps could not afford to attend private military academies, so they became foot soldiers and were sent off to fight in wars, never to return.

    Rowen hated it here.

    He felt suffocated living among people with no vision. In a ce full of settlers, he aimed for excellence, and he wasughed at for that.

    But he refused to give up on his dreams. He dreamt of a future where he would be wealthy, living a life of luxury.

    A future where he wouldn''t have to scavenge for food in the trash or steal to survive.

    A future where he would be treated with respect instead of disdain upon entering the city.

    A future where he could live his life instead of just surviving it.

    This slum may have been a ce where people had stopped dreaming, but he was not one of them.

    So when he was offered a chance to make his dreamse true¨C to make his future a reality, he epted it in a heartbeat.

    Now here he was.

    Even though he hated this ce and the people here who ridiculed him at every turn of his life, he was risking his life for them.

    After all, this was his only chance to get out of this ce. A chance to attend the world''s top military academy¨C essentially securing his future.

    "Okay," Rowen nodded his head upon arriving in front of the house. "Let''s do this."

    Knock¡ª!

    After a second of preparing himself, the boy knocked on the front door.

    From inside, he heard footsteps that slowly grew louder until the doorknob was finally twisted open.

    Click¡ª

    The door swung inward, revealing the figure of a small girl with clear orange eyes that matched her hair. She peered out and scrutinized the person who had knocked.

    Rowen knew her. Her name was Mary, and she had moved in here with the ''scarydy.''

    "Rowen?" Mary spoke, looking at the ck-haired kid with a narrow frown. "What are you doing here?"

    "Hey, Mary," Rowen shed a smile. "Well, I was bored, so I thought about hanging out with you guys. I can go back if you don''t want me here¨C"

    "No, no!" the frown on Mary''s face melted into a sweet expression. "You are wee here! Come, let''s go inside."

    "O-Okay," with a little hesitation, Rowen followed the orange-haired girl inside the house.

    The inside of the house was oppressively dark and musty.

    The air was thick with a lingering cold, metallic scent that sent shivers down Rowen''s spine for some reason.

    Despite the heat outside, the atmosphere inside was unnaturally chilly.

    The windows were covered in heavy curtains and papers, obscuring any natural light from entering.

    Creak¡ª

    As Rowen''s foot touched the wooden floor, it let out an eerie creaking sound that echoed through the empty halls and intensified the unsettling feeling that hung in the air.

    But the girl walking in front of Rowen seemed unfazed by the horror movie-like interior of the house.

    ''Well, she has been living here for well over a year.''

    As Rowen thought that to himself, he kept following the orange-haired girl until they reached the drawing room.

    "Everyone, Rowen is here," Mary excitedly announced as she entered the room.

    As Rowen stepped into the room, he saw a group of kids sitting around on the floor and on an old couch.

    The dark, ominous atmosphere made their pale skin stand out, and their pupils glowed an eerie white as every eye in the room turned to him.

    For some reason, suddenly, a chill ran down Rowen''s spine, and his instincts screamed at him to run.

    But he tried to keep hisposure and stood there frozen.

    One of the boys got up and walked over to him, putting a hand around his shoulder in a way that disregarded personal space.

    "Rown!" the boy eximed in excitement. "You finally showed up!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Rowen is here? Good," Another girl spoke up, "You know, Rowen, you should spend some time with your friends instead of always sticking your nose in those scraps of magazines and books."

    ''You all are not my friends,'' is what Rowen wanted to reply, but he kept his mouth shut and forced a smile.

    "A new member? Haha! Let''s see how many rounds he canst before fainting," one of the boys giggled.

    "What?!" confused, Rowen turned to him with a questioning frown. "What does that mean?"

    The boy, with his arm still around Rowen''s shoulder, patted him to dismiss his worries.

    "He''s just ying with you. Anyway, have you met Miss Reina?" he asked.

    "Miss Reina? No, I haven''t yet¨C"

    Before Rowen could finish his answer, an alluring feminine voice whispered in his ear from behind.

    "We have a guest?" he heard her say.

    Surprised, he turned around to see a bewitching woman with fiery red hair that cascaded down her back.

    She wore a simple ck gown that did little to conceal her mature, otherworldly hourss figure.

    Her full lips were painted the darkest shade of red,plementing her snowy paleplexion.

    As Rowen looked into her captivating scarlet red eyes, he realized that there was something unsettlingly tempting about her. But before he could put the finger on anything, he felt his mind going numb.

    "..."

    For a few seconds, Rowen stood there in a trance,pletely frozen and unable to think straight.

    He had never seen someone so beautiful. To be fair, he had seen this woman many times before, but for some reason, right now, she was looking irresistible.

    It was then he remembered that he had read somewhere about how vampires can charm andpel individuals of other races weaker than them into submission by making them look into their eyes.

    Of course, unless one is bitten by a vampire, there is a way to break this charm. A strong stimulus, like getting punched or shaken, would do the trick.

    However, he was in a vampire''s nest right now. Who would help him?

    "I heard you weren''t willing to hang out here with your friends," said the red-headed woman. "What made you change your mind?"

    Rowen waspelled to tell her the truth, starting from how he met Lucas outside, but somehow, he managed to spout out a lie.

    "I¡­ was bored today."

    The woman''s expression stiffened upon hearing those words. Shaking her head, she said, "That''s a lie."

    She then slightly bent her knees and ran a finger against Rowen''s cheek before leaning her face forward and whispering in his ear, "Tell me the truth."

    "I¨C Uh¡­ I¡­"

    Rowen felt his heart racing and his skin crawling.

    He wanted to run, but he also wanted to answer the woman earnestly. It was a weird feeling of submission and fear, making it hard for him to speak.

    He was about to give in until¡­.

    Beeeeep¡ª!!!

    "Eeik!"

    The earpiece in his ear made a high-pitched stinging noise which shook him out of his trance and made him grip his head in slight pain.

    -[Rowen, it''s time. Pull out the grenades!]

    As if waiting for that cue, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

    It was his signal!

    Seeing something strange happening to the kid, the red-headed woman frowned before her eyes widened in surprise.

    With her elerated thought process, it didn''t take her even a second to realize what was happening.

    It was an ambush!

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Wasting no time, she kicked Rowen and sent him flying back before yelling in an authoritative tone, "Mary, get behind me!"

    Even though the orange-haired girl couldn''t understand what was happening, she quickly did what she was told and hid behind the woman.

    Thwaaam¡ª!

    Rowen''s bodynded on the wooden floor amidst all the other children who were just as confused as Mary. Nobody could infer just what was going on?!

    "Arghhh!"

    Rowen grunted as he struggled to stand, his hand pressed against his aching ribs.

    With his other hand, he reached under his clothes and retrieved several small, ball-shaped grenades.

    He hurled them into the air and got on the ground, quickly covering his eyes and ears.

    "Children, run¡ª!!"

    The woman tried alerting the kids but she was cut off by the blinding explosion of the sh bombs in the air.

    Kshwiiing¡ª!!

 Chapter 119 Confusion [1]

    Kshwiiing¡ª!!!

    "Arghh!"

    "GAAAH!"

    "Mnhhh!"

    Upon detonation of the sh bombs, the entire interior of the house was engulfed in a dazzling white light, causing all those who encountered it to feel as though their eyes were set aze.

    This sensation was particrly intense since the sh bombs went off in a dark atmosphere.

    The red-headed woman had the worst. Even though she covered her eyes in time, she felt as if her skin was set on fire.

    It was clear to her that these sh bombs were enchanted with light elemental magic.

    Thwam¡ª!

    Before she could recover from the surprise attack, an arrow broke through the front wall and hurtled toward her.

    ".....?!!?"

    She could only widen her eyes as the arrow appeared inches away from her face.

    The amount of mana emanating from the arrow made it clear to her that it would cause much more damage than just piercing her.

    However, she couldn''t dodge the attack because Mary was standing behind her.

    She couldn''t let the little girl get hit by the arrow.

    She also didn''t have enough time to turn around, pick her up, and get out of the arrow''s trajectory.

    "Tsk!"

    All she could do was cross her arms and clench her jaw, bracing herself for the attack while shielding Mary behind her.

    BOOOM¡ª!!!

    As soon as the arrow came in contact with the woman, the mana infused within it burst into the air and created an azure explosion that sted off her right arm.

    "Arghhh!" The red-headed woman gritted her teeth and stifled a scream of agony.

    "Reina! Are you okay?!" Mary''s voice trembled with concern from behind her.

    "I''m fine, Mary," Reina replied through gritted teeth, clearly in pain. "Someone has found us."

    "But how?!" Mary''s worried expression deepened by the second. "We took every precaution to stay under the radar!"

    "Tsk!" Reina clicked her tongue while willing mana into her right arm, or what was left of it at least, to regenerate it.

    She didn''t know the answer to Mary''s question herself. Just who found out about them and how?

    For a year, they stayed under the radar of both the Central Government and the Union Military. She was sure that they didn''t slip up anywhere.

    Sure, she had gotten a little carried away by feeding from too many children, but that shouldn''t be enough for the authorities to notice her presence.

    After all, the Central Government does not care about slums. No matter what happens here, the news of it doesn''t reach the ears of those living in the city.

    Besides, she made sure topel everyone she had been feeding from to make sure that there were no slip-ups.

    So then how?!

    Was it the military police who found her?

    No, impossible. Aside from not being interested in the slums, they won''t ever use a child to carry out their operations¨C

    Wait, the child!

    Suddenly, as if she remembered something, Reina''s eyes turned to the kid who was responsible for all this.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    There he was,ying on the ground with his hands covering his head and ears.

    "You!" the red-headed woman raged as soon as she spotted him. "Who sent you?!"

    Since the kid didn''t answer, she took a step toward him¡­

    THWAM¡ª!!

    But before she could move any further, a loud explosion shook the air, and the front wall of her house shattered into pieces.

    SHUUUU¡ª

    The explosion sent debris flying in every direction, apanied by rising dust and crackling embers.

    Step, Step, Step¡ª

    Amidst it all emerged a charming young man, appearing to be around eighteen years old.

    He had slick silver hair swept to the side, and his paleplexion was contrasted by his striking merlot-red eyes that seemed to glow like embers.

    The young man donned a magnificent, form-fitting suit of golden armor with a scarlet ruby carved into the chest area of his upper torso.

    In his right hand, he held a long, shiny red spear that glimmered in the natural light reflecting off his armor.

    All that coupled with his handsome features, made him look more like an angel than a mere mortal.

    "Aww, man!" the young man kicked the ground in dejection upon locking eyes with the red-headed woman. "I aimed for the heart. You managed to block it, huh?"

    Before the woman could manage toe up with a reply, Lucas quickly scouted the surroundings and saw several kids with a paleplexion and glowing red eyes getting back on their feet.

    "Fifteen in total," he said, counting out loud. "Eight boys and seven girls. If you were feeding on so many children then how have you not recovered yet? Well, it doesn''t matter. Since these children are turned into halflings who will all in the future fully turn into vampires, it''s best if I clean them up now."

    Vampires are a unique species with many fascinating qualities.

    But perhaps the most intriguing is their ability to turn individuals of other species into one of their own.

    This is achieved when a Noble Vampire bites someone, either to feed or kill, and transmits a virus that alters the victim''s DNA over time, transforming them into a Commoner Vampire.

    During this transformation, the individual is known as a halfling. However, there is a way to prevent the process.

    If the infected mana of the vampire is removed from the halfling''s system as soon as they are bitten, they can avoid bing a vampire.

    However, the longer they wait to remove the virus, the lower their chances of sess.

    Unfortunately, there is aplication to this process.

    When a person is bitten, they experience a rush of dopamine at random intervals.

    Each time they are bitten again, the dose of dopamine increases, eventually leading to them being addicted to the feeling until the prey willingly submits themselves to the vampire who has bit them.

    This addiction causes halflings to lose all sense of reason and resist treatment.

    "Another child?" Reina frowned as she looked at Lucas up and down. "Has your military fallen so low that they are using children?!"

    Even though that question was directed toward him, Lucas paid no attention to the vampire and began looking for Rowen.

    After moving his eyes around the ce, he found the kid lying on the floor near his foot.

    Seeing that, Lucas flipped his spear and poked the boy with its rear end. "Oye, get up. I have a mess to clean here. Unless you don''t want me to clean you up with everything too, get up and scram off."

    "Huh?" after being poked several times, Rowen lifted his head and scrutinized his surroundings. He then quickly got on his feet, dusted his old, ragged clothes, and stormed off while yelling:

    "You better not die, rich silver-haired noble! I wantpensation for putting my life in danger!"

    "Heh," seeing the kid''s back receding into the distance, Lucas grinned. "Die? No, I already died once. Didn''t enjoy the feeling so I''m not nning to do it again."

 Chapter 120 Confusion [2]

    The group of fifteen halfling children, who were done picking themselves up around the red-headed woman, reacted to Lucas with hostility.

    "Shall we attack him as a team?" one of them suggested.

    "Absolutely! We outnumber him fifteen to one!" another chimed in.

    "I''ll tear off his neck!" added a particrly fierce young halfling.

    Lucas didn''t mind the small fries because he knew none of them was a match for him.

    Even though they were halflings, aside from being a little faster and stronger than the normal children, they had nothing.

    They didn''t pose a threat to him, especially with his armor. At most, they were a distraction.

    "Don''t!" seeing the way Lucas was emotionlessly gazing at the children, the red-headed woman yelled a warning. "Do not stay to fight! Run all of you!"

    "But¨C!"

    Before one of the halflings could argue, Reina cut him off.

    "It''s an order!" she roared with her eyes glowing in an ominous red shine. "Run!"

    "Tsk!"

    Since it was an order from her ¨C the vampire who bit them ¨C their bodies couldn''t help but oblige.

    "Now, now. Do you really think I''ll let you run?" Lucas, who had been quiet till now, summed his Edit Pen from his smart bracelet and pointed at the children.

    Before any of them could react, he swiftly waved the pen in the air as if writing on an invisible surface, and suddenly the halflings fell to their knees.

    "Heik!!"

    "Wh-What''s going on?!"

    "It¡­ It''s heavy! I feel heavy!"

    "It''s our clothes! They suddenly weigh a ton!"

    Thest kid was right.

    Suddenly the weight of their clothes was increased to the point where it would''ve crushed a normal child their age.

    Lucas had used his Edit Pen on their clothes to achieve that.

    Mary, who had been standing behind the red-headed woman, cried out in concern for her friends. "Guys! Are you alright?!"

    But before she could run to their aid, the woman stepped in front of her. "Stay behind me! That guy is dangerous! He''s using some kind of unknown gravity magic!"

    Lucas'' eyes moved to Mary.

    He saw her bright orange hair and matching eyes, as well as her healthyplexion and full cheeks.

    Unlike the halflings, she wasn''t sickly, and her eyes weren''t glowing.

    "Is that girl a halfling too?" he asked, but he soon realized that this was not the case.

    Mary was human, not a halfling like the rest of the children here.

    "She''s definitely not a halfling," Lucas thought to himself out loud, stroking his chin.

    But then why was she following a vampire around? Not to mention, judging by how they both were interacting, Lucas could guess that they had be fairly close.

    None of this wasn''t mentioned in the story.

    All that the novel said was Reina grabbed a ''sacrifice'' meant for the Vampire Monarch for herself and ran after fighting her own kind.

    Lucas just assumed that after that, she must''ve devoured the ''sacrifice.'' But if she didn''t, then there was no reason for Mary to keep following Reina around.

    She must''ve gotten several chances to escape when Reina was on the verge of death. But she didn''t.

    Why? There was only one reasonable exnation that Lucas coulde up with. Maybe Reina had mind-controlled Mary to follow her.

    But why would she do that?

    What would she get out of carrying a burden around? Why did she just not straight out devour her?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And why did she risk being executed just to have one girl? Was there anything special about Mary?

    As these questions filled his mind, Lucas turned to the red-headed woman and demanded, "Have youpelled that girl? Why haven''t you bitten her? Why did you keep her around?"

    "Who are you?!" but instead of answering him, Reina shot back with a voice dripping in venom and her eyes narrowing in rage. "How dare youe here and threaten my children?!"

    "Arghh. Your children? That''s what you call the people you turn?" Lucas shot a judging re. "Damn that Joe, couldn''t he havee up with something less cringe?"

    Naturally, Reina had no idea what this guy was mumbling, so she repeated her question, this time with more hostility.

    "I asked you something! Who are you?!" she raged. "Who sent you? Is it your military? Are they sending kids to war now? Well, they had been doing that for a while¨C"

    Cutting her off, Lucas started speaking. "Okay, first, I''m not a kid. I''m eighteen. Secondly, no one sent me. I came here all by myself."

    "Don''t lie!" Reina was obviously skeptical of Lucas'' words. "How did you find me?"

    Rolling his eyes, Lucas lifted his spear and pointed it at the red-headed woman.

    It was clear that she had no intention of answering his questions, and he was far too busy to answer hers.

    "Can you please just stop with all these boring questions," he said, infusing mana into his spear as it started glowing scarlet.

    He then shot a mocking grin, "Besides, what''s the point of answering someone who''s going to die in a few minutes anyway."

    Nerves popped up on Reina''s forehead as she gritted her teeth again. "This is the first time I''ve been provoked to kill a kid. Fine, if you want to die so badly, then so be it!"

    As soon as she said that, she closed her eyes and her body started convulsing violently as bones cracked and shifted under her skin.

    Her muscles bulged and her skin stretched, making way for the emerging monstrous form.

    Her hands contorted, and long, razor-sharp ws burst out from her fingertips. Her canines elongated into fangs, and her skin became as dark as night.

    Her cheeks sank in, and her eyes turned an eerie shade of red as her pupils grew vertical, giving her a predatory gaze.

    The air around her grew heavy with an overwhelming sense of danger, and her once-alluring appearance was reced with a terrifying visage.

    She then opened her mouth and spoke in a horrific demonic voice, "Who''s about to die?"

    "Damn," Lucas shrugged his shoulders.

    If that''s what she''s like without her full powers, he wouldn''t want to imagine what she would look like with it.

    But still, not a speck of fear was present on the silver-haired boy''s face. It was as if he knew his victory was certain. For some reason, this made the former Vampire King worry.

    "Anyway, if your dramatic transformation has ended, why don''t you listen to my proposal?" Lucas suggested. "You have a mythical beast egg in your possession, right? Give me that egg and I will spare your life. I won''t even alert the military police."

    "What?" listening to the boy, Reina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How do you know about that? Who are you?!"

    "Doesn''t matter," Lucas shook his head. "What does matter is, if you want to live, hand that over to me. I''ll let you go and won''t tell anyone about you. Be thankful that I''m generous."

    "Ha!" the vampire scoffed before speaking, "I don''t know how you found out about me or the egg, but you''re crazy to think I''ll hand over a mythical beast to you! A mere human!"

    "Yeah, well, I kind of thought you would say that," Lucas shrugged. "Well, it''s fine. I''m done stalling for time. They should be recharged by now."

    "Stalling for time? What are you¡ª!!"

    Before the vampire couldplete her sentence, Lucas brought out a remote from her pocket and pressed a button on it.

    Kwshiiing¡ª!!!

    Two sh bombsy scattered on the ground, their glow intensifying before they exploded in a blinding sh of light.

    Lucas had saved two of the five bombs, knowing he might need them to create an opportunityter on. As he had hoped, the explosion left an opening.

    "Arghhh!" Reina winced in pain and shielded her eyes as the light hit her.

    Despite feeling like her skin was on fire, she quickly opened her eyes and searched for Lucas, only to find him gone.

    Confused, she scanned the area until she sensed something above her.

    ".....?!!"

    Looking up, she saw Lucas descending towards her, his silver hair gleaming and his spear poised for a strike.

 Chapter 121 The Vampire King [1]

    sh¡ª!!

    With a powerful descent, Lucas struck down his spear in a downward sh, slicing through the air with deadly speed.

    Splurt¡ª!!

    The Vampire King tried blocking the iing attack by raising her ws, but Lucas'' spear easily sliced through her reinforced skin, severing her right hand with a fast blur.

    Thud, Thud¡ª!!

    As the dismembered limb fell to the ground, Lucasnded before Reina, ready to deliver another fierce blow.

    Wasting no time, he pulled his spear back with mana spiraling around it and thrust it forward at her face with all his might, intending to drill a hole through her skull.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    [First form: Meihua Zuan]

    Swish¡ª!!

    But before Lucas'' attack could connect, Reina swiftly ducked down, dodging the spear thrust with her remaining w pulled back.

    "For someone who talked so big, you were easy to kill!" she taunted, her voice filled with contempt as she lunged forward at the silver-haired boy with breakneck speed.

    Lucas could only widen his eyes as the Vampire King closed the distance and straightened her w into a sword-like manner before thrusting it into his unguarded gut, thinking that she had got him.

    ng¡ª!!

    But with a loud metal shing sound, Reina''s w struck Lucas'' armor, failing to even put a dent through it.

    ".....?!?"

    Her eyes widened in disbelief and horror. Even in her weakened state, she had been confident that she could break through an enchanted armor.

    Unless¡­.

    It wasn''t an enchanted armor but a relic! A strong one at that!

    ''So his defense is strong,'' she thought as the world around her slowed down to a standstill.

    In truth, it wasn''t the world that was slowing down, but her mind was just processing the information faster.

    It''s called the elerated Thoughts Process.

    Unfortunately, in her weakened state, she could only think fast. Her body''s reaction time was too slow to act on her thoughts.

    Still, it was a useful weapon. With its help, she had now deduced that her opponent was using a strong relic in under a split second.

    Now all that remained was to kill him!

    If she can''t break her armor, then she will hit him where his armor can''t protect him!

    "Fine then!" Reina snarled, her eyes zing with fury as she spun on her front foot, pivoting her body to the side.

    Clenching her w and rising from her low position, she pulled her fist up, using the momentum to deliver a deadly uppercut to Lucas.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The blownded under Lucas'' chin with a sickening sound, sending him stumbling a few steps back.

    However, in the very next second, Lucas stood up straight and looked the Vampire King dead in her eyes. "That''s all?"

    That''s all?!

    Reina felt a twinge of nervousness at those words. She had hit him with all her might, and yet he still stood before her, seemingly unscathed.

    Again, even though she was considerably weakened, thatst blow would''ve been enough to shatter boulders the size of trucks!

    So how did it not even manage to put a scratch on him?! How did Lucas survive it?!

    Unless¡­ his armor provides some kind of attack negation power to him.

    An armor that can negate the force behind a physical attack thrown at the wearer or render it to a fraction of its original strength!

    ''But an armor like that should at least be a Legendary or above-grade relic! How does a kide to possess it?'' Reina frowned in confusion, the look of horror fading from her face.

    ''It''s fine,'' she told herself. ''Even if his armor is a Legendary-grade relic, it is bound to have weaknesses or drawbacks. And aside from his defense, his attack prowess doesn''t seem to be anything special. If I keep attacking, I''ll win.''

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    With that thought in mind, Reinaunched herself at the silver-haired boy once again. Lucas responded by charging forward himself with his spear pointed at her.

    Cling¡ª!!

    ng¡ª!!

    As they shed, sparks flew, and shockwaves erupted. The ground cracked beneath their feet as they both tried to im each other''s lives.

    Reina, in her pure vampiric form, was too quick on her feet. Lucas'' attacks weren''t connecting. However, as if to make up for it, his defense was nigh-imprable.

    It was a total stalemate!

    At least for now¡­.

    Mary, who looked at the unfolding scene from behind, thought about helping Reina somehow. But the intensity of the ongoing battle made her stop entertaining this idea before long.

    She shook her head and rushed to one of her friends'' side ¨C a halfling sprawled t on the ground, unable to get up from the weight of his clothes pinning him down.

    "Issac, are you okay?!" Mary asked, grabbing his hand and trying to get it over her shoulder to make him stand.

    "Leave me, Mary!" but the kid named Issac jerked his hand to shake off her grip. "Don''t waste your energy on me! Run!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We don''t need to run, Issac! Look," Mary pointed at the ongoing fight between the silver-haired boy and the Vampire King. "Reina will soon defeat him and then¨C"

    Before she could finish, Issac cut her off.

    "Mary, please listen to me and run! I have a bad feeling about this! If things go south and Miss Reina falls here, at least you should survive. You are still a human, so you can easily blend into society! Please!"

    Hearing the boy''s pleas as he begged her to escape, Mary couldn''t help but gulp in uneasiness.

    As far as she could recall, Isaac''s gut feeling has always turned out to be on point.

    Even though Reina is severely weakened for now, the mere thought of her getting defeated in a battle sounds nonsensical to Mary.

    After all, Mary had seen her fighting before.

    She had seen her fighting other vampires when she saved her. She had seen her fighting against the mana beasts when they were crossing the border together. She had even seen her fighting some humans.

    Mary knew Reina was strong. And right now, she was in her vampiric form! There was just no way she could be defeated.

    But¡­ What if¡­

    What if Issac''s intuitions end up being correct again and she does fall? What will happen to her? She''s still a human so she was sure she wouldn''t be killed¡­ but the authorities would be suspicious of her.

    They might put her in some kind of prison and put her under surveince until their doubts are cleared.

    No, she doesn''t want that¡­

    Maybe she should run¡­

    No¡­

    No! She can''t leave Reina and all her friends behind. She would fight if she had to but she won''t run!

    With her newfound resolve, Mary quickly scanned the room, searching for anything that could use.

    Then, her eyes fell on a gleaming daggerying on the ground. Without any hesitation, she picked up the dagger and darted toward Lucas, who was busy blocking a blow from Reina.

    "Huh?" but before Mary could sneak up on him, Lucas'' gaze fell on her.

    Swish¡ª

    He twirled his body to the left to dodge Reina''s iing w and¡­

    Thwack¡ª!!

    He then used the momentum tond a roundhouse kick on the iing little orange-haired girl''s belly, sending her flying a few meters back before her body violently crashed on the ground.

    As Reina saw this, nerves bulged up on her forehead. She lunged at Lucas while swinging her w at his neck in an src.

    "You bastard!" she cursed. "She''s only a child!"

    Cling¡ª!!

    Lucas blocked her w with his spear and gritted his teeth. "Self-defense! It was self-defense!"

    "Arhhaaaaa!" letting out a furious battle cry, Reina pressed forward and smashed her head against Lucas'', making him falter and take a step back.

    Without rest, Reina raised her right leg and shot a front kick at him.

    Lucas, who had already seen the attacking, lifted his spear to block the kick with its shaft.

    It was only then that he realized he had made a mistake.

    "....What the?!"

    Lucas widened his eyes as he saw Reina spinning on her heel and changing the trajectory of her front kick midway by twisting her leg up in an unnatural manner and bringing it down over his head. It was a question mark kick!

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Her kicknded right on the mark, sending Lucas crashing down on his knees as a result of the force it carried.

    He tried to get up but Reina wasn''t done there.

    Thwuck¡ª!!

    As he was in the middle of standing back, she quickly stepped in and mmed her right knee into Lucas'' face with full force, disorienting him as he took some steps back.

    "Umbra e-duath!"

    Using this chance, the former Vampire King chanted a shadow magic spell.

    Almost immediately, several spikes made of shadows emerged from beneath Lucas'' feet and pierced him.

    Or at least that would''ve been the case if he wasn''t wearing his armor. Unable to break through his defense, the spike bent around him and only ended up restraining his movements.

    "Arghh!" Lucas groaned in frustration as he tried to break free but before he could put any effort into it, he felt the air getting heavier by the second.

    Siuuuu¡ª

    He looked in front and saw the former Vampire King standing there with her left arm stretched out and her palm facing him with particles of darkness coalescing into a glowing violet sphere before her.

    "Vascornus Phalum!"

    Fwooosh¡ª!!!

    After growing around the size of a football, the sphere of darknessunched forward at its target and hit Lucas in no time, creating a majestic violet explosion.

    BOOOM¡ª!!!

 Chapter 122 Last Chance

    After being hit by the sphere of darkness, Lucas was engulfed in whips of violet fire and crackling tendrils of electricity that exploded into the air.

    The collision left behind a trail of smoke and mes,pletely obstructing vision and obliterating everything within a few meters of the silver-haired boy, including what was left of the house''s front wall.

    "Haaaa! Haaa!"

    Reina gasped for air, her breathsing in short gasps as she fell to her knees.

    She willed whatever remaining mana was left in her core to regenerate her right arm, which was throbbing with pain as it began to grow back.

    "Fuck," she cursed, gritting her teeth as she felt the effects of thest spell take hold of her.

    It was the best she could do in her current state, but it had taken a heavy toll on her body.

    Despite appearing uninjured, the true damage was done to her mana core.

    Her mana core was now riddled with cracks, making it difficult to draw enough magical energy to cast any further spells.

    It was already in bad shape since a year ago when she had to fight the other Abyssal Vampire Kings.

    Since then, she has been doing her best to recover. That was the only reason she had to resort to feeding from little kids ¨C something she despised doing but had no other choice.

    After all, despite being humans, they were still children. She didn''t want to hurt them, but she needed their blood to replenish her weakened core.

    But it''s fine now. Looking at the smoke and mes ¨C the sheer destruction caused by her spell ¨C in front of her, a victorious grin spread across Reina''s demonic face.

    "It''s over," she said to herself.

    She had been forced to use a high-grade spell due to the boy''s annoying defense, but it was worth it.

    She was confident that he was now nothing more than a pile of ming ash.

    Unfortunately, however, she couldn''t afford to stay and revel in her victory byughing over the boy''s dead body.

    She had to move. If a kid like him had managed to find them, then it was only a matter of time before someone else did too.

    And this time, it could be someone from the military.

    Reina wasn''t sure if she could handle another fight in her current state, having her mana core riddled with cracks and on the verge of shattering uppletely.

    "Arghh," groaning, she got up after recovering some strength. She turned around and looked at the halflingsying t on the ground. "Kids, are you all okay?"

    "Yeah¡­ It''s just so heavy¡­."

    "Please just cut off these clothes¡­ I feel like I''m suffocating¡­."

    "I-I''m fine too¡­ Aside from the fact that I can feel my back breaking under the weight of these clothes¡­."

    "Mnhhh," Mary groaned in pain as she stood back up, clutching her ribs where Lucas''s kick had hit her. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she tried to hold them back.

    "I''m fine too," she said weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

    Although Reina knew that Mary was just trying to act tough, and her heart ached for the little girl, she just nodded her head. She couldn''t believe that a human could strike a child of his own species like that.

    Did he have no heart? And they call them ¨C the vampires, the monsters. The real monsters were humans. Why can''t Elves and Dwarves see that simple fact?!

    Shaking her head and pushing those thoughts aside, Reina focused on the task at hand. "Okay, kids. Wait here," she said, her ws pulsing with mana. "I''ll get you all out of here."

    "Oh, will you now?"

    "....?!"

    But just as she was about to move, a familiarly annoying voice interrupted her and made her freeze in ce.

    ''Impossible!'' she thought while turning around slowly, her heart pounding in her chest.

    As the smoke cleared, she saw a figure emerging from the haze, wreathed in a powerful scarlet aura. His merlot-red eyes glinted like fiery embers, and his short silver hair stood on end.

    The golden armor he had worn before was gone, as was the red ruby on his chest.

    "What¡­ how is that possible?" Reina demanded, her demonic voice trembling with uneasiness. "You should be dead."

    Lucas merely raised her spear and pointed it at her.

    A distorted grin spread across his face as he spoke, "I''ll kill you and every single one of your halflings. But before that, I will give you onest chance to live. Hand me the mythical beast egg and I will leave this ce without informing anyone about you."

    "....."

    Reina could feel the intensity of the manaing off from the boy had tripled. It was as if his mana core had jumped up in the ranks. She guessed that right now he was around the ?Gold? stage.

    No, this was bad for her. At best, she could only handle a ?Silver? stage warrior right now in her condition; anything above that wouldn''t end well for her.

    A drop of sweat dripped down her forehead and ran down her cheek as she couldn''t help but feel her throat drying up.

    This was bad.

    The scarlet hue enveloping his body only added to the eerie atmosphere, and Reina couldn''t help but feel a chill run down her spine¡­.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡­Huh?

    Fear?

    Was she feeling fear? And from a human no less?!

    Preposterous!

    She once held the title of one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings! She was one of the strongest individuals of her species!

    Even if she''s weakened and her mana core is on the verge of shattering, she refuses to fear a human! A filthy one like him at that!

    "And besides¡­ I''m not a peasant. I''m your death." suddenly out of nowhere, Lucas dered.

    "...What?" with a frown, Reina questioned.

    "Fine, let''s take the long way." Lucas rolled his eyes before he continued speaking.

    "Judging by the look on your face, I can guess that you''re about to make the wrong choice," he added. "Do not choose to fight me or you will die. I am told that the Vampires consider the Halflings they turn as their kin. You called them your children earlier, right? Think about them."

    At those words, Reina gazed around at the children, who were all helplessly pinned down on the floor.

    "If you decide to fight me, along with you, they will die too," Lucas exined while stretching out his free hand. "Put aside your pride and just hand me over the mythical beast egg."

    "Do you know who I am?" Reina gazed at Lucas with contempt and fury.

    "I do," Lucas replied, holding back a sigh as if he had already predicted how this conversation would end. "You are one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings. Or at least you were until a year ago."

    A little surprised, Reina raised her eyebrow. "So you even know that too, huh? But if you do know who I am, then you must know that a King doesn''t surrender to a peasant!"

    There is a reason Rein refused Lucas'' offer.

    Firstly, she couldn''t trust a human, especially someone as suspicious as him.

    What''s stopping him from taking the beast egg from her and then going back on his words, alerting his Military about her?

    And secondly, that beast egg is the only way for her to not onlypletely heal her mana core but also strengthen it to an unimaginable degree!

    Unlike Humans, Elves, and Dwarves, Vampires aren''t born with a mana core rank limit. They have no potential cap.

    They grow strong and cultivate mana by absorbing mana from the blood of their prey. Through that method, the stronger the prey they hunt, the more their mana core grows.

    Now imagine what will happen when a vampire feeds on the blood of a mythical beast!

    The said vampire would be able to absorb so much mana¨C more than enough to easily ascend their mana core into the ?Mythical? stage.

    That''s the reason Reina refused to give up on the egg.

    Also, even though she had been emunicated by her kind, she was still a vampire.

    Why would she hand out something to the enemy that could be used as a weapon against her kind in the future?

    Since all vampires descended from the Vampire Monarch, they were loyal to him, even now when he had yet to awaken. By extension, they were loyal to their own kind.

    Some of them may not contribute anything to their cause, but none of them would do a thing that would put their species in any kind of danger. Their brain wasn''t programmed that way.

    Reina was no different.

    She would fight till the end if she had to, but she would not surrender. For her own sake as well as for her species''!

    "Yeah but you''re not a king anymore, are you?" Lucas mocked as he gripped the spear with both hands and slightly bent his knees, getting into his battle stance.

    Reina bent her knees too and prepared tounch herself at him.

    Swish¡ª!!

    In under a moment, she darted toward the silver-haired boy with breakneck speed.

    "And besides¡­ I''m not a peasant," Lucas continued with the pitch of his voice rising. "I''m your death!"

    Gzzz¡ª!!

    The scarlet hue enveloping him started to stir up violently, and bright crackles of red electricity whipped through the air around him.

    A foreboding feeling sat in Reina''s gut as she saw this scene. She felt a huge amount of mana about to burst out in the air.

    But if that happens, it would create a huge mana explosion!

    As her eyes widened in sheer horror, Reina briskly veered around and did a U-turn, rushing to Mary''s side.

    Right then, Lucas yelled out as if letting out a roar to defy the heavens itself, "Mana Burst!"

    KABOOOOM¡ª!!!

 Chapter 123 The Vampire King [2]

    A tremendous burst of intense blue light burst forth with the force of an entire truckload of TNT detonating in a single instant, obliterating everything within a hundred-meter radius of its epicenter.

    In the aftermath of the explosion, a towering mushroom cloud emerged in the sky, an ominous symbol of the devastation wrought.

    The once-standing house at the center of the st was now reduced to rubble, while the surrounding trees and other nearby houses had suffered damage from the powerful shockwaves that rippled outwards in all directions.

    Shuiii¡ª

    As the dust began to settle and the smoke cleared, a young man with striking silver hair and piercing merlot-red eyes appeared at the very epicenter of the explosion.

    Despite the destruction that surrounded him, the man stood tall and unscathed, almost as if he was immune to the devastating force that had just been unleashed.

    He surveyed the destruction around him with a calm yet intense gaze as if he was searching for something amidst the chaos.

    And then, as if by instinct, the young man''s intense gaze fell upon his target.

    Just a few meters away from him stood a vampire, with her charcoal-like skin and razor-sharp ws giving her away.

    But what caught his attention even more was the orange-haired girl standing behind Reina, her expression a mix of fear and horror as she clutched the vampire''s hand.

    A veil of darkness was surrounding them like a barrier - a spell that protected them from Lucas'' Mana Burst explosion moments prior.

    "You...how could you...?!" the girl stammered, her voice trembling with disbelief.

    As the veil of darkness vanished, Reina surveyed the destruction around her. All she saw was the burnt remains of the children who had been caught in the st, their ashes still on fire.

    She could hardly believe what she was seeing, and her rage only grew as she realized that the human in front of her had heartlessly murdered them all.

    Reina''s rage boiled over as she cried out, "They were mere children!! You killed them!"

    Lucas shook his head in response. "Don''t me this on me. I gave you a choice. I told you to hand over the egg to me. If you had just done that, they wouldn''t have died like this. Their blood is on your hands. Besides, they were halflings. Sooner orter, they would''ve been tracked down by the Union Military and killed anyway. But you can still save the girl behind you. Just hand me over the egg, and I will leave!"

    Instead of using her words to respond, Reina gritted her teeth and bent her knees, preparing to fight.

    "Fine," Lucas said, jerking his head as if epting Reina''s action as her answer. He tightened his grip on his spear and took his stance. "Come!"

    As soon as Lucas beckoned Reina toe at him, she willed mana into her legs and tensed her calf muscles.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!!

    She vanished into thin air and reappeared right before Lucas. Her ws pulled back to unleash a powerful sh.

    sh¡ª!!

    But Lucas was quick on his feet. He stepped back and evaded Reina''s attack, letting her w meet nothing but air.

    "Umbra e-d¨²ath!"

    But as if Reina had expected that, she quickly chanted a dark magic spell.

    But Lucas had also seemed to anticipate this so he abruptly hopped back a few steps again.

    Thuk¡ª!!

    And thankfully he did that because several shadow spikes erupted on the spot where he was standing moments ago.

    Giving him no chance to recover, Reina rushed at Lucas to continue the attack as soon as hended on the ground.

    "Arghhaa!" Lucas let out a battle cry and unleashed a flurry of spear thrusts at the iing enemy. Mana fiercely spiraled around his weapon as he fought back.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    Reina furiously parried the thrusts and counterattacked by shing her w, a feeble attempt to grab hold of Lucas.

    Like that, the two continued to sh in a violent exchange of blows, each trying to gain the upper hand.

    Their movements were fast and precise, a dance of death and destruction.

    While Lucas''s techniquecked refinement, his attacks were imbued with the immense strength of his ?Gold? staged mana core.

    The sudden increase in his speed and strength made him a formidable opponent for Reina to deal with in her current weakened state.

    But despite the disadvantage, Reina''s years of battle experience allowed her to hold her own against the inexperienced Lucas.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    She was more than confident that she could emerge victorious in this one-on-one confrontation.

    sh, sh, sh¡ª!!

    And her battle experience began to show in their battle too.

    Reina''s aggressive attack patterns soon began to wear down Lucas''s defenses. Her ws had already cut deep into his skin thrice by now, leaving multiple wounds on his hand, upper torso, and shoulder.

    Lucas was starting to get pushed back and he didn''t like it one bit. His blows weren''t connecting and his attack pattern had be predictable.

    Yet, aftering this far, he had no choice but to push forward and keep on attacking relentlessly.

    Mana seeped out of Lucas'' hands and it swirled around his spear as he lunged forward, intent on piercing Reina''s heart.

    Swish¡ª!!!

    But with a swift movement, Reina spun to the left and evaded the attack while seizing the opportunity to strike and using the momentum of her spin to swipe at Lucas''s face with her sharp ws.

    sh¡ª!!

    Splurt¡ª!!

    A deep gash appeared on Lucas'' cheek right under his left eye, barely leaving it intact.

    Lucas stumbled back, holding his cheek as blood dripped down his face. He red at Reina, his grip on the spear tightening.

    "You''ll pay for that," he growled, summoning more mana to flow through his body. He charged forward, swinging the spear at Reina''s midsection.

    But Reina was quick to react since she already saw this attacking.

    Swish¡ª!!

    She deftly ducked under the spear andshed out with her w, aiming for Lucas'' exposed side.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Splurt¡ª!!

    "Arghhhaaa!" Her ws sank deep into his flesh, drawing another cry of pain from him.

    But despite his injuries, Lucas refused to back down and pressed forward.

    Shing¡ª!!

    He flicked his right wrist twice and suddenly, a hidden de burst from his stic wristband before he swung it at Reina''s eye.

    But Reina proved to be too quick for him again. With her sharp battle instincts, she had predicted this attack too.

    She grabbed his hand and sprang up to m her head under his chin, disorienting him.

    She then delivered a swift knee strike to his sr plexus, causing him to double over in pain and gasp for air.

    "Khuuk! Khuuk! Haaa!" Lucas buckled down and copsed on one knee.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Splurt¡ª!!!

    Before he could recover or even stand up, Reina stepped in and stabbed her w into his chest, causing blood to spurt from his lips.

    "Khuaaaak! Haaak!"

    Though he managed to grab her arm to prevent the w from reaching his heart, the pain was still excruciating.

    "Mana¨C! Khuuk!!"

    As soon as Lucas tried to cast his Gift, Mana Burst, Reina swiftly kneed him under the chin, knocking him t on his back.

    He groaned in pain. His body was wracked with agony from the impact.

    As hey there, huffing for breath and struggling to regain his senses, Reina stood over him, her eyes cold and unfeeling.

 Chapter 124 The Fall Of The King [1]

    Reina stood over Lucas, whoy defeated on the ground, panting and grunting in pain. She stretched out her hand and gazed down at him with a sense of finality.

    "It''s over," she dered, her voice cold and resolute. "You had great potential, and I won''t deny that. But like a jackal whoes to the lion when his time is over, you came to me."

    Lucas groaned in response, his body still wracked with pain from their intense battle.

    He tried summoning the strength to his arms and legs¨C he tried getting up, but Reina stomped her foot on his chest and pinned him down.

    "Don''t struggle," Reina continued, a faint hint of mockery in her tone. "Justy there and I''ll make sure to end this quickly and painlessly. After all, I may be a vampire but I''m not a heartless monster like you, human."

    As Reina spoke in a contemptuous tone, particles of darkness surrounded by a violet hue began to gather in front of her hand, slowly clustering into a sphere of pure, malevolent energy.

    The sphere pulsed with power, crackling with tendrils of purple lightning that made the air around it seem to warp and distort.

    Reina really didn''t want to resort to this high-level spell again, but she needed to kill Lucas for real this time.

    He had survived this spell once before, but at point-nk range, he wouldn''t survive it again.

    Lucas, still recovering from their fierce battle, sensed the immense power emanating from the sphere of darkness.

    Even he knew that he had no chance of surviving without his armor.

    If he had known that he wouldn''t be able to defeat Reina, even with the Embrace Discard and the boost in stats he had got, he would never have taken off his armor.

    Despite this, Lucas refused to give up now.

    His mind raced as he frantically searched for a way out of this dire situation.

    Thousands of possibilities ran through his head as he desperately tried to devise a solution.

    And just then¡­ he came up with a n!

    With a fierce determination in his eyes, he slowly extended his hand up, his palm facing Reina, his body trembling as he struggled to keep it steady.

    Kwush¡ª

    Instantly, a bright orange ball of fire conjured in front of Lucas''s open palm as he took aim at Reina, pouring all of his mana into the spell until it started spinning and the mes turned blue.

    Reina arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "A fireball spell? It looks powerful, but it''s still a low-level spell. If our spells sh, mine will win. Is this yourst desperate attempt to stay alive?"

    Lucas let out abored breath, his wordsing out in short gasps.

    "You talk too much," he managed to say, a faint smirk ying on his lips. "I thought I was the chatty one during fights. And, just so you know, you''re not my target anyway."

    "....?"

    As Reina struggled toprehend Lucas'' words, he abruptly turned his palm at the orange-haired girl in the distance, all while maintaining his piercing gaze on Reina.

    Mary, who had been relishing in Lucas'' imminent defeat, suddenly found herself as the locked target for his fireball spell.

    "Huh?" she gasped.

    "Ignis Rotaem!" Lucas roared a chant andunched the sphere of mes at the orange-haired girl.

    In a split second, the fireball hurtled toward Mary, causing her expression to contort in fear.

    "No!" a gasp of horror escaped Reina''s lips as her mind started to race, the speed of her thought process elerating and time itself slowing in her eyes.

    She pondered over the choice between saving Mary or killing Lucas for what felt like a thousand times.

    As much as she wanted to kill the boy more than anything, she found her body moving to save Mary as the sphere of darkness materializing in front of her hand copsed.

    Swish¡ª!

    The fireball shot through the air with incredible speed, leaving a trail of blue mes in its wake.

    Reina quickly intercepted it, throwing herself in its path.

    BOOM¡ª!!!

    The fireball struck her squarely in the face, exploding on impact with a deafening roar.

    Even though it wasn''t nearly enough to kill her, the explosion left tremors in her head and smoke rose from her skull, temporarily obstructing her vision.

    "Arghha!" Lucas let out a pained groan as he rolled and jumped to his feet, quickly rushing towards the orange-haired girl while Reina was still disoriented.

    "Mana Burst!" he yelled and suddenly short bursts of explosions went off under his feet, propelling him forward like an arrow.

    Swish¡ª!!

    The girl watched in terror as she saw the silver-haired boy closing in on her. But before she could react or run away, Lucas appeared before her in a burst of speed.

    "Heik!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The girl tried to scream as Lucas circled around her and grabbed her from behind, pressing his wrist de on her neck.

    Right then, Reina recovered from the fireball st. She stroked her head and quickly turned to look in the direction where Mary had screamed.

    Reina''s eyes widened in rage as she watched Lucas hold a knife to Mary''s throat.

    She tried to charge toward him but Lucas pressed the de harder against the orange-haired girl''s skin, drawing a small drop of blood.

    "Careful," Lucas warned, his eyes devoid of any emotions whatsoever.

    "You bastard!" Reina spat in anger. "Do you have no shame? You''ve killed children, and now you''re taking one hostage! Where is your pride as a warrior?"

    Even though she cursed him, Reina stopped in her tracks, not daring to take a step forward.

    Lucas couldn''t help but smirk seeing this.

    Checkmate.

    When Lucas used Mana Burst to blow up the whole ce earlier, Reina didn''t save anyone else aside from Mary.

    At first, he only thought that there might be something special about the girl.

    Maybe she had a high potential ¨C which is possible since she was chosen as one of the sacrifices for the Vampire Monarch ¨C encouraging Reina to keep her around so that in the future, she could devour her.

    Reina already had the mythical beast egg in her possession, so why was she still keeping the girl around?

    High as her potential may be, he doubted Mary could have the ?Mythical? rank potential. In simple words,pared to the beast egg, Mary was useless to Reina.

    So then, why was Reina going through so much trouble to protect the girl when she didn''t even need her? It didn''t make sense.

    Not only that but even Mary seemed to be relying on Reina. It was almost as if she trusted her. She was attached to her¨C a vampire.

    Lucas knew that a vampire''s mind control could not create such emotions in a victim''s mind, as it could only brainwash them.

    Therefore, he doubted that Mary was under any mind control.

    Atst, the only exnation that made sense to him was that Reina had formed an emotional connection with the little girl, despite her being a human.

    It sounded absurd, but it was the only theory that could exin their strange rtionship.

    Little did Lucas know his theory was actually correct.

    Three years ago, when the vampires had abducted Mary from an orphanage, they had taken her across the border to their territory.

    There, she was imprisoned in an underground cell with other abducted children like her.

    The vampires nned to feed those who awakened high-ranking potential to the Vampire Monarch, while those with low-ranking potential would be ves or food for the noble vampires.

    On one asion, Reina had visited the underground prison for some unknown reason.

    It was there that she noticed a certain orange-haired girl who reminded her of her deceased sister.

    Witnessing the girl''s pitiful state evoked a sense ofpassion in Reina''s heart for some reason.

    It was the first time she had ever felt anything for a human besides disgust.

    Since that day, Reina started visiting the underground prison every other day.

    Before long, she started talking to the orange-haired girl. Of course, Mary, who was still scared of her at the time, didn''t reply and just watched the vampire trying to talk to her in fear.

    But over time, she started talking back and even trusting her a little.

    Reina would bring food and books for Mary, and they would spend hours talking.

    As the Abyssal Vampire King spent more time with the human girl, she slowly began to feel attached to her.

    Mary''s hair color and some behavior habits reminded Reina of her beloved sister, who had passed away years ago while fighting on the border.

    So as time passed, Reina began praying for Mary not to awaken a high-ranked potential. That way, she would be able to take the human girl as her ve and give her the best life a human could get in vampire territory.

    That''s why Reina was horrified when Mary awakened a ?Immortal? staged potential. She was chosen as the future sacrifice for the Vampire Monarch.

    But Reina couldn''t let that happen. She knew she shouldn''t go against her own kind as one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings, but she did anyway.

    She sneaked into the underground prison and broke Mary out of there. It was tough, and Reina sustained a lot of injuries, but they managed to escape.

    Since then, the bond between them only grew.

    Although Lucas had no idea about this backstory since there was nothing like this in the novel, he did sense the bond between them.

    And he realized it was the ticket to his victory.

 Chapter 125 The Fall Of The King [2]

    "Reina!" Mary let out a terrified cry for help as she felt the knife''s cold steel pressing against her skin.

    "Leave her," Reina spat through gritted teeth. "Killing her would aplish nothing! It won''t save you from me!"

    "Are you sure?" Lucas tilted his head with a psychotic grin. "If that''s the case, then try taking a step forward and watch me kill her."

    "....tsk!" a troubling expression washed over Reina''s face as she realized what Lucas was trying to do. He had taken Mary hostage.

    Despicable! Reina couldn''t believe that humans could fall so far as to use their own kind ¨C a child, at that ¨Cas bargaining chips.

    Mary struggled to break free from Lucas'' grip until he pressed his wrist knife on her throat harder, causing her to shriek in pain as yet another drop of her blood dripped down the de, "Heik!"

    "Okay!" Reina''s tough expression softened as she saw Mary''s suffering. "Stop it¡­."

    Nothing in this world mattered more to her than that little girl''s life.

    She may have only spent a little more than two years with her, but she was ready to sacrifice anything for her.

    Even if that meant giving up her chance to reach the pinnacle of strength again, she had already been there once. She was, after all, one of the seven strongest vampires.

    But without any ally keeping herpany at the top, it was a lonely existence. She''d rather live weak with one person by her side for life than live strong in solitude.

    Heaving a deep sigh, Reina raised her hands and dropped her head.

    Her appearance shifted back to normal again¨C her muscles shrunk, her ws retracted, and her charcoal-ish skin turned back to its human-like color.

    "I-I''ll give it to you," she spoke while clenching her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "I''ll hand you over the beast egg. Just don''t harm her¨C"

    Before Reina could admit her defeat, Lucas cut her off. "It''s a little toote for that now," he dered."I want more than just the egg."

    Confused, Reina shot him a hostile gaze. "What do you mean?"

    "I''ve gone too far with you," Lucas exined. "I''ve killed your halflings and threatened to kill the girl you care about. If I take the egg, you''lle after me one day. I can''t spend my whole life looking over my shoulder for you."

    Lucas paused briefly before continuing, "I''m a cautious man, but I know I''ll make a mistake eventually. Not now, but in two years or maybe three. One day, I will slip up and let my guard down. And when that happens, you''ll be there, waiting to take revenge for what I''ve done to you."

    A deafening silence took over the whole ce, with only the sound of the wind howling through the air.

    Reina''s eyes darted around, scrutinizing the wreckage of the run-down slum house that she had started to grow attached to.

    As she took in the charred and twisted remains of the small children, a sense of sadness and rage washed over her.

    Amidst the rubble and ash, she caught sight of the faint outlines of their small bodies. They were the burnt corpses of the children she had chosen to turn into her own kind the day she bit them.

    Her eyes filled with tears as she gazed upon the tragic scene. She had made a promise to these children - a promise to protect them and give them unimaginable strength.

    But before their transformation into full-fledged vampires could bepleted, their lives had been cruelly snuffed out.

    Now, their bodiesy broken and lifeless amidst the ruins of what had once been their home.

    As she took in this sight, she fumed, barely controlling herself for Mary''s sake.

    Yes, the silver-haired boy was correct. She will definitely go after Lucas after today.

    Although she can''t follow him into the Global City, she willy in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and kill the boy, even if it takes her whole life.

    She will take her revenge if she''s left alive.

    After all, she is a noble vampire. And there''s a saying in this world `Vampires don''t forget faces` ¨C meaning they always exact their revenge no matter how long it takes them.

    That is the reason why Lucas tried to negotiate with her, hoping to get the mythical beast egg from her without shedding blood.

    However, in the end, he did end up shedding blood.

    So now, if he leaves any loose ends here, he will have to suffer the consequences of these actions in the future.

    He can''t afford that. The story will already get very messy in the future as is.

    Not to mention there are already too many unknown variables popping up, like Hugh Jass and Kai Wiseman.

    He doesn''t need more trouble to look out for when the time for the final scenarios of this storyes.

    Thus, all he can do is eliminate any future threats before they even be threats. It''s the most efficient way.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    So that''s what he decided to do here too. He took the most efficient option.

    "I want you to kill yourself," Lucas demanded, his grip tightening around Mary''s throat. "Kill yourself or I''ll kill this girl."

    Reina''s eyes widened as she heard that. Her mind numbed as she felt cold.

    It wasn''t something she hadn''t expected him to demand, but it was still ridiculous!

    In fact, the moment she decided to cross the border and run away from the vampire territory, she knew a day woulde when she''ll have to choose between saving Mary''s life or her own. After all, she was surrounded by enemies here.

    However, she had no idea that this day woulde this soon.

    "...Are you out of your mind?!" Reina yelled, trying to reason with Lucas. "She is a human, just like you! I am not versed in yourws, but doesn''t your government forbid you to take another human, dwarf, or elf''s life?"

    "They do, but who''s going to know?" Lucas scoffed. "People, especially children, die in slums on a regr basis. Thatw that you speak of is only applicable if you''re rich enough to live in cities. No one will know if I kill one slum girl."

    "Tsk!" Reina clicked her tongue, knowing that any further attempts to reason with the silver-haired boy would result in failure.

    The emotionless look in his eyes told her that he really would kill the girl without a speck of hesitation if it came down to it.

    He truly was a monster¡­.

    He was really ready to kill an innocent human girl just like that.

    Reina clenched her fists as she conflicted over her next move.

    What should she do?

    No, it''s more like¡­.

    What could she do?

    "No! Reina, don''t listen to him!" as Reina was calcting her options, Mary shouted while struggling to escape Lucas'' hold. "Do not kill yourself for me! Do not listen to this¡ª Heeik!"

    sh¡ª!

    Splurt¡ª!

    Before she could continue screaming and kicking the ground, Lucas seized her neck with a tight grip and brushed down the razor-sharp edge of his wrist de against her delicate cheek, slicing open a fresh wound and spilling her blood once more.

    "Okay! Okay! Stop!" Reina''s heart raced as she heard Mary''s cry, and panic consumed her.

    She lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender and shouted at Lucas to halt.

    A defeated expression crossed her face, and she let out a resigned sigh as if she was epting her fate.

    "I''ll do it," she said with a hint of pain in her voice. "But just promise me one thing - don''t hurt Mary¡­ Please."

    "No!! Reina, please! No!"

    "It''s fine, Mary¡­ I knew this day woulde someday¡­."

    As Mary continued to scream and cry, Reina tried to calm her down.

    When she crossed the border that day, she had steeled herself for the possibility of facing death at any moment.

    And given the choice of how to meet her end, Reina would have dly embraced the opportunity to perish while protecting Mary.

    But atst, when her time came, she only had one regret¡­ she couldn''t spend more time with Mary. She won''t be able to watch her grow up and live her life.

    But it''s fine. Reina could content herself, knowing that she would at least get to live.

    So as Mary''s cries of helplessness echoed in the background, Reina fixed a firm gaze on Lucas and issued a stern demand.

    "If you have any shred of humanity left in you, promise me that you won''t take her life. She''s just a child and innocent at that," she said, a hint of contempt still visible in her tone. "I didn''t bite her so she could blend into your society and return to her human life. So please¡­ don''t take it away from her."

    Hearing Reina''s earnest plea, Lucas looked upon the terrified girl that he was holding as his heart panged in remorse.

    He didn''t want to do this either¨C take a little girl hostage and demand such a cowardly thing. However, he wasn''t strong enough.

    So he nodded in response. "In my name, I, Lucas, Morningstar, promise you this¨C I won''t kill this girl."

 Chapter 126 The Fall Of The King [3]

    Letting out a defeated sigh, Reina walked over to the spear on the ground that jerked off from Lucas'' hand during their fight.

    She picked it up and faced Lucas. While giving him a scornful gaze, she ced the tip of the spear against her heart.

    Her breathing became ragged as she tightened her grip around the spear.

    "No! Please! Reina, please don''t do this! Please!" Mary kept wailing and requesting Reina to stop, but thetter didn''t listen.

    "Fuuuu¡ª w-wait¡­"

    Just as Reina was about to put pressure on the spear to stab herself in the heart, her hands stopped.

    With a questioning gaze, she looked at Lucas. "Did you call yourself a¡­ Morningstar? Lucas Morningstar?"

    "...You know me?" confused, Lucas looked at Reina for answers.

    It''s one thing for a vampire to know about the Morningstar house.

    After all, they are a military family, and their family heads have served in the United Military for generations.

    Even the current head of the family¨C Reynold Morningstar¨C is a General.

    So it''s not out of the ordinary for even vampires to know about them.

    After all, they do possess one of the strongest Regiments out of all the other ruling families and have been the Guardians of the Western Continent for centuries.

    However, how did she know about him specifically?

    Even though he''s a Morningstar, Lucas shouldn''t be famous enough for a vampire, who has lived most of her life in a different territory, should know about him.

    "...So you are really him?" a faint smirk appeared on Reina''s face,pletely contrasting the saddened look she had moments earlier.

    Before Lucas could speak anything in response to that, a hysterical chuckle left Reina''s lips.

    "Haa~ Hahaha!"

    Soon, that chuckle turned into a peal of full-fledged maniacalughter.

    "Ahahahahaha! Aaahahahahaha!"

    A glint of ecstasy shed in Reina''s blood-red eyes as if she had heard the funniest joke of her life.

    This caused the perplexity on Lucas'' face to only grow with each burst ofughter that Reina let out.

    Even Mary was left dumbfounded by the sudden change in the vampire''s behavior.

    "Why the hell are youughing? Do you think this is a joke? I will really kill this girl!" Lucas warned, irritation clear in his voice.

    He felt uneasy. After all, no goodes from a person who startsughing when their back is pushed against the wall.

    "Aaaahahaha! No, no, I''m sure you will," Reina said while waving her hand in the air as if dismissing Lucas'' warning. "It''s just that¡­ I thought you wouldn''t receive any retribution for killing my children. I thought you would face no consequences for your vile and cowardly actions. But I was wrong¡­ your fate¡­ it is to suffer!"

    Frowning as he got even more confused, Lucas screamed in rage, "What the hell does that mean? What do you mean¨C How do you know me?! Exin yourself!"

    Seeing him in this state, Reina couldn''t help but chuckle even more. After a while, when she finally calmed down, she began to exin.

    "There''s a prophecy only a few of us noble vampires know about, and even fewer who believe in it," Reina stated in a tone full of satisfaction.

    "What does that have to do with me?!" Lucas grew impatient.

    Ignoring him, Reina continued to speak. "The prophecy tells a tale about two princes and one princess. ording to it, after facing several hurdles throughout their lives, these three individuals are meant to bring peace to this war-filled world and be its heroes. They are also supposed to be the greatest obstacles in our¨C the vampire race''s path to conquer this world."

    Lucas let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What does a stupid prophecy have to do with me?" he snapped. "Besides, there are no princes or princesses here! This isn''t the Victorian era! And, no offense, but your kind is foolish!"

    He continued, "We are currently at war with your kind on the ground and with Kalis in space. If the United Military falls and vampires take over the world, who do you think Kalis will target next? It will be you vampires! So instead of fighting us, why not work together with humans like elves and dwarves did?!"

    Disregarding Lucas'' remarks again, Reina continued with her exnation. "One of the princes in the prophecy is depicted as a silver-haired spearman, along with some other vague traits. For years now, we have dispatched spies to search for anyone who might resemble the individuals from the prophecy across the border."

    Reina went on, "After centuries of searching, we finally started finding matches. Our spies observed that children who fit the description of the prophecy had started to be born. Those of us who still believed in the prophecy began to shortlist the children who matched the description."

    "...Let me guess," Lucas sighed, predicting where this conversation was headed. "I was one of them?"

    "Yes," Reina confirmed, "You were. After confirming your identity, we considered assassinating you, but then you awakened a low-ranked potential. Many of us started having second thoughts about you after that. After all, how can a future hero awaken a low-ranked potential? But that wasn''t it. In the following years, you began to act as if you had given up on improving yourself. Thinking that we had gotten the wrong person, we spared your life."

    She let out a deep sigh, "All the other children who matched the description of the heroes at first grew up to be very different from what the heroes were depicted in the prophecy. Most of us gave up on the whole prophecy thing after that, but not me. I kept searching.

    "Although I couldn''t find the children who matched the description for the other two heroes, there was no one in the whole world who resembled the silver-haired spearman more than Lucas Morningstar¨C more than you."

    As she pointed at him with her eyes, Reina continued, "I requested the nobles to investigate Lucas Morningstar once more. But they denied my request, thinking that it was a waste of time and resources. But I still kept on searching for clues. I believed, and they called me insane. They dered the prophecy wasn''t real. They said you weren''t the prince described in that prophecy¡­."

    Reina gritted her teeth before she suddenly broke out in a burst of heartfeltughter once again, "But they were fools! Haaa! Look at you! Here you are, standing before me in the flesh, resembling the silver-haired hero just as he was described in the prophecy! I wasn''t wrong! THEY all were wrong! The prophecy was real all along, and you are the living proof of it!"

    Lucas watched as if he was watching a madman talking. Maybe the fact that she was about to die sent her over the edge of sanity.

    "Look, I don''t know about¨C"

    Lucas was about to cut Reina off, but she spoke up again.

    "And if the prophecy is true, that means you will suffer~ You will experience pain so unimaginable that death would seem like mercy. Oh, Lucas Morningstar~ I don''t resent you anymore! I pity you! As one of the three heroes, you shall carry a weight so heavy that it will eventually break you~ I wish I could be there to witness the look of sheer despair on your face as you lose everything you hold dear - your daughter, your family, your friends - until you are left with nothing but your own torment!"

    "So good luck, Lucas Morningstar¨C or should I say, the Prince who''ll take the Last Stand at the World''s End!" the look of bliss only grew clearer as Reina continued to speak until she was done.

    Overwhelming silence plunged the whole area as Lucas felt a shiver run down his spine.

    He doesn''t believe in fate and prophecies, but for some reason, he felt nervous while listening to Reina.

    Reina, on the other hand, looked at Mary after she was done saying what she had to say.

    The look in her eyes softened after watching the face of the orange-haired girl onest time, "Goodbye, Mary. I''m sorry, but I''m afraid this is the end of our time together."

    "No, please, no! No, no, no! NOO!" tears welled up in Mary''s eyes as she screamed and cried, but Reina merely kept a bitter smile on her face in a failed attempt to console her.

    She tightened the grip around the spear and pressed its ded tip against her heart once again.

    Thack¡ª!!

    With one final breath, Reina closed her eyes and willed strength to her hands, pushing the spear through her chest and impaling herself.

    "Aaah!" a gasp escaped her lips as she used the remaining strength in her body to push the spear even deeper.

    Thud¡ª!!

    The light in her eyes snuffed out, and her body turned limp, falling lifeless onto the ground.

    Within seconds, her skin dried up and sunk into her bones, looking like rubber. Her pupils dted, and her hair turned white.

    But Lucas didn''t move or let go of Mary until Reina''s fangs fell out from her mouth and dropped to the ground.

    He inspected the two canines on the ground from afar¨C undoubtedly that of a vampire''s, and nodded in relief.

    When their fang falls out, it''s a sign indicating that a vampire has died.

    Reina was dead¡­ the vampire who formerly held the position of one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings was dead.

 Chapter 127 Tough Decision

    "Angh!"

    Jerking my hands off as I loosened my grip on her, the orange-haired girl rushed to the fallen vampire''s site.

    I¡­ just stood there, watching her as she continued to cry over Reina''s dead body.

    Her remorseful screams told me how close they must''ve been.

    Vampires harbor a deep disdain for humans, viewing themselves as a biologically superior race.

    Their limitless growth potential, unlike the members of other races who are all born with a potential cap, puts them on par with elves who possess an exceptional affinity for mana.

    This fact only reinforces their belief of being superior.

    With the exception of elves, vampires deem no other race as their equal, regarding dwarves and humans as mere blood bags.

    Yet¡­.

    Despite this ingrained prejudice, Reina, one of the strongest vampires, gave up her life to protect a human girl, treating her with the same devotion as if she were her kin¨C her family.

    Whereas I, a human, took her hostage and threatened to harm her.

    As I stood there, listening to Mary''s mournful cries, a sense of guilt churned in my gut.

    I was fully aware that what I had done was wrong, but I had no choice. It was either doing what I did or getting killed on the spot.

    Admittedly, my life wasn''t actually in danger since I had discarded my armor''s protection, so I would have been able to revive myself in case I were to die.

    But by then, Reina would have fled with the legendary beast egg, and my chance to acquire it would have been lost.

    As I said, I had no other choice. It was the most efficient way.

    Besides, what happened wasn''t totally my fault. A part of the me could be put on Reina too.

    Why?

    Because love is a weapon, a powerful and treacherous one at that.

    It can motivate you to triumph over any adversity, but it can also be used against you. And when it is used by your enemies, it bes a fatal weakness.

    How can Reina not expect her enemies to use her weakness against her? It was a blunder on her part, and she paid the price for it.

    I won because she was careless.

    "Heik! Heik!"

    The sobbing of the orange-haired girl shook me out of my self-justification-filled thoughts.

    "Haaa," heaving a sigh, I walked over to Mary, who was kneeling over the vampire''s corpse.

    "...You!" she turned her bloodshot eyes to me, her gaze filled with hostility. "You killed her! You are the reason she is dead!"

    "She was a vampire," I justified. "Their kind is our enemy. Sooner orter, she would''ve been tracked down by the United Military and killed anyway. Besides, I allowed her to live and avoid this fate."

    "Enemy? The only enemy I see here is you! You killed children! They weren''t humans anymore, but they were still children, and you killed them all! You know what? She may have been a vampire, but you are the monster here!" Mary screamed.

    Even though I already knew what she said was true, the realization still hit me like a thunderbolt.

    There was no escaping the harsh truth - I was the viin of their story, no matter how I may twist the words.

    I arrived at the scene, ruthlessly ying a group of tender children without a second thought.

    After that, I brazenly took a young girl hostage, using her life as a bargaining chip to manipte the person she held dearest. I forced that person to make an excruciating choice - to take their own life to spare the girl''s.

    No matter how often I may justify myself by saying, ''It was the only way,'' I knew the truth¡­.

    It was a heinous act, one that stained my hands with the blood of the innocent and left a mark on my soul that would never fade.

    Yet, I felt no regret. Guilt? Yeah.

    But if I were to find myself in the exact same situation again, I''ll repeat the choice I made in a heartbeat.

    "Haa," I let out a deep sigh as I squatted down to examine the lifeless body of the vampire before retrieving my spear, which was still impaling her heart.

    "What do you think you''re doing?!" Mary shrieked in anger as she watched me rifling through the corpse. "Stop it! Can''t you at least let her rest in peace now that she''s gone?"

    Despite her protests, I remained unfazed. My attention was fixated on the task at hand.

    Mary attempted to push me away, but due to our significant differences in size and weight, she was unable to budge me an inch.

    I spoke in a curt and impatient tone, "What does it look like I''m doing? I came here to take something from her, and I''m not leaving until I''ve acquired what I came for."

    Mary hissed in anger, her tears of grief still streaming down her face as she failed to push me away.

    She rose to her feet, picked up a rock from the ground, and threw it at me in resentment.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The rock struck the side of my face, but I remained stoically focused on my task, ignoring her outburst.

    I could sense the depth of her rage, and it was understandable.

    She was angrier with herself for being so weak that I had been able to capture her and use her in such a cruel manner so easily.

    She was helpless as she watched the person closest to her fall victim to my machinations because of her¨C because she was weak enough to get captured.

    I couldn''t begin to fathom the kind of trauma that an experience like this would inflict on a girl of her age.

    But one thing was certain - this pain would drive her to be stronger. Her hatred for me would fuel her determination to improve.

    "Leave! Just get out of here!" Mary spat out, her tear-filled eyes zing with a seething fire of resentment.

    If left unquenched, this fire would devour me one day.

    Just as I was lost in my thoughts, fixated on my inner turmoil, my gaze happened upon the ring on Reina''s finger. I couldn''t help but whisper under my breath, "There it is."

    The ring was a striking shade of red, crafted from a polished metal that glimmered brightly in the sunlight.

    Intricate runes were etched onto the surface of the ring, lending it a mystic and almost antique appearance.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I have only seen one of these things in the weapon vault of the academy, but I could definitely make out what it was.

    It was a dimensional ring. These runes inscribed on it were spatial runes to create a pocket space.

    "Good," I smiled while taking the ring off the dead body''s hand and putting it on my ring finger.

    Nodding, I got up and imbued mana into the ring. The runes on the ring shone brightly as I sensed the items kept within its dimensional storage.

    There, amidst a variety of several different items ranging from different types of alchemy potions to blood bags, I found a single golden egg.

    Focusing on it, I tried to draw it out using my willpower.

    Shing¡ª

    Almost instantly, the ring shone brighter, and a reddish-golden egg, around the size of a human head, appeared in my hand out of thin air.

    Yup, this was definitely it.

    I quickly put it back in the ring before turning around and walking away.

    "I''ll kill you," right then, a hostile yet very familiar voice rang in my ears.

    I turned around to look at the orange-haired girl as she knelt on the ground, crying while gritting her teeth in anger and looking at me with fury.

    "You killed everyone, you killed her, and you stole from her too! I will fucking kill you for it one day! I''LL KILL YOU!!"

    She screamed while repeating herself.

    Adding to the fact that Reina died because of her, she couldn''t even stop me from looting the vampire''s dead corpse, which would definitely scar her for life.

    "Haaa," I heaved a long sigh as I listened to her repeating her threats to kill me one day.

    As I thought, I couldn''t leave without putting out this firepletely. If I leave even a spark, I will be devoured in the future.

    With no other choice, I let out another sigh before slowly approaching Mary''s kneeling figure. "Fine."

    Seeing meing back, Mary''s eyes shook. But before she could open her mouth to speak, I whipped out my Edit Pen from my smart bracelet.

    I pointed it at the orange-haired girl''s clothes and started waving the pen in the air as if I was writing something on an invisible paper.

    "What are you trying to do now¨C heeik!!"

    Instantly, Mary''s body dropped t to the ground as if a ton of weight was put on her, letting out a surprised squeak.

    Just like I did with those children earlier, I made her clothes heavy to pin her to the ground.

    "Wh-Wh-What are you doing?! Help! Someone help! Please!" Mary screamed as terror reced the rage in her eyes. "You said you won''t kill me! You promised her! AT LEAST KEEP YOUR WORD! I am a human! You can''t kill me! NO! HELP! PLEASE! ANYONE! Pl¨C Mnghh!"

    Upon arriving before her, I took out a handkerchief from my cks'' pockets and stuffed it in her mouth.

    Shing¡ª!!

    "Mnghh! MNGHH!"

    I flicked my wrist twice and unloaded my hidden de once again. Seeing this, a fear-filled glint appeared in her eyes as she continued to shout muffled screams for help.

    "Don''t worry," I said with a deadpan look in my eyes. "I gave my word to her that I won''t kill you. But that doesn''t mean I can''t leave you here to die on your own."

    Without waiting anymore, I stabbed my knife in her right calf muscle, tearing her flesh and letting her blood splurt out.

    Kach¡ª!!!

    Splurt¡ª!

    "Mnghhh!!"

    As she let out a muffled agonizing scream, I spoke, "When the night falls, mana beasts will follow the scent of your blood, leading them out of the woods to you. They will be the ones killing you, not me. I am keeping my word."

    "Mnghh! Mnghhh!"

    Tears started running down her eyes again, and a helpless look shed on her face.

    She was scared. Who wouldn''t be in the face of certain death?

    I felt horrible for leaving a child here like this. But I knew how far hatred could drive people.

    Leaving her alive would only sow the seeds of future revenge. She wouldn''t just forget this day and move on with her life.

    It''s not because she won''t want to move on with her life; it''s that she just can''t.

    She would never be happy with anything in her life. Her heart and mind would be consumed with the desire for revenge, and her thoughts will only return back to this trauma that I had inflicted upon her.

    Her every waking moment would be spent plotting and scheming, determined to make me pay for what I had done.

    And when the time finally came, she would strike with a vengeance.

    Whether it be now or then, I would have to take her life regardless.

    So it''s better to snuff out that me now before it gets a chance to grow into an inferno.

    It''s a mercy, in a way, to spare her the pain and suffering that woulde with a lifetime of vengeance.

    And for me, it was a necessary act of self-preservation.

    Simply put, I once again had no other choice.

    Telling myself that, I turned around and started heading out of the slums as the girl behind me kept on screaming and crying.

    I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.

    I felt someone hugging me from behind as if trying to stop me from leaving the girl. But I summoned every bit of willpower I had in me and kept on moving forward without looking back.

    I knew if I looked back here, I wouldn''t be able to stop myself from going back and letting the girl go.

    So I steeled my heart and kept my eyes in front of me. With my voice barely above a whisper, I said, "I''m sorry."

 Chapter 128 Kindness

    As I walked through the slums, I noticed that every door and window was tightly shut.

    It was evident that explosions and loud noises were all toomon in this part of town.

    Given that the slums were situated on the outskirts of a dense forest that was home to various ferocious mana beasts, it was understandable.

    These beasts often ventured out of the forest and wreaked havoc in the slums, causing widespread destruction and chaos.

    Thus, it was no surprise that the residents of the slums were afraid toe out of their homes whenever they heard loud noises. They knew that it was safer to stay indoors and wait for the danger to pass.

    That''s why even after all the mayhem I caused during my fight with Reina, no one came to check up on the situation.

    "U-Umm?"

    Of course, there were still at least some people who were brave enough to step outside their houses.

    Suddenly, I heard a timid voice behind me. I turned to see a young woman, her eyes filled with anxiety.

    "E-Excuse me," she meekly said. "We heard some noisesing from the forest¡­ Do you know anything about it since you''reing from there? Was it mana beasts?"

    I nodded grimly. "Yes, it was. They attacked the houses near the edge of the forest."

    Her eyes widened with concern. "Are people hurt?"

    "Yes," I replied, "many are injured. But the situation is under control now. However, I would still advise you all not to go near the forest for some time."

    "I-I see," she hesitated before asking, "What about that one woman who lived there? And the children who were always with her?"

    "I''m sorry," I said softly. "They didn''t make it. Did you know them? Were they someone close to you?"

    The woman looked devastated.

    "No, I didn''t. All of those kids had no one they could call family," she said, her voice shaking. "When that woman came, she took care of all of them. She was such a kind person."

    ¡­Yeah, she was.

    She was indeed a kind person- more than I''ll ever be.

    Yes, she fed on children, but she also gave all of them a ce they could call home. She also appeared devastated when I killed them.

    Despite being a vampire¨C the race that''s known for their cruelness, she was kinder than most humans I know.

    We stood there in silence for a moment before I shed a bitter smile. "Anyway, I will get going now. Just keep in mind what I said. Tell everyone else not to visit the forest for some days."

    "Oh, yes I will," the woman nodded before frowning. "But if you don''t mind me asking, who are you? We saw you here yesterday too."

    "I''m from one of the local military academies," I said, lying through my teeth while opening my holographic identity card.

    "I came here on a mission and saw some irregrities in mana beasts'' movements around this area, so I came here to check. Thankfully, I stopped those mana beasts before they could take any more lives." I continued.

    "Oh, from the military academy? We tried asking for the Military Police''s help regarding this mana beasts problem many times before in the past, but they always refused to help us," the woman told me with a saddened look. "So thank you for taking out your time and helping us here a little."

    "No problem," I waved my hand while turning around to leave. "And I will talk to the Military Police and ask them to pay more attention to this area."

    "Oh~! That would be wonderful, thank you!" the woman eximed in a delighted tone while bowing her head.

    ?

    "You are alive!"

    The moment I stepped out of the slums, a young, energetic voice greeted me happily with a tint of shock.

    It was Rowen. He bulged out his eyes after seeing me walk out alive.

    "Of course," I said, shrugging and ying it cool. "It was easy."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Oh please," Rowen scoffed. "Look at yourself. You look beat!"

    As if on cue, I dropped my head to scan my body. My clothes were torn in a few ces, and bloody wounds were clearly visible.

    Even though I had put a healing potion on them, they still weren''t healed up properly.

    Dirt and mud were smeared all over my body, and my eyes were barely open.

    Yeah, although I couldn''t see my own reflection, I doubt I would currently be looking like the world''s hottest man that I am.

    "But still! You fought a vampire and won! That''s so cool!" Rowen shouted, impressed. "And you are not even a soldier yet!"

    I didn''t know if what I achieved could even be called winning, so I just nodded back with a smile.

    "Anyway," I said, finally getting on to the point. "It''s time you get your rewards for helping me out, Rowen."

    The kid nodded with stars in his eyes, practically jumping up and down from excitement.

    I tapped on my smart bracelet, and a blue holographic screen popped out before me. Navigating through the holographic window, I opened some apps and pressed a few clicks on them.

    After a minute or two, when I was finally done, I flipped my holographic screen around to show Rowen and said:

    "I created a separate bank ount under my name and transferred some funds into it. Look at this online banking screen and remember all the details here."

    As Rowen''s eyes began to scan the screen, I spoke again, "With these, you can ess this bank ount whenever you want. Buy a smartphone or maybe a smart bracelet, and contact me on the number I''ve filled in here. I will then transfer the ownership of this ount to you."

    Hearing my words, tears filled Rowen''s eyes, but he desperately held himself back from crying. He put on a warm smile and nodded, "Unh! Thank you so much!"

    "No need," I replied. "You might''ve understood it already, but I''m merely investing in you."

    "Yes," Rowen answered. "I know. And thank you for that. I will not disappoint you."

    "I know you won''t," I let out a chuckle before finally remembering something. "Just to be sure, how old are you?"

    "Hmm? I''m 14," he replied. "I''ll be 15 in a few days."

    "Huh? 15?!" I eximed in shock. "You look no more than 10!"

    "Hey now! Are you insulting me?" Rowen pouted.

    Well, probably because of his skinny and malnourished body with barely any meat on his bones, he looks young.

    Touching my chin, I said, "I see. So you have only three years before you''ll be drafted into a military academy."

    Rowen nodded.

    "Okay, go join a martial arts sect or school and learn martial arts," I ordered. "Hone your body and skills for three years and when the timees for your admission, I''ll get you into the Global Academy."

    "Wait, you want me to join a sect when I''m going to join the Global Military in a few years anyway?" Rowen frowned. "Do they not provide martial manuals in your academy?"

    "They do," I exined. "However, since your mana core potential is low, you will have to work twice as hard as your peers."

    Although in 2 years there wille a way to break the potential cap, I need this kid to get ready for the future.

    In 3 years, by the time he''ll turn 18, the greatest Civil War this world has ever seen ¨C The War Of Union ¨C will start.

    It will go on for a year or two before Nero will finally deals with the head of the Spider organization.

    Many people will die during that time, and I don''t want my goose to get massacred without getting a chance to eveny an egg.

    "Mnhh," Rowen nodded again. "Okay, I will do as you say."

    A smirk formed on my face as I heard him reply. I ruffled his hair and said, "Good. Let''s meet in 3 years, Rowen."

 Chapter 129 Let Him Come

    It took me approximately thirty minutes to return to the hotel, whereupon I detoured to a clothing store to purchase a new outfit.

    After all, I couldn''t possibly show up looking like this.

    By the way, the physical repercussions of utilizing the ''Embrace Discard'' had begun manifesting on my body.

    My muscles were aze and my bones ached with intensity.

    Interestingly, this time the side effects appeared muchter than they did when Ist employed the ''Embrace Discard'' against Quinn.

    Perhaps as I advance in the mana core rankings, the onset of the side effects will be dyed even further.

    As I made my way toward my room, I could sense the red ruby beginning to materialize within my chest once again, causing me great difort.

    Despite the pain, I clenched my teeth tightly and marched on.

    "Wee back, sir. Can I see your room key card?"

    Upon passing the hotel entrance, the receptionist greeted me with a warm wee.

    Without bothering to stop, I just showed her my room key card and kept walking.

    ncing at my watch, I noted that it was already 12:55 PM. As I recall, today''s itinerary included a brunch at 1:00 PM in the dining hall.

    Then we are set to visit the elven market, followed by some sightseeing with Drake and Emma.

    That means if I quicken my pace and reach my room swiftly, I can evade any chance encounters with my ssmates.

    All I wanted was to sink into my cozy hotel bed and slumber. After that, I would need to start preparing for what will happen tomorrow.

    Tomorrow during the masquerade dance event, a few cadets will uncover the true identity of a vampire assassin.

    Then the vampire assassin will attack everyone present in the ballroom, resulting in a massacre.

    Although I could skip out on today''s sightseeing and shopping excursion with my ssmates, attending tomorrow''s masquerade party will be mandatory for everyone.

    Not only that, but once inside the ballroom hall, we would be unable to leave without presenting our invitation cards to the guards, which Drake and Emma will have with them.

    In short, once I go there, I would need to have a n ready to keep myself safe from the destruction that the vampire assassin will cause.

    Taking the lift, I got to the floor where my room was and quickly headed for it.

    "Hmm?"

    But before I could take even a few steps out of the lift''s door, I saw a bunch of three girls ganging up on a blond-haired teen in the corridor.

    Yes, it was Grace. And for some reason, these three maidens had her surrounded.

    "Look at yourself, bitch! You acted so high and mighty before, but you were just a liar! Hahaha!" one of the girls surrounding the blonde beauty barked while pulling her hair.

    Another girl joined in on cue like a typical bully''sckey, "Yeah! What happened to that haughty attitude of yours, huh? You traitor!"

    The third girl smirked, unmistakably the leader of the other two girls, and grabbed Grace tightly by her neck.

    She ran her fingers through her fiery red hair before crossing her arms. "Remember when I spilled my drink on you that one time by ident? You made me apologize to you by kneeling in front of the whole ss. No one objected because of your poprity, but look what happened to you now. No one is by your side. You are all alone. You only have yourself to me."

    Thwack¡ª!!

    As soon as she finished talking, the red-headed girl thrashed her foot into Grace''s belly.

    "Khuuk!"

    The force of the kick made Grace cough violently and fall down on her knees.

    She clutched her stomach to shield herself from any further attack as the first gill pulled her head up by her hair.

    "Howe Nero allowed a traitor like you to join this trip anyway?!" the first girl said while baring her teeth like a dog.

    "Yeah, he didn''t allow Quinn to join just because he refused to follow his orders," the second girl chipped in. "But this bitch right here straight up betrayed her own ss!"

    "That''s because¨C"

    Before the redhead girl could answer the second girl, I stepped in.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That''s because having a traitor among your ranks is amon urrence in warfare," I exined as the heads of the girls turned to look at me.

    As their expressions shifted to either concern about being caught bullying a fellow cadet or surprised at how I snuck up behind them, I continued.

    "She was punished in the VR by getting her head decapitated," I walked up in front of them, unfazed by their confused looks. "Quinn, on the other hand, failed to follow his duty as a soldier and received no punishment for it."

    "Lucas?" the redhead looked at me with a frown, instantly recognizing me. After all, who else can be as beautiful as me?

    "What are you doing here right now? Everyone is already down in the dining hall," she asked.

    "I''m not joining everyone else for brunch," I answered before looking at Grace, who still had her hair pulled by the first girl.

    Grace, of course, wasn''t the least bit happy to see me. She gave me a hostile look while gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

    Maybe she was stopping herself from using magic.

    Using spells or mana-infused martial arts anywhere outside the academy for first-year cadets was absolutely prohibited.

    Well, even if it wasn''t, she wouldn''t be able to win against these three girls, let alone me.

    Ignoring her bloodlust-filled look, I moved my eyes back to the redhead girl and sighed.

    "Enough about me. What are you three doing here? Bullying a girl in an open corridor right in front of the lift. Do you guys want to get caught?" I asked.

    "S-So what?" she replied while averting her eyes before quickly establishing eye contact again as if she had rediscovered her confidence. "Remember, she also falsely used you of assaulting her!"

    "Do not bring my name into this," I said. "And leave before I report this incident to the Cadet Council."

    The redhead girl gave me a taken-aback look. "You are taking her side? Even after she tried to set you up?"

    "Taking her side?" I furrowed my brows into a frown. "Oh, no. I just need you to leave us alone because I want to have a personal chat with her. Bully her after this if you want; I really don''t care. Now, go."

    The girl looked at me with a nk face for a couple of seconds before awkwardly nodding and walking toward the lift.

    "Come on, guy. Let''s go."

    At hermand, the rest of the girls followed her to the lift but not before giving me a scrutinizing look.

    Heh. Can''t me them. I really am handsome, after all.

    As I watched the leave, Grace got up to her feet while still clutching her stomach with one hand.

    I looked back at her in a moment of silence, and she returned my gaze with disdain.

    "How does it feel?" I asked. "You are all alone. Not even E is by your side now. Thesemoner girls that you used to call insects are bullying you now. Even the boys who were all swarming you before have been distancing themselves from you. Although, there are bound to be some creepy ones still following you, no?"

    "What the hell do you want?!" Grace shot back in a toneced with venom.

    "What do I want? Oh Grace," I shook my head. "I already got what I wanted. Just remember one thing, I gave you a chance to switch sides."

    "You think you can go against Kai?!" Grace barked. "I have already told him about you! He wille after you!"

    I merely shed a grin in reply.

    Thwaam¡ª!!

    "Heeik!"

    Before suddenly, I grabbed her neck and mmed her into the wall.

    As a shriek of surprise and pain left her lips, I leaned my face closer to her. My grin turned wider, and a glint appeared in my eyes.

    Terror filled Grace''s eyes for a split second before she masked it with braveness while clenching her jaw.

    "Let hime. Tell him that I am waiting for him," I said through gritted teeth. "He won''t believe you after meeting me. I will deceive him. But by the time he''ll realize that he has been deceived, it''ll already be toote. I would''ve won."

    As I finished speaking, I let go of Grace''s neck, allowing her to breathe again. She buckled down and started gasping.

    "Haaaa!"

    After rendering her in that state, I turned around and started walking off. "My offer stands until King''s Tournament, Grace. Come to me and beg. Switch sides before it''s toote. It''s the best strategic choice."

 Chapter 130 Mythical Beast Egg

    Aftering to my hotel room, I jumped on my bed and instantly fell asleep.

    "Anghh!"

    When I woke up from my slumber after around three hours, a dull ache pounded my skull relentlessly, causing me to groan in irritation.

    Soon, I realized it wasn''t just my head that was aching in pain but my whole body, especially my chest.

    As I unbuttoned my new shirt, which I had purchased earlier today on my way to the hotel, I discovered the familiar red ruby engraved on my chest once again.

    Each time I shed my armor for using Embrace Discard, the ruby in my chest would break, instantly boosting all of my stats.

    Once the effect of the Embrace Discard wears off, my status returns to normal, and the ruby will appear back on my chest.

    But this process of my status returning to normal and the ruby reappearing on my chest is always apanied by agonizing pain.

    However, this time the pain came a littleter and was somewhat more tolerable than before.

    Maybe as my mana core increases in rank over time, I will feel less and less pain.

    Maybe that''s the reason Nero was shown to experience no pain in the novel while using this feature of the armor.

    Arghh!

    Every other new experience I encountered in this world only emphasized how much more there was to it than what was exined in the novel.

    Anyway, after I was done sulking and groaning, I picked myself up from the bed and got over to a bottle of water sitting on the bedside table.

    Picking up the bottle, I took out a few small-sized pills from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and gulped them down with water.

    Those were some pain relievers that I packed with me, just in case.

    "Haaa," after I was done, I let out a cold breath and threw the bottle in the trash can.

    Sitting on a sofa nearby, I decided it was time to finally open the metaphorical treasure chest.

    Suii--

    I infused mana into the red ring on my finger till it glowed and started bringing out stuff from inside its pocket space one by one,ying them out on the bed.

    After taking out most of the things, I let out a disappointed sigh.

    A few thousand worths of physical money. Six bottles of mid-grade mana potions. Some canned food. And some blood bags.

    To me, these items were all mostly worthless trinkets. However, the ring itself was a valuable asset.

    When imbuing mana into an enchanted object that features dimensional storage, one can gauge the object''s storage capacity.

    I estimated that this particr ring on my finger could hold up to 20 cubic feet of items.

    For reference, the smart bracelet provided by the academy boasts a storage capacity eighty times greater than that of this ring.

    Anyway, there was still some stuff remaining in the ring''s pocket space.

    Suii--

    When I imbued mana into the ring again, a pair of daggers materialized in my hand.

    "Ho?" I arched an eyebrow and inspected the daggers, taking one in each hand.

    As I held them up, I felt their weight and bnce in my hands.

    The des were curved and etched with intricate runes, giving them a malevolent feel.

    Despite this, they were well-crafted, with sturdy metal des and quality leather-wrapped grips.

    "Are these Dark magic runes?" I thought out loud to myself.

    They were indeed dark magic runes, by the way. Since I possessed Fire and Light affinity, I could feel the magic power of opposite affinities near me.

    For example, I would feel very slightly ufortable if something or someone has a Water and Darkness affinity near me.

    It''s a weird feeling, but that''s the best I could describe it.

    ording to some of the early Mana Theory sses I attended in the academy, it''s the same for everyone.

    As my curiosity rose, I opened the daggers status screen.

    ===

    Item: Dark Twin Daggers (Relic)

    Rank: Legendary

    Description: These twin daggers are unlike any others, for they have been enchanted with powerful runes that can enhance the user''s Dark magic spells.

    One strike from these des can cast Soul Poison a€" a lethal venom that corrupts the victim''s soul and renders any ordinary healing magic useless against its effects.

    ===

    Stroking my chin, I put the daggers away, visibly impressed. They were good.

    Unfortunately, I don''t use daggers, so I don''t see a reason to get hyped up about them. Maybe I''ll give them to Quinn or sell them to someone who uses daggers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Besides, why would I be excited about a Legendary-grade item when I was about to open a Mythical-grade item?

    Yeah-uh! It was finally time to take out the thing I almost risked my life fora€" The Mythical beast egg!

    In The Chronicles Of Legendary Heroes novel, every living being had a predetermined growth potential, except for vampires.

    For example, a human born with the potential to only reach up to a€1Iron-2a€o rank was destined to be stuck there for the remainder of his life no matter how hard he may try to achieve a breakthrough.

    Of course,ter in the story, a genius Alchemist, who at the time was a third-year cadet in Ethereal Academy, made a potion that could make anyone upgrade their potential to mid-ranks (Gold, Diamond, tinum).

    It was a revolution. But until before then, breaking one''s mana core potential was impossible and unheard of.

    This was also true for Mana Beasts, as they too had a limit to how strong they could be.

    In contrast to Humans, Elves, and Dwarves who trained to use mana arts, Mana Beasts were animals that evolved from mana.

    As a result, not only could they rapidly grow their mana cores, but they were also stronger than other species at the same stage.

    For instance, a Mana Beast at the a€1Silvera€o stage would require at least two fighters at the same stage or one at the a€1Golda€o stage to defeat it.

    In summary, Mana Beasts are inherently more powerful than other species, even when they are at the same stage.

    That''s why the wisdom of some Elves from the past is reflected in the saying, "While we intelligent beings steal mana, Beasts are granted to use it by the heavens."

    This saying acknowledges the natural ability of Mana Beasts to use mana without having to acquire it through training or study as Humans, Elves, and Dwarves do.

    However, in the end, they are still just beastsa€" unintelligent, wild animals who just mutate as a side effect of mana appearing in the world.

    Much like animals, they can be tamed.

    And also, much like animals, they can be killed through the strategic use of martial arts and weapons developed by us intelligent beings.

    So, naturally, people tried to use Mana Beasts as a source of power by taming them.

    Here''s the thing though, taming a Mana Beast is a lot of work and isn''t anything like getting a pet. Not to mention, it''s not feasible.

    Therefore, it is unsurprising that only wealthy and noble families are currently engaged in practices of taming Mana Beast.

    However, in two years'' time, an alchemist will discover a new method for utilizing Mana Beasts as a resource.

    This alchemist will uncover a technique to extract the Mana Beasts'' mana cores and create a potion capable of breaking a person''s growth potential limit.

    Yes, that''s how he would create the Limit Breaker Potion.

    Unfortunately, the Limit Breaker Potion would be extremely challenging to obtain since it required a Diamond rank or higher Mana Beast''s mana core as aponent.

    Moreover, the potion could only elevate an individual''s potential to mid-ranks after hunting a high-ranking Mana Beast, making it an unfeasible solution.

    Still, it was the best and, not to mention, the only solution anyone had for breaking through their mana core potential, so it became a hit.

    As I mentioned before, it was a revolution.

    Or that would''ve been the case if four years after this revolutionary incident, a new and more efficient way to break through one''s potential wouldn''t have surfaced.

    In the year 2729, when the world was readying itself to attack the Vampire territory and end the centuries-long war in one final struggle, William Sinoath, one of the main lead of the novel, revealed a groundbreaking secret that shook the whole world.

    He revealed that he possessed a Gift called Beast Taming. Just like its name suggests, he had the power to tame Mana Beasts.

    He told the world that he grew up taming Mana Beasts of different ranks and kinds.

    One day, he chanced upon a mythical beast egg in the woods near his home estate.

    The egg looked old and stale, so he felt like it wouldn''t hatch. For some reason, the twelve-year-old William thought something that no one in this world ever thought of trying.

    He put his hand on the egg and channeled his own mana into it. He had no logical exnation as to why he did that.

    He just felt like he had to do ita€" as if his inner voice was urging him to take that action.

    He took the egg home with him and kept repeating his actions, supplying the mythical beast egg with his mana everyday.

    After a few months, the egg hatched. As it cracked open, a ck cat came out of it.

    For reasons unknown, William felt attached to the ck cat the moment heid eyes on her, even though he had yet to tame her.

    He felt as if a part of his soul was connected to her. Unbeknownst to him, the ck cat also felt the same for him.

    Over time, William started experiencing some changes within his body and mana core.

    His mana core felt stronger the more the ck cat grew up. Over time, he realized his mana core and his soul was synced with the ck cat.

    He realized he could grow his mana core upto the a€1Mythicala€o rank while previously he was destined to remain stuck at the a€1Diamonda€o stage all his life.

    He also felt his body beginning to manifest the affinity for Dark magic despite the fact that previously he only possessed Light magic affinity.

    Although he couldn''t normally use Dark magic, he found that he was able to do it after tapping into a unique form heter dubbed the ?Beast Mode.?

    When William revealed this truth to the public, the world was ushered into an era of Beast Cultivation.

    But right now, six years before all of this knowledge became public, I am the only one aside from William who possessed this knowledge.

 Chapter 131 Syncing With The Beast Egg

    Suii¡ª

    My smart bracelet glowed, and a huge, reddish-golden egg materialized in my hands.

    Carefully, I ced the egg on the center table in front of me and took a deep breath.

    It took William months to make his beast egg hatch by supplying it with mana daily till the point of mana exhaustion.

    It''s worth noting that William was a kid back then, and his mana control wasn''t exactly good.

    Most of the mana he poured out ended up mixing back into the atmosphere instead of getting absorbed by the egg.

    Coupled with the fact that his egg was stale and his mana pool was small, it was evident why it took him so long.

    ording to my guess, I think it should only take me about two months at most to make this egg hatch.

    Although I was not in any kind of hurry, I still wanted the mana beast inside the egg to be born quickly because sitting back and waiting patiently was not one of my strong suits.

    Also, I was excited to know what kind of mana beast woulde out of this egg.

    Oh yes, even I didn''t know what kind of mana beast was in the egg. The fate of this egg was never revealed.

    In the novel, when for some reason, Reina went on a rampage in Silveserine City and started killing a lot of people, the Central Government had to get involved.

    Theymanded the Western Continent to help them and defeat one of the seven fully healed and dangerous Abyssal Vampire Kings.

    The West had no choice but toply with that order, so the Morningstar family ¨C the overlords of the Western Continent ¨C dispatched two battalions (around two thousand soldiers) to take down one single former Vampire King.

    Since the head of the house, Reynold Morningstar was out on a trip to the Eastern Continent, the attack force was led by none other than the future head of the house ¨C Adel Morningstar, Lucas'' twin brother.

    After two continuous days of long fought battle, the Vampire King fell and Adel took whatever was in Reina''s possession along with this egg.

    Since Mythical Beasts'' eggs take a VERY long time to hatch naturally, Adel thought that it would never hatch and threw it in his storage.

    After that, the egg was never mentioned since, by the end of the story, Adel was killed.

    ¡­.I think?

    Yeah, no, he was definitely killed¡­ maybe?

    Arghh¡­ I can''t remember!

    Whatever happened to my near-perfect memory?

    Yeah, okay, I remember now. He wasn''t killed, but he was assassinated by someone in his academy.

    ¡­.Woah, I''m having trouble remembering stuff now. This had never happened to me before in my previous life. Maybe I just have too much stress here.

    Speaking of remembering things, there is also the matter of the false memories that someone nted in Lucas'' head.

    I have to get to the bottom of that too.

    Then there are also some unexpected variables that I haven''t solved yet.

    Arghh! There are just so many things to think about! I hate it. I absolutely hate it when I have to use my brain.

    Can''t a man just enjoy his life?

    Why couldn''t I have been born again in a harem fantasy world?!

    I would''ve trash-talked a harem fantasy novel if I''d known trash-talking authors can get you killed and reborn in their stories!

    Or why can''t Joe have written a harem fantasy novel instead of creating this war-filled world to begin with? It would''ve been a hit even with his mediocre writing!

    Arghhh! I''m so frustrated!

    Haaa¡­

    But then again, I would''ve gotten bored pretty soon if it was a harem fantasy. At some messed up corner of my heart, I''m thankful I was reborn in this adventurous world.

    There are so many mysteries popping up and things going on here every day that I''m never ever bored, and I barely have time to get my mind some rest.

    This was the thrill that I had longed for in my past life¡­

    "Fuuu," returning back from my thoughts, I eyed the egg in front of me. "Okay, let''s get started."

    I stretched my neck and ced my hands on the reddish-golden egg in front of me on the low center table.

    Since it was as big as the size of a human head, it wasn''t fully covered even when I grabbed it with both my hands.

    "Huuu!"

    Inhaling deeply, I felt the cool air filling my lungs, and as I exhaled, I focused on the area around my sr plexus, where my mana core was located.

    I felt a sudden warmth starting to spread over my body, indicating that my core was responding to my thoughts.

    With my eyes closed, I continued to circte mana through my body, allowing it to flow to every inch of my being.

    A wave of rxation washed over me, and I felt a cool sensation tingling my scalp, sending shivers down my spine.

    "Haaa."

    At this moment, I was one with myself and the world around me as I basked in the soothing embrace of mana.

    I kept the magical energy circting through my body over and over again.

    The sense of fulfillment and warmth only increased with each cirction Ipleted.

    I didn''t want to let go of this feeling of ecstatic high, but with a few deep inhales and exhales, I started pouring the mana out of my body carefully into the egg, not even letting a spec of it go to waste.

    "Fuuu," after around twenty minutes of continuously pouring mana into the egg, I was done.

    The feeling of warmth disappeared from my body, and I felt a slight stinging cold pain recing it in my abdomen.

    It was mana exhaustion. My mana pool was almost empty. Fortunately, I had a few too many free mid-grade mana potions with me here today.

    A smile formed on my lips as I took out my Edit Pen from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I aimed it at the mana potion bottles and waved my pen a few times in the air as if writing something on an invisible paper.

    The bottles of mana potion glowed up for a split second before returning to normal.

    It may seem like nothing happened at first nce, but I had transformed these mana potions from mid-grade to high-grade.

    Since I had changed a good chunk of the story by killing the former Vampire King at this point in time, I had acquired quite a few edit points.

    ===

    Edit Points: 1,885

    ===

    Originally I had 2,597 edit points, but upgrading three of these six mana potions cost me around 712 edit points.

    "Hmm," nodding, I ced the Edit Pen back in my smart bracelet''s storage. "Let''s go again."

    ?

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    I copsed onto the sofa, utterly spent. My body was drained of any remaining energy, leaving me feeling weak in the knees.

    The cold sweat that had formed on my skin left me shivering and trembling, even as my chest heaved up and down in a desperate attempt to catch my breath.

    Each gasp was a struggle, my lungs burning with the effort of drawing in air.

    I felt like I had been pushed to the brink of my limits and then beyond.

    I''ve been repeating the process of drawing mana from the atmosphere into my core and pouring it all empty in the egg.

    After the fourth time, I was at my limits.

    "...Let''s stop this here for today," I said to myself, catching my breath a little.

    I looked at the clock, and it was around 5:15 PM. The second day of the trip wasing to an end already.

    After drinking thest bottle of mana potion to get some energy, I got up and walked over to the bathroom.

    Click¡ª

    Opening the door, I strode over to the sink and stood there, my footsteps echoing against the tiled floor.

    As I arrived in front of the mirror on the wall, I leaned forward and gripped the edge of the sink tightly, using it to support my weight.

    As I nced up into the mirror, a face that I had grown all too familiar with by now looked back at me.

    Dark baggy circles were present under my eyes, and my face was contorted with exhaustion.

    All the events that transpired earlier flooded my mind like scenes from a movie ying on repeat.

    Every moment, every action, and every word spoken reyed in my head as if etched permanently in my memory.

    Suddenly the realization that I had left a child to die settled in. Along with it came a wave of guilt.

    I had really abandoned a child to die just because she could''ve be a threat to me in the future.

    I did that so easily. I killed a human¡­ I killed a child¡­ so easily.

    ¡­What''s wrong with me?

    As I looked back into my eyes, I felt disgusted. My stomach churned as I gripped the edge of the sink tighter.

    I knew I was wrong, but I also knew it was the only efficient way.

    I could''ve enved her by forcing her to do my bidding, but doing so would only stoke the mes of revenge burning within her heart.

    But still, she was just a child¡­.

    I briefly considered going back to save her, but the reality of her death quickly set in.

    How was I so sure that she was dead?

    She was one of the children I had marked to track, and I could see a blue thread extending from my hand to her.

    However, that thread was no longer visible to me. I couldn''t activate the mark on her.

    I knew that there were only two ways for the mark to disappear: either the marked individual died, or I deactivated the mark myself.

    As I had definitely not deactivated it, her death was the only exnation.

    The Mana Beasts had killed her...

    No, I had killed her.

    "Haaa," I closed my eyes and steeled my heart once again.

    Opening them, I looked back at the reflection, still feeling disgusted.

    "It was the only way," I told myself repeatedly.

    "Come on, you disgusting fucker!" I yelled at myself in the mirror, staring intently. "Come on! You can''t let this stop you! You have to keep on moving forward! Much more blood will be spilled! Many more lives will be lost! This is just the beginning! You can''t falter now! Not until you reach the end! You can only move forward! So move!"

    It really was the only way. It was either me or her, and I chose myself. Even if I have to kill the world, I can''t stop moving forward now.

    I will have to end this story or I''ll be killed in the destruction of this world. I would dly choose my life over anyone else''s.

    "Haaa," after calming down by talking to myself, I took in a few deep breaths again and sshed my face with cold tap water.

    As I felt my head cool down, I returned to my bed, finally deciding to end this stupid day by sleeping early.

    All my tasks at hand were cleared. Now all that remains is to prepare myself for the massacre tomorrow.

 Chapter 132 Night Market [1]

    Bang, Bang, Bang¡ª!!!

    The sound of repeated banging disturbed my sleep, interrupting me after just a few hours of slumber.

    Someone was at my room''s door. However, I wanted to sleep more.

    So frustrated, I buried my head in the pillow, hoping to muffle the noise and return to sleep.

    Thankfully, themotion stopped after a couple of minutes.

    Tring, Tring, Tring~!!!

    However, my peace was short-lived as my smart bracelet began to ring incessantly.

    Now someone was calling me!

    "Tsk!"

    Annoyed, I stretched out my hand and reached for it on the bedside table.

    After pressing its power button and switching it off, I let out a sigh of relief and¡ª

    BANG, BANG, BANG¡ª!!!

    "What the¨C?!"

    Suddenly, I was startled by the sound of banging once again.

    Only this time, it wasn''t at my room door!

    Someone was banging on the window next to my bed from outside!

    Who the fuck climbed eight fours just to knock on my window?! Just who was that desperate, and not to mention insane?!

    Of course, I knew the answer to my own question, but I still got up from my bed and walked over to the window.

    As I raised the window blinds, what I saw was a sight far fromforting.

    Actually, let me correct myself: it was a downright creepy sight.

    Staring back at me from outside the window was a blue-haired elf with long, pointy ears.

    His face was pressed against the ss, causing condensation to form with each exhale. His nose was scrunched up, and a distorted grin was stered on his face.

    "Found you~" the blue-haired elf spoke in a spooky tone. "Come on now and open the window~ I won''t hurt you~!"

    Suii¡ª!

    Without any dy, I took out my new bow from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and knocked an arrow into it.

    Drawing back the bowstring, I aimed it at the creep on my room window.

    "HUH?! Wait! No, no, no! Lucas, it''s me!!" the elf shouted as his eyes widened in shock. "I''m Kent! Don''t you recognize your best bro?!"

    "Nope," I replied in a chilling tone. "Now, I''ll kill you for self-defense."

    "Huh?! What self-defense?! I already said I won''t hurt you!"

    "That''s what every pedophile says to his victim."

    "Wh-What?! What do you take me for¨C wait, actually, now that you''ve mentioned it, you''re right. It is a creepy line."

    "See?"

    "Maybe that''s why that girl ran away today when I said this to her."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "..."

    "Anyway," Kent scratched the window. "Open up. I will fall any moment now."

    Click¡ª

    Rolling my eyes, I stashed the bow and arrow back into my smart bracelet''s pocket space and opened the window.

    "How did you even climb this high?" I asked while giving him a hand and pulling him inside.

    "Didn''t I tell you," Kent said, puffing up his chest proudly. "My father taught me the ways of the boy scout."

    "Hmm? I thought scouting only included outdoor activities like camping, aquatics, woodcraft, hiking, backpacking, and a few sports."

    "Yeah, but my father also taught me rock climbing along with all that. If you''re a little flexible like me, then you can basically climb any building."

    "Damn," I was genuinely impressed for a moment. "Anyway, I''m sure you didn''t disturb my sleep to brag about your scouting skills."

    "You were sleeping?" Kent furrowed his brows and eximed. "Lame! It''s only 8:44 PM, and the night is still young! Come on, let''s go to a club or something!"

    "Kent," I sighed. "I had a long day. I just want to close my eyes and¨C"

    Interrupting me, Kent asked, "Speaking of which, where were you the whole day? I didn''t see you anywhere during shopping or sightseeing. You didn''t evene out for dinner. A hot chick at the reception informed us that you left in the morning and only came back in the afternoon."

    Taken aback by his concern, I was about to make up some lie before he continued, not giving me a window to speak.

    "Haa!" Kent gasped dramatically. "Don''t tell me; the mafias are after you! I knew it! We''re too rich for this city now! Everyone wille after our money!"

    "....Kent, we''re in a city called Silver City. There are thousands of more wealthy people than us," I shook my head. "Anyway, I had a personal reason. Now I''m tired, so will you please let me sleep."

    "I see," Kent touched his chin. "It really must''ve been a long day. But no, I can''t let you sleep."

    "....And just why is that?" I sighed again, failing to get rid of him.

    "Because today we will party like there is no tomorrow!" Kent waved his hand in the air as if parting the ocean. "Dress up and look pretty, Lucas! Why, you ask? Because we will experience the nightlife in the City Of Elves, that''s why!"

    I massaged the bridge of my nose as I heard him spouting nonsense. He was standing right in front of the open window.

    Should I push him?

    Ha! If I push him now, it will be a perfect murder! I can get rid of him!

    He''ll fall and die on the impact, and everyone will think he just slipped while climbing up my window!

    "Lucas, why are you grinning like a maniac?" Kent arched an eyebrow before quickly returning to talking nonsense.

    "Anyway," he said. "Before you deny my suggestion again¨C"

    "Already denied. I''m not going."

    "Remember this; you gave me your word to apany me to clubs and bars whenever I''ll ask you to!"

    Tsk, I did give him my word. Should I just punch him until he goes back to his room and leaves me alone? It workedst time.

    "And before you even think of punching me again," Kent raised his index finger. "Let me tell you that I won''t yield tonight."

    "Oh, yeah?" I scoffed. "Fine. Challenge epted¨C"

    Before I could even clench my fists, Kent spoke up again while quickly crossing his arms over his face. "And also, everyone else is waiting for us downstairs!!"

    "Huh?" I frowned. "Everyone who?"

 Chapter 133 Night Market [2]

    "Huaaa~"

    As I strolled down the streets of the urbanndscape of skyrise buildings gleaming under the moonlight, I let out a long, exhausted yawn.

    Even though I was against the idea of sacrificing my sleep to experience some nightlife, I had to admit one thing: people in this city know how to party.

    And let''s face it, at least once in our lives, we all have daydreamed about gorgeous Elven girls in cute little waitress outfits serving us drinks.

    Well, guess what? I lived that dream today.

    Heh.

    "Phew! Okay, yeah, that was good!"

    The one who said that was Nero. He was walking alongside me.

    By the way, he wasn''t the only one here. Anastasia, Amelia, Elijah, Chase, and of course, Kent were all also present here.

    Apparently, since I wasn''t present for today''s excursion, Kent grouped up with these guys for sightseeing and shopping activities.

    By the end of the day, he became such good friends with everyone that he talked them intoing out to a nightclub with him.

    Of course, some people like Nero and Anastasia denied this idea, but they had to agree toe in the end because of peer pressure.

    Then Kent pressured me into joining the group, reminding me of the promise I made to him during the Mock War.

    To my surprise, I discovered that none of the group members were aware that I would be joining them.

    But at least no one objected to my presence except for Chase Woods.

    He has been giving me a rough look this entire time for reasonspletely unknown to me.

    I mean, what? What did I ever do to him?

    "What do you mean, it was good?" from behind me, Amelia questioned. "You didn''t even drink anything!"

    Amelia had Anastasia''s hand over her shoulder as she supported her while walking.

    Today, we got to know something. Anastasia was a light drinker. And today was also the time she drank alcohol for the first time.

    So right now, she was totally knocked out. If not for Amelia supporting her, she won''t even be walking properly.

    "Hehe heh hehe."

    And she was also continuously giggling.

    While some people here ¨C ahem, Chase, ahem ¨C may find her actions cute, I just couldn''t help and shake my head in pity.

    She''ll experience one hell of a hangover in the morning.

    I remember my first hangover¡­ Arghh, I would rather not remember it again.

    "I didn''t drink any alcohol because I can''t let my guard down," Nero shrugged and responded to Amelia with a smug look. "I never let my guard down. After all, you may never know when and where the next attack on you ising from."

    "Oh,e on, dude! We are in the Central Continent. There''s no chance of an ''attack'' happening here." eximed Chase while putting the word ''attack'' in air quotes.

    Oh, this poor fool. Tomorrow he''ll realize the Central Continent is not as safe as he thinks.

    "Hehe~ attackno happen here!" Anastasia continued to chuckle in the background in a drunk tone.

    Nero shared, "I was taught to stay alert and observant of my surroundings and¡ª"

    But before Nero could finish his sentence, Kent interjected. "We get it, Nero! You''re cautious and brilliant. Now, let''s go, everyone!"

    Elijah, walking alongside Chase, inquired, "Go where exactly?"

    Kent replied dramatically, pointing ahead with his finger as if navigating a ship, "To the renowned Night Market of Silveserine City, of course!" and began striding forward.

    "Okay, I''m going home," I said and turned around. But before I could even take a step, Kent grabbed me from behind.

    "Bro,e on! It will be fun!" Kent begged.

    "I have to sleep," I said. "And I doubt Night Market could be called fun."

    "Let''s try it, at least! Silveserine''s Night Market is really famous!" Kent continued to beg.

    Letting out an exasperated sigh, I rolled my eyes. "You''re only going there to find drunk elven girls, right?"

    "Plus, there will be drunk elven girls there!" Kent shouted as everyone present here rolled their eyes. "Hey, elves are hot! I can''t help it if they are hot!"

    "That sounds kind of narcissisticing from an elf," Amelia frowned.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s not narcissistic if it''s true," Kent shrugged, letting go of me. "I am hot. Not because I''m an elf but because I''m just that handsome. Of course, my bro Lucas here is slightly better looking than me."

    "Slightly?" I raised an eyebrow. "Kent, I would rate you a ten out of ten. But I, my dear friend, am off the charts."

    Everyone rolled their eyes again at my remark when I flicked back my hair.

    "What''s the use of a pretty face when you are disgusting on the inside," Chasemented from behind me.

    When I turned around to look at him, he was staring off into the distance, acting like hisment wasn''t directed toward me.

    However, it was obviously a verbal attack.

    "Do you have a problem with me, dude?" I asked, genuinely confused.

    "Oh?" Chase looked at me with wide eyes. "Oh, we have a problem now, huh?"

    "What?" I asked with an absurd look.

    What does that even mean?

    "Oh, acting like you can''t understand me now! You''re calling me stupid?! You think I''m stupid?!" Chase barked while getting in front of my face.

    ¡­Is this guy provoking me by any chance? Because if he is, then he''s not doing a very good job.

    Before I could answer, Nero stepped in between us, his hands pressed against our chests.

    "Okay, you both," he said, pushing us back. "Calm down and take a breath. We are not in the academy. We can''t fight here. Settle whatever this is between you two when we go back."

    "He started it!" I pointed my finger and quickly realized how childish I must''ve sounded.

    "Drop it," Nero gave me a re before turning to Chase. "And Chase, don''t forget that we are on this trip because of Lucas. Well¡­ sort of. So be nice to him even if you don''t want him here."

    Huh? What was thatst part? ''Even if you don''t want him here?'' I didn''te here by choice, you know! I sacrificed my sleep for this!

    "Am I understood, you both?!" Nero yelled and emitted a wave of his mana pressure on us.

    I bet it wasn''t intentional, but it made us agree with him instantly.

    "Whatever."

    "Fine."

    Chase and I averted our gaze and promised to behave ourselves.

    Even though I didn''t do anything in the first ce.

    "Good, now let''s head to the famous Night Market of Silveserine!" Nero dered. His mana pressure disappeared, and a goofy smile formed on his face.

    Just like Kent, he pointed in the distance as if he was navigating a ship and started marching forward.

    "Yay!" Kent eximed, bouncing with excitement and hurrying after him. "Let''s go find some drunken elven babes!"

    "Wait, guys!" Amelia interjected. "Anastasia is passed out. We should take her back to the hotel first."

    "I''ll carry her," Chase suggested with blushing red cheeks, his demeanor dramatically shifting from his previous interaction with me.

    Amelia smiled nkly, "No thanks. Let''s pause for a moment and get Anastasia to the hotel before continuing."

    However, Kent and Nero continued to walk, with Kent waving his hand dismissively.

    "We trust you, Amelia. You can handle it," he said before calling out to me. "Come on, bro! Let''s go!"

    "...."

    As this all happened in the background, I took the opportunity to search for the location of the Night Market.

    Luckily, it was nearby and conveniently located near the banquet hall where the masquerade party would be held tomorrow.

    A thought crossed my mind.

    While the rest of the group will be enjoying the Night Market, I can use that opportunity to scout out the area.

    I can take note of potential escape routes and stuff like that. Maybe I can also set some traps.

    "Okay."

    With that thought in my head, I nodded and decided to join the others on their excursion.

 Chapter 134 Night Market [3]

    On the way to the Night Market, I split up with the group and made a detour to the banquet hall.

    After carefully scouting the area, I took note of all the entrances, exits, windows, and any other potential escape routes.

    I even inspected the building using the X-ray vision feature of my new bow.

    After doing all that, I came to the conclusion that escaping this banquet hall after the massacre starts would be impossible.

    The entrances and exits would be too crowded, and windows are situated so high in the wall that if I tried to escape using them, I would leave myself open for too long.

    I can also break through the walls using my Gift, Mana Burst, but that would hurt the civilians who would be present near me.

    Personally, I don''t mind hurting them. However, if I kill someone, then it would go down in my records.

    Not to mention I could get punished for putting my own life over a civilian.

    Tch.

    Why should I need to think about someone who I don''t even know? Haa.

    Anyway, since I won''t be able to escape, my only remaining option was to fight.

    So, I snuck into the banquet hall and set up some traps to help me stall for time and stay alive until Nero and Anastasia could kill the Vampire Assassin.

    After ensuring everything was in ce, I exited the hall before heading to the Night Market to join the main cast and Kent.

    a€

    As soon as I stepped into the bustling night market of the elven city, I was immediately greeted by a symphony of sounds and aromas.

    The air was thick with the scent of roasting meats, sizzling vegetables, and sweet pastries.

    The colorful lights of the market stalls illuminated the faces of the fair-skinned elves milling about, their pointed ears alert and attentive.

    More often than not, I also saw some humans and dwarves mixed in among the crowd.

    I admired shimmering jewelry and enchanted instruments and sampled skewered meats and fried dumplings from various kinds of stalls.

    I marveled at the skill of some elven children ying a game rted to archery at one of the game stalls while walking past them and watched people of all ages and races dance under the starry sky.

    Ahh~

    The rumors were indeed true. Silveserine''s night market was something else.

    As I walked deeper into the market, I soon found Kent. He was making out with some drunk elven girl.

    Giving him a thumbs up, I walked past him with a smirk on my face.

    Kent returned my thumbs up and quickly got back to what he was doing.

    I arrived in front of a weapon stall and started looking around to pass the time.

    I had no intentions of buying anything since I had already purchased new weapons quite recently, but window shopping won''t hurt.

    "Are you nning to make a purchase?" a voice interrupted me from my right.

    I turned my head to face the source of the question and found a young boy with brown hair and emerald-green eyes staring back at me.

    Although he was taller and leaner than most dwarves, his rough skin, broad shoulders, and slightly short stature revealed that he was a half-dwarf.

    Despite his mixed heritage, I couldn''t help but notice his striking appearance, with his shoulder-length brown hair and clear green eyes that gave him a handsome look.

    It was Elijah Steelforged.

    Of course, it goes without saying that I was still more handsome than him.

    "Ahh, no." I shook my head. "I have what I need."

    "I see," Elijah nodded his head. "You are an archer, right?"

    "Mhmm," I hummed in reply.

    Elijah touched his chin with a frown on his face. "Wait,e to think of it, isn''t your Unit greatly imbnced? Amelia, Anastasia, and you are all archers."

    "Yeah," I shrugged while picking up a short spear to inspect. "Three out of five of us are archers."

    "That shouldn''t be right," Elijah said, stroking his chin. "The academy won''t put a Unit at an obvious disadvantage."

    Well, technically, they didn''t.

    Only Amelia is the real archer among us. I am a spearman, and Anastasia''s real talent lies in hand-to-handbat.

    However, Anastasia nor I can''t disclose their real talents yet.

    I have to hide my spearman-ship in order to deceive Kai and the Cadet Council, while Anastasia has her own reasons.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Anyway," seeing my not replying, Elijah let the topic slide and released a short sigh. "I''m sorry for my friend''s behavior earlier. Chase is a bit hard to deal with sometimes, but I swear he''s a good guy."

    "Hmm? Oh, I don''t mind," I waved my hand in the air to dismiss Elijah''s worries. "But what I can''t understand is why in the world he is so mad at me. What did I do to him?"

    "Oh..." a troubling expression took over Elijah''s face as he contemted whether to tell me or not.

    But after a bit of thought, he began to exin the situation to me.

    "Chase told me that you were opposed to him being the leader of Squad 6 during the mock war," Elijah said.

    As he was about to continue further, I interrupted. "Wait, just for that?" I asked, looking back at the half-dwarf. "He hates me just for that?"

    "Well," Elijah averted his gaze. "That and you also pulled a knife on him. Plus, you did all that in front of Anastasia. It''s a secret, so don''t tell anyone, but Chase really likes her."

    Yeah, believe me buddy, it''s anything but a secret.

    Letting out a sigh, I got back to inspecting the short spear in my hand. "I guess it''s understandable why he hates me then ."

    Not like I care. But I do need to know why someone hates me in case I might need them in the future.

    "It''s fine," Elijah replied. "He''ll forget it sooner orter. By the way, I gotta admit, I was surprised by your strategies during the mock war. When I first talked to you, I really didn''t think you could pull off something like changing the waves of a battle so easily."

    "Haha, thanks." I chuckled before frowning. "Wait, we have talked before?"

    "Hmm? You don''t remember?" Elijah tilted his head slightly. "We talked during the Unit Test."

    ...You call that talking?! We barely exchanged a word!

    "Oh, speaking of which!" suddenly, I pped my hands as if remembering something. "You are in the same Unit as William and Hugh, right?"

    "William, Hugh, E.... and Grace. They are all in my Unit, yeah." Elijah confirmed.

    I noticed the fact that he took Grace''s name atst and with clear hesitation, but I decided not to point it out.

    It''s clear that Grace had worked her Unit members to the point of even fearing the mention of her name.

    Unfortunately, all of that didn''t matter now since soon her title as her Unit''s leader would be stolen by her former best friend, E.

    Yes, I''ll make that happen.

    "Let me ask you something," I said, pressing my hands together with a smile. "What do you know about Hugh?"

    Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Hugh Jass? To be honest, not much. He''s quite active in ss, but he keeps to himself most of the time. He''s aplete introvert. Even when Grace was bullying him, he didn''t retaliate in any way."

    "Grace was bullying him?" I furrowed my brow.

    "Yes," Elijah nodded with disgust. "She made him do her chores and run errands and stuff. Although she hasn''t done anything like that since the Mock War, back then, Hugh didn''t even try to fight back. He didn''t even talk back. During the Unit Test that day with you guys, that was the first time I had seen him talk that much. Even I was surprised at how much he was talking."

    "Hmm, is that so?" I narrowed my eyes.

    And here I thought I would get to know something about the mystery guy. Oh well, I knew it wouldn''t be that easy.

    "Why do you ask anyway?" Elijah frowned.

    "I was just curious," I said before calling the owner of the stall and waving the short spear that was in my hand. "Hey, I want this."

    "I thought you said you won''t buy anything," Elijahmented.

    "I''m an equivocate person. What can I do?" I shrugged as the stall owner took the short spear from my hand.

    "That will be two thousand Credits," the stall owner said.

    Nodding, I made the purchase and bought the short spear before putting it in the pocket space of my smart bracelet.

    "Anyway, I''ll see youter, Elijah."

    "Yes, I''ll buy something too, I think."

    Waving my hand, I left the stall and started exploring the market. Despite being Chase''s best friend, Elijah was very different from him.

    Unfortunately, in the novel, he was just a disposable character, much like Chase.

    Unlike the main cast, he wasn''t a fighter but a cksmith.

    Don''t get me wrong, he could give even the likes of Quinn and Anastasia a run for their money if ites down to fighting, but his real talent was somewhere else.

    cksmithing a€" that was his real talent.

    He was the greatest cksmith ever born in the history of this world. He was ''The Forger of Heavens.''

    But as fate would have it, he had to die before the final war even began. What''s worse was that he died a meaningless death.

    Well, lucky for him, I will change his fate in the future.

 Chapter 135 Night Market [4]

    "Do you need a hand with her?" I asked as I encountered Anelia, who supported the intoxicated Anastasia while exploring the night market.

    Huh. She''s such a good friend.

    When the group split up, she was left to shoulder her drunk friend alone.

    So when I stumbled upon the two of them, I couldn''t help but offer my help.

    In response to my gentlemanly offer of help, Amelia scrunched up her nose and curled her upper lip while narrowing her eyes at me.

    "You?" she asked incredulously, her expression conveying a mixture of disgust and surprise.

    ¡­The hell was with that expression? Huh?! I offered you my help, and this is how you replied?!

    But if that wasn''t enough, Amelia slightly turned her back toward me to hide Anastasia behind her.

    "No," she said curtly.

    ¡­What the fuck?! Do you think I''m gonna steal her or something?! Huh?!

    "Whatever," I muttered, rolling my eyes in annoyance at her reaction before turning to walk away.

    After the Mock War and the day she fought alongside me against Quinn, I thought that she had at least grown to tolerate me a bit.

    Clearly, I was mistaken.

    "W-Wait!"

    As I turned to walk away, I heard Amelia''s voice calling out to me in a meek tone. I felt a tug on my shirt as she grabbed hold of me from behind.

    Frowning, I turned around with a look of confusion, wondering what she wanted from me.

    "Wait for a second," she said softly, avoiding my gaze. "Y-You can take my handbag. I forgot my smart bracelet, and Anastasia is too drunk to use hers. Those stupid guys split up before I could ask them to help."

    I looked at her handbag and then back at her, still unsure of what to make of the sudden change in attitude.

    This girl was confusing¨C VERY confusing.

    Actually, deep down, I knew what she wanted. She was searching for a reason to forgive me. If I only apologized, I''m sure she would forgive me in a heartbeat.

    However, I also knew I couldn''t do that. I won''t apologize for something I didn''t do.

    But here''s what I can do: I can help her by carrying her handbag.

    So that''s what I did.

    "Mhmm," I nodded and took her handbag from her hand before putting it in my smart bracelet. "Just remind me to give it back when we get to the hotel, or I''ll steal it."

    "Heh," Amelia chuckled, averting her eyes again. "Oh, by the way, what happened between Quinn and you after your fight?"

    "Hmm? Why the sudden interest?" I raised an eyebrow.

    "Well, I did help you win against him," Amelia shot back.

    "You were just a failsafe n," I boasted. "If I wanted, I could''ve defeated him on my own."

    "But the fact that you had to use the failsafe n means that you failed, right?"

    "...."

    Damn it, she was good.

    Not bothering to argue any further, I said, "I wanted to ask him why he was working for ss 1-C-8."

    "Did he tell you?" Amelia responded with a question, curiosity visible in her eyes.

    "He did," I replied. "But I can''t say what he told me."

    "Why?" Amelia frowned.

    "Because I don''t understand the situation myself. And I''d rather not breach what I don''t understand."

    At my response, Amelia nodded, her forehead still wrinkled with a frown.

    "Will you tell Nero and the ss that he was the second traitor?" Amelia inquired before casting me a look.

    As our eyes locked, I found myself lost in her sparkling green eyes, reminiscent of a peaceful forest de bathed in sunlight.

    However, that was only for a second as I quickly shook my head, waking from my awe.

    "No," I replied, still shaking my head. "I''ll handle this matter on my own."

    Yes, the fact that Quinn was a traitor isn''t public to our ss yet. Only a handful like Amelia, Grace, me, and Quinn himself know about this.

    And personally, I would like to keep it this way. If this knowledge is made public, then cadets will start bullying him like they are doing now to Grace.

    Although, knowing Quinn''s character, I doubt the said ''bullying'' would even affect him one bit.

    Why?

    Well, because physically, no one can hurt Quinn except Nero and Anastasia. And mentally, he doesn''t give a flying fuck about anyone''s opinion.

    But I still don''t want to give him a reason to go on a breakdown or rampage or something.

    If I want to change Quinn''s fate and save him from the destiny he''ll faceter in the story, I would need to start by changing his academic life.

    "Why?"

    As I was immersed in such thoughts, Amelia''s voice shook me back to reality.

    "Hmm?" I turned to look at her, only to find her staring back at me.

    "Why are you going out of your way to help Quinn?" asked Amelia.

    Well, for starters, I would really like him to fight with us instead of against us during the final war.

    But I can''t tell her that now, can I?

    So I made up a lie, "Our ss would need his help in the King''s Tournament that''s going to happen after our First Semester exams."

    "So you are only doing this to help our ss?" Amelia raised an eyebrow.

    And to ensure my survival, "Yes." I replied while speaking the first part in my head.

    "Quinn was a traitor?"

    "....?!"

    "The fuck¨C?!!"

    While Amelia and I were conversing, we heard a voice. It came from the girl wrapping her hand around Amelia''s shoulders.

    We forgot about her! She was drunk, not deaf!

    "Who''s Quinn, hehe?" Anastasia giggled like a child. "Is it some girl? Haaa! Is she puwetty?"

    ¡­Nevermind. She''s way too drunk to even function properly, let alone make sense of what we were talking about and remember it.

    "Phew, for a second, I thought¨C" As Amelia sighed in relief, she was interrupted by a sudden cry of joyced with an excited tone.

    "Guys!"

    Almost instantly, I found a hand coiled around my shoulders as a guy jumped at me from behind.

    "Found you both!" Kent said before quickly retracting his hand and covering his mouth as he let out a gasp. "Haa! Wait, am I interrupting a date?!"

    "Shut up, Kent."

    "You''re dumb."

    At our replies, Kent just shrugged and began to tell us about the drunk elven girl he was with, regardless of our interest in the topic.

    "Oh, hey, guys! There you all are!"

    "Nero, you just got here too? Come here, Chase, I found everyone!"

    "Gosh, for a second, I thought we were fucking lost!"

    And just like that, as we continued to walk further, one by one, everyone else found their way back.

    Good thing they found each other because these idiots didn''t even have themon sense to decide on a spot to meet back on before splitting up.

    After a bit of catching up, everyone decided that it was time to go home.

    Anastasia was still drunk and acting like a child high on sugar cubes, in contrast to everyone else, who was drained and fatigued.

    They had spent the entire day walking around, shopping, and taking in the sights and were now perusing the night market.

    As for me, well, I had just engaged in a life-or-death battle with A FUCKING VAMPIRE KING.

    So, yeah, needless to say, I was equally as exhausted as the rest of them, if not more.

    Not to mention, I wasn''t veryfortable with spending time with the main cast.

    Don''t get me wrong, I have no problem with being around them individually, but when all of the main characters are together, I just feel ufortable.

    It''s like their aura, as the main cast is suffocating.

    For example, just a few seconds earlier, I had no problem talking with Amelia.

    But right now, when she''s with the rest of the main cast, I found myself unable to even approach her.

    There are only two reasons I could think of for this phenomenon to happen.

    I consider myself a maniptor. But in reality, I am really just observant. I take note of people''s behavior patterns, speech habits, and a variety of other things.

    I am constantly on the lookout for their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and anything that I could exploit in order to gain anything of value that they might have to offer.

    However, when people are in groups, it''s hard to search for these cues unless you are part of that group¨C that circle of trust.

    Now since most people in this group of the main cast either dislike me or do not trust mepletely, I feel ufortable being around them because it''s hard to get any cues from them.

    In simple words, these peopleplement each other very well.

    Either that, or they are just stupid, and I don''t like stupid people.

    ¡­.I''m leaning toward the second point, to be honest.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Oh, guys, look! There''s a fortune-telling stall!" right as we were about to exit the night market, Amelia cried out excitedly with stars in her eyes.

    "Huh, you believe in that crap?" I scoffed.

    "It''s not crap! It''s exciting!" Amelia retaliated.

    "Pftt," I held myself back from bursting out in a fit ofughter. "And I thought only Anastasia was acting like a child."

    "Hey, me no child!" Anastasia pouted at my words.

    "Shut up," while Amelia simply rolled her eyes.

    "I guess we could make a small stop," Nero scratched his chin. "I wanna see it too for some reason."

    "Yeah, let''s go check it out!"

    "Okay, what the fuck, let''s go!"

    Elijah and Chase chipped in.

    Oh, for real? Haa.

    Right, I sometimes forget that even if they are the main characters of this story, they are still teenagers.

    Pat, Pat¡ª

    "Come now, bro," Kent patted my back. "I don''t believe in fortune telling either. But I am interested in seeing a hot elven milf dressed in a mystic robe. I will seduce her! Hehe~"

    As Kent let out his pervertugh, I simply shook my head and followed everyone to the stall.

    Why didn''t I just leave by myself?

    I was afraid to get lost. And I was also a little interested in the stall. Mostly the second part though. Ahem.

    ?

    An elderly elven woman, garbed in ck sorcerer robes, stood before us.

    She appeared to be in her eighties and looked as though she would require a walker even to sit down, let alone walk.

    "Pfftt!"

    Suppressing myughter, I patted Kent on the back.

    "I''m not sure about a hot milf, but she''s definitely an old gilf," I quipped. "You can handle this, buddy. Go ahead and seduce her."

    "Shut up, bro!" Kent whined, pushing away my hand. His reaction only served to amuse me further.

    The elder elf looked at us and inquired, "So, who will go first?"

    Amelia eagerly jumped up and down, eximing, "Oh, me! Me!"

    The elder elf smiled at Amelia and gestured for her toe closer.

    "Step right up, my dear," she said, pulling out a crystal ball from her robe''s pocket. "Let''s see what the future holds for you."

    Amelia''s eyes widened with excitement as she gazed into the crystal ball. The elder elf closed her eyes and began muttering incantations under her breath.

    After a few moments of focused concentration, the elven granny raised her head and dered, "I foresee an attack by a pack of squirrels in your future."

    "Pfftt!"

    "Kekw!"

    Suppressing theirughter, everyone covered their mouths, trying not to burst outughing.

    "Bwahahaha!"

    I couldn''t contain myself and let out a loud chuckle while Amelia shot me a sharp look before turning back to the elf.

    "Is that all you see? No wealth or fame, just a¡­ squirrel attack?" she asked, hesitating.

    "Hahahaha!" Iughed out loud again. This was too funny. Amelia ck, one of the strongest characters in the novel, gets attacked by a pack of squirrels!

    The elf shook her head, and Amelia slumped back, looking defeated.

    "This is ridiculous," she muttered.

    The elf ignored Amelia''sment and asked with an amicable smile, "Who will be next?"

    Chase stepped forward next, and the elder elf predicted that he would slip down a flight of stairs and break his leg in the near future.

    Elijah followed, and the elf warned him that he would identally hit his finger with a hammer.

    After that, Nero approached, and the elf prophesied that he would stumble upon a treasure in the future.

    "Why do you get all the luck?" Elijah protested with a frown.

    "This is so fucking unfair!" Chase added, feeling cheated.

    Nero chuckled in response, which seemed to aggravate them further.

    In their frustration, they started grabbing at Nero.

    As Nero was being grabbed, he continued to shout, "Hey! Stop it, guys!"

    Meanwhile, as that happened in the background, the attention of the eleven granny was drawn to Kent.

    "You," she pointed at Kent with a gnarled finger. "Would you like to know your future?"

    "Absolutely!" Kent eagerly jumped forward, and the elven elder began to examine him closely.

    "You are a long way from home, young man," the granny observed.

    At that statement, Kent, who had been goofing around earlier, suddenly became serious. For a moment, his eyes flickered with intense emotion.

    "In the distant future, you will be faced with a difficult decision," the granny prophesied. "It will be a tough choice, but you will know what is right."

    Kent stood silently for a moment before turning around and walking away, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

    I was taken aback; I had never seen him so serious before.

    "What''s wrong¨C?" I asked, but before I could finish my sentence, the granny called out to me.

    "Finally, you," she said, pointing her chin in my direction. "Would you like to know¡ª"

    "No," I interrupted,ughing. "I don''t believe in this stuff unless you can tell me I''ll be attacked by chumpkins or something, hahaha!"

    The elven granny smirked at my response, and the atmosphere grew tense as she opened her previously closed eyes.

    Her amicable smile twisted into a sneer, and a glint of something sinister shed in her eyes.

    "You don''t believe me?" she raised an eyebrow. "How about this? I''ll tell you one thing about your future. Ask me anything you want."

    For a moment, I stood there frozen, and even the background noise seemed to fade away as everyone fell silent.

    "Fine then," I said, mustering up my courage. "Tell me this: how will I die?"

    In the novel, Lucas Morningstar''s death was never shown.

    Even if it was, I had already altered the story enough to change its ending.

    So if this elven granny''s powers were truly genuine, then I''d rather ask about my death than anything else so that I could take steps to avoid it.

    The granny closed her eyes again and ced her hand over the crystal ball in front of her.

    After a few eerie moments of silence, she dered, "You will meet your end when a blue pir of mes falls upon you from the heavens."

    "What does that even mean¡ª"

    As I was about to speak, the granny frowned again, her eyes still shut.

    "No, you''ll meet your end by being crushed beneath a dragon that descends from the heavens," she said firmly.

    Before I could even respond, the frown on her face deepened.

    "Wait, no, that''s not right. You''ll fall into an abyss that will destroy your soul. Or maybe you''ll be stabbed through the heart and die. No, you''ll be decapitated by your closest friend. Y-Your body will be ripped asunder after watching your lover die..."

    As she continued to list off a variety of gruesome deaths, a sickening feeling began to rise in my throat. My heart felt heavy, and my knees shook.

    "Stop it," I said weakly, unable to bear the weight of her words any longer.

    "You''ll pierce your own heart with your spear. You''ll be shot to death with a gun," the granny continued, ignoring my plea.

    "I said stop it!" I yelled, my frustration boiling over.

    "You''ll jump from a building and die. Your heart will be crushed. You''ll fight the Demon King and die by his sword¨C"

    "I SAID STOP IT!" I roared, my patiencepletely worn thin.

    Enough was enough. This had to be a scam. There was no way one person could die in so many different ways. This granny was just spouting nonsense now.

    "L-Lucas, calm down!" Nero said while grabbing onto my shoulders.

    "Bro, don''t listen to her. Please, calm down," Kent added, stepping in front of me.

    "I am calm!" I yelled back, my anger still boiling over. "This is clearly a scam! I hate people like her who scam others out of their money with this nonsense!"

    "Lucas..." right then, Amelia''s gentle voice interrupted my outburst. "W-Why are you crying?"

    I was taken aback by her question.

    Confused, I touched my face, realizing that tears were streaming down my now-damped cheeks.

    "..."

    "The deaths I witnessed were not predictions but memories," spoke the elven elder. "Just how many lives have you sacrificed, son?"

    I gasped, feeling my heart racing and my breaths bingbored.

    Suddenly, the world around me seemed to fade into a dull haze, and I could only manage to blurt out one thing. "I need to leave."

    With all my strength, I stormed out of the stall and made my way out of the night market.

 Chapter 136 Thoughts

    "Fuck!" I eximed, my voice echoing in the empty hotel room.

    I couldn''t bear to lie in bed anymore.

    Continuously staring at the ceiling seemed to have tired out my eyes, but sleep had still managed to elude me all night long.

    That crazy old elven woman''s words kept reying in my head like a broken record.

    Her predictions about my death were haunting me, and I couldn''t shake off the feeling of dread that had consumed me.

    I should have known better than to believe in such nonsense, but I couldn''t shake off the unease I felt.

    Was she insane, or was there some truth to her words?

    I tried to dismiss it as the ramblings of an old woman, but my racing heart and shallow breaths told me otherwise.

    What am I supposed to make of her fortune-telling anyway? Will I die that many deaths? Impossible. I just have one life¨C okay, maybe two. But that''s it.

    So she really was insane, huh? Or maybe it was a business stunt? Maybe scaring the customers gets them to go back to her.

    I don''t know.

    And it''s not only just her. That Vampire King, Reina, also mentioned something about the prophecy.

    Although I''m fairly certain she got the wrong guy. Nothing that she said was mentioned in the novel.

    Now I know I can''t trust the novel''s information after discovering so many variables in this world, but I can at least use it as a reference.

    For example, Lucas'' character was that of a minor viin in the story. Unlike what Reina said, he wasn''t supposed to be some destined hero or something like that.

    He wasn''t fated to save the world. He wasn''t even there to participate in the final war! He was behind the bars when the war started!

    "Fuuu," I took a deep breath to calm myself down before getting up from my bed. "Damn it."

    I don''t have time for all this right now.

    So much stuff is going to start happening soon, and I''ll have to be ready for it all, starting with the bloodbath that''ll happen today.

    Yeah, I should think about all of this after getting back to the academy. Right now, I''ll focus on the massacre.

    One step at a time.

    With that, I walked into the bathroom, sshed some cold water on my face, and got out.

    Sitting on the sofa, I took out the mythical beast egg from my backpack and put it on the center table.

    Yeah, I am storing it in my backpack, not the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.

    Why?

    Well, becausest night aftering back from that little night market excursion, I took out the egg and poured my mana in it again.

    After a long session, I tried to store it in my smart bracelet''s pocket space, but I couldn''t. The runes on the device just won''t glow.

    The same thing happened when I tried to put it in the dimensional ring''s pocket space. It just wouldn''t go in.

    Then it clicked.

    In this world, every living being has a mana core.

    Actually, it''s the opposite. They are ssified as living beings when they develop a mana core.

    But while some people are born with the potential to defy the heavens, some don''t even have the potential to use that mana core to use mana.

    Those who have the potential below [Iron 1] ¨C the lowest mana core potential ¨C are called duds.

    Their mana cores aren''t strong enough to even store and use mana.

    Anyhow, these pocket space storage devices that are given to us can''t store a living organism ¨C i.e., anyone with a mana core.

    It''s bluntly obvious where I am getting with this, isn''t it?

    The mythical beast in this egg had formed a mana core already. In just a matter of a few days, or maybe weeks at most, the egg will hatch.

    And once that happens, my average potential ranking will increase from Gold to the Mythical stage, the highest attainable potential in this world.

    Ahh, I can''t wait for that to happen. At least I would be able to solve one of my problems then.

    But for that to happen, I would need to pour all of my mana into this egg daily.

    So that''s what I did.

    After sitting down and circting the mana from my mana core throughout my whole body, I channeled it into the egg.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ?

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    After around forty minutes, I was done. My mana core was on the verge of being empty, so I decided to call it quits for now.

    I should get ready and head down for brunchter.

    There isn''t anything in particr nned in today''s schedule.

    The cadets are supposed to spend the day however they want and then arrive at the banquet hall down the 3rd street by 5:00 PM sharp.

    A masquerade party will be held there, and many influential people, along with their sessors, will be present.

    In truth, the party was really only necessary for Drake and Emma, as they had some military matters to discuss with certain attendees.

    The rest of us had to be there because it was their job to look after us and we were supposed to return home after the party.

    Originally, this trip was meant only for them.

    However, when Nero requested the trip to this location as a reward for his ss, Yelena tasked Drake and Emma with supervising the ss of first-year cadets.

    It made more sense to entrust this responsibility to individuals who were already nning to be in the city during the trip rather than appointing someone new to oversee the first years.

    Drake and Emma were clearly displeased with being stuck with babysitting duties, but they had no option but toply with the orders of the Queen.

    "Haaa," sighing again, I got up from the sofa and began to freshen up. Today will be tiring.

    So many people will die, and so much blood will be shed. I wish I could''ve done something for them.

    However, since I was busy getting my hands on this mythical beast egg, I didn''t have enough time to devise a n to avoid this situation.

    I wonder, the blood of the people who''ll die today¡­ is it on my hands?

    I was the one who asked Nero toe to this city in the first ce despite knowing what would happen.

    So, am I to me for what will happen?

    Haaa. I don''t know. What I do know is I can''t stop now. The main story is already set in motion, and it will be much more gruesome.

    I will have to get through today.

    ?

    Amidst a crowded cafe with its sleek silver interior, two individuals ¨C a man and a woman ¨C sat perched upon a modest coffee table.

    As they sat, a palpable tension hung in the air around them. For these two weren''t mortals but powerful creatures of the night, their true identities hidden behind a facade of human disguise.

    Yes, these two individuals were vampires.

    "This coffee is great," the male vampire, with jet ck hair, bright red eyes, and a sharp jawline, said. "Howe elves, who are said to be the oldest intelligent race of the universe, didn''t discover coffee before humans?"

    "I don''t know how you drink this stuff," the female vampire, with flowing blonde hair, light red eyes, and an alluring figure, replied. "It''s so bitter. I''d rather drink blood¡­ orange cocktail."

    "Haha!" the ck-haired man chuckled. "How long has it been since you haven''t had a ''drink,'' Mercy?"

    "Since I was posted here," the blonde woman replied. "I had some reserves, but right now, I''m ready to kill for a fresh drink, Magnus."

    "Yeah," Magnus shed a sympathetic smile before speaking in a whispering tone. "If it makes you feel better, the information you are providing us is very important. You are, by far, the best spy."

    Yes, this blonde vampire was sent across the border to act as a spy. She was tasked with breaching any important information regarding the Central Government and the United Military.

    "Of course, I am," Mercy flicked her back her hair. "Anyway, I don''t think you called me here to tter me, did you?"

    "Haha!" Magnus let out a chuckle again. "Indeed, you are right. But you must have already guessed why I called you here, right?"

    Mercy sighed, knowing where this conversation was headed. "Is this about Reina? Have they sent you to kill her?"

    "I''m the best assassin," Magnus boasted, his voice always inaudible as Mercy read his lips to understand him. "For who else do you think the higher-ups would dispatch me in the enemy''s territory?"

    "True," Mercy acknowledged.

    Magnus was indeed one of their best assassins, not ''the'' best as he likes to boast.

    Still, he''s too valuable for Vampire forces to dispatch him in the heart of enemy territory if not to kill someone of Reina''s caliber.

    "Let me guess," Mercy leaned back on her chair. "You need me to find out Reina''s location."

    "Yes," Magnus nodded. "Can you help me?"

    "Well, you did save my life during the Battle Of Khalos," Mercy touched her chin, her eyes closed as several thoughts raced in her mind. "Fine, I know someone who can help. But we''ll have to attend a ballroom."

 Chapter 137 The Vampire Assassin [1]

    Upon my arrival at the breakfast lounge, Kent suddenly jumped in front of me, his voice carrying an unmistakable tone of concern.

    "Hey, bro, are you okay?" he inquired.

    "I''m alright," I responded. "Althoughst night was a bit strange."

    "Yeeeah," Kent dragged out his reply. "I know! We should track down that elven woman''s address and wreck her ce!"

    "Kent,e on. She''s old enough to be our grandmother. Let''s not bother her," I reproached him with a disapproving gaze.

    "Fine, whatever. I didn''t want to see her again anyway," the blue-haired elf rolled his eyes. "But seriously, what happened to you? Why were you crying?"

    "I...I''m not sure," I shrugged. "I wasn''t even aware that I was crying. But enough about me. What''s going on with you?"

    "Me? I''m totally fine. What do you mean?" Kent''s expression soured.

    "When that old elf mentioned your home, you suddenly got so serious," I reminded him. "What''s the deal with that?"

    "I¨C"

    As Kent opened his mouth to respond, an obnoxious, gratingugh disrupted our conversation.

    "Well, well, well, look who we have here!" the voice eximed.

    I spun around to find myself face-to-face with Chase Woods. His mouth contorted into a smug grin.

    Really? Him again? What''s his issue with me, anyways?

    Standing beside him was his best friend, Elijah Steelforged.

    "Hey, Elijah," Chase said, nudging the half-dwarf. "Check it out - it''s the crybaby! What''s going on, little guy? Still scared of an olddy running a fortune-telling stall? Ahahaha!"

    "Chase, knock it off," Elijah pleaded with his friend, tugging at his sleeve.

    "That''s not cool, man. Not cool," Kent shook his head disapprovingly.

    "Oh, yeah, my bad!" Chase eximed, stillughing. "I will stop now or the crybaby will start crying! Hahahaha!"

    "No, you''re right, Chase," I admitted. "I might be a crybaby, but at least I''m not a wuss."

    "Huh?" Chase raised an eyebrow and scowled. "What the fuck does that mean?"

    "You know," I pointed in the direction behind him with my chin, indicating with a subtle gesture.

    Chase pivoted around to see Anastasia sitting at a distant breakfast table, munching on her meal.

    "W-What about Anastasia?" Chase swiveled back to me, his voice faltering.

    "Heh," I smirked, motioning in her direction again with my chin. "I suggest you move quickly, or someone else might beat you to it."

    Frowning, Chase nced over his shoulder once more and witnessed a scene that caused his heart to sink for some inexplicable reason.

    He saw Anastasia wiping Nero''s mouth with a napkin as they both chuckled over something he had said.

    Shrugging, I left Chase in his aghast state and walked off with Kent trailing behind me.

    As we made our way to the buffet, Kent nced back and forth between Chase''s petrified form and the spot where I had gestured.

    "Wait..." After a moment, Kent caught on. He ced a finger on his chin and opened his mouth to speak.

    Oh?

    Maybe he''s not as stupid as I assumed. He caught on fairly quickly.

    "Is Chase¡­ in love with Nero?!" Kent blurted out.

    Never mind, I spoke too early. He is stupid.

    I couldn''t help but chuckle at his obliviousness. "Yeah, Kent. I think that''s pretty obvious."

    Kent''s eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Huh, I never would have guessed. So Chase swings that way."

    I rolled my eyes, amused. "Well, now you know."

    ?

    The castle-themed banquet hall was the venue for the masquerade party, and I was the first to arrive.

    Knowing that I would be fightingter, I decided to dress up lightly.

    Adorned in a mboyant fashion, I sported a three-piece suit in a vibrant shade of crimson.

    The inner vest and pants were fashioned in sleek, ebony hues, which served to entuate the striking red of the suit.

    Adding to the opulence of my outfit were golden chains that tastefully adorned my attire.

    My tie was tied in the Eldredge knot, which took me two full hours to get right¨C okay, maybe I wasn''t dressing up very lightly.

    But I swear to god, when I tried moving in this thing, I could move just fine, so yeah.

    I don''t know what happened to me. Prior to my transmigration, I never liked fancy suits, but now I can kinda see the appeal it carries.

    Although, I still preferfort over style. I''d rather wear cks and a tee than avish suit daily.

    Anyway, since I was the first one to arrive among my ssmates, I decided to stroll around the ce to pass the time.

    All around me, I could see men and women of noble heritage or prestigious families sipping drinks from expensive wine sses and indulging in small talk.

    I also saw some kids around my age and younger. They were the heirs of these noblemen and women.

    They all had various kinds of masks on their faces, which was obvious since it was a masquerade party, after all.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Amidst the crowd, my eyes were constantly in search of the person who would unleash carnage here today ¨C The Vampire Assassin.

    His name was Magnus Bloodhound.

    Bloodhounds were one of the most vicious and vile families of the Vampire Empire.

    They specialize in assassination missions, but they can also fight on the frontlines, so their battle prowess is nothing to scoff at either.

    Magnus, a 22-year-old pure-blooded vampire and direct heir of the patriarch, who was also one of the seven Abyssal Kings, was destined to seed his predecessor.

    This lofty position in the Vampire Empire required Magnus to prove himself, despite his youth.

    And so, he was dispatched to the heart of enemy territory, entrusted with the daunting task of carrying out an assassination mission.

    The stakes were high, as the sessfulpletion of this mission would make his name renowned throughout the Vampire Empire, solidifying his status as a formidable leader.

    Magnus was to eliminate a former Abyssal King turned traitor, a feat that would be celebrated and feared by all.

    However, the n failed.

    A cadet attending the party discovered Magnus'' true identity and alerted everyone, prompting him to attack the attendees and sow chaos in his attempt to escape.

    Utilizing his mind control abilities, Magnus manipted and turned some of the people present at the party against each other.

    However, amidst the confusion and turmoil, Anastasia and Nero happened to be in attendance.

    To Magnus'' dismay, his mind control was ineffective against them.

    Anastasia''s powerful God Eyes protected her mind, while Nero overcame the maniption with nothing but sheer will, much like the broken protagonist that he is.

    After a grueling and bloody struggle, they eventually managed to vanquish the assassin, killing him before the military police could even arrive on the scene.

    "Haaa," I let out a sigh as I remembered the novel''s content. It will be a disaster and the one who''ll cause it hasn''t arrived here yet.

    Magnus'' human form should look like a young adult man with blood-red eyes and lustrous ck hair.

    Obviously, since a vampire''s human form is made from illusion magic, their physical appearance looks good.

    Deceiving others is also easy using good looks, so that charmes in handy.

    "Lucas?"

    "Hm?"

    As I was deeply lost in such thoughts, I sensed a gentle tapping on my back, prompting me to turn around.

    To my surprise, a ravishing young woman with sleek ck tresses was standing before me.

    Her alluringly athletic yet curvy figure was entuated by a georgette ballroom gown that left her back bare. The gown seemed to do nothing to conceal her toned physique.

    But what caught my attention the most was the half-face mask she was wearing, which was styled like a fox.

    Her mesmerizing emerald eyes sparkled and beckoned from behind the mask, adding an air of allure to her already captivating appearance.

    "Amelia?" I frowned and looked around her. "You came early?"

    "So did you," shemented. "And where is your mask?"

    I touched my face when I was reminded that I wasn''t wearing a mask. "It''s not time for me to wear mine yet."

    "What does that mean?" Amelia shot with confusion. I could only assume she was furrowing her eyebrows in confusion behind her mask.

    "Ahh, nothing. Don''t mind me," I shook my head. "So, what''s going on?"

    "You tell me," the ck-haired beauty crossed her arms. "You looked¡­ a little worried yesterday."

    "...Yeah, it''s fine. No, I''m fine," I nodded awkwardly. "It was just weird bearing that old woman talk, that''s all."

    "It''s fine, don''t think about her words much." Amelia nodded back. "It must be a business stunt to scare away the customers so that they would go back to her again."

    "Exactly, and besides¨C wait," just as I was about to agree with her, something clicked. "Amelia ck, are you worried about me?"

    "What?" Amelia widened her eyes. "No, I''m just¨C I just¨C No! I wasn''t worried. I was just taken aback! Yeah, that''s all."

    "Heh," my lips curled up into a smirk. "Yeah, you sound very convincing. Hahaha!"

    "Shut up," Amelia whipped her head away and fixed her mask by pressing her fingers on it. "Anyway, back to my question. Why did youe this early?"

    "I was just bored," I replied. "What about you?"

    "Same," Amelia shrugged.

    "Well," I ced my hands in my trousers'' pockets. "Since we both are early and none of us know anyone here, why don''t we¨C"

    "We are not dancing," Amelia interrupted me.

    "...I was suggesting visiting the bar corner, but if dancing is what''s on your mind¨C" before I could finish my sentence, Amelia''s cold re stopped me.

    "Bar it is," she said before walking off, leaving me to follow behind her.

    "Haa," I let out a sigh and shook my head.

    Amelia was one of the characters who was mind controlled during the massacre.

    She killed two cadets and three nobles, and it took Anastasia and Nero''sbined efforts to stop her before getting to the assassin.

    I would rather have her work with us than against her, so I''ll try to keep her away from the assassin.

    Haa. Let''s go.

 Chapter 138 The Vampire Assassin [2]

    "...And that''s why you never wear jeans to a bar!"

    A blue-haired elf in avish gray and ck suit with a ck mask on his face eximed as we nodded our heads.

    After a few drinks and some pointless small talk to alleviate the awkward silence between Amelia and me, we were approached by Kent.

    He stood before us now, regaling us with a story that I didn''t care to hear.

    "By the way, did I interrupt something?" Kent inquired, casting a knowing nce in my direction.

    "No," I dismissed his look, uninterested. "Where are the others from our ss?"

    It was clear that Amelia wanted to speak with me about something. My suspicion was that she wanted to discuss my lost memories.

    I knew that she wasn''t stupid. After my reaction that day, she has likely concluded that I have forgotten some fragments of my past. I have lost bits and pieces of my memories.

    However, I didn''t want to have that conversation with her now.

    My focus, right now, needed to remain on the vampire assassin we were facing today.

    That wasn''t to say that I wouldn''t speak with her about itter. I intend to do so after the battle. Besides, I want to learn more about Lucas'' past anyway.

    The more I know about Lucas before I transmigrated, the more information I have to work with and draw spections from.

    "Most of them have already arrived," Kent answered, scanning the surroundings before returning his attention to me.

    "Only Nero, Anastasia, Aster, and a few others have yet to show up," he added.

    If my memory, which I can''t seem to trust these days, serves me right, then Magnus Bloodhound should appear right when Nero and Anastasia would show up for the party.

    I looked at my luxury watch ¨C yes, I emphasized the fact that I wear luxury watches ¨C and saw that it was almost time for the party to start.

    He must be on his way.

    Alerting the Military Police and letting them deal with Magnus would have been the optimal approach to handle this situation efficiently.

    However, the credibility of the information I possess is questionable since I don''t have any evidence to back it up.

    So even if I do inform the Military Police, the likelihood of them believing me is low, if not downright zero.

    In fact, they may even use me of engaging in suspicious activities and arrest me after the attack happens.

    Since my father has disowned me, even the family name of Morningstar won''t be enough to get me out of that situation.

    I could drop them the information anonymously, but I doubt that they would trust an anonymous source.

    One more option I have is to inform Drake and Emma about the situation. They are third-year cadets and may be better equipped to handle it efficiently.

    However, doing so would draw the attention of the Cadet Council in my direction, which I''d rather avoid at this time.

    There are many actions I could take to prevent the massacre today, but I choose not to do so.

    Why? Because the events of today are crucial to Nero''s development.

    In the end, he is the protagonist of this story.

    And as the protagonist of this story, he will face the Vampire Monarch and the Kali race in the future, so he must be prepared for it.

    The massacre today will serve as a powerful motivator for him to get stronger.

    When he''ll almost die while fighting the vampire assassin today, he will realize he is not as strong as he had thought.

    He will realize he is nowhere near ready to take his mother''s revenge or fight the noble vampires.

    That realization will fuel him.

    "Oh, there they are."

    As I was immersed in my own thoughts, Kent''s voice shook me back to reality.

    I looked at Kent before looking at the hall''s entrance. As soon as I did that, I felt chills running down my back.

    Through the doors to the banquet hall, a group of our ssmates entered who were left to show up.

    In front of the group walked Anastasia and Nero.

    For a moment, the world itself seemed to have stopped as the main characters of the story entered the ballroom, and all eyes present turned to them.

    Anastasia was a vision in her ck, off-shoulder ballroom gown, which perfectly entuated her slim yet curvy figure.

    Her long, lustrous ck hair was elegantly tied up in a bun, while a ck eye mask added a touch of mystery to her already alluring appearance.

    Her crystal golden eyes sparkled as she gracefully walked into the room.

    Nero, on the other hand, exuded a suave and sophisticated aura in his navy blue suit, paired with a crisp white shirt and matching trousers.

    As he strode into the hall with confidence, a half-face oni mask covered part of his face, adding an element of intrigue to his handsome features.

    Despite the absurdity of the mask, he wore it with effortless charm, drawing the attention of all the maidens around him.

    Haa, even though I was clearly more handsome than him, I guess I can''t beat the protagonist''s charm just yet, huh?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Anyway, what drew my attention was the person who entered the room after the group of our ssmates.

    Dressed in a pristine white suit with a ck inner coat and a cravat tie, a ck-haired man with a sharp jawline and scarlet red eyes walked in.

    Even though a party mask covered the upper half of his face, the chills I got all over my body instantly told me his true identity.

    He was Magnus Bloodhound.

    "Fuuu," I let out a breath to calm myself while clenching his fists.

    "Hmm?" but I furrowed my brows as I noticed an enchanting blonde woman walking alongside him, dressed in a stunning one-piece red dress that hugged her mesmerizing hourss figure.

    Instantly, questions raced through my mind.

    Who is she?

    Does she know him?

    Why is she apanying him?

    I don''t think the novel mentioned any woman apanying Magnus to the ballroom party. So then, who is this woman?

    Wait¡­ Ah, I see now.

    The scene at the start of the party was only briefly introduced in the novel, without much detail.

    Perhaps this woman, whoever she is, had apanied him to the party for some time before taking her leaveter in the evening ¨C before a cadet uncovered Magnus'' identity and the massacre happened.

    But then, if that''s the case, then is it safe to assume that she''s a vampire? So, there are two vampires present in this banquet hall right now?

    Damn it. I didn''t even think of that. I have to move with precaution. If anything goes sideways, we''ll have two vampires to deal with instead of one.

    If that happens, I doubt even Anastasia and Nero will be able to defeat them both together, especially when I don''t know anything about the other one.

    No, I shouldn''t think like that. It''s fine. Everything is fine. I''ll just let the story proceed as it''s supposed to be.

    If I remember correctly, the massacre happened after the third round of the dance started.

    That obviously means the woman who''s apanying Magnus right now will leave before then.

    "Okay," I muttered under my breath. "Let the game begin."

    "What game?"

    "...."

    Kent, who was standing right next to me, suddenly leaned in and whispered in my ears in a spooky tone.

    "...A drinking game," I said, covering up. "Let''s y a drinking game."

    "Ooh! Yes, it will be fun!" Kent jumped in excitement before turning to the ck-haired girl. "Will you y with us, Amelia?"

    "No thanks," Amelia said, waving her hand and getting up from the bar stool. "And I''d suggest not drinking too much to you two since we''ll be returning to the academy after the party ends."

    As she said that, Amelia began to walk off.

    But before she could even take a step, I called her out. "Wait," I said. "Where are you going?"

    "Ahh, to them," Amelia replied awkwardly before pointing in the direction where Nero, Anastasia, Aster, and a bunch of other main characters were standing.

    No, no, no, no! I can''t let her go join the main cast!

    They all will be standing near Magnus when he''ll decide to unleash his mind control spell.

    If I don''t stop her, she''ll be caught in his spell and turn against her. And I really don''t want her fighting against us.

    "Oh,e on, Amelia," Kent frowned. "I can guess from here that they are talking about some boring stuff. Instead of going there and getting bored to death, stay with us and y a drinking game!"

    "Yeah, again, no thanks." Amelia merely waved her hand again and started walking off.

    "Never mind her. Come on, bro! Let''s start the game¨C"

    Before Kent could finish talking, my mind raced, and I thought about a solution to get out of this predicament.

    It didn''t take me long toe up with something. Although I didn''t want to do this, I had no choice.

    "Sorry, Kent. Let''s y it another time," I said before getting up and storming off in Amelia''s direction.

    As soon as I reached her, I grabbed her by her waist and turned her around to face me, causing her to let out a shriek of surprise.

    "Aeik! What the hell, Lucas?" she looked at me sharply, her voice hushed.

    "Let''s dance," I suggested.

    "I-I told you, I don''t wanna dance¨C"

    "Just one?"

    "Haaa," hearing me, the ck-haired girl let out a sigh. "F-Fine. Just one dance."

 Chapter 139 The Vampire Assassin [3]

    "It has been more than one dance. When are you nning to let go of me?"

    "After this song, I think."

    "You think?"

    "It''s a nice song they''re ying."

    "...Yeah, I guess."

    As I looked around the Victorian-themed banquet hall, my senses were immediately captured by the soft glow of lights and the sweet melodies of jazz music wafting through the air.

    The sound emanated from a band ying at the front of the hall, providing the perfect soundtrack for the evening''s festivities.

    I observed as people moved about, some chatting and socializing with drinks in hand while others swayed to the rhythm of the music.

    Couples held each other close, lost in the moment as they danced in slow, romantic circles.

    It was a beautiful sight.

    A perfect blend of old-world charm and modern-day revelry.

    Not long after, my eyes were drawn back to the girl in my arms, her waist nestled snugly against me.

    I couldn''t resist the urge to look into her captivating eyes, which shone through her masquerade mask like dazzling emeralds.

    I took a deep breath.

    I could feel her body tightly pressing against mine. I could feel her warmth.

    I know I shouldn''t be saying this for someone who has managed to flip me over the shoulder once, but right now, she felt fragile.

    It felt like I would break her if I grabbed onto her too tightly.

    "Stop staring, will ya?" Amelia''s hushed voice shook me out of my trance as she averted her gaze.

    "Sorry," I said, chuckling.

    The ck-haired beauty shifted her gaze back to me. Her eyebrows creased in a frown.

    "Lucas," she called out, her voice gentle. "Do you¨C"

    But before she could even finish her question, I interrupted, predicting what she was about to ask. "I don''t," I said.

    Amelia looked taken aback, a mixture of surprise and confusion etched on her face. I took a deep breath, bracing myself.

    "I don''t remember the past," I disclosed in a defeated tone. "That''s what you were going to ask, right?"

    Amelia''s face showed a mixture of emotions as she weakly nodded her head, and I knew that I couldn''t avoid the conversation we needed to have.

    Although I wanted to focus on the uing battle, I had asked Amelia for a dance to stop her from joining the main cast.

    When I did that, I knew this conversation was inevitable.

    Well, in all honesty, I didn''t think she would actually agree to dance with me.

    Maybe I really have changed her behavior a lot toward me then how she felt about Lucas in the novel.

    Anyway, since we had started this conversation, I decided to go through with it. I would answer her questions and ask some of my own.

    "But you do seem to remember some things from the past," Amelia made up a valid point as she voiced her observations. "And some of your habits, like how you chew your nails when you''re deep in thought, are the same as when we were children."

    I arched an eyebrow. "That''s kind of creepy that you''ve been keeping track of my habits. Are you stalking me?"

    Amelia''s cheeks turned pink with indignation. "I-I am not stalking you, idiot! I just don''tpletely trust you!"

    I shrugged. "Fair enough. Well, I haven''t forgotten everything from my past, just certain pieces of my memory."

    I added, "I remember everything in bits¨C fragments of moments that seem familiar but don''t quite make sense when I put it all together andpare it with reality. It''s like a puzzle with missing pieces."

    "I see," said Amelia, her eyes showing a hint of concern. "I''m sorry. I didn''t realize howplicated this must be for you. But is it true that you don''t remember any of the time we spent together?"

    "I''m afraid that''s the case," I confessed. "I have memories of the ''incident,'' but nothing before it."

    As I spoke, I caught a fleeting glimpse of sadness on Amelia''s face before sheposed herself.

    "Is it possible that your memories were erased?" she asked, still following my lead as we danced.

    "I actually believe that''s a possibility," I replied.

    I wasn''t lying.

    When I sat down to think about it, I came to the conclusion that someone messed with Lucas'' head when he was little.

    In fact, instead of just erasing his memories, that ''someone'' nted false ones in their ce in his head.

    It''s the only reasonable exnation for why he transitioned into apletely different person after he awakened his mana core.

    Yes, he was sad about his family shunning him, but the profound changes he had undergone were clearly unnatural.

    Amelia interrupted our conversation with a sudden memory, shaking me out of my thoughts.

    "Hey, I remember when we were kids, you used to write in your journal?" she asked. "Maybe you could try reading them now. It might provide some leads."

    Her suggestion caught me off guard, and I replied with surprise, "Wow, you''re right. I hadn''t even considered that!"

    I was lying.

    I did think about it. Prior toing here, I thought about opening Lucas'' journals and reading them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Although I already have memories of writing them in my head, I clearly can not trust them.

    So yeah, I had considered the idea of reading them to gain a clearer understanding.

    However, ultimately I decided against it.

    Why?

    Well, because I needed my brain to focus on what was about to happen in Silveserine.

    I not only had to kill one of the former Abyssal Vampire Kings, but I also had to survive the massacre that would start in a few minutes.

    Two big life-or-death battles were awaiting me in this city. And to fight these battles, I needed to have a clear mind.

    So, I made the decision to postpone reading the journals until after returning from the trip.

    "I''ll read them once we return," I said, receiving a nod from Amelia. "But for now, could you answer me this¨C"

    m¡ª

    "Aaah!"

    My words were abruptly cut off when I mmed into someone, followed by a sudden cry of pain.

    As I was taking a step back, swaying to the rhythm of the music, I identally collided with someone behind me.

    Turning to face the source of themotion, I saw a waiter struggling to hold onto a tray of drinks, which had spilled onto a short blue-haired elven girl standing nearby.

    Although she had a mask on her face, I instantly recognized her. She was Aster Aquahart ¨C one of Amelia''s friends and a recurring character.

    "Hey, I''m sorry. Are you okay?" I asked while apologizing to the waiter before turning to face Aster and asking her the same. "Are you hurt?"

    "No, sir, I''m fine! It''s my fault for not paying attention while walking," the waiter bowed his head before turning to the blue-haired elf fearfully. "Please, mam, I''m sorry!"

    "No, no, it''spletely fine!" Aster waved her hand quickly, gesturing to the waiter to raise his head. "Please stop apologizing. I''m fine!"

    p¡ª

    Right then, I felt a p on my shoulder. It was Amelia.

    "You should''ve been careful," she said. "Now you ruined Aster''s dress."

    I turned my attention to where she was pointing and noticed wine stains on Aster''s gorgeous blue colored velvet gown.

    "Ahh, I''m sorry¨C" As I was about to apologize again, a frown appeared on my face as something clicked, and I turned to Amelia. "Wait, they were behind me. I don''t have eyes on the back of my head. You should''ve warned me about them!"

    "Huh?! You''re an archer! You should be aware of your surroundings!" Amelia retorted.

    "What the hell does that logic even mean? Huh?!" the frown on my face grew deeper.

    "I''m sorry! I must die! Please don''t tell the manager! Please, I must die! I''m sorry!" meanwhile, the waiter continued to apologize in an incoherent voice.

    "Okay, okay, stop all of you!" Aster yelled with her eyes tightly shut. "I told you all, I''m fine. And I don''t care about the dress, okay? So stop fighting and apologizing."

    "...He started it," Amelia pointed at me.

    "Wha¨C you!" I gritted my teeth.

    "Anyway, where''s the washroom?" Aster asked the waiter.

    "Oh, out the hall to the left, mam." the waiter replied with a respected bow.

    "Okay, it''s fine. You can go. And don''t worry; we won''t report this to the manager," Aster promised.

    The waiter apologetically bowed again before leaving.

    "I mean, it''s really his own fault," I shrugged, gesturing towards the retreating back of the flustered waiter. "Waiters aren''t supposed to step onto the dance floor to serve drinks in a ballroom hall. It''s justmon serving etiquette."

    That earned me another p on the shoulder from Amelia. "He was obviously in a hurry. Do you know how stressful it''s to serve drinks to nobles? They give you an earful for being two secondste."

    "You speak like you have experience in this area," I arched an eyebrow.

    "I worked as a waitress two years back for some extra pocket money," Amelia replied with a shrug. "Some of us aren''t rich, you know?"

    "So it''s your fault," Imented with a smug smile on my face. "If you aren''t rich, then just get rich. Look at me. Even after being disowned, I became rich again."

    "Huh?!" Amelia curled up her upper lip.

    "Hahaha," right then, interrupting our conversation, Aster chuckled. "You guys are funny."

    "Yeah, she''s a total clown," I nodded.

    "And he''s aplete circus," Amelia remarked.

    "Hahaha! Okay, I''ll go wash this stain," Aster let out a chuckle again before walking off to the washroom.

    After she was gone, I let out a sigh before I noticed the second song was going to end soon.

    The third song was going to start next, and by the end of it, this banquet hall will be plunged intoplete carnage.

    Haa. Okay, I''m ready.

    "So, what were you asking¨C"

    As Amelia was about to ask me a question, a sudden high-pitched scream rang out throughout the banquet hall,ing from the washroom.

    "Aaaaaahhhh!!"

 Chapter 140 The Vampire Assassin [4]

    10 minutes earlier,

    Magnus and Mercy were standing by the bar corner, observing the couples dancing hand in hand on the ballroom floor with great interest.

    Disguised as humans, they seamlessly blended in with the crowd, although one of them seemed more at ease than the other.

    While Mercy sipped her drink calmly, Magnus grew increasingly restless, his patience waning.

    Eventually, he asked, "So, who is it that you wanted me to meet here?"

    Without missing a beat, Mercy pointed in the direction of a waiter carrying a tray full of drinks and walking toward them.

    "There he is," she said.

    As the waiter arrived at their spot, Mercy deftly lifted a ss from the tray he was carrying, and the waiter continued to walk on normally.

    Perplexed, Magnus frowned and said, "What the hell was that? He didn''t even say anything."

    Mercy shrugged nonchntly before whispering in a barely audible tone, "He''s another spy, like me. Obviously, he won''t stop and chat as if we''re old friends."

    "So, how is he supposed to tell us where Reina is?" Magnus asked, confused.

    Mercy''s smirk widened as she replied, "He already has."

    Mercy slid a finger under the wine ss she had lifted from the waiter''s tray and quickly extracted a small piece of paper that was glued underneath it.

    "Here, take this," she said, handing the wine ss to Magnus.

    The blond-haired vampire then sneakily unfolded the paper to read its contents.

    After a brief moment, she crushed the paper, ced it in her mouth, took the wine ss back from Magnus, and gulped it down with big sips of wine.

    "Uhh, what the fuck?" Magnus frowned in confusion and surprise.

    "She''s in the slums," Mercy revealed with a smug grin. "Come on, let''s go."

    "Wait," Magnus said as Mercy turned around to leave, cing a hand on her shoulder. "Since we''re already here, let''s have a ''drink,'' shall we?"

    Mercy spun around with a frown, looking at Magnus as if she was looking at a madman.

    "Are you out of your mind?" she hissed in a hushed voice. "We''re in the heart of enemy territory! If we get caught here, we''ll be killed!"

    Magnus waved his hand dismissively. "You worry too much. If something goes wrong, I''ll just use my mind control abilities to get us out of here. And if ites to a fight, I don''t think anyone here can stop me."

    "That might work for you since you''ll just leave after killing your target in a day or two, but I still have to stay here for the next three years," Mercy tried to reason with the young vampire.

    She was right. Magnus would cross the border and return back to the Vampire territory in just a few days after he had assassinated his target.

    However, Mercy had a much more difficult task ahead of her.

    She had to stay in this city in the Central Continent for the next three years and gather crucial intelligence on the United Military and Central Government.

    If they slip up here and the Central Government or the Military Police catch wind of there being undercover vampires, it could mean disaster for Mercy and her entire mission.

    However, despite her argument, Magnus remained nonchnt.

    "Well, then I''ll just have to be careful not to slip up," he said with a shrug, causing Mercy to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration.

    "Fine," Mercy replied, knowing that arguing further would be pointless.

    "Good," Magnus shed a grin. "Want to join me?"

    "No thanks," Mercy waved her hand. "I''ll wait for you here until the end of the third song. If you don''te back by then, I''m leaving."

    "Sure, sure," Magnus nodded before turning and walking away. He already knew where his target was and didn''t need Mercy''s assistance anymore anyway.

    With that in mind, Magnus headed toward the washroom.

    "This guy," Mercy couldn''t help but massage her forehead as she watched Magnus'' back blur into the crowd.

    It wasn''t entirely his fault. Magnus was undoubtedly talented, but he was also young and inexperienced.

    This was his first real mission outside of Vampire territory, and he had been spoiled by the patriarch''s favoritism.

    But Mercy knew that Magnus had the potential to be one of the strongest living vampires, and with that title, he would slowly gain experience and learn to take missions more seriously.

    In time, he would mature and be a valuable asset to their cause.

    m¨C

    Suddenly, Mercy''s attention was drawn to the center of the dance floor, where a disturbance had urred.

    A silver-haired boy had collided with the same waiter from earlier, causing the tray in his hand to topple over and spill a drink onto the beautiful blue-haired elven girl''s dress.

    Mercy quickly lost interest and looked away, ordering a drink.

    While she would rather be drinking blood with Magnus, she had to make do with human alcohol for now. Surprisingly, it didn''t taste so bad.

    In her opinion, Dwarven alcohol was too strong and spicy, and Elven alcohol was too weak¨C to the point of tasting like water.

    Human alcohol, on the other hand, was the perfect bnce between light and hard. Not to mention, there were so many great varieties to choose from!

    Despite her disdain for these creatures of low origin, even Mercy had to admit that humans weren''tpletely useless, unlike the dwarves.

    Meanwhile, as Mercy was busyparing alcohol brewed by different species, Magnus reached the restroom.

    Click¨C

    Without hesitation, he clicked open the door to thedies'' room and entered while closing the door behind him.

    Just one quick sip, and he''ll get out ¨C that''s what he told himself.

    "Wh-Who are you?"

    "Mister, I think you''re in the wrong room!"

    "Eeik! A guy!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, seeing a man enter their private space startled the group of girls who were already upying the washroom.

    Clearly flustered, unsettled, and annoyed, they freaked out and asked him to leave.

    Magnus, however, stood there still as a creepy smile formed on his face.

    A dark aura began to emanate from him, enveloping his entire being and casting an eerie pall over the room.

    As he locked eyes with everyone present, a sense of dread washed over them.

    "Submit!" he yelled, his voice carrying an ominous weight.

    The girls stood there frozen, unable to look away from Magnus''s piercing gaze.

    They felt a sudden numbness wash over them. Their minds slowly lost connection to their bodies.

    Their eyes lost focus as their pupils dted, and the world around them slowly faded away.

    In a matter of moments, they werepletely under the spell of Magnus''s mind control, and their consciousness was for him to dominate and toy with.

    "Get on your knees and crawl to me," hemanded.

    Without hesitation, the girls obeyed his every word, dropping to their knees and crawling toward him.

    Magnus watched with a twisted sense of pleasure, savoring the sight of their submission.

    He knew he should get this over with quickly and leave, but it had been over a week since he had a taste of fresh blood.

    He wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible, even though he knew how it was dangerous to drag it out.

    Finally, he decided to act.

    He reached out and grabbed a redhead girl by the chin, pulling her up to her feet.

    With a swift motion, he tilted her face a little and flipped her long locks to the side, revealing her bare neck.

    "Heh," as a grin formed on Magnus'' face, two long canines extended from under his upper lip.

    He slowly leaned in and sank her fangs into the girl''s bare neck.

    "Angh!"

    Instead of pain, a wave of pleasure assaulted the girl, causing her body to react and let a moan escape her lips.

    "Mnghh!"

    Well, she wasn''t alone. As he tasted the fresh, warm blood, even Magnus couldn''t help but let out a voice of satisfaction.

    He couldn''t understand how Mercy had been living without a single drop of fresh blood for well over a year now when he couldn''t even go on for a week without it.

    But putting those thoughts aside for now, Magnus soon lifted other girls one by one and sank his fangs deep into their necks too.

    "You are sweet. You are thick. And you are very warm," he tasted them all side by side as if he was reviewing a bunch of different cold drinks.

    Even though he said he would only take a sip, now that he was in the middle of it, he couldn''t stop drinking.

    Click¡ª

    But to his terror, suddenly, the door to the restroom clicked open. In excitement, he had forgotten to lock the door!

    Creak¡ª

    As the door swung open, a blue-haired elven girl appeared. It was Aster.

    She hade here to wash the wine stain off her dress.

    But what she saw when she opened the washroom door was a ck-haired man with striking red eyes, with blood smeared all over his lips, grabbing onto a girl by her shoulders with his face near her neck.

    A few other girls also stood near him, but they looked as dazed as the one he had been grabbing on.

    ".....?!" as their eyes met, Aster stepped back in sheer horror and confusion.

    Magnus was horrified too. Countless thoughts bombarded his head, and all of them told him not to let the girl escape!

    If she screams or calls for help, it''ll be all over!

    As that thought settled in, Magnus decided to act. He pushed aside the redhead girl he was holding and willed mana into his legs.

    In a swift motion, he squatted down and sprung up before lunging in the direction of the blue-haired elf.

    Swish¡ª!

    In a sh, the vampire assassin''s figure disappeared and appeared right before Aster as he swung his w at her neck.

    Thak¡ª!!!

    However, instead of tearing through the blue-haired elven girl''s soft flesh, his w collided with something else¨C something soft yet hard.

    "Huh?!" Marcus'' eyes widened as he discovered that his w had struck a water shield that had materialized in front of Aster out of nowhere!

    ''Silent casting?!'' he thought in his head but couldn''t ponder over it for long as the girl he couldn''t kill screamed.

    "Aaaaaahhhh!!!"

    "Tsk!" Magnus clicked his tongue.

    He had failed to kill this girl because of the sudden water barrier spell that she had cast. And now, she had screamed.

    He had slipped up, and now there was only one option remaining for him. He had to run.

    Swish¡ª

    In a blink, Magnus jumped over Aster''s head, who was blocking the sole exit of the restroom, and ran out of there at speed iprehensible to the naked eye.

 Chapter 141 Bad Luck

    "Aaaaaahhhh!!"

    A piercing scream pierced through the peaceful air of the banquet hall, capturing everyone''s attention in an instant.

    All eyes were quickly drawn toward the source of themotion, which seemed to being from the direction of the restroom area.

    Within moments, a ck-haired man burst out of the doorway and sprinted across the hall, as everyone who had been dancing or chatting earlier stood there still in confusion.

    Following behind him was a blue-haired elven girl, her expression twisted with fear as she ran.

    Amelia, who was standing next to Lucas, frowned in confusion.

    "Aster?" she muttered under her breath, trying to make heads and tails of what was happening.

    Right then, Aster''s wild scream echoed throughout the room again.

    "He''s a vampire!" she yelled, her voice filled with terror and panic. "Don''t let him escape!"

    The revtion left the crowd stunned, their eyes fixed on the fleeing figure of the ck-haired man.

    However, in the midst of the chaos, a handful of individuals were quick to take action.

    With lightning-fast reflexes, three men and one woman jumped before the ck-haired vampire, effectively blocking his path and bringing him to a halt.

    "Tsk!" Magnus clicked his tongue in frustration, his eyes darting around the room as he assessed the situation.

    However, his gaze was soon drawn back to the group of people standing in front of him as the woman pointed out the blood on his lips.

    "H-He has blood on his lips!" she cried out, her voice shaking a little.

    "He''s a vampire! Quick, call the military police!" added a man standing next to her, his fists clenched in readiness.

    Magnus'' eyes locked onto Mercy''s from across the room, and she couldn''t help but feel a sense of confusion and worry wash over her.

    How did he get caught? Was he careless? ¨C she thought to herself.

    Damn it. Now what should she do?

    As the chaos unfolded around her, Mercy''s mind raced.

    Should she run and leave Magnus behind? The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

    Aside from the fact that the patriarch of the Bloodhound n and Magnus'' father would never forgive her if she left his sessor to die alone, she was also indebted to Magnus.

    Three years ago, during the Battle of Khalos, Magnus saved her life.

    She could still remember that day.

    It was supposed to be an easy mission, but things quickly spiraled out of control when Reynold Morningstar, a single human, decimated their task force with ease.

    Mercy barely managed to dodge a spear thrust to her heart that would have ended her life.

    However, even though she managed to survive by a hair''s breadth, the aftermath of the Battle of Khalos left Mercy injured and buried amidst a mountain of corpses - both her enemies and allies alike.

    Her injuries were severe, and shecked the strength to free herself from under the pile of corpses.

    Death from her injuries seemed imminent if no one came to her rescue. Fortunately, someone dide to her rescue.

    Magnus, who was on a reconnaissance mission in the aftermath of the Battle of Khalos, found her buried under a heap of corpses.

    With great effort, he pulled her out and got her to his n''s base, where she was treated. He saved her life.

    So surely she can''t leave him here to die when he''s in need of help, can she?

    Yes, even though it meant sacrificing her mission and blowing her cover, she would do it if she could save this person!

    Kach, Kach, Kach¡ª!!!

    Thud, Thud, Thud¡ª!!!

    Suddenly, the heads of the three men blocking Magnus'' path were swiftly severed and tumbled to the ground.

    As the lifeless bodies of the men hit the ground, Mercy emerged, with her hands shrouded in darkness, taking the form of sharp ws while her fangs bared from beneath her upper lip.

    "...Huh¨C?! Khuk!!" the woman standing there gaped in horror at the sight before her.

    But she was swiftly interrupted as Mercy plunged the dark ws into her abdomen, causing her to cough up a mouthful of blood before copsing to the ground, lifeless.

    The banquet hall descended into chaos once again as the four individuals who attempted to stop a vampire were in by another vampire who appeared in the room.

    "Aeeeik!" a woman screamed while running in a not-sodylike manner.

    "There are two!! There are two vampires!" someone cried out, sending waves of fear and panic through the attendees.

    "Run! Everybody run!" another voice added, and the room erupted into a frenzy as people desperately tried to flee from the deadly creatures, beginning a stampede.

    "Magnus!" Mercy yelled above the screams of terror and chaos. "We can''t let them escape!"

    "Why bother?!" Magnus retorted. "Our cover''s already blown! Shouldn''t we just run?!"

    "Because we need to minimize the witnesses," Mercy exined urgently.

    Her reasoning was sound.

    The fewer the witnesses, the less information the authorities would have on them.

    With so many people having seen their human disguise, there was a higher chance that they could report their presence to the Military Police or the United Military.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Eliminating as many witnesses as possible would increase their chances of escaping the border before the authorities caught up to them.

    "We''ll kill as many as possible before making our escape," Mercy ordered. "Got it?!"

    "Yes, ma''am!" Magnus yelled back before pulling out a shiny silver sword from a dimensional ring on his finger. "Drink my blood," hemanded.

    Kach¨C

    With a swift motion, spikes shot out of the sword''s handle, piercing Magnus''s hand as he gripped it tightly.

    Slowly, the shiny silver de of the sword was dyed into a shade of blood-red.

    Suii¡ª!!

    Willing mana into his legs, Magnusunched himself toward one of the crowded exits of the ballroom.

    sh, Suik, sh¡ª!!!

    He swung his sword with cruel precision, cutting down anyone who came within his range like they were mere des of grass.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Just as his de was about to cleave off a woman''s head, it collided with something sturdy, and a sound of metal shing against metal resounded in the air.

    "Huh?" Magnus arched an eyebrow

    Who could stop my bloodsword?! ¨C he thought to himself in surprise.

    His question was answered when he saw a ck-haired boy with matching abyss-like eyes standing before him, blocking his sword with one of his own.

    It was Nero Dekrauf.

    Using this split second when the vampire was in a state of surprise, Nero pushed away his enemy''s sword and stepped in with his right foot, spinning his body as he struck Magnus with a powerful kick to his abdomen.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The force of the spinning kick sent Magnus stumbling back a few steps before he regained his bnce and stared at Nero with wide eyes, surprised by the young boy''s speed and strength.

    How could a human push me back?! ¨C he thought.

    In that brief exchange, Magnus realized he couldn''t let his guard down around Nero and made a decision to go all out.

    "Arghaaaaa!!" with a fierce roar, the ck-haired vampire summoned darkness to envelop him.

    He made swift hand signs with his free hand, and suddenly the darkness swept over his surroundings.

    It was his mind-control spell.

    Everyone who came in contact with that sudden burst of darkness had now lost control of their bodiespletely.

    Even Nero was affected, but the protagonist gritted his teeth and overcame the mind control spell with his sheer willpower.

    This earned him another surprised stare from Magnus before he spoke, "You are strong, human. However, are you strong enough to kill your own kind?"

    As he said that, all the people near them turned to face Nero. The previous panicked and terror-filled expressions vanished from their faces.

    They weren''t running to exit the hall anymore, no. Now they were standing there, eyeing their prey like hungry beasts.

    "Arghh," Nero groaned in difort as he understood what was about to happen. These people were going to attack him.

    "Scared of fighting me on your own, coward?!" Nero scowled, locking gaze with Magnus.

    "Oh, don''t worry," Magnus waved his hand. "I will be fighting too!"

    As if waiting for that cue, the people around them quickly rushed at Nero, as thetter could only grit his teeth.

    He can''t kill them! They were all innocent people who were under a vampire''s mind control! How could he bring himself to kill them?!

    "Tsk," clicking his tongue, Nero decided to go directly for Magnus. If he kills the vampire, the people under his mind control would be freed.

    "Fuu," releasing a soft breath, Nero sheathed his sword and raised his guard.

    He can''t kill these people but he can just hurt them enough to render them unable to get up for the remainder of the fight.

    Swish¡ª

    Dashing forward, Nero dodged a fist to his face. He fell to his knees and leg-swept several people off their feet before getting up and continuing forward.

    As that fight went on, a couple of cadets tried to stop Mercy from massacring the civilians.

    Meanwhile, amidst all this, Lucas stood frozen, his face twisted in a mix of confusion and ridicule.

    The massacre was supposed to start by the end of the third song, and Magnus should be the only vampire acting as their enemy during it.

    So why did it start early, and why was there another vampire taking part in the killing?

    Lucas found himself unable to answer these questions.

    Was it something he did? Did he somehow change the story again, for the worse this time? Just what in the world happened?

    Whatever it was, Lucas knew one thing for sure. Their ss, even with Amelia, Nero, and Anastasia fighting on their side, doesn''t stand a chance against two vampires!

    Unless¡­. He takes an active role in this fight.

    As he realized that, Lucas couldn''t help but curse under his breath, "Just my luck."

 Chapter 142 Carnage [1]

    ?

    Amidst the swirling chaos, I found myself motionless, trying toprehend what was happening around me.

    What the hell is going on? How did this happen? I don''t know. I was at a loss as to how everything had escted so quickly.

    The third song has yet to begin. So why has the massacre already started? And instead of one vampire, we''re now dealing with two!

    It seems like that, much like always, something went wrong. Maybe I created some kind of butterfly effect, or some other force was at y here.

    I don''t know.

    "Haa, just my luck."

    Fine, if this is the hand that I''ve been dealt, then I''ll have to roll up my sleeves and engage in the battle actively.

    With that realization, I decided to take action.

    Amelia had already darted off to assist others in the fight against the blonde vampire, while Nero was valiantly fending off a horde of mind-controlled individuals under Magnus'' sway.

    If we go by sheer numbers, I should go help out Nero, but I''d rather steer clear of the vampire he''s up against.

    In a one-on-one fight, I know I wouldn''t stand a chance against Magnus and only drag Nero down.

    Magnus is a lethal adversary and a killing machine, so it''s better if I leave Nero to tackle him.

    I mean, let''s face it - Nero''s the protagonist, not me.

    He''s got plot armor on his side, whereas all I have going for me are my striking good looks and a sharp intellect. Hehe.

    Ah, damn it!

    I need to concentrate. I should focus on the task at hand and not let my narcissism get the better of me!

    Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I scanned the banquet hall, which now resembled a battlefield.

    This grand ballroom had two exits - one to the east and the other to the west.

    Needless to say, both were crowded with panicking people trying to flee the chaos.

    Unfortunately, Magnus had already cast his mind control over those attempting to escape through the eastern exit, leaving us with only the west exit.

    But that, too, was blocked by the other blonde vampire who came with Magnus.

    Their n was clear - trap us in here and ughter us like sheep. It was a sound strategy, really.

    The fewer witnesses left alive, the more difficult it would be for the military to track them down before they could flee across the border.

    Regrettably for them, I am no sheep.

    Suii¡ª

    I summoned my yumi bow and swiftly notched an arrow, adopting a steady stance and drawing the bowstring taut.

    Focusing my aim on the blonde vampire, I took a deep breath and imbued my arrow with a surge of mana.

    Fifteen cadets were embroiled inbat against my target vampire, so avoiding friendly fire was a challenge.

    But since I have honed my archery skills through numerous target practices aftering into this world, I was confident in hitting my target.

    Swish¡ª!!

    As I released the bowstring, the arrow shot forward and whizzed through the air with lightning speed.

    "....?!"

    Cling¡ª!!

    Unfortunately, even though I shot the arrow from her blind spot, the female vampire sensed the iing projectile and raised her ws to deflect it with quick reflexes.

    "Tsk," I clicked my tongue in annoyance before dashing in to engage the enemy up close.

    ¨C"Hiyaa!"

    ¨C"Surround her!"

    ¨C"Do not look into her eyes! And watch out for any spells that could affect your mind¨C khak!"

    As I charged forward, the battle cries of the cadets fighting the vampire rang in my ears.

    Some just screamed incoherently, and others barked orders while one cadet in particr attempted to warn hisrades about the dangers of a vampire''s mind control abilities.

    Sadly, before he couldplete his warning, the blonde vampire appeared before him and slit his throat, ending his life in an instant.

    Thud¡ª

    As his lifeless body fell to the ground, those nearby - who appeared to have known the fallen cadet - stepped back with a terror-filled look in their eyes.

    "Fuck," I couldn''t help but curse under my breath as I saw that happen.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    They let their guard down.

    Vampires use dark magic to control the minds of other creatures. Just like all the spells in existence, there are ways to counter this spell too.

    One way was to maintain a clear, focused mind, free of any overpowering emotions such as love, hate, lust, anger, fear, or sorrow. This would enable individuals to resist the effects of mind control.

    Alternatively, one could avoid being struck by the mind control spell in the first ce.

    Seems simple enough, right?

    Yeah, well, in a real-life battle, both of these options prove exceedingly difficult to execute.

    Unless your name starts with Nero and ends with Dekrauf ¨C the only individual capable of resisting mind control through his sheer willpower ¨C if you let your guard down and get hit by a mind-control spell from a vampire, it''s over.

    They could turn you against your own allies or make you kill yourself.

    "Haaa!"

    So as soon as the cadets stepped back in fear, a surge of dark energy emanated from the female vampire, enveloping all those who stood close to her.

    The faces of the cadets twisted in agony as the mind control spell took hold of them.

    Soon, however, the look in their eyes turned nk, and their movements stopped.

    Clearly, they were now under the female vampire''s control.

    Luckily, I was out of range of the mind-control spell when it was exerted.

    Also, luckily, it seemed that only extras and side characters were caught in the female vampire''s mind-control spell.

    Amelia, Anastasia, Aster, Grace, Drake, Chase, Elijah, and Hugh Jass had managed to jump back and avoid the spell just in time.

    Okay! One variable, one third-year cadet, one side viin, the female lead, and four other main characters ¨C I can work with this team.

    As soon as I reached them, Amelia, noticing my presence, asked: "Do you have a n?"

    "Of course I have a n," I replied matter-of-factly.

    "What is it?" Anastasia chimed in with gritted teeth. "We are outnumbered, so anything that can help will work."

    "Listen up," I barked. "Amelia and Hugh, you both will stay back and give us cover. Chase and Grace, you both will rush forward and clear my path. Elijah and¨C"

    However, before I could finish, Drake chipped in. "Wait," he said. "I''m in the third year here. You all will follow my orders! Do as I say, and we''ll get out of this alive!"

    "Yeah, I''d much rather listen to a third-year cadet''s instructions than his," Chase directed a scowl at me.

    "What? Did you forget the Mock War, Chase?" Elijah tried to retort.

    "That was Mock War! Here our lives are in real danger! We won''t open our eyes in the real world if we die! I am notfortable following his instructions and putting my life in his hands!" Chase yelled back.

    "Chase¨C" Anastasia was about to argue, but I interjected.

    "Stop it, you all!" I shouted, my eyes still fixated on the female vampire who had her ws up and minions ready to attack us. "This is neither the time nor ce to have this stupid argument. Mr. Drake, if you think you can¡ª huh?!"

    Swish¨C!!

    Before I could finish speaking, the blonde vampire''s figure blurred, and she popped up right in front of me with her ws drawn back.

    In a split second, the female vampire lunged at me, her dark ws aimed at my neck as she sought to cleave it off.

    Swish¨C!!

    But her ws met nothing but air as I dodged her attack with lightning-fast reflexes, stepping back and crouching just in time to save my neck.

    But I didn''t stop there. Seizing this chance, I used the momentum of my duck to pivot on my left foot and deliver a swift, spinning kick to her unguarded chest.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Tsk," to my frustration, however, my attack dealt no damage as the vampire stood there unharmed.

    Bang, Bang, Bang¡ª!!

    She went to grab my foot, but before she could do that, Hugh fired three bullets from his twin handguns and hit the vampire right in her face.

    I used this opportunity to retreat my foot and hop a few steps back to safety.

    "You will die first," the blonde vampire spoke in detest while looking at Hugh, seemingly unharmed by his bullets.

    "No you," Hugh replied.

    "..." What? Did he really just reply with a ''No you'' when he could''ve said all the cool things in the world?!

    I swear to god, if this wasn''t a life or death situation, I would''ve had a long chat with him about beingme!

    "Amelia, Hugh, and Lucas, you three will cover us. The rest of you will vacate my path and help me get to her. Try not to kill anyone since they are our allies," Drake instructed, raising his sword and pointing it at the female vampire. "Once I get in close range with her, I''ll kill her."

 Chapter 143 Carnage [2]

    ?

    ''Once I get in close range with her, I''ll kill her'' my ass!

    "Arghhhhaaa!!"

    Despite his bravado, Drake''s n to kill the female vampire failed miserably.

    Now hey sprawled on the ground, his arm severed and blood pouring out as he cried and screamed in agony.

    Anastasia and Chase, having fought against the blonde vampire and her mind-controlled minions up front, were down on their knees, wounded and struggling to catch their breath.

    Grace, Elijah, and Aster stood at a safe distance, keeping a watchful eye on the enemy with their weapons at the ready.

    Meanwhile, Amelia, Hugh, and I stood spread out at the back, ready to provide cover fire with our bows and guns if needed.

    As I watched the third-year cadet writhing in pain, I couldn''t help but shake my head slightly.

    I warned him not to rush in, but he still did it.

    But despite my warning, Drake still rushed in with Chase using his shield gauntlets to protect him, acting as a tank.

    Meanwhile, Anastasia fought the mind-controlled minions at close range with her archery skills.

    As that happened, Grace, Elijah, Aster, and Chase protected them in a circr formation. Their aim was to get Drake near the blonde vampire.

    This strategy worked. Drake was able to get in close range with the blonde vampire.

    However, just as he was about to swing his sword, the other third-year cadet, Emma, unexpectedly jumped in front of him.

    Emma was under the control of the female vampire, and Drake was caught off guard.

    Stumbling backward in surprise, Drake didn''t want to hurt his friend.

    The blonde vampire took advantage of the opening and swiftly got behind him to cleave off his arm.

    Actually, she had been aiming for his neck, but Hugh''s quick thinking and precise shooting had saved Drake''s head from rolling on the ground.

    Now because of that, I have one less pawn to move, and this battle has be increasingly more difficult to fight.

    Not only that but now we are also surrounded by the cadets and civilians under the female vampire''s mind-control.

    "I am assumingmand now that both third-year cadets are down," I said firmly.

    It wasn''t a question or a suggestion; it was a clear order.

    As expected, nobody, not even Chase, voiced any objections.

    They weren''t in any position to reject help at this moment.

    "Hugh, stay two steps behind me and use your guns for close-rangebat. Anastasia, move back and take Hugh''s position to provide us with cover fire with Amelia. Chase, act as our tanker. Elijah and Grace, rush with me. Aster, watch my back," Imanded, delegating specific tasks to each member of our team.

    "What about Drake?" Chase asked, getting up to his feet along with Anastasia.

    "Leave him," I replied indifferently. "We have no manpower to protect the wounded."

    "What?! You want him to die?!" Chase snapped.

    I turned to look at him dead in the eyes. "First, control your emotions. We are up against a vampire. If you lose control of your emotions, you''ll be mind-controlled by her. Second, do you want us to die protecting him?"

    "....."

    "That''s what I thought?"

    With no further arguments, everyone quickly moved to fill the positions I instructed them about with me at the center.

    Maybe Drake was strong; I don''t really know. However, he made three mistakes.

    First, he dared tomand the troops he knew nothing about.

    For example, Anastasia is an archer.

    She would do a much better job at long-distance cover fires than Hugh Jass, who''s a gunman.

    Since guns are quick to shoot, he can easily fight at close range.

    Plus, Chase, Elijah, and Grace are in one unit. They are already familiar with each other''s fighting style, so it''s best to make them fight together.

    "What''s our n?" Hugh, who now stood exactly two steps behind me, asked. "Do we rush?"

    "Yes," I answered. "Get me to her, and I''ll do the rest."

    "Ha!" right then, the female vampire scoffed. "Did you not see what happened to yourrade? And you''re still trying the same thing?"

    Yeah, Drake''s second mistake was that he rushed in without a solid n in mind.

    Maybe he was too overconfident in his closebat skills, or maybe he simply underestimated the vampire.

    Whatever it was that he thought, it cost him his left hand.

    "Charge!" I yelled.

    At mymand, we darted forward in the direction of the blonde vampire.

    "Kill them," the blonde vampire muttered.

    As if waiting for that cue, the people surrounding us, with vacant looks in their eyes, rushed at us.

    I stashed my bow back in my dimensional bracelet. I didn''t need it right now. In its ce, I summoned the short spear I had boughtst night.

    ¨C"Arghhaaa!!"

    ¨C"Haaaa!"

    ¨C"Hiyaaaa!"

    Meanwhile, the individuals under the vampire''s mind control tried to block our path, but we pushed through.

    Bang, Bang, ng¡ª!!

    sh, Splurt, Swish¡ª!!

    Sounds of gunshots, sword shes, shield blocking, and arrows whipping through the air filled banquet hall.

    Everyone tried not to hurt anyone more than necessary since our enemies were either our allies or normal civilians.

    Not me, though. I didn''t have the luxury to hold back since I wasn''t fighting at my full power without my spear and armor.

    "Haaa!"

    Amid the chaos, a slightly chubby guy suddenly broke through our formation and charged toward me. I recognized him as someone from my ss.

    Without hesitation, he stepped in and threw a powerful roundhouse kick aimed straight at my face.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Reacting swiftly, I ducked down and evaded his attack, causing his kick to meet nothing but air.

    Taking advantage of his momentary loss of bnce, I quickly rose to my feet and lunged forward with my short spear at the ready.

    Kach, Splurt¡ª!!

    Sure enough, my spear collided with his body, piercing his gut and causing blood to spurt out as he buckled down and fell to his knees.

    I swiftly withdrew my weapon and kept rushing forward, determined to stay focused on the fight ahead.

    Drake''s third mistake was that he wasn''t ready to hurt his ownrades.

    "Haaa!"

    "Huuyu!"

    Bang, Bang¡ª!!

    Two more guys broke through the formation and jumped in front of me, but they were quickly taken care of by Hugh as he shot their legs and rendered them immobile.

    "Ha, nice cover."

    My eyes whipped across the battlefield, looking for my target, and soon I found her.

    There she was ¨C the blonde vampire. She was only ten meters away from us.

    She had her hands stretched out and open ws facing us. Ominous dark energy was clustering into an orb in front of her.

    She was about to use some kind of dark magic spell.

    Unfortunately for her, I can''t let her do that.

    "Anastasia!" I yelled. Before charging, I had given her three sets of light-enchanted arrows. I asked her to shoot the vampire with them at my signal.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    At my cue, Anastasia quickly nocked a light-enchanted arrow on her bow and shot it with lightning-fast speed.

    I had to agree that both her aim and shooting time was better than Amelia''s.

    ng¡ª!!

    However, the blonde vampire''s reaction time was far too inhumane.

    She quickly canceled her spell and swung her w, breaking the arrow in half before it could even touch her.

    Of course, I had expected Anastasia to miss her shot. I just wanted her to shake the vampire a little bit.

    "Break formation!" I yelled, and everyone instantly split up to fight on their own.

    They had gotten me close enough. From here, I had to charge at the vampire myself.

    "Tsk!" seeing me closing the distance, the blonde vampire clicked her tongue and readied her ws.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    At speed iprehensible to the human eye, her figure blurred out into thin air and appeared right before me, her ws aimed at my stomach.

    Swish¡ª!!

    However, she had to quickly step back to dodge an attack when Anastasia swiftly shot another light-enchanted arrow in between her and me.

    "Arghhh!" the vampire gritted her teeth in frustration.

    While she was off bnce, I used this time to eat the distance between us and stepped right in front of her.

    With all my strength, I aimed my spear toward the female vampire''s chest, intending to stab her heart.

    Fwush¡ª!!

    "Huh?!"

    But I was left stunned when the vampire quickly arched her back sideways to avoid my spear thrust.

    But she didn''t stop there. She swiftly moved towards my unguarded right side before I could even get a chance to react.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Using the momentum of her steps, she spun her body andnded a powerful spinning kick to my back, sending me flying several meters forward.

    Bam¡ª!!

    My body skidded across the floor like a t rock skipping over water until I crashed into the wall and came to a stop.

    "Arghh¨C Khuuk!"

    Groaning in pain, I willed strength into my legs to get up, but before I could achieve that, a foot struck my face and stomped me down on the ground.

    "Humans never learn," a mocking feminine voice resounded in my ears as excruciating pain assaulted every part of my body. "Now your friends will die because of you. Well, they would''ve died anyway, but now I will make it painful."

    Through her foot squishing my face, my eyes moved around the banquet hall.

    She was right. It seemed like we were about to lose.

    Chase, who was already exhausted, was on the ground as several people swarmed around his fallen body.

    Elijah was swinging his battle hammer against mind-controlled William, but thetter was quickly countering him.

    Grace was fighting a bunch of other cadets from our ss, while Aster had a water barrier cast around her to protect herself from a horde of mind-controlled minions.

    Anastasia, Hugh, and Amelia were still on their feet and still fighting, but for how long?

    "Before I kill you, let me ask you one thing," the vampire spoke, her voice cold. "Do you know Reynold Morningstar?"

    "...H-He is my father," I uttered through squished cheeks.

    "I knew it. I recognized those eyes," the blonde vampire replied, her voice tinged with hatred. "Three years ago, your father single-handedly killed hundreds of myrades in battle and almost killed me too."

    Her icy gaze still fixed on me, she continued, "By sheer luck, I survived. But your father managed to damage my mana core to the point where I could never recover my true powers. I became a mere shadow of who I once was."

    "Who asked¨C Arghh!" I tried to interrupt, but the blonde vampire stomped her foot against my face even harder and continued to speak further, almost as if relishing her certain victory.

    "I was demoted from a warrior to a mere spy. The Vampire Kings sent me to enemy territory to act as a rat. I, once the great Mercy Bloodrose, had to act as a mere spy! Your father was the cause of it all. I swore in the name of our Monarch that day ¨C someday I will make your father pay. Even if I can''t kill him inbat, I will hurt him another way. And look at that. Fate brought you to me to be squished under my foot like an insect."

    I scoffed, "If this is your idea of getting back at my father, then let me inform you that it''s pointless. My father wouldn''t shed even a single tear if I were to die here."

    Mercy shook her head, her expression turning serious. "That''s not true. The bond of blood is the strongest. It hurts when your own blood is spilled."

    "Even if that''s true," I said, shing a confident smile. "Can you spill his blood?"

    Mercy drew back her ws and strengthened them with mana. She was done talking. Now all she wanted to do was nt her ws in my chest to crush my heart.

    But before she could do that, I summoned a red button from my smart bracelet''s dimensional storage and pressed it.

    "....?!" Confusion was evident on Mercy''s face as several orbs began to glow from underneath the polished, white tiles of the banquet hall almost instantly.

    Kach¡ª!!!

    Quickly, I bit a small part of my tongue between my teeth and closed my eyes as I let out a muffled pained scream. "Mnghh!"

    Swoom, Bang¡ª!!!

    Right at that moment, a bright light and a deafening bang urred almost instantly, disorienting both of us.

    Those were the new batch of light-enchanted sh bombs I had nted at the western exitst night when I came to scout this ce.

    Not only were they more powerful than the ones I used on Reina, but they were also capable of stunning a target for two whole seconds.

    "Arghh!" But due to the stinging pain in my tongue, I was able to recover my senses faster and act quickly while Mercy was still disoriented.

    Thwack¨C!!

    I pushed away her foot andnded a kick on her abdomen, making her take a few steps back.

    Deftly jumping back to my feet, I rushed forward and thrust my spear at her heart.

    "Haa!"

    p¡ª!!

    But even in her stunned state, she was able to react to my attack and p away my hand.

    I didn''t stop there. I willed mana into my right leg and moved it to throw a front kick at the blonde vampire.

    I had tond at least one critical strike before the effects of the sh bombs wore out!

    However, Mercy anticipated my move and quickly raised her guard to cover her abdomen.

    She just had to survive one second, and after that, she would kill me. Or at least, that''s what she thought would happen.

    But I suddenly whipped my leg up and turned the front kick into a quick roundhouse kick.

    Thwam¡ª!!!

    Mercy was sent crashing to one knee as my kicknded t on her ear.

    Swish, Thruck¡ª!!

    Right then, another light-enchanted arrow whistled through the air from behind Mercy and struck her shoulder de.

    "ARGHHHAAA!"

    Kach¡ª!!

    As she let out a beastly, blood-curdling scream, I rushed in and thrust my short spear into her heart.

    "Aaahk!"

    Mercy''s mouth fell open as she gasped herst breath. I stood over her, gazing down into her terror-filled and widened eyes.

    Grabbing her by her neck as life slowly seeped out of her body, I spoke bitterly:

    "If fate truly exists, then it''s nothing but a fickle little whore. It didn''t bring me to you, but rather, it brought you to me so I could finish what that father of mine had failed to do - and that is to end your life."

    Despite being weak and near death, Mercy brought her ws up and attempted to gnaw at me, still determined to take my life.

    But soon after, her body went limp, and two canines fell from her mouth as I released her by the neck, letting her fall back to the ground, dead.

 Chapter 144 Revenge [1]

    ?

    SLAM¡ª!!!

    As I triumphantly finished delivering my cool dialogue, something came flying in my direction and mmed against me.

    The force of the impact sent me tumbling to the ground, my limbs iling wildly as I desperately tried to steady myself.

    In the background, I heard a bone-chilling scream that sent shivers down my spine.

    "NOOOOO!"

    "Arghhh!" With a pained groan, I summoned the strength to rise to my feet and scanned the area for the object that had collided with me.

    But then I heard panting and saw Nero. It turns out he was the one who mmed into me.

    "Nero?" I frowned, still feeling the ache from the collision.

    "S-Sorry," Nero gasped, stretching out his hand.

    I took his hand and helped him stand up.

    As we both regained our footing, we looked in the direction from which Nero hade flying.

    d in a dark aura, a ck-haired vampire in human guise stood there. His face was twisted in anger, and his eyes were widened in disbelief.

    His gaze was fixed on the fallen body of the blonde vampire that I had killed.

    Following his gaze, Nero also stole a nce at the fallen vampire''s dead body. "You took her down?" he asked incredulously.

    "It was a team effort," I replied, still catching my breath. "How strong is that one?" I asked Nero.

    "Strong enough," he answered gravely.

    As we conversed, the people who had been under Mercy''s mind-control spell began to stir and slowly regain consciousness.

    ¨C"What happened?" one of them asked groggily, looking around in confusion. "I was running and then..."

    ¨C"My head hurts! Arghh!" another eximed, clutching their temples in pain.

    ¨C"Did I kill someone? I was cked out... Why am I covered in blood?!" someone else cried out in puzzlement.

    As the people gradually regained their senses, they began murmuring and panicking.

    Those with weaker mental fortitude even screamed in agony, feeling as though their heads were about to burst open.

    On the other hand, those who weren''t mind-controlled by Mercy weren''t in any better shape either.

    It''s understandable since, even though for a very short period of time, they had to take on several other cadets at once.

    Chase was beaten and bruised. Aster was on her knees, catching her breath.

    Amelia and Anastasia were both rtively fine but clearly exhausted nheless.

    Grace and Elijah were both injured, albeit not gravely. Drake was still on the ground, unconscious from blood loss from his severed arm and agonizing pain.

    Hugh, surprisingly, was still on his feet, full of stamina andpletely unharmed. What was this guy made of?

    Nero wasn''t in any better shape either.

    For the whole duration of our fight against Mercy, he had to fight against Magnus on his own. Cuts and shallow wounds were evidently visible on his body.

    And I ¨C Well, every fiber of my body was aching. I wasn''t in the worst shape, but not in the best either.

    It''s pretty clear to me that we are in no condition to take on Magnus right now, especially with some cadets and civilians still under his mind-control spell.

    "Everyone!" I shouted, trying to make myself heard over the chaos. "I know all this must be confusing, but you were all under a vampire''s mind control! Now that the vampire who cast the spell has been taken care of, you''re all back to normal! Run to the western exit and escape the banquet hall as fast as you can since there''s still one more vampire left alive!"

    My words jolted everyone into confusion, and they started whipping their heads around to take in the situation.

    When their eyes fell on the ck-haired vampire in human guise, enveloped in a dark aura, approaching them, panic set in, and they began running towards the western exit.

    The ground shook under our feet as the panicked crowd rushed past us, and Nero turned his gaze back to the fallen carcass of the female vampire.

    "Did that short spear have a light magic attribute?" he asked.

    I nodded in affirmation. Of course, he was right. I had imbued that short spear with light magic using my Edit Penst night.

    The light element is the most effective against vampires, a race in which every individual seems to possess an affinity for the Dark element.

    "Have you got any other tricks up your sleeve?" Nero probed further.

    "Not at the moment," I replied, knowing full well that I still had my armor''s special feature ¨C Embrace Discard ¨C but it wasn''t an ace I was prepared to reveal just yet.

    "Then we''re screwed," Nero said, shaking his head as he kept his eyes fixed on Magnus, who was getting closer by the second.

    "Why don''t we just run like everyone else and get out of here?" I suggested, hoping to find some way out of this mess.

    "Look at him," Nero countered, pointing his chin toward the approaching figure of the vampire. "He''s seething with rage. He won''t rest until he has taken revenge for hisrade''s death."

    "So?" I raised an eyebrow. "We could just run to the nearest Military Police station and let the authorities deal with it."

    "Lucas," Nero looked at me skeptically. "If that thing gets out on the streets, it will cause countless deaths!"

    As Nero spoke, I couldn''t help but roll my eyes in exasperation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I forgot what kind of clich¨¨ good guy protagonist Nero was ¨C always ready to sacrifice himself for the others'' good.

    His unwaveringmitment to protecting the innocent and weak, no matter the cost, was both admirable and frustrating. Mostly frustrating.

    I knew he would never risk the safety of those innocent civilians on the streets, but I also couldn''t leave him to face Magnus alone.

    In contrast to the novel, Nero had to face Magnus alone for a prolonged period of time, leaving him in poor condition to continue the fight.

    The other main characters were also in no better shape.

    Additionally, in the novel, only Magnus used the mind-control spell, allowing half of the people present at the party to remain unscathed.

    However, in this timeline, two vampires appeared at the party instead of one and they both used the mind-control spells at both exits of the hall.

    As a result of that, almost everyone who came here fell under their control.

    And because of that, our dear main characters had to deal with twice as many mind-controlled minions as they did in the novel.

    I''m short; yeah, we really are screwed if Nero doesn''t agree to run.

    "So what do we do?" I asked, clearly out of options.

    "I have already contacted the Military Police, so they should be arriving any moment now," Nero replied, raising his sword as Magnus came even closer. "We have to stall him until then."

    "Lucas!" Right then, I heard a familiar voice from my right. I turned around to look at its source to find it was Kent.

    "Kent!" I eximed. "Are you alright?!"

    He was hurt. A stab wound was apparent on his right shoulder. He was one of the mind-controlled individuals. So perhaps someone had to hurt him to push him away during the fight with Mercy.

    "I''m alright," Kent waved his good hand, pain clearly visible on his face. "I can fight too."

    "No," I firmly replied before taking out a vial from the pocket storage of my smart bracelet. "It''s a healing potion. Take it and get out of here. Get somewhere safe."

    "What?" Kent frowned. "I won''t abandon¨C"

    Before he could argue, Nero interjected. "Kent, we are already in a conundrum here. We don''t need people to drag us down."

    "..." Kent stayed silent at those words. He knew Nero was right.

    Seeing that, I ced a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you''re not abandoning your bro. This is a strategic retreat. And while you''re at it, help that poor soul over there."

    I pointed in Drake''s direction. He was still out cold and losing a dangerous amount of blood. If he didn''t get medical attention quickly, it was clear that he would die.

    "...Ok," Kent hesitantly nodded his head and rushed to Drake''s side before struggling to lift him to his feet and drag him out.

    "That was harsh," Imented, summoning the yumi-styled bow from my smart bracelet.

    "We have no time for arguments. He''ll understand," Nero retorted. "While we are on that topic, can you fight?"

    "Are you understanding me?" I raised an eyebrow, nocking an arrow on the bowstring. "Remember, I killed that blonde vampire."

    "Fair," Nero cocked his head slightly. "But this will be more of a head-on fight. So, are you up for it?"

    ncing around, I noticed that the once-crowded banquet hall had now been emptied, with the majority of the nobles and cadets fleeing.

    However, a few individuals remained beside the ck-haired vampire.

    Amelia and Anastasia gripped their bows tightly, their expressions filled with determination.

    Hugh reloaded his twin handguns with a casual look on his face. Elijah lifted his massive battle hammer, ready to strike.

    Aster pointed her dagger at the enemy with a timid look while Nero and I took our stances side by side, with me drawing back my bowstring and Nero preparing to engage inbat.

    Surprisingly, Grace was also present and didn''t flee. However, her decision to stay wasn''t out of the sheer kindness of her heart.

    The reason she decided to stay back was that E Bright, Grace''s childhood friend whom she was currently on bad terms with, had also decided to stay and fight with us.

    Perhaps Grace saw this as an opportunity to mend her friendship with E.

    Regardless of her motives, having her on our side in this fight is definitely an advantage.

    William Sinoath, the elven boy who fought with Alberto and sparked the Mock War, was also present. He summoned his spear and pointed its head at our enemy.

    Almost all the main characters were gathered here to fight, along with one variable and one minor antagonist.

    The only one missing was Chase, who was badly injured and had to be carried out of the hall.

    With this many capable fighters on our side, our chances of losing have significantly decreased.

    Step, Step, Step¡ª!!

    The sound of our footsteps echoing in the empty hall stopped ringing when Magnus stopped his approach, his piercing gaze fixed on us as he came to a halt only a few meters away from our group.

    "Of course, I''m ready for it."

    As soon as I said that, I infused mana into my arrow and released the bowstring to take the first shot.

    Kwuiish¡ª!!

    The mana on my arrow split into ten darts, giving the illusion that the arrow itself was multiplied before the mana arrows rained down on my target.

    Boom¡ª!!

 Chapter 145 Revenge [2]

    ?

    Boom¡ª!!!

    As my arrow hit Magnus, a deafening explosion engulfed the hall in mes.

    The scorching heat licked at our skin as we momentarily shielded our eyes from the blinding light.

    It was my new Exploding Arrow ¨C the upgraded version of the one I used against Reina. This one packed more punch than the previous one.

    However, even after Inded a sessful hit, we all knew that this attack alone would not suffice to defeat a vampire as powerful as Magnus.

    As the smoke cleared, a monstrous figure emerged from the ashes.

    Its charcoal-colored skin was rough, and its limbs were elongated, giving it a grotesque appearance.

    Two sharp fangs protruded from its mouth, and two glowing red orbs reced its eyes.

    There was no doubt about it - it was Magnus. The tattered remains of his burnt suit from the explosion of my arrow easily confirmed his true identity.

    He had shed his previous human disguise to reveal his true vampiric form.

    What appeared to be an angry look was stered on the monster''s face as he looked at us with disgust and contempt.

    With a quick sweep of his hand, Magnus summoned dark energy that crackled around him like lightning.

    In response, Nero stepped forward, his long sword pulsing with a vibrant azure aura.

    As he bent his knees and gripped his sword tightly, Nero let out a fierce battle cry that echoed through the hall.

    "Arghhhaaaa!"

    The aura around Nero''s sword intensified, infused with the power of his mana as dark energy coalesced into an orb in front of Magnus.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    In a sudden burst of movement, Nerounched himself forward with incredible speed.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    The dark orb in front of Magnus also shattered into a devastating beam of darkness, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

    In a sh, Nero''s sword collided with the vampire''s beam of darkness, and a light explosion urred.

    Kaboom¡ª!!!

    The force of the collision sent shockwaves through the air, causing the ground beneath our feet to tremble.

    Nero''s sword sliced through the darkness, cutting a path forward as he charged toward Magnus.

    Seeing this, Magnus dismissed his spell-casting and unsheathed his silver-ded sword again.

    "Drink my blood!" he yelled in a hoarse voice, and suddenly several short spikes appeared out of his sword''s handle and pierced Magnus'' hand.

    As the de of the vampire''s sword dyed into a shade of blood-red color, he rushed forward at Nero and swung his sword.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!!

    The sound of metal shing against metal echoed throughout the hall as Nero and the vampire engaged in a fierce sword fight.

    "Cover Nero!" I shouted to the others, pulling another arrow from my quiver and nocking it onto my bow.

    Amelia and Anastasia followed suit, firing their own arrows to keep Magnus at bay.

    But Magnus was too fast for them. He dodged and weaved between the arrows while attacking Nero with deadly precision.

    I needed to act fast.

    With a steady hand, I aimed my arrow not at Magnus but at the ground beneath his feet and released the bowstring.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    Boom¡ª!!!

    As soon as the arrow hit the ground, a massive explosion rocked the hall, sending debris flying in every direction.

    Magnus was caught off guard, stumbling back from the force of the st. It was our chance to strike.

    "Haaaa!" Right at that moment, Elijah''s battle cry echoed through the hall as he leaped forward, brandishing his massive battle hammer above his head.

    Fwooosh¡ª!!

    Thwoom¡ª!!!

    The sound of impact filled the air as the hammer swung down on Magnus, but the vampire was too quick.

    He spun out of the way, causing the hammer to crash into the ground, digging out a crater on the neatly polished floor.

    Before Elijah could even pull back his hammer to strike again, Magnus suddenly appeared behind him, his ws poised to strike.

    "....?!"

    The half-dwarf turned just in time to see the vampire''s attack, and his eyes widened in shock

    He couldn''t possibly lift his hammer back up and defend himself so fast!

    The vampire was too quick for him!

    Bang, Bang, Bang¡ª!!!

    Hugh tried to shoot at Magnus from a distance, hoping to push him away from Elijah.

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    However, with inhuman uracy, Magnus deftly blocked the bullets with his sword, causing them to ricochet harmlessly off his de.

    Kuish¡ª!!

    Using his other hand, Magnus struck Elijah''s back with his ws, tearing his flesh and leaving deep gashes on his skin.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Aaargh!" Elijah grunted in pain and stumbled forward before falling to his knees.

    But before Magnus couldnd another attack, William appeared out of nowhere and mmed his body into the vampire, sending him crashing into a nearby wall.

    Thwooom¡ª!!!

    The impact left a huge dent in the wall, and debris fell from the ceiling.

    "Get up, Elijah! We can''t let him take us down one by one!" William shouted as he stood protectively in front of Elijah.

    "Arghh!" Elijah slowly stood up, using his hammer as support while holding his injured back and groaning in pain.

    Meanwhile, Amelia, Anastasia, Hugh, and I unleashed a barrage of arrows and bullets, raining down a relentless assault on the spot where Magnus struggled to stand, using the vandalized wall as support.

    Boom¡ª!!!

    Thwush, Thwoom, Thwoosh¡ª!!

    As my own arrow exploded and others'' arrows and bullets hit the wall around him, debris and dust clouded the area, obscuring our view of Magnus.

    Although we couldn''t see him, we could still hear him hissing and growling in anger.

    "Keep him down for a little longer!" Nero yelled as he charged toward the struggling vampire, his sword pulled back and glowing in an azure hue.

    Swish¡ª!!

    "...Huh?!"

    But in a split second, something darted past Nero in a blur, leaving him momentarily confused before he realized what it was.

    "He''s moving!" Nero spun around and shouted, alerting everyone to face the iing threat.

    Magnus was now heading straight for Amelia and Anastasia, his sharp ws at the ready.

    "I see," I thought to myself out loud while stroking my chin, analyzing Magnus''s tactics. "He''s trying to eliminate the long-range fighters first. It''s an optimal strategy when fighting solo against multiple enemies."

    Basically, his n was to take out the archers and the gunman first.

    After he''s done with that, he would iste the close-range fighters for one-on-one battles.

    Meanwhile, he was now also avoiding the strongest fighter in the group, Nero.

    Despite being angry and filled with contempt, he was thinking with his head. I can actually apud him for that.

    Even Reina, one of the seven former Abyssal Vampire Kings, wasn''t this calm when I fought her.

    "If he takes out Anastasia and Amelia, he''lle after Hugh and me next," I realized, quickly strategizing our next moves.

    "Should I go in for close range?" Hugh, who was standing right next to me, asked.

    Yes, we long-range fighters were spread out in pairs. Anastasia and Amelia covered the right side, while Hugh and I covered the left side.

    I waved my hand in dismissal. "Don''t bother," I replied before quickly and loudly barking orders. "Aster, protect the archers, Aster! E and Grace, engage the vampire!"

    Aster was skilled in defensive magic, especially with spells ¡ª ?Ice Wall? and ?Water Barrier?, which could withstand attacks from powerful foes like Nero and Quinn.

    Her expertise made her the perfect choice to keep the long-range fighters safe.

    Meanwhile, E and Grace were closer to Amelia and Anastasia ¨C the spot where Magnus was headed.

    They could move quickly to engage the vampire first, keeping him upied while Nero made his way over.

    Since Nero was already on his way to face Magnus, I didn''t need to give him any additional orders.

    With Grace and E keeping Magnus busy, Aster would ensure the safety of the archers, and Nero could join the fight with everyone''s support.

    By engaging Magnus with E and Grace and protecting the archers with Aster''s magic spells, Nero would have a clear shot at taking him down.

    The n ensured that Magnus couldn''t run away, harm the archers, or avoid Nero''s attack.

    With this foolproof strategy, victory was almost guaranteed.

    And as the mastermind behind it all, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of pride in my strategic prowess. Yes, I was indeed a genius!

    This n was perfect, wasn''t it?! Ha!

    Following mymand, Aster quickly cast a water barrier spell around Amelia and Anastasia while E lifted her rapier up and Grace held her halberd tightly.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    "....Haa?!"

    But suddenly, something happened that made me widen my eyes in surprise and shock.

    "Fuck," I cursed under my breath.

    "Lucas¡­ is he heading toward us?" Hugh asked.

    "...Yes," I nodded.

    Yeah, so, in the middle of his charge, Magnus suddenly changed directions and made a sharp turn toward Hugh and me.

    I had underestimated him.

    Magnus had counted on us to focus all our defense on protecting Amelia and Anastasia, leaving Hugh and me vulnerable.

    With Elijah injured and William unable to reach us in time, we were on our own.

    The rest of our team was also too far away since I had redirected most of our manpower to guard Amelia and Anastasia.

    "Hahaha!" I let out a bitterugh. He had outsmarted me.

    So this is the difference between excellent tactics and battle experience, huh?

    Fine, so be it.

 Chapter 146 Backup Plan [1]

    ?

    Acting quickly, I stashed my bow back into my smart bracelet''s dimensional storage and mentally prepared myself for hand-to-handbat.

    I know I can''t defeat a vampire alone without a weapon on me, but fighting to win isn''t my motive to begin with.

    By the looks of it, Nero will reach me in around eight seconds. That''s all the time I need to stall for.

    Yes, I was fighting to stall time.

    I am not the main character of this story, so I won''t act like it and try to fight an obviously stronger opponent than me with the objective of winning.

    As soon as Magnus stepped into the striking range, he thrust his sword forward at my head to drill open a hole in my skull with his de.

    He was quickly going for the kill.

    Unfortunately for him, I have no intention of dying here today.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    I ducked and let his sword pass over my head while simultaneously willing mana into my right hand and balling it into a fist.

    Tensing my calve muscles and mustering all the strength I had in my body, I lunged forward from that low position and shot forward a powerful punch.

    [Soul Smashing Killer Fist]

    It was abat art provided to me by the Academy''sbat art instructor that I hadn''t used in real battle yet, but using it here was worth a shot.

    Swish¡ª!!

    However, my fist connected with nothing but air as the vampire swiftly twirled to his right and firmly gripped my arm.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    With the hold of my arm, Magnus used my forward motion against me and yanked me in toward himself before thrashing his knee into my stomach.

    "Khuuk!"

    The impact knocked the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air as the skilled assassin raised his sword high, poised to strike and plunge it into my heart from behind.

    Should I use Mana Burst or Phoenix''s Embrace? ¨C this thought crossed my mind, but I quickly decided against it.

    Those were cards I couldn''t afford to y just yet.

    Why not?

    The reason was simple: there were CCTV cameras installed in the hall where we were currently engaged in a life-or-death battle.

    Once the Cadet Council learned of what had happened on this trip, they would undoubtedly review the footage of the tragedy that had taken ce here.

    Aside from the Cadet Council, there was someone else I needed to keep my cards hidden from too.

    That person was, of course, Grace Goodwill.

    Why is that?

    Because if she knew the extent of my abilities, she would almost certainly inform Kai.

    And that was something I couldn''t risk.

    Yes, I absolutely can''t let that happen.

    But if I do nothing, I will die.

    ¡­No, I can''t die here! I have to live! I have to reach the end of this story!

    I need to take my revenge on the author of this shitty world for killing me! I need to win!

    "Arghha!"

    With a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength, I twisted my body to the side, causing Magnus'' sword to miss its intended target by a hair''s breadth.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, I mmed my elbow into his face, sending him staggering backward.

    My heart pounding in my chest, I scrambled to my feet and backed away from the vampire.

    Bang, Bang, Bang¡ª!!

    Hugh used this chance to shoot a barrage of bullets at Magnus, not giving him a chance to recover.

    Cling¡ª!!

    But Magnus acted quickly, and he used his w to block the bullets before swiftly closing in on Hugh, shing his sword at him.

    "....?!"

    With widened eyes, Hugh jumped back in time and barely managed to avoid the sword hitting his body.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    However, the vampire''s de met with one of the guns in Hugh''s right hand and sliced through it like a hot knife to butter.

    Bang, Bang¡ª!!

    As Hugh fired off rounds from his remaining gun, he took cautious steps backward.

    But despite his efforts, Magnus evaded most of the bullets with his inhumane speed and relentlessly closed in on him once again.

    Instead of using his sword this time, however, the vampire nted his left foot firmly on the ground and willed mana into his right one.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    With a swift twist of his body, he delivered a brutal spinning kick to Hugh''s abdomen, sending him hurtling several meters away as the gunman coughed a mouthful of blood violently and skidded across the ground.

    "Haaaa!"

    In the critical moment, William seized the opportunity and charged toward Magnus with his spear gripped tightly in hand.

    Seeing that the vampire was still off bnce from delivering that kick to Elijah, William aimed to strike and impale him with his spear and end this battle right this instant.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    Unfortunately, Magnus proved to be more agile than William had anticipated. He effortlessly sidestepped the iing spear as it whizzed past him on his left.

    However, he didn''t stop there.

    Thwack¡ª!!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    In a fluid, spinning motion, the vampire twirled his body like a whirlwind and delivered a crushing blow to William''s right chin with a powerful elbow strike.

    "Khuaak!"

    With a sickening crack, one of William''s teeth dislodged from his mouth, flying out as he spat out a gush of blood mixed with fragments of tooth.

    "Aaaaah!"

    But before Magnus could use his sword to kill off the green-haired half-elf, who was already down on his knees, Nero came to William''s rescue.

    He skillfully swung his sword at Magnus with all his might, giving him almost no time to react to his attack.

    Cling¡ª!!!

    But the vampire assassin did react. He slightly lifted his sword and parried Nero''s de with very little effort.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The protagonist couldn''t even blink as Magnus thrashed his leg into Nero''s midsection, making him stumble a few steps back.

    "Aaaah!"

    "Fuaaaa!"

    To gang up on the vampire and help out, Nero, Aster, and Elijah came running.

    Swish¡ª!!

    In a sh, Magnus dropped to his knees and used Elijah''s momentum to lift him over his shoulder with one hand.

    ".....?!"

    Before Elijah could do something about it, Magnus threw his body at Nero like a rag doll, who was rushing back to him after recovering from that kick.

    Thwam¡ª!!

    Elijah''s body flew forward and violently crashed into Nero as they both fell to the ground.

    "Stay down, you pests!" Magnus yelled in a demonic voice before turning his attention to Aster.

    The blue-haired elven girl had already summoned five Ice Spears as they all floated around her.

    SWISH¡ª!!!

    With a mere sweep of her fingers, the Ice Spearsunched forward at the vampire assassin.

    Magnus, seeing this, enveloped his sword in an ominous aura of darkness and shed his de horizontally over the ground.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    Thwush¡ª!!

    A crescent-shaped arc of pure darknessunched from his de and collided with the Ice Spears, shattering them into a thousand ice shards.

    As the particles of ice fell down like snow, Magnus darted straight for Aster. As that happened, Grace and E also rushed toward Magnus.

    "na¨C" Aster prepared her water barrier spell to protect herself from the iing vampire who was charging at her like an enraged bull.

    But before she could finish her spell, Grace lunged at Magnus with her halberd poised to strike.

    Magnus merely swirled to his left and grabbed Grace''s weapon by its shaft.

    He then used her own speed against her, deftly swinging her around before hurling her towards Aster.

    Thwam¡ª!!!

    Aster tried to dodge Grace''s hurtling body, but the unexpected collision knocked them both off bnce.

    They met the same fate as Elijah and Nero earlier as they tumbled to the ground, struggling to regain their bearings.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Just then, E pounced forward with her rapier, aiming for Magnus'' skull with fierce determination.

    However, the vampire was ready and countered her attack with a swift parry, sweeping his own de upwards to deflect her weapon.

    Not content with just defending himself, Magnus quickly spun around, his sword making a deadly arc aimed at E''s neck.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    Reacting quickly, E managed to take a step back just in time to avoid the lethal blow, letting Magnus'' sword meet nothing but air.

    But Magnus was not yet finished.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Splurt¡ª!!

    In a blink of an eye, he changed his sh into a thrust, lunging forward with his sword aimed at E''s shoulder.

    Despite her efforts to dodge, the de pierced through her shoulder, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the young girl''s lips. "Arghhaaa!"

    "Tsk," as I watched this scene from a distance while biting on my thumbnail, I couldn''t help but click my tongue in frustration.

    I gravely underestimated our foe.

    Magnus knew he was overpowered and outnumbered, so he was picking his fights one by one.

    What''s more, is that our team had no coordination whatsoever. They weren''tmunicating with each other.

    They were letting Magnus iste them into fighting a one-on-one battle.

    "Bwaaah! I can''t take it anymore!" Amelia, who was also watching the same scenery, yelled out in a frustrated tone.

    She quickly put her bow back into her dimensional storage and clenched her fists. "I''m going in!"

    "Amelia, no!" Anastasia tried to stop her, but the ck-haired archeress had already arrived in front of Magnus.

    "Haaa," letting out a sigh, I looked at my watch.

    It was 6:54 PM right now.

    "Heh," suddenly, a grin formed on my face.

    It was almost time for my backup n to start.

 Chapter 147 Backup Plan [2]

    ?

    "Arghhh!" Amelia cried out in pain as shey sprawled on the ground, a deep sword cut visible on the back of her shoulder.

    Still in his vampiric form, Magnus stood a few steps away from the girl as his face contorted in rage as blood streamed from his nose.

    As Amelia writhed in pain, the rest of the main characters were also down, their bodies battered and bruised from the vicious fight.

    Elijah''s back was torn open by another w wound while William and Ey unconscious, their weapons discarded beside them.

    Hugh was on his knees, gasping for breath, having fired all his bullets at the enemy.

    But it was Grace and Aster who suffered the most devastating blow.

    The impact of Magnus'' attack had thrown them against the wall with such force that it left a sizable crater behind.

    As they struggled to move, their bodies were wracked with pain. They knew they were no match for the powerful vampire.

    As Magnus stood over his fallen opponents, a twisted smile yed on his lips, his previous rageful expression disappearing.

    Seeing Mercy fall, he wanted to avenge hisrade and annihte them all!

    He wanted to show them what happens when they kill one of his kind!

    And now, he has almost seeded.

    But as he looked into the determined eyes of the remaining fighters, he knew that the battle was not over yet.

    Only three remained standing in the aftermath of the fierce battle.

    One was a ck-haired boy whom Magnus had shed with earlier, his fighting spirit still evident in his tense stance.

    Another was a ck-haired girl with piercing golden eyes that seemed to bore into Magnus'' very soul.

    The third was a silver-haired boy who had been watching from a distance, focused more on the watch in his hand ¨C Magnus felt uneasy about him.

    But this was exactly what Magnus had nned for. He had wanted to face the ck-haired boy alone, knowing that he was as strong as himself.

    With only three fighters left and one seemingly unwilling to fight, Magnus could finally focus on his true opponent.

    The other girl was an archer, so her interference won''t mean much anyway.

    He readied himself for theing sh, determined to emerge victorious.

    He knew that if the ck-haired boy fell here, it would mean a certain defeat for his friends, who were unable to continue fighting.

    After all, he had been the one managing to stop Magnus right before he could deal the final blow to any of hisrades.

    ?

    I know what he''s thinking.

    He''s thinking something along the lines of ''if Nero fell here, it would mean certain defeat for hisrades who are unable to continue fighting'' right?

    After Amelia rushed in for closebat, she managed tond a powerful knee strike to the vampire''s face.

    That motivated everyone to get back up and charge at Magnus, seeing it as an opportunity to defeat him.

    However, their efforts were in vain, as Magnus had nned for this.

    He intentionally took the hit to draw them closer, and ultimately, he took them down one by one, leaving them unable to rise again.

    Fortunately, Nero was able to intervene each time before Magnus could deliver the final blow to any of them.

    The bright side to all this is: Magnus is noticeably fatigued and is unlikely to prolong the battle. This may lead him to act impulsively and make blunders.

    The not-so-bright side is: Our group has dwindled to only three members.

    Nero, who is almost equally as exhausted as Magnus.

    Anastasia, who has significantly depleted her mana reserves by continuously firing mana-infused arrows.

    And myself, the charismatic young man who is attractive enough to charm the hearts of even the purest of maidens.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I looked at the watch tightly clutched in my hand and noticed that it was 6:59 PM.

    The whole main cast, aside from the two leads of the story, couldn''t stop a vampire for at most ten seconds, even after working together.

    Yeah, I know that unlike in the novel, they had to fight two vampires and twice the number of mind-controlled minions, but still!

    The fact that they couldn''t stop a minor viin for even ten minutes made me shake my head.

    I had to save this world with these guys.

    Thwoosh¡ª!!

    Just as I was in the middle of ridiculing the main cast of this story in my mind, Magnus willed mana into his legs and stomped his foot hard on the ground before slightly bending his knees.

    "Watch out, Nero!" I yelled. "He''sing for you¡ª Oh?!"

    When I tried warning the protagonist, Magnus did something that left me stunned again.

    He twisted his strong foot and spun his body toward me.

    He wasn''t going for Nero. He wasing for me. Maybe he ns to take me out first before engaging with Nero.

    But why? Has he sensed that something is wrong?

    It''s not entirely impossible.

    Since all this time, I had been standing far away from him while maintaining a safe distance; it was possible that he had sensed that I was up to something.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    So with a speed that made him look like a blur, Magnus lunged in my direction, intending to take me out before going for Nero.

    But as his body seemingly grew closer to mine, I couldn''t help but smirk slightly.

    Even if he had sensed that there was something wrong, it was already far toote.

    I had already anticipated this.

    Well, not this precisely, but I knew something would go wrong, so I installed a backup n just in case it really did.

    I strategically ced a time bomb in the main power circuit and generator of this entire building.

    The explosive device is set to detonate precisely at 7:00 PM, causing destruction to both the power circuit and generator.

    The resulting power outage will render the CCTV cameras useless, as I had already removed their batteries in advance. This will create a security blind spot.

    In addition, I also positioned smoke bombs within the air venttion system of this banquet hall.

    "Die!" the vampire assassin yelled in a mix of rage and disgust, and he swung his sword at me as soon as he entered close range.

    "Heh."

    He thought he would kill me and take revenge for hisrade, huh?

    Unfortunately for him, fate isn''t on his side today.

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    Beneath our very feet, a sudden, thunderous explosion erupted from the basement where the power circuit and generator were situated.

    The force of the st was so intense that the ground beneath us shook violently, causing the lights in the banquet hall to flicker beforepletely going out and ultimately plunging us into darkness.

    In mere moments, the thick smoke from previously ced smoke bombs began to fill the air.

    Shing¡ª!!

    As I struggled to maintain myposure in the darkness, a sharp de speedingly sliced through the air and arrived at my throat, the icy steel sending a shiver down my spine.

    In that critical moment, I summoned every ounce of the strength within me and unleashed a powerful roar, "Phoenix Embrace!"

 Chapter 148 Ending The Battle [1]

    ?

    Cling¡ª!!

    As soon as I summoned my relic, a sudden burst of me illuminated the dark hall.

    Almost instantly, a mystical golden armor materialized on my body. The glowing red ruby on my chest cracked and shattered.

    Despite the vampire assassin''s sword nging against my neck, it proved ineffective against my armor''s defense.

    I remained unscathed with fiery wings of brilliant orange me visible behind me¨C slowly extinguishing.

    As the smoke and darkness continued to obscure my vision, the piercing, ominous glow of Magnus'' red eyes loomed in the distance.

    A hoarse, demonic voice reverberated through the darkness, sending chills down my spine.

    "This was your n?" the vampire hissed. "To cause a ckout? Don''t you know that we, vampires, are creatures of the night? We can see perfectly in the dark!"

    I slightly raised my hands and shrugged nonchntly.

    "Oh, the ckout wasn''t meant to obstruct your vision," I retorted before quickly reaching out to grab Magnus'' sword.

    But with lightning-fast reflexes, the vampire pulled back his weapon and leaped backward, evading my grasp.

    Yes, this darkness and smoke are meant for others to not be able to see me. It''s to obstruct their vision not his.

    As for myself, I have a way to fight in the darkness.

    Suii¡ª!

    Channeling mana into my smart bracelet, I took out a full-face white mask. It was the same illusion mask I had used during the mock war.

    However, I had made some changes to it beforeing here today.

    ===

    Item: Illusion Face Mask

    Status: Normal

    Condition: Excellent

    Abilities: The mask can alter the user''s physical appearance and create an illusion to mask their identity for thirty minutes.

    The mask also provides the user with night vision and fog vision.

    Rank: Silver

    ===

    I quickly put it on my face and willed mana into it.

    The ability of mask took effect almost instantly, and I was able to see through all the darkness and smoke.

    This also meant my physical appearance might also have changed.

    I needed that, just in case something went wrong and someone saw my face.

    Although the power was cut to the security cameras were disabled, and most of the main cast was either down or out cold, I could never be too careful.

    Aside from me, the protagonist and the female lead of the story would also not have a problem fighting in the dark.

    Why?

    Nero has honed hisbat skills to a point where he can fight without relying on his eyesight.

    His sixth sense, developed through countless days and nights surviving in the wilderness among fierce mana beasts, guides him in battle.

    Anastasia possesses a unique ability to see mana in the atmosphere and within living beings with her ''God''s Eyes.''

    By utilizing this power, she can create a rough outline of a person, allowing her to discern her enemy''s general location and movements even in the darkness. It''s sort of like heat vision, except it''s for mana.

    The good part of all of this is that neither Nero nor Anastasia possesses true night vision.

    As a result, they would be unable to detect my illusions or discern what weapon I''m welding in the dark.

    Of course, since I am wearing a relic on my face, which exudes mana, Anastasia would detect a significant amount of mana on my face, but nothing beyond that.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Swish¡ª!!

    Right then, when I was done activating my Illusion Mask, the vampire assassin lunged at me and struck down his sword from an overhead stance.

    Cling¡ª!!

    I quickly summoned my spear and blocked his sword with it.

    "Mana Burst!"

    Without wasting any time, I activated my Gift and released a massive amount of mana into the atmosphere with a loud shout.

    Boom¡ª!!

    The sudden burst of azure energy created a powerful explosion that sent Magnus flying backward several meters.

    Despite the force of the explosion, Magnus managed to execute a graceful mid-air somersault andnded back on his feet with a thud.

    Thud¡ª!!

    But I gave him no time to recover as I brought out my Edit Pen and swiftly waved it in the air.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!!

    Immediately, several earthen spikes burst out from the ground beneath him, piercing through his body.

    "Arghhhhaaaaaa!"

    Magnus let out a blood-curdling scream as he writhed in agony, unable to free himself from the sharp protrusions.

    "Nero, now!" I yelled.

    "On it!" he replied.

    Upon my signal, Nero dashed towards the direction of the scream, and with a swift leap, he ascended high in the air, wielding his sword with a strong grip.

    "Aaaaah!" with a ferocious battle cry, he unleashed his sword art as a dazzling azure aura engulfed his de.

    Descending rapidly like a shooting star, Nero delivered a devastating downward strike onto Magnus, who remained impaled in ce.

    The strike was so swift that it took less than a second to execute.

    Thwoosh¡ª!!!

    The force of Nero''s downward sh shattered the earthen spikes and left a gaping crater in the ground.

    With a gracefulnding, the protagonist stood over the vampire, sword at the ready to deliver the finishing blow to his heart.

    Before Nero couldnd the fatal blow, Magnus reached forward and sank his ws into the boy''s leg.

    "Aaargh!" Nero cried out in pain as he stumbled back.

    Seizing the opportunity, Magnus pulled one of his own legs in and swept Nero off the ground while rolling over and pinning him down,ing on top.

    But in his intense focus on the protagonist, Magnus had forgotten about us.

    Anastasia saw her chance and quickly put away her bow and arrows, then rushed towards Magnus with her bare hands.

    With a swift motion, Anastasia wrapped her arms around Magnus'' waist, locking him in a reverse bear hug.

    Before the vampire could react, Anastasia executed a wless German suplex by arching her back and mming Magnus'' back onto the ground.

    The impact created a shockwave that shook the surrounding area as Magnus crashed onto the ground, stunned by the sudden attack.

    Anastasia quickly released her hold on him and sprang back up, ready for another attack.

    Meanwhile, I assumed a swordsman stance by bending my knees and pulling back my spear.

    Nero had also risen to his feet.

    He appeared to have sensed the amount of mana emanating from me, and it seemed he understood that I was going for the final blow while Anastasia was keeping Magnus busy.

 Chapter 149 Ending The Battle [2]

    ?

    It was on the day of the Mock War that my mind was gued by strange dreams.

    These dreams were reminiscent of the ghastly nightmares I used to have in my previous life when I was a kid.

    But oh, how different they were from that recurring nightmare! These dreams were as serene as the calm before the storm.

    I felt uneasy at first, but after a few times, I began to find tranquility in them.

    In these dreams, I am¡­ I mean, Lucas Morningstar is usually seen frolicking with his father in the lush gardens of their ancestral estate.

    His father would yfully tousle his hair every time he would visit him during his training.

    After ying with him a little, his father would show him a weapon art.

    It''s always the same technique of a polearm weapon art ¨C a small fraction of arger, masterfully crafted martial art.

    As I gazed at the weapon technique being executed before me in that dream, a spark of recognition red up within me.

    I realized that I had seen that technique in the memories I inherited from Lucas - it was none other than the secret weapon art of the Morningstar family.

    Known as the Dawnbreaker, it stood as the most powerful technique among all ded polearm weapons.

    Its strength and precision were unrivaled, and it was a testament to the Morningstar family''s unparalleled expertise in martialbat.

    It is said that Reynold Morningstar, the present head of the Morningstar family and the sovereign of the West, was a force to be reckoned with in his prime.

    Rumor has it that he once engaged in a battle against two Vampire Kings and nearly emerged victorious, thanks to his mastery of the Dawnbreaker weapon art.

    This incredible feat only solidified the Morningstar family''s reputation as the foremost experts in martialbat, feared and respected throughout the world.

    But then, why was I witnessing him practice it in my dreams?

    Could it be one of the memories that had been tampered with in my mind?

    Maybe instead of being erased or altered, this memory of Lucas'' got suppressed deep within his heart which was now recurring to me as a dream?

    I¡­ don''t know. Every time I get a dream like that, it gets harder and harder to separate the dreams from reality.

    My head is a mess.

    Regardless of what had caused me to dream about that technique, I decided to try replicating it.

    I tried it during the Mock War when I fought against Quinn, hoping it would help me deliver the final blow to the necromancer.

    To my surprise, I was able to make it work ¡ª or at least a fraction of it anyway.

    After that, when I came back from the VR, I started practicing the part that I saw in my dreams. I kept repeating it, trying to recreate it exactly as I saw it.

    Unfortunately, I never could truly copy it.

    But I came close enough. And even in its imperfect and unmastered state, it''s still more destructive than my other Level 3 weapon art.

    So to deal the finishing blow, I decided to unleash Dawnbreaker ¨C the strongest weapon art I have in my arsenal.

    However, since I still hadn''t mastered itpletely, I didn''t use Embrace Discard and kept my armor on.

    I needed my near-absolute defense in case I messed up the execution.

    Assuming a swordsman stance, I bent my knees and drew my spear back, channeling mana into the weapon.

    The energy flowed out of my body and coiled around the spear, and I gripped it tightly, ready to strike.

    Meanwhile, Anastasia was engaged in a fierce exchange of blows with Magnus, effectively distracting him and keeping his attention solely on herself.

    They were both skilled fighters. Magnus, who previously didn''t register Anastasia as a threat due to her weapon of choice ¨C bow and arrow ¨C was now gritting his teeth while fighting her.

    Nero, on the other hand, was readying himself just like me.

    As he watched me prepare tond the final strike, he sheathed his sword and ced his dominant hand on the hilt.

    I knew what he was about to do.

    He was going to use the Longsword of Light ¨C a powerful weapon art that Liz had passed down to him as her protege.

    As Nero tightened his grip around the sword, it began to glow with a brilliant azure hue within its scabbard.

    He took a deep breath, calming himself and preparing for theing end of the battle.

    It was clear that he was waiting for me, wanting me to make the first move.

    Even though he was blinded by the smoke and darkness, he had sensed the immense amount of mana I had umted.

    I was preparing to unleash a powerful strike, knowing that if I missed, Nero would be ready to deliver a sharp and precise blow to end the battle.

    With a nod to Nero, I tensed my calf muscles, ready to spring forward.

    Anastasia, too, seemed to sense our battle n. We didn''t even exchange a single word, yet we understood what all of us were thinking.

    It was a strange sensation. It was as if we were reading each other''s minds on the battlefield¡­.

    Like we had fought together countless times before.

    In that moment of pure focus, we were one.

    Anastasia nodded to herself, and I could see the magical energy from her mana core flowing into her hands.

    Two ethereal gauntlets of azure mana manifested around her fists, imbuing her strikes with incredible power.

    Anastasia was preparing to unleash her own strongestbat martial art - the Eclipse Bringer.

    "Arghhhaaaa!" with a fierce battle cry, she stomped her foot down to acquire proper footing and shot forward with her fist, which was now d in an ethereal gauntlet of azure mana.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    With lightning-fast reflexes, Magnus moved his head just in time to dodge Anastasia''s powerful attack, narrowly avoiding having his face crushed.

    The sound of the fist cutting through the air echoed across the battlefield.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Despite Magnus'' quick evasion, Anastasia had already anticipated his move.

    With blurring speed, she lifted her back leg and twisted her knee,nding a powerful sidekick to the vampire''s side.

    "Arghha!" Magnus grunted in pain as he stumbled back, the force of the blow taking him off guard.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But Anastasia didn''t let up. She quickly closed the distance between them and swung her fist at him once again.

    Her movements were fluid and precise, fueled by her fierce determination to end the battle victoriously.

    Cling¡ª!!

    With a resounding ng, Magnus used his bloodsword to block Anastasia''s fist while simultaneously readying his razor-sharp ws to strike back.

    Swish¡ª!!!

    Taking advantage of the opening, I lunged forward with my spear still pulled back, my eyes fixed on my target.

    Magnus was momentarily distracted by the force of Anastasia''s attack, giving me the perfect opportunity to strike.

    Step¡ª!!

    As I stepped into striking range, I readied myself to unleash a powerful horizontal swing with my ded spear.

    But before I could execute my attack, Magnus swiftly sensed my movement and pushed away Anastasia''s fist with his sword.

    He then seized her by the neck and held her up as a shield against me.

    "Heh!" Anastasia, however, didn''t falter in the face of danger and instead grinned in amusement.

    This was all part of our n. Well, it wasn''t a n since we never discussed it, so one can call it instincts.

    We wanted Magnus to grab Anastasia and use her as a shield against me.

    Why? Because now that he had grabbed Anastasia with her left hand, he had left his left side open and vulnerable to attack.

    Shing¡ª!!!

    Thud¡ª!!

    Splurt¡ª!!!

    "Arghhhaaaaa!"

    Suddenly, Nero appeared beside Magnus and swiftly unsheathed his sword.

    At the speed of light, he sliced off the vampire''s hand that he had been using to grab Anastasia.

    Magnus cried out in pain as his severed limb fell to the ground with a thud.

    But he didn''t buckle down in pain or stop fighting, no. He knew if he were to stop here, he would most certainly die.

    So he began to swing his remaining w at Nero while also simultaneously trying to dodge Anastasia''s attacks.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    The sound of metal shing against metal continued to echo as Nero deflected each of Magnus'' attacks while Anastasia tried to create an opening.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    Without warning, Anastasia fell to her knees and spun in a sweeping motion, aiming to knock Magnus off his feet.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Magnus jumped up to avoid the leg sweep, but it was a mistake.

    While he was in mid-air, Nero spun his body and executed a spinning backsh, aiming for Magnus'' unguarded back.

    Cling¡ª!!

    But Magnus unnaturally twisted his body mid-air and used his remaining w to block the attack aimed at his back.

    But he soon realized his error.

    With no footing to move in mid-air and no ws to block any further attack that mighte his way, he was defenseless.

    He tried to cast a magic spell, but he was toote.

    Using this split second, I rushed at Magnus and unleashed a devastating horizontal sh with my ded spear.

    THWOOOSH¡ª!!!

    Kach¡ª!!

    Thud¡ª!!

    The air whistled as my spear sliced through the air, and then, with a sickening crunch, my de connected with Magnus'' neck.

    Blood spurted out in a crimson arc as my de sliced through flesh and bone, and I felt the resistance of Magnus'' vertebrae before his head was severed from his body.

    His lifeless head dropped to the ground along with his decapitated body before it rolled away a few steps.

    It was over.

    I dropped to my knees as I felt adrenaline leaving my system. My head felt light, and my heart violently pounded against my chest.

    I quickly took off my mask and stashed it back in the pocket space of my smart bracelet along with my spear.

    Since I wasn''t able to see anything in the dark after taking off my mask, my other senses were heightened to the limit, and I could feel my heart mming against my chest all the more.

    I knew we had won, but still, it was a close call. I mean, Nero is uselessly strong, so it wasn''t truly a life-or-death battle for him, but at least for me, it was.

    This incident once again served as a stark reminder that I needed to get much stronger than I am currently.

    Acquiring relics, getting my potential to Mythical rank, and crafting battle ns won''t cut it. I needed real strength.

    Haaa.

    I sat there in the silence and darkness for what felt like an eternity, lost in my own thoughts. Perhaps Anastasia and Nero were feeling the same way, drained from the battle, so I didn''t hear them speaking either.

    Around us, the wounded cadets cried out in pain and agony while the unconscious onesy out cold, but their voices faded into the background as I closed my eyes.

    I had survived the first arc of the story, and I felt like I deserved a well-earned rest.

    My mind began to drift off as I settled into afortable position. The ground was cold and hard, but it didn''t matter.

    All I wanted to do now was take a short nap. All my tasks at hand were cleared, and I survived, ready to enter the second arc of the story.

 Chapter 150 Aftermath Of The Massacre

    ?

    After we managed to take down the vampire assassin, the medical team and Military Police arrived on the scene.

    Yeah, even in a world where people could teleport or fly, the police still had trouble arriving on time!

    This proves it. Even if you''re living in a fantasy world or a normal one, you can never count on the police to arrive on time.

    Anyway, we were eventually evacuated from the hall upon their arrival.

    The medical team quickly tended to the injured ones while the police gathered those who were unharmed.

    Before being escorted to receive medical attention and join the others, the military policemissioner asked us a few questions.

    Right now, I was taking a walk with bandages concealed beneath my shirt, wrapped around my abdomen.

    Yeah, turns out, I had broken a rib. But after having some painkillers and a healing potion, I could already feel better.

    Just outside the banquet hall, the medical team had established an emergency camp where the sounds of people crying and muffled screams filled the air.

    As I made my way through the street, I could see a crowd of people gathered just outside the barricade set up by the military police to prevent civilians from entering the area.

    Among the throng were family members of the banquet attendees, curious onlookers, and news reporters covering the events that took ce there.

    As I walked passed them, I heard an elven reporter reciting a piece of paper in her hand to the camera.

    ¨C"In a banquet hall located in the capital city of the Central Continent, Silverserine, today on April 12th, 2723, at approximately 5:30 PM, a tragic event unfolded.

    "Two vampires entered and went on a killing spree, resulting in numerous casualties.

    "Fortunately, some first-year cadets and retired soldiers were present and were able to minimize the number of fatalities.

    "Despite their efforts, the vampires were too powerful and used a mass mind control spell to turn the attendees against each other.

    "Amidst the ensuing chaos, three cadets bravely rose to the challenge, sessfully defeating the vampires and preventing a potentially more catastrophic oue."

    Moving past them, I kept walking.

    The first arc of the main story ¨C Massacre of the Silveserine City, is over.

    Although there were some alterations in the flow, everything ultimately fell into ce.

    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Just like in the novel, Nero and Anastasia yed a major role in thwarting the vampire attack.

    Also, just like in the novel, the news of the event is spreading fast.

    Nero''s poprity will soon rise in the world after his name appears in this incident and the rumor about him being able to absolutely control all the elements.

    However, unlike in the novel, there was also a major change in the ending of the arc.

    I was the one who dealt the final blow to Magnus, not Nero.

    Although no one knows this right now, after we get back to the academy, we will have to submit a detailed report of the event.

    I can only assume what will happen from here on out. Haa, it will be a drag.

    ¨C"Why didn''t you use your gift?! Why didn''t you save her?!"

    As I was gathering my thoughts, a loud, enraged voice pierced my ears.

    Turning my head towards the source of themotion, I saw a tall, somewhat overweight individual gripping Nero by the cor.

    Nero had bandages wrapped around his head and hand.

    Even as the chubby boy continued to bellow at him, Nero remained silent and motionless.

    I didn''t bother to pay much attention to the content of his rant, but I did catch the gist of it.

    Apparently, this chubby guy''s girlfriend had been killed earlier by Magnus, and he was now yelling at Nero and holding him ountable for her death.

    Why was he ming him, one may ask?

    Well, given that this guy was in our ss, he was sure to have participated in the Mock War alongside us.

    As a result, he would have witnessed Nero''s extraordinary ability to fully manipte a fundamental element.

    If Nero wanted, he could''ve summoned one of his Heavenly Swords to quickly eliminate both vampires and save everyone.

    However, he chose not to exercise that option. This was precisely why he was now being subjected to the angry outburst.

    And it wasn''t only the chubby boy who was pointing fingers at him; other cadets were doing it as well.

    Numerous cadets had their faces twisted with fury and were ring at Nero, forming a ring around him.

    Just as what happened in the aftermath of the first arc in the novel, everyone was ming Nero.

    They were using him of being heartless and a monster for not utilizing his Gift to save everyone who had died.

    In a sense, their outburst was justified.

    The death toll from the incident was staggering.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Forty people lost their lives, including six of our fellow ssmates andrades-in-arms.

    Additionally, sixty-three individuals had sustained injuries, and three remained unounted for.

    Nero was the only person among us who had the power to prevent this tragedy, but he chose not to use that power.

    However, what they failed toprehend was the reason behind Nero''s reluctance to use his Gift.

    There were two reasons.

    Firstly, there were already rumors flying about his godlike Gift. Although there was no solid proof yet, he wanted to avoid solidifying that rumor.

    Secondly, unlike in the virtual world, if he were to use his Gift in the real world, there would be consequences.

    He would have to sacrifice a small portion of his life energy to summon the Heavenly Swords.

    And while he himself didn''t care about sacrificing his life in return for saving others'', his master did.

    After the Mock War, Liz had absolutely restricted Nero from using his Gift unless his own life was in danger.

    Disobeying her instructions would result in Liz relinquishing her role as his master, a consequence that Nero did not want to face.

    "Well, that doesn''t have anything to do with me," I sighed and resumed walking.

    While I felt sorry for Nero, I wasn''t about to jump in and defend him.

    This experience was essential for his character development. Being ostracized by his peers would only strengthen his resolve to be more powerful.

    Moreover, he had allies willing to stand up for him.

    Anastasia stepped forward and shielded Nero from the angry gazes of the furious crowd while pushing aside the chubby guy.

    "Back off, all of you!" shemanded.

    Amelia quickly chimed in, "Don''t you know that Gifts as strong as Nero''s always have consequences? It''s evident that he didn''t use his Gift because there was bound to be a drawback."

    Elijah also quickly stepped up and stood in front of the crowd of angry cadets to add, "Yes, imagine if that consequence was significant enough to put his own life at risk? You don''t expect him to sacrifice his life to save yours, do you?"

    ¨C"So what if we do? We''re going to be soldiers one day! It''s our duty to use our strength to protect the weak!" someone from the crowd eximed.

    Chase, who appeared behind Elijah, supported him since he still had his wounded back.

    "No, a soldier''s job is to fight," he countered. "Nero fought when everyone else fell. I believe he did his job."

    Anastasia nodded in agreement. "Chase is right. Nero did his part in the battle. He fought with us and saved as many lives as he could."

    The main characters continued their argument, and gradually, the crowd of angry cadets fell silent.

    It wasn''t that their anger had vanished; rather, they had run out of valid points to make.

    It was a natural oue. As mere extras and side characters, they had no right to argue with the central figures of the story.

    "Damn, these guys know how to argue, right?"

    "....."

    Just as I was walking, I bumped into someone. It was Hugh. He looked at me and pointed back at the main characters.

    "The charisma they carry," he remarked. "It''s almost as if they are the brightest people in the world. Like everything revolves around them, and we are nothing but side characters in their story."

    "...Yeah," I nodded after a brief moment of hesitation. "So, what about you? Do you me Nero for not using his Gift too?"

    "Nah," Hugh shook his head. "I don''t have any friends who died or got injured during the whole thing, so I don''t really care. Actually, I don''t have a friend to begin with, haha!"

    Wow, that''s sad.

    "Really, not even one?" I asked. "You are pretty talkative in ss. I thought an outgoing person like you is bound to have at least a friend or two."

    He''s the first to raise his hand at a question and the first to arrive in the ss. He also actively participates in all of the ss activities.

    However, ording to Elijah, he doesn''t talk much in private. Hugh Jass¡­ he''s one weird guy.

    "No," Hugh shook his head. "I don''t really get along with most people since I like to keep to myself."

    "Hmm, I see," I nodded my head slightly before shrugging and walking away. "Okay, see you back at the academy."

    Hugh Jass¡­ just you wait. I will uncover who you are one day. But before then, I have

    other problems to deal with.

    For starters, the second arc will start once we get back to the academy ¨C the King''s Tournament arc.

    Haa, I seriously need a long nap.

 Chapter 151 Disturbance

    ?

    After receiving medical treatment and being questioned by the Military Policemissioner, we were permitted to leave.

    The walk back to the hotel was quiet as we realized that we were now less in number than we were when we came to this city.

    Interestingly, unlike in the novel, where around twenty cadets were killed out of eighty-nine during the massacre, in this reality, only six died.

    Surprisingly, despite the fact that two vampires attacked us instead of one, and even though it wasn''t my intention, my active participation in the story''s plot resulted in us saving more lives than the main characters did in the novel.

    Although I think I was the one who caused two vampires to attack us instead of one to begin with.

    But let''s not point fingers, yeah?

    Besides, I got a lot of Edit Points out of this whole ordeal, so I am happy.

    ===

    Edit Points: 3,578

    ===

    After arriving at the hotel, we took a short rest before being apanied by five senior instructors from the academy.

    Even though we were going to use the teleportation gate to go back, they still came since they had to inspect the banquet hall and handle some police affairs.

    And the dead bodies of the cadets who died will also be retrieved by them. The academy will hand out those dead bodies to their families themselves.

    Currently, we were on the rooftop of the skyscraper where the teleportation gate was located.

    As I looked up at the night sky, which was adorned with a twinkling stream of stars, I found myself unable to contain a deep sigh, "Haaa."

    We were about to get back to the academy. This means the King''s Tournament arc was about to start.

    You see, the Cadet Council president at Global Military Academy is not elected through voting but rather through a sports tournament.

    It''s quite clear where I am going with all this, isn''t it?

    In just a few weeks, our semester exams will begin.

    Upon theirpletion, the first and second-year cadets will participate in the anticipated sports tournament ¨C the King''s Tournament.

    The winner of that sports tournament will be crowned as the new president of the academy.

    When the academic yeares to an end and the third-year cadets, along with the current Cadet Council president, will graduate, the crowned president will officially take over as the new head of the Council.

    It''s a highly prestigious position thates with immense responsibility, and the King''s Tournament is the ultimate test to determine who is worthy of holding that title.

    Now, I personally am not particrly fond of titles or power. I much rather prefer to operate from the shadows and manipte events from behind the scenes.

    However, I have made a promise to Quinn that I will take care of Kai Wiseman by the time of the tournament.

    In hindsight, I''m beginning to realize that promising Quinn to that wasn''t the wisest decision.

    Why is that, one may ask?

    Well, in the heat of the moment when I made him that promise, I forgot that a vampire attack was set to ur during the King''s Tournament at the academy.

    This time, the vampires won''t be mere assassins or spies; rather, they''ll be highly skilled soldiers.

    Their objective will be to eliminate Nero Dekrauf.

    He would''ve gained worldwide poprity by that time due to the rumors about his supposed Gift to possess absolute control over an element spreading.

    My point is it would be difficult for me to deal with both Kai Wiseman and the vampire assault side by side.

    At first, I thought that I would leave the task of handling the impending vampire assault to Nero.

    However, recent events have made it painfully clear that I can no longer rely on the novel''s predetermined plotline.

    The mere fact of my presence in this reality creates a continuous ripple effect, constantly altering events and oues.

    Thus, I cannot even consider the novel''s events as a reliable reference point anymore.

    That means I have to actively participate in the vampire assault during the King''s Tournament.

    I can''t make the mistake of relying on the main characters like I did earlier today since it almost got me killed.

    I have to be prepared for the unexpected dangers that lie ahead.

    I can''t wait for threats toe to me; I have to take the fight to them.

    I can''t be defensive and react to events as they happen.

    Instead, I need to predict and n for every possibility, think strategically, and, most importantly, grow stronger.

    Haa, I can already see that it''s going to be a drag.

    Fine, I have decided. First, I''ll deal with Kai Wiseman and then craft strategies to deal with the vampire assault during the tournament.

    I will take one problem at a time, solve them, and make it through the second arc of the main story just like I survived the first one.

    "Heyo!"

    p¡ª!!

    I heard a voice exim, interrupting my thoughts. A hand mmed against my shoulder and wrapped around me.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I knew who it was. It was Kent.

    "When will you stop jumping on me?" I asked, recognizing his voice and turning my head to look at him.

    "When did I ever do something like that? Hehe," Kent replied with a shameless grin stered on his face.

    I sighed and stroked my eyebrows before remembering something. "How are your injuries?" I asked.

    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "Oh, yeah, I''m good now," Kent nodded, checking his body with a short nce before turning to me. "Thank you for asking and giving me that healing potion."

    "Don''t mention it," I waved my hand dismissively.

    "Yeah, though I still feel bad that I wasn''t able to help you guys fight against that vampire," Kent said before letting out a dejected sigh and dropping his head.

    "Kent, you were injured," I reminded him and patted his back. "It''s not your fault that you couldn''t fight. Don''t beat yourself up about it. Besides, this wasn''t thest fight we had to face. There are many more battles ahead of us. You''ll get your chance to shine and help then."

    "True," Kent nodded, letting out another sigh. But then, as if he remembered something, he quickly turned his head towards me.

    "By the way, I heard it was you who dealt thest blow to that vampire," he said.

    I frowned. "Where did you hear that from?"

    This news shouldn''t have spread this fast.

    I mean, almost everyone knew that Anastasia, Nero and I fought against Magnus, but they should assume it was Nero who dealt thest blow, not me.

    Until we submit our detailed reports to the academy, no one should know that it was me.

    "Ah, well, I actually overheard Anastasia and Nero talking about it while I was in the infirmary," Kent exined, scratching the back of his head.

    "I see," I muttered understandingly. "It''s true. But I need you to keep this news to yourself. I don''t want any unnecessary attention right now."

    "Got it," Kent nodded in agreement. "But hey, you''re really something else. Taking down a vampire like that, I mean. It''s pretty amazing, Lucas."

    I chuckled softly, seeing the stars in his eyes. "Thanks, but it was a team effort. I couldn''t have done it without Anastasia and Nero."

    I wasn''t lying.

    I may have dealt thest blow, but I alone couldn''t have done it without Nero and Anastasia keeping him upied.

    In terms of strength and skills, they both were on par with Magnus. One can even argue that I just stole their kill.

    "Okay, everyone! Listen to me here! Form a neat line and enter the Gate one by one in an orderly manner. We are going back to the Global City."

    Before Kent and I could continue our conversation, one of the senior instructors who came to escort us back yelled to gain our attention.

    The elven woman managing the Teleportation Gate pressed a button on her desk and a glowing violet rapture in the fabric of space appeared in front of us.

    One by one, the cadets started to walk through the Teleportation Gate, disappearing into thin air, happy to return to the safe sanctuary that is the Global Academy.

    ?

    As I returned to my apartment after saying goodbye to Kent and copsed onto my bed, a deep sense of contentment washed over me.

    Over the past few months, this ce has truly be my home.

    It''s true what they say; there''s no ce like home. Actually, I''d like to improve on that saying: There''s no bed like your own.

    "Huaaa~!"

    With a contented yawn, I realized I had earned a good night''s rest.

    I was going to sleep soundly tonight and enjoy every minute of it.

    I wasn''t going to let anything disturb me tonight. Yeah, no one can disturb me tonight¡ª

    Ding, Dong¡ª!!

    Fuck.

    Just as I was about to fall into my sweet slumber, I heard my doorbell ringing.

    "Arghh!"

    Rolling my eyes and grunting in frustration, I yelled, "Coming!"

    Click¡ª

    Walking over to the door, I clicked it open and looked for the person who dared to disturb my rest.

    [Good evening, cadet ranked 116969, Lucas Morningstar.]

    Only turns out it wasn''t a person but a robot who came to disturb me. A worker robot, to be specific ¨C the droids who clean the streets and help with all kinds of stuff in the city.

    "What is it? Someone sent me a parcel, maybe?" I frowned. But even as I asked him that, I saw no parcel in the robot''s hands.

    Then why was a worker robot at my door?

    [Negative. No one has sent you a parcel. Instead, you have been summoned by someone.]

    "Hmm? Someone has called for me?" The frown on my face deepened upon hearing the robot''s mechanical voice. "Who?" I asked.

    [Your weapon arts instructor, Leo Kurogami.]

 Chapter 152 Lying

    ?

    It was 11:43 PM.

    As the azure moon was about to hit its zenith, the night sky came alive with a breathtaking disy of twinkling stars.

    The fervent glow of the moon cast a gentle light that illuminated the darkness of the night, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

    The streets were devoid of any and all human presence.

    The only movement came from the machines, such as the sleek cabs being expertly operated by robotic drivers.

    The academy''s AI¡ª Athena, is responsible for the upkeep of the city.

    She employs these droids to clean the city and repair the vandalized public property, if there is any, among other tasks, during the night.

    Instructors, Cadet Council members, and the Disciplinary Committee of the academy can also use these robots manually or ask for assistance from Athena if they need any task done by them.

    I assume our weapon arts instructor did the same?

    I don''t know.

    However, what baffles me is why he would be calling me at such ate hour.

    "But why me? I didn''t think he even remembered my name," I pondered.

    Despite attending his ss, he never seemed to acknowledge my presence, leading me to believe that I was invisible to him.

    The only time he spoke to me was when I was practicing my archery form.

    I was doing my footwork wrong, so he came to me and corrected me before quickly moving on without a second nce.

    And it wasn''t just me who received this treatment, no!

    He was equally indifferent to other cadets, including high-ranking ones like Nero, Anastasia, and Amelia.

    Even in the novel, when Nero killed him during the War Of Union, he didn''t have a single expression on his face as he said, "Is that all you can do?"

    Leo Kurogami was, in my opinion, the most indifferent person in this story. It was hard to catch his interest.

    So I couldn''t help but wonder why he was calling for me, especially since he had never shown any interest in my presence before.

    It seemed odd that someone who ignored high-ranking cadets would call on me out of the blue.

    My mind began to race, and I briefly considered the possibility that he had somehow found out about my knowledge of his affiliation with the Spider organization.

    But quickly, I dismissed the thought as irrational and highly unlikely. After all, how could he possibly know?

    Aah, maybe I''m overthinking things again.

    Yeah, if I remember correctly, Leo Kurogami was one of the instructors who came to Silveserine to escort us back.

    He also attended some police affairs there and inspected the Banquet Hall where the surprise vampire attack took ce.

    Hmm, maybe he just wanted to ask me some questions regarding that. Yeah, that must be it.

    With that thought in mind, I headed to the train station and hopped on the train that would take me to the inner district.

    After a short journey, the train came to a halt, and I disembarked.

    From there, I hailed a cab to take me to the heart of the 2nd inner district ¨C the ce where the instructors and professors stayed in the Global City.

    The worker robot that had interrupted me earlier had provided me with Leo''s address, which made it easier to locate his residence.

    However, even with the address in hand, finding the ce proved to be a bit of a challenge. Just a bit.

    I wandered around for a while, getting lost a few times before I finally stumbled upon his address.

    As it turned out, his ce was located only a short two-minute walk from the train station¡­.

    Haa, me and my direction blindness!

    Anyway, after arriving at his apartment door, I politely knocked a few times.

    Knock, Knock, Knock¡ª

    "Sensei?"

    ¨C"Coming."

    Almost immediately a voice came from behind the door, and the sound of elegant footsteps followed shortly after.

    Within seconds, the door swung open, revealing a tall, well-built man with long crimson hair pulled back into a man bun.

    He was dressed in a loose ck tracksuit that emphasized his slim yet muscr physique.

    As he red at me with his bright red eyes, I couldn''t help but notice the long scar that ran down his left cheek.

    Damn, he was scary up close.

    "Lucas Morningstar,e in."

    After greeting me with a nod, he turned and led the way inside his apartment, motioning for me to follow him.

    Well, would you look at that? He does remember my name. Taking in a deep breath, I stepped inside his apartment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The interior was a beautiful blend of modern and traditional Japanese styles

    My eyes darted around, taking in the intricate details of the d¨¦cor.

    The furniture was minimalistic yet elegant, with clean lines and natural finishes.

    The color scheme was mostlyposed of earthy tones, with pops of red and ck ents.

    "Please, have a seat," Leo gestured to the couch in the living room. I obliged and sat back on the couch.

    Leo took a seat opposite me.

    He poured me a cup of green tea from the teapot ced on the center table and stared at me intently for a few seconds.

    After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up.

    "I''ve called you here because I wanted to ask you about something regarding what happened today, Lucas."

    I couldn''t help but feel a sense of relief wash over me as my initial suspicions were confirmed.

    It seemed like he just wanted to question me about today''s events, which meant I wasn''t in any trouble.

    Good. This is good.

    Suppressing a sigh of relief, I nodded in agreement.

    However, I couldn''t help but furrow my brows the next moment.

    "Sensei, if it''s just that then you could''ve called me during academy hours," I said.

    Leo shook his head, dismissing my suggestion.

    "I doubt what I''m going to talk about with you is something that I''ll report to the academy. So it''s better if I do this outside of academy hours." He replied.

    It was a smartphone. An advanced version of it, I mean.

    From the screen of the smartphone, a holographic disy projected out in the air in front of me.

    On the holographic screen, a video started ying that caught my attention almost instantly.

    With eyes filled with confusion, I gazed at the video before me as Leo''s voice echoed in the background, asking, "Is that you?"

    The video was a bird''s-eye view recording of the fight we had earlier today against the two vampires.

    Despite the darkness and smoke-filled obstructing the camera, there was a brief moment when the smoke dissipated, and the hall was illuminated with light.

    In that fleeting moment, the silhouette of a young man emerged, with fiery red and piercing silver eyes. He looked slightly taller than me.

    He tightly grasped a long, shiny red ded spear in his hands.

    With a powerful swing, the entire de of his spear radiated a dazzling azure glow that dispersed the smoke around him and brought forth a radiant illumination, revealing him and his surroundings.

    ¡­I was at a loss for words.

    Did I miss a security camera? I thought I spotted them all and disabled them in time to match my attack.

    No, it couldn''t be¡­ I can''t ever make such a big blunder. I definitely spotted every security camera there was. I am sure of it.

    Then what was this?! Where did he get this video from?!

    Even though I was confused and gazillions of questions were bombarding my mind, I didn''t let anything show on my face.

    The boy in the video was in no way simr to me in terms of physical appearance.

    No one, not even Leo Kurogami, the seconding of the sword saint himself, can tell it''s actually me in disguise.

    Unless I admit to it, there is no proof.

    "Is that you?" Leo repeated his question.

    "No," I confidently shook my head. "That''s not me."

    "You''re lying," Leo pointed out instantly.

    "....Sensei, I am not lying. That''s not me."

    Leo shook his head and let out a sigh, "I advise you to stop lying. I know it''s you. I have confirmed with Nero and Anastasia. ording to them, you were the one who dealt that vampire the final blow and killed him."

    ¡­Fuck.

    No, it''s fine. It''s not a blunder yet. I can still turn this around.

    Lying is my specialist. I can lie my way through this like I have done all my life.

    "Sensei, it was dark and chaotic. Many things were happening simultaneously, and we were confused beyond words. It was hard to make sense of what was going on," I said.

    Taking a deep breath, I continued. "Even though I thought it was me who killed the vampire, in this video, it''s clear that it wasn''t me. It was someone else."

    "Someone else, you say?" Leo arched an eyebrow. He got up on his feet and stood in front of me, towering over me. "Someone else who knows the secret weapon art of the Morningstar family?"

 Chapter 153 Admitting [1]

    ?

    "...What?"

    Fuck! How did he know about it?!

    How did he know about the secret weapon art of the Morningstar family?! Just how?!

    Despite being widely known and crowned as the strongest polearm weapon art, it''s an art that no one outside our family ¨C the Morningstar family, should recognize.

    All those individuals who have ever gotten the chance to witness the Dawnbreaker in action either haven''t survived to tell the tale about it or are affiliated with Reynold Morningstar himself.

    I mean, it''s called the ''secret'' weapon art of Morningstars for a reason!

    While it''s possible that there may be other witnesses to the Dawnbreaker technique, such as war survivors, it''s highly unlikely that they would be able to recognize it immediately.

    Only those within our family or closely affiliated with the Morningstars should be able to do that.

    If I were to trust Lucas'' memories, even Reynold''s own kids, aside from Lucas himself, had never seen the Dawnbreaker.

    Yelena knows about it now after all these years since our father wants her to acquire it.

    However, even Adel, the designated heir to the Morningstar family, may not know the specifics of what the Dawnbreaker entails.

    This only means one thing¨C Leo Kurogami was bluffing! Yes, there is no doubt about it! This has to be a bluff, I''m sure of it!

    "I don''t have any idea what you''re talking about," I slightly furrowed my brows in a frown, faking a confused expression on my face.

    I am the trash of the Morningstar family, or as the public would like to call me¨C the fallen one.

    ¡­Okay, no one calls me that, but it sounds cool.

    My mana core rank potential is barely average, and my behavior has been so intolerable that my father disowned me.

    Given all of that, it wouldn''t be surprising if I couldn''t recognize the Dawnbreaker technique whenpared to my siblings, Adel and Yelena.

    So I''ll act like I don''t recognize it because, technically, it was never taught to me anyway.

    As I gave my response, Leo shook his head in disappointment. "Lucas Morningstar, I brought you here to get the truth from you before deciding whether or not to report this to the academy."

    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel My frown deepened as he continued. "But if you insist on denying it, I''ll have no choice but to turn over this footage to the academy."

    After a brief pause, he added while pointing his index finger at me:

    "However, if you confess now and admit that you are the red-headed boy in the footage, I promise to keep it a secret and ensure that no one else sees this footage."

    ¡­Damn!

    I have to admit Leo''s strategy is effective.

    He first presented me with a problem, and now he himself is offering a solution to that problem while also acting as the bigger man.

    But it''s all right. Regardless of what he ims, there is no concrete evidence to support his usations.

    Without my confession, the security camera footage alone is not enough to prove that I am the red-headed boy in question.

    "I still don''t¨C" I started to speak, but Leo cut me off.

    "Before you try to deny my allegations, let me assure you that I have a way to obtain solid proof. I will ask Athena to search the dimensional storage of your smart bracelet right now.

    "If I find the red spear that was used by the boy in the security camera footage, I will report it to the academy. So why note clean and confess? If you do, I''ll keep my promise to help you keep your secret hidden," he said.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What?!" I eximed, my eyes widening in shock. "You don''t have the authority to do that! I don''t give you consent to search my belongings!"

    Leo''s lips curved into a smirk. "I don''t have the authority to do that? Are you absolutely certain?"

    What? This can''t be happening!

    Leo Kurogami can''t possibly have the authority to search a cadet''s belongings without orders from the Cadet Council!

    ...Or can he? Ugh, damn it! Is this just another one of his bluffs, or is he telling the truth?

    "So you have three seconds to decide," Leo spoke before initiating a countdown. "Three."

    Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

    This can''t be happening! I should''ve put my spear in the dimensional ring I got from Reina! Damn it! Arghh!

    "Two."

    No, calm down. Let''s think about this rationally. He shouldn''t have the authority tomence a search, I am sure of it!

    So this has to be a bluff! Yes, he''s bluffing again!

    "One," Leo''s voice brought me back to reality.

    I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts. If he was bluffing, then I had nothing to worry about. But what if he wasn''t?

    If he found the spear in my dimensional bracelet, it would reveal that I was the one who killed the vampire at the masquerade party using a powerful spear art!

    That would ruin my whole n of deceiving Kai Wiseman and making him think I''m not the guy he''s looking for!

    I had to make a decision. Do I take the risk and refuse the search, or do Iply and admit to being the red-headed boy?!

    "Time''s up¨C"

    "Yes, it''s me."

    Before Leo could finish his countdown, I admitted.

    Leo raised an eyebrow in an expected surprise. "So I was right. It is you."

    "Yes," I nodded.

    "Hmm," Leo took a few steps back and slumped down on the couch behind him.

    He crossed his legs and stroked his chin, engrossed in deep thoughts.

    "Okay," Leo nodded suddenly, ncing back at me. "I will delete the footage and keep my promise. I won''t report this to the academy."

    Before I could let out a sigh of relief, Leo continued.

    "But before I do that," he raised his index finger. "I need you to answer some of my questions."

    Although his face was still emotionless, his tone was filled with what I could only assume to be excitement.

    Was he finding this situation amusing?!

    Haa, there''s nothing I can do, though.

    In a resigned tone, I nodded back and answered. "Okay."

 Chapter 154 Admitting [2]

    ?

    "So start by telling me why did you put on a disguise?" Leo questioned.

    I sighed, knowing this was going to be the first thing he would ask.

    But since I had to answer, I did.

    "I don''t want people to know about my spearman-ship yet. Besides, since my father never taught me that weapon art himself, it''s basically stolen."

    "Understandable," Leo nodded. "But why don''t you want others to know about your spearmanship?"

    "I have someone I think I''m going to fight in the near future. He is stronger than me, considerably so. It''s only natural that I would want to keep my battle prowess hidden for him to not know what I am capable of during our fight."

    "True," Leo nodded again. "And just who is this person you''re expecting to fight?"

    "I would like to keep it a secret," I firmly answered.

    "Sure," Leo shrugged slightly. "But before we move on, I have to ask you this. I found evidence of a time bomb ced under the power circuit of the banquet hall''s building."

    As I frowned, realizing where this inquiry session was headed, Leo continued.

    "Someone intentionally ced it there. Then I also found several smoke bombs in the air vents of the hall. Not only that, but someone also intentionally took out batteries from the security cameras," he informed before taking a brief pause.

    After a few seconds, he finally asked me the question. "So, tell me¨C were they ced by you to hide your identity?"

    "Nope," I lied through my teeth.

    Revealing myself as the red-headed boy is one thing, but I sure as hell am not going to admit to cing bombs throughout a public ce!

    "Heh," Leo smirked. "Okay, I will not press you for this. There is something about you, Lucas Morningstar. I can''t put my finger on it, but you are not normal."

    Huh?! What''s that supposed to mean?! Is he insulting me now?! Does he want to fight?! Oh, I''ll fight him alright!!

    "But all things aside, color me impressed, Lucas Morningstar," Leo shed a bright smile.

    Wow, I never knew his face was capable of forming a smile.

    But it onlysted for a split second as in the next moment, his expression returned to his usual stoic one.

    "It''s ttering, but I didn''t do everything," I waved my hands. "In fact, without Nero and Anastasia assisting me, even with the Dawnbreaker, I couldn''t have killed that vampire."

    "Maybe, but I''m not talking about it," Leo shook his head. "While reviewing the footage from the security cameras before their power was cut, I saw your fight against the female vampire."

    "Oh, that," I raised my eyebrows. "I was only able to kill her because I had a light element enchanted spear¨C"

    Before I could continue, however, Leo cut me off.

    "Yeah, I''m not talking about that either. When you were charging toward the female vampire with your group, one of your ssmates jumped in front of you. You stabbed him without any hesitation and kept rushing forward. Not many people can do that."

    "...I see," I took a deep breath. "It wasn''t very right of me to do that, was it?"

    "What are you talking about?" Leo looked at me with a confused frown as if I had said somethingpletely ridiculous.

    "I mean, I stabbed a fellow cadet-in-arms," I pointed out. "I injured my ownrade. Which isn''t right¨C"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Leo cut me off again. "Lucas, right now, you are weak. And the weak do not have the luxury of showing mercy. If you are weak, you have to strike first and show no mercy, or else you will be crushed by the strong."

    "..."

    When I heard him say those words to me, a weight that I didn''t know I was carrying lifted from my heart.

    From the moment I left that little girl, Mary, to die in the slums, I had constantly been feeling guilty about it at the back of my mind.

    But now, the realization hit me. I had to kill her because I was weak. Had I been a little stronger, I could''ve killed Reina on my own and not used a little child as a hostage like a coward.

    If I had been stronger, I could''ve let Mary go because then I wouldn''t have feared her bing a threat to me in the future.

    Had I been a little stronger, I could''ve subdued that ssmate of mine without having stabbed him to stop him.

    I had to do all that because I was weak. I had no room to show mercy.

    "What''s your mana core rank, by the way?" Leo''s voice brought me back to reality.

    "Ahh," I shook my head to rearrange my thoughts before answering. "Gold 3. My potential is Gold 3."

    "Mhmm, a shame," Leomented. "But considering the fact that you, albeit imperfectly, learned the first step of one of the strongest polearm weapon art in the world, Dawnbreaker, on your own, you must have a talent for martial arts."

    "...I guess?"

    I mean, I know I have a talent for martial arts. Lucas was called a prodigy in his childhood because he was talented in many things, including martial arts.

    That was, of course, before he decided to throw it all down the drain and ruin his life by indulging in all sorts of wrong things.

    "Have you tried learning any other martial arts? Leo asked. "Other than the one I gave you, I mean."

    I nodded. "Aside from Thousand Lightning Needles Strike¨C the bow art you gave me, I have learned 6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st."

    Leo raised his eyebrows. "6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st? It''s a Mount Hua martial art if I remember correctly, right?"

    "Yes," I nodded. "It''s a Level 3 weapon art."

    "Yes, it''s a tough one," Leo nodded. "How much have you mastered it?"

    "Eighty-seven percent," I answered.

    For a second, Leo looked at me in silence before he opened his mouth, "....What?"

    "Eighty¨C"

    Before I could answer again, Leo interjected. "When did you start learning it?"

    "Last month," I replied.

    "...Hah!"

 Chapter 155 Spar [1]

    ?

    Tring, Tring¡ª

    "Ugh~"

    As the rm ring disrupted my peaceful sleep, I attempted to cover my head with the pillow to dampen the noise in my ears.

    However, the persistent ringing of the rm refused to subside. In the end, I reluctantly sat up and rubbed my bleary eyes.

    Upon checking the clock with my blurry vision, I found out it was only 4:50 AM right now.

    "Arghh¡­"

    It was early morning, and I groaned at the thought of facing the day ahead.

    Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled to the bathroom and sshed cold water on my face, trying to wash away the remnants of sleep.

    As I brushed my teeth, I tried to motivate myself for the day ahead and reminded myself of the tasks I needed to aplish before the second arc of the story starts.

    Eventually, I managed to shake off thest vestiges of drowsiness and began to get dressed for the academy after taking a refreshing yet short shower.

    With each article of clothing I put on, I felt a sense of readiness, as if I was preparing for battle.

    Why in the world was I being so dramatic, one may ask? Because I might very well be actually preparing for a battle.

    Yeah, I didn''t get up so early in the morning for nothing. I hate early mornings!

    The thing is,st night after Leo''s inquiry session with me was over, he asked me toe to the training hall today before 5:30.

    After I told him about my progress in learning a Level 3 weapon art in just under a month, he said he wanted to ''test'' me.

    Yeah, I didn''t understand what the fuck it meant either.

    When I asked him to exin, he simply said that he wanted to observe me in a live fight.

    Apparently, being able to learn a Level 3 weapon art in such a small amount of time is an incredible feat.

    I didn''t know that. Since the novel was from Nero''s perspective and he was shown to learn all the Level 3 weapon arts in mere days, I thought I was doing average, if not bad.

    It seems that I''ve acquired not only Lucas'' memories but also his talent from when he was a child.

    Anyway, knowing Leo''s character, I doubt he would ask me to fight with abat doll. He would definitely fight me himself.

    What I wanted to know was: Why?

    Just why was he doing it?

    Isn''t he one of the legs of the Spider?

    Shouldn''t he have much more important matters to attend than ''testing'' a very, VERY handsome cadet like me? Heh.

    I mean, he never showed any interest in any of the other cadets before this. So why was he taking such an interest in me?

    Even if I believe it''s because of my talent, there were more talented individuals than me present in this academy.

    Even with talent, I can''t be called heaven-defying. So that should not be enough to pique his interest.

    Haa, I don''t know.

    To be honest, if I could, I would just avoid him.

    I don''t want to associate with a terrorist, or should I say¨C a separatist, more than I have to. I don''t want to catch the attention of Central Government officials, after all.

    It''s fine. I''ll just entertain him this one time byplying with his ''test'' and then stray clear from him.

    Anyway, I was dressed up, I walked over to my closet and opened it to take out a backpack.

    Opening its zipper, I took out the beast egg and gently yet carefully clutched it between my arms.

    I sat back on the edge of my bed and quickly started channelling mana into it.

    I didn''t channel too much mana into it since I had to spar in a few minutes ¨C only a small portion from my mana pool.

    After a few minutes, I stopped and got up to leave my apartment. Upon making sure that I had locked the door, I let out a deep breath and walked off.

    ?

    In just under a few minutes, I reached the academy and arrived in front of the training hall.

    I looked in and saw a rather handsome man with waist-long red hair sitting cross-legged on the matted floor.

    He had his eyes closed as he appeared to be in a deep state of meditation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Should I disturb him? ¨C I thought.

    But then I quickly remembered he was the one who called me here in the first ce.

    "Sensei, can Ie in?" I asked, finally deciding to disturb him.

    Leo opened his eyes and looked at me. A frown appeared on his face as he asked, "Lucas, what are you doing here?"

    ¡­Huh?

    Did this old man hit his head somewhere?!

    While trying to calm my twitching eyebrow, I replied. "Sensei, you asked me toe herest night, remember?"

    "Oh, that?" Leo arched his eyebrows as he remembered before a frown appeared back on his face. "But I asked you to be here at 5:30, Lucas. 5:30 as in PM not AM."

    "...."

    Oh lord, forgive me, for I am about to kill someone.

    Leo''s face remained stoic as he broke the silence with a calm voice, "Lucas, I am joking. Come inside."

    "¡­Did you call me here this early in the morning to fuck with me with your dry sense of humour, you old bastard?!" is what I said in my mind.

    But since I had no intention of dying today, I kept my mouth shut and barely managed to sh a smile with my twitching lips.

    As Leo stood up, I went inside and faced him.

    "You must know why I called you here, right?" Leo said, gently touching a ring on his finger.

    Judging by all the runes engraved on the surface of that ring, I could only assume it to be a dimensional storage artifact.

    "You mentioned you wanted to ''test'' me, whatever that means. So I guess you are going to spar with me?" I answered in a questioning tone.

    "Affirmative," Leo nodded his head.

    "Sensei, can I ask why? With all due respect, you never showed interest in anyone''s training before. So why now?" I asked.

    "Well, none of them possess the talent you do," Leo answered. "They aren''t worthy of my interest."

    ''Worthy'' of your interest? What are you, a God?!

    Suppressing such thoughts, I retorted.

    "That is not true." I said, "There are many other cadets who are much more talented than me. Take Nero, Anastasia, or Amelia, for example."

    You should''ve known that to be the case if you had ever paid attention in your own ss!

    Leo shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "Anastasia''s skill with the bow is impressive, but she''s better suited for closebat from the way she moves. And as for Amelia, her talent in archery is exceptional, but she''ll never be the best. Nero, on the other hand, is a true beast. His basic swordsmanship is so honed to the point where even I couldn''t teach him anything in that regard."

    ¡­Oh?

    So he does pay attention to the students in his ss. I never would''ve guessed.

    "If you know all that, then¨C"

    I started to interject, but Leo held up a hand to stop me.

    "But here''s the thing, the names of the cadets you mentioned don''t possess the same raw talent that you do. Sure, they can fight well, but the spark in their eyes is that of a protector, fighting to defend what they hold dear. You, on the other hand, look like you want to win at any cost. That look in your eyes is a rarity, and it reminds me of myself when I was younger."

    ".....?"

    ¡­Yeah, I understood nothing of what he was saying.

    The look in my eyes? Is he trying to sound like an old cultivation master in murim novels? Huh?!

    Seeing the look of confusion and ridicule stered on my face, Leo let out another sigh.

    "If you don''t understand what I said, then just think of it as my instincts. My gut feeling as a martial artist is telling me that you will surprise me. So I want to spar with you."

    Now THAT''S what I can understand.

    A battle maniac martial artist wanting to fight someone he thinks is interesting. Yeah, that''s the troupe I am familiar with.

    Suii¡ª

    "Now," after saying what he had to say, Leo summoned a katana from the pocket space of his dimensional ring. "Ready your weapon."

 Chapter 156 Spar [2]

    ?

    Suii¡ª

    Lucas summoned his ded spear.

    As the weapon appeared in his hand with a sh of bright light, he pointed its ded head at his opponent, Leo Kurogami.

    Slightly bending his knees, he assumed a basic spearman stance.

    ''A good stance,'' Leo thought in his head.

    Someone''s fighting stance reveals a multitude of insights about them.

    It conveys the countless hours that they dedicated to honing their martial art, the harrowing battles they fought on the edge of life and death, and even their true nature and innermost thoughts.

    Lucas''s current stance was undoubtedly strong, yet there was still a big room for improvement.

    Despite never showing it, Leo Kurogami had always harbored a certain level of interest toward Lucas, albeit not for positive reasons.

    Leo''s curiosity stemmed partly from his ownplicated history intertwined with the Morningstar family.

    Despite being ''their'' son, how could he be so weak? ¨C that''s what Leo used to think.

    However, as time went on, Leo began to see a glimmer of familiar emotions in Lucas''s eyes¡ªsentiments he himself and his former friend Reynold had experienced during their youth.

    The longing for victory. To be able to do anything to win. Cross any limits and blur any lines of morality and possibilities.

    It was the unmistakable gaze of a warrior.

    Lucas carried within him not the demeanor of a guardian or survivor but that of a true warrior¨C a rarity if he says so himself.

    Leo was confused. The rumors he had heard portrayed Lucas as nothing more than a wasted noble, someone who had given up on life due to a minor setback.

    But the Lucas he saw before him was someone else entirely whenpared to the person he heard about in the rumors.

    He was the mostid-back person in ss 1-A-1 and not a tantrum-throwing noble who had reduced himself just to his name.

    Leo even learned that Lucas had yed a significant role in their ss''s win during the Mock War.

    Leo couldn''t help but wonder at that moment, were the rumors about Lucas being a fallen genius even true?

    However, despite his ponderings, Leo realised that such matters held little significance to him.

    Without talent in martial arts or a high mana core potential, Lucas could never be strong.

    After all, sheer intelligence can only take a man so far in this world.

    Though the saying "Knowledge is power" lingered in his thoughts, deep down, he knew that in this world, true power resided solely in one''s physical prowess.

    He thought it was a shame. Despite being a Morningstar, Lucas didn''t possess the same level of strength as his renowned parents.

    He wasn''t a strong martial artist like his father, nor was he a brilliant mage like his mother.

    It was disheartening to witness someone who was not exceptional in any way.

    For some reason, this fact reminded Leo of him. He saw the remnants of his past in him. He heard echoes of his struggle reflecting off the silver-haired boy.

    But there was nothing he could do to help the child.

    After all, even if Leo was feeling bad about him, Lucas was a Morningstar.

    And Leo had learned from previous experiences to refrain from interfering with anyone from that family.

    Also, he had much more important matters to attend to than helping out a kid in need.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, fate had other ns.

    Last night when Leo was reviewing the video footage from the security cameras he acquired from the police, he saw someone utilising a weapon art that he had hoped to never encounter again¡ªthe Dawnbreaker.

    After that, he consulted with Nero and Anastasia regarding who that fighter was since he didn''t recognise him as someone from ss 1-A-1.

    To his surprise, Nero and Anastasia revealed that the only other person involved in the battle during thest few minutes alongside them was Lucas.

    However, they admitted that they hadn''t witnessed how Lucas managed to kill the vampire, yet they confirmed that it was indeed Lucas who struck the final blow.

    Leo''s confusion deepened.

    The revtion of Lucas''s involvement in such a remarkable feat raised further questions about the true nature of the young Morningstar.

    After all, to Leo''s knowledge, Reynold had never officially taught the Dawnbreaker to anyone else aside from Yelena.

    And what he saw being performed in the security camera footage was the first step of the Dawnbreaker technique.

    That must only mean that Lucas learned that first step by himself. That was an incredible feat!

    Dawnbreaker was an exceptionally hard weapon art to learn, especially since there are no written manuals for it.

    Yet, Lucas learned it?

    That''s why Leo summoned himst night. Something about the boy was intriguing enough to even catch his eye.

    And he was proven correct.

    After talking to him, Leo discovered that Lucas had almost learned a Level 3 weapon art in under a month without any guidance or instructions from anyone!

    Leo knew that Lucas had a little talent for martial arts from all the rumors he heard about him.

    But he had also heard that his talent was nothing too remarkable¨C just greatly above average but nothing heaven-defying.

    Now for reference, it usually takes a normal person somewhere around nine to twelve months to learn a Level 3 weapon art, even with guidance!

    If that''s not remarkable talent, then Leo couldn''t understand what else is?!

    So, if his kid really had this kind of talent, then howe Reynold Morningstar ¨C one of the best martial artists that Leo knows, didn''t see it?

    Why did he shun Lucas simply because he awakened a low mana core potential?

    ''Urgh,'' Leo groaned in his mind. ''I could never understand that guy.''

    A whirlwind of emotions swept over Leo''s mind, temporarily clouding his head with a mixture of nostalgia, rage, frustration, and bitterness.

    Reynolds''s face shed in his thoughts, evoking a surge ofplex feelings within him.

    A bitter smile formed on his lips as Leo muttered in a whispering tone, "And here I thought I had moved on from the past."

    Shing¡ª!!

    In the next moment, however, he shook his head and cleared his mind.

    Taking a deep breath next, Leo drew his katana from its sheath, the de gleaming in the azure light as he coated it with mana.

    He extended his arms, firmly gripping the handle with both hands and positioned the katana close to his chest, assuming a traditional stance.

    With eyes fixed on Lucas, he nodded. "Come!"

 Chapter 157 Spar [3]

    ?

    "Come!"

    "Tsk," Lucas clicked his tongue while clutching the spear in his hand tighter.

    As soon as Leo took his stance, Lucas instinctively understood that he had no chance of defeating him.

    It was a stance that spoke of a man who had endured numerous life-and-death struggles and emerged triumphant from each one.

    The man known as the God of Battlefield.

    But it doesn''t matter.

    Lucas never had any intention of winning anyway. He just needs to get through this little sparring session, and that''s all.

    But still, what should he do?

    Leo asked him toe at him, but Lucas could not spot a single opening in his stance. It was simply too perfect.

    So should he wait?

    ''No,'' he thought. ''Instead of giving him a chance toe at me, I''ll take the battle to him!''

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    With the thought of taking the lead in mind, Lucas willed mana into his legs and lunged forward at his opponent.

    Tak¡ª

    Closing the distance, Lucas unleashed a barrage of spear thrusts at Leo with fierce determination.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    With swift precision, Leo skillfully parried each of Lucas'' thrusts, his katana serving as an imprable barrier against the onught.

    The metallic shes of their weapons filled the air, and sparks erupted from the intense shes.

    ''Damn it,'' Lucas thought in his mind, knowing that blindly attacking Leo like this would get him nowhere.

    Thwoo¡ª

    Hopping back a few steps, Lucas created some distance between himself and Leo, providing a brief respite to gather his thoughts.

    Aware that a different approach was necessary, Lucas began to brainstorm alternative strategies, searching for a way to engage Leo more effectively in their battle.

    "You think too much," Leo suddenly spoke and channelled mana into his legs.

    "...?!"

    Before Lucas could react or even respond to those words, Leo appeared right in front of him, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

    In that split second, Leo capitalised on Lucas''s momentary vulnerability.

    With a fluid motion, he executed a precise strike, aiming for a critical opening in the young Morningstar''s defence.

    Swish¡ª!!

    The de of Leo''s katana swiftly whistled through the air, guided by his years ofbat experience.

    Cling¡ª!!

    However, just as Leo''s strike was about to connect, Lucas''s instincts kicked in, and he managed to react in the nick of time.

    With a swift block of his spear, he diverted the trajectory of Leo''s de and narrowly avoided a devastating blow.

    Almost instantly, lifting up his right leg, Lucas threw a powerful forward kick with the intention of hitting Leo t in the chest.

    But his kick met nothing but air Leo effortlessly evaded the blow by twirling his body to the left.

    ''He''s fast!'' Lucas thought in his mind.

    But before he could process any further thoughts, Leo capitalised on the opening, utilising the momentum of his evasion.

    Swiftly, Leo spun on his left leg and twisted his body like a tornado.

    Thwack¨C!!

    With impable timing and precision, he threw a roundhouse kick that connected with a resounding impact against Lucas''s abdomen, sending shockwaves through his body.

    The impact knocked the air out of Lucas and sent him hurtling backwards.

    Thud, Thud¡ª!!

    Eventually, he dropped and crashed to the ground, rolling and skidding several times before finallying to a stop.

    Without wasting a moment, Lucas swiftly regained his bnce and jumped back to his feet, showing no sign of pain.

    However, that was just an act ¨C his poker face.

    In reality, a sharp pain in his abdomen persisted. It felt as if his ribs had been mercilessly crushed once more.

    Gritting his teeth, Lucas tightened his grip on his spear, his determination unyielding.

    Locking eyes with Leo, he swiftly assumed his stance again, refusing to allow the pain to hinder his resolve.

    Leo''s voice reverberated with a mix of amusement and disbelief. "Yes, that''s what I was talking about! The look in your eyes right now, that''s it! Despite knowing you can''t win against me, you refuse to back down. The desire for victory runs deep within you!"

    Lucas, still grimacing with determination, shook his head in disagreement, his voice strained. "No, you''re wrong! I don''t seek victory. I don''t even want to fight! It''s too early in the morning, and all I truly want is some peaceful fucking sleep."

    A chuckle escaped Leo''s lips. Hisughter filled with a hint of cynicism. "Hahaha! If you actually believe that, then you''re not only lying to me but also to yourself! The fire in your eyes, the refusal to give up, it''s evident in every move you make! You yearn to win!"

    "Haaa," with a resigned sigh, Lucas came to the realisation that arguing any further with this battle maniac would be pointless.

    epting the situation and ignoring the redhead''s words, he focused his thoughts on his mana core.

    In an instant, a surge of mana emanated from Lucas''s body, flowing outward in a brilliant azure hue. As the mana expanded, it coalesced and began to swirl around the tip of his spear.

    "Mana Burst!" Lucas yelled, his voice resolute.

    Two small azure explosions went off beneath his feet, propelling him forward with incredible velocity, akin to a bullet shooting straight.

    In a sudden burst of speed, Lucas appeared right before Leo in the blink of an eye, his spear poised for an aggressive thrust.

    "So, you weren''t lying," Leo remarked, his eyebrows arching in genuine admiration. "That''s really the 16-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st!"

    As soon as he said that, Leo swiftly raised his sword, intercepting Lucas''s spear mid-thrust.

    With a deft maneuver, he skillfully altered the direction of the spear, forcing it to veer to the left.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Thruck¡ª!!

    As Lucas'' spear struck the ground, Leo was effectively able to disarm the silver-haired spearman momentarily.

    At that moment, a hint of disappointment tinged Leo''s voice as he capitalised on the opening.

    "But charging in blindly against me was a bad decision. I expected better from a Morningstar," he remarked, his toneced with a touch of taunting.

    In the next moment, Leo quickly stepped in, intending to seize this opportunity and bring this spar to a decisive conclusion.

    "Heh!"

    However, to Leo''s surprise, a mischievous smirk formed on Lucas''s face.

    Perplexed by his sudden change in demeanor, Leo hesitated for a fraction of a second, questioning the meaning behind that expression.

    Shing¡ª!!

    In that fleeting moment, Lucas flicked his left wrist twice, and a hidden de sprung forth from a concealedpartment under his sleeve.

    Lucas wasted no time and swiftly swung his ded hand directly towards Leo''s face.

    Caught off guard, Leo''s eyes widened in astonishment and realisation.

    "...A hidden de?!" Leo eximed, his surprise evident.

    At that moment, the puzzle pieces fell into ce. Lucas didn''t charge blindly. No, he had a n in motion.

    Lucas had intentionally baited Leo into blocking or parrying his attack, leaving himself intentionally vulnerable.

    It was a calcted maneuver designed to make Leo drop his guard and close the distance, trapping him in a false sense of security.

    Lucas had one final blow in mind, waiting for the opportune moment to unleash the hidden de concealed within his sleeve.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Unfortunately for Lucas, he was up against the one known as the God of War. Leo never dropped his guard. He was ready.

    Reacting with lightning speed, Leo swiftly ducked, allowing Lucas'' hidden de to sail harmlessly over his head, missing its mark and cutting through nothing but air.

    From his low position, Leo spun on one foot, using the other to execute a sweeping motion that aimed to knock Lucas off his feet.

    Caught off bnce by Leo''s swift and skilful leg sweep, Lucas stumbled and lost his footing, ultimately falling to the ground.

    Thud¡ª!

    "Aeeik!"

    By the time Lucas fell, Leo was already on his feet. The tip of his katana found its mark, pressed firmly against the young Morningstar''s throat.

    "Argh," Lucas clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together in frustration.

    Leo, raising an eyebrow, wore a taunting smile. "You im not to desire victory, yet your expression tells a different story," he remarked.

    Lucas felt a surge of anger at the sight of that smile, his blood boiling with intensity.

    "Oof, if only looks could kill," Leo released a dry chuckle, sheathing his de and taking several steps back. "Get back on your feet," he beckoned.

    "....." Lucas, his frustration evident on his face, grasped his spear on the ground and rose up.

    "No more strategic ys this time," Leo dered, drawing his katana once more. "You have got one shot. Come at me with everything you''ve got."

    Hearing Leo''s words, Lucas tightened his grip on his spear and assumed a lower stance, bending his knees slightly.

    With a swift motion, he pulled back his weapon and settled into a sword-drawing stance.

    Leo felt the scar on his face throb as he witnessed Lucas employing a weapon art he was very familiar with.

    ''There it is,'' he thought, a mix of recognition and apprehension washing over him. ''No doubt about it. That is definitely Dawnbreaker.''

    As Leo observed Lucas, a flicker of Reynold Morningstar''s silhouette shed in his mind.

    Taking a deep breath, Leo cleared his mind and pulled back his own weapon.

    Infusing his de with a surge of mana, causing it to radiate a vibrant azure glow, Leo bellowed, "Come!"

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Both warriorsunched forward, their weapons ready to strike with lethal intent.

    This wasn''t a spar anymore; this was a sh!

    Lucas, aftering close enough with Leo, unleashed a powerful horizontal sh with the de of his spear.

    He exerted all his weight at the end of the spear''s shaft while channelling every drop of mana he possessed into the de.

    The air crackled with the energy around the de of Lucas'' spear as the force behind his attack surged forward.

    Swoosh¡ª

    "....HUH?!"

    But to Lucas''s disbelief, as soon as his spear made contact with Leo''s body, his body dissipated like a puff of smoke, vanishing into thin air.

    In its ce, to Lucas''s utter bewilderment, a multitude of Leo figures manifested all around him¡ªapproximately twenty in number!

    "What the actual fuck?!"

    As each ''Leo'' charged at Lucas, he unleashed a relentless fury of spear thrusts against any figure that approached.

    With every sessful strike of his spear, the illusionary ''Leos'' dissipated into nothingness, vanishing like wisps of smoke.

    "These aren''t real!" Lucas thought out loud, his voice echoing in the midst of the intense battle. "Somewhere among them, his true body must be hidden!"

    "Searching for me?"

    At that very moment, a whisper brushed against Lucas''s ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Before he could fully react, he felt someoneing behind him.

    By the time he turned, Lucas saw a fist speeding toward his face at breakneck speed.

    Resigning, he dropped his shoulders in the face of inevitable defeat, "Fuck me."

    Thwack¡ª!!

 Chapter 158 Disciple [1]

    ?

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    Gasping for breath, I copsed onto the ground, defeated and exhausted.

    My gaze fixated on the ceiling of the training hall as my mind constantly reyed the intense spar I had just experienced.

    My nose throbbed, and blood trickled down. Maybe it was broken.

    Yet, despite the physical difort, my mind remained preupied elsewhere, lost in its own thoughts and reflections.

    This won''t cut it. I am nowhere near strong enough. At this rate, I will not survive the second arc of the main story.

    The problem isn''t that I didn''t have stronger weapon arts or more cheat relics.

    No, it''s just that my battle prowess is simplyughable. I know how to use some weapon arts, but I don''t know how to fight without them.

    I create too many unnecessary movements, make some very bad decisions and stuff like that.

    It''s clear that I need to refine my fighting style and develop a better understanding of tactical choices regarding livebat.

    While I can manage to overpower an average cadet if I give it my all, it''s clear that being above average is not sufficient.

    Because as I said, the challenges awaiting me in the second arc will be formidable, and if I want to ensure my survival, I must get stronger, and I need to do it fast.

    But how¡­ How will I do that?

    While lost in thought, a voice suddenly eximed and interrupted me, "Nice try! You actually surprised me... Oh! Your nose is bleeding. Are you alright?"

    Leo appeared over my head, upside down in my vision. His eyes widened slightly in concern and surprise.

    "I''m fine," I replied, sitting back straight before getting up. Although standing up hurt, I didn''t let it show on my face. "If we''re done here, I''ll get going."

    Just as I was about to exit the training hall after picking up my spear, Leo''s voice stopped me.

    "Wait a second," he called out, his tone urging me to halt.

    I turned back to face him, curious about what he had to say but still frustrated enough, maybe with myself, to roll my eyes.

    "I couldn''t help but notice one thing," Leo began, his eyes searching mine. "There is more to you than what meets the eye. I see potential, but I also sense great hesitation within you."

    "What are you, a Jedi master?!" is what shot through my mind, but I stayed silent and continued to listen.

    "It feels like you think too much before and after making a move," he exined. "I can see why they call you a genius¨C"

    "They don''t anymore," I interjected, but Leo continued on.

    "But because you think too much, you make many mistakes while fighting. You make too many unnecessary movements, waste too much mana, and make bad decisions overall."

    Oh, and you think I''m not aware of that?!

    "So what should I do?" I asked. "''Close off my mind and fight on my instincts like a fucking savage?"

    A troubling expression washed over Leo''s face before he simply shrugged his shoulders.

    "....What does that mean?!" I snapped, confused by his reaction.

    The troubling expression on Leo''s face deepened as he stared into my eyes.

    He then averted his gaze for a moment before quickly looking back at me with a deep sigh.

    "Let me ask you one thing," Leo said. "Do you¡­ hate your father? For what he did to you, I mean."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Huh? What kind of question is that?

    "I¡­"

    ¡­I wanted to say I don''t hate him. After all, I am not really Lucas, am I? I have no reason to hate Reynold.

    Nevertheless, vivid memories of Lucas'' childhood shed in my mind.

    I recalled the lonely nights when he would be confined to his room alone while his family would have family dinner down in the hall.

    I remembered the heart-wrenching asion when he celebrated his own birthday in solitude, singing "Happy Birthday" to himself while his family held a grand feast for his twin brother''s birthday.

    I remembered how he cried himself to sleep after getting bullied throughout the day by his brother while his father chose to turn a blind eye to him.

    Why? Why did he do that?

    Family is everything ¨C he taught that to Lucas.

    So then, why did he go back on his words and shun Lucas, stripping him of his love and attention when Lucas needed him the most?

    Why did he abandon him?

    Throughout Lucas'' entire childhood, Reynold treated him as his designated sessor.

    And for Lucas, earning his father''s pride became the paramount objective of his existence.

    Thus, when Lucas awakened an average potential, which his father regarded as trash,'' and subsequently began avoiding him, it inflicted immense pain upon him.

    He lost his sense of purpose. Enduring a severe existential crisis at such a tender age proved to be a difficult ordeal for Lucas.

    He attempted to cope and desperately sought to regain his father''s attention.

    However, by then, Reynold was busy nurturing Adel, the next heir of the Morningstar house and his chosen sessor.

    Just like that, in an instant, Lucas was cast aside and reced. This shattered himpletely.

    Having personally experienced all those emotions as if I had lived that life myself, it would be a lie to say that I don''t harbor some feelings of resentment toward Reynold.

    However, I find myselfcking the fervor to hate him wholeheartedly.

    Why? Because as I mentioned earlier, I am not truly Lucas. I find myself indifferent towards his actions.

    I don''t care what happened in the past.

    I have bigger things to worry about, like stopping the destruction of this fucking world, for starters.

    Moreover, I recall someone once stating that the opposite of love is not hate but rather indifference. And that sentiment resonates with me.

    If someone hurts you, just walk off. Your indifference will crush their ego more than your hate ever could.

    "I don''t hate him," I replied. "In fact, I don''t even care about him. In his eyes, his son may have died, but in my heart, my father has. And why would I hate a dead person?"

    "..."

    For a few seconds, Leo stared at me nkly without uttering a single word. After a long moment of silence, he nodded his head.

    "Okay, it''s good enough," he said, still nodding his head. "Let me ask you onest question now. Lucas, would you like to be my disciple and learn from me?"

 Chapter 159 Disciple [2]

    ?

    "Pardon? Your what?"

    "You heard me."

    "..."

    Did I hear him correctly?

    He wants me to be his disciple?

    Damn! What the hell?!

    In that brief moment, my mind raced through numerous possibilities as I argued and reasoned with myself a thousand times over.

    My initial thoughts were that he must be joking.

    Leo Kurogami, one of the most indifferent characters of the story, asked me to be his disciple? Me? Lucas Morningstar?

    Perhaps it was just his dry sense of humour once again! However, as I stared into his eyes, I could sense that he was telling the truth.

    No, he was genuinely serious about it!

    And so began a lengthy session of arguments and reasoning that I engaged in with myself in my head.

    Should I decline? I probably should, right?

    I mean, I made a conscious decision to minimise my interactions with a separatist like Leo.

    It would be best to reject his offer.

    However, if my rejection damages his ego and he responds by exposing that footage to the Cadet Council, what then?

    Ugh, dealing with Yelena after she discovers that I can use the first step of Dawnbreaker would be a major hassle.

    If there''s a chance to avoid that oue altogether, I''d prefer to take it.

    I guess I could always anonymously tip off the Central Government and tell them about Leo''s affiliation with the Spider organisation if he dares to threaten me.

    Although since that would change the story too much, I can only use it as ast resort.

    Now, one would ask why I am hesitating to change the plot when it''s only going to benefit me in the end.

    You see, Leo yed a significant role and was one of the catalysts for the War of Union, a civil war between the Central Government and Spider that urred just before the final struggle of the Vampire race.

    I won''t dive into much detail, but the War of Union is important. It''s an event that I absolutely shouldn''t remove from the plot.

    The War of Union must remain in the plot, as its urrence is crucial for us to have a fighting chance against the Vampires.

    An ending where we lose against the vampires and ultimately against the Kalis is something I definitely want to avoid.

    Now, getting back to the main point, I should decline Leo''s offer and distance myself from him.

    Leo met a gruesome end during the War of the Union while battling against Nero.

    If I were to align myself with him, it would lead to the same fate for me...

    However...

    What if I were to ept his proposal, on the other hand?

    If I were to ept Leo Kurogami as my master, he would teach me everything he knows and provide me ess to rare and valuable weapon art manuals.

    Additionally, receiving personalised training from him would help me be stronger at a faster pace.

    And when the time for the War of Union finally arrives, I would''ve exploited him for everything he has to offer.

    Eventually, I would betray him and present him to the Central Government, thereby gaining their trust.

    Indeed, it''s a perfect n, filled with its own share of risks, of course. However, I''m prepared to take a chance!

    After all, I have two distinct talents that I have honed throughout my previous life: the art of lying and the thrill of gambling.

    With carefully crafted lies and calcted bets, I can definitely do this!

    Aftering to this conclusion while going through all that in my head, I finally agreed to take Leo up on his proposal.

    However, I decided to y it cool.

    "But sensei, my mana core potential rank is merely Gold 3. Are you really sure you want me as your disciple?" I said, arching an eyebrow.

    "Do you know what my mana core rank is?" Leo crossed his arms before answering his own question. "tinum 1."

    "....Wh-What?" I eximed in shock.

    Leo''s mana core rank was never mentioned in the novel. But since he was such a great warrior, I assumed it to be very high.

    But his rank is only one tier above my own potential ranking.

    "Shocking, isn''t it?" His voice carried a hint of pride as he dered, "It seems the heavenspensated for my low mana core potential by bestowing upon me extraordinary martial arts abilities."

    After a brief pause, he continued, "I can see that you have a simr talent, but it''s going to waste. However, if you choose to train with me, I assure you that you can ascend to be one of the mightiest warriors of your generation."

    My lips opened and closed up a few times, struggling to form a coherent response.

    "I-I see," I finally managed to utter, my voice barely a whisper.

    In truth, I was at a loss for words.

    Having arge reserve of mana¨C meaning a high-ranked mana core, greatly enhances the effectiveness of one''s usage in martial arts.

    After all, a surplus of mana directly equals increased strength. Basically, the more mana you have, the more powerful you are.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    To close the gap created by mana, one must possess either an extraordinary Gift or a heaven-defying talent for martial arts.

    However, even after all that, there is no guarantee that individuals will reach the level achieved by those with a high-ranking mana core.

    But Leo here did it anyway. Even with a merely above-average potential, he became one of the most feared names in today''s world.

    And he''s saying I have the potential to do that too? No, since I''m going to break my potential cap soon, doesn''t that mean I have the potential to surpass Leo?

    "So, what''s your answer?"

    When Leo repeated his question, I had no reason to say no.

    I had already decided on my n. It would be very foolish of me not to make the best of this opportunity that presented itself.

    "Yes," I finally answered, performing a respectful short bow. "It would be my honour to learn from you, Leo sensei."

    Hearing my response, Leo nodded his head affirmatively.

    "Good," he replied. "From here on out, you shall address me as master, even during the ss. If you ever have any problems,e to me for assistance. However, do not mistake my support as a license to act without ountability, for I will not endorse unjust actions."

    "Understood, master!" I nodded my head.

    A hint of foreign expression shed in Leo''s eyes as I addressed him as master.

    But swiftly resuming his usual demeanour, he added, "Alright, for the time being, get to your ss. Tomorrow, we shall begin your training. Stay prepared, as I may summon you at any hour, even during the middle of the night."

    "Hahaha!"

    ".....?"

    "...."

    Fuck! I thought he was just kidding!

    He wouldn''t actually summon me in the middle of the night, would he? Right?!

    "I-I''ll take my leave," I stammered, bowing once more before turning around to depart, while Leo simply nodded in response.

    But just as I was about to take a few steps, a sudden realisation hit me, causing me to halt in my tracks.

    "Um, master, if you don''t mind me asking, where exactly was the security camera that captured that footage?" I asked.

    Leo raised an eyebrow in response. "Hmm? It was a discreet camera hidden within the chandelier in the hall."

    A hidden camera! Of course! How could I overlook something like that?!

    I should have conducted a more thorough search of the banquet hall when I had the chance!

    "By the way, even though I''ve asked you this before, I''ll ask again: the night before the incident, the security cameras'' batteries were removed by someone from their blind spots. Is there any connection to you?" Leo stroked his chin thoughtfully.

    "Nah, as I mentioned earlier, it''s most likely the work of vampires," I lied effortlessly as my words flowed out naturally. "Anyway, it''s time for me to attend my ss."

    With that, I swiftly made my way out of the training hall, eager to put some distance between myself and the questioning gaze of Leo.

    ?

    As Leo observed Lucas''s figure fading into the distance, a deep sigh escaped his lips.

    There was definitely something unsettling about that kid.

    "I''ve really done it, haven''t I?" Leo mused aloud to himself.

    Indeed, he had truly taken on a disciple, a decision he never would have envisioned making in his entire life.

    To be perfectly honest, he himself couldn''t understand why he chose Lucas as his disciple.

    Sure the boy was definitely talented, maybe as much as himself, if not more, but Leo still couldn''t understand what exactly made him want to take him under his wing.

    The longer Leo gazed upon Lucas, the more he noticed the striking resemnce the young man bore to his parents.

    Lucas''s fair skin, which harmonised with his snowy white hair, brought to mind the soothing presence of Yennefer, his mother.

    Yet, Lucas'' piercing scarlet eyes and lean physique evoked bitter memories he had of Reynold, his father.

    There was no doubt Lucas was definitely their son. But then why?

    Why did they push their own son away like that? Why did they abandon him? Why did they do what they did to him?

    Even though Leo doesn''t like Reynold very much now, they were once inseparable. He knows him more than anyone.

    He knows that Reynold isn''t the kind of person to abandon his own son. So then, what changed?

    He doesn''t know.

    Even if he had to nurture the next head of the Morningstar house, it''s no excuse for shunning his other son.

    "Haa," Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, and the image of Reynold shed in his mind. "Damn it, you bastard."

    Well, whatever. It doesn''t matter now.

    Perhaps he took Lucas as his disciple because he was the son of his former friends, or maybe it was his talent that caught his attention.

    It could also be that Lucas''s circumstances reminded him of his own past.

    Whatever the reason, one thing was certain: he was now someone''s master.

    Thinking that, Leo couldn''t help but let out another sigh, "Haa."

 Chapter 160 Back To The Academy [1]

    ?

    As I made my way out of the training hall, I headed for our homeroom ss.

    I was still a bit shocked.

    I became Leo Kurogami''s disciple! Ahh, this would solve so many of my problems in the future.

    The more I thought about it, the more I realised the potential benefits of this connection.

    Finally, some positive developments were taking ce.

    It had only been three days since our departure from Global City for our trip, and we had returned just yesterday.

    However, it feels like a long time has passed.

    ¨C"Hey, look! Isn''t he from that ss?"

    ¨C"ss 1-A-1! Yes, yes! Such a tragedy. I heard six cadets in that ss died on their trip, which was supposed to be a reward for them."

    ¨C"Truly a tragedy. Even though that guy named Nero Dekrauf is in their ss, they still suffered so many losses."

    Continuing on my path, I overheard some whispers among the cadets discussing our trip in hushed tones.

    While a pang of guilt gnawed at me for not being able to prevent the loss of lives even with my future knowledge, my attention was piqued whenever Nero''s name was mentioned.

    Nero''s poprity seemed to be on the rise.

    This is exactly what happened in the novel following their ss''s victory in the Mock War.

    If I''m not mistaken, which I''m definitely not, within a week or two, the rumours about Nero would reach the entire world.

    Moreover, during the King''s Tournament, Nero will have to employ his Gift in front of a huge crowd as he would battle against the vampire soldiers sent to kill him.

    Following that, the rumours will turn into undeniable facts, and the world will have no choice but to acknowledge Nero''s godlike Gift.

    Numerous cults will emerge, worshipping him. His name will be widely known, even among children.

    Furthermore, there will be individuals who will attempt to end his life in order to possess his extraordinary gift.

    Haa, in all honesty, it would be a drag. I did try to avoid this route, but as always, fate is a bitch.

    "Fuu," while indulging in such thoughts, I arrived in front of our homeroom. "Okay, let''s do it."

    The second arc officially begins.

    ?

    "....In conclusion, the reason behind the exclusiveness of the Elvennguage in invoking a magic chant remains unknown to us.

    "ording to the elves, the god used a sophisticated variant of the Elvennguage, known as the High-Tongue, to bring about the creation of the universe.

    "So essentially, we can say that the entire universe isposed of the Elvennguage, like aputer program.

    "And when we chant to cast magic, we effectively modify the program''s code, thereby influencing our reality.

    "That''s why the elves hold the belief that they were the first intelligent race of the universe.

    "They also believe that God personally taught their ancestors thisnguage and named it after their race, or perhaps their race was named after thenguage.

    "We don''t really know for sure since, after all, it''s nothing but a legend. We also have no way to confirm this legend since the elves were driven out of their homes by the race known as the Demons.

    "Regardless of the authenticity of the legend, one important point to note is that the Kalisck the ability to cast spells due to their unfamiliarity with the elvennguage.

    "Additionally, they are also unable to use runes and perform hand signs since both practices are derived from the Elvennguage too."

    Right at the clock struck 7:00 AM, our homeroom instructor, Liz Snyder, arrived promptly and started her lecture without so much as acknowledging the fallen ones.

    It was as if their absence meant nothing.

    The six vacant seats of the cadets who tragically lost their lives yesterday meant nothing at all.

    The atmosphere in the ssroom was suffocatingly quiet, filled with a mix of horror, disturbance, and a general sense of sorrow.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    No one seemed capable of diverting their attention from the heavy weight that hung in the air, rendering Liz''s words irrelevant to the somber minds of the cadets.

    "Ma''am!"

    In the midst of the heavy atmosphere, there were a few cadets who managed to maintain theirposure, and I happened to be one of them.

    So when someone raised his hand to seek rification, my gaze instinctively shifted toward him.

    It was Hugh Jass.

    "And so¡ª Yes?" Liz noticed Hugh and gestured with her chin for him to proceed with his question.

    "We''ve observed, as you mentioned once, the striking resemnce between High Elven and the Latinnguage. Why is that? After all, Latin has existed on Earth for thousands of years, while our contact with the Elves dates back only to a little over seven centuries ago," Hugh inquired.

    "Excellent question, Mr. Jass. However, we don''t know the answer to that. Schrs have been tirelessly searching for an exnation, but the reasoning they have put forth is¡ª"

    "STOP! JUST FUCKING STOP IT!!"

    Just as Liz was in the middle of answering Hugh''s question, a sudden outburst cut through the air, startling everyone in the ssroom.

    Everyone whipped their heads toward the source of the noise and found the person responsible for the outcry to be Chase.

    "Mr Woods, is there a problem¨C" Liz tried to confront Chase, but thetter started yelling again.

    "Yes, there is a fucking problem! How can you simply resume your ss like those cadets who lost their lives yesterday meant nothing? Show some respect and at least acknowledge their absence!" Chase''s voice reverberated with frustration and anger.

    Silence filled the air as the cadets started between Chase and Liz.

    They all had the same thing on their minds, but none of them had the guts to stand up and speak about it like that.

    After a few moments, Liz cocked her head slightly. "And what will that do?"

    "...W-What do you mean by that?! Are you implying¨C"

    "I''m implying that it doesn''t make a difference. I do feel immense sorrow for those who are no longer among us today. They were children... Their untimely and unexpected deaths were deeply unfair. However, what purpose would it serve for me to disy the grief I feel? Will shedding my tears magically resurrect them? If that is the case, then I am willing to weep an ocean or deliver a mournful speech in their honor."

    The ssroom once again descended into a heavy silence. A sense of uncertainty and unease permeated the air.

    It was an undeniable truth. As cadets and soon-to-be soldiers, we understood that mourning was a luxury we couldn''t afford.

    Every instructor told us that the first day we came to this academy.

    Moreover, I knew the harsh reality that more tragedies awaited us in the future.

    In that sense, I could rte to Liz''s perspective more or less. I know she must be sad about those six cadets too.

    However, I also understood that shedding tears alone wouldn''t miraculously restore what was taken away.

    Hearing her answer, a conflicted look appeared in Chase''s eyes. He averted his gaze to look away.

    Ting¡ª!!

    Before any further words could be exchanged, the resounding ring of the ss bell echoed throughout the room, indicating the conclusion of the lecture.

    "...Well then, it''s time for your Combat Art ss. Proceed to the training grounds in an organised manner," Liz directed.

    ¨C""Thank you for today''s ss.""

    With nods of acknowledgement, everyone rose from their seats, performing a brief bow while saying their greetings to Liz.

    Storing my notebook, which was filled with rough work and doodles, and pen back in my smart bracelet, I too started heading for the ss exit.

    "Lucas Morningstar, Nero Dekrauf, and Anastasia Bigod. Please wait back. I have something to discuss with you three."

    As we were making our way out, Liz called our names and asked us to stay back.

    "Haa," I let out a sigh, knowing what was going to happen.

 Chapter 161 Back To The Academy [2]

    ?

    Anastasia, Nero, and I approached Liz, who was meticulously stacking papers by tapping them on the table.

    Once she finished, she settled back into her seat and nced in our direction.

    When her captivating amethyst eyes locked with mine, I had to hold my breath. They were profound, akin to an endless abyss capable of consuming one''s very soul.

    Feeling a sense of unease and even danger, I quickly averted my gaze, realising it was unwise to linger in her gaze for too long.

    No, I wasn''t simping, by the way! I didn''t mean it in any romantic or perverted way, although, to be honest, she was VERY hot; I really felt something off by looking into her eyes.

    Perhaps it was because she had an affinity for Darkness while I had an affinity for the Light element.

    As I''ve mentioned before, people with opposing affinities often experience a certain disquietude in each other''s presence.

    Anyway, Liz shifted her attention to Anastasia, who was standing next to me, fixating her intense gaze on her before finally looking at Nero.

    "I''ve heard you guys were the ones who took down that vampire?" Liz stated in a questioning tone.

    In acknowledgement, we nodded our heads in confirmation. Liz then shifted her focus to me, her gaze filled with curiosity.

    "And you were the one who delivered the final blows to that and the other one," she remarked.

    "It was a team effort, but yes," I responded in a polite tone.

    Liz looked at me for a few seconds without saying anything. I know what she must be thinking. It''s what they all think whenever I do anything out of character.

    ''He is different from the rumours.''

    Naturally, the rumours had painted me as a malevolent young master, which I am obviously not.

    So after a few seconds of silence, Liz let out a sigh and said, "You guys did well. By sessfully containing and eliminating those vampires before they could wreak havoc on the streets, you saved countless lives."

    Her words carried a genuine appreciation for the gravity of our aplishment.

    However, her tone soon shifted as she continued speaking, her voice now tinged with concern and anger.

    "However," she began, "What you all did was also risky. I know that you were left with no choice but to engage inbat, but perhaps the wiser course of action would have been to prioritise survival until the military police could intervene instead of winning by fighting head-on."

    "I understand, Master. But¨C" Nero began to express his thoughts, but I interjected.

    "Initially, my n was exactly what you suggested," I exined. "But Cadet Chase Wood prioritised his personal matters with me over our survival and refused to follow my suggestion. Additionally, third-year Cadet Drake exerted his authority and also chose not to act on my n. These acts of insubordination forced us into a situation where direct confrontation became our only option."

    "Haaa," Liz responded with a sigh, her hand gently rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

    "I see," she said. "Allowing personal matters to jeopardise everyone''s safety was wrong on Chase''s part. I will see to it that he gets punished appropriately. And as for Drake, I don''t think he was in the wrong. As the highest-ranking cadet present there, it''s understandable that he wanted to take on the leadership role. Plus, he has already lost his arm, so that''s enough for him."

    I nodded in agreement with my hands behind my back, a subtle smile ying at the corners of my lips.

    Inside, a rush of satisfaction filled me.

    Even if I couldn''t get Drake punished, I could still screw over Chase! Ha! That''s what you get for messing with me during the entirety of our trip, you bastard!

    A side character like him should''ve known his ce! Hahahaha!

    "Anyway," Liz said, bringing us back to the point. "What I wanted to inform the three of you is that you will be receiving medals of honour. One of the twelve members of the Central Government will be visiting our academy to attend the King''s Tournament and will present the medals to you."

    "A member of the Central Government?" Anastasia eximed in surprise before stealing a nce at Nero.

    Curiosity piqued, I did the same and turned my gaze toward Nero. But his face remained devoid of any expressions.

    There is one in a twelve chance that the person who woulde to present us with the medals of honour could be Nero''s father.

    Of course, I knew that would definitely be the case.

    "Yes," Liz affirmed with a nod. "The three of you will be required to writeprehensive reports detailing the incident, providing a thorough ount of the events that transpired in the banquet hall and how you handled the situation."

    "Will the rest of the ss also be tasked with writing reports?"Anastasia sought rification.

    Liz responded, "Indeed. However, the higher-ups are particrly interested in reviewing the reports from the three of you. So ensure your ounts are highly detailed to avoid further questioning."

    "Understood!" We chimed in unison, acknowledging Liz''s instructions. She nodded in approval.

    She then let out a sigh before cautioning us, "Remember, you were able to defeat those vampires because they were not frontline warriors. Our intel imed that one of them was an assassin while the other was a spy. We have reasons to believe that they were on some kind of a mission here. If you evere across a vampire knight, soldier, or noble, your best course of action is to flee and avoid engaging them."

    I knew Liz was right, and it was likely that Nero and Anastasia understood it too. Mercy and Magnus weren''t seasoned soldiers.

    Mercy, if her story was true, had some background as a former soldier, but she mentioned that she wasn''t at her full strength after facing my father years ago.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And Magnus, well, he was an assassin, so he shouldn''t have been ustomed to direct confrontations.

    Yet, they proved to be formidable adversaries.

    They imed the lives of six of our fellow cadets and even almost killed us too.

    If Magnus had chosen to prioritise escape rather than deciding to try and kill us after we had killed Mercy, we might not have been able to eliminate him either.

    "Anyway, you all are dismissed. Proceed to your ss," Liz dered.

    ""Yes, ma''am!""

    In unison, we responded, hands respectfully ced behind our backs.

    With synchronised movements, we turned around and made our way out of the ssroom.

    "Fuuu."

    As I walked down the hallway, heading towards the stairs, I let out a sigh and activated my smart bracelet.

    I wanted to search for guidance on how to write an event report, as I had never done so in either of my lives.

    However, before I could evenunch the search engine, Nero''s voice reached my ears.

    "That wasn''t good, Lucas," he remarked.

    "Hmm?" I turned around to face him and Anastasia, who were both walking closely behind me. "What do you mean?"

    "The way you betrayed Chase," Anastasia replied on behalf of Nero, her tone tinged with reproach.

    "Hey," I frowned in response. "You know very well that he had a personal vendetta against me throughout the entire trip, and he still does, right?!"

    "...." Nero hesitated for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words.

    He decided to change the subject instead. "Anyway, I have to admit; you disyed remarkable prowess during the battle."

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? The thick smoke and darkness made it difficult to see anything."

    "And you still fought exceptionally well," Nero acknowledged. "It exceeded my expectations."

    "Were you using a relic to see through the darkness and smoke?" Anastasia, already aware of the answer, inquired further.

    "Yes," I confirmed. "I had a relic prepared, just in case. And it came in handy."

    "I see," Anastasia stroked her chin before questioning. "By the way, Lucas, aren''t you an archer?"

    "...Yes, why do you ask?" I asked.

    "What weapon did you use to kill the vampire? I saw arge amount of mana swirling around a weapon in your hand, which I could only make out to be a spea¨C" before Anastasia could finish, I cut her off.

    "Wait, you ''saw'' arge amount of mana? You''re telling me that you can see mana?"

    Anastasia hesitated for a moment. Her tone flustered as she tried to hide her slip-up. "I¨C No? When did I say that?"

    "You didn''t?" Nero frowned, thinking he too heard her wrong. What a gullible protagonist.

    Anastasia quickly denied. "No, I never said anything like that."

    "I see," I shrugged, epting her denial without further questioning.

    "By the way," Nero interjected. "Why aren''t we taking the lift?"

    I stopped and turned around to look at the protagonist with nk eyes. "....There''s a lift?"

    Why have I been running up and down so many flights of stairs every day if this academy had a lift?!

    No,e to think of it, of course, it should have a lift?! It''s one of the most high-tech academies in the world?!

    So that''s why every time I would turn up for ss, I was the only one drowned in sweat and out of breath while everyone else would be perfectly fine!!

    I thought only I was like that because I had weak staminapared to everyone else!

    Arghh, damn it!

 Chapter 162 Kais Move [1]

    ?

    So after finding out that I''m actually stupid and there was a lift that could have taken me directly from the ground floor to my ss floor and vice versa, I made it to the training grounds along with Nero and Anastasia.

    Instructor Matterhorn, ourbat art instructor, oversaw our training session. Today we were asked to engage in sparring matches withbat dolls.

    Combat dolls, constructed from super-reinforced steel, are essentially robots designed forbat purposes.

    Their immense strength and programmed martial arts abilities actually make them formidable opponents to spar with.

    Interesting fact: These advanced droids are utilised by the military as well.

    The versions they use are further enhanced by magical runes and equipped with all types of weaponry.

    However, the deployment ofbat dolls carries inherent risks.

    After all, to get them out, one only needs to eliminate the single person operating them from the headquarters.

    Killing the remote pilot would turn hundreds and thousands of thosebat dolls offline mid-battle.

    Not to mention besides the vulnerability they possess in requiring human operators, it is crucial that the person entrusted with handling the droids be highly trustworthy as well.

    Anyway, since we arrivedte to ss, Instructor Matterhorn ordered the three of us to run tenps around the campus.

    Initially, I thought he was kidding. But then it dawned on me that he was actually insane, so it was unlikely to be a joke.

    And indeed, it wasn''t a joke. We were genuinely expected to run tenps around this ginormous campus.

    It would easily take us the entire ss period just to barelyplete tenps around campus as huge as ours!

    And as if that wasn''t enough, we were also expected to spar with the dolls afterwards?

    I swear to god, if there''s really one out there, that I''ll one day give this guy a death so brutal that he would beg me to be killed!

    After mentally cursing him a few more times and then a few more times again, I reluctantly started jogging, determined to finish the tenps as quickly as possible.

    ?

    It took me approximately fifty grueling minutes toplete mere fiveps.

    With ten minutes left for the ss period to end and I being on the verge of copse, Instructor Matterhorn took pity on me and signalled for me to stop.

    "You should strive to be more like your ssmates," hemented, pointing towards Anastasia and Nero.

    Let me tell you, those two are absolute beasts! They are actual monsters, I say!

    They both finished the tenps around the campus in less than thirty minutes.

    And if that wasn''t enough, they quickly went on to spar against thebat dolls without even taking a break!

    I''m not slow and weak! They are just monsters! I bet if I was in the body of the protagonist, I could''ve done the same!

    "Haaa! Fuwhaaaa! Haaa!"

    But for now, here I am,ying back t on the concrete ground while staring up at the cloudless, blue-as-hell sky and panting like some asthma patient.

    Around me, other cadets engaged in their own sparring matches against thebat dolls.

    Some celebrated their victories while somey on the ground like me in defeat. Some, on the other hand, still continued to fight.

    The cacophony of soundsbored breaths, shes, and assorted noises¡ªseemed to be giving me a headache as blood pumped violently in my veins.

    I was tired. I woke up early this morning. I just wanted to sleep. But I need to start sparring too.

    Should I justy here and act dead for ten minutes until this ss ends? Heh.

    "I came from the hospital to see you, but it looks like you were already on your way to go there."

    Suddenly a voice pierced through my ears, which were muffled by the deafening thumping of my own heartbeat.

    Following it, a blue-haired elven boy leaned over me, peering down as Iy on the ground.

    "K-Kent," I gasped, my breath still heavy. "If I die, clear my search history and avenge me¡­."

    "Okay," Kent replied, rolling his eyes, and he reached out, firmly gripping my hand to help me rise to my feet.

    "Kurgh!" I groaned as I reluctantly exerted my exhausted muscles.

    "Quit being such a drama queen," he chided yfully.

    "Run fiveps around the campus and then say that," I retorted. "By the way, weren''t you supposed to be at the hospital? Are you discharged?"

    My gaze shifted towards Kent''s previously injured shoulder.

    Even though I gave him my healing potion when I found him injured, it wasn''t very effective against an injury inflicted by a vampire''s w infused with dark magic.

    So upon our return to the Global City, Kent, along with other wounded cadets, were promptly taken to the hospital for professional medical care.

    And looking at his shoulder now, it appeared normal, indicating a swift recovery on his part.

    Notably, he wasn''t wearing his academy uniform, so maybe he hade straight here after being discharged.

    "Well, yes. I was discharged a few minutes ago," Kent replied. "I came straight here after that. So, what did I miss?"

    "Just the first and second period," I waved my hand dismissively beforeing to a much more important topic. "By the way, did you know we had an elevator in this academy?!"

    "...Lucas, each academy building is more than twenty stories tall. Of course, there would be an elevator. In fact, there are five! Don''t tell me you didn''t know that!"

    "....Why didn''t you tell me before?! We took the stairs every time we walked together to the ss!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I thought you were working on your stamina!"

    "Fuck!"

    Kent patted my back with a look full of pity in his eyes. "It''s okay, buddy. It''s okay."

    "Oye! You two! Instead of chit-chatting, get to training!" from the other side of the field, Instructor Matterhorn yelled at us.

    Kent waved his hand and gestured towards his recently healed shoulder. "Sorry, I can''t participate. The doctors advised me to take a day of rest."

    Instructor Matterhorn acknowledged his exnation with a nod, then redirected his focus towards me.

    "Alright, then you start sparring! You have already wasted most of this ss period anyway!" hemanded, pointing directly at me.

    I-I have wasted?! It was you who ordered me to run those ten damnps around the campus!

    Shaking my head in exasperation, I let out a sigh. "Fine, Kent, power up thatbat doll and step aside."

    Before me stood a humanoid robot. Kent walked up to it, pressed a button on its back, and took a few steps back.

    The robot''s eyes illuminated with a vibrant green light as it scanned its surroundings, ultimately marking me, who was standing right in front of it, as its target.

    "Fuuu," I exhaled deeply, allowing my racing heart to gradually calm down.

    The overwhelming exhaustion subsided momentarily as I focused on circting the mana inside my body.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Thebat dollunched in my direction and appeared right before me in an instant. It struck out its hand, throwing a deadly straight at my face.

    I sidestepped to my left and dodged its attack before quickly retaliating with a rapid and precise punch, aiming directly at the doll''s rib cage.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    But it was a trap! The doll''s arm suddenly contorted, transforming into a devastating elbow strike aimed at the side of my face.

    Before I could fullyprehend the unfolding danger, the impact crashed against my cheek, sending me staggering backwards.

    Thuck¡ª!!

    Seizing the opportunity, thebat doll delivered a low kick aimed at my dominant leg, causing me to crash to the ground, my weight supported by a single knee.

    "Arghh!" I groaned through clenched teeth before channelling mana into my right hand.

    In a split second, the robot charged at me, but I was prepared.

    Thwack¨C!!

    Utilising its own momentum against it, I unleashed a powerful thrust, aiming my palm at its midsection and forcefully pushing it back.

    The impact staggered the doll, causing it to momentarily buckle under the force.

    Using this moment to swiftly rise from my kneeling position, I dashed toward the doll.

    Quickly, I grabbed the doll''s waist in a reverse bear hug, my arms tightly wrapped around its body.

    THWAM¡ª!!!

    With a fluid motion, I lifted the doll up, arching my back, and executed a wless German suplex, forcefully mming its back onto the concrete surface below.

    Fine, yes! I copied Anastasia, okay?

    But it''s not like she patented that move or anything. Moving on...

    Even though it was painful for me to fall down too, I infused my legs with mana, fortifying them, and swiftly propelled myself back onto my feet.

    Thebat doll was still in the midst of getting back up, hunched over with its hands on the ground for support.

    I used this chance to surge forward once again and jumped over its head before¡­.

    THWAM¡ª!!!

    Delivering it a brutal curb stomp and mercilessly driving its head into the concrete ground, crushing its skull.

    It took me a few steps to nullify the momentum of my forward rush before Inded firmly on the ground.

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    I struggled to catch my breath, and I slightly bent, my hands on my knees and sweat covering my forehead.

    "Nice!" Kent eximed. "That was good, bro! Where did you learn to suplex like that?"

    "...I taught myself," averting my gaze, I answered. "Pass me a water bottle¨C"

    Just as I was about to ask Kent for a bottle of water, a booming voice echoed throughout the training grounds.

    "Lucas Morningstar!"

    Startled, everyone present there looked for the source of the voice. I was the same, especially since my name was called.

    But as Iid eyes upon the figure who was the owner of the voice, a frown etched itself onto my face before quickly morphing into a mischievous grin.

    "Heh!" I scoffed, a hint of anticipation in my voice. "He''s finally making his move."

 Chapter 163 Kais Move [2]

    ?

    A young man strode across the training ground, his shoulder-length ck hair cascading down and shimmering with a light shade of dark violet under the sun.

    His authoritative aura and a gaze filled with superioritypelled the crowd to step aside, clearing a path for him as he made his way forward.

    As he moved forward, his unbuttoned ck zer, along with a red tie over a ck shirt¡ªthe standard academic uniform¡ªswayed rhythmically.

    With each step that he took, his teal-blue eyes fluttered across the training field in search of his intended target.

    Trailing closely behind him was a group of cadets, around twenty in number, each exuding a simr air of authority, albeit less intimidating than the young man leading the way.

    ¨C"Hey, isn''t that Kai Wiseman?"

    ¨C"Look at those teal-blue eyes! That''s definitely a Wiseman, alright!"

    ¨C"I''ve heard Wisemans are renowned for their intelligence. They say a great war tactician emerges in their family with each passing generation."

    ¨C"Yeah! Didn''t his father expose the Netyoive family''s involvement in those terrorist activities?"

    ¨C"Yes, indeed. Now because of that, the Central Government has lost faith in the Netyoive household and is contemting appointing the Wisemans as the new Royal family of the south in their stead."

    ¨C"Wow, so he''s not only of noble birth but also about to be royalty? But can the Central Government actually strip a family of their Royal status?"

    ¨C"Of course, you idiot! The status of a Royal house is a hereditary governmental title granted by the Central Government. The Morningstars, Wrights, Netyoive, and Verm?ir families¡ª they all received their Royal titles directly from the Central Government ages ago. And since they hold the power to bestow such titles, it''s only natural that they retain the authority to revoke them."

    Unfazed by the murmurs emanating from the surrounding crowd, the young man continued his stride until his piercing gaze locked onto his intended target¡ªLucas Morningstar.

    Upon reaching in front of Lucas, Kai abruptly came to a halt, causing the cadets trailing behind him to also pause in unison.

    He scrutinised Lucas up and down.

    Despite Lucas'' disheveled state¡ªdrenched in sweat and wearing a P.E. uniform which was muddy fromying on the ground earlier¡ªKai refrained frommenting on his appearance.

    Instead, he asked a single question even though he already knew the answer to the query he posed, "Are you¡­ Lucas Morningstar?"

    Lucas had long since put on a mask and carefully concealed his true emotions and intentions. Taking on a different persona, he began to act like a coward.

    "I-I... Y-Yes, I am Lucas," he stammered, his voice quivering with nervousness.

    Casting a sneaky nce, Lucas subtly looked behind Kai and caught sight of Quinn and Grace, who had quietly joined the ranks of cadets behind the Wiseman heir.

    There they stood, the Young Elites, a group of esteemed heirs and descendants from prominent noble and influential families across the world.

    While not all of them, like Quinn and Alberto, held noble lineage now or since birth, their exceptional strength was more than enough for Kai to disregard their heritage and social status.

    However, on the surface, Quinn distanced himself from any association with the Young Elites.

    Kai instructed him to act as though he was casually spending time with the group out of sheer boredom.

    When Quinn shared this revtion with Lucas, a wave of suspicion washed over him.

    He felt like it was as if Kai wanted to follow the plot of the novel¨C a plot that he shouldn''t even be aware of.

    "Hey!" Just as Kai was on the verge of delving into further inquiries with Lucas, Instructor Matterhorn''s booming voice reverberated across the field.

    With quick steps, he arrived by the side of the group and yelled: "What are you all here?! This isn''t your ss!"

    Kai pivoted to face the tall and imposing figure of Instructor Matterhorn, offering him a seemingly polite smile.

    "Nor is it yours," he said in a toneced with condescension, betraying the amicable smile on his face.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What do you mean¡ª"

    Before Instructor Matterhorn could retort, the resonating sound of the ss bell chimed twice,ing from every speaker scattered throughout the academy.

    Tring, Tring¡ª!!

    "I mean that you should get going," Kai stated, a flicker of annoyance evident in his words, sessfully riling up Instructor Matterhorn.

    Nevertheless, instructor Matterhorn had no choice but to clench his jaw and walk off.

    After all, it was a rule of the academy that instructors and professors couldn''t intervene in the matters of the cadets unless it was interfering with their ss or a life-or-death situation.

    "You all should move along too!"

    It was Alberto''smanding voice that suddenly pierced through the air, aimed at the surrounding crowd.

    His assertive tonepelled them to heed his words, prompting them to scatter and gradually walk away from the scene.

    A few individuals couldn''t help but steal nces over their shoulders as they walked away, curious about what Kai wanted from Lucas.

    Amidst those who walked off, two cadets chose to stay behind¡ªKent, steadfastly by Lucas''s side, and Nero, standing a little further away.

    Alberto, like an agitated dog, bared his teeth in annoyance when he observed Nero''s refusal to budge despite his earlier directive for everyone to disperse.

    However, noticing that Kai didn''t seem to be minding his presence, Alberto refrained from voicing his frustrations.

    Finally shifting his focus to the silver-haired boy before him, Kai directed his attention squarely at Lucas.

    "Khuuk!" Suddenly, Lucas felt like a car had fallen on him.

    It was Kai''s mana pressure that he had forced onto the silver-haired boy to assert dominance.

    And it was working. Lucas almost fell to his knees, but he quickly channeled mana into his knees to keep him on his feet.

    Despite Lucas''s evident trouble to even stand straight properly, Kai proceeded to pose his question with aposed demeanor and expected him to answer.

    "I''ll ask you this once," Kai began, his voice measured. "Were you the one who fought against Quinn during the mock war?"

    "Ag-Against Quinn?!" Lucas eximed, his voiceced with genuine shock as his eyes widened. "I would be out of my mind to engage in a fight with someone of his caliber!"

    "You must have seen Quinn leaving his assigned position on the map, right?" Kai pressed forward with a rhetorical question, his tone unwavering. "Where were you during that moment?"

    "In the control room, stationed at our makeshift headquarters!" Lucas retorted, his teeth clenched as he fought to maintain hisposure.

    "Liar!" Kai''s roar filled the air, increasing the intensity of his mana pressure and leaving Lucas in excruciating agony.

    "Arghuk!" His shoulders and knees felt as if they were being crushed, causing him to emit a pained groan.

    He channeled more mana into his legs in a desperate attempt to not fall t face on the ground.

    "Hey, stop it!" Kent''s voice erupted, his scythe materialising from his smart bracelet as he infused it with mana.

    "Let him go!" Nero also yelled from a distance, rushing toward them with his longsword in his hand.

    In response to their actions, the Young Elites positioned behind Kai summoned their weapons as well, prepared to intervene.

    But before anyone could do anything, Kai raised his hand. This simple action of his made the cadets behind him stop.

 Chapter 164 Kais Move [3]

    ?

    Kai redirected his gaze toward Nero, who had now arrived in front of Lucas, and inquired, "Why are you protecting him?"

    "He''s in my unit," Nero responded firmly.

    "Fair enough," Kai shrugged nonchntly. "However, I still have more questions for him."

    "Dude," Nero burst out, frustration evident in his voice. "You''ve got the wrong guy! I don''t know where Quinn went after he disobeyed my orders to fight and vanished, but Lucas was giving us the strategic instructions throughm the whole time!"

    Kai''s expression soured upon hearing this revtion. "Why should I believe you?"

    "Ask anyone in our ss!" Kent interjected, visibly enraged. "Now drop your oppressive mana pressure, or I will sever your head from your shoulders!"

    "Funny," Kai scoffed, looking at Kent as if he was no threat to him before retracting his mana pressure.

    "Haaa!" Gasping for breath, Lucas copsed to his knees when the pressure was lifted, his heart pounding rapidly as Kent knelt beside him to provide support.

    Allowing a few moments for him to regain hisposure, Kai resumed his interrogation."Fine, then answer me this: Who orchestrated your ss''s victory in the Mock War? Who was the mastermind?"

    Lucas furrowed his brow, visibly perplexed by the inquiry. "Mastermind? I-I don''t understand. What do you mean?"

    "What the hell are you talking about?!" Nero chipped in angrily. "There was no mastermind orchestrating anything! Are you an idiot?!"

    "Oh,e on!" Kai scoffed, pointing at Lucas. "You honestly expect me to believe that this guy, the disgraced brat of the Morningstar family, was the one who led your ss to victory?!"

    "Well, technically, it was I who led our ss to victory!" Nero retorted, his toneced with mockery. "Ask your loyalpdog standing behind you how I dealt him the finishing blow and killed off your whole ss single-handedly!"

    Much like a dog as Nero imed him to be, Alberto bared his teeth, ready to retaliate, "You¡ª!"

    But Kai swiftly raised his hand to quell the brewing conflict.

    He then refocused his attention on Nero. "Fine, then exin to me how he managed to defeat the strategist of ss 1-C-8?"

    "M-My father is a general," Lucas replied. "He taught me the art of strategic nning in battle. Even though I couldn''t actively participate in the Mock War due to my injuries at the time, I contributed by providing strategies to my ssmates."

    Kai''s frown deepened as he processed this information. "You were injured?"

    Lucas nodded solemnly. "Yes. During the Unit test, that guy standing behind you sent a mana beast to target one of my ssmates. I got injured while defending her."

    Kai turned his gaze to the boy Lucas had gestured at with his chin¡ª Alberto.

    With a questioning look, he silently sought Alberto''s ount of the events.

    "I''ve already said this once, and I''ll say it again," Alberto snapped in frustration, having to repeat himself. "We had nothing to do with that mana beast attacking ss 1-A-1! It emerged from the woods on its own and targeted you guys!"

    Kai redirected his attention back to Lucas, his gaze contemtive. "It seems you''re a little chivalrous. So you were really injured during the Mock War."

    "Yes," Lucas eximed. "That''s why I told you, not only am I too weak to fight Quinn, but I was also injured during that time! He didn''te back to attack me!"

    Kai stroked his chin thoughtfully as he observed Lucas, his gaze prating and analytical.

    He studied the young Morningstar''s physical cues, noting the mminess of his skin, the rapidness of his breathing, the dted pupils, and the weak yet regr pulse.

    No matter how Kai analysed the situation, Lucas''s ount of events remained consistent. His story checked out, and his words were unfiltered.

    Yes, there was no doubt about it. Lucas was telling the truth.

    He was in a bit of a shock due to being attacked out of nowhere, but he wasn''t lying.

    So then he was right. Lucas couldn''t be the puppetmaster of ss 1-A-1. But if not him, then who?<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Kai wanted to delve deep into this matter, but the hostility in Nero''s eyes seemed to be starting to grow by the second.

    Although he was fairly certain he could take Nero on at his current level, he didn''t want to reveal his prowess to the world.

    ''I should do what I''m told and stick to the Book Of Prophet,'' Kai thought in his mind and decided to leave.

    "I have obtained the information I sought. Thank you for your honest answers."

    Having said his piece, Kai turned away, signalling for the group of cadets to follow suit. It was time to leave.

    "W-Wait! No, you can''t leave like this!"

    Grace, who had been watching this show from the sidelines with a smirk on her face thinking that Lucas was about to get into trouble, was taken aback when Kai decided to leave.

    "Wh-What about him?!" Grace pointed at Lucas, her face contorted with anger. "You certainly aren''t thinking of leaving him alone, right?!"

    "....?" Kai looked at Grace as if he was looking at a madwoman. "Grace, I listened to you. I came here because you imed he was the mastermind."

    Grace nodded emphatically, her certainty unwavering. "Yes! I''m telling you, he is¨C"

    "No, he isn''t. His story checks out. He wasn''t the one who defeated Quinn. And I don''t sense any hint of danger when I look at him. He''s incredibly weak!" Kai yelled, frustration evident in his voice.

    "Th-Then what about how he uncovered my identity? Or his uncanny strategic abilities? What do you have to say about that?!" Grace retorted, attempting to counter Kai''s argument.

    However, Kai simply shook his head, disappointment etched on his face.

    "I''m beginning to doubt that he discovered your identity because of his intelligence. It''s more likely that you made a mistake somewhere. Maybe you slipped up," Kai stated. "And yes, let''s assume he''s a skilled strategist, but he was in the control room while someone was battling Quinn. It''s physically impossible for him to be in two ces at once!"

    "He-He''s manipting you! It''s all part of his n! He confessed it to me during our ss trip! Can''t you see?!" Grace yelled, her voice growing increasingly frenzied.

    "Oh, for heaven''s sake!" Kai groaned, rubbing his temples. "I don''t know what personal grudge you have against that guy, but now you''re starting to soundpletely unhinged, Grace! If you want to be a part of the Young Elites and avoid making your academic life miserable, then just keep quiet and follow my lead!"

    With that, he turned around once more and began walking away from the training field. "Come on, everyone. We''re leaving."

    Grace''s gaze darted back and forth between Lucas and Kai, a whirlwind of emotions swirling within her¡ªdisbelief, anger, and even a tinge of desperation.

    Finally, she clenched her teeth and reluctantly trailed behind Kai, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

    As they made their way out, Grace couldn''t help but shoot hostile nces in Lucas''s direction, fueling her resentment.

    Kai didn''t know what was going on with her. A few weeks ago, when he recruited her, she wasn''t like this. That''s the reason he tasked her with sabotaging the ss 1-A-1¡ª he trusted her.

    Yet, she had let him down.

    Not only had she failed in her mission, but she had also attempted to pin the me on someone else for her own shorings.

    Kai despised individuals who refused to take ountability for their own mistakes.

    But for the sake of the trust he once put in her, Kai still decided toe here and personally investigate Lucas.

    And upon closer examination, he found out what he had always believed to be the case¨C Lucas wasn''t the mastermind.

    Kai was sure that Lucas wasn''t lying. He was sure of it. After all, Kai started lying almost as soon as he started breathing.

    There is no way in hell he couldn''t tell if someone was lying or not.

    Unless Lucas was some sort of deranged psychopath, capable of deluding himself into believing the lies he tells¡ªan unlikely scenario, in Kai''s estimation¡ªhe was convinced that Lucas was not the person he was looking for.

 Chapter 165 Southern Mountain Range [1]

    ?

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    Gasping for breath, I focused my eyes on the distant figure of Kai Wiseman. A faint smile began to form on my face.

    It worked. He fell for my deception.

    "Lucas, are you alright?"

    "Bro, should we take you to the nurse''s office?"

    Both Nero and Kent, who stood and knelt beside me, expressed their worry as I waved my hand to dismiss their concerns.

    "I-I''m okay," I managed to say between ragged breaths before turning to Nero and voicing my gratitude: "Thanks for having my back."

    "It''s alright," Nero gave my shoulders a light pat before ncing toward Kai, who was already out of the training field. "I''ve heard of him. Isn''t that Kai Wiseman?"

    "Yes," I nodded, summoning thest remnants of strength in my legs to stand up. "He''s the heir to the Wiseman family."

    "Yeah," Nero nodded in return. "I heard he formed a clique of young nobles."

    "Mhmm, they call themselves Young Elites," I replied.

    "Pfftt!" Kent stifled a chuckle. "Wait, for real? That''s the most cheesy name I''ve evere across!"

    Yeah, well, he isn''t wrong. Even I can''t get over the fact of how stupid that name sounds whenever I think about it.

    I mean, Young Elites? Seriously? Couldn''t hee up with something better?

    "Why did he target you?" Nero shifted his gaze to me and asked.

    "I have no idea," I shrugged. "This was actually the first time I met him too."

    "I see," Nero stroked his chin, his eyes filled with contemtion. "Well, regardless of the reason, it''s all good now. I doubt he or his cronies will bother us anymore now that he satisfied his curiosity, whatever it was."

    "True," Kent chimed in, concurring with a nod. "Well, guys, let''s head back to ss. The third period is about to begin."

    "Indeed," Nero nodded once more, then turned to me, a mischievous grin forming on his lips. "Oh, and let''s take the elevator."

    "Oh,e on!" I protested, realising he was teasing me now.

    Both Kent and Nero burst intoughter simultaneously, fueling my mounting exasperation.

    "Hey, how''s your shoulder, by the way?" Nero turned to Kent and inquired as we started walking.

    "Oh, yeah, it''s all fixed now, Nero. Thanks for asking," Kent replied.

    "I see. Oh, and Kent, have you happened to hear anything about Drake''s condition while you were in the hospital?" Nero inquired.

    "Uh, yeah. He lost his arm, as you know, but the doctors managed to attach a mechanical arm to his severed hand. He''s currently in rehabilitation, and they say he''ll be able to use his new hand in a few weeks. Emma, the girl who cut off his arm, has been constantly by his side, helping him and apologizing," Kent exined.

    "Well, it wasn''t her fault. She was under a vampire''s mind control," Nero responded.

    "Still, she''s a third-year cadet. I think she''s more angry at herself for not being able to counter the mind control spell in time," Kent added.

    As they engaged in conversation on our way to the next ss, my mind drifted away, and I found myself lost in my own thoughts.

    I pretended to listen to them, asionally nodding in agreement with their words.

    The initial phase of my n has been sessfully executed. This should deter Kai from following my trail for quite some time.

    And when he eventually realises that it was I who fought Quinn during the Mock War¡ª the mastermind of ss 1-A-1, it will already be toote for him to react.

    Ha! This is already my victory!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ¡­No, wait, I mustn''t celebrate my triumph while there''s still one more step left for me to aplish.

    I need to get stronger.

    Only by bing at least five times more powerful than my current state will I have the strength to aplish both of the objectives I have set for the second arc¡ª crushing Kai and surviving the Vampire attack at the King''s Tournament.

    Nodding, I muttered to myself, "Let''s do this."

    "Awesome!" Kent, who appeared to have overheard my muttering, suddenly yelled with excitement.

    "W-What?" I asked, a bit startled.

    "You just agreed to join me and Nero at the bar this evening!" Kent eximed, brimming with joy.

    "H-Hey, I never agreed to anything," Nero interjected, slightly raising his hands in protest, but Kent grabbed hold of them.

    Neither did I!

    "You were considering it, and I take someone''s silence as confirmation," Kent replied with a cheeky smile.

    "..."

    "..."

    ...I won''t even bother pointing out how many things were wrong with that statement.

    ?

    Once sses were over, Nero and I got roped into joining Kent on an impromptu trip to a bar, even though we never really agreed to it.

    Anyway, Nero and I didn''t really drink anything, but the outing turned out to be enjoyable to some extent.

    After wasting a good couple of hours there, I finally called it a day and headed back home.

    When I got home, I spent another three hours pouring mana into the beast egg, only taking short breaks to consume mana potions or grab a bite to eat.

    It was around 11:44 PM, and here I stood on my balcony, mesmerised by the sight of the starry sky above and the vibrant city below, aglow with a captivating symphony of dazzling lights.

    After consuming a few more rounds of the mana potion, I still had plenty of mana left in me to channel into the beast egg. But atst, I decided to hold off on that for now.

    Why, one might ask?

    Well, call it a hunch, but I had this gut feeling that I might need to save my mana for something elseter tonight.

    Ding, Dong¡ª!!

    Just as I was lost in those thoughts, I was abruptly jolted back to reality by the sound of my doorbell ringing.

    Ah, there it was.

    My hunch was about to be a reality.

    Making my way to the front door, I swung it open and was greeted by the sight of a petite worker robot standing there.

    "What''s up?" I asked nonchntly.

    In its monotonous mechanical tone, the bot responded, "You have been summoned by your instructor Leo Kurogami."

    Haa, I originally doubted it, but that bastard really summoned me in the middle of the night.

 Chapter 166 Southern Mountain Range [1]

    ?

    "So, sensei¡ªI mean, master, don''t you think it would be more convenient to just call me on my smart bracelet instead of sending a worker robot to my door every time you want to summon me?" I asked.

    "Yeah, you''re right. My bad. Did it disrupt your sleep?" Leo responded apologetically.

    "Nah, that''s not the issue, master. If it was a text message, you could''ve easily informed me about this," I replied, shaking my head dismissively.

    "About what?" Leo asked, seemingly oblivious.

    "...About this!" I eximed, pointing directly at the Teleportation Gate before us. "Why on earth are we here, master?!"

    Leo simply shrugged, giving me a look that clearly said, ''Isn''t it obvious?'' before finally responding.

    "We''re going somece to train in peace," he dered.

    I looked at him with wide eyes full of shock and disbelief. "Going somece to train? Where?!"

    "Southern mountain range," Leo replied, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes with a subtle smile on his face.

    "I¨C Wha¨C Huh?!" I stuttered in shock, struggling to form a coherent response.

    Collecting myself, I took a few deep breaths to regainposure before politely voicing my concerns. "But, master, I didn''t pack anything."

    Leo chuckled lightly. "We''re going there to train, not for a fancy outing, Lucas. Your current attire is perfectly suitable."

    For reference, I was wearing casual dark camo cks and a ck sleeveless hoodie tee-shirt while Leo was sporting a red and ck Hakama.

    "I''m not talking about my outfit, master!" I eximed, frustration evident in my voice as I clutched my head in vexation.

    "I mean, I didn''t pack any supplies like food and other essentials! And isn''t the Southern mountain range known for its cold temperatures? I''ll freeze to death in these clothes!" I added.

    And what do you mean ''what I''m wearing is fine,'' huh? I look absolutely fabulous even in these simple clothes!

    Hearing my words triggered a mischievous smile to appear on Leo''s face as he looked at me, finding this situation amusing.

    "Oh, believe me, you''ll be fine," he replied, his tone teasing.

    "..."

    Something was wrong, I could feel it! This guy was nning something!

    "Okay, and for how long will we be going?" I asked with a defeated sigh.

    "For three weeks," Leo replied.

    "Th-Three weeks?! Master, I have my semester exams in five weeks! I should be studying right now!" I retorted.

    Leo let out another chuckle. "Aren''t you a genius? You''ll be fine."

    ¡­This guy!

    "Here are two tokens for you, sir," right then, a middle-aged guard walked up to us and handed Leo a pair of tokens once our identities were confirmed.

    He was responsible for guarding this Teleportation Gate, so it was his job to check the identity of those who wished to use it.

    Well, of course, he only had to verify my identity. Everyone in this world knows who Leo is.

    Leo passed one of the tokens to me, and almost on cue, a shimmering distortion appeared in the very fabric of space within the frame of the imposing Teleportation Gate.

    "Let''s go," Leo beckoned before heading straight for the portal in space, which was emitting a bright bluish-violet hue.

    As he effortlessly walked through the portal and disappeared into thin air, I couldn''t help but release a resigned sigh.

    Well, it was me who wanted to get stronger before the King''s Tournament. So yeah, it looks like my wish is finally being granted, I guess.

    But as I approached the portal, a gust of chilly wind emanated from its depths, causing a shiver to run down my spine.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Yup, I was definitely going to freeze if I were to cross this gate. But I don''t see any other choice.

    "Arghh, fuck me sideways."

    ?

    "M-Master! I-I-It''s freezing!" I stammered, my teeth chattering uncontrobly.

    "Hmm? Nah, it''s just a little bit chillier than usual," Leo casually remarked.

    A little bit?! I can''t even feel my fingers, you jerk!

    The frigid winds mercilessly assaulted my body, causing my nose and fingers to go numb.

    It was a struggle to keep my eyes open as I braved the relentless gusts of cold air. And on top of that, we were currently making our way up a snow-covered mountain!

    I struggled to maintain my footing on the slippery snowy terrain, asionally losing my bnce and stumbling.

    We had arrived in the Southern Continent, also known as the Great White South, due to its snowy climate.

    The Teleportation Gate had transported us to the heart of Fresia City, a bustling urban center located near the edge of the southern mountain range.

    After hopping on a train, we came to the mountain range and started our trekking, climbing up the mountains in this freezing weather.

    "Alright," Leo nodded, a satisfied expression crossing his face for some reason.

    He came to a halt and dered, "We''ll start your training here."

    We had reached a snowy meadow situated on a sloping mountainside.

    Though notpletely t, the area provided enough space for movement, and the cliff was a considerable distance away.

    So he really is going to train me in this freezing cold, huh? Guess I''m really going to die.

    "Come on, Lucas, cheer up," Leo said with a hint of amusement, pulling out a jacket from the dimensional storage of his smart bracelet.

    A glimmer of hope sparked within me as I thought that he would offer the jacket to me, only to be met with disappointment as he casually slipped it on himself.

    ¡­What the hell?

    "Training on the mountains is always fun. You''ll see," Leo remarked, seemingly unfazed by the freezing temperatures.

    "I-If it''s so ''fun''," I stuttered, shivering uncontrobly, "t-then how about y-you do the training and kindly hand that jacket over here?"

    Leo chuckled, his voiceced with amusement. "Yeah, nice try, but no thanks."

    Damn, this jerk!

    "Now, attention!" Leo''s voice boomed, causing me to let out a sigh as I snapped to attention, standing upright with my hands firmly sped behind my back.

    "I will train you until you reach the pinnacle of martial prowess, just like me¨C until you''ve be one of the strongest names in the world, just like me!" Leo proimed.

    "During your discipleship, you will face numerous tests, and this will be your first. For an entire week, your challenge is to survive on this mountain."

    Leo paused for a moment, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "As a wise man once said, true martial arts can only be honed in realbat. That wise man was me, by the way."

    Pausing for another moment, he added: "So, you''ll be sparring with me day and night, with breaks only for hunting, eating, and refreshing yourself. By the end of these three weeks, you''ll be at least three times stronger than you are now."

    I couldn''t help but raise an objection.

    "Wait a second," I interjected, my hands gesturing in disbelief. "Did you say I have to hunt?"

    Leo simply shrugged, an amused smile ying on his lips. "Well, yes. It''s your own fault for not packing anything. Now you''ll have to hunt for your food. I won''t be sharing what I have packed."

 Chapter 167 Southern Mountain Range [2]

    ?

    "Let''s start by doing something about your cold," Leo remarked, observing my shivering form.

    Despite my difort, I stretched out my hand towards him, a hopeful smile on my face and a greedy glint in my eyes.

    Leo looked at me, perplexed. "What are you doing?"

    "Um, aren''t you going to give me your jacket?" I asked, slightly puzzled.

    Leo''s expression turned stern as he crossed his arms over his body. "Stop eyeing my jacket!"

    "...Tsk!" I clicked my tongue in annoyance, regretting my assumption.

    Leo''s gaze intensified as he narrowed his eyes. "Did you just click your tongue at me?"

    A cold sweat formed on my forehead as I quickly averted my gaze. "N-No, it must have been something else."

    "...Anyway," Leo began, changing the topic while still looking at me suspiciously. "Do you have any knowledge of Sword Qi?"

    "It''s a technique where you infuse your weapon with mana, right?" I asked.

    Leo''s face twisted into a frown as he thoughtfully replied, "Yes, but that''s just the basic concept of Sword Qi. The True Sword Qi takes it a step further. It involves not only infusing your weapon with mana but also shaping and solidifying the mana to enhance its power."

    Understanding dawned upon me, causing me to furrow my eyebrows in a frown of contemtion. "I see."

    Let me exin. So basically, in its natural form, mana resembles a liquid.

    And when you channel mana into your weapon, it forms a liquid-likeyer on the surface of that weapon, boosting its attack prowess.

    This infusion alone can greatly enhance the weapon''s power.

    However, the true potential lies in taking control of that liquid state and solidifying it into what is known as True Sword Qi.

    It''s a kind of technique that could actually kill someone in a single blow.

    Leo nodded in satisfaction as he saw the look of understanding on my face.

    "Yes, by channeling mana into your weapon and shaping it, you can enhance its power and sharpness and even imbue it with elemental properties," he added.

    I nodded back before returning to the point when I felt yet another chill run down my spine.

    "Master, I understand all that, but how does that trante into oveing this bone-chilling cold?" I inquired through shivering lips.

    However, Leo ignored my question and continued to speak. "Many can wield Basic Sword Qi for a few moves, but using it for an entire battle is the true challenge."

    He paused momentarily before dering, "Your objective over these three weeks is to attain mastery over the Basic Sword Qi."

    "Sure, I will do that if I don''t die of this cold first!" Frustration tinged my voice as I interjected. "What good will mastering a weapon technique do if I''m not left alive to wield it!"

    "Oh no, you won''t be mastering it as a weapon technique right now," Leo shook his head.

    I raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

    "...Huh? What do you mean?" I sought rification.

    Leo smirked as he began to exin. "Yes, you heard me, my dear disciple. You''ll be mastering Sword Qi as a body technique first before moving on to use it on a weapon."

    "Because, as a wise man once said, if you can''t master your own body first, then how can you expect to use it to master a weapon?" He added.

    I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. "Let me guess, that wise man was you?"

    "Indeed, it was," Leo shamefully admitted with a straight face. "Now, rx your body and get into a meditative state."

    Letting out a resigned sigh, I followed Leo''s instructions. Closing my eyes, I focused on rxing my body.

    With each breath, I directed my attention to the mana core in my abdomen.

    "Good," Leo remarked before instructing: "Now draw out your mana and cover your body with it, just like you do with your weapon."

    I tried doing as I was told. It was a familiar process.

    I had coated my weapons¡ªmy spear and arrows¡ªwith mana countless times before.

    However, extending it to cover my entire body proved to be a challenge.

    With each attempt, I encountered difficulties in shaping the mana to envelop every part of my body.

    The task of maintaining a constant flow of mana to cover arger surface area than I was ustomed to when coating weapons was a drag.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    But after numerous failed attempts and around thirty to forty minutester, if not more, a breakthrough finally urred.

    The liquid-like azure mana gradually spread across my figure, creating a shimmering blue aura around my body.

    As theyer of mana enveloped my body, I could feel its soothing presence against my skin.

    It acted as a barrier, shielding me from the biting cold as if I was wearing a nket. It was still cold, but nothing unbearable.

    However, there was more to it than just warmth. A surge of strength coursed through my muscles.

    It was simr to the familiar sensation I feel whenever I channel mana into a part of my body, but right now, I felt the power surge radiating throughout my entire being!

    This was amazing!

    "Excellent! I didn''t think you would grasp the concept so soon," Leomented, a proud smile gracing his face. "The state you''re in¡ª when Sword Qi is applied to the body instead of a weapon, is called Martial Aura. And when you infuse it with True Sword Qi, it bes what is referred to as True Martial Aura."

    Yeah, I guess I remember reading something like that in the novel.

    Then again, since I skipped most of the info dumps, I wasn''t quite sure, so I kept listening to Leo.

    After providing me with a thorough exnation, Leo slightly bent his knees and raised his hands, assuming abat stance.

    Beckoning me with his finger, he yelled, "Now,e! Attack me while trying to maintain that form."

    Attack? I was struggling to maintain the aura even when I was doing nothing! How can he expect me to move around andunch attacks?

    Noticing the troubled expression on my face, Leo''s smile widened. "Don''t worry. I won''t kill you."

    ¡­This guy!

    Gritting my teeth, I also bent my knees and tensed my calf muscles, preparing to propel myself towards Leo''s direction.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    In a burst of speed, Iunched at Leo with my hands pulled back in preparation.

    As soon as I closed the distance, I swiftlyunched a straight jab directly at him.

    Kwuish¡ª!!

    However, in a seamless motion, Leo tilted his head and effortlessly evaded my punch, allowing it to brush past his cheek.

    Not content with stopping there, I quickly adjusted my approach.

    My knees suddenly loosened, and in one fluid motion, I dropped to the ground.

    From there, I quickly spun back my body on one foot to execute a reverse swift leg sweep using the momentum I gained from dropping on the ground.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Arghhaaa!!"

    However, at thest moment, just as my leg was about to make contact with his and I was going to sweep him off the ground, the protective manayer enveloping my leg abruptly dissipated.

    Without the heightened strength and resilience it provided, it felt as though I had struck a solid steel pole with my leg, causing me to let out a cry of agony as I crumpled onto the ground, writhing in pain.

    "Fuck!" I cried out again.

    "Yeah," Leo gave me a look of pity before throwing a small bottle of green liquid at me. "It must be hurting. You hit your Achilles tendon. Here, have this mana potion."

    Catching the vial of mana potion Leo threw at me, I applied it on my leg through gritted teeth.

    As the pain diminished, Leo started speaking. "Your movement was way too fast for the flow of mana to adjust on your moving leg."

    I nodded in understanding as Leo added, "Nice try, though. Get up and do it again."

    Sighing, I got up, but before I was about to take a stance and attack again, I frowned as a realisation hit me.

    "Wait," I said, raising my eyebrow. "I was definitely not fast enough for you to not react in time. Did you not dodge on purpose?"

    "Of course," Leo shrugged. "The best way to learn something is through pain. Now,e at me again."

    ¡­I will definitely kill this guy one day.

 Chapter 168 Hunt [1]

    ?

    "Ha! Ha! Aah!"

    The sun was about to rise in a few minutes.

    The echoes of panting and exertion reverberated across the snowy meadow as I persistently tried tond a strike on Leo.

    We pressed on with our training for the whole night, pausing only when my mana reserves or physical strength depleted.

    When that happened, Leo offered me some high-grade mana and stamina recovery potions to help me replenish my energy before resuming the training.

    I''m gradually starting to get the hang of shrouding my entire body in mana and harnessing its energy to augment the power of my strikes.

    No matter how fast my speed is, I can now maintain a near-constant stream of mana and utilise it to cloak my entire figure.

    Of course, there are asional moments when my concentration breaks, causing a temporary disruption in my Martial Aura.

    Nevertheless, for the most part, I find myself capable of sustaining it effectively.

    As Leo skillfully evaded my Martial Aura-infused punches, he couldn''t look more surprised at the rming rate I was growing.

    "Haa!"

    Letting out a fierce cry, I stomped my foot upon the ground to acquire a proper footing on the slippery snow and threw a high roundhouse kick.

    Fwoo¡ª!!

    Yet, with apparent ease, Leo swiftly crouched, allowing my leg to pass over his head unscathed.

    Using this chance to swiftly close the distance, he deftly grappled the leg I stood upon before quickly pulling it back.

    Thwak¡ª!!

    Because of that, I lost my footing and fell back first on the snow-covered cushiony ground.

    "Argh!" I could only grunt as, in the next moment, I found a clenched fist inches away from my face.

    "Thirtieth defeat," Leo remarked, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, as he opened his fist and extended a hand toward me, offering assistance to stand.

    With a sigh of disappointment, I epted his hand, clearly displeased with my performance.

    Noticing the expression etched upon my face, Leo gently pulled me up and gave my shoulder a reassuring pat.

    "Don''t be too hard on yourself," he said. "It''s truly remarkable that you''vee so close to mastering the fundamentals of Martial Aura within just a few hours of practice. It usually takes individuals weeks, even months, to achieve what you''ve done in such a short span of time."

    "How long did it take you when you were learning it?" I inquired.

    "Oh, I never did," Leo answered. "I was naturally able to wield it without any need for practice."

    "....."

    The words caught in my throat, leaving me utterly speechless.

    Just how fucking overpowered is this guy?! Huh?!

    "But don''tpare yourself to me. What you''ve aplished is remarkable on its own," Leo interjected, his tone filled with genuine admiration. "It''s as if you possess the blessings of the heavens themselves. I think you really are a genius."

    ...Ha! Little did he know, I indeed held a blessing, one bestowed upon me by a God-like entity.

    You see, when Leo summoned me earlier tonight, I knew he wouldmence my training.

    So, I did what any sensible person would do in possession of a pen capable of tempering with reality itself.

    I took two bottles of water.

    Using my Edit Pen, I transmuted the water within those bottles into potions with the power to temporarily enhance my learning speed of martial arts.

    Basically, upon consumption, these potions caused my martial arts learning speed to be tripled.

    However, their effects are to diminish within two weeks.

    Although I initially wanted the effects to remain permanent, the required Edit Points necessary to achieve such a result werepletely out of my budget.

    Even the creation of two bottles of learning buff potions cost me around 2,700 Edit Points, leaving me with a mere 878 more.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Such an oue was to be anticipated, considering no such item existed in this world in the first ce.

    So I basically just created somethingpletely fictional in a fantasy world.

    And furthermore, I was transforming normal water into a potent buff elixir.

    It was far from an equivalent exchange; thus, demanding a higher expenditure of Edit Points to bnce it out was normal.

    Leo took a few strides backwards and skillfully assumed abat stance.

    "The very reason you''re unable to hit me is because you think of your body solely as your physical form. Start thinking of it as an instrument ofbat," Leo dered.

    After a brief pause, he continued, "Use your hands and legs as weapons while harnessing the remaining aspects of your body to support those weapons. Attack me with everything you have¨C use your whole body instead of using only your limbs!"

    Nodding, I raised my hands over my head and bent my knees slightly. Taking a few deep breaths, I tunneled my vision at my opponent.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    In the next moment, I propelled myself towards Leo like a bullet.

    Upon entering the striking range, Iunched an onught of attacks against him.

    Starting with a low kick, swiftly followed by a straight jab and then a forceful knee thrust to the abdomen.

    Finally, I spun my body, aiming to connect a spinning elbow strike to his face.

    Yet, despite my relentless assault, Leo deftly blocked each and every one of my attacks.

    Not a single strike managed to find its mark.

    To throw him off bnce, I tried to use feint attacks andbos like high and low kicks and crouching down to show that I''ll attack down before transitioning into an unexpected uppercut.

    However, no matter what I did, I still was unable to hit him even once.

    I was about to hop backwards and catch my breath, but Leo didn''t give me that chance.

    In the blink of an eye, he swiftly closed the distance and outstretched his hand, his fingers barely grazing my chest.

    In a seamless motion, before I could even react, Leo clenched his fist and forcefully nted his foot on the ground.

    And then, with an explosive burst of power...

    Thwack¡ª!!

    He delivered a devastating one-inch punch.

    "Khuuk!"

    The sensation was akin to being struck by lightning as the impact surged through my chest.

    My vision cked out as the sheer force flung me back into the air.

    Eventually, gravity forcefully pulled me back to the ground, as I crashed with an undignified thud.

    "Do you see now?" Leo remarked as I struggled to rise to my feet, wincing in difort. "I used every part of my body¨C every fiber of my being tond that strike."

    "Yeah, I have to admit, that was pretty impressive," I conceded.

    Despite the pain, I couldn''t deny how cool that move was! God, I wanna learn that!

    Leo''s lips curled into a smug smile.

    "Indeed it was," he replied before moving on to his next point. "By the way, are you feeling hungry?"

    "...Uh, I guess?" I responded, slightly puzzled.

    What''s with the sudden question?

    "Good. Then let''s go on a hunt," he dered.

 Chapter 169 Hunt [2]

    ?

    "You know, master, when you mentioned going on a hunt, I thought we were going to hunt a fox or something," I remarked.

    Leo chuckled. "Where''s the fun in that, my dear disciple?"

    I raised an eyebrow. "So, the epitome of fun for you is hunting down an entire pack of Ice-w Bears?"

    As of now, we had ascended to the peak of the snow-covered mountain that we were on earlier.

    As soon as we arrived, from our vantage point, we spotted a cluster of caves nestled in the mountainside in the distance and a pack of white pr bears living there.

    Only these pr bears were unlike any I saw on national geographic in my past life.

    They towered twice the size of the pr bears back on my Earth, and their ws gleamed with crystalline ice-like material.

    Yes, they were mana beasts, and they were known as Ice-w Bears.

    As Bronze Ranked mana beasts, they possessed the ability to wield a few Ice magic spells.

    Currently, we were hidden within the cover of the nearby woods, out of their sight and undetected by their senses.

    From a rough estimation, I counted their numbers to be around thirty.

    I really had no idea how we were going to hunt them.

    "No, my dear disciple, the epitome of fun for me is watching my dear disciple tackle the task of hunting down the entire pack of Ice-w Bears alone."

    ...Huh? Wait! Hold on, hold on, hold on! Is he seriously expecting me to hunt them alone?! What?!

    "...No! Wait a minute, absolutely not!"

    "If you think you''re in trouble or you''re about to die, just shout for help," with that said, Leo grabbed the back of my neck.

    "No! Master, I will die! I WILL DIE¨C!" As I was in the middle of begging him to let me go, Leo tightened his grip on my neck.

    With a surge of strength, he pulled me backwards before lifting me off the ground and forcefully throwing me forward into the air.

    "Return to where we were training once you''ve finished! Good luck!"

    Leo''s voice trailed off as I hurtled through the air, crashing amidst the group of Ice-w Bears, who were leisurely lounging in the snow.

    Thwuck¡ª!!

    "Arghh!"

    With a groan escaping my lips, I gingerly rose to my feet. My head was throbbing, so my hands reached to massage it.

    Maybe I hit it when Inded. Thankfully, the ground was covered with snow, so it cushioned most of the impact.

    As I struggled to regain myposure, a sudden surge of unease gripped me and brought me back to reality, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

    It was killing intent. A huge amount of killing intent was directed at me.

    I gradually pried open my eyelids, cautiously allowing my eyes to adjust to the surroundings.

    Dreadfully, I surveyed my surroundings to see, forck of better words, how fucked up I was.

    And let''s just say what I saw was enough for me to just resign to my fate and ept the fact that I was about to join my dead grandma in heaven after a few minutes.

    My crashnding had grabbed the attention of all the Ice-w Bears in the vicinity.

    Their gazes were filled with a primal hunger, their eyes tinged with bloodlust, and their mouths watering at the thought of sinking their teeth into my flesh.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Since not many humans visit this mountain range very often, it''s clear that human meat was a delicacy to these mana beasts.

    "Tsk," I clicked my tongue in annoyance and summoned my bow and a quiver full of arrows from my smart bracelet.

    This was going to be a drag, but I wasn''t going to be their rare dinner without putting up a fight.

    ¨C"Gaauuuur!"

    One of the Ice-w Bears let out a thunderous roar and darted towards me with its menacing ws pulled back to unleash a powerful strike.

    In response to its lead, the other Ice-w Bears surrounding me swiftly followed suit and also rushed at me.

    Though, a few of them stayed behind to strategically block any possible escape routes if I might try to run away.

    This showed me that they were not mere mindless creatures; they were intelligent, and they were working together in coordination.

    Although this put me at a disadvantage, I didn''t have the luxury of crying about it right now.

    Without hesitation, I took a deep breath, drawing an arrow from the quiver and aligning it on the taut bowstring.

    My sights were fixed on the first Ice-w Bear that rushed at me. I took aim at it and released the arrow.

    Swish¡ª!!

    The arrowunched at the Ice-w Bear at breakneck speed, but the mana beast was quick to react.

    It raised its ws and deflected my arrow with ease, not stopping its charge at all.

    I was prepared for it, so I also dashed at the iing Ice-w Bear.

    ¨C"Gaaawwr!"

    The Bear roared as I got too close to it and swung its w at me, aiming to shred me asunder in an instant.

    "Haaa!"

    But I channeled mana into my legs and jumped over its head in the air. From there, I knocked another arrow on my bow and shot it at the beast.

    The Ice-w Bear, who saw the attacking, again raised its w over its head to block my arrow.

    "Heh!" But I could only smirk as that happened.

    Kaboom¡ª!!!

    The arrow exploded as soon as it came in contact with the Ice-w Bear''s ws, obstructing my vision of the beast with smoke.

    Thud¡ª!

    Inded a few steps away from the beast and quickly took out another arrow and ced it on the bow.

    Since many other beasts were also rushing at me, I had no time to celebrate my kill. I had to continuously keep on fighting if I wanted to survive.

    ¨C"Gaaawwr!"

    "Huh?!"

    But right then, the Ice-w Bear I thought I had killed emerged from the smoke and furiously rushed at me again.

    "Fucking hell!" I cursed out loud before cing my bow back into the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and taking out my spear. "Come!"

 Chapter 170 Hunt [3]

    ?

    Thwoosh¡ª!!

    The Ice-w Bear lunged forward, shing its lethal ws in my direction.

    Reacting swiftly, I hopped a few steps back, narrowly avoiding my death.

    Thwam¡ª!!

    No, I wasn''t exaggerating.

    The mana beast''s w struck the exact spot where I stood, creating a resounding thrash that echoed through the air.

    The ground trembled with the force of the impact. If I hadn''t moved, I would have been crushed.

    In the midst of this close call, my gaze fell upon the once pristine white fur of the Ice-w Bear, reminiscent of the untouched snow.

    Only now it was no longer pristine or snow-white anymore.

    Instead, it was now half-burnt, scorched from the earlier explosion triggered by my Exploding Arrow.

    "I see, so its fur protected it, huh?" I thought out loud to myself.

    Simultaneously, I raised my spear to counterattack as I saw the very same Ice-w Bear alreadying at me again.

    Since the mana beast was already perilously close, I couldn''t have pulled back my spear in time and used it to attack, so I made a quick decision.

    As the Ice-w Bear swung its w at me again, I infused my spear with mana and raised it up to block its attack.

    Thwash¡ª!!

    Thak¡ª!!

    "...?!"

    However, despite the infusion of mana, as soon as the Ice-w Bear''s w collided with my spear, its sturdy shaft snapped in half like it was made of paper.

    In one fluid motion, the bear swiftly stepped in and yanked its arm up and struck me forcefully with the backside of that very same w that it used to break my spear.

    Thwuck¡ª!!

    "Khuuk!"

    A groan escaped my lips as the impact of the Ice-w Bear''s strike made me feel as if I had been struck by a speeding truck.

    The force of the attack flung me back into the air before my body violently crashed onto the snow-covered ground a few steps away in the next instant.

    I was momentarily cked out when my body hit the ground, and it truly felt like I was going to die. For a second, it felt as if I had forgotten how to breathe.

    However, when I remembered that I was in the middle of a battle, I forced my body to move.

    I had to stand up.

    Being down for too long would only invite further trouble, and given that I was pitted against a fucking pack of mana beasts, I already had enough of it on my te.

    "Arghh!"

    Gritting my teeth, I stood up and materialised a protective coating of mana on my body, cloaking my figure in an azure hue.

    It was Martial Aura¡ª something I had learned just today.

    ¨C"Gar!"

    Right then, a fierce roar erupted from my right, catching my attention.

    I quickly turned to witness another Ice-w Bear speeding toward me at breakneck speed.

    A few more Ice-w Bears followed closely behind it, their predatory instincts on full disy as they charged at me.

    Firmly clenching my fist, I rushed forward, dashing toward the approaching Ice-w Bear that was leading the charge.

    "Haaa!"

    I stepped into the striking range and let out a fierce battle cry as the Ice-w Bear swung down its w at me.

    With lightning reflexes, I swiftly sidestepped and evaded the oing blow with precision.

    Thwam¡ª!!

    Seizing the opportunity, I stepped in closer to the mana beast and dropped to my knees before seamlessly spinning on one foot.

    In a fluid motion, I aimed a quick, low reverse spinning kick at the giant Bear''s leg.

    Thannn¡ª!!

    "Arghhaaa!"

    As soon as my leg hit the Bear, the impact resonated throughout my body, sending shockwaves of force coursing through my muscles.

    It felt as if I had tried to hit a boulder. The sheer impact jarred my bones while the Ice-w Bear remained unscathed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Gritting my teeth, I endured the pain and channeled mana into my fists, causing them to illuminate in the brightest shade of azure.

    Without hesitation, I jumped back to my feet and unleashed a rapid onught of punches upon the Bear''s ribs.

    Thwack, Thwack, Thwack, Thwack¡ª!!!

    "Gaaawr!!"

    Against my relentless barrage of lightning-fast punches, the bear could only let out a pained groan.

    However, even though my attack managed to hurt the mana beast, it was clear that this alone wouldn''t be enough to kill it.

    Just as I was about to change my strategy and use a different approach to kill it, a sudden movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention.

    A second Ice-w Bear had appeared beside me. And with its arms stretched out, this one was trying to grab me¨C trap me in a bear hug.

    Reacting quickly, I shifted my focus to it and ducked beneath its grasp, eluding its clutches.

    Taking advantage of the opening, I swiftly circled behind the bear and willed mana into my right leg.

    Using my leg as a weapon, I delivered a forceful strike to the Ice-w Bear''s right knee, disrupting its bnce and causing it to crash down onto one knee.

    Without any dy, I jumped and sped the bear''s neck from behind using a single hand, locking it in a one-handed neck lock.

    In my other hand I summon an Exploding Arrow from my smart bracelet, aiming to use it to pierce the Ice-w Bear''s eye and explode its head.

    But before I could do that, I felt a chill run down my spine. Instinctively, I turned my head around to the left and saw a flurry of huge Ice Shards hurtling towards me with rming velocity.

    ".....?!"

    Widening my eyes, I bent my knees and pressed my legs against Ice-w Bear''s back.

    Then, using its back as a springboard, I propelled myself backwards to evade the iing Ice Shards.

    Thud¡ª

    With a resounding thud, Inded a few steps back from my previous position and shifted my focus to my left once again.

    There, to my surprise, I spotted a remarkably different Ice-w Bear.

    This one appeared older and had a wooden shaft in its hand. It also wore a shoulder robe crafted from the hide of another Ice-w Bear.

    "A mage?!" I eximed out loud, astonishmentcing my tone.

    While I knew Ice-w Bears could use a few ice magic spells, I never would have thought there to be an Ice-w Bear specializing solely in magic!

    "Gaaawr!"

    Just then, a loud roar brought my focus back to my front.

    "Fuck!" I couldn''t help but curse aloud as I saw yet another Ice-w Bear charging at me like a moving mountain.

    I willed mana into my legs and decided to jump over the iing bear and then maybe hit it with an Exploding Arrow.

    However, to my horror, I wasn''t able to move my legs!

    ".....?!!"

    Eyes wide, I looked down to see my legs were frozen in ce, trapped in crystal ice.

    It was that mage bear! While I was distracted, it used magic on me to hold me in ce!

    But it was toote for me to figure that out now. The charging Ice-w Bear closed in on me as I crossed my arms over my chest, prepared to tank its attack.

    Without a moment''s hesitation, the Ice-w Bear pressed forward and crashed into me with its shoulder, performing a crushing shoulder tackle.

    THWACK¡ª!!!

    "Arghuk!"

    I really felt as if a mountain had run into me.

    A shockwave of pain reverberated through my body as the force of the bear''s shoulder tackle flung me bank the air with an uncontroble momentum.

    Helplessly, I soared in the air before violently crashing on the ground, the impact jolting through my entire being.

    Pain seared through my body, leaving me disoriented and gasping for breath.

    My desperate attempts to regain my bnce proved futile as I fiddled across the ground like a t rock to a water surface, teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.

    With a final lurch, I tumbled over the cliff.

    I tried to grab hold of something to save myself from falling down, but the bones in my hands were crushed from tanking thatst attack.

    Finally, in the next moment, I found myself falling from the peak of the snow mountain.

 Chapter 171 Hunt [4]

    ?

    In the snowy meadow, a man with a rather handsome face and long red hair tied into a bun sat atop a stool.

    Before him rested a fire zing within a makeshift wooden grill crafted from the dry wood that he found in the surrounding forest.

    Atop the grill rested a cooking pot emitting delicious aroma, smoke, and asional sizzling sounds.

    Despite the ferocious mana beasts lurking nearby in the woods, none of them dared to approach the man.

    It was because they instinctively knew that approaching the man would result in their deaths.

    Even though human flesh was a rarity in these mountains, it wasn''t worth dying for.

    So all they could do was gulp down their mouth-watering saliva and walk away tearfully.

    Meanwhile, Leo sat idly, his gaze fixed on his cooking food as he absentmindedly whistled a song with a bored face.

    Even though he didn''t let it show on his face earlier, Leo was pleasantly surprised by Lucas'' rapid growth.

    In just under a day, with the right guidance, Lucas managed to nearly grasp the essence and master the application of Basic Martial Aura.

    In just a matter of a few days, he would undoubtedly attain wless proficiency¡ªa feat that typically requires weeks, if not months, for ordinary individuals to achieve.

    "This confirms it," Leo murmured, his chin resting on his fingers. "That boy truly possesses a natural gift for martial arts."

    But then the question remains the same:

    Why did Lucas'' father¡ªGeneral Reynold Morningstar¡ªfail to recognise such talent?

    "Should I talk to him about it?" Leo pondered aloud, but he promptly dismissed the idea.

    After all these years, Leo refused to be the first one to initiate contact. He will not call Reynold first.

    In fact, he would never want to talk to him again.

    However, perhaps there was another option. Maybe he could try speaking with Yennefer¡ªLucas'' mother¡ªinstead.

    "....No," but after giving it some thought, Leo shook his head again.

    Talking to Yennefer now, considering what happenedst time, would definitely be awkward. Leo was the kind of person who preferred to avoid such ufortable situations.

    Then should he go ahead and talk to Lucas'' sister, Yelena, instead?

    "...Nah. That girl is the spitting image of her father," Leo remarked, shaking his head in disagreement yet again.

    Indeed, it was undeniable. Yelena''s arrogance and ego were on par, if not above, what Reynold possessed.

    If Leo were to engage in a conversation with her, he was certain to lose hisposure.

    Moreover, rumours had reached Leo''s ears that Yennefer held resentment towards Lucas.

    Thus, talking with her would be futile, as she would likely tell him her own biased perspective.

    "Haa," in the end, Leo could only let out a sigh of defeat.

    Well, it didn''t really matter. Regardless of the reasons that led Reynold to overlook Lucas'' talent, it was no longer Leo''s concern.

    He could never trulyprehend that man, to begin with, and there was no point in trying to decipher his mind now.

    "Oh, he''s about to fall off the cliff," Leo suddenly raised his head up, directing his gaze towards the snow-capped peak of the mountain.

    In truth, Leo had been closely observing Lucas''s intense battle against the pack of Ice-w Bears all this time using his Spatial Perception.

    Spatial Perception is a mana-infused martial arts technique that lets its user perceive the physical realm with a bird''s-eye view.

    It''s the same as omnidirectional vision.

    That, coupled with Leo''s sixth sense honed far beyond human capabilities, allowed him to adeptly monitor every subtle movement that Lucas made, all the while effortlessly cooking his dinner.

    And at this very moment, Leo could see Lucas teetering on the brink of the cliff.

    "Well, he held on for as long as he could," Leo muttered to himself, apanied by a sigh.

    Shaking his head, he rose from his seat and channeled mana into his legs, tensing his calves muscles.

    Right from the beginning, Leo knew that Lucas wouldn''t be able to hunt down an entire pack of Ice-w Bears alone¡ªit was an impossible feat at his level after all.

    In truth, Leo''s intention was simply to assess Lucas''s endurance and to witness how long he could endure in such a daunting situation.

    And, to his surprise, Lucassted for a long time¡ª10 minutes to be exact.

    While 10 minutes may not appear long, in a life-or-death battle, it could make all the difference.

    Of course, he made some rather foolish decisions during his fight, but all in all, he performed well.

    Through this and their earlier sparring session, Leo had gained enough idea of what Lucas'' strengths and weaknesses were, so now he could help him work on them.

    "Mm?"

    Just as Leo was engrossed in such thoughts with a contemting look stered on his face, Lucas fell off the cliff.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Almost instantly, Leo''s figure blurred into thin air as he moved with a burst of speed to catch Lucas on time.

    ?

    Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle¡ª

    "Mnhh~"

    What disturbed my sweet slumber was the sizzling sound of food being cooked and the sweet aroma that it carried.

    Cling, Cling¡ª

    In the following instant, the harmonious melody of metal shing against metal reached my ears.

    It was as if someone was indulging in their meal using steel utensils. That sharp sound caused a dull ache to shoot through my skull.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    I groaned again and rolled over, attempting to pull my pillow over my head to muffle the constant metal shing sound.

    But instead of my pillow, I came away with a handful of damp leaves.

    Frowning, I tried to sit up straight, but that simple act triggered an agonising pain in my ribs.

    Moving my body also caused the insides of my head to slosh, making it harder for me to focus or even open my eyes.

    After a long struggle, I did manage to open my bleary eyes and used them to scan my surroundings through a bottle-ss blur.

    I recognised my surroundings after a little drowsy confusion. I remember now.

    I wasn''t in my room but on the southern mountain range with that bastard of a master¨C Leo.

    I jerked my head from side to side to look for him. There he was. Sitting on a stool, eating stew directly from the bowl while looking at me with amused eyes.

    Only after he finished his stew and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief he put down the bowl, his eyes still on me.

    "Oh, you''re awake?" He said, causing a nerve to bulge on my forehead. "Wee back."

    "Wee back, my ass!" I snapped. "I could''ve died! No, I think I did die! How am I alive?!"

    "You fell off the cliff, and I dashed in to save you," Leo smugly exined. "I was also kind enough to make you a bed and use some healing potions on you."

    His words caused a frown to appear on my face as I nced around.

    Sure enough, I was lying on a bed constructed from an arrangement of tree leaves.

    Although they were moist, they provided instion against the cold emanating from the snowy ground.

    Remembering something, I quickly started touching my body, paying close attention to my rib area.

    With a sense of urgency, I lifted my t-shirt and discovered that my abdomen was covered in bandages.

    "D-Did you see?" I asked, without meeting his gaze.

    The shoulder tackle from that Ice-w Bear ought to have broken some of my ribs. So it''s obvious why I was covered in bandages.

    But if Leo was the one who applied these bandages, then that must mean he saw it. And since it''s him, he should know what it is.

    "If you''re referring to the relic on your chest, which, in my opinion, can only be none other than the Phoenix''s Embrace, then I must admit that I didn''t see it."

    "..."

    "What? You don''t believe me?"

    "..."

    "Alright, fine! I did see it," Leo confessed, apanied by a sigh.

    His eyes brimmed with curiosity as he continued, "You must be aware that many have searched for that relic throughout the years, right? While it may not be widely known among your generation, people in my time would have killed for it. And they still would. Its existence is documented in the Academy Records of Relics. So, I''m intrigued¡ªhow did you manage to obtain a lost relic?"

    "Academy Records of Relic?" I frowned. "What''s that?"

    "Global Academy has a list of powerful relics. The Central Government and the United Military also maintain their own lists, although theirs are more detailed and expansive, of course." Leo answered. "Now answer my question."

    "I see," I replied while stroking my chin before meeting his gaze. "A talking tree gave it to me."

    "...A what gave it to you?" Leo raised his eyebrows.

    "A talking tree," I replied like it was the most natural thing in the world.

    "A talking tree?" Leo looked at me skeptically. "A talking tree gave it to you? You mean as in the Tree Of Desires."

    "Yes," I replied. "Exactly that."

    Leo looked at me nkly for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Fine, don''t tell me, but at least make some creative lies instead of using a fairy tale."

    "It''s not a fairy tale," I shook my head. "The Tree Of Desires really does exist."

    It''s really not Leo''s fault for not believing me.

    Many individuals in the past tried to look for the Tree Of Desires, but none of them could ever find it. Those who did weren''t able to pass all his tests.

    So, in short, no one ever saw the Tree Of Desires, and those who did weren''t left alive to tell the tale.

    Thus, it became a fairy tale¡ªa folklore.

    Leo rubbed his face at my reply, expressing his exasperation before releasing another sigh.

    "Well, if you don''t want to talk, then I guess it doesn''t matter. Anyway, get up. It''s time for you to resume your training," Leo stated.

    "Huh? Right now? Aren''t you going to give me something to eat first?" I retorted, a hint of hunger evident in my voice.

    Leo raised an eyebrow in response.

    "Did you manage to hunt anything?" he inquired.

    "...I could have if you had given me enough time to prepare!" I argued defensively.

    "In certain situations, you won''t have the luxury of time to prepare," Leo retorted. "What will you do then? Run from a fight? Or perhaps you''ll die?"

    "...I-I nearly took down one of them," I defended myself.

    "Indeed, you also almost died in the process," Leo reminded me sternly. "And how on earth did you not notice your legs freezing in ce when that Ice-w Bear cast its spell?"

    "I-I was already feeling cold!" I offered an exnation. "My feet were already immersed in the snow, so when the spell took effect, I didn''t feel anything aside from the cold, which I was already feeling!"

    "Haa," Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I guess your usage of Martial Aura was good enough since you didn''t die from that Ice-w Bear''s shoulder tackle."

    Aside from buffing a person''s strength to superhuman levels, Martial Aura also acts as a defensive barrier that protects the practitioner''s body from attacks.

    If I wasn''t using it, I would''ve seriously died.

    "That''s good enough for your defence for now," Leo mentioned. "Let''s start working on your offense."

 Chapter 172 New Weapon

    ?

    It''s been two days since my failed attempt to hunt that Ice-w Bear''s pack.

    After continuously training for two days, I think I''m starting to get the hang of using Martial Aura now.

    You see when I channel mana into a specific part of my body, it feels as if a surge of strength courses through it.

    However, when I use Martial Aura, it feels like I am encased in an exoskeleton that enhances both my defense and offense.

    Nevertheless, utilizing Martial Aura depletes my already small mana pool much more quickly than using spells or normal martial arts.

    If I''m cautious and refrain from casting heavy spells, then I guess I can keep using Martial Aura for around twenty minutes without needing to drink a mana potion.

    Although, Leo has pointed out that I''m still making excessive movements and wasting my mana.

    He says, "Since you were born with innate low mana core rank, you should strive to utilize the little mana you have with utmost mastery."

    In short, Leo means that even if the heavens haven''t given me a big mana pool, I can still train hard and make the most out of what I''ve been given.

    I see his point. Even though I will soon break my mana core potential, it still won''t hurt me to learn not to waste my mana in a fight.

    I mean, imagine a scenario where I am stuck in an extended fightsting for several consecutive days.

    In such a situation, if I don''t have any mana potions on me, then no matter how big my mana pool gets, I will sooner orter exhaust it and meet my end.

    Anyway, I haven''t done anything but train these past two days, taking breaks only to freshen up or eat something.

    Well, only Leo would eat something while I could merely salivate at the sight of his delicious dinner every night.

    Tsk. That bastard.

    Even after consuming mana and stamina potions whenever I feel like I''m on the brink of copsing, theck of food has left me exhausted for the past two days.

    To top it all off, we continue training even during the night, sleeping for only about five hours or so.

    Sleeping less in itself wouldn''t have been a problem for me since I''m quite used to it, but getting nothing to eat is unbearable! I feel like I''m reaching my limits.

    "Lucas, get up!" Leo yelled, summoning his sheathed katana. "Let''s begin."

    It was the morning of the third day, and I had just sat down after doing some light morning exercises before we resumed my training.

    Hardly ten minutes had passed before Leo called me to my feet once again.

    Letting out a sigh, I did as I was told and stood upright attentively with my hands behind my back.

    "Starting today, we will focus on weaponbat," Leo dered. "Since fighting with weapons is my forte, don''t expect me to hold back during instructions."

    You say that as if you were holding back until now, you scoundrel!

    Without revealing my inner thoughts on my face, I replied loudly, "Yes, Master!"

    Leo nodded and began speaking, "I will guide you step by step. First step: Take out your katana."

    "Master, I don''t use a katana," I responded nkly.

    As if expecting my answer, Leo quickly replied, "Second step: Get a katana. Katanas are cool. And as my first, and most likely myst, disciple, you should always strive to look cool."

    I sighed, saying, "I am a spearman, Master."

    "Don''t worry. By the time I''m done with you, you''ll be proficient with most, if not all, weapons just like me," Leo assured. "But fine, for now, take out your spear."

    "I don''t have it," I replied, shaking my head. "It broke while I was battling those Ice-w Bears."

    "I see," Leo said, stroking his chin. He then infused mana into a dimensional ring on one of his fingers.

    In the blink of an eye, a spear materialized in Leo''s hand, apanied by a dazzling sh of white light.

    My eyes were immediately drawn to its mesmerising presence.

    The de was made of a crystal-like material, sparkling with a vibrant red hue that glistened under the sunlight.

    The de was sharp and pointy, and I could see the redness extending down the shaft of the spear as well.

    Despite its slender design, I could sense the intense energy emanating from the weapon, even from a few steps away.

    "What... What is that?" I stammered, gulping down a mouthful of saliva in anticipation. "Is it a Legendary-ranked weapon?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You have a keen eye," Leo affirmed with a smug nod. "This is a spear crafted from the scale of thest dragon, forged in the mes of a dying phoenix¡ªThe Bringer of Lost mes."

    "S-So cool!" I eximed, my eyes sparkling with admiration.

    Yes, Mythical-ranked mana beasts like Dragons and Phoenix used to roam the world until a few years ago.

    They were normal animals who evolved from mana and turned into those creatures of legends.

    However, since they posed a threat to civilization, the United Military waged war against them.

    The top soldiers and formidable fighters worldwide participated in this grand subjugation.

    They drove these dangerous Mythical mana beasts to the brink of extinction.

    In a remarkably short span of less than two months, creatures like Phoenix, Dragons, Unicorns, and others werepletely wiped out.

    In today''s world, not a single mana beast of Mythical rank is alive.

    "Right? I participated in the Subjugation of Mana Beasts eight years ago. It was there that I killed thest dragon and obtained one of its scales. I brought it back to a world-famous weaponsmith who used the mes of a dying phoenix to make this weapon," Leo exined, frustration evident in his voice as he continued. "I had requested a sword, but that old fool decided to create a spear instead. Tsk."

    With that said, he threw the spear at me without any warning.

    "Aghuk!" I shrieked in surprise as I caught it and started inspecting it.

    "Regardless, it is a fine weapon. I have wielded it on a few asions myself," Leo admitted. "Consider it your first gift from your master, a token of my appreciation for bing my disciple. Besides, since you have an affinity for the Fire element, you will be able to use its power to the fullest."

    ===

    Item: Spear (Relic)

    Rank: Legendary

    Name: The Bringer Of Lost mes

    Description: A Legendary-rank Spear made from a dragon''s scale and forged in thest fiery breath of a dying phoenix.

    The wielder of this Spear, if they possess an innate affinity for the Fire element, will instantly learn a spell called [me Lance], allowing the user to summon several mences and rain them down upon their target like missiles.

    The Spear will also increase the damage and effectiveness of any and all the fire magic spells cast by the wielder.

    ===

    "Th-Thank you, master!" As my gaze swept over the item description screen in front of me, I earnestly thanked Leo.

    He really just gave me a Legendary-ranked spear possessing a special ability and a buff!

    If it weren''t for the fact that it requires a wielder with an affinity for the Fire element to unlock its full potential, this weapon could have easily been ssified as a Divine-ranked relic.

    But that fact doesn''t bother me since I already possess an affinity for the Fire element. Which means I can use it to its full potential.

    "Don''t mention it," Leo waved his hand dismissively, a slight smile present on his face before his expression quickly got back to normal, and he yelled again. "Now, ready your weapon!"

    Following his instructions, I gripped the shaft of my new spear tightly and lifted it up, pointing its de at Leo.

    "No matter how exceptional your weapon may be, its true value only lies in its purpose," Leo stated.

    "What''s a weapon''s purpose?" I asked.

    "To bring about death, of course." Leo answered. "If you can''t use your weapon to bring death, you may as well not wield it."

    Shing¡ª!!

    With a swift motion, Leo drew his katana from its sheath, and the sound of steel slicing through the air resounded.

    "Weapons are not the soul of a martial artist. Those who im otherwise are fools. Weapons are mere instruments. Their sole purpose is to kill¡ªwhether physically taking a life or metaphorically ying one''s opponent''s ego by defeating them. Weapons exist solely to end something."

    At Leo''s words, I nodded and tightened my grip on my spear.

    "I will teach you how to use a weapon like how it was taught to me by my master and to him by his master," Leo said, pointing his katana at me. "I''ll teach you how to wield a weapon with no mercy."

    Having expressed his thoughts, Leo flexed his knees, assuming a swordsman stance.

    He then drew a circle around himself in the snow with his leg and said, "Start by attacking me head-on. Don''t hold back and don''t use mana. Come at me with the intent to kill. If you can make me move from this circle, you might start getting dinner from today."

 Chapter 173 Training [1]

    ?

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    The entire snowy meadow resonated with the resounding sh of cold, hard steel as our weapons collided.

    Though the sun hung high in the sky, the air was still an icy chill in the snowy southern mountains.

    Four hours had passed since we started going at each other with everything we''ve got.

    I used every ounce of my strength and unleashed an unrelenting barrage of spear thrusts upon Leo, determined to push him out of the circle he drew on the ground.

    Yet, with effortless and masterful movements, Leo redirected, parried, or blocked each of my spear strikes with his Katana.

    It was frustrating¡ªto channel every bit of strength I had in me into my strikes, only for them not to end up connecting!

    Finally, for the fifth time maybe, I ran out of patience.

    Cling¡ª!!

    As soon as Leo deflected another one of my strikes, I flicked my right wrist twice and pulled my hidden de before rushing in on him for closebat.

    Since he had used his sword to push my spear away, he wouldn''t have enough time to bring it back to position and strike me with it.

    Basically, he is wide open right now!

    Although his left hand is free, if he uses it to strike me, I will stab it and use my body weight plus the momentum of my rush to propel him out of the circle!

    Yes, this is my victory¨C

    Thak¡ª!!

    "Arghk!"

    But right as I was in the middle of my thoughts, Leo swung his hand inward.

    With speed that shouldn''t be possible for a human, hended a strike on the side of my ribs with the blunt edge of his de.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    But he didn''t stop there.

    With incredible agility, he raised his dominant leg, swiftly chambering his knee beforeunching a devastating front kick directly into my chest.

    As if I was a rag doll, the impact of his kick catapulted me into the air before I crashed andnded on the ground a few meters back.

    "Khuuk! Khuuk!"

    Gasping for breath and coughing violently, I clutched my chest in pain, gradually mustering the strength to rise to my feet.

    Withbored breaths, I fixed my gaze upon Leo.

    "Gaaah! I... Haa! I refuse to believe that you didn''t use mana for that attack!" I yelled.

    "Hmm?" Leo arched his eyebrows confusingly. "No, I just don''t skip the leg day."

    "Haa! Not that!" I retorted before finally somewhat catching my breath and yelling again. "The one before that¨C the sword strike! How did you swing back your sword so fast?! How is that humanly possible?!"

    "Oh, that? It''s just pure weapon-handling skills," Leo replied with a casual shrug.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Weapon handling skills?" My forehead wrinkled with a frown.

    The red-haired instructor borated, "It refers to the way one wields their weapon in harmony with their body.

    "You may have observed individuals who swing their swords with a graceful finesse, akin to a dance, while some exhibit a more brute force approach as if they are trying to cut through a boulder.

    "It alles down to their unique style of weapon handling. And through practice and real battle experience, when they hone their style, it bes a skill."

    "So, what you did just now..." I trailed off, my hand gently touching my chin.

    "Yes, it''s my own style," Leo finished my sentence with a nod. "I prefer to use a light grip on my sword. Doing that allows me to wield it with swiftness and react quickly to unexpected attacks."

    "Of course," Leo continued, "I can use hundreds of other styles. What you witnessed was merely one of the countless ways I can employ my sword in a situation simr to that."

    Woah! I knew he was amazing, but still, I was stunned to hear that

    He could''ve blocked my attack in hundreds of different ways?! And to think for even a moment that I had him¡­ Pathetic!

    During our spar a few days ago at the academy, and even now, Leo deliberately allowed me to believe I couldnd a strike on him, only to swiftly snatch away that fleeting hope a few secondster.

    It was to show me¨C No, to emphasize the vast discrepancy in our skill levels. He just wanted to make the hierarchy between us clear.

    He wanted me to know why he''s my master, and I''m his disciple.

    If he actually wanted to end that spar between us that day, he could''ve done it with a single swing of his sword.

    I see it now. Even though I knew how strong his character was in the novel, I can see it now with my own eyes¡­

    From the very beginning, it should''ve been clear to me¡­

    Leo and I are in entirely different leagues.

    ¡­Will there evere a day when I can surpass him?

    "Okay," lost in my ruminations, I watched as Leo casually stepped out of the circle on the snow-covered ground and sheathed his katana.

    He then turned to face me. "I observed this during our spar that day, but your basics leave much to be desired."

    "My basics?" A deeper frown etched itself across my face.

    Leo nodded, his tone matter-of-fact. "Indeed. Your speartip shakes a little when you thrust. Your swings aren''t precise and clean. Your stance, albeit good for someone your age, leaves your right side wide open after you attack."

    "I-I never noticed all that," I admitted, a bit taken aback.

    "I can see. It''s because those things have be your habits. I''ll change them one by one," Leo let out a sigh.

    He channeled mana into one of the dimensional rings on his fingers and summoned a ck spear in his hands.

    "We''ll start scratching away and rewriting your very foundation of spear handling," Leo dered. "Do one-thousand thrusts right now. After that, I will thrust my spear at you, and you will use your spear to block my attack one-thousand times. Then you will parry my attacks one-thousand times. After that, finally, you will swing your spear one-thousand times."

    "...."

    Why do I feel like I''m not going to get any food tonight either?

 Chapter 174 Training [2]

    ?

    Day third on the southern mountain range¡­

    Swish, Swish, Swish¡ª!!

    It was just yesterday when Leo instructed me to perform one thousand spear thrusts, blocks, parries, and swings.

    Afterwards, he meticulously pointed out my errors and instructed me to focus solely on executing spear thrusts until he deemed it sufficient.

    And so, for the past day, I had only been performing forward spear thrusts. And now, I think my speartip is starting to shake less.

    Maybe I''m improving after all!

    But Leo''s voice boomed from the sidelines as he keenly observed me.

    "Your speartip is still trembling just before you execute your thrust! Strengthen your footing and keep your thrusts straight!"

    Oh, fuck off!

    ?

    Day fifth on the southern mountain range¡­

    Thak, Thak, Thak¡ª!!

    Having spent a full day and a half solely practicing spear thrusts, I was now permitted to advance to practicing my blocking techniques.

    Leo would thrust his spear towards me, and my task was to block each strike using only my weapon and coordinated movements.

    "You''re doing it wrong!"

    He would also yell at me whenever I''d make a mistake.

    He would point out minute stuff like how my breathing was off or how my footwork was wrong. Right now, for instance, I was blocking wrong.

    "When you block with a spear, your goal should be to immobilize my weapon, not push it away," he rified.

    Nodding, I raised my spear once again, gripping it tightly.

    "Catch my weapon in ce with your block. Then, after sessfully neutralizing my thrust, use your spear to bind or circle around my weapon with your de to counter-attack," he exined.

    His words prompted a frown to form on my face.

    "Wait, master," I interjected. "Isn''t blocking intended for defense? If I bind or encircle your weapon with my de, then wouldn''t that be considered an offensive move?"

    Leo''s response was immediate. "Indeed, it is. Haven''t you heard? The best defense is a relentless offense."

    ¡­Well, that''s fair, I guess.

    ?

    Day sixth on the southern mountain range¡­

    Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª!!

    Today we''ve finally moved on to practicing my parry techniques.

    Unlike when I was blocking, where the objective for me was to firmly hold the opponent''s weapon in ce, parrying required me to deflect and push their strikes away.

    Parrying consecutively with a spear proved to be harder than I had initially imagined.

    The reason? The weight of my spear,bined with the forceful sh against my opponent''s weapon, exacted a toll on my wrists.

    Initially, performing a couple of parries wasn''t a problem. However, as time passed, my wrists started hurting.

    Whenever the pain became unbearable, Leo would toss me a mid-grade healing potion. I would drink it, and we would then resume training.

    ?

    Day seven on the southern mountain range¡­

    Swish, Swish, Swish¡ª!!

    Performing swings came naturally to me. After all, it was something I had practiced the most aftering to this world.

    Leo had nothing much to correct in my execution aside from refining my stance and making some subtle adjustments to my movements.

    In a remarkably short span of time, my swings began to be more precise and cleaner than before.

    Yes, there was no denying it now. My skills were undeniably improving.

    "No, no, no! You''ve got it all wrong!"

    ¡­Oh,e on! What now?!

    Leo walked up to me, casually munching on a piece of beef jerky while holding a whole packet of it in his hands.

    This bastard! I hadn''t eaten a thing in thest seven days, and here he was, relishing a snack!

    As he came to stand before me, Leo bellowed, "You''re exerting too much strength in a single swing, causing a dy before you can transition into the next one!"

    "What does that mean?" I inquired in a confused tone.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Leo let out a weary sigh, tucking the packet of beef jerky into his pocket. He then summoned a sleek ck spear into his hand.

    "Swing at me," Leomanded, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.

    Still confused, Iplied with his instruction.

    Firmly gripping my spear, I raised it high before bringing it down in a powerful swing towards Leo.

    Swish¡ª!!

    But with ease, Leo sidestepped, evading my attack effortlessly.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    Before I could even process what had urred, I felt the cold edge of the de pressed against my neck.

    My gaze followed the de''s path, tracing it back to the shaft and the hands that held it.

    It was Leo.

    In an instant, he had positioned the de of his spear against my throat, leaving me no time to react.

    "What the fuck?!" I eximed in disbelief as Leo retracted his spear.

    "Do you see now?" Leo stated matter-of-factly, taking a few steps back to create some distance between us.

    "You exerted so much force in a single strike that you left yourself vulnerable and couldn''t react in time to my counterattack," he exined calmly.

    "Y-You were just insanely fast!" I retorted, frustration evident in my voice.

    "Alright then, let''s try it again. This time, youe at me. And to keep things fair, I''ll replicate your level of spearmanship," Leo proposed, a hint of challenge in his voice.

    "Even then, I couldn''t move at your physical speed!" I reasoned.

    "Use mana," Leo said. "But only use it to enhance your speed."

    Raising an eyebrow in response, I nodded in agreement.

    "Fine," I said, channeling mana into my legs before I dashed towards him.

    Swish¡ª!!

    In perfect synchronization, Leo mirrored my movements, raising his spear high and executing a shing motion towards me as soon as I got close.

    But he was way too slow in my eyes.

    Effortlessly, I sidestepped and easily evaded his spear before countering with a powerful thrust of my own spear aimed at his neck.

    Tak¡ª!!

    But before my spear could make contact, Leo deftly stepped back, simultaneously raising his spear in an upward swing and effectively deflecting my attack.

    "Huh?!" I gasped in surprise.

    But before I could react, in one fluid motion, he swiftly brought his spear back down, pressing the de against my neck once again.

    "Wh-What the¡­"

    I was at a loss for words.

    There was no denying it.

    Leo had wlessly mimicked my spearmanship, replicating every aspect of my technique with uncanny precision.

    From the stance to the level of precision to the fluidity of movement¡ª he copied everything.

    It was to the point where it felt like I was watching myself in the mirror.

    Even when I used mana to enhance my speed, he still effortlessly reacted to my attacks, countering with those seemingly sloppy shes that he replicated.

    "...How?" was all I could ask at that moment.

    "I already told you," Leo said calmly. "You''re using too much force in each strike. It seems like you''re fixated solely on strength."

    As his words reached my ears, a frown etched deeper on my face. "What are you saying?" I inquired. "What else should I be focusing on?"

    "The technique, Lucas," Leo responded in an ''Isn''t it obvious?'' tone

    He continued, "Concentrate solely on the technique. The world around you is chaos; the technique is your sanctuary."

    "...I see," I said, understanding what he meant. "But how should I do that?"

    Leo answered, "I''ll beat it into you¡ª I mean, I will teach you."

    ...Did he just say what I think he said? This bastard!

    "Alright then, I believe you''ve honed your fundamentals enough. Practice them daily. Do at least one thousand swings, blocks, parries, and thrusts every day," Leo spoke. "Starting now, we''ll start working on your technique."

 Chapter 175 Training [3]

    ?

    Right now, I was in the midst of training while being closely observed by Leo.

    "I''m telling you again! Perform a down sh, followed by an up parry, a middle block, and finish off with a forward thrust," Leo instructed.

    It had been a week since our arrival on this southern mountain range.

    Having honed my fundamental spear skills to a satisfying degree, Leo now asked me to start connecting my thrusts, shes, blocks, and parries.

    Basically, he said he wanted me tobine everything that I had practiced until now to performbos attacks.

    Initially, I didn''t understand what he meant by that¡­ and I still don''t.

    "Why can''t you understand?!" Leo yelled in exasperation. "Aren''t you supposed to be a genius?"

    "What does a down sh, up parry, middle block, and forward thrust even mean?!" I retorted, yelling back. "And aren''t you supposed to be a world-ss fighter?!"

    "Huh?! Of course, I am! How is it my fault that you''re too dense toprehend what I''m saying?!" Leo replied, his frustration evident.

    "Well, you know what they say, there are no bad students, only bad teachers!" I shot back, maintaining the same tone.

    "....."

    Thatsteback of mine caused Leo''s veins on Leo''s forehead to bulge out as he clenched his teeth and struggled to contain his rising anger.

    "Fuuu!"

    Just as I braced myself for what I thought would be the beating of a lifetime, Leo released a deep breath and cooled his head.

    "Yeah, you''re right," he said as he walked up to me, summoning the ck spear into his hand. "Here, I will demonstrate it to you myself."

    I instinctively took a step back, giving him the stage. Leo closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then swiftly opened his eyes again.

    In the next moment, he sprang into action. He took a step forward, bending one knee as he knelt on the ground.

    From that position, he executed a wless horizontal sh.

    Continuing his motion, he gracefully rose from his kneeling stance, sweeping his spear upward in the air.

    With precision, he brought his spear back in front of his chest, gripping its shaft with his hands wide apart.

    Finally, he took another step forward, pulling his spear back to the side before thrusting it forward at lightning speed.

    I stood there with my eyes widened and my mouth hung open. In that instance, the world around me turned quiet.

    I could only see a man with his long red hair tied into a braid, moving so gracefully upon the snow in front of me.

    My gaze was fixed on him, and I couldn''t look away, mesmerized by the masterpiece he created with every swing of his spear.

    It was so silent. His spear didn''t make any noise as it moved in the air.

    "...cas!"

    Can I ever reach that level of mastery? Can I ever reach that level of precision?

    ¡­Can I ever recreate the masterpiece I''m seeing before me now?

    "Lucas!"

    The sharp sound of Leo''s voice pierced through the silent haze that enveloped me. Startled, I turned my gaze towards him, still in a daze.

    "Did you catch it?" Leo asked.

    The urgency in his tone forced me to nod long before I could even realize what I was nodding to.

    "Good," he said. "Now, do exactly what I just did."

    Do exactly what he did?

    B-But how could I possibly replicate his masterful movements?

    His gracefulmand of the spear was mesmerizing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Can I even wield my own spear with such mastery?

    Can I swing it with such elegance that it wouldn''t even make a sound?

    "Lucas, what are you waiting for? Come on, perform thebo I just showed you," Leo urged, his voice cutting through my uncertainty.

    I instinctively nodded once again at his words.

    Tightening my grip on the spear, I began to mimic the steps and swings Leo had demonstrated to me moments ago.

    Swoosh, Kwish, Swish¡ª!!!

    After I was done, Leo nodded in my direction. "Good job," he said. "Now, onto the next."

    Good job? No, it wasn''t.

    What I did was nothing but a shallow imitation of how Leo wielded his spear¡­.

    ?

    Today marks the eighth day since our arrival on this southern mountain range.

    "Haaah! Haaah! Haaah!"

    If it sounds like I was tired, it''s because I really was tired.

    The reason, you ask? Well, I had been running up and down the mountain all day long.

    And as if that weren''t enough, I had also subjected myself to perform one thousand blocks, parries, thrusts, and shes before doing this.

    My body ached, muscles screaming with every step I took.

    Fatigue seeped into my bones, and my eyes burned in this cold wind pressing against my face as I logged uphill.

    All I want to do is to return to my apartment and copse onto my bed! I want to lie down and just sleep!

    And of course, I want to eat some hot, spicy instant ramen before that.

    Grrrrrr¡ª!

    Ugh! Just the mere thought of food has triggered another hungry growl from my stomach.

    I haven''t had a thing to eat in the past seven days, and I doubt today will be any different.

    These days, our practice sessions have be an endless marathon.

    We don''t even take that many breaks between training anymore. From dawn till dusk, all I do is swing my spear and exercise!

    If I happen to pass out, Leo would give me a stamina potion to revive my energy, and we would return to training again.

    If I run out of mana, he would give me a mana potion which would help me replenish my mana pool.

    And if I fall down due to thirst, he would offer me water. If my muscles refused to move, he would give me a healing potion.

    If I fall because of mental fatigue, we take a break for a couple of hours and engage in deep meditation before rmencing the training.

    But no matter how many times I copse from hunger, Leo never offers me anything to eat! Not even a snack!

    I truly believe that I''m on the brink of death.

    Death from hunger. How pitiful of a death would that be, huh?! Haha!

    Initially, I feared I was going to be freezing to death when we came to this ce, but the chilly temperature here no longer bothers me now.

    It''s as if I''m gradually adapting.

    Yet, I can''t adapt to hunger!

 Chapter 176 Training [4]

    ?

    Grrrr¡ª!!

    My stomach growled vehemently with hunger as I arrived at the snowy meadow where we were staying.

    "You''re back," Leo remarked, his voice calm and nonchnt.

    He sat on a stool with a crackling campfire in front of him, relishing a steaming bowl of chicken soup sped in his hands.

    ¡­This guy!

    Here I am, on the verge of starvation, and he''s eating chicken soup! Huh?!

    Gaah! I swear to god¡ª No, not god... I swear to myself that I will kill him one day!

    Leo rose from his seat, extinguished the fire, and quickly finished the soup before stowing away the empty bowl in his dimensional ring.

    Then he summoned the ck spear into his grasp and he turned to face me.

    "Today, we will spar again," dered Leo.

    "Again?" I frowned in displeasure.

    We have been engaging in sparring sessions almost every single day since we came to this ce.

    Though I learn so many things from sparring against him, his skills are on apletely different level than mine.

    Fighting him feels like trying to climb a wall that I know I can''t ever climb in a lifetime.

    Going against him, I couldn''t help but feel inferior. And I''m not good at dealing with inferiorityplexes since I don''t feel it much.

    Maybe Leo noticed my thoughts as he let out a sigh and said, "I can see you don''t like losing much, but as I''ve said before, martial arts can only be honed inbat."

    ¡­I guess he has a point.

    "Alright," I relented. "Let''s get started then."

    "Good," Leo nodded. "And don''t worry, I will go easy on you this time."

    ?

    15 minutester¡­

    Thwack¡ª!!

    A forceful kick mmed into my chest, propelling me back in the air until I collided with the ground, tumbling and rolling beforeing to a halt.

    "F-Freaking hell," I stammered, cursing softly under my breath.

    I gathered myself and rose to my feet, directing my gaze towards Leo. "I will go easy on you this time, my ass!"

    Leo stifled a chuckle, his tone filled with amusement. "Believe me, this is me going easy."

    I rolled my eyes, frustration building within me.

    Gathering my strength, I charged forward with my spear poised for an attack.

    As soon as I closed the distance between us, with swift precision, I thrust my spear towards Leo.

    Cling¡ª!!

    However, Leo effortlessly deflected my assault with his own spear, skillfully pushing me onto my back foot.

    "Arghh!"

    Gritting my teeth, without missing a beat, Iunched a rapid session of spear thrusts at Leo.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    But once again, Leo deftly parried each and every one of my strikes, relentlessly forcing me backwards.

    "Spear has a good range," Leo said while casually parrying my attacks. "It''s a low-risk, high-reward weapon. Keep yourself out of my reach and aim for my head or heart. Even if you miss, you will have the time to jump back to safety before I could punish you for missing. Come, I won''t parry your next attack."

    I tried doing as he said and aimed my next thrust at his heart. True to his words, Leo didn''t parry my attack with his spear.

    Swish¡ª!!

    But instead, he just swirled his body to the side and let my spear meet nothing but air.

    Following up on it, he quickly tried to step in and probablynd another kick on me.

    "Tsk!" Frustrated, I clicked my tongue.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    To make some breathing space, I hopped a few steps back to safety. I refused to get kicked by him again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And I can''t keep on attacking him blindly.

    I need to devise a strategy to gain an advantage, even if victory against him seems to be elusive¨C far from my reach.

    I have to find a way to seize the upper hand.

    Alright, let''s calm down and think. After all, my intellect is my greatest weapon.

    Leo is approximately 10 meters away from me.

    If I were to charge forward now, faking a reckless attempt to close the distance, he would likely respond with a forward spear thrust.

    At that moment, I will crouch and let his spear pass over my head. From that low position, I could surge forward,unching my own counterattack.

    That''s the general n. Yes, this should work!

    Aftering to that conclusion in my head, I nodded and slightly bent my knees, tunneling my vision at Leo who was a few steps away¡ª!

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    "...?!"

    Yet, before I could put my n into action, Leo appeared before me out of thin air!

    My eyes widened in disbelief as he unleashed a powerful horizontal sh with his spear, aimed directly at me.

    Thwoosh¡ª!!!

    Reacting quickly, I raised my own spear to block his attack, but the sheer force behind his strike flung me in the air, tumbling to the side.

    Performing a mid-air backflip, I managed tond on my feet, stumbling a few steps before regaining my stance.

    I looked back at Leo in front of me, my eyes still widened in shock.

    How did he manage to appear in front of me so suddenly?

    Was I zoning out? No, that couldn''t be right! I am fairly certain that my gaze never wavered from him.

    Then how?

    When did he close the distance? He didn''t use any mana, I''m certain of it! So was it purely his physical speed?

    But that''s impossible!

    No human can move at such speed without using mana, relying solely on his physical prowess. Even if that human happens to be none other than Leo Kurogami!

    Shaking my head, I cleared my mind of the thoughts and focused up front. I couldn''t afford to lose sight of him again¡ª

    Swish¡ª!!

    But in an instant, Leo appeared before me once again, his presence both startling and disorienting.

    "You think too much," he stated inly.

    "...?!"

    Before I could even react, he thrashed his knee into my abdomen, causing me to crumple to my knees.

    Consumed by intense pain, I started to cough fitfully.

    "Khuuk! Khuaaaak!!"

    Observing my agonized state, Leo tossed a healing potion in my direction and took a step back.

    As he moved away, he began to speak.

    "Your mind is cluttered with strategies, endless possibilities, and countless doubts." He exined. "You calcte every potential oue¨C which is a good trait to have for a strategist, but not for a warrior."

    Circling around me, he continued, "In the midst of battle, you mustn''t burden yourself with overthinking. Each passing second should be dedicated to either hurting your opponent or ensuring your own survival."

    After consuming the healing potion, I gritted my teeth and pushed myself back onto my feet, the pain still coursing through my body.

    "So, you''re saying I shouldn''t strategize anymore?" I asked.

    Leo''s response was swift and clear. "No, strategizing is your greatest asset. Don''t abandon it," he emphasized. "However, cease the habit of endlessly calcting every possible oue. Envision a single future, and make it a reality."

    Coming to a halt before me, he continued, "How can you expect to find a clear path to defeating your opponent if you can''t conquer your own thoughts?"

    Raising his spear and assuming his stance, he urged me to do the same.

    "Your focus should be on the present moment¡ªnot on your day before, not on what lies ahead. All that matters is the form, the technique! Master your mind, perfect your technique, and your opponent shall be vanquished!"

 Chapter 177 Hunger [1]

    ?

    12th day since our arrival on the southern mountain range¡­

    "Well, even I have to admit it now, you''ve been making rapid improvements. Your breathing is correct, your stance is more refined, and your other bad habits are now almost negligible. Good job."

    Hearing the red-haired jerk apuding me for my efforts, I felt a sense of satisfaction start building up in my chest.

    "You say that, but all I''ve been doing for the past twelve days is getting my ass kicked by you," I rolled my eyes. "It makes me wonder if I''m truly improving."

    "Trust me, you are," Leo replied. "By the end of the fourth week, you''ll be twice¡ª no, at least thrice¡ª as strong as you were beforeing here."

    Grrr¡ª!!

    Upon hearing a growl emanating from somewhere nearby, Leo''s ears perked up and he looked towards the woods.

    "Hmm? Was that a beast?" he asked aloud, frowning.

    But how could that be a beast? Every single one of them is too terrified by Leo''s presence to even approach the area he''s in.

    "No! That was my stomach!" I snapped, frustrated beyond reason. "You say I''ll be strong by the end of the fourth week? Well, I won''t even survive until then!"

    "Oh, so you''re hungry?" Leo pped his hands together in understanding. "That''s why you''re sprawled on the ground."

    "....."

    Due to sheer starvation, afterpleting my morning exercise of running uphill and downhill a few times and practicing my swings, thrusts, blocks, and parries a thousand times, I copsed on the ground.

    And this jerk, who''s supposed to be my master, casually woke up a few minutes ago and devoured an entire red velvet cake right in front of my eyes for breakfast!

    One of Leo''s many nicknames was The Red Devil. Now I can understand why he got that moniker.

    He''s a devil alright! I can see it!

    "You''re being overly dramatic, oh dear disciple of mine," Leo yfully clicked his tongue. "During my own training, my master starved me for four months. For you, it has only been twelve days."

    "Bullshit! I call bullshit!" I attempted to rise, but my legscked any strength, causing me to end up on my knees. "You can''t survive for more than two months without food!"

    "Yet, here I am, alive and kicking," Leo gestured to his own body. "You will survive as well."

    ...I''m going to die, aren''t I?

    Shot by a maniac author in my first life, and starved to death by a maniac master in my second life.

    Am I some kind of ma for maniacs or something, huh?!

    "But hey, since you''vepleted my first challenge and made it through the first week in this mountain range, I suppose I can offer you a small reward."

    Upon hearing the word ''reward,'' anticipation surged within me. What could it possibly be?

    A sliver of red velvet cake? Some leftover chicken soup? Thest piece of beef jerky? Heck, at this point, I''m even willing to eat leftover chicken bones!

    "I allow you to now use mana while training and sparring," Leo dered.

    ¡­Huh?! That''s it?!

    For reference, after I grasped the basics of Martial Aura and began my training with the spear, I was not allowed to use mana at all.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Huh?! How is that a reward? If you really want to give me something then just, for the love of god, give me something to eat!"

    "Not happening," Leo shed an amused smile in my direction before he got up. "Come on, let''s start today''s training."

    ¡­Oh, yeah. I''m definitely going to die. Just wait for me a little more Grandma, I''m on my way to you.

    ?

    I gave it my all during the spar with Leo, but even after tapping into my mana, he ruthlessly wiped the floor with my ass.

    I now found myself in the same defeated position I was in before the training¡ª lying face-t on the ground.

    "Good job," Leo''s voice reached my ears. "I didn''t expect your mana control to be that impressive."

    Impressive, my ass! I couldn''t even manage tond a scratch on this red-haired jerk.

    "Get up," Leo said, poking me with the shaft of his spear. "This time, try using Martial Aura and extend it onto your weapon."

    Groaning and whimpering, I forced myself to stand.

    "Extending it onto my weapon?" I raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

    "Yes," Leo nodded. "Think of your weapon as an extension of your own limb. Then, cover it with Martial Aura¡ªthis technique is known as Weapon Qi or simply Sword Qi."

    "Wouldn''t that deplete my mana pool way faster than usual?" I frowned.

    "Yeah, that''s why you need to use it carefully in real battles," Leo replied. "If you learn to wield it effectively, it can be a formidable weapon in your arsenal."

    My frown deepened. "Yes, perhaps for now. But when I face seasoned fighters in the future, exhausting my mana too soon will only lead to my death faster!"

    Leo looked at me, an amused glint in his eyes. "Don''t worry about that. Even though I don''t possess a massive mana pool myself I can still use Sword Qi for a long period of time. Do you know why?"

    I actually do know why.

    In the novel, although nothing was mentioned regarding the size or rank of Leo''s mana core, something else caught my attention.

    Within the story, Leo possessed a highly lethal secret art that allowed him to surpass the potential limitations of his mana core.

    Upon employing this secret art, he could harness the ambient Mana present in the atmosphere to effortlessly cast spells and perform advanced martial arts techniques.

    That''s why everyone in the story assumed that he possessed a high-ranking mana core, even though his specific rank was never mentioned in the novel.

    Even I believed he had a formidable mana core. That''s why I thought with his secret art, he was pretty much broken.

    But now I can see, since his mana core ranking wasn''t high, the only option he had was to use that secret art.

    So in a sense, despite being overpowered, I don''t think he was broken anymore.

    Of course, even after connecting those dots, I can''t go ahead and answer him so I decided to feign ignorance.

    "How is that?" I asked.

    "I will tell you when the timees," Leo answered. "But until then, get the hell up and start training!"

 Chapter 178 Hunger [2]

    ?

    It has been around 20 days since we came to this godforsaken mountain. Throughout our entire stay here, I have not been given a single thing to eat.

    I am on the brink of death. This isn''t an exaggeration. I really do feel like I could drop dead any moment now.

    But even then, the red-haired jerk isn''t pitying me.

    If I copse from starvation and refuse to move, Leo would beat me.

    If I refuse to train, Leo would beat me.

    If I do train and spar with him, Leo would beat me.

    I''m nowyer or legal expert, but doesn''t this qualify as some form of child abuse?

    Even though I''m 18 and considered an adult, it still can be called abuse, right?!

    Well, on a positive note, Leo ims that my Martial Arts skills havetely been improving.

    However, I am too famished to notice any improvements or progress myself.

    It''s a strange sensation.

    I never imagined anyone could feel this way, but here I am.

    Even when I''m hungry and depleted of energy, I can still keep moving because of the stamina recovery potions I consume.

    I feel drained of energy yet somehow still functional.

    I long for sleep, but I can''t seem to sleep at the same time.

    It''s as if I''m burning from head to toe, but I cannot even die.

    This experience is pure torment¨C a torture that I wouldn''t even curse my enemies to experience.

    I never realized that hunger could cause such intense physical pain.

    Even though my stomach has stopped growling, I can feel my belly twisting and churning as if it''s trying to eat itself.

    It hurts¡­ It hurts so much.

    Maybe this is karma¡­ Maybe this is the divine retribution I''m receiving for all the bad things I did in both my lives.

    "Oye, get up," Leo''s voice abruptly reached my ears.

    I opened my eyes and found him standing there upside down in front of me.

    In reality, it was I who was upside down.

    During my training, Leo delivered a punch that sent me flying through the air, only to crash onto the mountain slope in an inverted position.

    I''m exhausted. Tired from the constant beatings.

    I understand that this is supposed to be my training arc or something, but dear God, I''ve had enough!

    "I can''t do it!" I snapped, my voice cracking as I yelled in a whimpering tone.

    Weakly, I rolled over and rose to my feet.

    "I can''t continue like this! It feels like I''m truly on the verge of death! Please, just give me something to eat! Or let me go on another hunt! I promise, this time I''ll y those Ice-w Bears!"

    "No, you''re still not strong enough," Leo firmly shook his head. "First, you must master your Sword Qi, and then I might consider sending you on another hunt."

    At that moment, I felt tears of frustration welling up. I really was on the brink of aplete breakdown.

    Leo responded by lifting his sleek ck spear and aiming it at me.

    "Come!" he bellowed.

    I gritted my teeth and held back my tears, frustrated more than ever as I felt my belly twisting in pain from hunger.

    "Arghaa!" I roared,unching myself forward.

    While charging towards Leo, I enveloped my body and weapon in a thickyer of azure mana.

    The surge of mana enhanced my physical abilities to the point where I closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    As soon as I stepped close to Leo, I swung my spear at his neck, aiming to cleave off his head with a clean sh.

    Of course, he evaded my attack easily by sidestepping to his right and countered with a swift spear thrust.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Without hesitating for even a moment, I bent my knees and exerted force on the ground using my legs.

    Thwoosh¡ª!!

    Using my legs like a spring, Iunched myself into the air, soaring directly over Leo''s head.

    "Nice one," Leo remarked as he gripped his spear tighter. "But you''ve left yourself wide open in mid-air!"

    As he said that, Leounched his spear forward, aiming to stab a non-lethal area of my body.

    However, before his spear could connect, I swiftly twisted my body in mid-air and narrowly evaded the iing blow as his spear brushed past me.

    "Ho?" Leo''s eyes widened in surprise before I used the momentum of my spin to deliver a powerful downward vertical sh, putting all my weight behind it.

    Thak¡ª!!

    But to my dismay, Leo casually lifted his spear, using its shaft to block my attack effortlessly.

    "Fuck off!" I yelled, my voice filled with irritation.

    "Haw! Quite a rude thing to say to your master," Leo replied, visibly amused by my struggle, before easily pushing me away, sending me sprawling a few steps back.

    "Arghh!" Inded in the distance, clenching my teeth even harder.

    Without dy, I once againunched myself at Leo with an explosive burst of speed.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Rather than charging straight at him, I rushed at him in a zigzag pattern, swiftly maneuvering towards him.

    Once I entered striking range, I swiftly bent my knees, getting into a low crouched position.

    Since Leo thought I was going to jump, he readied himself for it.

    However, instead of jumping, I twisted my body to the left, executing a low spinning horizontal sh with my spear aimed at his legs.

    Thak¡ª!!

    "Nice!" Leo acknowledged, swiftly blocking my low strike with his spear.

    "Tsk!" I clicked my tongue in frustration.

    Raising my spear overhead, I executed a rapid and forceful downward sh towards him without giving him a chance to breathe.

    Thak¡ª!!

    But yet again, Leo deftly parried my attack, using his spear to push mine aside. "Goodbo!"

    Swiftly pulling back my spear close to my chest after it was deflected, I unleashed a relentless fury of thrusts with all my might, aiming to overwhelm Leo.

    Cling, Cling, Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    However, Leo effortlessly blocked each and every one of my attacks, as if I posed no threat to him whatsoever.

    Like that, we continued to spar for the day.

    And then we resumed my training the next day. And the day after that. Then the day after that again.

    ?

    It had been nearly 4 weeks, precisely 25 days since Leo and Lucas set foot on the southern mountain range.

    At present, Leo sat leisurely on a stool amidst the snowy meadow, munching on a chicken lollipop.

    As he continued to enjoy his snack, from his vantage point, he spotted a figure running uphill in his direction.

    It was a young boy, approximately 17 or 18 years old. He had silver hair, resembling the moon and striking red eyes reminiscent of freshly spilled blood.

    His attire consisted of tattered ck cks, evidence of the hard training he had endured in the past few days.

    On his upper body, the marks of healed bruises and scars were visible.

    Despite consuming high-grade mana potions almost daily, concealing the aftermath of the abuse he had suffered proved impossible.

    As the young boy reached in front of Leo, the red-haired instructor gazed into his hollow eyes and shed with a satisfied, yet warm smile.

    "I believe the time hase," Leo dered, standing up from his stool. "But before we proceed, let us spar once again. You can use magic, weapon arts, your unique abilities, and nearly everything in your arsenal. Come at me with the intention to kill."

 Chapter 179 Hunger [3]

    ?

    In the tranquil snowy embrace of the Southern Continent''s mountain range, two figures found themselves standing face to face in a lockdown.

    It was a showdown.

    A man, his fiery red hair neatly tied up in a high bun, locked his intense gaze with the individual standing before him.

    The one who stood before him was none other than his own disciple.

    The young man swept back his silver hair and summoned a crimson spear with a gleaming crystal de in his hands.

    "I can use anything, you said?" The silver-haired boy spoke, his voice hoarse and exhausted.

    But in contrast to his exhausted demeanor, there was an unmistakable feeling of dread surrounding his figure¡ªan aura of power and danger was constantly being exuded from him.

    Leo nodded. "Yes," he said, his voice steady. "Not only that but if you impress me with your performance, I will also let you hunt that pack of Ice-w Bears again. So if you want to eat something,e!"

    Upon hearing Leo''s response, something snapped inside Lucas. Light returned to his previous hollow eyes.

    He can finally eat something?!

    The agonizing pain he''s been experiencing in his belly will go away?! Will he be able to eat again?!

    Without a moment''s hesitation, he bent his knees and let out a mighty roar, "Mana Burst!"

    A small burst of mana explosion erupted beneath Lucas'' feet, propelling him forward like a speeding bullet, aimed directly at Leo.

    In the blink of an eye, Lucas appeared before Leo with startling swiftness.

    Without missing a beat, he unleashed a furious onught of spear thrusts towards the red-haired instructor.

    Swish, Swish, Swish¡ª!!

    However, Leo dodged every single one of his strikes skillfully and ced his hand on the hilt of his Katana.

    As soon as he got the chance, in one fluid motion, Leo unsheathed his Katana and used the swinging motion to carry out a sh towards Lucas.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Lucas was quick to block Leo''s de with his spear.

    From that position, Lucas deftly circled his spear around Leo''s sword and executed a rapid thrust towards his opponent''s chest.

    Leo swiftly sidestepped, evading Lucas'' spear thrust with a calcted movement.

    He countered with a lightning-fast spin, using the momentum to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick aimed at Lucas'' side.

    "Arghaa!"

    With a frustrated grunt, Lucas managed to deflect the kick with the shaft of his spear, but Leo didn''t let up.

    He regained his footing and raised his other leg in the next moment only tond a powerful front kick to Lucas'' chest.

    The impact of the kick sent the silver-haired boy stumbling back several steps, clearly feeling the force behind it.

    However, Lucas quicklyposed himself, standing upright and tightening his grip on his spear.

    It''s just as he thought, he couldn''t find an opening in Leo''s defense. It''s impossible tond a strike at him.

    Well, if he couldn''t find an opening, then he would just have to create one!

    With that thought in his mind, Lucas locked his gaze on Leo and chanted, "Rillis Lancea!"

    In an instant, around five zingnces made entirely of scarlet mes swiftly materialized above Lucas'' head.

    Their scarlet mes flickered with intense heat and crackled the cold air in the atmosphere.

    A glint of insanity shed in Lucas'' eyes as the zingncesunched towards Leo like missiles locked onto their target.

    "Nice one!" Leomented with an approving tone, impressed by Lucas''s attack.

    Reacting swiftly, he shifted his weight and willed mana into his legs.

    With swift jumps and agile movements, the red-haired swordsman ran around the snowy meadow, deftly evading the fiery projectiles.

    Kaboom, boom, boom¡ª!!

    Three of thences harmlessly met the ground and detonated upon impact, creating sts akin to missiles exploding.

    But the assault wasn''t over. There were still two mingnces remaining.

    Without dy, one of thences shot towards Leo at breakneck speed, leaving him with no time to catch his breath from the previous dodge.

    In a disy of agility, Leo calmly leapt over the iingnce, allowing it to meet the ground with a resounding explosion.

    Boom¡ª!!

    However, just as Leo was in mid-air, he spotted anothernce speeding towards him, aiming to catch him off-guard.

    But without any hesitation, Leo channeled mana into his sword and swung his de with precision.

    Shing¡ª!!

    In that fleeting moment, darkness momentarily shrouded the surroundings, and a single red line appeared, tracing a crescent arc that perfectly followed the path of Leo''s de.

    Boom¡ª!!

    In a split second, when the light returned, Leo''s de had already sliced through the mingnce that wasing at him.

    With a firm descent, Leonded on the snow-covered ground beneath him, his footprints leaving imprints on the snow.

    However, once again, before he could even get a chance to breathe, another attack wasunched at him.

    "Arghhaaa!"

    This time, it was Lucas himself who surged forward, his body and weapon enveloped in a brilliant azure aura of mana.

    Without wasting a breath, Lucas quickly started attacking Leo withbinations of spear thrusts and shes, swiftly transitioning between them.

    Swish, Thruck, Swish¡ª!!

    However, Leo continued to sidestep or twirl his body to avoid the iing attacks.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, amidst the intense flurry of attacks carried out by his disciple, Leo couldn''t help but notice a pattern.

    Lucas seemed to be using his spear thrusts as a setup. He was using them to create openings for his shing attacks.

    Moreover, the force behind Lucas''s shes was immense.

    Even when Leo managed to dodge, Lucas would continue his follow-through, the de of his spear striking the ground with tremendous impact.

    Thruck, Thruck, Thruck¡ª!!

    The earth quivered beneath the force of Lucas'' attacks each time his spear de struck the ground.

    But why? Leo couldn''t help but wonder. He was certain that he had taught Lucas the proper way to harness his power.

    He had taught him the importance of control and precision rather than using all his strength in a single attack like a barbarian.

    Maybe he was bing desperate? After all, Lucas had been hungry for weeks.

    If Leo had even offered a glimmer of hope to him, it was only natural for Lucas to grow desperate.

    If that were truly the case, then Lucas had failed Leo''s test.

    With a disappointed sigh, Leo dodged one of Lucas'' horizontal shes by crouching under it.

    From that low position, Leo stepped in and delivered a forceful punch to Lucas'' sternum.

    "Argh!" the silver-haired boy gritted his teeth and staggered back in pain.

    But before Lucas could recover, Leo capitalized on the opening.

    Using the blunt edge of his katana, Leo struck Lucas in the abdomen with precision and strength.

    "Khuuak!" Lucas violently coughed up blood, unable to withstand the impact. He buckled under the force, copsing onto his knees.

    "Your technique has be more refined," Leo acknowledged. "But you''re still relying too much on blunt force. It''s fine, we still have two more days. I will beat this habit out of you. Unfortunately, you''re not getting any food today either."

    "...Of course I nned this from the start! This is my clear path to defeating you!" Lucas roared.

    "....?" A confused frown appeared on Leo''s face as he heard his disciple talk. Did he break him? Has he gone insane?

    Concern filled Leo''s voice as he spoke, "Lucas, are you okay¨C"

    However, before Leo could finish his question, a sudden thought infiltrated his mind, causing him to look around his surroundings in a state of realization.

    Whipping his neck side to side, he saw craters and massive holes had marred the ground, remnants of Lucas''s strikes and the impact from his mingnces.

    Moreover, he noticed that both of them were dangerously close to the edge of the mountain cliff too.

    "....Wait!" Leo''s eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle fell into ce, his gaze returning to Lucas.

    However, by then, the silver-haired boy had already let out a heaven-defying roar, "Mana Burst!"

    A colossal, bright azure explosion erupted, its sheer force reverberating through the surroundings.

    The ground beneath them trembled violently, as if unable to withstand the impact.

    The once-stable terrain cracked and fissures formed, before long the ground itself shattered and Leo and Lucas found themselves free-falling.

    The rubble and debris of the shattered terrain cascaded around them, falling down with them.

    Trapped in an unstoppable descent, Leo''s eyes met Lucas''s as they both plummeted down dangerously.

    "Did you n this all from the start?!" Leo inquired, his clothes, tattered from the previous explosion, fluttering in the air.

    "...Of course I nned this from the start! This is my clear path to defeating you!" Lucas roared.

    "Heh!" A grin spread across Leo''s face, a mixture of surprise and amusement.

    This was the moment he realized that his disciple was insane! Downright insane!

    Lucas tightened his grip on his spear, channeling mana that swirled from the shaft to the tip of its de.

    He knew that under normal circumstances, finding an opening in Leo''s impregnable defense was nearly impossible.

    The skill difference was simply too huge.

    That''s why he devised a n¡ªa desperate gambit to create a moment when Leo couldn''t counterattack.

    He chose to engage him in mid-air, during their fall. Lucas knew that Leo would never let him die.

    Leo would catch him before they reached the ground. In that moment of catching him, Leo would be vulnerable.

    That is when Lucas would strike! This was hisplete victory!

    Leo also understood this. And he couldn''t help but feel exhrated. After all this time, he was finally experiencing a thrill inbat.

    Of course, he was holding back almost all of his strength, but this was fun! This was so much fun!

    "Ha!" Leo scoffed as he used a fallen chunk of shattered ground to propel himself forward towards Lucas and catch him safely.

    "I win!" Lucas eximed triumphantly as Leo closed in to catch him. Without a moment''s hesitation, he thrust his spear toward Leo.

    Swish¡ª!!

    "....Huh?!"

    But Lucas could only widen his eyes as Leo kicked the air and changed the direction of his fall.

    "You can walk on air?!" the silver-haired boy eximed in surprise.

    But before Lucas could react, Leo kicked the air once again, swiftly circling around him while still falling down in mid-air.

    "Aakh!"

    Coming behind him, Leo hit the back of Lucas'' neck with a chop, striking him unconscious as thetter could only gasp.

    Quickly, Leo then grabbed Lucas by the waist with one hand and kicked his legs again and again as if walking on air beforending on the ground beneath them.

    With a safending, he evaded the perilous debris that rained down from the shatteredndscape over them from above.

 Chapter 180 Hunger [4]

    ?

    When I opened my eyes, it was already the afternoon of our 26th day here.

    "Oh, you''re finally awake?"

    Leo was munching on a sandwich, relishing a snack while my stomach grumbled in hunger as usual.

    "Angh," I groaned while trying to sit up straight.

    My vision was blurred, and it was clear from the throbbing headache I was feeling that I might have had a concussion.

    After my vision cleared, I nced around and realized that we were currently in the middle of the woods.

    The tall trees stood proudly around us, covered in a thick coat of snow, much like the wintry ground beneath our feet.

    Surrounding us were huge boulders, which was amon sight since we were in the mountainous terrains.

    Naturally, taking shelter in the woods was dangerous since there were bound to be numerous vicious mana beasts hiding in the forest.

    However, I also knew that none of them would dare to approach us because of Leo''s presence.

    After all, they were wild creatures. They will listen to their instincts which would tell them to stay the fuck away from this red-haired jerk.

    "Are you alright?" Leo walked up to me with concern. "Here, take this."

    He threw me a jacket.

    "Hmm?" I nced back at him, puzzled.

    "Your clothes are in tatters. It''s better to change out of them," Leo responded to my questioning gaze.

    Frowning, I looked down and discovered my T-shirt was in shreds.

    Although my cks remained in better condition, theck of upper body coverage left me feeling chilled.

    Nodding in understanding, I slipped on the jacket.

    Oh, it was so very warm~!

    I had been feeling cold for so long that I had almost forgotten the sensation of warmth.

    "Feeling cozy now?" Leo asked, an amused smile adorning his face.

    "If only I could have aforting bowl of chicken soup," I sighed dramatically.

    Suppressing a chuckle, Leo remarked, "Haven''t I already told you that I''m not going to share my food? However, I guess it''s about time. You can go on another hunt."

    "....Huh?!" I eximed in surprise, my eyes widening. "Really?!"

    "Yes," Leo affirmed. "I must admit, I was genuinely impressed by your performance yesterday. Your technique alone wasmendable, but what stood out was how you acted on a single n and followed it through. You had a clear n of defeating me in your mind. I''m impressed."

    "Yeah, yeah," I replied, waving my hand dismissively, not interested in what he was talking about in the least. "So, when can I start hunting again?"

    "Now, now, don''t be impatient, my dear disciple," Leo teased. "Before that, I have one more thing to teach you."

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "What''s that? Are you going to teach me how to walk on air like you did? Or perhaps how you made those illusionary clones when we first sparred?"

    "...None of them," Leo replied with a nk expression.

    "....."

    "Do you have an interest in learning those arts?" Leo inquired curiously.

    "Yes!" I eagerly responded to his offer. I would''ve practically jumped if I had the strength to do so.

    Learning even one of those things would prove to be a big help in my future fights. So yeah, of course I was excited.

    "Alright, here''s the deal. If you manage to sessfully hunt down that pack of Ice-w Bears, I will teach you one of those arts," Leo proposed.

    "Great! Can I go hunt them now?" I asked.

    "Not just yet," Leo chuckled. "As I said earlier, there''s something I need to teach you first."

    "Hmm? What would that be?" I questioned. "Will you teach me how to walk on air or create illusory clones simr to what you did in our very first sparring session?"

    "....?" A frown appeared on Leo''s face as he looked at me with concern-filled eyes. "My dear disciple..."

    "Yes?" I prompted.

    "Is hunger affecting your brain?" Leo questioned. "You seem to be talking in circles."

    "Whaa?" I blinked, confused. "No, I''m not."

    "....." Leo pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Alright, get up. I''m going to teach you a weapon art."

    Taking a deep breath, I tried standing up but struggled to regain my bnce, stumbling a few times before finally steadying myself.

    "So, what will you be teaching me?" I asked. "Perhaps how to walk on air or maybe how to create¨C"

    Leo quickly cut me off as soon as I began speaking. "The technique I''ll be teaching you is called the 12 Movements: Scarlet Demon Devouring Art."

    "Woah, that''s a cool name!" I eximed.

    Yes, it was a little chunni, but it sounded cool nheless.

    "Indeed," Leo responded, running his fingers through his red hair which was neatly tied neatly in a bun.

    "As I mentioned before since you''re my disciple, it''s important for you to look cool no matter the situation. Therefore, I will naturally only teach you weapon arts that are cool," he added in a dramatic tone.

    "Oooh!" I pped my hands excitedly. "So, is it a spear technique?"

    "Actually, it can be performed with both polearms and longswords," Leo exined. "Its effectiveness depends on the skill of the user, rather than the specific weapon used."

    "I see," I nodded. "So, how do I use it?"

    In response to my question, Leo infused mana into one of the dimensional rings on his finger and summoned a Japanese-style scroll into his hand.

    Without wasting a second, he tossed the scroll to me and then quickly summoned a longsword from another one of his dimensional rings.

    As I caught the scroll, I couldn''t help but wonder, just how many weapons does this guy carry with him?!

    He''s like a living, walking inventory!

    "The key to executing this weapon art with utmost perfection is hunger," Leo dered while slowly channeling mana into his weapon.

    "Hunger?" I furrowed my brow in confusion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Yes," Leo affirmed. "Embrace the sensation of hunger. Channel that feeling into your attacks, and recreate it with your weapon!"

    "...But how can I do that?" I inquired skeptically.

    Hunger is an abstract feeling. How can I physically recreate it through my weapon in the real world?

    "Understand the pain, Lucas," Leo replied almost instantly. "Allow yourself to feel the chill and the pain thates with hunger. Surrender to that pain and let it guide your movements."

    Stroking my chin thoughtfully, I attempted toprehend the concept Leo was trying to convey, but I still couldn''t understand it.

    Observing the visible confusion on my face, Leo strengthened his posture and raised his sword high above his head.

    Swish¡ª!!

    With a decisive step forward, he brought his sword down in a powerful swing.

    ".....!!"

    I must have seen Leo swinging his sword countless times by now, and each time I found his technique and precision to be captivatingly beautiful.

    However, in all my time spent with him, I had never seen him swing his sword with such¡­ pain!

    His swing wasn''t clean and precise like usual. Instead, it was now reced by a much more raw and bold style.

    His technique was still there, but it carried a distinct alternation. His movements were ''cold,'' and he appeared to be in genuine pain.

    I don''t know how to describe it, but it felt like he was hungry, desperate to find food, and ready to devour the very world itself¡­

    Ah, I see.

    So this is what he meant earlier.

    I have to imbue my weapon with the essence of hunger.

    As I reached that realization, Leo continued his relentless disy of swordy, executing a series of shes, stabs, and skilful footwork.

    His each strike carried the unmistakable presence of pain and the chilling agony of hunger.

    After approximately 11 swings, Leo pulled back his sword and prepared for the final strike.

    Drawing in a deep breath, he stepped in front of a massive boulder.

    The mana surrounding his sword twisted and churned, crackling with energy as tendrils of scarlet electricity flickered around the de.

    Even his sword looked like it was in hunger.

    After his preparations were done, Leo unleashed a horizontal sh with a step forward.

    Thruck¡ª!!

    The boulder shattered into countless pieces as a visible crack split through its center.

    However, before those chunks could even fall and touch the ground, Leo swiftly raised his sword high and transitioned into a vertical sh, driving his sword downward.

    He then immediately followed it with a rapid session of two cross-shaped shes aimed at the boulder.

    Thruck, Thruck, Thruck¡ª!!

    The swirling mana and the vivid scarlet lightning emanating from Leo''s de pulverized the boulder with each swing he performed with his sword.

    In the end, the previously huge boulder was reduced to nothing but fine dust, crushed by his sword.

    "...So cool!" I couldn''t contain my excitement and eximed aloud with stars in my eyes. "That was so cool!"

    "I know," Leo responded with a smug grin. "Do you understand now?"

    I nodded eagerly. "Can I give it a try?"

    "Of course," Leo granted permission. "Study the scroll and attempt to replicate the movements you just observed."

    "Alright!" I nodded once more and unfurled the scroll before starting to read its contents.

    After dedicating around an hour to reading and understanding the scroll, I grasped the basics of this weapon art.

    With determination, I picked up my spear, clutching it tightly, and closed my eyes.

    The essence required to execute this weapon art is hunger.

    But what exactly is hunger?

    Is it the exhaustion I feel due tock of food?

    Is it the frustration and anger that builds within me when I witness others indulging in food while I starve?

    Or is it the gut-wrenching pain I feel when my belly twists and churns as if it were trying to eat itself?

    The answer is¡­ all of the above and even more.

    Hunger is a driving force.

    It is a feeling thatpels us to take action.

    After all, it is the fear of hunger that pushes us to work, earn a living, and secure food.

    Without hunger, we would have no purpose. Whether it be physical hunger for food or metaphorical hunger for revenge, power, or any other aspiration.

    Hunger is a path. A path that leads to empowerment.

    In hunger, I feel pain. And in pain, I find strength!

    Suii¡ª!!

    Infusing my spear with a denseyer of mana, I fluttered open my eyes.

    The mana twisted and churned around my weapon, causing the surrounding air to crackle with intensity.

    This sensation mirrored the chilling emptiness I''d been feeling in my stomach¡ª starvation.

    "That''s the way, Lucas," Leo''s voice echoed in my ears, although my focus was somewhere else. "Devour the world!"

    Tendrils of scarlet electricity began to manifest around my spear, as I raised my spear above my head. "Let''s go!"

 Chapter 181 Destruction

    "Huaaa~"

    Yawning and rubbing his eyes before tying his long red hair into a bun, Leo trudged uphill, his boots sinking into the snow with each step he took.

    Climbing a snow mountain like this one wasn''t a big deal for Leo.

    In fact, he could climb this entire snow mountain range in a heartbeat if he wanted to.

    But right now, it was early morning and he was sleepy!

    Being an early morning person had never been Leo''s cup of tea.

    The thought of engaging in rigorous physical activity like climbing a mountain at the crack of dawn was nothing but a drag for him.

    He would much rather be inside his tent, wrapped in the warmth of his bed and relishing a few extra moments of blissful sleep.

    So, what drove him to climb this mountain at 7:00 AM in the morning?

    Well, obviously his disciple is to me for everything!

    While Leo was peacefully dozing off, his disciple took it upon himself to sneak away and hunt the Ice-w Bear pack residing at the peak of this mountain.

    Basically, he wanted a revenge match with them.

    In reality, Leo was aware that his disciple was sneaking away, but he chose not to stop him for two reasons:

    Firstly, Leo believed that Lucas was now prepared to take those mana beasts on by himself.

    Within a single day, his silver-haired disciple had achieved a 20% mastery of the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art.

    While he still wasn''t as strong as Leo would want him to be, this degree of proficiency was more than enough to vanquish those low-level mana beasts.

    And secondly¡­ Leo simply didn''t want to disturb his own sleep.

    Anyway, when Lucas ran off to hunt down those Ice-w Bears, the echoes of battle and explosions resonated throughout the tranquil morning in the mountain range.

    Naturally, Leo heard them and didn''t give it much thought until now¡­

    Right now, all sounds had ceased. No screams, explosions, or sounds ofbat could be heard.

    The southern mountain range was silent.

    Of course, from time to time, Leo checked on his disciple using his Spatial Perception to see if he was okay.

    And currently, Leo was on his way to check up on Lucas in person.

    After around five minutes, Leo reached the top of the mountain.

    "...Well, damn."

    There he saw a gruesome sight.

    Instead of seeing Lucas, all thaty before him were dead bodies sprawled on the ground and an eerie stillness.

    Dozens of Ice-w Bearsy scattered, their corpses disying the aftermath of a merciless onught.

    It wasn''t just death that they experienced; it was a massacre.

    Their bodies looked like they were pulverized by a crushing force.

    Some of them had severed limbs while others had their guts spilling out. Some had their head burst open while others weren''t even recognizably.

    The previously moon-white snow was now tainted by the spilled blood and entrail remains.

    Leo casually walked through the carnage, making sure to avoid stepping on the gruesome remains of the beasts¡ªguts, severed limbs, and lifeless bodies strewn across his path.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He, of course, knew what happened here.

    How could he not? This gruesome sight was the result of the very weapon art that Leo taught Lucas just yesterday!

    There was no mistaking it. What happened to these Ice-w Bears could only be done by the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art.

    This specific weapon art requires the wielder to coat their weapon with mana causing it to twitch and wrench it around the weapon violently.

    This can cause the air itself to crackle and manifest as tendrils of electricity around the weapon¡ªa result of the surrounding air beingpressed into sma under intense mana pressure.

    When an attack is dealt from a weapon under that much mana pressure, it crushes whatever physical object ites in contact with.

    Leo taught it to Lucas since this weapon art was very simr to Blossom Shattering st which he has already learned.

    While the Blossom Shattering st emphasized speed and agility, the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art focused on power to deliver devastating blows that could leave a trail of destruction.

    However, what confused Leo was how Lucas managed to perform the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art with such remarkable proficiency

    He was certain that this level of destruction couldn''t have been achieved with a mere 20% mastery.

    It would at least require a mastery level of 40% or higher to be able to cause so much devastation.

    Did Lucas really make such significant progress in a single night?

    "As I thought," Leo couldn''t help but grin, mirth visible in his eyes. "This kid... truly is interesting. Reynold must''ve gone blind not to recognize such talent. Hahaha!"

    Using his Spatial Perception, Leo found the boy he was searching for after walking for a few minutes.

    There he was.

    Atop a hill of Ice-w Bears, corpses that loomed high above Leo''s head sat a silver-haired boy.

    His merlot-red eyes struggled to remain open, heavy with exhaustion.

    His arms rested on the hilt of his gleaming red spear, its red crystal de shimmering dimly beneath theyer of blood that hade from the body of the Ice-w Bear it had been embedded in.

    Scattered amidst this mountain of carcassesy even more lifeless bodies of Ice-w Bears.

    Some of those dead bodies were scorched, others looked as if they were crushed under intense pressure, and a few were impaled through their skulls or hearts by the silver-haired boy''s spear.

    "Lucas," Leo called out to his disciple.

    The boy slowly opened his heavy eyes and gazed at his master. "Do I look cool?" he asked with a smug grin.

    "Yes," Leo replied with a chuckle. "Are you injured anywhere?"

    "No," Lucas said, jumping down from his throne of corpses andnding in front of his master. "But I''m feeling tired."

    "It''s mana exhaustion," Leo nodded, scrutinizing Lucas and lightly patting his body to check for any hidden or internal injuries. "You''ve depleted your mana core to its limit."

    Leo summoned a few vials filled with green liquid in his hand and handed them to Lucas, instructing him to drink them.

    "Yeah, yeah," Lucas waved his hand dismissively, seemingly uninterested in what Leo was saying. "Can we eat them now? Can we?"

    Lucas pointed at the corpses of the Ice-w mana bears that he had hunted¡ªor rather, massacred.

    "Oh, dear," Leo nced between where Lucas was pointing and back at him, his expression troubled.

    He couldn''t bring himself to tell the boy that none of the game he had hunted was in a condition to be properly skinned, cut, or cooked.

    Those that were usable were buried under other corpses, covered in guts, blood, and filth.

    Leo let out a sigh and redirected his attention to Lucas. "How about we go to a restaurant instead?"

 Chapter 182 Meal

    ?

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar

    Race¡ú Human

    ____

    Strength¡ú 92 [+30]

    Endurance¡ú 108 [+60]

    Speed¡ú 99 [+30]

    Stamina¡ú 124 [+50]

    uracy¡ú 88

    Charm¡ú 440

    Intelligence¡ú 188

    Mana Capacity¡ú 322/1000

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Bronze 1

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Gold 3

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 3 [+1] || Archer Lvl. 2

    ____

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    ? Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [98%]

    ? 6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [87%]

    ? 12 Movements Scarlet Demon Devouring Art (Lvl. 4) [42%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    ? Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) [75%]

    ??Breathing Technique

    ? Breath Of Vitality

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low? || Fire Lance ?High?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine? || The Bringer Of Lost mes ?Legendary?

    Edit Points: 286

    ===========

    Bored, I interlocked my fingers and rested my chin on top of them while staring at my status screen.

    Undoubtedly, I had grown stronger. Leo not only taught me a Level 4 weapon art, but he also gifted me a Legendary-ranked spear.

    I also acquired a high-tier magic spell and learned how to utilize basic Martial Aura.

    Even my Spearman profession had leveled up.

    If I have to venture a guess, I might now be on par with main characters like William or Amelia in terms of physical stats and battle prowess alone.

    Soon, when my mana beast egg will hatch, I will surpass them and reach the same heights as Quinn and Anastasia, even without relying on Embrace Discard!

    Yes, no matter how I may look at it, agreeing to be this jerk''s disciple anding on this trip was a wise decision.

    Although I was almost starved to death, thrown off a cliff, beaten to death, and beaten to death again and again, the results were undoubtedly worth it.

    "What are you looking at?"

    "Hmm?"

    Leo''s voice startled me, pulling me out of my deep thoughts. I lifted my head and faced him.

    After climbing down the southern mountain range, we arrived at a nearby city.

    Following a bit of walking¡ªand a lot of crying, yes, I was the one crying because of hunger¡ªwe stumbled upon a nice, cozy restaurant.

    We hurriedly entered it without wasting a second.

    Right now, we were upying a seat near the wall, patiently waiting for our food to be prepared, while I ignored the curious and disgusted nces directed towards me.

    Yes, people were staring at me.

    Why were they staring at me, one might ask?

    Well, part of the reason was the smudges of blood on my clothes and face, which made me look like a murderer...

    GRRR¡ª!!!

    The other reason was the loud growling noiseing from my stomach, which could very well be mistaken as the roar of a mana beast.

    Hey! These people had no right to judge me!

    They had no idea what kind of hell I had been through.

    They don''t know how much sheer willpower it''s taking for me to resist the temptation of delicious food!

    I can barely hold myself back from lunging at other people''s tes!

    "Oh, nothing. I''m just checking my status screen," I replied after staring back at some of the people who were looking at me.

    They quickly averted their eyes, probably scared by the way I looked at them with blood smeared on my face.

    "I see," Leo nodded. "Are you satisfied with your progress?"

    "Yes," I responded eagerly, offering a slight bow of respect. "I couldn''t have made such strides on my own in such a short time. I am truly grateful, Master."

    Leo chuckled in response. "Don''t give me all the credit. It was your resilience that allowed you to endure four weeks of starvation. I must admit, your mental strength surprised even me."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hearing him acknowledging my efforts, I grinned and rubbed the back of my neck.

    However, Leo''s tone turned serious in the next moment.

    "But don''t get toofortable," he said. "By the end of your first academic year, I will shape you into an unparalleled fighter. To achieve that, you''ll have to endure even more hellish trials than the one you''ve just passed. So be prepared."

    Even more hellish than this?! Huh? Wait, is he actually nning to kill me?!

    But then again, as weird as his methods may be, they had proven effective.

    If he hadn''t starved me for so many weeks straight, I would have never mastered the Scarlet Demon Devouring Art.

    So after understanding that, I ultimately nodded back. Seeing this, a smile yed on his lips.

    "But that''s a matter forter," Leo said, his tone returning to normal. "For now, tell me, what reward would you like?"

    "Everything on the menu," I blurted out without hesitation.

    "...You''ve already ordered everything on the menu," Leo responded, a mixture of amusement and resignation on his face. "That''s why they''re taking so long to prepare the food."

    "Then let''s order everything again, so they''ll have to hurry," I suggested.

    "...I don''t think that''s how cooking works," Leo shook his head, a look of exasperation crossing his face. "Anyway, I was referring to the reward I promised you upon your sessful hunt."

    "Oh, that!" I eximed, pping my hands together as I remembered. "Alright, I want to learn how you create those illusionary clones."

    Leo stifled another chuckle and said, "It''s called Mirage Walk. But are you sure you want to learn that?"

    "Yes," I affirmed. "It seems like a good technique for disguising one''s true body and movements. It would be a great help when I''ll be facing multiple opponents."

    Leo raised an eyebrow. "Are you nning to fight someone?"

    "Remember, I mentioned that I''ll be facing someone during the King''s Tournament," I reminded him. "Well, he happens to have a lot of friends."

    Leo frowned. "And just who is this person, exactly?"

    I hesitated for a moment.

    Should I disclose his identity? I thought.

    However, for some reason, I felt like I could trust him.

    Even if he is associated with Spider... Even if he may be an enemy I''ll have to face in the future... Perhaps, for now, I could trust him.

    With a nod, I revealed, "His name is Kai Wiseman."

    "That guy?" Leo frowned. "Oh yeah, he''s strong."

    "You''re aware of that?" I raised my eyebrows.

    "Yeah," Leo shrugged. "I don''t know how he managed to hide his rankings from Athena, but he can''t fool my eyes."

    "He hid his rankings? What?" I frowned, visibly puzzled.

    "Oh, yeah. I was suspicious of him, so I ordered the Academy AI to check his status and background. But the report I received didn''t exin the strength he possesses," Leo responded. "He''s hiding his true strength. If I had to guess, he''s only slightly weaker than that guy in your ss¨C Nero."

    Huh? Only slightly weaker than Nero?

    Damn. I knew he was strong since he defeated Quinn, but I didn''t expect Kai to be THAT strong.

    "So, do I stand a chance against him?" I asked, swallowing hard.

    "In terms of pure physical strength? No," Leo replied bluntly. "But you possess a divine-rank armor, a legendary-rank spear, a sharp strategic mind, and some good weapon arts. I''m willing to bet you have a few hidden aces up your sleeve as well. If you y your cards right, then yes, you can match him. Whether you can defeat him or not will depend on you."

    "I see," I mused, rubbing my chin, lost in thoughts until Leo spoke up again.

    "Remember, technique is always superior to brute strength," he emphasized. "Not many individuals can sessfully hunt a pack of mana beasts only a rank lower than their own without sustaining any injuries. You achieved that because your technique surpasses theirs. Remember what I taught you..."

    "The world around me is chaos; the technique is my sanctuary," I finished his sentence, reciting the words he ingrained in me. "The only thing that should exist is the form, the technique."

    "Excellent," Leo nodded, a satisfied smile gracing his face. "And herees our food."

    As the waiters arrived with our food, a sweet and spicy aroma filled the air, momentarily distracting me from our conversation.

    tes upon tes of delicious dishes were ced before us, each one more tempting than thest.

    My stomach growled with anticipation, eager to indulge in this well-deserved feast.

    Leo observed my reaction with amusement, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Enjoy your meal, my dear disciple. You''ve earned it."

    With a nod of gratitude, I dug into the delectable spread before me, savoring every bite.

    The vors exploded on my tongue, and I felt warm in my stomach, providing me relief from the pain and cold of hunger that I had grown ustomed to by now.

    After chuckling at the way I was stuffing my mouth like a squirrel, Leo also had a bite or two from the variety of dishes before us.

    As we continued to enjoy our meal, snippets of conversation from nearby tables caught our attention.

    ¨C"By the way, have you heard?"

    ¨C"What?"

    ¨C"Rumor has it that a first-year cadet from the Global Military Academy has the Gift that allows him to fully control the basic elements!"

    ¨C"What nonsense? Wouldn''t a Gift like that make you a God?"

    ¨C"Well, yeah. It''s a Godlike power, for real. ording to the sources, he can summon a sword and control an element without any restrictions."

    The gossipers fell into a brief silence.

    The very thought of someone possessing such an incredible Gift seemed almost unfathomable.

    ¨C"Well, I don''t believe it, but if it''s true, then it''ll surely be a wonder of the world. A Gift like that could make him a national treasure."

    As I refocused my attention on the food before me, Leo interjected with a question. "Are they referring to the same boy in your ss?"

    "Nero, yes," I replied, nodding in affirmation.

    Leo, his hand resting on his chin, pondered aloud, "How are these rumors spreading beyond the confines of the Global City? I must address this matter to the academy."

    I wanted to stop Leo in his tracks. I wanted to tell him that it doesn''t matter anymore. Don''t waste your efforts.

    Why? Because these rumors must have already reached the ears of the vampires.

    And by now, they might even be preparing tounch an attack on the academy during the uing King''s Tournament.

    I don''t have much time left. In a week, first-semester exams will start. And after the exams, the King''s Tournament willmence.

    At most, I have around a month and a half.

 Chapter 183 Rumours [1]

    ?

    We returned to the Global City two days ago.

    I was tired, understandably so.

    After freshening up, I ate everything I could find in the apartment, even the junk and packaged food that I don''t usually enjoy.

    After that, I fell asleep.

    ¡­That was a blunder.

    There''s a term for what happened to me after that ¨C Digestive System Shock.

    Essentially, when we eat a lot after a long period of starvation, our digestive system struggles to handle the sudden influx of food.

    It takes time for our digestive enzymes to adjust to the increased workload.

    This can lead to a lot of other things like cramping and pain in the belly, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and even diarrhea.

    And naturally, since the shock to my digestive system was so big, I experienced every single thing mentioned above.

    That''s the reason why when we went to the restaurant, Leo didn''t let me finish everything I ordered.

    I knew why he was stopping me and what could happen if I suddenly ate a lot of food after being hungry for four weeks.

    However, aftering back to my apartment, where no one was to stop me, I sumbed to the temptation and ate everything I had.

    What else could''ve happened after that?

    My body forcefully pushed out the food I had stuffed into it, escaping through every possible exit¡ªsounds disgusting, right?

    Well, it was! It was disgusting! Believe me, it was absolutely revolting!

    I couldn''t even go to the academy. Because of my absence, Leo personally made his way to my apartment to check on my well-being.

    Upon witnessing my pitiful state, he let out a disappointed sigh and shot me a re that screamed "I told you so."

    He then threw me some quick health recovery potions.

    Just for reference, health recovery potions are incredibly expensive.

    They can cure almost any ailment.

    They can even temporarily suspend menstruation for women¡ªwhich was its goal from the start since the United Military couldn''t afford to have numerous female soldiers unable to perform at their peak for seven days every month.

    Anyway, I''m digressing from the story.

    Right, so I gratefully took those potions and quickly consumed them.

    Almost instantly, I sensed my condition improving.

    While I could''ve created my own health recovery potions with the Edit Pen, I''m running low on Edit Points at the moment, so I need to save them up.

    Besides, an incident like this gave me a quick reminder that even though I''m in a different world, blessed with inhuman speed and supernatural strength fueled by mana, at the core, I''m still just a human.

    Haa~

    Anyway, Leo mentioned that he already submitted my leave application to the academy. He assured me that I won''t face any repercussions for the days I was absent.

    When I asked him what reason he gave for my absence, Leo mentioned that he simply stated we had gone somewhere together.

    I snapped at him. I told him he shouldn''t have said that, as it might lead to gossip, and someone might specte that he has taken me as his disciple.

    If such rumors were to reach Kai''s ears, my entire n would veer off course.

    In response to my outburst, Leo calmly uttered but a single sentence, "Would you rather prefer being subjected to a punitive training drill under Instructor Matterhorn''s supervision?"

    At those words, I was rendered speechless.

    Yeah, I''d rather have Kai know about my n than endure training under that maniac!

    And that pretty much sums up the past two days, bringing me back to the present moment.

    -"Hey, there he is."

    -"Are the rumors true? Has Leo taken him as his disciple?"

    -"Impossible! We''re talking about Leo Kurogami here. Why would he choose someone like him, a talentless good-for-nothing, as his first disciple?"

    -"Yeah, I mean, sure, he may have a high intelligence score, but his physical abilities areughable. Leo, the brilliant fighter who has never taken on a disciple before, won''t pick him."

    -"Well, you might be right, but my father once told me that Leo Kurogami and the Morningstar family wererades. Maybe he took Lucas in because he''s a Morningstar, you know?"

    -"...Oh? I had no idea about that. So that''s why Lucas ended up under Leo''s wing? Damn nepotism! These nobles! Arghh, I can''t stand them!"

    -"Dude, rx. Even if he got in through nepotism, there''s no way he can keep up with Leo''s training. He''ll never be able to match him."

    As I walked through the corridors of the academy after my absence of four weeks and one day, I couldn''t help but notice the ring looks and hushed conversations happening around me.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Their reactions were expected. I would have been surprised if I hadn''t garnered at least this much attention.

    For a seasoned fighter like Leo to take on a disciple is a big deal.

    Taking a disciple is different from just epting students; it signifies something much more profound.

    A disciple is not merely a student; they are entrusted with carrying the torch of their master''s legacy and keeping it alive even after their master passes away.

    It''s a lifelongmitment and a sacred bond that surpasses mere instruction or teaching.

    Taking a disciple represents the passing of wisdom, knowledge, and skills from one generation to the next.

    The master bes not only a teacher but also a mentor, guide, and a wellspring of inspiration.

    In return, the disciple bes a vessel for the master''s wisdom, a custodian of their techniques, and a source of pride.

    As I mentioned earlier, it''s a BIG deal.

    That is especially the case for living legends like Liz Snyder, Leo Kurogami, or even my own father, Reynold Morningstar.

    So naturally, when the rumors about one of these revered legends taking someone like me as their disciple start to circte, reactions like these are to be expected.

    But it wasn''t their gossip that caught my attention.

    No, it was something else entirely.

    Among their murmurs, I overheard someone mentioning that the Morningstar family and Leo Kurogami wererades.

    "What''s that all about? I''m not aware of anything like that based on my knowledge of the novel and the memories in my head," I muttered quietly to myself.

    I should talk to Leo about it as soon as I see him again. Is he really connected with the Morningstars?

    Perhaps it could be something connected to the false memories nted in my head.

    "Lucaaaaaaas!"

    Just as I was lost in my thoughts, I heard someone calling out my name, stretching it out.

    "Arik!"

    Before I could even turn around, I felt someone leaping onto my back, wrapping their arms tightly around my neck and chest.

    Who else could it be but Kent?

    "Get off me, you idiot! We''ll both fall down like this!" I eximed, trying to steady myself while attempting to pry him off.

    "Where were youuuu! Waaaah waaaah!"

    "What the! Are you crying!"

    And sure enough, he was indeed crying.

    Tears streamed down his cheeks, his nose running as well. Disgusting, yet oddly amusing.

    Rolling my eyes, a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I managed to get a hold of him and pulled him in front of me.

    "There, there," I said, patting his head as he continued to sniffle like a puppy. If he had a tail, it would be wagging right now.

    This guy. Aren''t Elves supposed to be prideful?

    Shaking my head, I couldn''t help but smile as I seeded in calming Kent down.

    "Wh-Where were you? Hic!" Kent asked, stuttering through his sniffles.

    But suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait, have you heard? Rumor has it that you are Leo''s disciple now. Is it true?" he asked.

    "Ahh, I guess?" I rubbed my chin, contemting. "But first, let me ask you something, how-"

    Before I could proceed with my question, another voice, this one deeper and moremanding, called out to me.

    "Lucas!"

    Furrowing my brow and recognizing the voice, I turned around to face its source.

    It was Quinn.

    "Why is he here?" Kent grumbled, ring daggers in Quinn''s direction.

    "...I need to talk to him," I replied.

    "Hmm? About what?" Kent inquired, curiosity evident in his expression.

    "Don''t worry about it for now," I waved my hand dismissively. "Head to ss. I''ll catch up with youter and fill you in."

    Reluctantly, Kent nodded and left, leaving me to have my talk with Quinn.

 Chapter 184 Rumours [2]

    ?

    "I can sense that you''ve grown stronger," Quinn remarked.

    "Huh? You can tell?" I responded with a hint of surprise in my voice.

    Quinn looked at me for a few seconds, as if gauging me before replying, "I''ve told you before. Shadows don''t lie."

    ...Yeah, whatever that means, weirdo.

    Currently, Quinn and I stood on the terrace of our academy tower.

    It was my first time visiting this ce, and I must say, the terrace was huge.

    Since we were at so much height, we could see a breathtaking view of the sprawling Global City from here.

    Since the ss was about to start, not many people were here right now.

    -"Muaah~ God, you''re so sexy~ Call me daddy!"

    -"Eww, no! I''m not into that, you fatty!"

    -"But you still want me to buy you that designer purse, right?"

    -"...Yes, daddy!"

    Of course, the emphasis is on "many."

    I could still clearly see, and unfortunately hear, a few individuals who were here right now.

    Most of them seemed to be couples who had a free first period and had chosen to spend their time bying here and doing the cringy stuff that couples do.

    "So, why are we here?" I asked, looking around. "I highly doubt you''ve brought me to this terrace to propose."

    "Urgh," curling up his upper lip, Quinn groaned and shot me a disgusted re in response to my OBVIOUS joke.

    He took a few steps away from me to the boundary and turned to face the city view.

    "....."

    Oh,e on! It was just OBVIOUSLY a joke! I don''t swing that way! And even if I did, you''re too ugly to be my type! - is what I wanted to say.

    But in the end, I decided to hold my tongue and not throw my life away today.

    "He''s be suspicious of you, you know?" Quinn spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence following my failed attempt at humor.

    "Kai?" I raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

    "Yes," Quinn nodded, his gaze still fixed on the bustling city below us. "Ever since the rumor about Leo taking you as his disciple started spreading, Kai has be increasingly wary of you."

    "Alright then, do something to stall him," I suggested casually.

    "It''s not that simple!" Quinn snapped, turning to face me. "He''s on guard now. And Grace, with her habit of bbering about you at every opportunity, isn''t helping matters either."

    "Alright, then I''ll redirect his attention towards someone else," I responded. "I''ll frame someone and expose them as the mastermind of our ss to Kai."

    "No, that won''t help," Quinn shook his head. "During the four weeks you were absent, Kai personally investigated every cadet in our ss. He even instigated conflicts to gather information. If the mastermind were to reveal themselves now that you''ve returned, Kai''s suspicions of you would only grow. He would ignore the decoy ande directly after you. He''s not as foolish as you may think."

    I let out a sigh. Yeah, I had thought that would be the case.

    "Well, it seems we''re out of options," I shrugged.

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Quinn furrowed his brow, confused.

    "I''ve done everything I could," I replied. "Some unexpected variables emerged and ruined my ns of staying under Kai''s radar. There''s nothing more we can do about it."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "So what will you do now?" Quinn inquired.

    "What else can I do? In four days, our semester exams will begin. After that, it will be the King''s Tournament ¨C that''s when I will crush him. Basically, I just need to hide from him for four days."

    "But still," Quinn raised his voice. "That means you''ve lost the element of surprise! Your n of attack failed!"

    I turned to face Quinn. "As I said, there''s nothing more we can do about it. I''ll face him head-on."

    "....?!"

    Quinn looked at me as if I were a madman nning to fight a pack of lions with bare hands.

    "Are you out of your mind?!" Quinn snapped once again. "You''re speaking so confidently because you have no idea how strong and merciless Kai can be! I can see that you''ve grown stronger, and maybe the rumors about you being Leo''s disciple are true. But you can still not defeat Kai!"

    Suppressing a scoff, I replied, "Why don''t you sit back and enjoy the show instead of making predictions about who will win, yeah?"

    Quinn studied up and down me for a moment before stating, "You know, if I were to call Kai right now and inform him about you, he might forgive me for my previous betrayal."

    Meeting his gaze, I asked, "Alright, so will you do it?"

    "I will do whatever I must to protect Shiya," Quinn dered. "Kai is aware of her existence. If I go against him, he will expose her existence to the academy. The only reason I chose to associate myself with you was because-"

    "Because I gave you my word," I finished his sentence. "I will keep your secret safe and make sure that no harm everes to Shiya. I will also bring an end to the war."

    We locked eyes for a brief moment, and I assured him, "And I will honor my word. I will do as I said."

    A troubled expression spread across Quinn''s face as I pressed on, "However, if you truly believe that betraying me and siding yourself with Kai¡ªa person who couldn''t care less about your goals¡ªis a better choice, then go ahead."

    Having said what I wanted to say, I turned on my heels and started making my way towards the terrace door, leaving Quinn to sort out his thoughts and ponder over my words.

    But just as I was about to reach the door, I halted my steps and nced back over my shoulder.

    Meeting Quinn''s gaze with icy coldness, I spoke in a callous tone, "Oh, and one more thing. It''s not only Kai you should fear. As I''ve mentioned before, I possess concrete evidence of Shiya''s existence. If you dare to ever betray me, I will not hesitate to send it to the authorities myself."

    At that moment, Quinn''s eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at me as realization hit him.

    Now he understood the position he was in¡ª caught between a rock and a hard ce.

    It''s his fault for not expecting something like this from the start in the first ce.

    He can''t lose Shiya. If the academy authorities were to know about her, they would make Quinn erase her.

    The only two people who know about her existence are at war with each other. If he were to make one wrong move, they would alert the authorities and Quinn would lose Shiya again for the final time.

    Basically, he''ll have to keep on ying from both sides, serving both Kai and me until we both sh.

    Before we both sh, he''ll have to predict who''ll win and bet on the winning horse.

    If he sides with the wrong person and they lose, the winner will call him out for his betrayal and punish him by unraveling his secret for the world.

    Not only that but if he''s found out by Kai that he''s betraying him, his secret would be revealed.

    And if he triggers me like he almost did today or tries to double-cross me, I will also reveal his secret.

    "Understood what I''m saying?" I asked, my tone growing colder.

    "....." Quinn responded with a silent nod.

    Yes, no matter how he may try to look at it, he''s fucked. It alles down to him predicting the winner, and siding with him.

    And if he''s as smart as I give him the credit for, he''ll pick me.

 Chapter 185 Isolating The Prey

    ?

    With only around four days remaining until themencement of our first semester exams, most of our ss periods were free, except for the first one.

    Once Liz concluded her ss, we were left to spend the second and third periods as we pleased.

    However, the air in ss 1-A-1 was filled with the sound of pencils scratching on paper, as everyone diligently tried to study as hard as they could.

    Some cadets headed to the library, while others with connections begged and cried in front of the upperssmen to share their notes from their previous year.

    Amidst the mass panic, I remained seated calmly.

    In front of me, an open book about mana theory and its scientific applications wasying, though I wasn''t actually reading it.

    In truth, my attention was elsewhere.

    Beneath the desk, I was tightly holding a sling bag in my grasp. One of my hands was inside the bag and I was channeling my mana into it.

    Yez, anyone could easily guess what was in the bag, right? My Mythical mana beast egg.

    I had kept my Mythical mana beast egg inside it and brought it with me to the academy.

    And right now, I was infusing it with my mana. I understand the risks involved, but I had no other choice.

    During my training sessions with Leo, the mana beast egg did not receive any mana from me.

    As a result, its hatching process has already been significantly dyed.

    Based on my earlier estimation, the egg would have hatched by now if I had been consistently supplying it with mana on a daily basis.

    However, I couldn''t do it, my guess is that it would take approximately a month and a half to hatch it if I push myself to exhaustion every day.

    That means the egg will barely hatch around the time our semester exams are over.

    That''s fine. It will be right around the time the King''s Tournament starts, and I can still manage that.

    "Arghh! This is so boring! Why do we even need to remember all this stuff anyway?!"

    As I was deep in my thoughts, from my right, a gorgeous brte expressed her frustration with a groan. I stole a quick nce at her before looking away.

    It was E Bright. If that name doesn''t ring a bell, then let me remind you that she''s Grace Goodwill''s best friend.

    Or at least she was until the Mock War.

    I have no idea what transpired between them after that, but it appears their rtionship is still rocky.

    Which works just fine for me.

    Sooner orter, being in istion, being an outcast, and being without anyrades by her side would catch up to Grace.

    She would inevitably reach a breaking point. And that''s when I would step in, acting as the big man, extending a helping hand to her out of the sheer kindness in my heart.

    "I mean, I understand why it''s important, but it''s just way too much. I get why we need to study mana theory and all, but why on earth do we have to deal with math in it? We''re going to be soldiers, not mana engineers, for heaven''s sake!"

    The brown-haired girl right next to me continued to mutter to herself.

    Interesting.

    I never knew she had a habit of talking to herself. It wasn''t mentioned in the novel. I should make a note of it.

    "...Hey, why are you staring?"

    "...Huh, me?"

    "Yeah, you."

    I nced around to confirm if E was indeed talking to me, and indeed, she was.

    While she was lost in her self-dialogue, I had absentmindedly started gazing at her.

    Right now, E upied the seat right beside mine. We were sitting in thest row, with only a few cadets present around us.

    Most of the main characters, some unnamed extras, and even my blue-haired elven friend, Kent, were at the library to study.

    Considering the situation and my reputation, I must havee out as creepy.

    Quickly, I stood up, took a few steps to the side, and created some distance between us before settling back down.

    "Sorry, it''s just unusual to see someone talking to themselves so lively," I responded.

    "...Pftt," E stifled a chuckle. "Well, it''s be a habit of mine."

    "Is that so," I replied, feeling perplexed as to why she was still talking to me.

    "But why did you skip a seat and move over there?" E inquired.

    "Uh... I..." Before I could conjure up an excuse, the brte let out a briefugh.

    "Are you trying to avoid a situation here?" she remarked, seemingly amused by something.

    I gazed at her, uncertain of what to say, until finally uttering, "...You''re aware of my reputation, right?"

    "Haha, of course," E nodded, a smile ying on her lips. "But I must admit, you''re quite different in person than what those rumors make you out to be."

    "...Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow. "I''ve been trying to improve myselftely."

    "I can see that," E replied. "And you''re doing a good job. You even risked your life to protect civilians during the vampire incident at the masquerade party. That''s admirable.

    "While it won''t erase your past, the very fact that you''re striving to improve and make amends is evidence enough that you deserve a second chance. So don''t worry, Morningstar, I won''t report you for staring, haha!"

    Feeling a mix of embarrassment and confusion, I let out a chuckle, still a bit puzzled.

    Once again, why was she talking so much?

    Wait¡­

    ...Oh! Right! Now I remember.

    E Bright was called the Goddess of Justice in the novel on many asions.

    She always sided with the cause of righteousness.

    She had a strict moral code and followed it to her utmost best. She strongly believed that justice should be served to all, regardless of their status or circumstances.

    In ordance with that, she also firmly stood by the notion that everyone deserves a second chance.

    If someone hadmitted a forgivable offense and was now sincerely repenting and making amends, they should not be crucified for their past actions.

    ording to her, there was no greater justice than allowing someone the opportunity to change for the good.

    Perhaps this is why she has recognized my efforts to improve. Maybe that''s why she is talking to me and engaging in a normal conversation.

    I see now.

    "Oh, is that a mana theory book? Are you well-versed in that subject?" E peered at the textbook opened on my desk.

    "Well, I guess," I shrugged.

    "Ooh, great!" E pped her hands together and inched closer to me, disying her notebook.

    "Could you help me solve this confined pressure chamber mana equilibrium equation using trigonometric terms?" she asked.

    Scratching the back of my neck, I examined the problem scribbled on her rough notebook and turned towards her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''re familiar with the basics of mana equilibrium theory, right?" I inquired.

    "Mana always returns to its natural form, whether it''s used for spellcasting or energy creation?" she gave me a questioning look to confirm her answer.

    In response, I stared at her nkly for a few seconds before shaking my head. "No, that''s the Law of Mana Preservation."

    "Eh? Aren''t those the same thing?" E pondered, touching her chin with her index finger.

    ...Thank goodness she''s good at fighting because she''s downright dumb in academics.

    "Okay, listen¨C"

    "Hey!"

    Just as I was about to exin the concept to E, a booming voice interrupted us from behind.

    I turned to identify the source and came face-to-face with a boy of simr height, sporting slicked-back golden hair and matching eyes.

    He red at me with seething anger in his eyes.

    "Is he bothering you?" he directed his question to E.

    "...Uh, no¨C" before she could answer, he swiftly turned his attention to me and grabbed my cor.

    "How dare you?!" he roared.

    The few students present in the ss diverted their attention to ourmotion in the back row.

    "What''s your problem, dude?" I scowled.

    "Hey, I said he''s not bothering me!" E intervened, snatching the golden-haired boy''s hand and forcibly removing it from my cor.

    "...I thought¨C"

    Before the boy could utter another word, E cut him off.

    "I don''t care what you thought," she snapped. "Besides, even if I had a problem, do you honestly believe I would need your help? You, who is weaker than me despiteing from the Wright family?"

    Her words seemed to strike a nerve as the golden-haired boy gritted his teeth, eyeing the brte beauty furiously.

    "Tsk!" However, instead of further escting the situation, the boy redirected his piercing gaze at me and then walked away, muttering something at me that I didn''t bother to listen to.

    "...What''s his problem?" I voiced my confusion.

    As E settled back into her seat, she responded, "Hmm? Don''t you remember? That''s the guy from the Wright family whom you piss off on our introduction day."

    "...Oh! Right, Chris Wright!" I eximed, pping my hand against my palm.

    How could I have forgotten about the young master I had provoked?! It''s strange, as I''m not one to easily forget faces.

    Why did he slip from my memory? My memory was never so sloppy. I''ve been experiencing stuff like this a lot recently.

    Could it be because I''m exhausted, trying to solverger and more pressing problems than him like saving the fucking world?

    "Wait, is he still holding a grudge?" I furrowed my brow.

    "Apparently. Also, he''s now part of Kai''s group¨C Young Elites," E disclosed. "His confidence skyrocketed after joining them. He even had some heated arguments with Nero, Anastasia, Amelia, Elijah, and William."

    Ah, yes. In the novel, he did cause trouble for the protagonist and his group after joining the Young Elites.

    It looks like I missed out on some events during my absence. Well, it doesn''t matter since those events weren''t connected to me anyway.

    "So, be careful. Now that he''s part of that group, he mighte after you," E warned.

    I was about to break his arm. Thankfully, I didn''t do it and restrained myself.

    I''m sure that he''s reporting everything that happens in our ss to Kai. If I had made a move like breaking his arm, he would have reported it as well.

    Even though Kai is now wary of me, I still want to keep him on edge until the very end of my n.

    Anyway, I brought my focus back to E. This conversation was taking quite an interesting turn.

    Let''s see if I can pull something here.

    "Hey, sorry if I''m prying, but aren''t you also part of the Young Elites?" I questioned.

    "Hmm? Why do you ask?" E furrowed her brow.

    "Well, you seemed close to Grace. And since she''s still a member of that group, I assumed¡ª" I trailed off as E shook her head.

    "I did join initially. I thought it was just a regr friend group. And since most of us came from elite or noble backgrounds, it made sense to build connections. However, over time, I began to notice Kai''s had some hidden agendas.

    "I still stayed in it for a while because Grace didn''t want to leave. But after the Mock War, I realized that Kai had formed the group to get people who would do his bidding.

    "I urged Grace to leave. I told her something wasn''t right and that I had a bad feeling about Kai. But she didn''t listen. Our fights escted, and eventually, we stopped talking to each other." E let out a sigh.

    "I see," I murmured, leaning back in my seat. "So that''s why Grace said that."

    "Hmm? She said what?" E looked at me, perplexed.

    "...Oh, it''s nothing. Forget I mentioned it," I waved my hand dismissively.

    "No, no, tell me. What did she say?" E pressed.

    "...Well, I overheard Grace talking to Alberto once. She mentioned something about your sister," I confessed.

    E''s face disyed a mixture of emotions after listening to me¡ªshock, confusion, rm, and bewilderment.

    After a brief pausesting for a few seconds, E spoke in a quivering voice, her mouth agape and eyes widened, "Sh-She said what about my sister?"

    I nced around the ssroom to see if anyone was near us, feeling uneasy.

    "Do I have to say it?" I hesitated.

    "Just tell me," she insisted, her voice filled with anxiety.

    Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly started speaking, "She mentioned that your sister is currently in aa-like state, suffering from Mana Whish. Grace said that if Kai can obtain a Petal of the Ambrose Flower and offer it to you, you would join the Young Elites since you''d feel indebted to him."

    E''s eyes widened further, and her lips trembled in disbelief.

    The fact that I knew such private information and was sharing it with her meant that I must have heard it directly from Grace.

    Why? Because Grace was the only person aide from her in this academy who knew about this.

    "Sh-She really told him that?" E asked, her voice filled with shock.

    "Why would I lie?" I responded. "If you don''t believe me, you can ask her yourself. Although, I highly doubt she would admit to revealing such personal information."

    E sat there, lost in a state of denial and shock, before abruptly standing up. "I''m sorry, I have to go somewhere. We''ll talkter, Morningstar."

    "Yeah, see youter," I waved my hand as E made her way out of the ssroom.

    As I watched her retreating figure, a faint smile crept onto my face. It was done.

    I couldn''t help but feel sorry for Grace, but I had no other choice. She forced me topletely iste herself.

    With that taskpleted, I shifted my attention back to the textbook in front of me, while channeling mana into the beast egg under the desk.

 Chapter 186 Journal [1]

    ?

    The day came to an end, and the cadets made their way back to their apartments.

    As E was walking home, the words spoken by the silver-haired boy echoed constantly in her mind.

    She couldn''t fathom how Grace could betray her like that.

    Even if they weren''t talking these days, E still regarded Grace as a friend.

    Yet, Grace had the audacity to suggest using E''s elder sister''s illness as a bargaining tool?

    What kind of friend would stoop so low?!

    Was Grace truly that desperate to gain favor with Kai? She was ready to betray her sister-like toe into his good book?

    Shaking her head, E cleared her thoughts.

    It didn''t matter. If their friendship held so little value to Grace, then E would stop caring about it herself.

    "E!"

    Just as the brte beauty immersed herself in these thoughts, a familiar voice called out to her from behind.

    She swiftly turned her head to confirm the identity of the person calling her. And to no one''s surprise, it was Grace.

    Turning her head back, E quickened her pace, purposefully ignoring the persistent calls of her name from behind.

    "E! Wait up!"

    Finally, the blonde-haired girl caught up to E and firmly grasped her shoulder.

    In response, E shrugged her shoulder forcefully and turned around, fixing a fierce gaze upon Grace.

    Observing that intense expression, Grace furrowed her brow, slightly puzzled.

    ''Why is she so angry today?'' Grace couldn''t help but wonder.

    "What do you want?" E snarled.

    Taken aback by her tone, Grace responded, "You know what? I''ve been apologizing for over two months now. Why are you still so angry?"

    "You know exactly why!" E snapped.

    "Oh,e on, E! It''s my choice! You can''t dictate who I should associate myself with!" Grace snapped back.

    "If that''s how you see it, fine! I was only trying to watch out for you!" E retorted.

    "Watch out for me by forcing me toply with your every demand?!" Grace questioned.

    E pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look at yourself! You''re covered in wounds and bruises! Even if you try to cover it up with makeup, it''s clear that Kai is hurting you! I don''t understand why you can''t just leave that group if you''re being treated this way?! Is he ckmailing you? Is that what''s happening?!"

    Hearing E''s remark, Grace clenched her fists and lowered her gaze. She knew that her friend was right.

    Kai''s temper was vtile.

    It wasn''t just Grace who suffered his blows; whenever he was angry, anyone within his sight became a target of his frustration.

    A few weeks ago, when Kai interrogated Lucas to confirm whether he was the one Kai was looking for, Grace let her words flow more freely than she should have.

    The result of that was a brutal beating from Kai.

    The scars and bruises from that abuse still littered her body, still visible even though she tried to conceal them using make-up and long sleeve clothes.

    However, despite it all, she couldn''t bring herself to leave Kai''s group.

    She wanted a future where she wouldn''t be forced to go into war¡ª a future where she wouldn''t have to fight.

    Kai had promised her a position in the military that would secure that safe future.

    Being by his side was to be her ticket to that life. She couldn''t just throw away this ticket.

    With a deep breath, Grace looked back at E, letting on a vulnerable smile.

    "E," she called out her best friend''s name. "I''m not being forced or ckmailed by anyone. I''m in the Young Elites because I choose to be. I don''t want to leave. But that doesn''t mean we have to stop talking. All I want is my best friend back. So can we please start talking again? Can you be my best friend again?"

    E stared at Grace, her eyes devoid of any emotion, as she bluntly stated, "No."

    "...Huh?" Grace frowned, bewildered. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean what I said, no." E reiterated firmly.

    "Are... Are you saying you don''t want to be best friends with me anymore?" Grace looked at E in disbelief.

    "No, Grace, I''m saying I don''t want to be friends with you anymore," E met Grace''s gaze with cold indifference.

    "W-Why?! I''ve been apologizing every day! What have I done that you won''t even talk to me?! Have Imitted some grave sin?! Why are you treating me like this?! I even stayed and fought during the masquerade party incident! You know how much I hate fighting, but I fought because you were there! I stood by your side!" Grace snapped.

    E remained silent, watching her intently.

    Finally when Grace finished her outburst, the brte spoke, her voice calm yet cutting, "I never asked you to do anything! I never asked you to fight alongside us. Besides, others fought as well. They risked their lives to protect the innocent, unlike you, who had her own selfish motives."

    "I had selfish motives?! And what might those be? I was there because I wanted to fight alongside you! I was concerned about your safety!" Grace retorted.

    "No," E shook her head, gritting her teeth. "You were there so in future you could remind me that you stayed behind for me! So you could make me feel indebted to you. I''ve figured you out now. I know what you did."

    "...What nonsense?" Grace looked at E incredulously. "What are you talking about?!"

    "I know what you told Alberto. Don''t try to deny it, Grace. You have broken my trust," E said, her voice filled with conviction, as she began to walk away.

    However, Grace grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her in her tracks. "What are you saying?! Exin!"

    Yanking her hand free from Grace''s grip, E turned around and shouted, "You told him about my sister''s situation! You said that if Kai could obtain the Petal of Ambrose Flower, I would definitely join his little group!"

    "What¡ª!" Grace tried to interject, confusion etched on her face, but E cut her off, not giving her a window to speak.

    "You tried to use my sister as a bargaining chip?!" E mmed her hands against Grace''s chest, pushing her backward.

    "E! I don''t understand¨C!"

    Before Grace could continue speaking, E pushed her again. "You betrayed my trust like this?! Well, you should have known that even if Kai were to bring me the Petal, I would never ept it from him!"

    "E, there''s a misunderstanding! I don''t understand what you''re saying!" Grace tried to calm her friend down, but her efforts only further infuriated E.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Lucas overheard your conversation with Alberto! There''s no way he could have known about my sister if someone who knew about her situation hadn''t told him!" E yelled. "And aside from me, you''re the only person who knows about Ava!"

    "L-Lucas?" Grace''s eyes widened.

    E had an elder sister named Ava. She is the heiress of the Bright family and on the path to bing her father''s sessor.

    Or at least she was until a few years ago.

    Afterpleting her military training at the Ethereal Military Academy, Ava was deployed to the northern border.

    Her first mission was meant to be rtively safe, meant for rookie soldiers to handle with ease.

    However, something went terribly wrong.

    Ava and her team of twelve rookies, along with one supervisor, encountered a noble vampire.

    The supervisor sacrificed himself after a brief struggle, giving the rookies a chance to escape from the noble vampire.

    But after killing him, the noble vampire soon caught up to Ava''s group.

    In the face of certain death, Ava made the decision to confront the noble vampire head-on, giving everything she had in the fight.

    During the intense battle, she pushed herself to the limits.

    Fortunately, with some luck and her top-notch skills, she managed to defeat the noble vampire in the end.

    However, the fight took a toll on her to the point where her mana core broke.

    As a result of that, Ava''s body experienced a phenomenon known as Mana Whish, sending her into a deepatose state.

    It had been around three years since that tragic incident, and the Bright family had managed to keep the news hidden from the public eye.

    Only a select few noble families in the Eastern Continent are aware of the truth.

    Although Grace was from a noble family in the Western Continent, she knew about this only because E had told her.

    They had been friends since childhood.

    They first met during one of the social gatherings attended by nobles when they were merely five years old.

    After that day, they continued their friendship online and started meeting in person as they grew older.

    By the time they turned fifteen, Grace would spend weeks at the Bright family''s mansion.

    She forged a close friendship with E and also became intimately acquainted with their family affairs.

    She found the atmosphere at E''s home much more pleasantpared to her own.

    In Grace''s household, conversations between her family members were basically nonexistent.

    However, in E''s home, the atmosphere was light and weing.

    Over time, Grace started to view E''s parents as her own and even began referring to Ava as "big sis."

    So, when E told her about what happened to Ava, Grace was devastated.

    Why would she ever suggest using Ava as a bargaining chip for E? She thought of her as her own big sister!

    She didn''t say anything like that to Alberto or anyone else! She didn''t!

    But then¡­ How did Lucase to know about it?

    Yes, Lucas belonged to a ruling family, but even the Morningstars shouldn''t be aware of this confidential information.

    However, thinking over this situation had to wait. Grace needed to rify this misunderstanding with E.

    "E¡ª!"

    Grace tried to interject, but once again, E forcefully pushed her away, tears started to stream down her face.

    "Don''t ever talk to me!" E screamed, walking away with clenched teeth.

    ¡­No. E was not in a state to listen to reason right now. It was pointless to talk to her any further.

    As E walked away, Grace stood there, her shoulders slumped, her mind racing to explore every possible scenario that could exin how Lucas obtained this information.

    "...Fuck!" Grace muttered under her breath, bringing her hand to her face in frustration.

    ?

    As I returned to my apartment, I couldn''t help but hide the wide grin stered on my face.

    "Just as I thought," I mused out loud. "The n worked."

    On my way back, I overheard some people whispering about a "drama" unfolding between Grace and E.

    I didn''t catch all the details, but it was clear that the two girls were fighting about something.

    This only meant that my n was a sess.

    Now, during the uing King''s Tournament, Grace would be left without a single ally by her side.

    "Haaa~"

    With a tired sigh, I fell onto my bed.

    I couldn''t help but feel a twinge of guilt for causing a rift in their friendship. But as I said before, I had no other choice.

    Besides, if this is all it takes to tear them apart, then perhaps they weren''t that close to begin with.

    "Anyway!" I sighed again, sitting up straight and slipping out of my uniform.

    Putting on cks and an undershirt, I did a little stretching for a few seconds before finally musing out loud.

    "I guess it''s about time I should do something I''ve been putting off," I said, making my way to the cupboard.

    Opening the doors and reaching for the lowest drawer, I retrieved a collection of journal diaries that I had stored away.

    "Let''s start reading them."

 Chapter 187 Journal [2]

    ?

    A few months ago, I came to the realization that the memories I had inherited from Lucas cannot be trusted.

    The memories imnted in my mind are false. They do not align with the events told to me by the people around me.

    After this realization, I also began to notice that my memories had gaps and missing fragments, like an iplete puzzle.

    It is as if someone shattered a ss b and tried to tape it back together by adding and removing certain shards.

    Basically, what I''m trying to say is that someone tampered with Lucas'' mind during his childhood.

    However, I don''t know the identity of the person responsible for it. Neither do I know when did it happen.

    The logical course of action for me was to make my way to Wolfshire, the capital city of the Western Continent.

    Wolfshire is the seat of power for one of the four ruling families, the Morningstars, who oversee the Western Continent as its Overlords.

    Once there, my next destination would be the Wolf''s Den¡ª it''s the name of the Morningstar family mansion and Lucas'' former residence.

    However, there was a little problem in my otherwise perfect n. You see, I couldn''t simply say, "Sayonara!" and leave the Global City.

    To exit this ce, I need to have an academy-approved leave pass.

    To obtain a leave pass, I would have to formally request a leave, which, in turn, required me to have a valid reason for my absence.

    And obviously I don''t have any valid reasons now, do I?

    I mean, after all, I couldn''t just approach them and say, "Hey, I have reasons to believe that I have false memories nted in my head. Therefore, I wish to return home and investigate this matter!"

    Rather than granting me permission for absence, they would likely call me insane

    and send me to a mental asylum.

    Moreover, the authority to sanction leave passes lies with the Cadet Council.

    My ''sister,'' the Queen of the Cadet Council, would never grant me a leave.

    While pondering over this problem, a brilliant idea came to my mind around a month and a half ago.

    I thought about reading the journals that Lucas used to write during his childhood.

    For now, my n is to gather as much information as possible from Lucas'' journals.

    Once we have our vacation after our semester exams and King''s Tournament, I will head to Wolfshire to investigate what happened with Lucas.

    However, despite the fact that I came up with this idea quite some time ago, I just couldn''t muster the courage to open those journals.

    For some inexplicable reason, I felt nervous¡ªalmost to the point where one might mistake it for fear.

    But why? Why in the world was I nervous?!

    Honestly, I couldn''t understand it either.

    I just don''t know.

    It was simply an unsettling feeling in my gut, warning me to not open those journals.

    But after thinking about it for a while with a calm mind, I came to understand.

    It was just Lucas'' body that was reacting to the traumatic experiences written in those pages.

    You see, after transmigrating into this world, I not only inherited Lucas'' body but also his memories and muscle memory.

    Inheriting those memories made me feel as though I had personally lived through the events he had experienced.

    At first, I struggled to understand my true identity.

    Was I Lucas whose past life was Noah, or was I Noah inside Lucas'' body?

    Yet, as time passed and I continued to exist in this world, I gradually started bing Lucas Morningstar, and Noah Lambert began to fade away.

    Now, when someone shouts "Lucas," I instinctively turn to face them as if it''s the most natural thing for me to do.

    I started referring to Reynold as ''my'' father and Lucas'' family as ''my'' family.

    Over time, ''I'' became Lucas.

    So it is only natural for me to feel ufortable about opening the journals that have the traumas that Lucas endured as a child trapped within them¡ªtraumas that ''I'' experienced as a child.

    But unfortunately, I have no other option.

    Once our semester exams start, I will be too busy to read them. Now is my chance.

    After mustering my courage for several days, I have finally made the decision to open them today.

    "Fuu~"

    Letting out a deep sigh, I carefully ce the three journals on the table before me.

    Each journal had a red leather cover with a sp and a fingerprint lock embedded within.

    The lock is designed in a manner that if anyone besides myself attempts to open it, the journals will self-destruct, going down in mes reducing to ashes.

    Without hesitation, I ced my thumb on the fingerprint sensor embedded within the leather sp of one of the diaries.

    Ding¡ª!

    With a gentle chime, the sp unlocked, and I quickly opened the journal, turning its pages to read the contents within.

    ?

    `March 23rd, 2712

    9:30 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Today, I met a girl. She was beautiful.

    She came to our mansion with her father, who works for my father.

    She seemed like a high-ssmoner. I want to befriend her. I heard her mother passed away recently, so she doesn''t talk much. I''ll try my best to make herugh.`

    ___

    `November 28th, 2712

    9:30 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Today was my birthday party.

    Actually, ''our'' birthday party since Adel and I share the same birthday. He always pinch my cheeks whenever I call it my birthday alone.

    I invited Amelia, and even though her father didn''t want her toe at first, I convinced him.

    We had a lot of fun. I really like spending time with her. She''s started talking morepared to when we first met. Now she evenughs sometimes.

    Anyway, my sister and mother gave me some nice presents, but my favorite was the watch my father gave me.

    Yes, another is going to be added in my collection hehe~`

    ___

    `February 13th, 2713

    9:30 PM

    Dear Diary,

    I heard some ssmates were bullying her, so I talked to my father and managed to have them all expelled.

    I also requested that they never gain admission into any reputable academy ever again.

    I hate people like them... I simply can''t hate anyone who bothers her!`

    ___

    `October 17th, 2715

    9:30 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Adel has been growing distant from me since yesterday.

    I don''t know what happened, but I don''t like this feeling.

    I asked my sister about it, but she merely advised me to give him some time.

    On apletely unrted note, I ranked first in my ss yesterday.

    Also, I''ve been sneaking away to watch father''s training sessions for the past few days. But he told me not to tell anyone... so let''s keep it a secret! Hehe.`

    ___<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    `November 29th, 2717

    12:01 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Today was my birthday¡­ or technically yesterday.

    I awakened my mana core today, and I was revealed to have the ?Gold? rank.

    Father didn''t say anything, but I could sense the disappointment in his eyes.

    Adel awakened the ?Immortal? rank, and he''s filled with joy. I¡­ am happy for him but he didn''t even talk to me the whole day today.

    ¡­I thought I would be the happiest person under the sun today... and yet, I wasn''t...`

    ___

    `November 12th, 2718

    6:78 PM

    Dear Diary,

    Today was just like any other day.

    My parents have been distant towards me, and it''s been nearly a year since I awakened my mana core.

    Father has begun training Adel. There are rumors that he will rece me as father''s sessor...

    I... I don''t want that...

    Bing father''s heir and making him proud was the sole purpose of my existence!

    What am I supposed to do now?!

    ¡­Just what the hell am I supposed to do now?`

    ___

    `March 31st, 2719

    4:32 PM

    I''m sick of it. Absolutely sick of it.

    Amelia tried to talk to me again today. She''s as persistent as ever...

    But she won''t understand.

    No one will!

    And those bastards, Adel and his gang, they''ve been bullying me for quite some time now.

    Father turns a blind eye, even though I''veined about it countless times.

    Sister and mother, as usual, won''t listen to me either. For them I don''t even exist anymore.

    So it''s best if I just keep to myself, or else they''ll be targets too.`

    ___

    `April 15th, 2719

    9:44 PM

    My heart is fucking hurting, and it won''t stop! I''ve seen doctors and heart surgeons, but they just spout bullshit!

    I don''t give a damn if no one in my family doesn''t talk to me anymore.

    They threw a damn banquet in Adel''s honor because he aced his practical exams or some shit.

    That stupid prick!

    ...By the way, I tried alcohol for the first time. Yeah, I know I''m only 14, but other noble kids do it too.

    At first I only did it because I thought doing that would stop them from ignoring me, but I genuinely don''t care anymore.

    Oh, and guess what?

    I''ve decided to stop training. Why the hell should I give a shit about it when I''m not gonna seed my father anyway?!`

    ___

    `May 21st, 2719

    7:57 PM

    Fuck off, diary. Fuck off, world.`

    ___

    `June 12th, 2719

    6:43 PM

    Seems like getting high is way more fun than I thought. I don''t get why people have such a problem with drug users.

    Because honestly, in my opinion, they''re the ones living life on easy mode! Hahaha!

    Oh, and today I bashed a ss bottle into the head of one of Adel''sckeys. Split it open like a damn watermelon!

    And you know what they did? They suspended me for it.

    Fucking bastards.

    They did jack shit when I was being bullied, but the moment I fought back, they suspended me? Huh!`

    ___

    ?

    Those were the first two journals, covering the initial 14 and a half years of Lucas'' life.

    Rubbing my forehead as I read through their contents, a deep sigh escaped my lips.

    "Haaa!"

    Some pages had tear stains on them, while others were torn from the forceful use of a pen.

    I remember most of what''s written here since I have memories of writing them, but there are some clear variations.

    For example, as Amelia mentioned, it seems like we were indeed childhood friends.

    But I have no recollection of that or writing about her in these journals.

    This confirms it. Someone truly manipted Lucas'' memories. Amelia was telling the truth, not that I ever doubted her.

    Anyway, the story is unfolding more or less as I remembered.

    Lucas was happy. Then his mana core awakened. People started bullying and avoiding him. He spiraled out of control.

    So most likely, the next entries in the journals will detail how Lucas became the scum he was known to be in the novel.

    With that in mind, I nodded and opened the next andst journals on the table.

    "...Huh?!"

    However, the moment I turned the very first page, my breathing fastened, and my eyes widened in surprise.

    My heart mmed violently against my chest as I read the words written in the diary before me.

    ___

    `Noah Lambert, I am well aware of your intentions.

    Don''t you dare investigate my past just yet!

    You''re not ready for it. You are not ready to understand anything yet!

    So close this journal, set it on fire, and refrain from prying into my life for now. Your focus should be solely on getting stronger and nothing else!

    Your time wille. I will grant you the answers you seek, but only when the time is right.

    And right now, it''s not the time.

    Consider this your first and final warning.

    ~Lucas Morningstar.`

    ___

 Chapter 188 He Was Like A Brother To Me [1]

    ?

    I couldn''t sleepst night¡­ or the four nights before that, for that matter.

    It''s been five days since I read those journals and discovered what was written in thest diary.

    To say the least, it was a horrifying experience.

    Look, it''s not every day that you find yourself transmigrated to a fantasy world.

    There are no instruction manuals for these types of things.

    It''s my first time in a situation like this and I don''t even know what to think now.

    That entry was definitely written by Lucas¡ªthe original Lucas. However, it was intended for me¡ª Noah¡ª to read.

    But what does that imply?

    Did Lucas know about everything that is happening? Did he know that I would be transmigrated into his body?

    But how could he have known? He was just a side viin in the novel.

    But then again, I can''t even fully trust the novel. I also can''t trust the memories I acquired from him.

    So, what can I trust?

    How can I solve this mystery?

    ording to the entry, Lucas will answer all my questions when the timees.

    Should I wait for that to happen?

    Nonsense. I can''t wait after learning something like that. Besides, I don''t even know if that entry was truly written by Lucas.

    I mean, if I really can''t trust anything, how am I supposed to trust those journals?

    Fuck! One mystery after another!

    Ugh, I hate this. I hate problem-solving and uncovering mysteries. It was never my preferred genre.

    Haa!

    Okay, me, calm down. Every problem I have is rted to uncovering Lucas'' true identity.

    It''s safe to say that much like Kai, Lucas was a character who wasn''t fully portrayed in the novel.

    He had a deeper, hidden side to him that was never brought to light in the story because he managed to hide it somehow.

    Learning about Kai''s origin and discovering how he managed to keep his real self hidden in the novel is easy.

    All I have to do is give him a good beating until he tells me everything.

    But unlike Kai, I can''t beat Lucas to get my answers.

    Why? Because I am Lucas! Beating myself won''t solve a damn thing!

    That leaves me with only one option. I must go to Wolfshire and personally investigate this matter there.

    Simr to the intuition I had about not opening those journals, I have a strong gut feeling that I''ll find something significant if I go to Wolfshire.

    Call it this body''s instincts or whatever.

    That''s it then. I had already nned to go there, but after the King''s Tournament, I''m heading straight to Lucas'' home.

    Once there, I''ll closely investigate what led him to such a drastic change. I''ll solve all the mysteries that have been pestering me since I arrived in this world, all at once.

    THWACK¡ª!!

    Just as my mind was engulfed in such thoughts, a forceful kick mmed into my chest,unching me through the air.

    Thud¡ª!!

    "Khuk!"

    A pained groan escaped my lips as my body struck the matted floor,ing to a halt with a crashnding.

    "Master!" I grimaced, clutching my chest as I struggled to rise to my feet. "I asked you to take it easy. My semester exams are starting today. What if I end up breaking my hand or something?"

    "I''ll give you a healing potion," Leo retorted in an ''isn''t that obvious'' tone.

    "....."

    Once again, I was left utterly speechless by the sheer cruelty of his mindset.

    Just because he can fix me, he deems it eptable to break my limbs!

    I''m not an expert on the subject of the master and disciple rtionship, but isn''t a master supposed to be gentle and nurturing toward their disciple?!

    "And besides, I was going easy on you," Leo stated matter-of-factly. "It''s your mind that''s clouded with uneasy thoughts. Is something bothering you?"

    "...I guess," I muttered, looking down at my feet.

    Right now, it was around 5:46 AM, and I found myself in the Training Hall with Leo.

    We were engaged in unarmedbat, going through our routine training.

    These days, I''ve been with Leo on a daily basis. In fact, I sometimes train even when I''m not with him.

    It''s strange, really.

    I''m starting to like training, which is rather concerning since my defining characteristic isziness.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    If I''m notzy anymore, then what am I? Aside from genius, rich, and handsome that is.

    Anyway, most of my time is now spent with Leo. He has been teaching me various things since we returned from our isted mountain training.

    My understanding of him has also grown significantly.

    Apparently, he''s not as indifferent and callous as he was depicted in the novel.

    I mean, he still is, but he doesn''t treat me that way for whatever reason.

    He has a dry sense of humor, the kind that often leaves you questioning whether he''s joking or being serious.

    He''s also incredibly wise, intelligent, and sharp. He''s obsessed with looking cool, and that vibe has started rubbing off on me. Plus, he absolutely despises early mornings.

    Sometimes, during our morning training sessions, he just falls asleep right in the middle of our training.

    It''s pretty pathetic to admit but even when he''s sleeping right in front of me, I can''t manage tond a hit on him.

    "Tell me about it," Leo said, offering his assistance. "Maybe I can help you out."

    "I doubt it, Master," I replied, shaking my head. "I don''t think anyone can help me out of the predicament I currently find myself in."

    Leo stared at me with an incredulous expression. "Yeah, okay, listen, my dear disciple," he said.

    "I have in a dragon, defeated armies single-handedly, split oceans, and torn apart mountains. They call me a God! Do you really think I can''t help with whatever teenage problem you''re having?"

    "...Master, are you seriously bragging right now?" I asked, with a look of disbelief on my face.

    "N-No?" he stammered, averting his gaze.

    He definitely was! He definitely was bragging! This bastard!

    "But seriously, tell me about it," Leo pressed.

    I let out a sigh, contemting whether or not to tell him about everything.

    After pondering about it for a moment, a thought crossed my mind.

    "Alright, I''ll tell you," I agreed. "But first, can you answer one question for me?"

    Leo wiped his face with a towel and tossed one to me. "Sure, go ahead," he said. "Ask whatever you want."

    I hesitated before continuing, "I overheard some people saying that you were once an ally of the Morningstar family. Is it true?"

    A faint frown appeared on Leo''s face as he looked at me.

    "Yeah, it''s true," he confirmed. "But it''s not some big secret or anything. I was your father''srade. You should have known about it."

    "No, I didn''t," I shook my head.

    The frown deepened on Leo''s face. "Wait, don''t tell me... your father never talks about me?"

    "He doesn''t," I replied sincerely.

    "...Ha! Haha¡­ Ahahaha!" Leo''s expression suddenly shifted and he burst into a fit of erraticughter like a lunatic.

    "Um, master... are you alright?" I inquired, concerned.

    "That bastard," Leo said, hisughter subsiding. "I''ll kill him. I''ll definitely kill him when I see him again."

    "Master, calm down a little, will you? If it helps, my father never really talked to me much anyway!" I approached Leo, beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

    Leo let out a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I see. It''s alright. But when I meet that bastard again, you might lose a father."

    "Sure," I shrugged. "So, what''s the story here?"

    Leo hesitated for a moment after hearing my question before letting out another sigh.

    "Alright," he said. "But let''s go somewhere else first."

    "Now?" I frowned. "It''s almost 6:00 AM, Master. I have my first-semester exam in six hours."

    "Perfect," Leo shrugged, making his way towards the exit of the training hall. "That gives us six more hours to train."

    "Huh?!" I eximed, following behind him. "Master, I''ve barely had any time to study because of our trip. Are you trying to make me fail the written exams?"

    "It''s fine, it''s fine," he waved his hand dismissively. "Written exams don''t mean a damn thing in the real world."

    "But they do in this academy! I want to improve my rank!"

    ?

    Harsh gusts of wind whipped across my face, carrying with it a scorching heat that intensified under the zing sun.

    The air itself seemed to waver and distort due to heat. As I scanned the horizon, my vision was met only with vast stretches of sand dunes.

    Not a single soul was in sight.

    "Master, are we in the Great Deserts of the Eastern Continent?" I inquired, seeking confirmation from the tall figure standing beside me.

    "Yes, indeed we are," Leo responded, his voice carrying a tinge of excitement.

    "...Why?" I couldn''t help but ask.

    Leo, with his fiery red hair tied into a bun and contrasting against the desert backdrop, let out a snigger, as if finding amusement in what was about toe my way.

    "Why else?" he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he removed his Dougi. "Let''s train."

 Chapter 189 He Was Like A Brother To Me [2]

    ?

    "Master," I called him. "What exactly am I doing?"

    Leo replied through his usual amused grin, "You mentioned your desire to learn the Mirage Walk, right? Well, that''s what I''m teaching you. I''m showing you how to do it."

    "Ah, I see," I nodded,prehending his words. "So, I can learn it just by walking?"

    There I was, merely walking in circles around him on the sandy ground, under the scorching sun in this hot desert.

    "No, no, there''s more to it than that," Leo said, shaking his index finger. "First, you need to exude Mana into the atmosphere around you.

    "Then, slowly use that discharged Mana to distort the air around you, creating a mirage-like effect, much like the wavering air in the heat of this desert.

    "That will make it appear as though there are multiple versions of you. With a little practice, you''ll be able to conjure even more illusions. The best part is, it doesn''t take much mana."

    "Hmm," I hummed, my fingers gently pressed against my chin. "So, the first step is to release Mana into the atmosphere and then manipte it to distort the air. Okay, got it!"

    "Indeed," Leo remarked with a smile. "Unfortunately, there isn''t a manual for this technique, as it is one of my original creations."

    I knew that already.

    Leo used the Mirage Walk when he fought against Nero in the War Of Union, and the protagonist did mention that it was an original move of the God of War.

    "This is also one of my signature moves that I used to spam when I was your age, so don''t go teaching it to someone else," Leo said.

    "I promise I won''t," I replied earnestly. "Now, tell me the story."

    "...Haaa~"

    Leo, who thought that I would forget about it, let out a defeated and bitter sigh when I asked him once again about his connection to the Morningstar family.

    Observing his reaction, I spoke, "Master, if you don''t want to share, then it''s fine."

    Since I can always find some other way to know about it.

    "No, it''s not like that. I just don''t like remembering those times," Leo shook his head. "However, since you are so curious, I will tell you."

    "Alright," I said, as I gradually began to exude Mana into my surroundings.

    As the Mana left my body and merged with the atmosphere, I found it hard to control it effectively.

    However, considering the time I spent pouring my Mana into the Beast Egg, my ability to manipte it had strengthened.

    So as I tried to use the discharged Mana to distort the air around me, and failed every time, Leo began.

    "First, let me tell who I am, or rather, who I was before I became what I am now," Leo expressed. "You may not be aware, but in the Old World, prior to the influx of Mana on Earth, there were many countries and continents."

    Yeah, it might be hard to believe for someone of this generation, but Ie FROM that world.

    "One of those nations was called Japan. My ancestors, going back generations, hailed from thatnd. When the Rifts appeared and the aliens invaded, and when thendmasses converged into one big supercontinent, the Asian continent, including Japan, suffered the most."

    Yeah, that''s also something I know.

    In the novel, it was mentioned how the initial onught of the Demon race wreaked havoc primarily in Central and East Asia, inflicting immense damage.

    And after that, as thendmasses of the world collided, merging all the continents around the Asian continent, millions of people lost their lives due to tectonic impacts.

    That''s one of the reasons why it''s so rare to see someone of Asian heritage in this world. The majority of them were wiped out during the apocalypse.

    Leo continued, "The Central Government rose to power and implemented aw that required everyone to serve in the United Military for a period of time. The Asians, who had already suffered so many losses, resisted thisw. But their voices were suppressed."

    Yeah, I know this too. The Government enforced their orders, disregarding the already vulnerable Asian race.

    "My father, a renowned warrior in his time, had a dream. He sought to resurrect the nation of Japan. He pleaded with the Central Government, and they granted him permission to take the Western Continent and name it New Japan."

    Upon hearing this, a frown etched itself onto my face.

    "But that is impossible," I interjected. "The West has always been a seat of power for the Morningstar family."

    "Yes," Leo affirmed with a nod. "You see, the Central Government presented a condition. To im the West, my father, Kazuya Kurogami, had to defeat the reigning Overlord of the West at the time, Joseph Morningstar."

    "I see," I responded, guessing what would''ve happened.

    "Needless to say, my father challenged your grandfather and lost," Leo disclosed. "Desperate, my father implored the Central Government for another opportunity, but his plea was denied.

    "However, since he was one of the world''s most formidable fighters, the Central Government did grant him a second chance, of sorts.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "They dered that if, in the future, his heir could defeat the next Overlord of the West, our family would ascend to the position of ruling family, and the West would be renamed New Japan under our reign.

    "However, there was a catch. If his heir were to fail, our family would be prohibited from making such a request again in the future. Basically, we were granted a single chance."

    "Wait," I eximed, realizing where this story was going.

    "That''s when I was born. My father had high expectations for me. They believed I would fulfil his dream. However, much to his disappointment, I did not awaken a high-ranking Mana core like him.

    "Meanwhile, the next heir of the Morningstar lineage was said to have awakened an ?Immortal-3? ranked core," Leo gritted his teeth, still affected by his past.

    That can only mean...

    "As you may have guessed, it was your father, Reynold Morningstar," Leo disclosed. "Since I didn''t stand up to my father''s standards, he disowned me as his heir. Instead, he adopted one of my cousins, who possessed an ?Immortal-2? ranked core, and appointed him as his sessor, instead of me, his own son."

    "After experiencing bouts of severe depression at such a tender age, I eventually stopped caring about my father. When the time came for my military education, I stole his money and enrolled here at the Global Academy. It was here that I encountered your father."

    As Leo continued recounting his story, I listened intently. None of this information was ever mentioned in the novel so I didn''t know about any of this.

    "Your father was a few years older than me, and back then he was the King of the academy. I hated him. He was the reason my own father never loved me.

    "After I won the King''s Tournament, I couldn''t bear it any longer. I challenged him to a duel. I wanted to make him suffer." Leo let out a sigh.

    "Did you win?" I asked eagerly.

    Leo''s face twisted with bitterness as he shook his head. "No, I lost. I was heartbroken.

    "Since the day it was revealed that I possessed an average rank potential, I poured everything into my training to bridge the gap between myself and those fortunate enough to be gifted with high-ranked Mana cores by the heavens.

    "But hard work doesn''t always pay off. Sometimes... No, most of the time, you give your all and still end up on the losing side."

    "Did you give up then?" I inquired further, my curiosity growing.

    "I would have if it weren''t for your father. Reynold came to me and told me not to quit. He was like those heroes you read about in stories and fairy tales, radiating with such brilliance that it blinds you. But my hatred for him only grew. I thought he pitied me.

    "I pushed myself even harder, challenging the strongest opponents I could find, day in and day out. Sometimes I won and other times I lost. But my stubbornness to never stay down caught the attention of a certain man. He approached me and offered to be my master.

    "He told me that if I trained under him, I might never reach the heights that Reynold would achieve, but I could still be stronger than most. It wasn''t exactly what I had hoped for, but I epted his offer. I wanted to grow stronger, after all. As for surpassing Reynold, I decided to figure that outter.

    "So this man, my master, took me to his dojo, where there were other disciples. And among them, the most powerful individual I had ever encountered, second only to Reynold himself, was a girl named Yennefer. She was a master of spellcasting but also had impressive sword skills."

    "Wait," I interjected, interrupting Leo''s narrative. "Did you just say Yennefer? But that''s..."

    "Your mother, yes," Leo nodded. "Naturally, like everyone else in the dojo, she became my primary target. I had to defeat her before I could even think about challenging Reynold.

    "I faced her in numerous duels, and I was defeated each time. However, as we continued to train together we gradually became friends.

    "We spent countless days together, training in the morning, stealing moments during sses, and sometimes gazing at the beauty of the night sky whileying on the grass field.

    "She was the most remarkable person I knew. She also shined so brightly, yet it never blinded me. Instead, it inspired me to work harder.

    "She taught me so many things, and my master also helped me a lot to grow. But I eventually reached my potential wall. I couldn''t grow stronger. Everyone said that it was only natural and that I had known a day like this woulde, but I wasn''t satisfied. I still hadn''t defeated Reynold.

    "One day, frustrated, I challenged Reynold once again. I lost, obviously. The next day, I challenged him again, and the day after that. Slowly, it became a daily routine for me to challenge him.

    "Surprisingly, I started enjoying those battles. And Reynold, in his own way, helped me greatly.

    "Although I couldn''t grow my mana core any further, he helped me refine my martial arts to an unbelievable degree. As we fought daily, we grew closer and our interactions extended beyond training sessions. I stopped trying to kill him eventually.

    "I even brought him to our dojo, where we trained together. Yennefer would asionally join us, and the three of us formed a tight-knit bond. Those years were the most cherished and fulfilling of my life. I loved that time.

    "But s, all things muste to an end. Both Yennefer and Reynold happened to be of the same age, older than me, and because of that, they were drafted into the military before I was.

    "I was sad but I didn''t show it. I asked them to wait for me. My academic years flew by in the blink of an eye, and upon graduating, I was eager to reunite with my dear friends. However, upon meeting them, I discovered that Reynold had proposed to Yennefer."

    A heavy silence enveloped us as I instantly understood where this story was headed.

    After a brief pause, Leo finally spoke up. "I never realized the depth of my love for that girl until that moment. And now, she was with my best friend... It was a realization that came toote, trivial as it may seem. All I could do was genuinely be happy for them.

    "I buried my own feelings deep within my heart and served alongside them in the United Military. After our frontline duty, Reynold and Yennefer exchanged vows and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They honored me by appointing me as her and all their future children''s godfather.

    "For several years, I dedicated myself to overseeing the Morningstar personal military unit¡­ But being so close to them was agonizing. The way they shined together¡­ burned me."

 Chapter 190 He Was Like A Brother To Me [3]

    ?

    As silence enveloped us, I gazed at Leo, my lips sealed shut. I found myself at a loss for words.

    I wasn''t good at these kinds of situations since I never knew what to say!

    Amidst that fleeting silence, a single question escaped my lips, "So, what happened? What did you do?"

    "I made the decision to leave," Leo responded. "I handed my resignation letter to Reynold. At first, he rejected it and tore it apart. He inquired about the reason behind my sudden interest to leave, but I couldn''t have just told him.

    "Besides, there was no need to say anything. He was like a brother to me. He knew me inside out. It didn''t take him long to realize my affection for Yennefer.

    "He said that I should''ve told him. He imed that he would have never pursued her had he known about my feelings. But those words angered me.

    "So, you would have pitied me and forsaken your own love for my sake? ¡ª I asked him. And like that, our conversation slowly escted into a violent fight. We nearly destroyed the Morningstar mansion.

    "But in the end, I lost to him once again. Reynold apologized for taking things too far, and I did the same. Yennefer scolded us for almost demolishing the mansion, and we both chuckled, just like the good old days."

    "So, you two made up in the end?" I inquired, though deep down I knew that was unlikely.

    "In the end?" Leo scoffed. "That wasn''t the end by any means. The day after our fight, I departed. Even though I didn''t show it then, I was infatuated with myself for losing against Reynold even after all my hard work. He effortlessly overpowered me, yet I couldn''t even draw a drop of his blood.

    "I went on a journey across the world. I enrolled in numerous martial sects and schools. I honed my skills with countless weapons and learned thousands of weapon arts, even creating a few of my own.

    "I faced off against some of the mightiest and toughest fighters the world had to offer. The dojos where I had trained were no exception¡ªI challenged them and emerged victorious. I went to the United Military and fought on the front lines again. Soon, my name became known far and wide.

    "But that wasn''t enough for me. I wanted more! My hunger for strength didn''t stop. That''s when I started learning some of the forbidden weapon arts¡ªthe kind which was banned by the Central Government.

    "Still, even with all my aplishments, I knew it wasn''t enough to defeat Reynold. I was still weak. No matter how many powerful weapon arts I learned, I struggled to use them consistently because of my small mana pool.

    "I wasn''t born with a naturally high-ranking mana core potential. So, after years of searching, trial, and error, I created a technique to surpass my limitations.

    "If the world wasn''t fair, then I would make it. If the heavens didn''t bless me, then I would shatter them. Using that technique, I found a way to break my potential wall.

    "It didn''t take long before Reynold and Yennefer tracked me down. They pleaded for me to return home with them, but all I desired was to defeat Reynold.

    "It had be an obsession at that point. My insatiable thirst for strength had driven me too far. I challenged him to a duel, but he refused to fight me.

    "I asked him again and again, relentlessly provoking him, but he didn''t ept my challenge. He said that he could feel if we fought again, it would be ourst duel.

    "But I was beyond any reason at that point. Defeating Reynold was my only goal. So, I forced him to fight me. I went back to my father and requested him to make me his heir again. Given my reputation, he readily agreed.

    "In ordance with the rights bestowed upon us by the Central Government, I challenged Reynold for control of the Western Continent. I knew that if I were to challenge him for his seat, he would have no choice but to fight me.

    "Naturally, my actions left him feeling betrayed. I can''t me him¡ªI would have felt the same in his position. But at that moment, such thoughts didn''te to my mind.

    "Yennefer was in the midst ofbor with twins that day, and Reynold asked for some time. But he didn''t disclose the full reason, so I assumed he was trying to avoid the duel.

    "I exercised my right to challenge the Overlord of the West and called a member of the Central Government to enforce it. Naturally, Reynold had no choice but toply.

    "On that day, unexpectedplications arose, and Yennefer''s life was on the line while giving birth to you and your brother.

    "When Reynold heard the news, he was furious. He med me for not being there for his wife when she was fighting between life and death.

    "That''s when he finally told me about it. I was taken aback. I tried to apologize and urged him to leave and be with Yennefer. I realized that I had made a mistake and decided to step back from the duel myself.

    "I couldn''t bear the thought of what might have happened to Yennefer if she had died alone that day, with Reynold not by her side because of me. I don''t know how I would have lived with myself.

    "But Reynold merely shook his head. He dered that it was time to end it all. He said that it was a mistake to befriend me. He said that I was jealous of him and I couldn''t ept the fact that Yennefer chose him over me.

    "His words pierced my heart like a dagger. Perhaps all he said was true, and that''s what hurt the most¡­ He was right.

    "It was indeed time to bring an end to this. Yes, bing friends with him had been a mistake from the beginning.

    "Yes, I was always jealous of him and the way he shined so bright¡­ like a star.

    "Yes, I couldn''t let go of the fact that Yennefer chose him instead of me. I was the one who introduced them! I was the reason they were together so why couldn''t she have been with me?!

    "Why did he have everything I wanted in life?! He had loving parents, innate talent that was blessed by the heavens, and he even took the first girl I loved!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Yes, how could I not be jealous of him?! He was the protagonist of the story, while I remained a mere side character... destined to be the hero''s faithful friend and nothing more. He was like a brother to me, and she was the girl I loved... while I slowly faded into the background¡­ blinded by their light.

    "We fought with no hold bars this time and with clear intentions to kill one another. With my strength, there was no way he could have defeated me. I was pushing him back this time. I was winning!

    "So did you win?" I asked, knowing full well that he wouldn''t be sharing this story if he had emerged victorious.

    If Leo had won, he would be the one ruling over the Western Continent. But since my father held that position, it was clear who had prevailed.

    A bitter smile formed on Leo''s face as he shook his head. "We shed on a chain of inds in the Southern Ocean. After demolishing those inds, we knew that this fight could only be settled by going all out.

    "I unleashed my most powerful weapon art, my Heaven Splitting Sword, while he wielded his Dawnbreaker.

    "We poured every ounce of our strength into those strikes. And in the end, I lost again. I was just a split second too slow."

    Leo brushed his hand against the scar on the side of his face and spoke, "He spared my life but banished me from ever setting foot in the West. He said that if I wanted his seat, I should have just asked for it.

    "But before I could exin that I had no interest in his seat whatsoever¡ªtruth be told, I wouldn''t have taken it even if I had won¡ªhe simply walked away," Leo chuckled. "And just like that, my father disowned me once again. Since then, I haven''t had any contact with Reynold or Yennefer. It seems Reynold was right. That was indeed thest time we fought."

    ...Wow, that was tough.

    What a twisted origin.

    I don''t understand why it wasn''t mentioned in the novel. It would''ve given Leo''s character so much depth.

    He was just a child when his father abandoned him because he couldn''t live up to his expectations.

    That must have traumatized him, driving his obsession to be stronger. But the person he aimed to surpass was far beyond his reach.

    Eventually, he became friends with his rival.

    However, the girl he liked chose his rival over him, reigniting his determination to grow stronger and ovee his rival.

    That led him to make a foolish decision, causing a misunderstanding that jeopardized their friendship.

    It was all because of his obsession.

    But in the end, even after all his struggles, he suffered defeat.

    A fate of a side character indeed.

    But now I understand why he took me as his disciple.

    Lucas and Leo share striking simrities in their origins. He must have felt a sense of empathy towards me.

    "But it''s hard to fathom, Leo Kurogami, one of the most renowned names in the world, fought numerous battles against Reynold Morningstar and never won once," I uttered, gently stroking my chin while deep in thought.

    If Leo''s story is on point, then he must have been at the peak of his prime when he faced off against my father for thest time.

    And no one in this world, I repeat, no one in this world is capable of defeating Leo Kurogami in a one-on-one battle, apart from Nero in a few years'' time.

    In fact, even if the world''s top fighters were to band together against him, Leo would give them a run for their money, maybe even killing a few of them.

    So how exactly did Reynold manage to defeat him at the peak of his prime?

    "Hey," Leo said, rising with a frown. "Are you mocking your master? Let me tell you, it was a close battle. Your father had to use the Dawnbreaker. I''m the only person in history who survived after facing the might of that weapon art, you know?"

    I nodded, knowing his feat was nothing to scoff at. "So, if you were to fight each other again, who do you think would win?"

    Leo furrowed his brows, contemting for a few seconds before shrugging. "Even though I''m not currently at the peak of my prime, if we were to fight again, my de would be at his throat before he could even react."

    Of course. After all, in the novel, Nero had to utilize all seven of his Heavenly Swords to defeat Leo.

    I know just how much of a monster he is.

    "Well, enough reminiscing about my foolish youth," Leo patted my back and nudged me forward, urging me to continue practicing distorting the air with mana. "Now, tell me what''s bothering you."

 Chapter 191 Mana Beast Egg [1]

    ?

    After listening to Leo''s story, which answered at least some of my questions, I decided to tell him what was troubling me.

    "So you''re saying you lost some of your memories?" He asked.

    "Yeah," I confirmed.

    ¡­Okay, I didn''tpletely tell him the truth, but I couldn''t be med for not being entirely honest.

    As I mentioned earlier, I can''t just tell him that I''vee from another reality, where this world existed merely as a novel I had read in my past life! Right?!

    "Because you fell down a flight of stairs?" Leo inquired.

    "...Yes," I replied, mixing a few lies with the truth.

    ¡­So what if I lied? At least I was being partially honest.

    "But I have reasons to suspect that someone imnted false memories in my mind before I arrived in this city," I confessed.

    Leo let out a deep breath as he processed the information I gave him.

    "I see," he finally responded. "If you''re right, then the most usible course of action for you is to return home and investigate what happened there."

    "Exactly," I nodded. "That''s my n for the vacation. It feels unsettling to be unable to rely on my own memories. I need to get to the bottom of this."

    "Indeed," Leo said, patting my back. "But at least it exins everything."

    "Hmm? What do you mean?" I frowned, seeking rification.

    "It rifies why you underwent such a sudden change in behavior aftering here," Leo exined. "It''s not umon for people''s personalities to undergo aplete transformation after losing their memories. Not to mention, if your suspicions are correct and someone did manipte your memories, it''s possible they also controlled your mind to make you behave... well, like..."

    "Like a scum?" I chimed in toplete his sentence with a nk face.

    I know that they called Lucas. There is no need to pull back.

    Leo let out a dry cough and nodded in affirmation.

    "Whatever it is, I can confidently say this: something is amiss with the Morningstar family. I can''t put my finger on it, but there''s definitely something going on," he continued. "I had known your parents for years. They won''t just abandon their kid because he couldn''t stand up to their expectations like my own father."

    I stroked my chin,prehending his words. I couldn''t help but think he was right.

    The fact that Reynold would shun Lucas like that, and Lucas turning against her own friend and attempting to assault her...

    All those incidents don''t flow. It breaks their character.

    Something must have happened¡­ and I will find what it was.

    As I made my decision with a firm nod, Leo pushed me once more, urging me to continue my training.

    "Come on," he said. "Don''t stop. Like I told you, keep trying to distort the air with mana."

    "Huh?!" I eximed, ncing at my watch and then showing it to him. "Master, it''s 11:32 AM. If we don''t leave immediately for the Teleportation Gate now, I''ll bete for my first exam!"

    "I''m not letting you go until you at least create one illusion of yourself," Leo shrugged.

    "HUHHHH?!"

    ?

    "Can Ie in?"I asked.

    She gave me a cold re, "It''s may."

    "Is it?" I frowned. "I''m not good at remembering months."

    "....." She facepalmed at my dumbness. "It''s `May Ie in?`"

    "..." My eyebrows twitched in frustration as I corrected my question. "May Ie in?"

    "No," came the stern reply.

    "...But I have an exam in this ss, ma''am," I pleaded.

    "You had an exam. It started one hour ago. You arete, Mr Morningstar," she stated matter-of-factly.

    You see, my struggle to manipte the air around me with mana took me far too long.

    True to Leo''s words, he only released me once I aplished what he told me.

    And now, because of the dy, I found myselfte for my first-semester exam.

    I stood at the doorway of the ssroom, facing Liz, who was our invigtor for the day.

    And she tly refused to grant me permission to enter.

    "I have a valid reason for beingte," I insisted.

    "I don''t want to hear it," Liz responded, nonchntly perched on a desk, flipping through a book in her hands without even sparing me a nce.

    Despite my growing frustration, I managed to conceal my emotions, forcing a smile that tugged at my lips.

    "Ma''am, if my tardiness is an issue, I suggest taking it up with Leo-sensei," I suggested. "I''mte because of him."

    "...?"

    Silence filled the room as Liz and everyone present in the ss turned their attention towards me, momentarily diverting their focus from their answer sheets.

    "Why are youte?" she inquired.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ...I thought you didn''t want to hear my reason!¡ªis what I wanted to say, but I held back. After all, I love my life.

    "Sensei kidnapped me and took me to the Great Desert in the Eastern Continent," I replied with a straight face. "He refused to release me until I managed to learn what he was teaching me."

    "Teaching you?" Liz muttered, her voice barely above a whisper as a frown creased her forehead.

    At the same time, I heard gasps of shock and surprise from some of the cadets, their whispers filling the air.

    ¨C"What?! So the rumors were true!"

    ¨C"...Why? Why him? I''m far more talented than him... Why did Leo-sensei take someone like him under his wing?"

    ¨C"Damn it! It''s just nepotism!"

    Wait... What?! No one seemed to care that I had mentioned being kidnapped!

    I mean, he practically forced me into following him without giving me a choice, and he didn''t release me until I fulfilled his demands ¨C that''s definitely kidnapping, right?!

    "Silence!"

    With a single word from Liz, a crushing pressure enveloped the ssroom, and everyone fell silent.

    Some wore bitter or jealous expressions, while others still appeared bewildered by what I had just revealed before reluctantly returning their focus to their answer sheets.

    Liz nced at me and let out a sigh. "I will allow you to take the exam today. However, if you arete again for any of your remaining semester exams, regardless of the reason, not even Mr Kurogami will be able to persuade me to grant you permission."

    "Understood," I acknowledged, my left hand resting behind my back as I pressed my right fist against my chest, doing a salute before entering the ssroom.

    Shaking her head, Liz handed me my answer sheet. I quickly took it and rushed to my seat, immediately scanning the question paper already ced on my desk.

    I had to hurry.

    I had already lost an entire hour due to my Master''s actions. I couldn''t afford to fail this test. Improving my academic rank was crucial.

    Well, technically speaking, I was partly to me for half of that lost hour since Leo had managed to bring me back to the Global City half an hour ago.

    I used the remaining time to hurry back to my apartment and change into a fresh uniform.

    Why did I bother?

    Well, after training in the desert, my previous uniform was soaked in sweat, leaving me in a disheveled state.

    Certainly, a gentleman like myself couldn''t present himself to the exam hall in such a condition, could he?

    ?

    It has been three and a half weeks since our first-semester exam started.

    Despite being one hourte to the exam that day, I think I managed to pass it somehow.

    As for the rest of my written exams, I think I performed well enough to avoid failing.

    While I won''t top the scoreboards, I''m certain that I will achieve a decent Academic Rank based on my written exam scores alone.

    We had only four written exams, but they were spread out over the course of three and a half weeks due to several gaps between each one of them.

    Now, all that remains are the physical exams. If I can sessfully pass them all, I should be able to secure a ce within the top 50-80 Academic Rankings.

    Before we can proceed to the physical exams, we have one more test to take today¡ªan additional ss exam.

    Essentially, it''s a test of the additional course each student chose at the beginning of the semester.

    Fortunately, I opted for cooking, so I have nothing to worry about.

    I didn''t need to study anything for today, and with my cooking skills on par with top chefs in the world, I am confident I will breeze through this exam effortlessly and with outstanding results.

    Hehe.

    Of course, it would be a help if I pair up with a good partner.

    "Cadet rank 116969, Lucas Morningstar."

    Lost in my thoughts, I snapped back to reality upon hearing the instructor''s voice.

    She was a beautiful ebony woman in her mid-thirties, with luscious curly ck hair tied up in a bun and wearing an apron over her dress. She called out my name and rank.

    "Yes," I raised my hand in reply.

    "You''ll be partnering with Cadet Rank 009468, Amelia ck."

    ...Ha!

    I knew this would happen! I just knew it!

    While most people would be taken aback or disappointed in this situation, I had foreseen such an oue right from the beginning!

    If there is such a thing as fate, it certainly has a wicked sense of humor! But I already saw thising! Hahahaha!

    ¡­But even still, although I already anticipated a situation like this happening, there is nothing I can do to change it.

    Haaa~

    It is what it is, I guess.

 Chapter 192 Mana Beast Egg [2]

    ?

    I resigned myself to my fate with a shrug before walking up to an empty cooking station and standing there.

    Before long, a teenage beauty with her raven ck hair tied back into a ponytail and bright green eyes reminiscent of a calm forest on a sunny day walked up to me and stood right beside me.

    She spoke with a frown on her face, "How are we paired together? Your name starts with L and mine does with A. Even our roll numbers are far apart."

    "Beats me," I shrugged. "But do not fret mdy. We shall vanquish all our enemies and win this thing."

    Amelia looked at me nkly for a moment before saying, "Did you hit your head any time recently?"

    "No, why?"

    "Just because."

    "...."

    While setting up utensils, she spoke again, "It''s fine, though. Just follow my lead, and as you said, we will ace this."

    "Wait," I scoffed. "Why would I, the best culinary artist to have walked on this, ever follow you?"

    "...Lucas," Amelia looked at me nkly for a few seconds before finally speaking. "I knew you were narcissistic, but are you delusional too?"

    "How dare thee?!" I squinted my eyes at her. "Do you doubt my skills?!"

    "You have no skill!" Stifling a chuckle, Amelia eximed. "Your cooking is terrible! That''s why I didn''t let you cook during the mock war! Not to mention, your utensil handling skills are terrible too!"

    "sphemy!" I roared. "Anyone who has tasted my cooking has gone silent from the sheer foodgasm they experience!"

    "If by foodgasm you mean retching sensation and food poisoning, then yes," Amelia nodded, still holding back herself fromughing.

    "Y-You!" I gritted my teeth. "Fine, instead of helping each other, let''s do something else. Let''s make a bet!"

    Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I''m listening."

    "We will each prepare one dish and ask the instructor to rate them. Whoever scores the highest wins," I said.

    "What will the winner get?" She asked.

    "Whatever the winner wants," I replied.

    "Interesting," Amelia shed a confident smirk and nodded. "Okay, let''s do it."

    With that, we started our preparation. Our task was to hunt a mana beast from the 5th District Forest, skin it, prepare it, and cook it.

    We were given a total of three hours to aplish everything.

    Sessfully creating a delectable dish within that allotted time would result in a passing grade.

    Naturally, those whose dishes stood out with excellence would be rewarded with higher scores.

    But since the time frame provided to us was too small for both hunting and cooking individually, everyone decided to divide the work among their partners.

    One member of each duo took on the task of going to the 5th District Forest for hunting, while the other person in the pair focused on preparing ingredients until then.

    Once the individual who went hunting returned with the game, the duo would then start cooking together.

    Yes, it was a perfect n. But since Amelia and I decided to have a littlepetition of our own, we couldn''t possibly work like that.

    So we came up with a n of our own.

    We both would venture to the 5th District Forest to hunt there and then we both return back to cook our own dishes individually!

    Yes, we didn''t have much time, but that''s what made it more exciting!

    ¡­I''m starting to believe that we both are idiots.

    Fwoosh, Fwoosh¡ª

    Currently, we were jumping from one tree branch to another while traversing across this dense 5th District Forest.

    From my right, Amelia spoke in a curious voice while hopping from one branch to another.

    "So, what are you nning to cook?" She asked.

    "Uh, I''m thinking about Moonlit Rabbit," I answered, matching her pace.

    Amelia raised her eyebrows. "Can you catch one? You do know that Moonlit Rabbits are fast¡ª!"

    Kwish¡ª!!

    "Bwaaar!"

    Before she could finish her sentence, from the cover of the woods, an ape jumped out on us¨C on me, specifically.

    The ape was red and white in color and fire seemed to being out from the top of its head.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It was a Fire-Head Ape. It looked like a slightlyrger gori from my world if they were red and they had fireing out from their head.

    These Fire-Head Apes can spit fire from their mouth like a methrower and they are physically very strong¡ª to the point where they can crush a boulder with their bare hands.

    Thuk¡ª

    As I was in mid-air, the Fire-Head Ape jumped on the branch in front of me¨C the one I was going tond on.

    It pulled back its hand and balled a fist, aiming to hit me in mid-air.

    "Watch out!" Amelia yelled and summoned her bow from her smart bracelet before quickly knocking an arrow on its taut bowstring.

    But before she could aim and shoot, the Fire-Head Ape threw his fist at me while I was still in mid-air.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    However, his fist met nothing but air as I twisted my body and dodged his attack before skillfullynding on his side.

    "....?!" The ape was confused but it reacted quickly and turned to face me.

    Unfortunately for the mana beast, I had already moved from there. I slipped under its legs and stood up behind it.

    From there, I ced my fingers on its back and channeled mana into every part of my body before directing it all to my hand and closing my fist¡­

    THWACK¡ª!!

    Ultimately dealing the Fire-Head Ape a perfect one-inch punch.

    "Baaawr!!"

    The Fire-Head Ape fell to its knees before losing its bnce and falling down to the ground.

    I hadpletely crushed its spine so it had died long before hitting the ground.

    But still, in itsst moments, the Fire-Head Ape let out a cry for help with itsst breath.

    I fear its tribe would soon be here after hearing its death call so we may want to start moving soon.

    I turned to Amelia and shouted, "Let''s move before more of its tribe shows up here¨C Uh, Amelia¡­ Why are you looking at me like that?"

    The ck-haired girl was staring at me, her eyes widened and her mouth agape to such an extent that it was practically touching the ground.

    "What the fuck was that?!" She eximed.

    "What was what?" I responded hastily, my eyes darting around the woods, on the lookout for any sign of another Fire-Head Ape that might be creeping up on us.

    "That... That... That way you moved!" Amelia stammered in shock. I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling for her to lower her voice, but it seemed to have no effect on her. "How was your reaction speed... How were you so fast! And how did you kill it with one blow of your hand at such a short distance?!"

    "Shh! Can you please speak more quietly?" I urged. "And first, let''s move from this spot before another Fire-Head Ape shows up."

    Finallying back to her senses after hearing those words, Amelia hesitantly nodded her head. "Y-Yeah, let''s go."

    She ced her bow and arrow back into the dimensional storage of her smart bracelet and we both began our advance once again.

    As we moved, I turned my head to look at Amelia and questioned, "Oh, right. What were you saying before?"

    "Ah, never mind that," Amelia looked back at me before averting her gaze.

    But as if she remembered something in the next instant, she cast a nce back at me. "So is it true?"

    "Is what true?" I asked.

    "That sensei Leo Kurogami has taken you as his disciple?" She asked.

    "More like I took him as my master, but yeah, that''s right," I replied with a smug grin.

    Hey, one can hardly me me for feeling a sense of pride after bing the sole disciple of one of the strongest fighters in the world.

    Leo receives hundreds and thousands of emails and physical applications from individuals across the world, all begging for the opportunity to be his disciple.

    In fact, there were numerous individuals who had intended to enroll in the Ethereal Academy this year solely because a captain-ranked soldier from the United Military was ted to be an instructor there.

    However, once they learned that Leo Kurogami himself was also taking a break from military service and would be joining the Global Academy as an instructor, many of them promptly changed their ns and joined Global Academy instead.

    A significant number of people joined Global Academy simply to get close to Leo and tter him, hoping to secure a ce as his disciple.

    Under such fiercepetition, I managed to secure that spot. So, can one me me for feeling a tad smug?

    "Shouldn''t you like¡­y low and not let people know about this until the King''s Tournament?" Amelia asked. "You will definitely be a target at the tournament now."

    "I don''t care," I said, looking directly into Amelia''s eyes. "It''s already toote to hide it. Besides, if they think they can take on Leo Kurogami''s sole disciple, then let theme."

 Chapter 193 Mana Beast Egg [3]

    ?

    Four hours had passed, and the cooking exam had finallye to an end.

    I was currently standing in front of my apartment door, downright depressed by today''s events.

    Although I''d rather not admit it openly, Amelia had truly saved me from failing the exam¡­ and potentially getting expelled.

    Haaa.

    You see, while I was engrossed in cooking, my mind wandered elsewhere and as my attention diverted, I made a mistake.

    Well, let''s not dwell too much on the details and let''s say that I almost set the entire ss on fire.

    How did something like that even happen, one may ask?

    You see, I always wear my hidden de on my right wrist¡ª by always, I mean all the time. And by all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME.

    As a result, it''s quite easy to forget it''s even there sometimes.

    So, there I was, deep frying the skinned Moonlit Rabbit, holding myself from drooling over the mouthwatering aroma filling up the kitchen.

    Suddenly, I felt a tinge of sharp pain in my belly.

    Distracted by the pain, which I med on the sudden shift in my diet, I instinctively tried to grab my waist.

    But while moving my hands, I identally flicked my wrist twice, causing my hidden de to spring forth.

    To my horror, the de struck the gas line and punctured it, resulting in a dangerous gas leak.

    Thankfully, before an explosion could ur, Amelia, for reasons unknown, had been keeping a watchful eye on me.

    She reacted quickly and with her wind magic, she create a vacuum to seal the cut in the pipeline.

    It was a foolish mistake on my part.

    But the worst part, however, was what happened after that.

    After everything settled down, Amelia looked at me and uttered, "That''s why I said your utensil usage is not good," and gave me a look that screamed, ''I told you so.''

    As if that wasn''t enough, Amelia also managed toplete her dish on time and ended up winning the bet we had made.

    And to make matters worse, I had to listen to an earful from our culinary instructor for jeopardizing the safety of my fellow cadets.

    She also deducted a huge chunk of my Merit Points.

    Usually, when I make blunders, they''re intentional and meant to cause chaos or openings in my enemy''s defense.

    But this time, it was a genuine, stupid mistake, which made it all the more frustrating since I was really looking forward to winning that bet with her.

    I should''ve taken out my hidden de beforeing anywhere near the cooking stove.

    Haaa.

    Hmm, I should be more concerned about the lives I put in danger rather than my bet with Amelia?

    Meh. No one was in any mortal danger since everyone present there was a Mana User, after all.

    At worst, they might have suffered second-degree burns, but even that could have been easily healed with some healing potions from the academy''s stock.

    So, yeah, I was only disappointed from losing the bet with her.

    Haaaaa.

    Well, it''s fine. I trust that Amelia won''t ask me to do anything weird. I hope¡­ that she won''t.

    Shaking my head to clear such stray thoughts, I pressed my thumb against the biometric scanner on the wall beside my door.

    Ding¡ª!

    As the fingerprint scanner turned green, I quickly twisted the doorknob and swung open the door to my apartment.

    Ba Dum, Ba Dum¡ª!!

    "....?!"

    However, the moment I stepped inside, my breath quickened, and it felt as if my heart was about to burst out of my chest.

    "Gaaah!" I gasped for air, copsing to my knees.

    My vision blurred, and my head felt light.

    Confusion washed over me as I scanned the room, until my eyes finallynded on the Mana Beast Egg resting on top of the center table, radiating a bright golden glow.

    "It... It''s hatching?!" I managed to utter through ragged breaths, struggling to regain myposure and stand back up.

    Yet, no matter how hard I tried to rise to my feet, all I could manage was to crawl.

    So that''s what I did.

    Down on my knees, with a frantic kick, I closed the front door of my apartment and propelled myself forward.

    I started crawling using every ounce of strength left in my muscles.

    The egg shouldn''t be hatching right now!

    Based on my calctions, it should have taken at least a few more weeks. Did I make an error somewhere?

    No, that''s impossible.

    I don''t make mistakes. And I certainly couldn''t have made such a big blunder.

    With each passing thought that only raised more questions in my mind, cold beads of sweat started to form on my forehead.

    I was trying my best to get to the Egg as quickly as I could, but I was nearly not fast enough.

    All I could only manage to do was crawl a few steps before the blinding lighting from the Egg grew brighter and forced me to squint my eyes in difort.

    At that very moment, an excruciating pain pierced through my abdomen, centered around my sr plexus.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Arghhh!" I gritted my teeth, muffling a scream of agony as I clutched my stomach tightly, feeling the pain ripple throughout my entire body.

    "Agrhaaaa!"

    My head grew lighter. An overwhelming fatigue washed over me. It felt as if my eyelids were suddenly made of lead now.

    Thest thing I can remember before darkness shrouded my vision and I fell unconscious was a crack appearing on the surface of the Egg.

    ?

    Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª

    I felt someone constantly poking me with something pointed like a pencil.

    "Grhh!" Groaning in frustration, I rubbed my eyes and tried sitting up straight.

    I was still feeling pain in my muscles, but due to my drowsiness, I paid it no heed.

    Sitting back up, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to clear my vision before looking around.

    "The fuck just happened¨C"

    Confused, I touched my chin and tried to remember why I was sleeping on the floor before I suddenly remembered!

    I hade back from the academy when I opened the door and saw that the Egg was already starting to hatch.

    I felt pain and lethargy before I finally passed out.

    "The Egg!" I eximed and looked around.

    Did the Mana Beaste out?!

    As soon as I thought that, something poked me again on my leg.

    "Ouch!" I yelped, jolting back on my legs and quickly looking at my feet.

    To my surprise, it wasn''t a person wielding a pencil; it was a bird using its beak to poke me.

    "...Huh?"

    Before I could even process any of this, the little baby bird pped its wings and hopped on its legs.

    "Krik! Krik!"

    It came up to me and started rubbing its head against my leg while chirping merrily.

    "...Uh?"

    Was it trying to wake me up?

    I knelt down, cupped my hands, and gently picked up the baby bird.

    "Damn," as I looked at it closely and it took my breath away.

    Its feathers were a brilliant shade of red and were subtly glowing, like dancing mes that shimmered with a magical light.

    Around its delicate neck, its feathers transitioned from red to silver, adding an elegant touch to its fiery presence.

    "Krip! Krip!" The baby bird emitted soft chirping sounds, filling the air with a sweet melody.

    Its wings, though small, quivered with excitement, as if ready to take flight into the sky.

    I couldn''t quite exin it, but there was an undeniable bond between us.

    If I remember correctly, in the novel, William experienced a simr connection upon meeting his cat, Rui.

    When Rui''s egg hatched¡ª yes, she was hatched despite being a cat¡ª William felt an indescribable bond with her.

    "Although I didn''t understand it while reading, right now, I guess I''m feeling something simr," I mused.

    In simple terms, it felt as if we were deeply connected.

    William referred to this phenomenon as Soul Sync in the novel.

    When he poured his mana into the Beast Egg, he internally circted it throughout his body.

    Consequently, as his mana flowed into the egg, it carried a tiny essence of his soul every time with it.

    As a result of that, when his Mana Beast Egg hatched, Rui and William''s soul were synced in a simr wavelength.

    Maybe the same thing was happening with me and this little baby bird.

    Essentially, it was like sharing the same soul with the Mana Beast. This process was the most effective way of taming the Mana Beasts.

    "But what are you?" I blurted out, my eyes fixed on the mesmerizing red baby bird in my hands.

    Yup, there was no mistaking it.

    One look at it and it''s clear that this creature was anything but ordinary.

    After all, the Egg it hatched from was of mythical rank. So, obviously, this beast ought to be special.

    But what is it?

    Hmmm. Let''s see.

    A bird-type mana beast, adorned with feathers that resembled flickering fire.

    Could it be¡­

    "Hmmm... Wait!" I gasped, my mind racing to a startling realization. "Could you be... a Phoenix?"

    "Kreeeik!" The baby bird chirped in response, almost as if affirming my suspicion.

 Chapter 194 Preparations For The Kings Tournament [1]

    ?

    A few weekster, at Kai''s apartment.

    A group of people gathered in the drawing room of an apartment.

    They were standing around a man with shoulder-length blueish ck hair who sat on a sofa, facing them all.

    The man had his legs crossed, and his teal eyes keenly scanned the entire room with an emotionless glint, carefully observing everyone.

    Standing beside him was a tall young man with a massive frame and dark skin.

    Despite being so massive and scary, he possessed a face which could only be described as handsome.

    It was Alberto. He stood with his arms crossed, exuding a bouncer-like aura, ready to strike down anyone who posed a threat.

    On the man''s left stood another dark-skinned individual with sleek,bed-back raven ck hair.

    It was Quinn. His deep, hollow eyes were closed, giving the impression that he was asleep while standing.

    Amidst this assembly, all eyes focused on a young man who stood before Kai. His name was Zach.

    He was a big social media influencer and he had been assigned the task of spreading rumors about Nero. With a wide smile, he informed Kai of his sess.

    "And at this point, rumors about him are already circting," Zach eximed. "You don''t have to worry about anything, young master Kai. My followers trust every word I say. So these rumors will undoubtedly spread even further."

    "Good," Kai responded, though his eyes still had a hint of disinterest. "Our next task is to force Nero into using his Gift during the King''s Tournament. Since numerous news channels will be present to telecast it as a live event, the rumor will transform into an undeniable fact."

    "Understood," Zach nodded and took a step back, joining the rest of the crowd.

    Almost immediately, another young man stepped forward. He had blonde hair and stood slightly taller than the others.

    He pressed his hands together and disyed a smile so pleasing that it could even put the greatest politicians to shame.

    "And you are?" Kai inquired, raising an eyebrow.

    For a moment, the smile vanished from the young man''s face, reced by a frown, before quickly returning.

    "I-I am Chris Wright, young master Kai," he replied. "You assigned me to keep an eye on Lucas."

    "Ah, yes. That guy," Kai nodded. "So, do you have anything to report?"

    This time, Chris'' smile disappeared for a few long seconds when Kai referred to him as ''that guy.''

    After all, Chris was the youngest son of the prestigious Wright family.

    They are called the Lions who protect the North from Vampires.

    Although his family mostly never gave him any respect, others never dared to treat him in such a manner.

    However, Chris suppressed his frustration and stered his amiable smile once more.

    "Yes, indeed," he nodded. "It appears that the rumors about him are true. Lucas has truly be Leo Kurogami''s disciple. He practically confirmed it himself when he arrivedte for the first exam."

    "I see," Kai mused, twirling the ends of his shoulder-long hair.

    He then nced at Grace, who stood among the crowd with her eyes focused at her feet.

    ''So she was right about him,'' he pondered in his mind. ''But then, did I truly misjudge him?''

    Kai could hardly believe that someone had managed to deceive him. He really did make a blunder, huh?

    But he couldn''t afford to dwell on his mistake right now, since the King''s Tournament was about to start in two days.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    He needed to focus oning up with a n that could help him control the situation from this point onward.

    Nodding resolutely, he voiced his thoughts, "Alright, thank you for telling me this. I will personally handle Lucas. If you ever require a favor from me, don''t hesitate to ask."

    "Thank you," Chris replied, slightly bowing his head. "I will keep that in mind."

    With a decisive nod, Kai dered, "Alright, thank you all for your efforts. You''re free to leave now."

    Upon hearing this, everyone gave him a look of acknowledgment and exited his apartment.

    Only a select few individuals stayed behind¡ªGrace, Alberto, and Quinn.

    "Do you see now?" Grace spoke up in a feeble tone as soon as everyone left. "I told you to go after Lucas. I told you he was the mastermind from the start."

    "Yeah, I still don''t believe he''s some sort of mastermind," Kai scoffed. "At most, I think he''s suspicious. He''s hiding more than he''s revealing."

    "Again!" Grace pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a frustrated cry. "You''re being foolish again! I''m telling you! He''s deceiving you! He has already done it before, and as long as you continue like this, he''ll always stay one step ahead of you!"

    "Grace!" Kai raised his voice. "His story checked out! He was at his headquarters, giving strategicmands to his troops when someone was fighting Quinn! Besides, he had a broken hand! How could that be Lucas?! Tell me, how?! Are you suggesting that a weakling like him defeated Quinn with a broken arm while managing his troops?"

    "I..." Grace bit her lower lip in frustration. "I don''t know. All I know is that it was definitely Lucas. H-He told me about it. He said you wouldn''t believe me, and you aren''t. Everything is happening just as he predicted! Why can''t you believe me, just this once?"

    Kai furrowed his brow in confusion. He was about to respond when Quinn interjected.

    "It wasn''t Lucas," he stated. "That guy is no match for me. Do you really think I was beaten by someone like him?"

    "I don''t know! Maybe you were, I don''t know!" Grace snapped. "That guy is beyond my understanding! He has done things I can''t exin! It''s as if he knows the future! He''s aware of things that nobody should know!"

    The frown on Kai''s face deepened. "What do you mean by that?"

    "...I¡ª" Grace hesitated, swallowing a mouthful of saliva before continuing. "He told E that I was using her sister as leverage to persuade her to join your group."

    "E''s sister?" Kai leaned forward. "You mean Ava Bright? Isn''t she in aa?"

    Upon hearing those words, surprise and shock washed over Grace''s face.

    "H-How do you know about that?!" she asked, bewildered.

    "It doesn''t matter," Kai replied, averting his gaze and resting his chin on his hands.

    Kai was aware of Ava''s condition through the Book of Prophecy. He had nned to cure hera to gain favor from E.

    However, with Lucas making up a lie like that, Kai knew he couldn''t pursue that n anymore. It was no longer an option.

    But a new question arose: How did Lucase to possess knowledge about Ava?

    It''s not something that should be public knowledge right now.

    ''Does he have something like my Book of Prophecy?'' Kai thought. ''Something that lets him know about the future?''

    And if that was the case, perhaps Lucas truly was the mastermind who had almost helped Nero from revealing his Gift during the Mock War.

    "Regardless," Kai let out a heavy sigh. "I will deal with him and make him answer all my questions."

    Upon hearing this, a faint smile flickered on Grace''s face which did not go unnoticed by Kai. Observing her reaction, he simply shook his head.

    ''I don''t know what her issue is with Lucas, but she has been more of a nuisance than a help to me,'' Kai remarked in his mind with another sigh. ''It''s fine. All I need to do is win the King''s Tournament, and then I can throw her away.''

 Chapter 195 Preparations For The Kings Tournament [2]

    ?

    "Ah-choo!"

    Ughh, it seems like I''ve caught a cold or something.

    I really dislike the cold. It''s not that I mind having a fever, but dealing with a sore throat and forcing food down is just unpleasant.

    Ironically, my favorite season is winter, mainly because of the snow and cozy sweater hoodies.

    "Kriek!"

    Oh, right.

    Now is not the time to dwell on my likes and dislikes.

    In front of me, there sat a red baby bird on the table, chirping energetically. It almost felt like she was urging me to feed her¡­ because she was.

    Oh, yes, in the past few weeks, I managed to determine the gender of the Phoenix.

    She''s a she!

    ...I mean, she''s a girl!

    You see, I was under the illusion that Phoenixes and Dragons were genderless because I read somewhere that they could reproduce asexually.

    However, my master informed me that they can also reproduce through normal means. So, I decided to check the gender of my Phoenix, and yeah, she''s a girl.

    In just three and a half weeks, she has already grown to the size of my hand.

    At this rate, in the time of one month, she will be the size of my arm. Her growth rate is astonishing.

    Upon doing some research and asking about it with my master, I found out that the most significant growth period for Phoenixes is during their youth.

    Essentially, they mature rapidly. Once they reach their youth, their aging slows down considerably.

    They remain in their youthful state for years, only growing in size and power, gradually approaching adulthood until their aging processes to a haltpletely.

    If a Phoenix is killed, they rise from their ashes and are reborn¡ª hence they are said to be the symbol of immortality.

    The only way a Phoenix can be hurt or killed is either by another Phoenix or if they willingly choose to end their own life.

    "Huaaa!" As all these thoughts shed in my mind, a tired yawn escaped my lips.

    Damn, I was sleepy.

    "Kriek! Kriek!"

    Her chirping snapped me back to reality, pulling me out of my drowsy state.

    "Right, right," I let out a sleepy sigh and pushed a spoonful of berries towards her. "Here you go."

    As she pecked at the berries with her beak, I observed her actions, feeling myself gradually drifting back into a doze.

    I knew she would wake me up again with her loud chirping or a gentle poke in no time.

    Now, don''t me me for not taking proper care of her. I assure you, I''m doing my best.

    It''s just that I don''t have any experience with pets.

    Besides, it''s currently 4:56 AM. It''s barely morning, and here I am, sacrificing my precious sleep to feed her!

    It''s only natural that I feel sleepy!

    "Kriek!"

    "Yeah, there you go."

    As I watched her gobble down the berries, I felt as if a sudden urge to pet her had ovee me.

    Without any particr reason, I gently started stroking her cute little head.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Krieekekek~"

    She seemed to enjoy it, as she rubbed her head against mine in response.

    "Aww, you''re cute," a smirk formed on my lips.

    However, my expression quickly shifted to a pensive one as I rested my chin on the hand that was previously petting her.

    When I took my hand off her, she let out a sad cry but my mind was somewhere else as I let out a sigh and muttered, "It feels weird."

    "Kriek?"

    "No, not you," I squinted my eyes as I looked at her, deep in thought. "Referring to you as ''you'' or ''baby bird'' feels weird. I think it''s time to give you a name."

    Not bothering to listen to my drowsy rambling, she continued to stuff the food in her mouth.

    "But what should I name you?" I pondered aloud. "You''re probably thest of your kind alive in the world right now."

    A name for the final phoenix, huh?

    Or perhaps a name for the first phoenix in years.

    As I observed her, noticing the subtle fiery glow emanating from her, only one name came into my head.

    "Seraphina," I whispered quietly, then nodded decisively and dered it out loud. "From this moment onward, I will name you Seraphina."

    "Kriek~"

    "Aww, you like it?" I grinned, my smile widening as I lovingly stroked her head again. "How cute."

    After feeding and petting Seraphina to my heart''s content, I rose from my seat and began to put on my tracksuit.

    I had ns to meet up with Leo. The semester exams were finally over and we had a two-day break.

    During this time, the instructors would be grading our exams and determining our scores based on both written and physical evaluations.

    Leo had already set ns for the next two days. He wanted me to perfect Mirage Walk and work on my techniques.

    So yeah, I''ll be training day and night again. Of course, I''lle back from time to time to check up on Sera and feed her.

    When I asked Leo when he was going to evaluate our scores for the weapon arts exam which he had overseen, he said that he had already done it.

    I was once again left speechless.

    That man is a monster, I''m telling y''all.

    While the rest of the instructors had not even begun to grade us yet, he was already done with it!

    Haaa.

    Moving on, only the cadets with a high academic ranking and high scores on the semester exams would be eligible to participate in the main event of the King''s Tournament.

    The tournament would run seven days and it would be broadcasted live on news channels worldwide.

    The main game, which would determine the next in line for the King''s throne, or simply, the next Cadet Council president, would ur on the final day¨C the seventh day.

    Only those with the top 200 academic rankings or higher would be able to participate in the main game.

    Other cadets could only participate in side games if they so desired. The side games would offer various rewards, by the way.

    Since I was confident that I would easily secure a spot within the top 200, Leo said that I should be focusing on nothing but growing stronger.

    Sighing softly, I once again caressed Seraphina''s head. "You stay here until I return, alright?"

    "Kriek!"

 Chapter 196 Preparations For The Kings Tournament [3]

    ?

    Two dayster,

    Somewhere in the Great Deserts of the Eastern Continent,

    Two men were engaged in an intense battle.

    One might wonder, who were these two individuals?

    Well, who else would be foolish enough to train in such a harsh environment and risk sumbing to a heatstroke.

    Of course, it was none other than Leo and his dear disciple¡ªyours truly.

    You see, the King''s Tournament was just a day away, and Leo had decided to put me through the most grueling training imaginable.

    I wasn''t exaggerating this time. This was really hard mode training he was putting me through.

    I remember when we were training in the Southern Mountain range, Leo casually mentioned that he was taking it easy on me.

    At the time, I didn''t believe him for a second.

    ''What could be harder than this?'' I remember myself thinking through the pain and cold.

    But now, after enduring daily sessions with him under the scorching desert sun, I have to admit, he wasn''t kidding.

    He really was taking it easy on me.

    Why am I being so dramatic, one might ask?

    Well, I was ordered to walk the blistering sands barefoot while trying to perfect my Mirage Walk.

    At this point, I couldn''t feel anything below my knees. My heels were scorched.

    Leo is a nutjob, I''m telling you! A true nutjob! And that''s somethinging from me!

    No matter how much I shriek or shed tears of agony, it doesn''t seem to faze him in the slightest.

    asionally, he would toss me a healing potion with a smug grin. That was the extent of his sympathy!

    Ahh, god! I hate him!

    "Haaa!" I roared, unleashing a battle cry as I swung my spear at his foot.

    Fwoosh¡ª

    But in a swift motion, he leaped into the air, dodging my attack.

    I quickly capitalized on this opportunity by retracting my spear and positioning it for a thrust.

    My n was tond a blow as soon as he touched the ground, catching him off bnce.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    But he swiftly kicked his leg back in mid-jump and as if walking on air he lunged at me, thrashing his knee on my face.

    Thud¨C

    "Khuk!!" I cried out in pain, copsing onto my knees as hended beside me with a resounding thud.

    "That''s cheating!" I used him, gasping for breath. "You''re Leo Kurogami! You shouldn''t resort to such tricks against me!"

    "Yeah? Will you say the same to your opponents tomorrow?" Leo retorted.

    "I won''t be fighting tomorrow," I replied, mustering the strength to rise as Leo tended to my bleeding nose with a healing potion. "I will only participate in the main event on the seventh day."

    "You do know you can join the side games even if your rank is above 200, right?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

    "I''d rather save my energy for the main event," I waved my hand dismissively.

    "Alright," Leo shrugged, finishing up the treatment and healing my nose like brand new. "I suppose we''ll have seven more days to train, then."

    "...On second thought, maybe I''ll take part in some side games, just for the thrill of it," I said, averting my gaze.

    Beads of sweat formed on my forehead at the thought of enduring seven more days of this torture that Leo had named training.

    "Hahaha!" Leo burst into heartyughter. "Good. Win as many games as you can, and then emerge victorious in the main event too. Be the next Cadet Council president. Remember, you''re now known as my disciple."

    I couldn''t help but nod my head as I heaved a sigh. "Sureeee~"

    ?

    "Haa! Haaa!"

    Panting heavily, I approached my apartment door, hastening my steps.

    I had to get inside quickly and turn on the AC before crashing for a nap.

    Yeah, my n was to sleep the entire day and wake up fresh tomorrow morning, ready for the King''s Tournament.

    "...Huh?"

    But all that nning came crashing down as I saw that my apartment door was slightly ajar.

    "Fuck," I cursed under my breath, dashing inside. "Did I forget to lock the damn door?"

    I had been running back and forth between my apartment, the teleportation gate, and the training spot in the desert every four to five hours so I was naturally exhausted.

    Maybe in my rush to get back, I left the door unlocked by mistake?

    Argh! I hope nothing''s gone wrong.

    With that thought lingering in the back of my mind, I entered my apartment and spotted Sera sitting on the center table, chirping away merrily.

    For a brief moment, relief washed over me. But it was short-lived, as my gaze fell upon a hand that was gently caressing the red baby bird''s feathers.

    "...Ahh?"

    There stood a young woman in herte teens with dark ck hair and eyes as green as the finest emeralds.

    And she was gently petting my Seraphina.

    "Oh, Lucas, you''re back?" Her eyes met mine, and she greeted me with a warm smile.

    "How the hell did you break into my apartment?" I politely asked, shing a smile of my own.

    "The door was open," she replied, the smile still lingering on her face.

    "I see, I see," I nodded, trying to process the situation.

    "Lucas," she called out my name.

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow, knowing what she was going to say.

    The smile on her face vanished in an instant.

    Her eyes widened, and blue lines appeared on her forehead as she pointed at Sera on the table, her voice filled with shock, "Is this a Phoenix?!"

    "Shhhh! Calm the hell down!" I pressed my index finger against my lips, signaling for her to speak in a lower tone.

    She took my reaction as a confirmation and had to cover her mouth with her hands to hold herself back from screaming in shock.

    "I knew it!" she whispered in a hushed tone after a few seconds, her eyes still fixated on Sera. "I knew from the way this bird was glowing."

    Unlike fully grown Phoenixes, Sera''s body isn''t engulfed in mes since she''s still a baby.

    However, her red feathers emit a gentle glow, giving her a mystical aura that made it obvious she was a mythical creature.

    "Okay, Amelia, you need to calm down!" I said, approaching her cautiously.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "How in the world do you have a Phoenix in your possession?!" she eximed urgently, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought mythical mana beasts like Phoenixes were all eradicated eight years ago!"

    "I, uh... I found her somewhere," I replied, nervously scratching the back of my neck.

    "You¡ª Haha! You found her somewhere?! And it''s a ''her''?" Amelia''s voice wavered with nervousughter.

    "Yeah," I managed to utter.

    "...."

    Naturally, the ck-haired beauty was clearly at a loss for words this time. And this time, she wasn''t speechless because of my extreme handsomeness.

    "You do realize the serious trouble you can get into if you''re caught with a mythical-ranked mana beast, right?" Amelia fell back onto the couch behind her, her gaze fixed on me.

    Of course, I know.

    Eight years ago, the Central Government subjugated all mythical-ranked mana beasts, considering them a threat to our civilization.

    They had also made it a crime to shelter or hidedangerous mana beasts like Dragons, Phoenixes, or Bicorns from the watchful eyes of the government.

    If you''re caughtmitting this crime, a sentence of at least one to two years in prison will be given to you.

    "I know," I replied earnestly. "That''s why I''m asking you not to report this to the academy or anyone else."

    "You do realize that I could get into trouble for not reporting something like this, don''t you?" Amelia raised an eyebrow at my audacious request.

    "I''m aware of that too," I responded. "But please, do me this favor. If I ever get caught, I won''t drag you into it. I give you my word."

    "...Haaa," Amelia sighed, massaging her forehead. "Fine. But in return, you''re going to do me a favor as well."

    "Absolutely," I nodded. It''s only fair that I give her something in return for a favor like this. "By the way, why are you here?"

    "Oh, right. We came because you weren''t responding in the group chat," Amelia exined. "Nero and Kent even tried calling you, but you didn''t reply."

    "Hmm? Is that so?" I furrowed my brow and nced at my smart bracelet, turning it on.

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!

    As soon as I switched it on, a barrage of chat messages and missed call notifications flooded the screen.

    I had kept my smart bracelet turned off because Leo wanted me to avoid any and all kinds of distractions during training.

    "Sorry for causing you trouble¡ª" I began apologizing, but suddenly, something clicked in my mind.

    "Wait, Amelia," I interrupted. "You mentioned ''we'' came here. You''re not alone?"

    "Yeah," Amelia confirmed. "Since Kent and I live closest to your apartment building, we both decided to check up on you."

    My mouth fell open as her words registered. "And just where is Kent?"

    Krrrzhshhh¡ª!!

    At that moment, the sound of a toilet flushing reached my ears. Soon after, the bathroom door clicked open, and Kent stepped out.

    "Oh, hey, bro! Where have you been? We''ve been trying to get hold of you in the group chat. I even called you on your bracelet," Kent approached me, cing a hand on my shoulder. "When you didn''t respond to all the pings and the calls, we got worried and Amelia and I came over. We noticed your door was open, so we rushed in, worried that something had happened to you. But you weren''t here."

    As he spoke, Kent''s gaze shifted towards Sera, who was still sitting on the table, chirping happily.

    "Kriek~ Kriek~"

    I was almost about to facepalm, realizing I had to ask Kent not to mention anything about Sera and make him understand the severity of the situation.

    "Instead we found your pet parrot," but when he said that, I couldn''t help but raise my eyebrows in bafflement.

    "Pet parrot?" I repeated. "She looks like a... parrot to you?"

    "Hmm? What else would she be? A canary?" Kent blinked a few times. "By the way, I have to say, you''re taking great care of your bird, whatever species she is. Her feathers look like they''re glowing by just how impably clean they are."

    "....." I was rendered speechless. I turned to Amelia after hearing the wordsing out of this goofball''s mouth.

    In reply, Amelia simply shrugged with a helpless expression.

    Damn, I had always known it, but today I have to say it again: This guy is dumb!

    Well, at least I won''t have to exin anything to him now.

    "But why didn''t you tell me you got a pet?" Kent asked, his face creasing with a frown.

    "Ahh, you know we''re not allowed to have pets in regr apartment buildings, right? To keep a pet, I''d have to submit an application to the Cadet Council and change my apartment, but I like this ce," I exined. "So I kept it a secret."

    "I see," Kent nodded a few times before pouting in annoyance. "But not even telling your best friend? That''s hurtful."

    Wearing a helpless smile, I pulled him into a side hug. "How about we make this our little secret, huh?"

    "No, I''m still mad," Kent responded, his pout still in ce.

    His words made my eyebrow twitch, and I retorted, "Do you want me to cash in one of my remaining punches from our punch bet right now?"

    "Actually, secrets between friends can strengthen the bond, right? So yeah, I''ll keep my mouth shut," Kent quickly switched gears, wearing a smile that could rival even the greatest negotiators.

    Meanwhile, Amelia had been observing us with a nk expression, probably astonished by the sheer professionalism of my lies.

    After a moment, she cleared her throat and spoke up, "Ahem. Anyway, Lucas, we were trying to reach you in the group chat because we wanted to know your new rank, but you weren''t responding."

    "Hmm? We already got our new ranks?" I raised an eyebrow.

    "Yeah," Amelia confirmed with a nod. "We received them this morning. That''s why we were trying to reach you. We need to know where our Unit stands."

    "Yeah, yeah, let me see," I had stopped paying attention to her words, already focused on opening the academy''s online portal website.

    With a few swift keystrokes on the holographic keyboard being projected out from my smart bracelet, I entered my identity details and roll number, eager to find out my new rank.

    Our roll number is different from our academic ranking, and it''s the same as our smart bracelet''s model number, which is printed on the bottom of it.

    It serves as our personal identification number.

    Ding¡ª

    After the academy AI confirmed my details and checked my IP address, a text window appeared, revealing my new academic ranking.

    Upon seeing it, a smirk formed on my face. "Heh."

    "What the¨C Lucas, bro, you told me you barely passed your written exams!" Kent eximed, leaning over my shoulder to get a look at my smart bracelet''s screen. "So then what the fuck is this?!"

    Meanwhile, Amelia shook her head and rubbed her temples. "Haaa, I shouldn''t even be surprised anymore."

    ===

    [Global Academy Portal]

    Cadet Name: Lucas Morningstar

    Cadet Academy Rank (Previous): 116969

    Cadet Exam Rank (First Year):

    Written Exam: 1st

    Physical Exam: 56th

    Cadet Academy Rank (New): 000192

    ===

 Chapter 197 First Day Of The Kings Tournament

    ?

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar

    Race¡ú Human [Phoenix Gene]

    ____

    Strength¡ú 292 [+200]

    Endurance¡ú 308 [+200]

    Speed¡ú 299 [+200]

    Stamina¡ú 324 [+200]

    uracy¡ú 288 [+200]

    Charm¡ú 485 [+45]

    Intelligence¡ú 188

    Mana Capacity¡ú 1500/1500 [+500]

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Bronze 2 [¡ü Bronze 1]

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Mythical [¡ü Gold 3]

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 3 [+1] || Archer Lvl. 2

    ____

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    ?Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [100%]

    ?6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [97%]

    ?12 Movements Scarlet Demon Devouring Art (Lvl. 4) [72%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    ?Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) [75%]

    ??Breathing Technique

    ?Breath Of Vitality

    ?Movement Art

    ?Mirage Walk [87%]

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low? || Fire Lance ?High?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine? || The Bringer Of Lost mes ?Legendary?

    Edit Points: 435

    ===========

    As I gazed upon my new status screen, a wide grin of excitement formed on my face.

    Over the past couple of days, I didn''t have enough time to thoroughly inspect my status screen.

    I simply checked my Mana Core potential and moved on¡ª training with my master, taking care of Sera, and making ns for the King''s Tournament.

    You see, when Sera hatched from her egg, the intense pain I experienced was due to my Mana Core breaking down in my body, only to rebuild itself anew.

    Once my soul wavelength synchronized with Sera''s, my Mana Core potential surged to match her Mythical rank.

    Now I don''t need to bother about cultivating my mana core anymore. As long as Sera keeps growing, so will I.

    An additional advantage in all of this is the significant growth in my physical stats. I feel exceptionally strong and agile.

    All of these changes are because of the appearance of the ?Phoenix Gene? beside my ?Human? stat.

    You see, when a human syncs their soul with a mana beast, they acquire a beast factor.

    In essence, when their soul suddenly changes wavelength, it impacts the human body, leading to an abnormality in their gicposition.

    This abnormality grants them a substantial boost in physical attributes, but that''s not its sole power.

    By training and mastering the beast factor, humans can tap into their beast gene and draw out unfathomable power¡ªa state known as Beast Mode.

    In Beast Mode, humans gain ess to some of the abilities possessed by their respective beasts.

    For instance, as a user of the Phoenix Gene like myself may possess the ability to create and manipte fire without any limitations.

    Simrly, someone with the Shadow Cat Gene, like William, would be able to control shadows in his beast mode.

    However, all of that is still ahead of me.

    Based on my calctions, I won''t be able to use Beast Mode until next year, judging the rate at which Sera is growing.

    Which is perfectly fine. At the moment, I don''t have any immediate need for that level of strength.

    By this time next year, I''ll already be six months into my second year¡­ and that''s when the real challenges and difficulties will begin to arise.

    "What are you thinking, eh bro?"

    Kent''s voice interrupted my deep thoughts as he yfully nudged my stomach with his elbow.

    Startled, I was snapped back to reality. "Nothing much."

    This blue-haired elven friend of mine had just returned from one of the food stalls, carrying tworge tubs of popcorn and cold drinks.

    Hmm? Where are we, you ask?

    Well, as I''ve mentioned before, the campus of the Global Academy has five towering skyscrapers.

    Right in the middle of the pentagon created by the arrangement of these skyscrapers is a grand castle.

    This castle is home for those in the Cadet Council and the Disciplinary Committee during their academy years.

    At the heart of this grand castle is a colossal stadium, known as the King''s Arena.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It is within this very arena that the annual King''s Tournament takes ce.

    And right now, that''s precisely where we were at¡ªin the King''s Arena.

    You see, the King''s Tournament is not just apetition to determine the next Cadet Council president.

    It''s a little more than that.

    Today is the day of graduation for the third-year cadets.

    Yeah, I know it''s not the end of the year yet, but the third-year course onlysts for six months.

    After graduation, they''ll be sent off to different Military Units all over the world for the rest of the six months as a sort of internship.

    Then, at the end of the year, depending on how they perform during their time in their assigned Military Units, they''ll either be deployed to the front lines or strategic divisions.

    So yeah, all the third-year cadets will be leaving the academy in seven days¡ªexcept for the Cadet Council and the Disciplinary Committee, of course.

    Those guys don''t need to prove themselves anymore. They''ve already shown they''re elites.

    They''ll stay at the academy for the rest of the academic year and oversee the new cadets who are in line to take over their positions.

    That''s why most cadets try to aim for a spot in the Cadet Council or the Disciplinary Committee.

    It''s a way to dy their military service, even if it''s just for a little while.

    So basically the King''s Tournament is a grand event that marks the graduation of the third-year cadets.

    For a span of seven days, various games are held to entertain the third-year cadets. It serves as a remarkable send-off as their time at the academyes to a close.

    What''s even more impressive is that the entire event is broadcasted live, reaching audiences all around the world.

    And right now, on the first day, the graduation ceremony was being held for the third-year cadets.

    In the vast stadium, the first and second-year cadets were seated while the third-year cadets were being called forward one by one by their instructors to receive their passing certificates.

    The stadium itself aazy immense, with the capacity to amodate thousands of cadets without any difficulty.

    To ensure optimal visibility for everyone,rge holographic screens were hovering in the sky, broadcasting a live feed of the proceedings happening on the ground.

    This allowed cadets from all seating areas to easily view the event.

    Most of the cadets treated the event as a day off, and well, technically it was.

    They indulged in popcorn, fast food, cold drinks, and engaged in activities like taking selfies and such.

    In the next moment, Kent nudged me from my right, he excitedly pointed at the ground.

    "Oh, look! Aren''t those two Drake and Emma?" he eximed, referring to two other third-year cadets who were being called forward.

    Sure enough, it was Drake and Emma, the very same third-year cadets who had supervised us during our trip.

    "Looks like his injuries are healed now," I remarked. "From back here I can''t even tell that he has a mechanical arm now."

    "Yeah. And you know what, I heard a rumor that those two are dating," Kent gossiped.

    "Huh?" I frowned. "To date the very girl who injured him? He certainly has an unusual taste."

    "In his defense, Emma is a hottie," Kent chimed in.

    "And in her defense, she stayed by his side day and night when he was in the hospital," a voice spoke up from behind me.

    Curious, I nced over my shoulder and saw Amelia sitting behind our seats, munching on popcorn.

    Beside her sat a blue-haired elven girl and Amelia''s close friend, Aster Aquahart.

    "Why are you two defending them again?" I sighed, shaking my head. "Well, whatever, I guess."

    After all, they''re just side characters. Their actions do not concern me.

    "By the way," I redirected the conversation, turning my attention to Amelia. "Why am I here today?"

    Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? I suppose you''re here to witness your sister''s graduation."

    ¡­This girl!

    I scoffed dismissively. "Yeah, right. My ''sister'' isn''t leaving the academy yet. And even if she was, I wouldn''t have bothered sacrificing my sleep to send her off."

    Amelia chuckled. "Oh, such a good little brother you are."

    "Stop ying around," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. "Tell me why you called me here."

    Being present at this event wasn''t necessary.

    Most of the cadets here were either participating in the side games or simply enjoying their day off, considering the King''s Tournament was akin to a festive game event, like the Super Bowl.

    And what better ce to enjoy your day off than the Super Bowl. Though I have to agree, even for that reason the crowd is too big for the first day.

    Anyway, since I had no interest in watching the games, my initial n was to sleep in for today like usual.

    However, a certain someone texted me and asked me to be here.

    I didn''t bother questioning the reason behind it and reluctantlyplied, getting ready anding to the stadium.

    To no one''s surprise, the certain someone who had called me was none other than Amelia.

    "Did you have anything better to do?" she asked in an amused mocking tone. "You would''ve just slept the whole day, wouldn''t you?"

    "...." I used my right to remain silent.

    I can''t argue if she bluntly shoves the truth in my face.

    In a moment, I replied, "So what? I highly doubt you called me here just to spend time with me, right?"

    Amelia frowned and averted her gaze before speaking in a barely auideble tone, "...No, of course not."

    "You two have stopped fighting?" The one who asked this question so innocently was Aster.

    "N-No! That''s never going to happen!" Amelia quickly retorted, puffing her chest defiantly.

    Shaking my head and massaging my temples, I interrupted their banter. "Alright, enough. Seriously, why did you call me here?"

    Amelia took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment.

    She then closed her fist tightly and spoke with determination, "Remember the favor I asked of you yesterday? I want to im it today."

    A faint frown formed on my face.

    "Alright," I replied, assessing her tone. "What do you want from me?"

    "...I want you to participate in the main event game of today," she dered.

 Chapter 198 Main Event Of The First Day [1]

    ?

    Apparently, something happened while I was absent.

    Chris Wright, a minor antagonist, caused some trouble with the protagonists, just like he was supposed to in the novel.

    His role in the story was to serve as Kai''sckey and act as a stepping stone for Nero and his friends, showcasing and hyping up their capabilities to the world before the Main Game.

    Just as it was written in the novel, after several days of intense confrontations, Chris and his gang challenged Nero and his group to a match at the King''s Tournament.

    Also just like in the novel, Nero eagerly epted the challenge, following the trope of an underdog protagonist putting an arrogant young master in his ce.

    Both parties approached the academy staff, and their match was scheduled as the main event for the first day.

    Today was the day for their match.

    ...Only it didn''t go exactly as it was written in the novel. I think my involvement with the plot is partly to me for that.

    What went wrong, one might ask?

    Well, Kai himself decided to join the game, which wasn''t part of the original story. In fact, he never did anything to attract attention to himself.

    He was a formidable viin, but not overly powerful.

    He was ruthless, but not excessively so.

    He had big ambitions, but nothing extraordinary.

    He was simply a mediocre viin. That''s all.

    Now I know he was actually hiding his true self, so his voluntary participation surprised me all the more.

    Anyway, after that happened, Nero and the main characters were at a disadvantage, as they were one member short in their team.

    While Nero and Chase didn''t have a problem with that arrangement, the rest of the team believed that evening the odds would be a wiser decision.

    So Anastasia brought up my name and suggested, "I think we should ask Lucas to join us. He''s not only incredibly strong but also irresistibly hot and handsome. I think with his charisma on our side, we''ll win for sure."

    ...Okay, maybe she didn''t say those exact words, but something along those lines.

    Ahem! Look, the point is, she mentioned me.

    Now naturally, and for reasons still beyond me, Chase had an issue with that idea.

    And even Nero said they shouldn''t rely on any favors from me and that he could handle it alone.

    However, when Amelia saw an opportunity to recruit me to their side without any strings attached, she seized it.

    Quite cunning of her, I must admit.

    I had assumed she would take advantage of my body as payback for keeping Sera''s secret safe.

    Haaa.

    Well, anyway, let''s get back to the present.

    Currently, I was quietly sitting on one of the benches in the backstage pavilion on the east side of the stadium.

    Amelia, Nero, and Anastasia were arguing about something in the corner.

    They were likely debating whether or not to include me in the match.

    Meanwhile, Chase sat across from me, shooting me hostile res.

    His best friend, Elijah, could only manage a feeble apologetic smile, expressing regret for his friend''s behavior.

    Aster sat alone. She was watching cute cat videos on her smart bracelet. Out of all of them, I liked her vibe the most¡ªperhaps because she, like me, was a cat person.

    Then there was William, happily ying with his cat, Rui.

    Haaa, I envy him.

    Don''t get me wrong, Sera is an adorable bird, but I wouldn''t mind having a cat like Rui too.

    Haaaa~

    -"Still, why did you think it was a good idea to make this decision without even consulting me?" Nero''s voice rose, interrupting my thoughts.

    -"Why do you have a problem with it? This fight isn''t just about you," Amelia countered.

    -"Yeah, it''s about all of us. Not him. Bringing in someone who has no connection to this doesn''t seem wise!" Nero fired back.

    -"You know he''s part of our Unit, right? You should understand better than anyone that his strategies guarantee our victory!" Anastasia chimed in.

    -"I''ve said it before, and I''ll say it again¡ªI can take on Chris and his group alone. I don''t need all of you. But since Chris has caused trouble for you all too, I''m willing to let you assist me," Nero replied. "But why should we seek outside help?"

    -"If you think he''s doing you a favor by joining us, then rest assured. In fact, he''s repaying one of my favors, so there''s no debt involved," Amelia interjected.

    -"How can you even trust him?" Nero asked.

    -"What?" Amelia sounded confused.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    -"Hasn''t he already betrayed your trust once¡ª" but before Nero could finish, Anastasia interrupted.

    -"Nero!" she eximed. "Stop it. And stop being so self-centered. Alberto is also in his group. Do you remember how much trouble you had defeating himst time?"

    -"I-I have grown stronger¡ª" Nero tried to defend himself, but Anastasia didn''t give him a chance to finish his sentence.

    -"So you''re confident that you can take on Alberto, his Gift, and all the members of Chris'' group alone?" she questioned.

    -"....." Nero clenched his fist in silence. Just as he was about to respond, I spoke up.

    "You guys do realize I can hear every word you''re saying, right?" I couldn''t help but finally roll my eyes and yell out, my patience wearing thin.

    Can these people just shut up?

    "I''m sorry, Lucas. Are you sure you don''t mind helping us?" Anastasia asked, raising her eyebrows and shing a cute smile.

    "Don''t worry," I replied, waving my hands dismissively. "I''ll be repaying Amelia''s favor, so assisting you guys will benefit me as well."

    Anastasia''s smile brightened as she nodded and cheerfully eximed, "Great! Let''s get ready, everyone!"

    In response to her words, the girls headed to the adjacent room to change into theirbat attire, while the boys quickly started undressing as they left.

    The atmosphere in the pavilion naturally turned awkward. It was evident that, aside from Elijah and William, my presence wasn''t weed by anyone here.

    Nero, who had kept his hand pressed against his forehead until now, took a deep breath and approached me.

    "Just to be clear," he said,ing face to face with me. "This isn''t a favor, okay?"

    I let out a sigh and maintained an amicable smile as I replied, "I''ve already made it clear that it isn''t. But if you''re still ufortable, think of it as repayment for when you stood up against Kai on my behalf."

    Nero looked at me for a few seconds before nodding. "I didn''t do it for you, though. I simply can''t stand bullies."

    After saying his piece, he began to walk away.

    Thak¨C

    However, before he could take a single step, I grabbed his arm, halting him in his tracks.

    The amicable smile faded from my face and was reced by a cold gleam in my eyes.

    He turned to face me, and I met his gaze, the atmosphere growing heavy as my next words hung in the air.

    "Oh, and by the way, whatever happened between me and her is our business," I stated firmly. "So, if you don''t mind, refrain frommenting on our past."

    As silence engulfed the pavilion and all eyes turned towards us, Nero took a step closer, his face inches away from mine.

    In a tone as cold as ice, he uttered, "You believe that your past holds no value over you because the people involved in it have moved on? Well, you''re mistaken.

    "You may have changed, and I don''t mind having you in our Unit or asionally hanging out with you.

    "I appreciate your assistance during the Mock War and now in this game, regardless of your motivations. However, I know as well as you do that you''re not a good person. So don''t pretend to be a knight in shining armor, understood?"

    Thak¡ª

    In the next moment, he brushed my hand off and wore a friendly smile, contradicting his earlier hostility, as he spoke in a cheerful tone.

    "But who am I to judge you? So don''t worry about it and get dressed, okay?" he said before walking away.

    Ugh!

    Okay, I officially can''t stand him.

    I tried to make peace with him, but I hate him! I hate him and his so-called morals!

    At the end of the Main Game on day seven, the academy was going to be attacked by vampires. I, just like always, had a n to stop it.

    You see, in the novel, Nero wasn''t in his best condition to fight against the vampires when the attack happened.

    He had a brutal battle with Quinn, leaving both of them heavily injured. Eventually, Nero emerged victorious, but not without some grueling injuries.

    Those injuries held him back from unleashing his full strength against the vampires, forcing him to use his Gift in front of cameras.

    Because of that, the rumors about him havingplete control over the basic elements solidified worldwide.

    Now, my n was to take Quinn''s ce and face Nero in the finals.

    I would deliberately lose to him without putting up much of a fight.

    This way, he would be able to use his full strength against the vampires and he would not have to use his Gift.

    As for me, well, I wasn''t interested in the position of Cadet Council president from the start.

    It''s too much work, and besides beingzy, I have other important matters to attend to in the future, leaving me with no time for Cadet Council responsibilities.

    But, oh boy, screw all that now! I''ll fuck this bastard!

    As for how to deal with those vampire attackers, I''lle up with another n because Nero Dekrauf is going down!

 Chapter 199 Main Event Of The First Day [2]

    ?

    After everyone finished changing, we waited in the pavilion, watching the ongoing games in the stadium on the holographic TV screen there.

    By evening, it was time for the main event of the day, and we were called to the stadium ground.

    As we walked onto the field, a thunderous round of apuse and cheers greeted us.

    There were two reasons for this:

    Firstly, rumors about Nero were already spreading like wildfire, and people were eager to witness his skills in action.

    Secondly, it was umon for first-year cadets to participate in a main event game during the King''s Tournament.

    Why? Well, because first-years were generally not as strong as the second-year cadets.

    Naturally, it''s more fun to watch two behemoths sh rather than two ants, right?

    In fact, it was rare to have more than a dozen first-year cadets in the top 200 rankings by the time of the King''s Tournament.

    However, this time was different.

    Over fifty-three cadets managed to secure a spot in the top 200 academic rankings.

    Oh yeah, by the way, the reason why I was ranked 192 despite being 1st in the written exam and 56th in the physical exam is because those exams were specific to my batch¨C first year.

    There are definitely several second-year cadets ahead of me in the overall rankings.

    What''s more is that the third-year cadets don''t have rankings anymore, so the first and second-year cadets'' rankings have jumped several thousand ranks.

    Yeah, I know that it may not seem fair tobine the rankings of all the batches, but that''s just how it is.

    Anyway, exams alone can''t urately determine someone''s ranking.

    That''s why it''s important for the top-ranked individuals topete against each other during the Main Game of the King''s Tournament.

    After the Tournament ends, the rankings will change again. Since there are many second-years ranked above me, if I defeat them all, I''ll naturally move up.

    "[Please wee the first team. They are first-years and all of them are in the top 200!

    They are, from left to right: Amelia ck, Nero Dekrauf, Anastasia Bigod, William Sinoath, Elijah Steelforged, Chase Woods, Lucas Morningstar, and Aster Aquahart!]"

    Suddenly, the booming voice of the match announcer echoed from the numerous speakers ced throughout the arena.

    -"Woooooo!"

    -"Bunch of nerds! They all are a bunch of nerds! I wanted the second-years to fight in the main event today!"

    -"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

    The crowd''s reaction was mixed, to say the least.

    I nced over at the VIP corner where the Cadet Council was seated.

    Among them, my attention was drawn to a young man with long, dark-blue hair tied back in a bun.

    His striking ruby-blue eyes were fixed in our direction, a wide smile of excitement on his face.

    That was Ivan Smith, the current Cadet Council president.

    During the academy arc of the novel, he wasn''t a prominent character. That''s understandable since he was already nearing graduation when the main characters settled in the academy.

    However, he yed a significant role in the final war arc.

    Well, there''s nothing I can do about him right now. Maybe forming a connection with him wouldn''t hurt, but I shouldn''t focus on that¨C

    "....Argh?" Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of suffocation filled my chest, interrupting my thoughts.

    I nced around and caught sight of a silver-haired elven beauty sitting right next to the person I had been looking at.

    She red at me with her captivating merlot red eyes, as if shooting daggers at me.

    "Mhhh," I groaned ufortably. "What''s her problem?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Well, actually, I knew exactly what her problem was. You see, our previous conversation didn''t exactly end on what one might consider a positive note.

    Letting out a sigh, I shifted my gaze away from her.

    Strangely enough, diverting my eyes seemed to amplify the intensity of her hostile stare. I could feel sweat forming on my back, and a shiver ran down my spine.

    Nevertheless, I resisted the urge to look back. I refused to look back at her.

    If I simply pretend she isn''t there, maybe she will disappear. That''s what I do with all my problems¡ªI ignore them until they go away.

    [And now, please wee the second team, everyone! They are also first-year cadets and a majority of them are ranked within the top 200!]

    As the announcer made the announcement, a group of eight cadets walked onto the field stood in front of us.

    [From left to right, we have: Nina Hoffins, Alberto Okoro, Rhea Spears, Chris Wright, Damian Johnson, Jake Stark, Kai Wiseman, and Sheena Iyenagar!]

    As we stood face to face, a heavy tension filled the air and the crowd fell silent.

    In that silence, only the faint buzz of camera drones capturing our every move for the live broadcast broke the stillness.

    Amidst the brooding atmosphere, Nero broke the silence. His gaze fixed on Chris as he uttered with a chilling seriousness, "I will make it painful for you."

    Chris couldn''t help but gulp, overwhelmed by fear at the gravity of Nero''s words.

    [Alright, everyone, take at least twenty steps back from each other so I can start exining the game rules.]

    The announcer''s voice boomed from the elevated announcer stand, as he peered down at us.

    Following his instructions, we all turned and began walking away.

    Before I could even take a single step, someone seized my arm and forcefully spun me around.

    "Ghh?" Startled, I found myself face to face with a tall young man. He had shoulder-length blueish-ck hair and light teal eyes meeting my gaze.

    It was Kai Wiseman.

    "You really made a fool out of me, you know," he said.

    A yful smile graced my lips as I shrugged in response. "I have no idea what you''re talking about."

    "Cut the act," he scoffed. "The moment they heard an extra member was being added to Chris'' team, they recruited you for theirs. No one but you."

    "What does that prove, though?" I inquired.

    "It doesn''t prove anything yet," he replied. "But when I beat the living hell out of you and you spill the beans on how you orchestrated everything, it will prove a whole lot more."

    With that, Kai turned on his heels and walked away.

    "Hahahaha! You''re in trouble!" I heard another voiceughing from beside me.

    I whipped my head around and spotted a chubby, in-looking guy pointing at me.

    "Who are you again?" I frowned, questioning.

    "...Huh? Dude, it''s me! Jake Stark! Your childhood friend!" he responded.

    "Ughhh¡­" I rubbed my head, appearing clueless.

    "You know, you made fun of me on the day of the Weapon Selection because my parents were going through a divorce," he attempted to jog my memory.

    Still wearing a nk expression, I shrugged and walked away, ignoring his continued screams in the background.

    "Huh?! Hey! Don''t do that! Lucas! Man, I was looking forward to getting my revenge! Come on, at least remember me! Hey! Hey!"

    Paying no attention to his persistent babbling, I let out a deep breath and prepared myself for the uing game.

    "Let''s do this."

 Chapter 200 Game Starts [1]

    ?

    "[The rules of the game are simple: yers must reach the Gate of the fifth district forest, engage in a battle with a horde of mana beasts already positioned there, and locate a hidden g within the outer forest.]"

    The announcer, who was a second-year cadet, stood on the elevated announcer stand, hovering in the air above the arena.

    His resounding voice reverberated through the stadium''s speakers, thundering throughout the vicinity.

    The role of the announcer is to make announcements regarding game participants, winners, and other relevant information.

    In addition to doing the announcements, the announcers are also responsible for setting up and managing the games.

    Hence, they are also sometimes called the ''Game Masters.''

    Typically, seven second-year cadets are chosen for this position, with each cadet managing one day of the King''s Tournament.

    They are chosen because they are more responsible and educated on the matters of organizing the gamespared to the first-year cadets who would be participating in the tournament for the first time.

    As the crowd eagerly awaited the start of the game, the announcer, adorned in a crisp uniform, exuded an air of confidence.

    He gazed down at the sprawling arena below, a vast expanse filled with anticipation.

    With an authoritative yet enthusiastic tone, he addressed the audience, saying,

    "[All you need to do to secure victory is retrieve that g and ce it in the gpole before you.]"

    Almost as if waiting for that cue, two second-year cadets d in ck uniforms approached us and positioned a gpole in the center of the field, cing it between our team and Kai''s group.

    In the following moment, the announcer resumed,

    "The first individual to aplish this task will secure victory for their team. The prize for this game will be one thousand Merit Points individually credited to every participant''s ount. However, remember that while you can fight each other, killing is not allowed for obvious reasons."

    As anticipation reached its peak among the crowd, the announcer''s grin grew wider.

    He brought the microphone closer to his mouth and raised his hand high in the air.

    "May fortune favor the bold and fate challenge you to surpass your limits. Let the gamemence!"

    Boom¡ª

    As soon as the announcer''s words left his lips, fireworks erupted in the sky, marking the start of the day''s main game.

    Fwoosh, Fwoosh¡ª

    Immediately, both teams swiftly sprang into action.

    Kai''s team rushed towards the western exit of the stadium, while we dashed towards the eastern one.

    A voice from the left reached my ears. "Do you have a n?" it inquired.

    I turned my head to see the source of the voice, finding it to be Nero, who was running alongside me.

    ''Why are you asking me now?'' is what I wanted to retort, but I refrained from doing so.

    To be honest, I initially thought about sabotaging Nero''s chances in this game.

    However, two things changed my mind:

    Firstly, I had given my word to Amelia that I would repay her favor of keeping the information about Sera a secret.

    Secondly, I¡­ Well, I wanted those one thousand Merit Points.

    That''s why, when a fleeting expression of annoyance flickered across my face upon hearing Nero''s question, I quickly took control of my emotions and wore a friendly smile.

    "Of course I have a n," I replied, maintaining our pace.

    "This quickly?" eximed William, who was running to my right. "The game was just announced moments ago, and you already have a n?"

    Yeah, that''s right.

    Even the participants don''t get to know anything about the games they participate in until the Game Master makes the announcement.

    Naturally, we also had no prior knowledge about the game we would be ying until only a few moments ago.

    So, I understood why William found it surprising that I had alreadye up with a n this quickly.

    "No need to be shocked," I reassured him. "The Main Games Of The Day are typically significant events that take ce outside the stadium.

    "That''s why, when Amelia invited me to join, I began investigating any unusual activities within the academy grounds.

    "Someone in our ss chat mentioned that the second-year cadets were capturing low-level mana beasts alive in the Fifth District Forest.

    "I quickly deduced that this information must be relevant to our game. And if it was, then it meant we would be dealing with mana beasts and the Fifth District Forest. Using that as a foundation, I devised a general n.

    "When the announcer disclosed the details of the game, I improvised and refined my n of action on the spot."

    By the time I finished exining, we had already exited the stadium.

    William stared at me in astonishment, his jaw dropped so low that it was practically touching the ground now.

    "What''s there not to be surprised about all of this again?" he eximed.

    "Alright, William, you can be shockedter," Anastasia pushed William aside and took his ce on my right.

    Without slowing down, she asked, "What''s the n?"

    "We''ll split up," I replied quickly. "I know for a fact that they''ll concentrate all their efforts on stopping Nero. So, we''ll split up and reach the Fifth District Forest using different routes."

    I turned to Nero and said, "If youe across them, you''ll alert the rest of us about their locations, but no backup wille for you. You''ll have to fight alone and hold them off for as long as possible."

    "So you''re using me as bait?" Nero raised an eyebrow as we dashed through the streets.

    "Yes," I replied bluntly in a firm tone. "Do you have a problem with that?"

    "...Of course not," he replied. "I''ll enjoy taking them on with my own hands. What could be better? But then, why do you want me to inform you about their locations?"

    "So if they manage to escape from you, I can predict what routes they''ll take and what moves they''ll make next," I exined.

    "...You think I''m foolish enough to let any of them escape?" Nero scoffed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I do," I shrugged.

    "....." Nero narrowed his eyes at me as everyone fell silent again, but I paid no mind to it.

    "Anyway, if theye after you, alert us. If they don''t, we''ll all rendezvous at the gate of the Forest," I continued.

    "What if they don''t focus solely on Nero and decide to split up too?" Amelia questioned.

    "Then we''ll face them individually," I replied. "If they want to defeat us, they''ll have to stop us from getting the g. Once we have the g, they''ll have to fight us head-on to reim it, and that won''t be easy for them¨C"

    "Because they''re a bunch of weaklings!" Chase interjected.

    "...Y-Yeah, whatever he said," I waved my hand to affirm his remark. "So, the first person to reach the g will inform the rest of us, and we''ll use all ourbined strength to protect the g-bearer until the g is nted on the gpole.

    "To sum it up¨Cif they focus on Nero, we''ll ignore them and secure the g. If they focus on us individually, we''ll fight them and secure the g. In both scenarios, our ultimate goal is to defend the g-bearer until the g is nted.

    "It''s a simple n, but it will be effective. If all of you follow my call-outs and do as I say, we''ll emerge victorious without a hitch. Understood?"

    ""Roger!"" Aside from Nero and Chase, everyone shouted in response.

    "Oh, and," I decided to give one final warning. I turned to Nero and said, "Be cautious of Kai. He''s not as weak as he appears."

    Nero raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Are you sure you''re not just scared of him because of yourst encounter with him?"

    "...Believe what you want," I replied. "I''ve done my part by giving you the warning."

    "Ugh, I have a question," Amelia voiced her confusion next.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "I know it''s unlikely, but what if they manage to acquire the g before us?" she questioned.

    Good.

    At least she is thinking about every possible situation that can happen. She''s making progress.

    Unlike certain individuals on our team, she''s not underestimating our enemies.

    Yes, I''m referring to Nero and Chase.

    They are overly confident about this game, I can see it.

    Now, it would have been fine for them to act this way before, but with the unexpected addition of Kai as their opponent, they should be more cautious.

    They should be on guard.

    Yet, all I see is their arrogance.

    Well, Nero has always been that way¡ªthe type to be overly confident in his abilities, even in the novel.

    Sometimes I think it''s because he''s so prideful that a narcissist like me can''t help but hate him.

    I can understand why he''s like this.

    He lost his mother at such a young age and the killer was none other than his own father.

    He had to build himself up from scratch, learning to do everything on his own¡ªfighting, feeding himself, surviving alone.

    If I had experienced something like that, even I would take pride in myself.

    But at this moment, he''s simply being foolish by underestimating his opponent.

    "Don''t worry about that," I replied in a nonchnt manner. "If, by some miracle, they manage to secure the g before us, I''ll be the one to handle the situation and ensure our victory."

    "Okay," Amelia nodded.

    "Now, let''s split up!" I yelled out.

    At my signal, everyone dispersed in different directions.

    The streets were empty. Shops were closed and hardly any people were in sight. It was expected since today was the first day of the King''s Tournament.

    Yes, there were a few small drones hovering around me, following my every move.

    Ignoring thempletely, I slowed my pace from running to walking as I reached the train station.

    I wasn''t foolish enough to run my way to the Fifth District Forest.

    Well, to be honest, I wasn''t nning on going there at all. But if I was, I would''ve taken the train.

    But as I said, I''m not going there.

    No, while those idiots fight each other for the g, I would be setting up some traps on all the routes they could possibly take to exit the Fifth District.

    Hey, don''t judge me, okay?!

    It''s my fighting style. I''m not a savage.

    I prefer not to fight, no matter how skilled I have be with my fists. Of course, I would never back down if someone takes the fight to me.

    "Haaa~" I let out a sigh as I reached the train tform. I paused for a few moments and dug my hands into my pocket.

    Retrieving a handful of small marbles, I threw them onto the train tracks.

    Honk, Honk¨C!!

    Almost immediately, the train pulled up to the tform and I quickly boarded it.

    "Hello there."

    "....." But to my surprise, a young man with dark blueish-ck hair and captivating light teal eyes was seated in the vacant section of the trainpartment.

    It was Kai Wiseman.

 Chapter 201 Game Starts [2]

    ?

    "Evening," I greeted, confidently taking a seat across from Kai. "I didn''t expect us to meet again so soon, especially here."

    Kai raised an eyebrow in response, sensing something different about me. "You seem more confident than before."

    "And you are just as careless as when we first met," I retorted with a smile.

    A frown etched across Kai''s face upon hearing my words. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

    Before I could respond, a holographic screen popped up in front of me, capturing my attention.

    ===

    Wee, esteemed traveler. Where shall we transport you today?

    ? 7th District

    ? 5th District

    ? 3rd District

    Please note: If your desired destination is not listed, you may have boarded the incorrect train.

    ===

    Without a moment''s hesitation, I tapped on the option for the [5th District] from the disyed choices.

    Once my selection was made, I redirected my focus back to Kai.

    "Think about it," I asserted, my voice filled with conviction. "If your intention is to avoid the spotlight then you''re not doing a good job, are you? First you confronted me in public, and now this, meeting me when we are being watched by the world."

    Kai surveyed our surroundings and saw several small drones hovering all around us¡ª their incessant buzzing making it clear that we were being broadcasted live to the world.

    If Kai wanted to discuss something confidential, then it was certainly not the ideal time or ce to do that.

    Nevertheless, Kai persisted. "So, was I right? Are you truly the one I''ve been searching for?"

    "If you still need to ask that question then maybe you''re not as smart as I gave you the credit for," I scoffed. "Alright, let''s suppose I am the person you seek. What exactly do you want from me?"

    Kai quickly responded in a cryptic statement, "I have reason to believe that you possess something that rightfully belongs to me."

    "What do you mean by that?" I inquired, seeking rification.

    "It''s not something I can exin in this ce," Kai shook his head. "It is as you said, now is not the good time to discuss this."

    "So then, what is it that you want from me right now?" I pressed further.

    "Right now, you ask?" Kai rose from his seat and approached me, stopping only a few steps away. "I want you to join forces with me."

    A mixture of confusion and amusement crossed my face, reflected in a faint smile that appeared on my lips. "Is that your desire? For me to join you?"

    "Yes," Kai nodded. "If you truly have what I think you do, then you will be very usefull to me."

    "Yeah, you see, I don''t believe I possess what you believe I do," I replied with a smirk. "And even if I did, I cannot join you."

    A cold, emotionless expression washed over Kai''s face as he asked, "Why is that?"

    "Well, let''s just say you and I have different goals," I responded firmly.

    "You have no idea what my goals even are!" he interjected.

    Ignoring hisment, I continued, "And besides, I''ve made a promise to someone that I will bring you down."

    Confusion marked Kai''s face as he inquired, "Who is it?"

    Thak, Thak, Thak¡ª!

    Before I could answer, the train suddenly jolted as its engines roared to life.

    This was my chance. The train was about to move.

    "Enough talk," I dered, rising to my feet to face him. "I''ve already made it clear that I won''t join you."

    "Is that so?" Kai took a deep breath. "I can''t let you walk away from here if you don''t join my side. Your ''knowledge'' will be troublesome if you ever be my enemy."

    He put emphasis on the word ''knowlegde'' for some reasons and I understood what he meant right away.

    This confirms my suspicions. He knows about the future, just like me! And he also knows that I''m aware of it!

    So, is this his strategy?

    He wants me to join forces with him so that he can utilize our shared knowledge of the future.

    But for what purpose? Why? What is his ultimate goal?

    Does he still want to rule the Global City as its Cadet Council President, just as it was in the novel?

    Or does he have an entirely different goal?

    Haaa! Fine, I''ll y along with him for now.

    "You can''t let me walk away from here, you say?" A snarl escaped my lips as I looked at him with a taunting expression, "And how exactly do you n to stop me?"

    "Simple," Kai shrugged nonchntly. "I''ll just beat you until you have no choice but to join me."

    "...W-Woah, that''s actually a remarkably simple n," I admitted, struggling to find the right words.

    "Right? Sometimes simplicity is better than multipleyers of oneplicated," Kai remarked.

    "True, true," I nodded, appreciating his perspective. "And yeah, your n can also be very effective. After all, as they say, violence is never the answer¡ªit''s the question, and the answer is yes."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Exactly!" Kai eximed, pping his hands together. "Finally, someone who gets it."

    But immediately in the next moment, a glint of calcted madness shed in his eyes as he stared at me.

    "I''ll enjoy breaking each and every bone in your body," he threatened, summoning a sword twice his size into his hands.

    It was a giantsword.

    ''What the fuck?! How is he even going to swing such a giant greatsword in this cramped trainpartment?!''

    As such thoughts raced through my mind, I quickly shook my head and conjured my own spear into my grasp.

    Fwoosh¡ª!

    No words were exchanged between us as Kai swiftly lunged at me, wielding that big hunk of metal that could hardly be called a sword.

    As his sword closed in on me, I swiftly ducked under it, narrowly evading what could have been a devastating blow to my skull.

    Thaaawm¡ª!

    Every object that stood in the path of his sword¡ªwhether it was support poles, seats, or luggagepartments¡ªwas effortlessly sliced in half by the sheer force of his strike.

    He was like an unstoppable juggernaut!

    With a flick of his wrist, he redirected another swing towards me.

    ''Damn, so he''s also fast with that thing?'' I thought in my mind.

    Gritting my teeth and clenching my jaw, I raised my spear to directly block his attack with the intention of testing his strength.

    ng¡ª!!

    THWAAAM¡ª!!

    "Gaaah!" I couldn''t help but cry out as the impact of his attack pushed me down onto my knees.

    How on earth was he so incredibly strong?

    And I could just feel that he was not even using his full strength right now!

    Well, neither was I for that matter.

    "Fine!" I eximed, my teeth clenched tightly together as I channeled mana into my legs.

    Twoosh¡ª!

    In the blink of an eye, I deflected his sword, which was pressing down on me, and used my speed to propel myself upwards.

    I was on the verge of colliding with the train ceiling.

    Yet, instead of evading it, I twisted my body in mid-air like a swirling tornado, and shed the ceiling with my spear.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    As soon as my spear made contact, an enormous hole was sted through the ceiling. I passed through it and gracefullynded on top of the train.

    "Oh? nning to flee run now?" Kai red up at me through the gaping hole in the ceeling and sneered. "You made grand ims, yet falter when it''s time to back them up? But rest assured, I won''t allow you to escape¡ª"

    However, before he couldplete he sentence, I aimed an open palm in his direction and let out a loud roar, "Explode!"

    KABOOOM¡ª!!

    In an instant, multiple medium-scale explosions erupted under the train, engulfing the entirepartment in a fiery st.

    Those explosions came from the marbles I threw on the tracks before boarding the train earlier.

    Yes, I anticipated a situation like this could happen. There''s no harm in being cautious, right?

    Taking several deep breaths to clear my mind and calm myself, I used this moment to improvise my n.

    I started thinking about all the potential situations that could be happening right now.

    If Kai is here, fighting me, then it''s clear that they haven''t put all their manpower to stop Nero.

    Does this mean they are nning to fight us individually?

    Should I contact everyone and ask for a status report? ¨C as this idea crossed through my mind, I quickly dismissed it.

    No, now is not the time for that. I peered down into the trainpartment through the hole to look at the situation.

    Everything was still engulfed in mes, the sound of embers crackling filled the air, and I could feel the searing heat on my skin even from up here.

    A few drones were also caught in the explosions, but I could still see several of them hovering above me so I knew that not all of them were damaged.

    "I know you''re still alive," I sighed, shouting through the hole. "If the rumors about you are true then I know that this isn''t nearly enough to kill you, is it?"

    Kwoosh¡ª!!

    Almost as if waiting for my words, something emerged from the inferno, leaping through the hole andnding before me.

    Right then, the train began to move and a sudden jolt apanied the activation of inertia. However, I stood firm in my ce.

    Gazing ahead, I locked eyes with Kai. His clothes were charred and torn from the earlier explosion.

    Dusting off his body, he jerked his head to the side.

    "You will pay for this," he cursed.

 Chapter 202 Game Starts [3]

    ?

    Just as hended in front of me across the hole at the top of the train, he gripped his greatsword with both his hands and pulled it back¨C taking a basic swordsman stance.

    The train had already begun moving, and we were currently speeding atop it at four hundred kilometers per hour, with no sign of slowing down.

    The wind pressed against my back with such force that keeping my head straight, let alone standing upright, became a challenge.

    I exuded mana from my heels and used it to create suction around my legs, forming a vacuum that enabled me to firmly cling to the train.

    Yeah, moving like this would be hard but at least I won''t have any trouble standing straight this way.

    Normally I wouldn''t have been able to do something like this. But since I had been training under Leo and trying to distort the air using mana, my control over it has gotten even better.

    Even Kai couldn''t help but acknowledge this fact.

    "You mana control is impressive," he remarked.

    He had every right to be impressed.

    After all, it''s not easy to control your mana once it leaves the confines of your Area of Dominance¨C your body¨C and enters the atmosphere.

    Of course, words of appreciation weren''t the only things that escaped Kai''s lips.

    "But you will still lose here," he said in the next moment as he began advancing towards me, step by step.

    What was more unnerving was the fact that he wasn''t using mana to cling to the train like me.

    But then, how was he doing it? With this thought in mind, I scrutinized Kai from head to toe before it finally dawned on me.

    He was using the weight of his greatsword to maintain his bnce.

    He may have also been channeling the mana inside his body to withstand the resistance of the wind.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    By infusing his legs with mana, Kai leapt in my direction, raising his sword high above his head.

    "Tsk," I clicked my tongue in frustration as I thought about my next move.

    Should I utilize Martial Aura? If I do that then the denseyer of mana will protect me from the wind resistance, and I''ll be able to move freely.

    However, in the next moment, I quickly dismissed that idea and raised my spear high once again to block his iing strike.

    ng¡ª!!

    Thaam¡ª!!

    The resounding sh of metal hitting against metal reverberated through the surroundings.

    Once again, the sheer force behind Kai''s attack pushed me down on one knee.

    His sword pressed down upon me, pinning me in ce as I knelt as I used my spear to keep his de from cleaving me in half.

    "Where will you run to now?" he taunted, a triumphant grin forming on his face. "I must say, Lucas Morningstar, you''ve been a great disappointment."

    With those words, Kai tightened his grip, exerting even more force as he drove his greatsword down on me until finally his de struck my shoulder and caused blood to spurt out.

    "Gaaah!" I let out a muffled scream, my teeth clenched in pain.

    "And here I thought you would provide me with a worthy fight," he continued. "Tell me, where will you run now?!"

    "Nowhere," I replied through the agony, my voice strained. Yet, a grin akin to his own began to spread across my face. "But where will YOU run now?"

    Naturally, Kai was taken aback by my words, his brow furrowed as he gave me a perplexed look.

    Without paying him any mind, I released a resounding roar. "Mana burst!"

    KABOOOM¡ª!!

    Before he could even get a chance to react, a big azure explosion erupted right away, with my own body at its epicenter.

    The top section of the train block we stood upon was violently blown to bits and the force of the explosion flung Kai back into the air.

    He crashed down on the side of the tracks while I stood up victoriously, the smirk still present on my face.

    Fortunately, I controlled the intensity of the explosion, so the top section of the train on which we stood wasn''t destroyed.

    After all, my goal was just to push Kai off the train.

    Uponnding on the ground, Kai swiftly rolled to kill the momentum of his fall and got back on his feet before casting a nce back at me.

    His eyes wereposed and cold, devoid of any hint of emotion.

    Within a matter of seconds, as the train I stood on hurtled forward at a rapid pace, his figure receded into the distance and merged with the blurring surroundings until he vanished entirely from view.

    "There''s no way he can catch up to me now," I let out a sigh, trying to calm down my raging heart.

    I now understand why Quinn is so scared of Kai.

    Even with all the recent boost in my stats, he managed to overpower me in a head-on confrontation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Of course, we held back considerably since we were fighting on a moving train, but I now have a clearer understanding of his level of strength.

    I think master was right.

    If I solely talk about physical prowess then Kai would likely be on par with Nero¡ª perhaps slightly below.

    "Haaa~" I released another sigh, sitting back down on top of the train to get some rest.

    One more thing is also clear to me now.

    If Kai and I were to go all out and fight, it would undoubtedly be a close match¡­ but I will win.

    Sure, he''s a little stronger than me even now, but my technique is clearly far superior than his.

    And it is just as master once said to me, technique beats strength.

    Shaking my head, I cleared my head of such thoughts. Right now, I need to focus on the game I am in.

    Bringing my right hand wrist up, I tapped on my smart bracelet to unlock it. Then I contacted our team through an open channel.

    "Do you all copy? I repeat, do you all copy?" I inquired over them. "If you can hear me, provide your status reports, over."

    Without dy, responses flooded in.

    -"This is Amelia. I''m currently under attack. Engaged with two hostile forces, over."

    -"Elijah reporting. I''ve made contact. Engaging a lone assant, over."

    -"Anastasia here. I''m kinda busy, but yeah, I''m fighting a single enemy, over."

    -"William reporting. I''ve reached the forest gate. There''s no sign of any enemy activity in sight. Requesting further instructions. Should I go inside or wait, over?"

    What? He''s already at the gate of the Fifth District Forest?! How is he faster than a fucking flying train?!

    Ah, he must have used Rui''s help.

    Okay, so Amelia is fighting against two people. Anastasia and Elijah are both fighting an enemy each.

    Given that Chase and Nero aren''t replying to my call, I think I can safely assume they are also engaged inbat.

    Since Kai was pursuing me until a few moments ago, it''s clear that none of their seven team members have reached the forest yet.

    ¡­Wait, does this mean no one is spotting William? So he can just go in and grab the g?

    But then what''s their game n? Are they scheming to ambush us on our return to the stadium?

    A surprise attack somewhere on our route back to the academy campus?

    Or maybe they are trying to lure us into some kind of a trap?

    -"Lucas, what are my orders?"

    Yeah, what should I instruct him to do?

    Should I send him inside the forest now or have him wait for the rest of the team for backup?

    No, if the rest of the team is engaged in battle, the optimal course of action is to send William into the forest to get the g.

    Once that happens, we all would keep the enemies from reaching William until he sessfully nts the g on the gpole.

    But what if it''s a trap? Is it foolish to send William blindly into the forest like this?

    "Arghhaaa!" I let out a frustrated groan and scratched the back of my neck as I cleared my mind of doubt.

    Kai¡­

    Kai is attempting to deceive me. Is there a trap or not, he''s trying to bluff me!

    -"Lucas, quickly! Give me my orders!"

    Arghh! Fine!

    Nodding firmly, I made a decision. "William, proceed inside the forest and secure the g."

    -"Roger that."

    As soon as I issued themand, the train gradually started decelerating until it came to aplete stop and pulled up at the Fifth District station tform.

    The station, like the train, waspletely empty and not a person was in sight.

    Nodding once more, I jumped down from the top of the train onto the tform. It''s time to get to work.

    I''ve improvised my n.

    First, I''ll help my teammates, then I''ll proceed to the next phase of my n.

    If I can execute the n that I have in my mind then it will lead to my¨C I mean, our wless victory.

 Chapter 203 Flag [1]

    ?

    In front of a barricaded steel gate stood a captivating elven boy with leafy green hair and striking red eyes.

    With confident strides, he approached the gate.

    The fat guard performing his duty there didn''t stop him, as he noticed several small drones trailing behind the Elf.

    It quickly became clear to him that this boy was participating in the King''s Tournament.

    As William walked past him, the guard simply offered a short bow before proceeding to open the gate.

    "Get ready, Rui," William looked at his shadow as if someone was hiding within it. "I''m not sure why, but Lucas mentioned that this might be a trap. So we need to stay on guard."

    After uttering those words, he infused mana into his dimensional ring and took out a long, needle-like red spear into his hands.

    "Let''s go," he dered, rushing into the forest as soon as the guard swung open the gates.

    William was fast.

    Like a blur, he effortlessly maneuvered through the forest with an agility that could only be described as inhumane.

    He skillfully evaded or leaped over any obstacles¡ªbranches, rocks, roots¡ªthat attempted to impede him, relentlessly running forward.

    To assist those seeking the g, the second-year students had already ced red arrow signs on the trees, ensuring they wouldn''t lose their way.

    ¨C"Gwaaaar!"

    ¨C"Muaaaaaar!"

    Before long, he came across two second-year cadets dressed in all-ck uniforms. They held the leashes of two colossal mana beasts in their hands.

    These creatures resembled rhinos in structure, with a horn protruding out from their foreheads, but they stood on two legs.

    They had cors around their necks and tethered by leashes held by the second-years.

    William halted in his tracks and tilted his head to the side.

    "Bipedal rhinos?" he remarked, a sense of amusement evident in his voice.

    The two second-year cadets chuckled in response to his reaction.

    ¨C"They''re called Rhinoloths," one of the second-year cadets informed.

    "I''ve never seen them," William admitted. "Are they strong?"

    ¨C"They dwell deeper within the forest, where the first-year cadets aren''t allowed to go. That''s probably why you haven''t encountered them. And yes, they are indeed strong," replied the other second-year cadet.

    ¨C"By the way, are you here alone?" inquired the second-year cadet who had spoken earlier.

    "Yes," William responded. "My teammates aren''t here right now. I''ve been instructed to go in and secure the g."

    ¨C"I see," the other second-year cadet mused, touching his chin. "But as you progress along this path, you''ll encounter more mana beasts. It might be challenging for you to face them alone."

    "Oh, please don''t worry about me," William waved his hands and shed a courteous smile. "I am a Sinoath. I''m a hunter by blood."

    ¨C"Oh?" One of the second-years raised an eyebrow. "Alright then. We''ll release the beasts. However, if it seems like you''re in imminent danger of dying, we will jump in, and you will be disqualified from further participation."

    William didn''t respond verbally. He simply bent his knees slightly and raised his spear to his chest while maintaining his smile.

    Taking his actions as confirmation, the second years released their grip on the leashes, and both Rhinoloths charged aggressively toward the elven boy.

    Without flinching, William infused his spear with mana and tensed his leg muscles as the Rhinoloths charged at him.

    "Gwaaaar!"

    As one of the Rhinoloths entered striking range, William jumped up and leaped over its head.

    From his position over the Rhinoloth''s head in mid-air, William gripped his spear tightly in his hands.

    In the blink of an eye, his spear radiated a blinding white light.

    William quickly threw his spear down with a powerful throw as it hurtled towards the Rhinoloth directly beneath him.

    Thwaaah¡ª!!!

    The spear impaled the bipedal rhino from head to lower abdomen before striking the ground.

    Thud¡ª!

    As the lifeless body of the Rhinoloth crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, the elfnded gracefully a few steps away.

    -"Maaaaaur!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, the battle was far from over.

    Without giving him a moment to take a breath, the other Rhinoloth charged at William, its horn aimed to strike him.

    Reacting swiftly, William retrieved his spear from the point it struck the ground.

    He began to spin his weapon skillfully using both hands, building momentum for his next attack while channeling mana into it once more.

    By the time the Rhinoloth closed in on him, William had already executed a swift spin on his foot, propelling his spear towards the oing creature, utilizing the umted momentum from his spin.

    Thaaawk¡ª!!

    As soon as his spear hit the Rhino''s head, a hole drilled open in its skull, causing blood and gooey brain matter to spurt out in all directions.

    ¨C"...."

    ¨C"...."

    Naturally, the Elf''s performance left both second-year cadets utterly speechless.

    Williams'' prowess with the spear was truly remarkable, and his execution was wless in his every move.

    There was no trace of hesitation or panic in his actions.

    He ended his opponent without any hesitation, akin to a disciplined soldier following orders.

    They couldn''t help but question whether he truly was just a first-year cadet.

    Could they even hope to match his technique, despite being a year older than him?

    Although all William demonstrated was his basic spearmanship, both second-year cadets instinctively knew that he possessed far greater power than what he had revealed ¨C power they themselves did not possess yet.

    "Excellent warm-up," William dered, stretching his limbs before assuming a sprinting stance. "Thank you, seniors. Until we meet again."

    Whoosh¡ª!!

    With those parting words, William bolted away at lightning speed.

    ?

    Twenty minutester...

    A trail of lifeless mana beast corpses followed the path that a certain leafy green-haired elven boy walked on.

    Only destruction followed everywhere he went.

    Since this was a team-based game, the second-year cadets had specifically caught strong mana beasts that would pose a challenge for the first-year cadets so they would require teamwork to ovee it.

    It was meant to be a lesson in camaraderie from the second-year seniors to their junior first-years.

    However, a lone Elf shattered all their ns and efforts.

    He effortlessly defeated every mana beast they unleashed on him, single-handedly and without breaking a sweat, until the final one met its demise.

    "Phew~" William exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "That Winged ck Jaguar put up a good fight."

    Undoubtedly, it did. Thest mana beast he fought was of [Silver] rank and it had managed to leave a small scratch on William.

    Just a scratch.

    "Regardless, it''s finally over," William remarked as he traversed the dense woods, following the red arrow signs.

    It didn''t take long before his gaze fell upon a crimson g.

    The g was simple, its fabric fluttering in the breeze, anchored to the ground by a steel pole.

    That had to be it. With that thought in mind, William made his way toward it.

    ".....?!"

    However, before he could get close to the g, William noticed a young man with bluish-ck hair and teal eyes leaning against one of the trees nearby.

    It was Kai!

    His clothes were still tattered and burnt from the explosions he endured during his fight with Lucas.

    However, only his clothes were damaged and not a wound could be seen on his chiseled body.

    "Hello there."

 Chapter 204 Flag [2]

    ?

    Twenty minutes earlier¡­.

    A young beauty with ck hair, appearing to be in herte teens, took cover behind a car.

    Her emerald green eyes fluttered all around to survey her surroundings.

    She was currently on the sidetrack while two enemies were engaging her inbat from across the street¡ª they were also taking cover behind a car.

    From across the street, a chubby guy peeked over the car he was hiding behind and aimed his open palm at the car behind which Amelia was.

    ¨C"Ignis Spheara!" the guy chanted out a spell and a big, spinning sphere of red mes materialized before him.

    Booom¡ª!!

    In an instant, the sphere shot forward and struck the car, exploding with a deafening roar like a good amount of TNT detonating.

    Fortunately, Amelia had already moved from that spot. She rolled and got on her knees before grabbing her bow tightly with one hand and cing an arrow on it with another.

    "You''re dead," she said as she pulled back on her bowstring before releasing it and shooting her arrow.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Violent gusts of wind twirled around her arrow as it traveled through the air until it struck the car with the force of a speeding truck, blowing it away like a toy.

    "Baaah!"

    "You bitch!"

    The two enemies quickly dodged out of the way to avoid being caught in the destruction.

    One of them was a slightly chubby and in-looking guy, donning a pair of gauntlets on both hands.

    The other was a skinny, frail-looking girl with a scowling expression stered on her face.

    Before they could react, Amelia had already nocked another arrow onto her bow.

    She didn''t give them a chance to even catch their breath as she shot her arrow at them.

    This time, the arrow sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter, seemingly unaffected by wind resistance.

    Slish¡ª!!

    However, the arrow passed through the chubby guy as if he wasn''t even there.

    "Tsk!" Amelia clicked her tongue in frustration.

    "I''ve already told you," the chubby guy sneered. "Your arrows, or anything else for that matter, can''t hit me! I''m untouchable, bitch!"

    "No, you''re a pig!" Amelia yelled out as she started running in order to find a secure position to shoot her arrows.

    "Are you fat-shaming me in this day and age?!" The chubby pig oinked in response.

    He moved his legs and his belly jiggled as he performed an action that could only be considered running if he were moving any faster than walking speed.

    The girl apanying him simply shook her head and started actually running to follow behind Amelia.

    With each step that she took, her speed grew more and more.

    Meanwhile, Amelia took a turn at the end of the street and...

    Thwack¡ª!

    Collided with someone.

    "Arghh!" She clutched her head as she fell backward.

    "Oww! You hit my nose!" A familiar voice reached her ears as the person she bumped into cried in pain.

    She raised her head to find a pair of bright, merlot-red eyes staring back at her, tears welling up in them.

    It was Lucas. He held his nose with one hand, trying to ease the pain, while extending her the other hand to help her.

    Amelia took his hand and stood up straight. "Lucas? What are you doing here?"

    "You''re at a disadvantage, so I came to help," the silver-haired boy exined. "But here you are, attacking your helper."

    "Ah, sorry," Amelia replied as she urged him to move and started running. With Lucas following behind, she added, "Run, or they''ll catch up to us!"

    "Are they strong?" Lucas asked.

    "Hell no!" Amelia scoffed.

    "Then what''s the problem?" He questioned, his forehead creased with confusion.

    Amelia briefly slowed down before responding, "They''re both Gifteds. The pig can phase through things, and the girl can run incredibly fast."

    "Damn!" Lucas widened his eyes, genuinely impressed. "Those are some really good blessings!"

    "I know," Amelia nodded. "I''m clearly stronger than both of them, but since it''s impossible to hit them, I can''t win."

    "Did you find any weaknesses in them?" Lucas asked.

    "The pig needs three seconds to use his abilities again, and the bitch needs to build up speed. The more she runs, the faster she bes, but she can only go straight and needs to slow down for turns," Amelia replied while taking another turn as the silver-haired boy followed closely behind her.

    "What was your n?" Lucas inquired again, testing the ck-haired girl.

    "I was thinking of wearing them out by evading their attacks. Since they''re no match for me, they won''t be able to confront me directly," she exined. "Once they are too exhausted to use their Gifts, it''ll be over for them."

    Lucas shook his head. "Amelia, you need to start thinking more strategically. I know you''re intelligent, so use that to analyze situations like these."

    "What do you mean?" Amelia furrowed her brow, puzzled.

    "Think about it," Lucas began. "Why did two opponentse after you instead of one going for the g? And why do both of them possess abilities that can drag out the fight?"

    Amelia''s frown deepened as she realized the implications of Lucas'' words.

    "They want to stall us," Amelia concluded, pping her hands together.

    "Exactly," Lucas nodded. "It''s likely that William has walked into a trap. They''re stalling the rest of us to prevent us from reaching him."

    "Wait, if you knew this, why did you send William into the forest? Why didn''t you ask him to wait?" she questioned.

    "Because there''s always a possibility that Kai wants me to think it''s a trap when it''s actually not," Lucas replied. "It''s a bluff¡ªa well-executed one at that."

    "What will you do if it is indeed a trap?" she asked, seeking further rification.

    "Don''t worry about that," Lucas reassured her. "I''ve already considered every possibility."

    "Every possibility?" she repeated incredulously.

    "Yes," the young Morningstar affirmed. "Every single one."

    "How do you even do that?" Amelia asked, desperation and curiosity filling her voice. "How do you predict the future so easily?"

    "I don''t," Lucas shook his head. "I simply think everything through. I ponder over every possible thing that could go wrong or spiral out of control. I contemte all the potential obstacles that might arise.

    "That''s what I want you to do as well. Amelia, you''re intelligent. If you start excessively analyzing every scenario, envisioning the future that can ur¡ªno matter how imusible it may seem in your head¡ªbefore it actually happen, if you can just do that, then when the situation you envisioned in your mind ys out in reality, it won''t catch you off guard because you would have already thought about it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Nothing will surprise you, and you''ll be able to handle anything. Always remain ten steps ahead of your adversary by anticipating both their moves and your own, and always harbor a sense of self-doubt. Because, as a wise man once said, self-doubt is the bestpanion of an intelligent individual."

    "I¡ª" Amelia began to say something, but before she could, a figure blurred past them and came to a halt a few steps ahead.

    It was the skinny girl from earlier. She was now blocking their path.

    "Damn, she''s fast!" Lucas widened his eyes as they quickly steered around to make a U-turn.

    "Oh, seriously?!" Amelia eximed when they realized that the chubby guy from before was now blocking their retreat route too.

    He huffed and puffed, clearly out of breath from running.

    "D-Don''t make me run again... I''m warning you!" the chubby guy managed to speak between his ragged breaths. He lifted his head and his eyesnded on Lucas.

    "Oh, the knight in shining armor has arrived!" he sneered at Lucas, a grin spreading across his face. "I''ve been waiting for my revenge!"

    "Ahh! I remember you now!" Lucas pped his hands together as he finally recognised the pig. "You''re Jake Stark, the guy with divorced parents, aren''t you!"

    Jake''s chubby face turned red upon hearing Lucas''s words. "You know, I used to consider you a friend!"

    "Oh, shut up," Lucas snarled. "You were just after connections to the Morningstars. After all, the authorities don''t dare mess with you if you have the support of a young lord from the ruling family."

    Jake gritted his teeth in fury. "You... You think you''re some hotshot just because you were born into a ruling family?! I''ll show you¨C"

    "Jake, calm down," the skinny girl named Leia interjected from behind Amelia and Lucas. "Our orders are to stall them here. Don''t do anything reckless."

    "Stay out of it, Leia!" Jake retorted. "I''ll beat this guy until his precious face resembles a fucking pulp!"

    Listening to their conversation, Lucas turned to Amelia. "See, I was right. They''re here to stall us."

    "Hey!" Jake raged, feeling ignored by Lucas once again. "How dare you ignore me!"

    Lucas directed his attention back to Jake and tilted his head, a cocky smile forming on his lips. "Sorry, who are you again?"

    This was the final straw for Jake. Steam seemed to rise from his head as his face grew increasingly red.

    "I''ll kill you!" he roared, charging towards Lucas like a raging hippo.

    At that moment, Lucas''s smirk transformed into a mocking smile as he pulled out a push button from his pocket.

    "No, stop!" Leia tried to intervene, realizing that Lucas was about to do something, but it was already toote.

    Shing¡ª!!

    Lucas pressed the button, and several small orbs around Jake began to glow.

    Jake hadn''t noticed before, but small marbles were scattered across the street, forming a circle.

    And now, in his blind rage, Jake had stepped right into that circle.

    Thaaam¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" The marbles emitted a bright sh of light and stunned Jake. The chubby guy let out a cry, clutched his head and dropped to his knees as he felt like he had a concussion.

    Amelia was quick to capitalize on this opening. She chanted a spell under her breath and the wind started to twirl around her feet.

    In a burst of speed, Amelia dashed towards the chubby boy, leaving howling gales in her wake.

    Thwaaack¡ª!!

    Without slowing down, she closed the distance between her and the pig in a split second and drove her knee to his face, knocking out several of his teeth as he fell backward, unconscious.

    "Fuck!" Leia, witnessing herrade being effortlessly taken down, attempted to turn and flee, but Lucas was already in motion.

    The silver-haired boy swiftly summoned his bow, nocked an arrow, and shot it towards the skinny girl.

    Thwish¡ª!!

    "Arghhaaaa!"

    Before she could even take a single step, an arrow pierced through her right calf, causing her to copse onto the ground, screaming and convulsing in agony.

    Using the same spell as before, Amelia swiftly sprinted towards Leia with astonishing speed, reaching her in an instant.

    The ck-haired beauty raised her right leg high, the wind still swirling around it, and brought it down with tremendous force, executing a wless axe kick that rendered Leia unconscious as well.

    If she wanted, she could''ve easily burst her head open like a baseball bat to a watermelon.

    "Nice one!" Lucas walked over to her, apuding her performance. "It''s hard to believe that just a few months ago you didn''t even know how to cast a spell."

    "What can I say? I''ve been training hard," she replied, shrugging and shing a smug smile. "So, what''s the n?"

    "With two down and five remaining, I don''t think Nero and Anastasia will have any trouble defeating their enemies quickly," Lucas said. "So, you go and assist Chase¨C"

    Tring, Tring¡ª!

    Before Lucas could finish giving his instructions, his smart bracelet began to ring. It was a call from William.

    Frowning, Lucas answered the call.

    "Did you capture the g?" he asked.

    ¨C"Lucas... I-I tried..."

    As a strained and exhausted voice came through on the other end, Lucas''s frown deepened.

    He exchanged a nce with the ck-haired girl standing beside him and brought the smart bracelet closer to his mouth.

    "William, what''s going on?" he inquired.

    ¨C"It''s... It''s Kai! He was already there before I even reached the g. We fought, but... but he''s too strong..."

    "He was already there?" Lucas couldn''t help but ask again, disbelief evident in his voice. "But he was just fighting me a few moments ago on our way here."

    "Really?" Amelia expressed her astonishment. "But then how did he not only reach the Fifth District faster than you, but also make it to the forest ahead of William?"

    Lucas shrugged. "I have no idea."

    "So, is this not one of the situations you had anticipated?" Amelia inquired.

    "Actually," Lucas replied with a smile. "I had a feeling something like this might happen."

    Amelia stared at Lucas, her mouth hanging open in surprise, as he casually spoke into his smart bracelet.

    "It''s alright, William," he said. "You did well. Rest now."

    ¨C"....Sorry." With one final apology, William ended the call.

    Amelia refocused her attention on Lucas and asked, "What''s the n now?"

    "Same as before," he responded. "You''ll go and assist Chase. You both will then unite with Nero and Anastasia. Together, you all will try to prevent Kai from reaching the stadium. By that time, his teammates should already be defeated, so you''ll only have to deal with him."

    "And what about you?" she inquired.

    Lucas simply smiled, his tone dripping with self-assurance. "I''ll secure our victory, as always."

 Chapter 205 Stopping Kai [1]

    ?

    In the midst of an empty street, two individuals shed fiercely against each other.

    One stood tall, his dark-skinnedplexionplementing his curly ck hair. His face, usually attractive, was now contorted with anger.

    The other was slightly shorter but still was of good height. His jet-ck hair matched his deep, abyssal-like eyes.

    These two individuals were, of course, none other than Alberto and Nero.

    Nero was using a bastard sword while Alberto relied solely on his bare fists to fight.

    Alberto had numerous cuts across his body, showcasing the intense battle he had been in and it was nowhere near over.

    On the other hand, Nero was unscathed¨C not a single wound was apparent on his body.

    ''What a monster,'' Alberto mused silently, his thoughts echoing within his mind as he clenched his teeth together in frustration.

    Only a few weeks ago, Alberto knew that he could face Nero head-on in a fight if it everes down to it.

    And he even did so in the Mock War several times.

    He managed to beat Nero on more than one asion. Yes, he ultimately lost, but the fight was close, and Alberto had put up an impressive struggle.

    But right now...

    Right now, what he was putting up couldn''t even be called a fight.

    It was a one-sided massacre¡­ A merciless ughter, with Alberto on the receiving end of Nero''s relentless swordy.

    In such a short amount of time, Nero had grown so much stronger. He had surpassed Alberto by leaps and bounds.

    While Alberto was convinced that Nero''s current mana core rank wasn''t higher than his own, the growth Nero had achieved as a fighter was unparalleled.

    This growth rate was not natural! It was abnormal! It transcended the realm of mere genius.

    Nero was a monster.

    As Alberto fought him, one thing became clear to him: Nero would be unfathomably strong. In just a few months, he would be untouchable!

    "Arghaa!" Alberto shook his head and cleared his mind of such distracting thoughts as he banged his fists together.

    Fine, even if Nero would be undefeatable in a few years, what mattered now was the present moment.

    Right now, Alberto still has a chance. Nero is still not far out of his grasp. He can still defeat this monster.

    So that''s what he will do! Right now, all he would focus on is defeating this bastard son of a bitch!

    "Enforcement!" With that thought in mind and determination surging through him, Alberto roared and activated his Gift.

    In an instant, his muscles began to swell, growing in size and hardening like an imprable boulder.

    Within the blink of an eye, the muscles on his upper torso tore through hisbat attire, reducing it to tattered shreds.

    His appearance now resembled that of a warrior d in shimmering golden armor.

    His hair straightened and cascaded down, reaching his waist with an ethereal white hue.

    Even his facial muscles were swollen and hardened, looking as if he was wearing a golden helmet that perfectly matched the rest of his ''armor.'' His eyes were engulfed in a silver glow as if they were set aze.

    This was his determination. This was his stand against the monster!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You don''t know when to give up," on the other hand, Nero shook his head with a mocking grin on his face.

    He grasped his bastard sword with both hands and raised it high up to his chest and pointed it at Alberto.

    "Fine then,e," Nero said with a scoff. "I''ll end you with a single sh. That will definitely show you the difference between our strengths."

    "Arghhh!" Alberto let out a defiant roar and pulled back his fist before he began clustering mana around it.

    He then bent his knees and mustered all the remaining strength in his body into his legs.

    Using everything he had, he propelled himself forward like a bullet as a crater dug out on the spot where he was standing on the ground.

    Fwoosh¡ª

    In response, Nero himself lunged forward as his sword began to glow like a blinding sun.

    In a sh, they both reached each other and soon as Alberto got into the striking range of Nero''s sword, Nero swung his de at him.

    In a sword versus fist fight, the sword obviously had an advantage because of superior reach.

    Alberto didn''t try to work around that. His n was to tank Nero''s blow and then step in to hit him with his fist.

    So when Nero''s de closed in on him from his left, Alberto merely clenched his jaw and readied himself for the intense pain that was about toe while his right hand was still pulled back, enveloped in a crushing amount of mana.

    Thwaaaash¡ª!!

    "Arghaaaaaa!"

    The de made an arc in the air and hit Alberto straight in the chest with a horizontal sh.

    A deep wound appeared on his chest as blood spurt out, if it weren''t for the protection provided by his gift, he would definitely have been cut in half with that attack there.

    Although it was very painful¡ª in fact, it took everything Alberto had to not fall back right now and give¡ª it now was his chance!

    And he took it!

    Alberto quickly stepped in and shot forward his fist which was glowing in a bright azure light because of a huge amount of mana umted around it.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "...Huh?"

    But Nero quickly released his left hand from the hilt of his sword and used it to block the blow.

    He used one hand¨C his non-dominant hand for that matter¨C to block a punch that Alberto had poured all his strength into.

    A punch that could''ve shattered a fucking truck to smithereens was blocked¡­ just like that?

    "I see," was all Alberto could mutter as his body went limp and he fell back on the ground with a loud thud.

    His body went back to normal, with his muscles shrinking back to their original size and softening normally.

    As hey there on the cold hard concrete road, with blood gushing out of his chest and a beautiful twilight sky above in his vision, another thing became clear to him¡­

    Nero was¡­ already out of his reach.

 Chapter 206 Stopping Kai [2]

    ?

    Nero victoriously stood with his sword firmly grasped in his hand, while his defeated opponenty unconscious on the ground before him.

    Blood has stopped gushing out of Alberto''s chest and medics were already on their way here.

    If Nero wanted¡ª and he very much did¡ª he could''ve easily cut down Alberto in half with his sword, however, he stopped himself from bing a criminal.

    After all, he still hadn''t taken his revenge on his father.

    "Haaa," taking a moment to catch his breath, Nero exhaled deeply, savoring his easy victory.

    These guys had really pushed his buttons this time. They had achieved something he believed was impossible anymore.

    You see, during the four weeks when Lucas was absent, several things happened.

    One of them involved Kai sending hisckeys to stir trouble with Nero and the other main characters.

    Normally, Nero wouldn''t have been bothered by such antics. However, Alberto and Chris seeded in getting under his skin.

    They not only insulted him by calling him a bastard, but they also took it a step further by calling his mother a whore.

    Other than being called a bastard, the thing that Nero hates the most is someone referring to his mother in such derogatory terms.

    That''s the reason he had been so on edge in recent days. He was furious.

    Now, after getting his victory, Nero looked back on his behavior and realized that he had vented his anger on his friends by yelling and shouting at them, which wasn''t like him.

    Rubbing his temples to ease his mind, he nced at his smart bracelet while silently promising himself that he would apologize to themter.

    His master had always said that he should work on his anger issues.

    "Hmm?" A frown creased his face as he noticed a missed call from Lucas while going through his smart bracelet.

    "Did I miss it?" he wondered aloud.

    Perhaps he had missed the call because he was engaged in battle.

    Arghh, now that he looked back on it, he had also said things to Lucas that he really shouldn''t have.

    Sure, Lucas hadn''t exactly been a saint, but who was Nero to judge anyone?

    Besides, it was clear to Nero, even as someone who hadn''t known Lucas personally before, that he had made an effort to change.

    He has hung out with him a few times and he knows that Lucas isn''t the person he used to be back in the day.

    It wasn''t fair, especially for Nero, to hold him ountable for his past actions.

    Amelia had also begun to notice the positive changes in Lucas, so who was Nero to berate him like that?

    "Ugh, should I apologize to him too when I see him next?" Nero sighed deeply, massaging his temples.

    Tring, Tring¡ª!!

    Just then, his smart bracelet began to ring.

    With a puzzled expression, he nced at the device on his wrist and noticed that Amelia was the one calling him.

    Tapping the screen of his smart bracelet once, Nero quickly answered the call and delivered his report, "I''ve neutralized Alberto."

    ¨C"Good," came Amelia''s voice from the other end of the line. "The others have also dealt with their opponents. While most of us have won our fights, we have a slight problem on our hands."

    "What is it?" Nero inquired.

    ¨C"...We failed to capture the g."

    ?

    In the midst of an empty street, Anastasia, Amelia, Chase, Elijah, and Aster stood patiently, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

    They had arrived at this location merely five minutes ago.

    After Lucas helped Amelia, she rushed to assist Chase as per Lucas'' orders, only to discover that Chase had already defeated Chris.

    In fact, at this very moment, Chase firmly grasped the unconscious figure of Chris by the scruff of his neck.

    After defeating him, Chase brought him along for Nero.

    Amelia, on the other hand, quickly informed the rest of the team about the situation.

    She asked them to rendezvous at the intersection of North-East Eighth Street leading out of the Fifth District.

    And currently, they were waiting for Nero''s arrival.

    They didn''t have to wait for long as Nero soon came into view, slowly making his way towards them.

    "There he is," Elijah muttered, capturing everyone''s attention.

    As he approached closer, Nero gazed at Amelia and inquired, "Who has the g again?"

    "Kai," Amelia replied. "William fought against him but was defeated. He informed Lucas that he tried but lost. Currently, he''s receiving medical attention."

    "I see," Nero frowned after hearing Amelia''s response.

    "Kai?" Chase raised an eyebrow. "You mean the young lord of the Wiseman family?"

    "Yes," Nero confirmed.

    "But he''s not that strong," Elijah expressed his confusion. "I did some background checks on him, and he''s just slightly above average. His academic ranking is good, and he can fight well, but it''s unlikely that he defeated William so severely that he would require medical care."

    "Yeah, it''s odd," Nero admitted, his hand gently touching his chin. "While William isn''t as strong as me, he shouldn''t have much trouble defeating someone of Kai''s caliber."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, he quickly shook his head, disregarding such thoughts.

    "Well, it doesn''t matter. We''ll just have to defeat Kai and get the g from him," Nero dered, turning to face Amelia. "Where is Lucas?"

    "Um, I''m not sure," Amelia shrugged. "He said that he has a n in mind."

    "Hah!" Chase scoffed after listening to that. "Are you sure he just didn''t run away from a fight?"

    "What? No," Amelia''s face contorted with a mocking expression. "He helped me in my fight, so why would he run away now?"

    "I don''t know," Chase shrugged. "Maybe he just got scared. Why are you taking his side again?"

    "I''m not taking his side¡ª You know what? I am. What''s your problem with him anyway? I''ve seen you pick fights with him time and time again. Why?" Amelia interrogated.

    "I¡ª I just don''t like his attitude," Chase responded. "He''s cocky, narcissistic, and acts like he''s superior to everyone! Again, why are you defending him?"

    "Because he said he has a n, and you''re using him of running away!" Amelia pped her hands, disying a hint of anger. "You know he''s the reason we won the Mock War, right?"

    "What? No," Chase scoffed, shaking his head. "We won because of Nero."

    "Nero got into the position to strike the final blow because of Lucas, though!" Amelia retorted.

    Before they could continue to fight like cats and dogs, Aster intervened, stepping in between them.

    "Okay, both of you, calm down!" she eximed, her voice louder than usual, surprising everyone present.

    She continued, "Stop fighting! We won the Mock War because of both Nero and Lucas, as well as everyone else who fought alongside us. We won because we weren''t bickering like this. So, shut up! And put your personal feelings aside, Chase!"

    "I''m not¡ª" Chase attempted to argue, but Anastasia, who had been keeping watch until now, approached and took hold of his hand.

    Gesturing to him to calm down, she said, "Chase, let it go."

    And just like an obedient pup, Chase obeyed Anastasia''smand and sealed his lips shut.

    "They''re right, Chase," Nero interjected, breaking his silence. "Besides, if it''s Lucas'' n, then I trust it. Chances are that whatever is going to happen, he has predicted it."

    Chase sneered in response, but Nero paid it no mind and turned to ask Amelia a question. "So, why are we here? Shouldn''t we split up and search for all the possible routes Kai could take to leave the Fifth District?"

    "Well, Lucas said that if we wait here, Kai wille to us. He''s confident that this is the route Kai will choose to exit the Fifth District," Amelia exined.

    "I see," Nero mused, gently stroking his chin. Then, he shifted his attention to Chase and nced at the unconscious person he was holding. "And who''s that?"

    "Oh," Chase looked at the person in his grasp before returning his gaze to Nero. "Allow me to present Chris Wright."

    With that, Chase maneuvered Chris'' body into a kneeling position and proceeded to p his face repeatedly to wake him up.

    p¡ª!! p¡ª!! SLAP¡ª!!

    "Argh!"

    After a short while, Chris groaned in pain as he regained consciousness, his teeth rattled from the force of Chase''s ps.

    Finally, Chase stopped pping him.

    It took Chris a few moments to notice his surroundings as he blinked his eyes several times, surveying the scene.

    "...Huh?" Confusion and horror washed over his face as he locked eyes with Nero, who had a wicked grin on his face.

    "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!" Chris started screaming as Nero approached him. He tried to run, but Chase held him down in ce.

    "Good morning, sleeping beauty," Nero''s grin widened as he walked up to Chris and pulled his head by his hair.

    "No! No! No! You can''t hurt me! I am Chris Wright of the Wright family! My brothers will kill you if you dare toy a finger on me!" Chris screamed, trying to hide his fear behind his warnings.

    "Oh? But can they stop me from breaking your hand right now?" Nero''s wide smile remained stered on his face. "I highly doubt it."

    With those words, he grabbed Chris'' right arm and began twisting it forcefully from the elbow.

    "No! Please, no! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" Chris''s screams grew erratic, but Nero continued to put pressure on his grip until...

    Crack¡ª!

    Chris'' arm contortedpletely, unnaturally twisted from his elbow.

    "ARGHHHAA!" A piercing, agonized cry erupted from his mouth as tears started to stream down his face.

    But Nero didn''t stop there. He shifted his grip to Chris'' other hand. "I warned you not to mess with me, didn''t I?"

    "Pleaseeee! Gaaaah! I''m sorry! I''m sorry!" Chris continued to wail as Nero slowly and deliberately twisted his other arm, intensifying the excruciating pain.

    "Nero, maybe you should stop," Elijah interjected, everyone was feeling ufortable¡ªexcept for Chase, who was seemingly enjoying it.

    Unyielding, Nero refused to listen. "Stay out of it! He insulted my mother!" he bellowed.

    Elijah wanted to argue further but faltered upon witnessing the mental state Nero was in.

    "Nero, you should let him go," Anastasia spoke up next, breaking the tension.

    "Anastasia, I said stay out¡ª" Nero began, but she interrupted him.

    "No, I mean let him go. The big fish is here," she said as she pointed towards a figure approaching in the distance.

    Nero moved his eyes to where she was pointing, shifting his gaze to the individual who was approaching them.

    Taking this opportunity, Chris pushed Nero aside and started running away, clutching his broken hand painfully while still crying.

    Yet, Nero paid him no mind. After all... Kai was here.

 Chapter 207 Stopping Kai [3]

    ?

    In the middle of an empty street, a dreadful silence hung in the air as Kai''s figure approached the main characters.

    The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, bing more and more palpable with each passing moment.

    Kai exuded a dark and ominous aura, which seemed to ooze out from his very being as he took slow, steady steps towards them.

    The sound of his footsteps reverberated through the surroundings¡ª which was the only audible noise in the otherwise eerie stillness.

    Kai''s presence was unsettling. There was just something off about him.

    In response to his approach, the main characters quickly summoned their weapons.

    Nero brandished his bastard sword, Amelia and Anastasia readied their bows, Elijah firmly gripped his war hammer, Chase put on his shield gauntlets, and Aster wielded her imposing giant mace.

    The dreadful silence shattered as Kai approached the group,ing to a stop just a few steps away from them.

    A wide grin stretched across his face as he greeted Nero.

    "Nero Dekrauf," Kai''s voice rang out, his grin widening even more. "Here we meet again."

    Nero cautiously stepped forward, his eyes scanning every inch of Kai''s figure.

    Nero noticed that Kai''sbat attire¡ª the sleeveless top andbat trousers¡ª were now nothing but tattered shreds.

    Yet, despite the ragged appearance, Nero couldn''t detect a single sign of injury¡ª internal or physical¡ª on Kai based on his breathing rate and posture.

    Nero''s gaze soon fell upon the g which was securely sped onto Kai''s using his belt.

    "Yes, how''ve you been?" Nero greeted, his eyes fixed on the g. "I heard you beat up my friend so badly that he needed medical attention."

    "Well, he put up quite a fight," Kai responded, his grin unwavering. "By the way, can you answer a simple question for me?"

    "What is it?" Nero inquired.

    "Nothing major, just tell me where the Morningstar is," Kai asked, his gaze turning cold and serious.

    A frown creased Nero''s face as he replied, "I don''t know. He said he had a n and then disappeared."

    "Oh, is that so?" Kai tilted his head slightly, his behavior bing erratic. "That guy is clever, I''ll give him that. He set up traps¡ªstun grenades, tripwires, evenndmines¡ªon all the other streets leading out of the Fifth District."

    "Now, even though most of the Fifth District is one big forest with no residences, and the worker robots have evacuated any locations connected to the game, people can still get hurt if they identally walk into his traps, you know. He''s quite reckless, that guy.

    "Anyway, since all the other routes are filled with traps and it''s nearly impossible to cross without triggering at least a few of them, I decided to investigate each path individually, expecting Lucas himself to be waiting somewhere to fight me, blocking one of the routes."

    "But it turns out, besides being smart, he''s also ruthless. He''s using his friends¡ªwait, are you even his friends? Let''s call you all hisrades. Turns out, he''s using hisrades as shields to buy himself time. You''re all just bait."

    As they listened to Kai''s words, it became clear to them why Lucas had instructed them to stay on this route.

    Nero let out a scornful scoff and retorted, "Wait, are you suggesting that we are your bait? Look around, dude. It''s six against one. We''re not here to bait you; we''re here to defeat you."

    Raising his sword slightly, Nero continued in a calm tone, "So why don''t you give up the g peacefully, promise to keep your Young Elites clowns away from us, and maybe I''ll consider not breaking every single one of your limbs."

    Kai''s grin turned into a smirk as he muttered under his breath, "I don''t understand why the Cosmic Womb chose you. If the fate of this world rests in your hands, then we''re all doomed."

    "What was that?" Nero perked up his ears. "I didn''t catch that."

    After taking a few deep breaths, Kai spoke aloud, "I said I won''t give you the g."

    Nero''s expression hardened and a look of surprise flickered in his eyes.

    "Why?" he asked. "Your team has already lost. There are six of us and only one of you! Doesn''t it appear to be an impending defeat for you?"

    "No," Kai shook his head. "You are six morons, and I am one warrior. Sounds like a fair fight."

    "Ngh!" Nero exhaled deeply, realizing that a battle was now inevitable. In the next instant, he took two steps back and shouted, "Anastasia!"

    SWISH¡ª!!

    Almost as if awaiting for that signal, an arrow enveloped in a bright azure hue whizzed past Nero, aimed directly at Kai.

    In a split second, using his lightning fast reflexes, Kai instinctively summoned his greatsword and swung it towards the iing arrow.

    TAAK¡ª!!

    It felt as though he had tried to deflect a missile as Kai used the t edge of his sword to shield against the arrow.

    Swiftly, Kai raised his sword above his head and noticed that Nero had seized this opportunity to rush at him.

    Without hesitation, Kai brought down his sword with all his strength, aiming to strike Nero.

    CLANG¡ª!!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Nero used his own sword to block the iing blow, but his knees buckled slightly under the force of the attack.

    ''What? Why is he so strong?'' That single thought raced through Nero''s mind as he was caught off-guard.

    Based on what he knew, Kai shouldn''t possess THIS level of strength.

    However, such thoughts only lingered for a fleeting moment, as in the next second, Nero gathered strength in his knees and pushed Kai back.

    "Argh!" Kai gritted his teeth as he was forced backward. Nero quickly stepped in and swung his sword at his neck.

    But without missing a beat, Kai channeled mana into his right knee and, using his own sword, deflected Nero''s sword away before jumping up and delivering a brutal knee strike to the base of Nero''s chin.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Argha!" A groan escaped Nero''s lips as Kai''s knee connected with his chin, nearly causing him to stumble backward.

    However, Nero swiftly regained his footing by rolling back and quickly rising to his feet, putting some distance between him and Kai.

    Seizing this opportunity, Elijah and Aster lunged forward, swinging their massive battle hammer and mace at the Wiseman.

    Thrruck¡ª!! Thrwaaack¡ª!!

    Kai swiftly leaped back, narrowly avoiding being crushed under the weight of Elijah''s hammer and the impact of Aster''s mace.

    As both of their weapons struck the ground where Kai had been standing moments before, two deep craters were gouged out on the street.

    "Is this the extent of your strength?!" Kai roared and started spinning on his foot, his colossal sword poised overhead as he gained momentum from his spin.

    "Stay back!" Nero shouted, but his warning came toote. Aster and Elijah had already closed in on Kai, wielding their massive mace and hammer.

    But before they could reach him, Kai mmed his sword down onto the ground using the momentum he had gained and applying his own strength to it.

    THWACK¡ª!!

    A tremendous shockwave erupted and flung Aster and Elijah backward like rag dolls.

    Seizing the opportunity, Kai rushed to finish them.

    "Not so fast!" Chase interjected, jumping in to block Kai''s path.

    "Stay back, you fool!" Kai yelled and unleashed another downward sh aimed at Chase using his giant sword.

    THANN¡ª!!

    Chase swiftly used his shield gauntlets to tank the iing blow, but it was a grave mistake.

    Even though Chase was using mana to strengthen his body, it was still nowhere near enough to withstand Kai''s blow.

    Under the weight of Kai''s attack, Chase''s knees folded and he was mercilessly forced into a kneeling position.

    "Arghaa?!" Chase groaned in pain and confusion. But before he could react, Kai pivoted and delivered a forceful high thrust kick.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The sole of his foot connected with Chase''s chin while he was in the kneeling position, causing him to fall back t on the ground.

    THWACK¡ª!!

    "Khuuak!" But Kai didn''t stop his assault there. He raised his leg and stomped his foot down on Chase''s sternum, causing him to cough a mouthful of blood.

    Swish, Swish¡ª!!

    Tann, Tann¡ª!!

    Two arrows enveloped with a crushing amount of mana quickly shot at him, but Kai just raised his giant sword to deflect the arrows again.

    Nero, once again, used this chance to rush at Kai. This time, the de of his bastard sword was engulfed in an azure coating of mana.

    But the mana covering his sword wasn''t wavering like it was a liquid¨C which it usually looks like. The mana covering Nero''s sword looked much more dense and stable like semi-solid.

    "Oh right, by this point, you had already mastered the true Sword Qi, huh?" Kai nodded in acknowledgment, raising his sword.

    "But what difference would it make?" He sneered, a dark, ominous aura began to swirl around his de.

    Nero, who had his sword pulled back until now, unleashed a powerful horizontal right sh towards his enemy as soon as Kai entered his attack range.

    In retaliation, Kai also retracted his sword and swiftly released a forceful left sh to meet Nero''s attack head-on.

    BOOM¡ª!!

 Chapter 208 Stopping Kai [4]

    ?

    BOOOM¡ª!!

    Cling, ng¡ª!!

    BOOOM¡ª!!

    Two swordsmen shed fiercely against each other, their weapons colliding with destructive force.

    One of them brandished a bastard sword while the other wielded a colossal hunk of iron that could hardly be called a sword.

    Nero''s sword shimmered with an ethereal glow, emanating from the semi-solid mana enveloping his de¡ªthe manifestation of his true Sword Qi.

    In response, a foreboding darkness swirled around Kai''s greatsword, creating a vortex of darkness with his de at its epicenter.

    It looked as if it was a battle between the brilliance of a sunlit day and the shadowy depths of a moonless night.

    Each time they exchanged blows and each time their des collided, tremendous shockwaves erupted, causing the concrete ground beneath their feets to shatter andrge craters to form.

    "Sh-Should we go in and try to help Nero out?" Elijah, who was standing back with the rest of the group, hesitantly uttered.

    The main characters didn''t know what to say.

    They had been observing Nero and Kai''s battle from the beginning, but when both swordsmen began to unleash their full power at each other, they didn''t know what to do.

    Should they intervene and help Nero?

    But would they really be of any help? Or would they only be in Nero''s way?

    They couldn''t simply stand idly by, could they? They had to take action.

    "Not yet," Amelia replied, shaking her head as she keenly observed the ongoing battle in front of her. "Now is not the right moment."

    "Huh? What do you mean?" Aster interjected. "Are you suggesting we leave Nero to fight alone?"

    "No," Amelia refuted. "I mean, this isn''t our chance to jump in."

    "She''s right," Anastasia chimed in. "Look at Kai. Since the beginning of the battle, his eyes have been fixedly observing our every move. Even now when he''s going toe-to-toe against Nero, he has time to keep his eye on us."

    "Exactly," Amelia concurred. "If we were to intervene now, it wouldn''t catch him off guard because he''s prepared for it."

    "So, what should we do?" Elijah inquired.

    "We wait for an opening," Amelia replied.

    "Do you have a n?" Elijah asked, noticing the confidence in Amelia''s voice.

    After a brief pause, Amelia nodded. "Of course, I have a n."

    "What is it?" Anastasia questioned.

    "We''ll use misdirection to deliver a final blow," Amelia replied. "With Chase out of the game for good, it''s only the five of us. I''ll provide cover with my arrows whenever an opportunity arises to support Nero. Anastasia, find a vantage point and maintain a high ground. Elijah, join Nero in closebat and help him out. And when I give the signal, Aster, you will encase Kai in a barrier spell to buy us some time."

    "Wait, you want me to trap him inside a barrier spell?" Aster questioned.

    "Yes," Amelia nodded. "I know that barriers are weak from the inside, so I need you to reverse the spell and create a prison¡ªa prison spell. It will be tough. Can you do it?"

    Aster clenched her small fists, raising her hand slightly. Taking a deep breath filled with determination, she replied, "Okay!"

    "Excellent," Amelia shifted her focus to Anastasia. "While Aster keeps Kai trapped in her prison spell, you''ll use your best weapon art to snipe him. If it takes him out, then good. Or else, Nero will do the rest."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I see," Anastasia touched her chin as she calcted the chances of sess for this n.

    "Oh, and take this," Amelia said, taking out a glowing white arrow from her dimensional storage.

    "Hmm? What''s this?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

    "Lucas gave it to me before we parted ways. He said it would prove useful. It''s an arrow imbued with the light attribute," Amelia exined. "Since Kai has an affinity for darkness, this will sting like hell."

    "Wait, don''t tell me Lucas anticipated this as well?" Anastasia raised her brows in surprise, and so did everyone else.

    "Perhaps," Amelia shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea myself."

    "Goodness. Remind me never to get on his bad side, yeah?" Anastasia heaved a deep breath, taking the arrow from Amelia.

    She turned around and swiftly climbed one of the tall light poles standing at the side of the street.

    While all that was happening, Kai and Nero remained locked in their fierce exchange of blows.

    Kai''s eyes flickered upon noticing the main characters springing into action.

    "Eyes on me!" Nero roared when he saw Kai looking elsewhere, capitalizing on the opportunity by stepping in and unleashing another powerful horizontal sh.

    Kai swiftly evaded Nero''s de, stepping back while raising his own sword high above his head.

    With a forceful motion, he brought that giant hunk of iron down on Nero.

    Cling¡ª!

    But Nero deftly adjusted his wrists, causing his sword to make an arc in the air as he sessfully deflected Kai''s attack.

    At first nce, it might seem that Kai and Nero were evenly matched, but that was hardly the case.

    Nero was a little stronger than Kai, and his technique was far superior than that of the Wiseman''s.

    So yeah, there was a notable gap in between their battle prowess.

    But then why was Nero unable to bring the battle to an end? Well, that was because of Kai''s oversized sword.

    No matter what angle Nero would try to attack from, Kai skillfully used the t side of his colossal sword as a makeshift shield toeffectively block Nero''s strikes beforeunching his own counterattack.

    Moreover, no matter how much strength Nero may put into his blows, he could not even make a dent in Kai''s colossal ck sword.

    By now, it was very clear to Nero that the sword was a relic. Kai was using it as both¨C an imprable shield and a massive, razor-sharp de.

    But now that his teammates were on the move, Nero knew that he had to create an opening.

    So that''s what he did. Nero stepped in and feinted an overhead strike. Kai responded by raising the t side of his de to block the attack.

    A glimmer sparked within Nero''s eyes as his feint attack worked. He instantly dropped to his knees and used his hand to break his fall.

    In perfect synchrony, Nero executed a spinning motion, pivoting on his left foot while extending his right leg outward¡ª performing a perfect leg sweep.

    Unbeknownst to him, Kai had already anticipated this move. With cat-like reflexes, he leaped into the air and evaded Nero''s sweep.

    But unfortunately for Kai, Amelia, positioned farther behind, was waiting for this very moment.

    Now that Kai was in mid-air, he had nowhere to go and dodge her arrow.

 Chapter 209 Stopping Kai [5]

    ?

    Amelia acted quickly and shot an arrow enveloped in a thickyer of mana.

    Her arrow left a trail of azure blue light and hurtled towards Kai, who was still in mid-air.

    Swish¡ª!!

    When Kai noticed an azure blue light speeding toward him, he quickly raised his greatsword to block the attack.

    THANN¡ª!!

    While he was sessful in blocking the attack, the force of the impact of the collision between the arrow and his sword flung him back in the air.

    His body skidded across the ground a few times before he managed to perform a flip andnd squarely on his feet.

    "You''re dead, girl," Kai sneered, his tone dripping in venom as he looked at Amelia.

    But before he could say anything else, Elijah jumped up on his and brought his giant battle hammer down, intending to crush Kai with it.

    "Fool," Kai scoffed as he flicked his wrists and rotated his greatsword over his head to deflect the trajectory of Elijah''s battle hammer.

    Thrack¡ª!!

    His battle hammer struck the ground, causing some crevices to appear on the spot it hit, as Elijah himselfnded with a thud.

    Kai spun on his foot to gather some momentum before he brought his sword down again and struck the handle of Elijah''s battle hammer.

    THAK¡ª!!

    In one clean swing, the handle of his battle hammer broke andElijah could only widen his eyes in surprise.

    After all, it was a battle hammer crafted by his grandfather¨C one of the best cksmiths of the Dwarven race.

    And Kai broke it¡­ just like that?

    Before he could understand what even happened, Kai was already only a few inches away from him.

    Elijah could only take a deep breath as Kai lunged on him and thrust his knee into his sr plexus, sending the half-dwarf to his knees and coughing violently as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

    "Stay down," Kai said before Amelia shot another arrow at him.

    Thann¨C!!

    Unlike before, Kai had proper footing so he deflected the arrow without much of a problem.

    Nero tried to rush at him but Kai uttered a magic spell under his breath and suddenly, thin, dark ck spikes of shadow erupted out from the ground.

    "Arghh! You bastard!" Nero eximed as some of the spikes impaled his foot.

    Normally, he would''ve dodged such an attack but right now he was worried for Elijah.

    Talking about him, Elijah was trying his best to get back up on his feet, still coughing up and trying to get air back into his lungs.

    "I told you to stay the fuck down!" Kai leashed out as he kicked the side of Elijah''s jaw with his shin as if he was kicking a football.

    "Gaaah!" Elijah gasped as he felt like his jaw was dislocated from the force of that kick.

    He rolled andy back down on the ground, his chest heaving up and down violently as he breathed in pain.

    "Arghaaaa!" But Kai didn''t stop there. He stomped his foot down on Elijah''s sternum with force, causing thetter to scream out in pain.

    Nero swung his de and shattered the shadow spikes that were impaling his foot and holding him down in ce as he quickly rushed towards Kai to aid his friend.

    Kai noticed this and got ready, but Nero didn''t back down either.

    He pulled his sword back into its sheath, which was hanging on his waist. He then began to manipte particles of light to cluster around his de inside the sheath.

    He didn''t want to use this, but from the looks of it, he had no choice.

    Kai instantly recognised the weapon art Nero was going to use on him, but he couldn''t back down either.

    So instead, he raised the t side of his colossal sword and prepared to block the attack.

    Without any hesitation, Nero stepped into the striking range and unleashed his sword out of its sheath before performing a destructive upward sh.

    [12-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [First Form: Quick Draw]

    As soon as Nero''s sword left its sheath, a brilliant bright light blinded everyone that looked at his de.

    In an instant, his de struck the t side of Kai''s giant greatsword at the speed of light.

    Thann¡ª!!

    The sheer force of the collision propelled Kai''s de upwards in sync with the trajectory of Nero''s sword, leaving his chest wide open.

    Without skipping a beat, Nero swiftly flicked his wrists, bringing his sword to his side.

    After acquiring that stance, he quickly unleashed a horizontal sh at the speed of light, targeting Kai''s vulnerable chest.

    [12-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [Second Form: Tracing Horizon]

    Swish¡ª!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Nero''s luminescent de traced an elegant arc in the air, yet Kai had already taken a step back by now to avoid the iing attack. However, he was a single second toote.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Nero''s de brushed Kai''s chest, leaving behind a shallow gash.

    Normally, Nero wouldn''t have missed such an opening, but right now his foot was injured because of the shadowy spikes from earlier which hindered his movement a little.

    Nevertheless, the impact of Nero''s sword slicing across his chest caused Kai to grit his teeth in anguish as blood spurted out from his wound.

    "Arghh!" Letting out a muffled scream, Kai tumbled back a few steps before eventually regaining his bnce.

    "Now! Do it!" Amelia quickly shouted right at that moment, giving Aster a signal.

    In the blink of an eye, as if waiting for that cue, water streamed up from the spot on the ground beneath Kai''s feet and encased him in an orb, trapping him from all directions.

    "Tsk!" Kai clicked his tongue as he finally realized what their n was.

    The prison orb was small¨C so much so that Kai had almost no room to make any movements at all.

    Nero used this chance to circle behind him while in front of him, from on top of one of the light poles, Anastasia locked her aim at him.

    Particles of azure light were swirling around Anastasia and coalescing at the tip of her arrow. It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that her arrow was going to pack enough punch to shatter boulders to fine dust.

    Meanwhile, on his back, Nero had his sword back in his sheath so he could unleash his Longsword Of Light''s first form, Quick Draw, again.

    Two light moves of this intensity¨C if they hit Kai with them, it would be over for him.

    Not to mention, he was sure that Aster would release her water prison barrier spell at thest possible moment to give Kai almost no time to dodge the attacks.

    That means he would have to try and block them. But if Anastasia and Nero sync their attacks¨C which they were obviously going to do¨C he would only be able to block either one of those attacks.

    What should he do? Should he block Nero''s attack from the back or Anastasia''s arrow from the front?

    "Heh," a smirk formed on Kai''s face.

    No, he won''t choose either of those options.

    Confusion etched onto everyone''s face as they saw Kai smiling even in such a situation.

    Has he lost his mind? ¨C was what went through everyone''s head.

    In the next moment, Kai spoke up, "Well, it was fun fighting you guys. But I gotta run. See y''all!"

    Just as he said that, Kai raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.

    Snap¡ª!!

    In the blink of an eye, a vivid crimson light radiated from within the watery barrier orb.

    By the time the intense glow gradually faded, Kai had disappeared from sight into thin air.

    "What the fuck!"

    "What just happened?!"

    "Did he¡­ disappear?!"

    Needless to say, everyone was just as confused as the person standing next to them.

    How could he just disappear into thin air?

    Did he¡­ possess a Gift?!

    ?

    Meanwhile, back at the stadium, just a few steps away from the gpole, the same brilliant red light illuminated, and in an instant, Kai materialized in that very spot.

    "[There he is! The young lord of the Wiseman family has arrived at the stadium!]"

    ¨C"Woohoo!"

    ¨C"Best match ever!"

    ¨C"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

    The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers and chants.

    After all, this was a match between first-year cadets and no one in the crowd or those watching at home expected so many twists in this match.

    In fact, no one even expected the level of fight these first-year cadets were putting up.

    The smirk on Kai''s face turned into a smile as he waved his hand at the exhrated crowd.

    He thought that he had already secured victory, and who could me him? The victory was just a few steps away.

    He merely had to reach the gpole and nt the g on it. Nero and his group would never make it in time to stop him.

    "Hello there."

    Yet, before Kai could even take a single step, he felt a presence behind him as an all too familiar voice reached his ears.

 Chapter 210 Winning The Main Event [1]

    ?

    After parting ways with Amelia, I proceeded to set up the traps that I had prepared beforehand on all the routes leading out of the Fifth District.

    It was impossible for anyone to leave without triggering at least a few of them.

    However, I deliberately chose not to set up traps on one particr route. Instead, I instructed Amelia to rendezvous with the others there.

    My intention was to force Kai into taking the route where the main characters were.

    I was also fine with him not taking that path since even if he had taken other routers, the trap there would''ve slowed him down.

    Luckily, the ideal scenario urred, and Kai took the bait. He went for the route blocked by the main characters.

    Using this opportunity, I rushed back to the stadium alone by shamelessly using my teammates to buy me some time.

    As I returned, thementators who had been providing matchmentary, along with the bewildered crowd, were taken aback.

    After all, I hade back empty-handed.

    "[Lucas Morningstar is here! He''s the first one to return! But why did hee back empty-handed? As we saw on the live telecast, he ced traps to block the routes leading out of the Fifth District, yet he rushed back here almost instantly! What could possibly be going through his mind?]" ¨C thementator eximed.

    The confused crowd erupted into murmurs, but I paid them no heed.

    My eyes were fixed on the holographic screens in the stadium that broadcasted the live fight between Kai and Nero''s group.

    And let me just say this¨C Kai was single-handedly dominating Nero and the other main characters.

    Well, maybe not ''dominating'' exactly, but he definitely held his own in a six versus one handicapped fight.

    What''s more, he was evenly matched with Nero during their fight.

    It was quite interesting to see him going all out¨C something he never really did in the story.

    Well, I''m happy about it since I got a lot of Edit Points out of it.

    [You''ve earned 490 Edit Points]

    [You''ve earned 633 Edit Points]

    [You''ve earned 356 Edit Points]

    Apparently, I''m the one responsible for Kai changing the plot the way he did. So I got rewarded.

    In the novel, Kai was a mastermind lurking in the shadows.

    But now, he has decided to reveal himself, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the plot from here on out.

    Personally, I don''t really care that much. As long as I gain something from it, I don''t mind the changes.

    Anyway, during the fight, Chase was the first to be knocked out. To be honest, I didn''t have very high expectations for him from the start.

    Elijah was the next to fall. Nero was a bit careless, which resulted in a foot injury for him, but it wasn''t anything serious.

    However, just as the battle reached its climax and everyone thought Kai''s defeat was imminent, a twist urred.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    To everyone''s astonishment, Kai vanished into thin air and reappeared right in front of me, just a few steps away from the gpole.

    "I knew it," I thought, a smug smile ying on my lips as the crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers.

    Ever since William had mentioned that Kai was the first one to reach the Forest, I had suspected that he possessed the ability to teleport¨C whether it be magical or his blessing.

    What I couldn''t understand was why Kai chose to fight William when he could just grab the g and teleport back to the stadium right away.

    The only logical exnation for his actions was that Kai''s teleportation ability came with a cooldown, hence it was a blessing.

    Perhaps he could teleport short distances effortlessly, requiring cooldown only for long-distance teleports.

    Or maybe he needed a cooldown for all his teleports, regardless of the distance.

    Whatever the case might be, I was proved to be right once again.

    Haha, I really am a genius, aren''t I? Heh.

    Anyway, after the star of the show made his appearance, I decided to go in for a surprise attack while his back was turned to me.

    I thought that I would swiftly lunge forward and stab him in the back with my spear.

    Sure, it was a cowardly move, but who cares about that, huh? I''m not here to entertain the crowd! I''m here to win!

    With that thought in mind, I summoned my spear into my hand. However, before I could even take a single step towards him, Kai sensed my presence behind him.

    But since I was my master''s disciple, I decided to y it cool.

    Using my spear for support as I slightly leaned sideways, I greeted him in a casual tone, "Hello there."

    Almost instantly, Kai''s ears perked up, and he swiftly spun around, recognizing my voice.

    Upon seeing me, a faint smirk graced his face as he uttered, "I take back what I said. You haven''t disappointed me, Lucas."

    "Haha! Thanks, but it''s toote to take back your words now. I''m hurt," I replied as I pointed my finger at the g on his waist. "How about you give me that g aspensation for hurting my feelings?"

    "Yeah, nice try," Kai scoffed as he took out his greatsword. "Instead, why don''t you show me if your brawn can actually match your brain?"

    "I just used misdirection," I said. "Once you thought you had me, I grabbed the g and you didn''t even notice."

    In response to my words, a frown formed on Kai''s face. The faces in the crowd weren''t much different from his.

    Everyone was confused. What is he saying? ¨C was what everyone probably thought.

    "Huh?" Kai finally raised his eyebrows in confusion.

    His actions did nothing but cause the smile on my face to widen even more as I let out a chuckle, "Hahaha! Fine, let''s take the long way."

    Almost instantly, I imbued my spear with mana and lunged at the young man in front of me.

    In response to my charge, Kai himself raised his greatsword and dashed towards me.

 Chapter 211 Winning The Main Event [2]

    ?

    My spear was engulfed in bright, scarlet mes as I thrust it forward at my enemy in front of me.

    Kai simply used the giant hunk of iron in his hands to block the iing strike. He then swung his greatsword and deflected my spear, overpowering me with ease.

    I didn''t even try topete with him in terms of strength.

    I was a spearman and by the looks of his giant sword, he was more of a berserker.

    I would lose if I tried to fight him in his own game. So I focused on the speed of my attacks instead.

    I quickly pulled back my spear close to my chest and unleashed a fury of thrusts and shes at Kai.

    Cling, Cling, Cling¡ª!!

    But without fail, he managed to either deflect or block all of my strikes. Even though he was wielding such a big sword, it didn''t hinder his movements at all.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Just as I thrust my spear at him one more time, Kai stepped aside, letting my de meet nothing but air.

    Quickly, from my side, he unleashed an upward swing at me from his colossal sword.

    Since his sword was twice as big as his own body, when he used it to perform an upward sh, his de collided with the concrete ground.

    But instead of stopping or slowing down, his sword simply dug through the ground and closed in on me from below.

    I reacted swiftly and pulled my spear in time to block the iing blow from the low position.

    ng¡ª!!

    "What the¨C Grghh!" However, the force of the attack flung me up in the air as if I was a paper doll.

    But even then Kai didn''t stop his onught and bent his knees. Like a spring, he then sprang skyward to strike me in mid-air.

    As soon as he closed in on me, he twisted his body and used the momentum of his spin to deliver yet another blow at me.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Once again I used my spear to block his greatsword, but the force behind his attack sent me crashing down on the ground below.

    Thud¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" I groaned as I violentlynded on the unforgiving concrete, rolling around to break the fall before quickly jumping back on my feet.

    Kainded a few steps in front of me but he didn''t give me a chance to catch my breath as he rushed at me again.

    Taking a deep breath, I willed strength into my legs and coated my spear in a thickyer of mana until it started to glow in an azure hue¨C using my Sword Qi.

    In the next moment, I pushed the ground with my feet. Craters appeared on the spot I was standing on as I shot towards Kai like an arrow.

    But instead of meeting him head-on, I changed my trajectory at thest possible moment and steered right.

    From there, I ran around him in a circle as Kai stopped his charge and stood still, confused.

    I used this chance to rush him and attack him from his left.

    ng¡ª!

    Needless to say, he blocked my attack. But I didn''t stop there.

    I jumped back to safety and circled him once again before attacking him from his right.

    ng¡ª!!

    He blocked me once again. But I leapt back one more time and circled him before attacking him from behind him.

    ng¡ª!! ng¡ª!! ng¡ª!!

    Like this, I attacked him again and again in rapid session but unfortunately, my attacks were either blocked or deflected every time.

    Just as I was about to attack him once again, Kai raised his sword and a dark aura began to swirl around it.

    As soon as I got close enough, he brought his de down and struck the ground with it, causing a massive shockwave to erupt which flung me back.

    Thruck¡ª!!

    I performed a flip in mid-air andnded squarely on my feet.

    But as soon as I looked up, I saw that Kai''s sword was already only a few inches away from my face.

    "....?!" My eyes widened in surprise as I quickly ducked under his de to let it pass over my head safely.

    From that low position, I shot up and thrust my de at Kai''s face. He tilted his head to avoid my spear, but as he did that, a smirk formed on my face.

    "Mana burst!" I bellowed, and within moments, an azure explosion surged forth. I didn''t hold back even the slightest bit this time.

    The st was akin to an entire truckload of TNT detonating, unleashing an immense shockwave that reverberated throughout the vicinity, causing the earth below us to quiver.

    Smoke billowed upwards while fragments of shattered concrete soared skyward in the aftermath as a deep crater formed beneath my very feet.

    However, I knew that this wasn''t enough to put Kai down. And I was proven right when the dust settled and his figure came into view.

    He was flung a few meters back from the explosion and his already shreddedbat attire was now in an even much worse state¨C his upper body waspletely bare while his trousers somewhat still covered the lower half.

    "Tsk," he clicked his tongue as he looked at me with annoyance. "That Gift is so good. Unlike magic spells, Gifts don''t take any time to activate. So being able to instantly cast an explosion in the middle of a battle is quite amazing."

    "Right?" I shed a smug grin as I raised my spear and took my stance.

    "No," but Kai shook his head in response to my stance. "Come at me with everything you''ve got. Do not hold anything back."

    "Oh? Fine," I replied as I brought my spear over my head. "Get ready!"

    As soon as those words left my lips, the azure mana that had been covering my spear until now began to turn red.

    The mana twisted and churned with great intensity, causing the air around my spear to crackle as sparks of red electricity appeared.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    In contrast to the red hue surrounding me, Kai also raised his greatsword above his head as darkness began to spiral around his de like a vortex.

    We both darted towards each other and swung our weapons, hellbent on putting the other one down for good.

    Cling, ng, ng¡ª!!

    With each sh of his sword against my spear, we were both forcefully sent flying backwards by the tremendous impact of our collision.

    Whenever our weapons shed, the ground beneath us would crack and crevices would appear, while fragments of concrete flew through the air like particles of dust.

    Every time we were sent flying backwards, we would immediately charge at each other again, relentlessly swinging our weapons.

    From the viewpoint of the audience, it must have looked like a trail of darkness and a bolt of scarlet lightning going in arcs and colliding with each other.

    ng¡ª!!

    Just as we shed against one another once again, Kai used all of his strength to deflect my spear away.

    Quickly following that, he grabbed the top of my head with one of his hands and jumped up to drive his knee at the base of my chin.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    As his knee connected, a jarring pain shot through my jaw. But Kai didn''t stop there. Hended on the ground and mmed his head against mine.

    I tumbled a few steps back, concussed because of his aggressive headbutt before he thrashed his foot into my chest.

    I was flung back in the air from the force of his front kick before I crashed down on the ground.

    Kai used this opportunity to rush at me again. However, before he could even take a step, I muttered a spell under my breath and pointed my open palm at him.

    In the blink of an eye, five brilliantly glowingnces madepletely of scarlet mes materialized right above Kai''s head.

    "Huh?" Kai could only frown as thences struck the ground all around him and trapped him in a circle.

    KABOOOM¡ª!!!

    Before the poor guy could even do anything about it, all of them exploded like missiles with Kai in the epicenter.

    I got up on my feet. Charred ck smoke rose from the eruption as an agitated voice rang out from inside it, "Your explosions are getting annoying!"

    In the next moment, Kai''s figure appeared out of the rising smoke and dashed at me. Just as he stepped into my striking range, I swung my spear at him once again.

    To counterattack, Kai also swung his greatsword at me. Only this time he was a split second toote.

    My spear met his de before his giant sword could gain enough momentum and pushed him back.

    I quickly used this chance to bring my spear over my head and unleash a destructive downward sh.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Kai tried to step back but the red de of my spear brushed his face, right across his left eye, and managed to leave a deep cut.

    "Arghaaa!" Kai fell down to his knees from the force of the downward sh and the pain from the wound on his face.

    I did manage to leave his left eye intact but this was nowhere enough to defeat him. I pulled my spear to my side for a horizontal sh next as I slightly bent my knees.

    "Nice try," I said as I took a step forward and prepared to unleash the decisive blow.

    But before I could do that, Kai''s body instantly vanished from my sight right in front of me!

    Before I could understand what even happened, I sensed that he had reappeared behind me.

    I turned my head to look at him and there he was. He was right behind me with his sword poised to strike.

    "Yeah, it was indeed a nice try," with his left eye tightly shut to prevent the blood that was running down his forehead from getting into it, he said as he swung his sword at the side of my ribs.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    But as soon as his sword connected with my body, like a mirage, my form wavered and disappeared into thin air.

    Yes, it wasn''t my real body but an illusion.

    "...What?!" Kai eximed in surprise with his one eye wide open. He whipped his head around in search of where I was until he found me.

    I was right in front of the gpole¨C at least a good ten meters away from him with the g tightly grasped in my hand.

    "Wh- How?!" Kai couldn''t help but believe his eye when his gaze fell onto the g in my hand. He looked down at his waist only to find that there was nothing there.

    Right after dealing the downward sh to him, I used Mirage Walk to create an illusion of myself when both of Kai''s eyes were closed for a split second.

    I jumped back to hide my real body behind the cover of my Illusion.

    When Kai teleported right behind my illusion, I used that chance to steal the g from him and casually walk up to the gpole.

    "How¡­ When did you?" Kai couldn''t find the right words as he confusedly stuttered, still in shock.

    "I just used misdirection," I said. "Once you thought you had me, I grabbed the g and you didn''t even notice."

    ".....?!" Kai couldn''t believe his ears when he heard my response.

    After all¡­ this was something I said to him long before the battle even began.

    He didn''t even try to stop me as a wide, victorious smile stered on my face and I nted the g on the gpole, ending the first day''s main game.

    Tring, Tring, Tring¡ª!!

    Amidst the resounding chime of the victory bell, a cacophony of cheers, boos, gasps, and various other reactions erupted from the crowd.

    The game master, with great enthusiasm, announced me¨C I mean our entire team as the winner.

    "[We have our winner! Lucas Morningstar of Nero''s team has nted the g, and secured an indisputable victory for hisrades! With this, the first game has drawn to a close!]"

 Chapter 212 Post-Game Events [1]

    ?

    After single-handedly carrying my entire team to victory, I was called back to the pavilion building until the post-game event.

    Needless to say, I was back at the pavilion before anyone else from my team since the rest of them had yet to even reach the stadium.

    Once there, I settled onto the sofa in silence. My gaze was fixed on the holographic television before me.

    Knock¡ª!!

    Soon after, I heard a knock on the door and a pretty second-year cadet entered the room, delicately carrying a tray filled with an assortment of refreshments.

    "Hi, I''m Salina," she introduced herself as she neared me and carefully ced the tray on the center table before me. "If you need anything else, feel free to find me outside."

    "Thank you," I graciously nodded and said my thanks as she bestowed a friendly smile and left the room.

    Once alone, I shifted my gaze towards the tray she left on the table in front of me. It was full of cold beverages, energy drinks, donuts, and nachos.

    Without much wait, I picked up a can of energy drink, cracked it open, and began sipping on it.

    The crowd was absolutely wild. Even as I left the stadium grounds, their boisterous cheers and chants still reached my ears.

    Of course, such a reaction was expected, since there were thirty-eight thousand cadets in the crowd.

    The majority of them were first and third-year cadets, with only a handful of second-years.

    Why is that? Well, as I''ve mentioned before, the second-years were responsible for managing the entire tournament themselves so most of them didn''t have time to sit back and watch the show.

    Anyway, since I was curious, I decided to check our academy''s official social media page.

    It was flooded with posts about our match.

    Some praised the first-year cadets, as they didn''t anticipate such a good performance from us.

    Others were simply shocked, while a few expressed their scepticism and said that the match was fixed.

    Honestly, I couldn''t understand why anyone in their right mind would use the match of being fixed.

    I mean, yeah, there had been a few incidents in the past where cadets fixed the matches between themselves in the King''s Tournament.

    It allowed them to create a thrilling match filled with drama and twists rather than a straightforward, cutthroatpetition.

    Which, in turn, skyrocketed their poprity. After all, these matches were being broadcasted to the whole world.

    However, spotting a fixed match is very easy. Cadets participating in a fixed match would avoid taking risks and hits.

    But in our match just now, Nero nearly cleaved someone in half with his sword and straight up broke the arm of a young lord hailing from a ruling family.

    What more do they want for it to be considered real, huh? Do they want us to genuinely kill each other, for crying out loud?

    "Haa~" I sighed softly, shaking my head while scrolling through some ridiculous tweets.

    However, my brief moment of respite was interrupted by yet another knock on the door.

    The second-year cadet from earlier gently cracked the door open and peeked in.

    Meeting my gaze, she informed me, "Hey, your teammates have arrived. It''s time for the post-game event, soe on down."

    "Alright," I replied with a nod, acknowledging her message before she went back and closed the door.

    The post-game event is basically a series of interviews and the presentation of MVP awards¡ªwhich, let''s be real, I''m going to get.

    If you haven''t figured it out by now, let me rify.

    The Global Academy treats its cadets as if they were future celebrities¡ªbecause, in many ways, they are.

    Even if you were to graduate with the lowest rank, the outside world would still hold you in high regard simply for having attended the prestigious Global Academy.

    During the King''s Tournament, the Global Academy pushes its top cadets into the real world through live match broadcasts that showcase their exceptional skills, along with interviews that reveal their personalities and more.

    Their aim is not only to mold the best soldiers in the world but to create star soldiers.

    After all, the poprity of these top cadets would also bolster the already esteemed reputation of the Global Academy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    So yeah, since I''m also a top cadet now, I''ll have to participate in these boring events until I fall from my rank¨C which will not happen.

    "Haaa!" Letting out another soft sigh, I got up on my feet and headed to the stadium ground.

    ?

    By the time I arrived at the stadium ground, I saw a makeshift media area that had been arranged by the second-years.

    Microphones were poised, and seating arrangements were set up for both cadets and journalists.

    The crowd had already left by now since the games were over and whatever the media was going to ask us right now, they could watch it onler.

    Across from the reporters, my teammates were sitting in their spots, engaging in discussions and addressing inquiries from the media.

    Chase and Elijah were absent since they were probably receiving medical care.

    Aside from them, Amelia was also not present since the second-years didn''t think it was a good idea to put us together in front of the media.

    Anyway, as I took my seat alongside myrades, all attention shifted towards me.

    ¨C"Lucas Morningstar, pleased to meet you. We were just talking about you with your teammates," one of the reporters greeted me.

    ¨C"We''ve been informed by your fellow cadets that it was your n that secured the victory. Is that really true?" another reporter inquired.

    In response, I grasped the microphone and pulled it closer to my face.

    "It was a collective effort," I replied. "We won because each one of us executed our tasks wlessly¡ªjust as future soldiers should."

    As I delivered my response, some journalists swiftly jotted down notes, while others threw additional questions our way.

    ¨C"Nero Dekrauf, are the circting rumors about your Gift true? Can you truly control the elements?" a question was posed.

    Before Nero could respond, the second-year cadet interjected, "I apologize, but please refrain from inquiring about our cadets'' Gifts."

    The journalists wore a hint of frustration before moving on.

    The conference dragged on for another twenty minutes, gradually approaching its end.

    Finally, it was time for the journalists to throw the questions they had saved for the end.

    After a while, a question was directed towards me.

    ¨C"So Lucas Morningstar, as we all know, you have been disowned by the Morningstar family. But then, why do you still carry their name?" a reporter inquired.

    The second-year cadet prepared to step in, but I motioned for him to hold back and brought the microphone close to my face once again.

    "I carry it because my father didn''t strip me of it," I replied confidently. "Besides, it''s a cool surname."

    My response elicited chuckles from a few reporters in the crowd.

    ¨C"Are you ashamed of what you did?" a voice suddenly piped up, silencing the whole area.

    Wow, way to poke the elephant in the room¨C I thought in my head.

    "I don''t know what you''re referring to," I retorted before the second-year cadet swiftly interjected.

    "Please, let''s refrain from personal questions," he pleaded.

    However, the reporter still continued.

    ¨C"You know anyone else would have been imprisoned for what you did. You were spared because you are a Morningstar. You hail from a family of heroes. Are you not ashamed of your actions in the slightest?"

    "That''s enough," the second-year cadet spoke up, urging us all to rise. "It''s time for the award ceremony."

    ¨C"Lucas Morningstar, answer me! Are you not ashamed?! Do you sleep soundly at night? Remember, you will eventually reach your potential cap, and you will fall from your academic rank! The academy won''t protect you from our questions then!" the reporter persisted, raising his voice.

    Not minding his outburst, I calmly stood up, following the lead of the second-year cadet towards the award ceremony area.

    ¨C"You have degraded the Morningstar family name, Lucas! You are no hero! You will never be one!" the reporter''s words echoed in the air, trailing behind me as I let out a sigh.

 Chapter 213 Post-Game Events [2]

    ?

    The award ceremony proceeded smoothly, just as I had anticipated, I was the one who received the MVP trophy.

    Nero also received a medal for his more than impressive performance during the match. However, we were informed that the crowd was not happy with our team''s victory at all.

    Why? Well, as I mentioned earlier, Nero had broken someone''s arm. He didn''t do it during a fight but rather it was an act of torture.

    The crowd did not appreciate his actions.

    They witnessed Nero''s unstable rage, shouting at his own teammates to step back while he mercilessly broke the defenseless guy''s arm.

    To be honest, even I was surprised by his behavior. He didn''t do anything like that in the novel.

    If I had to make a guess, then I would say that perhaps Kai''sckeys pushed Nero harder than they did in the novel.

    That might exin why he was so cruel to Chris.

    After all, in the novel, Nero had a darker side to him. His dark side manifested as an extremely short temper.

    To put it simply, he struggled with anger issues.

    These issues stemmed from his traumatic past as a helpless child who witnessed his mother''s murder before his eyes.

    The overwhelming sense of helplessness transformed into anger, which eventually turned to uncontroble rage that he tried to suppress within his heart.

    Not to mention, his constant need for validation from those around him, coupled with his extreme pride, only served to fuel his anger whenever it surfaced.

    Well,ter on in the story, Nero''s anger proved to be useful when he fortuitously discovered a more destructive way to channel his mana into his martial arts which he named ''The Rage Drive.''

    But that''s forter, for now, I want him to control his temper. I don''t care what happens to the plot, I cannot work with a ticking time bomb.

    "Lucas!"

    Ah, speak of the devil.

    After receiving my trophy and doing some obligatory photoshoots, I parted with the rest of the group and made my way home.

    Just as I stepped out of the medical room after they checked me for any possible injuries, Nero''s voice called out to me as he followed me out.

    I turned around to face him as he approached me in the empty hallway outside the medical room.

    "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something," he said.

    "Yeah, what is it?" I inquired.

    "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you," Nero earnestly looked into my eyes and spoke. "I''m sorry, I wasn''t in the right state of mind. I also yelled at the others. And thank you for assisting us. I had no idea Kai had a Gift rted to teleportation. Without you, we would''ve surely lost¡ª"

    "It doesn''t matter," I interjected before he could finish his statement.

    "Huh?" Nero looked at me with confusion. "What do you mean?"

    "What I mean is, don''t apologize," I replied. "I couldn''t care less about your or anyone else''s opinion of me¡ªneither you nor Chase, nor anyone else. However, if you really regret your actions, then just do something about your temper. I don''t want any more problems arising because of it."

    "What?" Nero''s perplexed frown deepened upon hearing my response. "What do you mean by that? When did I cause any problems?"

    "Oh, you didn''t?" I raised an eyebrow in response. "You exposed your Gift during the Mock War! Rumors about you have been spreading worldwide now! You could have simply lost, but instead, you chose to win at any cost by using your Gift! And why? Wasn''t it because you were angry at Alberto? Your anger clouded your judgment!"

    "Again, how does that create a problem for you?" Nero retorted with a shake of his head. "The rumors will cause trouble for ME, not YOU!"

    "Nero, you need to understand that your actions have consequences!" I replied firmly. "And those consequences may impact those around you!"

    "Oh, actions have consequences?" Nero scoffed. "Are you even qualified to utter that phrase?"

    "Oh, for the love of God!" I rolled my eyes, fully aware of what Nero was hinting at with his tone. "You know what? Forget it. As I said, I don''t care. You''ll soone to understand what I meant."

    When you witness people dying before your eyes, BECAUSE of you, you''ll know that YOUR actions carry far more severe consequences than those of others.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After all, you are the protagonist of this story.

    After I said my piece, I turned around in order to leave. However, before I could take a single step, Nero grabbed hold of my arm.

    "Wait!" Nero shouted. "You don''t get to say whatever you want and then walk away! If you''re ming me for something, at least make me understand!"

    I turned my head to gaze at him, my eyes cold as I uttered, "Let go."

    "Tell me, what are you ming me for first?!" Nero yelled once again.

    "Why should I?" I spat back. "It''s not my job to point out the consequences of your thoughtless actions, nor am I obligated to help you help you make up for your dumbness!"

    "...You know, even though I never thought of us as friends, I had hoped we could at least get along," Nero said with a hint of disappointment.

    "...Let go," I repeated my words, willing mana into my legs.

    "Tell me what you mean first," Nero tightened his grip on my hand and channeled mana into his own.

    Click¡ª

    Just then, the door of the medical room swung open and out came several main characters¡ªAnastasia, Chase, and Elijah.

    Chase shot me a piercing re, but I paid him no mind as I swiftly pulled my hand free from Nero''s grasp.

    Anastasia shifted her gaze between Nero and me, her curiosity piqued. "What were the two of you discussing?"

    "Nothing," I replied curtly. "I should head home."

    "Fine," Nero let out a deep breath and took a step back.

    "Wait," before I could walk away, Anastasia halted me. "I didn''t say this earlier, but thank you, Lucas. This victory was possible only because of you."

    "Don''t mention it," I waved my hand dismissively.

    "Although, it would have been easier if he had informed us about Kai instead of using us as bait," Chase voiced his frustration as if he was talking to himself out loud.

    Elijah immediately ced a hand on Chase''s shoulder, attempting to calm his friend, but Chase merely grunted in response.

    I turned to face Chase and let out a brief chuckle. "Why don''t you talk to me once you stop rushing your opponents like an idiot and getting your ass handed to you?"

    "What did you say, you fuckface?!" Chase snapped, ready to advance, but Anastasia swiftly stepped in, cing her hand in front of him.

    And just like a well-trained puppy, he immediately quieted down.

    Heh, what a simp.

    "Anyway, the bottom line is, thank you, Lucas," Anastasia sincerely expressed her gratitude. I nodded in acknowledgment before turning to leave.

    While making my way out, I noticed that Anastasia was engaged in a conversation with Nero.

    She gently patted his chest and gestured towards his foot, likely asking him about his injuries.

    Meanwhile, Chase, with his upper body wrapped in bandages, stood there with a lost look in his eyes as he observed that scene.

    Even though he was more severely injured, he was ignored as his darling was more focused on Nero.

    "Poor guy," I mused, a smirk forming on my face.

    I had ns for Chase, but there was still time for that. Right now, I should focus on the task at hand.

    I have to suppress Kai once and for all before the main game on the seventh day.

 Chapter 214 Time To Get A New Ally [1]

    ?

    "Why are we even doing this, master?" I cried out as I watched Leo cover his mouth with his hands to suppress a chuckle.

    "I can see youughing, you know?!" I cried out again.

    "Ahahaha! I''m sorry, I''m sorry," Leo said, wiping away a tear from his excessiveughter and tossing me a clean towel.

    I took the towel from him and used it to wipe the ck grease from my face.

    Right now we were in the master''s garage and in front of us stood a vintage sports bike.

    Now, when I say vintage, I mean it''s an older modelpared to the hover bikes prevalent in this world. It still had tires.

    Back in my world, in my time, however, this bike would be considered a top-ss new model.

    After spending the entire day training with master, he invited me to join him for dinner at his ce.

    And why would I, in my right mind, refuse a free meal, right? So naturally, I epted.

    As we sat down for dinner, we began chatting, and that''s when master mentioned his bike collection.

    Since the novel hadn''t mentioned anything about Leo being a motorbike enthusiast, I found it hard to believe. So, he took me to his garage to prove it.

    And when I got there, I was astounded.

    From vintage tire bikes to thetest hover bikes, this man had it all! I couldn''t help but wonder just how rich he was.

    I mean, I knew he was rich, but not filthy rich! Well, I should''ve expected it.

    While looking around the garage, my eyesnded on a Ducati. Filled with curiosity, I asked if I could take it out for a ride.

    Unfortunately, master told me that it hadn''t been used in years and we needed to get it started first.

    I told him that it was alright, but he suggested that we work on it together.

    "Sure, what could go wrong?" I thought as I epted his offer.

    Well, just fifteen minutester, my entire face was covered in grease. So much for nothing going wrong.

    "Alright, now we will change the clutch te and refill the engine oil," Leo said as he got back to working on the bike. "We''re almost done."

    I reached for a cold water bottle and let out a content sigh after drinking its content, "Fuu~"

    "By the way," Leo began speaking, his hands still working on the bike. "I''ve noticed that you''ve grown stronger. Are you sure you''re not using any enhancement drugs?"

    Simr to steroids, there are drugs in this world that can temporarily boost one''s mana levels.

    When under the influence of these drugs, one''s cultivation process can be elerated.

    It''s like continuously drinking mana potions while cultivating, but far more effective than that.

    However, there is a drawback.

    Not only are these drugs extremely expensive, but they also carry the risk of permanently damaging your mana core.

    "What? No, master, I haven''t used any enhancement drugs," I replied. "My mana core is still at bronze 2."

    "I know that, but your physical strength has greatly increased," Leo responded.

    Well, that''s because of Sera.

    But telling him about her wouldn''t be wise, would it? I mean, I could tell him. But now isn''t the right time.

    I should remember that Leo is not only my master but also one of the Spider''s legs.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    If I were to tell him about Sera, there''s a chance he would report it to the Spider.

    Before revealing anything, I need to make sure that he can be trusted to keep my secret.

    "Maybe it''s just a growth spurt," I replied with a wide smile.

    "...You''re eighteen," Leo shifted his gaze to me, staring nkly for a few seconds before returning to work on the bike.

    "So what? Late growth spurts happen, you know?" I retorted, my face contorting into a frown.

    "Whatever you say, dear disciple," Leo sighed. "By the way, I never got the chance to praise you for your victory in the game. Well done."

    It had been two days since the game, and during this time, we had focused solely on training.

    This was the first opportunity we had to catch up in a while, and my master finally had the chance to acknowledge my victory.

    "It was a team effort," I replied, maintaining aposed tone.

    "Oh, please," Leo scoffed. "I watched the entire match rey. You practically carried the team with your strategy."

    "Heh," I scratched my nose with a smug smile, myposed tone was reced by a shameless one. "I guess I did, didn''t I?"

    "Yes, indeed," Leo nodded, a simr smile adorning his face. "Just as expected from my star pupil."

    After sharing a smug chuckle for a few moments, Leo cleared his throat and changed the subject. "By the way, you fought against Kai. How was that?"

    "He was definitely strong," I replied. "He was on par with Nero. I guess, his skills were slightly below Nero''s, but other than that, he was a beast."

    "Yeah, I saw the fight," Leo nodded. "Well, if you continue growing at the pace you are under my guidance, you will surpass him in no time."

    Of course. After all, I possess Mythical potential now.

    In a few years'' time, there will be only a handful of people who would be capable of standing up to me.

    But that''s a matter for the future. For now, as if I suddenly remembered something important, I shook my head.

    "By the way, master," I began. "Will you be there to watch my match on the Seventh Day?"

    Leo fell silent for a few seconds before responding, "I have some matters I need to attend to, so I''m afraid I won''t be able to make it. I''m sorry."

    "What? That''s not fair!" I eximed. "I''m going to win the Tournament, you know? I want you to be there when I win."

    "Lucas, believe me, I would love to be there, but I can''t," Leo replied in a genuine apologetic tone. "I have some important matters that cannot be postponed."

    I knew what he meant by his ''important matters.''

    In the novel, the vampire attack during the Tournament would have been thwarted if Leo had been there.

    Unfortunately, he had a meeting with the Spider''s Head on that day. As a result, Liz, the second-highest-ranking soldier in the academy after Leo, was unable to handle the vampire attackers alone.

    That''s why I wanted Leo to be there in this timeline. Sadly, it seems I will have to find another way to deal with the situation.

    "...."

    Seeing the disappointment on my face, Leo let out another sigh and suggested, "How about this, as a gesture of apology, I''ll teach you other applications of Mirage Walk?"

    My ears perked up, and my interest was immediately sparked.

    Noticing my intrigued expression, Leo smiled. "Alright, let''s put the bike aside for now. Get up, and I''ll teach you two more ways to use the Mirage Walk."

 Chapter 215 Time To Get A New Ally [2]

    ?

    It has been four days since the g match.

    During this time, all I have been doing is training relentlessly with my master day in and day out.

    I have also learned two new ways to use the Mirage Walk, and let me tell you, it is an even cooler technique than I initially thought it was!

    Aside from distorting the air and creating multiple illusions of myself, I can now use it to perform other tasks.

    For example, I can render myselfpletely invisible by distorting the air to create a camouge around me.

    I can also use the Mirage Walk to change my appearance and turn into someone else.

    The second application is actually quite challenging to execute, however.

    Why? Well, because it requires my utmost concentration. So while I''m using that, I can''t use any other spells or techniques.

    Nevertheless, I have to admit that the Mirage Walk is so cool! I''m d I chose this technique over that Air Walking one.

    But I want to learn that one as well.

    Hmm, I guess I''ll emotionally guilt trip master into teaching me that too, just like I did to learn the other applications of the Mirage Walk.

    Hehe~

    "Krieek~!!"

    Just as I was lost deep in my thoughts, a loud yet melodious chirping of a bird shook me awake.

    It''s been five days since I was able to spend time with Sera so now when I''m finally back home, she''s not leaving my side.

    Right now, she''s sitting on my right shoulder as I''m feeding her berries while sitting cross-legged and cultivating mana.

    Sera is pretty smart, by the way.

    I showed her where I was keeping her food and she fed herself whenever I was out and she was hungry during these past five days.

    After all, it is said that Dragons and Phoenixes were once the most intelligent beings before their extinction.

    She has also grown quite a bit, by the way.

    She''s half the size of my arm now. And yes, she''s getting heavy. My shoulder is starting to ache but she won''t budge.

    Haa~

    "Krieeek~"

    Meh, whatever. I''ll let it slide since she''s too adorable.

    "Arghh!"

    A groan escaped my lips as I continued to imbueyer uponyer of mana over the mana core in order topress it.

    It stung, but it wasn''t as painful as before since my potential had already spiked up to the Mythical rank.

    Thanks to that, my cultivation speed has also increased.

    Since I was already on the verge of breaking through Bronze 2 before, I managed to get my rank up to Bronze 3 easily.

    So for the past fifteen hours, I''ve been continuously trying to break through the Bronze tier.

    And right now, I was just about to achieve my goal.

    "Kriek?" Sensing my difort, Sera gently prodded my cheek with her beak.

    "Mhmm," I hummed softly, assuring her that I was fine, even as I maintained my focus onpressing my mana core.

    "Anghaaa!" Finally, with a low pained groan, I broke through the bronze rank, and a sense of relief washed over me.

    Sweat drenched my body, and my lips quivered ever so slightly.

    My heart raced, and my breathing was ragged as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

    "Haaa! Haaa!" I took a few deep breaths, gradually calming my pounding heart and restoring my breathing to a steady rhythm.

    "Kriek! Kriek!" Sera persistently pecked at my cheeks in worry until I finally patted her head.

    As my senses became clear once again, I couldn''t help but notice the changes in my body.

    Rising to my feet, I immediately realized that I felt incredibly light. I also felt a surge of strength in my veins.

    My vision and hearing were sharpened to a remarkable extent. Intrigued, I decided to quickly check my status.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar

    Race¡ú Human

    ____

    Strength¡ú 550 [+258]

    Endurance¡ú 530 [+220]

    Speed¡ú 555 [+256]

    Stamina¡ú 520 [+196]<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    uracy¡ú 390 [+102]

    Charm¡ú 490 [+5]

    Intelligence¡ú 188

    Mana Capacity¡ú 2500/2500

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Silver 1

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Mythical

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 3 || Archer Lvl. 2

    ____

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    ?Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) [100%]

    ?6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) [100%]

    ?12 Movements Scarlet Demon Devouring Art (Lvl. 4) [56%]

    ??Combat Arts:

    ?Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) [100%]

    ??Breathing Technique

    ?Breath Of Vitality

    ?Movement Art

    ?Mirage Walk [98%]

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low? || Fire Lance ?High?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine? || The Bringer Of Lost mes ?Legendary?

    Edit Points: 864

    ===========

    Okay, my stats look good now. Finally, it seems like I''m a main character not just a side viin.

    Phew~

    I also have enough Edit Points.

    I''m going to get more of them soon anyway, so I should be good with this much for the time being.

    However, one thing that took most of my attention was that...

    Garrr¡ª!

    My stomach was rumbling loudly due to hunger.

    "Ah, I should get something to eat first," I decided aloud.

    It was only natural, considering I hadn''t eaten anything in the past fifteen hours.

    Tring¡ª!!

    But before I could even take a step towards the kitchen, my smart bracelet rang. It was a text notification.

    Frowning, I tapped on my smart bracelet and unlocked it. As soon as I did that, a holographic text message screen popped out in front of me.

    And just as I read the text''s content, a smile stered on my face. It was a text from Kai.

    ===

    Hello, Lucas Morningstar.

    I think we both know that we have a chat due. Come to this location alone in twenty minutes.

    Don''t bring anyone else with you, and don''t try to act smart¡­ or else.

    ===

    Along with the text message, a map location was pinned.

    "Hahaha!" I couldn''t help myself as a short chuckle escaped my lips.

    Just as I had predicted, it''s time to get some Edit Points and a brand-new pawn¨C ally.

 Chapter 216 Head-On Confrontation [1]

    ?

    When I followed the location that Kai sent me on the maps, it brought me to the front of an apartmentplex.

    These apartmentplexes are assigned to us cadets by the Cadet Council.

    If my memory serves me right, in the novel, Kai used his connections to secure one whole apartmentplex for himself and his clique, the Young Elites.

    If I''m not wrong then the aforementioned apartmentplex should be the one before me.

    Basically, he asked me toe to hisir.

    Just like he asked, I came alone. Well, it''s not like aside from him, anyone here can stop me anyway.

    A towering young man with a cascade of silver hair, exuding an aura of strength and a physique that strained against his t-shirt, stood at the entrance of theplex.

    "Kai awaits you on the terrace," the young man informed me, his gaze cold and menacing,pelling me to enter.

    Not minding his presence at all, I strode past him and took the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

    The silver-haired young man started following closely behind me.

    Every time I climbed a floor, a few cadets woulde out of their apartments and join him, walking closely behind me.

    By the time I reached the terrace door, approximately thirty cadets were blocking my path, preventing any chance of retreat.

    The individual standing in front of the terrace door was a tall, bulky man with dark skin, a fine-looking face, and curls of ck hair¨C it was Alberto Okoro.

    "You have no idea how fucked you are," he snarled, his gaze fixed on me, and then he clicked open the terrace door.

    Before I could take a single step, Alberto grabbed me by the cor of my t-shirt and forcefully threw me through the terrace door.

    "Haaa!" I gasped as I tumbled through the door frame, but I quickly regained my bnce after a few steps.

    As I turned around, I saw that the cadets who had been closely following me had also entered the terrace.

    Alberto locked the only exit door and crushed the key with his bare hands as the rest of the cadets spread around me in a semicircle.

    "Why did you do that?" I asked, confusion evident on my face.

    "So you can''t make a run for it," he replied, a smirk forming on his lips.

    "Yeah, but... how will we get out then?" I inquired once again.

    "It''s just for theatrics," a voice came from behind me. I spun on my heel to face the source of the voice. "I have another key."

    It was Kai Wiseman.

    My gaze quickly shifted down to his feet, where he was pressing down on a young man with tan skin and raven ck hair¡ªQuinn.

    Quinn was grumbling, clearly in pain. His upper body was bare, revealing fresh scars and wounds he must have received only a few moments ago.

    Standing on Kai''s right was a fetching blonde girl, her eyes ring at me¡ªGrace.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Not minding her, I pointed towards Quinn beneath Kai''s feet using my chin and asked in a curious tone, "So you figured it out, huh?"

    "It wasn''t difficult," Kai exined, his voice calm. "You used a spear in the game. You imed you weren''t a spearman, but you know who was? The guy who fought Quinn. You lied. It was you who fought Quim. As soon as I confirmed that you were the mastermind behind the Mock War, I had my suspicions that you two were working together."

    "I see," I nodded, scratching my chin in thought. "So, you bashed him until he confessed to betraying you?"

    "Yes," Kai confirmed with a hint of satisfaction. "And it worked."

    A sigh escaped my lips as I took in the sight of Quinn¡ªthe destined rival of the protagonist of this world¡ªin such a beaten state.

    "By the way, you''rete," Kai remarked, his tone slightly usatory. "Were you busy setting up traps again?"

    "Nah," I shook my head dismissively. "I just lost my way."

    "What?" Kai raised an eyebrow in confusion.

    "I mean, I got a little lost while trying to find my way here," I repeated my words.

    "But... I sent you the location on maps," Kai said, his expression growing more perplexed. "Did I send the wrong location?"

    "No, no," I reassured him, waving my hands. "It''s just something that happens to me asionally. Don''t worry about it."

    "....." Speechless, Kai''s frown deepened, but he quicklyposed himself, taking a deep breath.

    "Anyway, the reason I called you here was to ask you, one final time, if you would join me," Kai added.

    "Wait!" Grace, standing right next to Kai, interjected, her voice filled with confusion. Frowning at his words, she said, "Join? Why are you asking him to join?"

    "Shut up, Grace," Kai lifted a finger, a simple gesture that seemed to silence her instantly.

    Turning back to me, he posed the question again, his eyes fixed on mine. "So, Lucas Morningstar, for thest time, will you join me?"

    "Hmmm," I touched my chin and squeezed my eyes as if I was thinking about a very serious decision.

    But in the next instant, I raised my head to meet Kai''s gaze as a wide smile spread across my face. "Nah, I''m good."

    "Haaa," Kai let out a deep breath as he tried to suppress his growing frustration.

    However, for thest time, he tried to reason with me, "Look around yourself, you are surrounded. It''s best for you to give up because if you try to fight, it''ll end up with more than just a few broken bones for you."

    "Surrounded?" I raised an eyebrow. "You think these guys are enough to take me down? Me? The disciple of Leo Kurogami? Nah, you''ll need more than that."

    Kai looked at me nkly for a few seconds, maybe he was silently questioning my sanity.

    After a few seconds, he finally nodded and signaled with his words, "Don''t kill him."

    And just as if waiting for that cue, several cadets immediately rushed at me from every direction.

 Chapter 217 Head-On Confrontation [2]

    ?

    Swish¡ª!!

    Kachang¡ª!!

    In an instant, a young man swiftly closed in on Lucas with a shining longsword in his hands.

    Without a moment''s hesitation, he swung the sword at Lucas'' legs, aiming to inflict severe harm.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    "...Huh?!"

    However, the sword passed right through Lucas as his body vanished into thin air, like a mirage.

    Confused, everyone rushing towards the silver-haired boy abruptly halted right in their tracks.

    They whipped their heads around in bewilderment, trying to locate Lucas, who seemed to have disappeared before their eyes.

    Even Kai was perplexed. He knew what that technique was. After all, Lucas won the g game and escaped him because of it.

    "Find him!" Kai angrily shouted.

    ¨C"Arghhhaaaa!!"

    But just at that moment, amidst the crowd of cadets, a sharp cry of pain erupted as a brown-haired girl stabbed a boy.

    Everyone''s attention shifted to the scene, as the confusion only grew.

    Kai was about to yell at the girl when something caught his attention, causing him to widen his eyes.

    The girl''s body flickered, and suddenly as if an illusion was being lifted, her form began to transform.

    Before everyone''s eyes, the girl changed into a silver-haired boy¡ªthe very same one that they were targeting.

    Lucas Morningstar.

    When Lucas wasing up to the terrace, he had conjured an illusion to take his ce.

    Meanwhile, he himself sneakily merged with the crowd by turning invisible and eventually altering his appearance to blend inpletely.

    And when everyone''s guard was down due to the confusion, he mercilessly stabbed a young man standing directly in front of him in the back.

    Of course, he avoided any vital organs.

    Acting quickly, he delivered a palm strike to the back of the boy''s neck.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    That was one opponent down.

    Not a single word was exchanged, yet in an instant, everyone quickly charged at Lucas with their weapons ready to strike him down.

    They had collectively recognized Lucas as a threat.

    In response to their rush, a smirk formed on Lucas'' lips as he summoned his crimson spear into his grasp.

    Cling, ng, Cling¡ª!!

    As the cadets entered his striking range one after another, the silver-haired spearman unleashed a whirlwind of spear swings.

    A symphony of shing metal resounded, apanied by sparks that flew through the air, as Lucas single-handedly faced a barrage of enemies.

    His footwork and mastery of the spear were mesmerizing. Each one of his swings seamlessly connected with the next, not breaking the flow of his attacks.

    mes danced around him, engulfing his spear in a fiery brilliance.

    That sight, coupled with his frenzied yet synchronized footsteps, made him look like an angelic being of fiery destruction.

    ¨C"Rush at him from the right, and I''ll take the left!" One of the cadets shouted, rallying others to nk Lucas.

    Heeding that call, several cadets tried to pincer Lucas and attack him from the opposite direction.

    However, before they could inflict any harm on him, Lucas let out a roar that defied the heavens, "Mana Burst!"

    Booom¡ª!!

    In an instant, a fiery explosion erupted, sending the cadets who were rushing at him flying through the air like paper dolls.

    ¨C"Khuuk!"

    ¨C"Arghhaaa!"

    ¨C"My hand! Fuck! I broke my hand!"

    Pained screams and cries of agony echoed across the terrace as the cadets violently crashed onto the ground.

    Some suffered first-degree burns while others broke their bones either because of the intensity of the explosion or the impact of their crash.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    But Lucas didn''t stop there. He swiftly approached the fallen cadets, delivering a forceful kick right across one of their faces.

    Knocking another one out, he continued his relentless assault, aiming to subdue the remaining opponents.

    Meanwhile, Kai, who had been silently observing the scene, turned to the blonde girl standing beside him, equally shocked by the unfolding events.

    He yelled at her, "Go!"

    It took a few moments for Grace to register Kai''s words. She was still reeling from the bewildering disy of Lucas''s strength.

    How did he be so powerful all of a sudden? ¨C she wondered to herself.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, Kai''s voice snapped her out of her stunned state.

    "Grace!" Kai eximed, catching her attention. "Join the fight!"

    The urgency in Kai''s voice made Grace nod her head before she could even understand what she was agreeing to.

    Taking a deep breath, she channeled mana into her smart bracelet and summoned a silver rapier into her hands.

    Stomping her foot firmly on the ground to acquire footing, a strong gust of wind enveloped her feet.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    In a split second, she lunged forward and appeared before Lucas at breakneck speed, just as he was about to deliver a knockout blow to another fallen cadet.

    "What the?!" Lucas''s eyes widened in surprise as Grace blurred out and arrived in front of him before swiftly swinging her rapier at him.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Yet, her de sliced through nothing but empty air as Lucas deftly evaded her attack, taking a single step back with agility.

    Without dy, he raised his spear high above his head and brought it down in a forceful downward motion¨C a downward horizontal sh.

    Snap¡ª!!

    However, Grace quickly snapped her fingers and instantly vanished from Lucas''s sight.

    "Huh?!" Lucas eximed, caught off guard, but he sensed a presence above him.

    Looking up, he saw that Grace had appeared in mid-air, directly above his head.

    Snap¡ª!!

    Once again, from high up in the air, Grace snapped her fingers.

    This time she closed in on Lucas from above in a blink of an eye and thrust her rapier down at him.

    ng¡ª!!

    Reacting swiftly, Lucas raised his spear and used its shaft to block her de, while murmuring, "Sound magic!"

    It was Grace''s signature spell in the novel¡ªa technique where she snapped her fingers, enabling her to move at the speed of sound within short distances.

    However, with her in mid-air and him preupied with blocking her rapier, maybe he could do something about her.

    "Ahhaaaa!"

    But before Lucas could act on his thoughts, Alberto charged at him like a raging bull, hurtling towards him at full speed.

    "Fuck!" Lucas cursed out loud.

    This was a dire situation. Lucas had both hands upied, firmly gripping his spear to ward off Grace''s descending thrust.

    As a result of that, he was wide open and couldn''t defend himself against Alberto!

    THWACK¡ª!!

    In an instant, before Lucas could even do something, Alberto collided with him, forcefully thrashing his shoulder against Lucas''s abdomen.

    "Khuaaa!" The impact knocked the wind out of Lucas'' lungs. It felt as if he was hit by a speeding truck.

    The sheer force of the collision sent him flying back into the air. His body skidded across the ground like a t stone on a water surface before finallying to a stop upon crashing against the terrace boundary.

    Meanwhile, Grace, who had alreadynded on her feet, capitalized on the opportunity by quietly chanting a spell under her breath.

    She aimed her rapier at Lucas like a gun, who was struggling to rise up to his feet.

    Suddenly, powerful gusts of wind swirled around Grace''s slender de, forming a vortex.

    From his peripheral vision, Lucas watched as the wind vortex shot at him like an arrow upon Grace''smand.

    THWOOOSH¡ª!!!

    The storm arrow collided with the silver-haired boy, unleashing a tempest that shattered parts of the terrace boundary as coteral damage.

    It was as if a miniature tornado had struck the intended target of Grace''s attack.

    "Did I get him?" Grace questioned aloud, her voice filled with uncertainty.

    However, her question was soon answered as the dust settled and the winds subsided.

    Standing at the edge of the terrace stood a silver-haired boy, d in divine red and golden armor, with two ming wings on his back.

    He gripped the radiant red spear tightly in his hands, appearing as though he were an angelic being.

    "What the fuck?!" Grace eximed in shock, unable to contain her astonishment.

    That was her strongest spell. How did Lucas survive the Storm Arrow? That armor¡­ was it a relic?

    Even Kai couldn''t help but widen his eyes, taken aback by the spectacle unfolding before him.

    On the other hand, Alberto silently clenched his fists, readying himself for furtherbat.

    A handful of other cadets managed to stand back up again, although most of them were knocked out by Lucas''s earlier onught.

    Thrack¡ª!!

    In the next moment, the armor around Lucas'' body shattered as if it was made of ss and dissipated into flickering embers.

    Instead, a scarlet aura enveloped his figure as he spoke with an ominous tone, "You are all dead."

 Chapter 218 Head-On Confrontation [3]

    ?

    ¨C"Rush him!"

    As Lucas'' figure became clear, the cadets quickly charged at him together, aiming to overpower him with their numbers.

    However, three individuals remained rooted in their spots - Grace, Alberto, and Tory, a red-haired girl.

    Observing the battle from a distance, the trio waited for others to make an opening that they could exploit.

    Cling, ng, Cling¡ª!!

    However, despite their efforts, they couldn''t create a single opening in Lucas'' technique. There was no room for mistakes.

    Lucas constantly covered his blind spots and continuously moved around so that he couldn''t get surrounded.

    Moreover, he also kept at least two to three cadets near him at all times, so that Grace or anyone else could notunch an artillery spell at him like the Storm Arrow from earlier.

    Despite the fact that he was fighting against numerous cadets, Lucas not only kept an eye on the three bystanders but also held himself back so that he wouldn''t actually kill his opponents.

    His eyes darted across the field, tirelessly searching for the most efficient ways to knock out his enemies as swiftly and safely as possible.

    His training in the Southern Mountain range proved valuable. After all, these humans were far less scary than the giant Ice-w Bears.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Swiftly deflecting a de that was speeding at him with his spear, Lucas raised his leg, chambered his knee, and executed a powerful front kick, striking the young man in front of him.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    From the force of the kick, the guy buckled and dropped to his knees as Lucas jumped onto the back of his neck, delivering a forceful stomp to his head, smashing it against the ground.

    Thaaak¡ª!!

    If the boy hadn''t reinforced his body with mana, that curb stomp from Lucas would have surely fractured his neck or skull.

    Shifting his focus, Lucas turned his attention to the three approaching men who took advantage of the situation to charge at him.

    In response to their charge, Lucas raised his spear over his head.

    The air around his spear began to twist and churn. Tendrils of scarlet lightning crackled in the air and enveloped his weapon, pulsating with intensity.

    "Haaa!"

    Thrack¡ª!!

    In the next instant, as the three men closed in on him, Lucas brought his spear crashing down onto the ground beneath him before swiftly jumping backwards.

    As soon as the scarlet de of his crimson spear struck the ground, cracks spread across the terrace.

    Thaaawm¡ª!!

    ¨C"Aaaahhh!"

    ¨C"What the fuuuuck!"

    ¨C"Nooooo!"

    Soon after, a huge hole was carved into the terrace, causing the ground beneath the three men to shatterpletely.

    They plummeted to the room below and got buried under the rubble that fell on them from above.

    Thud¡ª

    "Fuuu," Lucas exhaled afternding a few steps back from his previous position and wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead. "Small fries are dealt with."

    Indeed, most of the side characters had been taken care of by now.

    Only Grace, Alberto, and another red-haired girl remained standing between him and Kai.

    Lucas shifted his gaze toward them. One look and he could sense that all three of them were at least around Silver-2 rank.

    They were definitely strong.

    Then there was Kai. Lucas could sense that he was on the verge of breaking through to the Silver-3 rank and ascending to the Gold tier.

    Fortunately, Lucas had used Embrace Discard so his own stats were boosted to the tinum-1 rank.

    It basically means he didn''t have to fret too much about their rankings and he can go all out against them.

    Lucas circled around the hole that he himself created as Grace closely observed him.

    "Tsk," Grace clicked her tongue in frustration.

    How had he be so strong all of a sudden?

    She could have sworn that just moments ago, they were on a simr rank.

    But now, she couldn''t sense his mana. That could only mean he had surpassed her by at least one rank.

    He must have reached the tinum rank. But how did he achieve such a sudden breakthrough?

    The more she thought about it, the clearer the answer became. He must have used a relic!

    Perhaps that armor he had on him earlier, which shielded him from her Storm Arrow, was a relic.

    Now that she couldn''t see the armor on him, it might have boosted his mana core rank somehow.

    Now she understood why Lucas was always so cocky whenever he confronted her or tried to sway her to his side.

    The rumors about him being the disgrace of the Morningstars were definitely false.

    This guy had been hiding his true prowess all along.

    But why? Grace couldn''tprehend the reason behind it.

    Why would he go to such lengths to portray himself as a weak, insignificant brat in the eyes of the world?

    Well, it didn''t matter. Even if Lucas was temporarily on the tinum-1 rank, it didn''t guarantee his victory against Kai.

    With that thought in mind, Grace nodded resolutely and turned to the tall, muscr man standing beside her.

    "Alberto," she addressed him. "Keep him upied for ten seconds."

    Alberto didn''t respond directly. Instead, he clenched his fists and softly muttered in a low tone, "Enforcement!"

    In the blink of an eye, every muscle fiber in Alberto''s body began to bulge and swell, resembling an inting balloon before solidifying and radiating a golden glow.

    His shirt tore apart as if he had donned a suit of golden armor and his eyes looked as if they were set aze in a silver fire.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    His hair also straightened and cascaded down to his knees, shimmering with a silver hue.

    "Come," Lucas beckoned, raising his spear to his chest and pointing its de at the monstrous figure of Alberto before him.

    In response, Alberto stomped his foot on the ground and charged at Lucas like a raging bull, his fists drawn back.

    Fwish¡ª!!

    As soon as he entered the striking range, Lucas swiftly thrust his spear toward Alberto''s chest.

    Thack¡ª!!

    However, Alberto deflected the spear de with the back of his fist, effortlessly diverting Lucas'' attack to the left.

    Seizing the opportunity, Alberto pressed forward andunched a punch at Lucas while his spear was still pushed aside.

    Swish¡ª!!

    But to his surprise, his massive fist passed right through Lucas'' body as his form wavered and vanished like a mirage.

    "Tsk! An illusion!" Alberto concluded, but it was already toote.

    Almost instantly, multiple Lucas suddenly materialized all around him, encircling him from all angles before charging at him simultaneously.

    "Arghhaaa!" Alberto let out a battle cry, swinging his fist wildly like a beast.

    Swish, Swish, Swish¡ª!

    But each time his fist connected with Lucas, it would turn out to be an illusion before his body would fade into thin air.

    Before long, Alberto dropped his guard for a split second. However, that was all the time Lucas needed tounch an attack.

    "....?!" Suddenly, Alberto sensed a presence behind him. He swiftly turned around to face his adversary.

    Amidst the crowd of Lucas clones, one of them was in the middle of swinging his spear at Alberto in an upward sh.

    ''It''s the real one!'' Alberto realized as soon as his gazended on him, but it was toote. The spear was mere inches away from him.

    Thrwash¡ª!!

    As soon as the spear, crackling with red lightning, connected with Alberto it sent him hurtling back through the air from the sheer force of the sh.

    Thud¡ª!!

    Finally, Albertonded on the ground with a resounding thud, rolling a few times due to the momentum before swiftly rising to his knees.

    "...Huh?!"

    However, when he looked up, Lucas had alreadyunched himself toward him.

    Twisting his body in mid-air, Lucas used the momentum of his spin to deliver a powerful downward vertical sh aimed at Alberto, who was still kneeling.

    THRWASH¡ª!!!

    Alberto crossed his arms to tank the attack, but even his heavily reinforced muscles couldn''t fully protect him from the devastating force of Lucas'' spear.

    The de of Lucas'' spear sliced through Alberto''s rock-hardened muscles and inflicted a deep wound on his arms.

    Blood spurted out from his wound, but Alberto refused to stay down. He struggled to rise to his feet as quickly as possible.

    Yet, Lucas had used this chance to circle around behind him.

    From there, he retracted his spear and unleashed a powerful horizontal sh at Alberto''s back.

    THRWASH¡ª!!!

    The impact of the sh forced Alberto down onto all fours.

    However, rather than surrendering, he continued to fight, attempting to stand up again.

    "You just don''t know when to stay down, huh?" Lucas muttered as he walked behind Alberto, dragging the de of his spear along the ground.

    Grimacing, Alberto summoned every ounce of strength remaining in his battered body before pulling himself up onto his feet.

    "Arghaaa!" he bellowed as he clenched his fist, umting mana in it until it started to glow in an azure hue.

    He then spun around on his heel and threw a straight at Lucas with everything he had.

    Swish¡ª!!

    But his fist passed harmlessly over Lucas'' head as the silver-haired spearman ducked by bending his knees.

    Seizing this moment, Lucas sprang up from his low position and nted his own fist into Alberto''s sternum with tremendous force.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    "Khuaaak!" Infused with a crushing amount of mana, Lucas''s punch cracked Alberto''s ribs, causing him to stagger back a few steps and drop to his knees in agony.

    Without hesitation, Lucas closed the distance, channeling mana into his legs as he lifted his left knee before executing a powerful front kick with his right foot¡ª performing a wless bicycle kick.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    His foot connected squarely with Alberto''s face, making him fall back first on the ground, rendered unconscious by the sheer impact of the kick.

    However, Grace used this chance to prepare her artillery spell. Her rapier was pointed directly at Lucas and it was surrounded by a swirling vortex of wind.

    "Hmm?" Lucas noticed the violent gusts of wind and turned his focus toward Grace.

    For a brief moment, their eyes met and Grace shed him a triumphant sneer.

    In the next moment, at Grace''smand, the colossal vortex of wind propelled forward from Grace''s rapier like an arrow, aimed directly at Lucas.

    "That''s a big one," Lucas muttered to himself, acknowledging the magnitude of the approaching Storm Arrow.

    Indeed, it was a big Storm Arrow to the point where it looked like a tornado.

    Grace had poured every ounce of her mana into that spell.

    Lucas knew that If it struck him, not only would it severely injure him, but it would also destroy the entire terrace and maybe a few floors below.

    "As expected of a main character," Lucas silently chuckled to himself, pointing his open palm at the iing Storm Arrow.

    In an instant, two spears made purely of scarlet mes materialized around Lucas andunched themselves toward the oing vortex.

    Thwoooom¡ª!!!

 Chapter 219 Head-On Confrontation [4]

    ?

    As the Storm Arrow collided with the mingnces, a deafening fiery explosion erupted, sending shockwaves throughout the area.

    mes engulfed the vicinity and strong gusts of wind blew. Everyone''s vision was obscured by the smoke and dust that rose in the air.

    Even though she hoped that her Storm Arrow had hit the mark and defeated Lucas, Grace knew better than to underestimate him by now.

    So to take caution, she raised her rapier and infused it with whatever mana was left in her body, causing her de to emit a radiant azure glow.

    However, nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds, causing a frown to appear on Grace''s face.

    "Did I really get him?" She muttered to herself, questioning whether she had truly seeded.

    Interrupting her thoughts, Kai, who had been observing from the sidelines until now, called out to her, "No, you didn''t. Watch out."

    As soon as Grace registered Kai''s words, she looked ahead and noticed something moving within the rising ck smoke.

    However, she didn''t even get to think about it for long before a figure emerged from the ck haze, hurtling towards her with blurring speed.

    It was Lucas.

    His form was still enveloped in a scarlet aura while the very space itself seemed to have been distorting around the crimson de of his spear.

    ".....!!" Grace widened her eyes in surprise but swiftly thrust her rapier forward at the iing silver-haired boy.

    ng¡ª!!

    In response to her attack, Lucas smoothly swung his spear in a fluid left-to-right motion, deflecting Grace''s slender de with a resounding ng.

    "Anghh!" The force of Lucas'' swing caused a jarring impact to reverberate through Grace''s arm, eliciting a grunt of pain.

    Her rapier jerked from her grip due to the impact dealt by Lucas'' swing andnded a few meters away from her.

    Meanwhile, Lucas wasted no time and swiftly swung his spear again, this time in a reverse motion as before.

    Reacting swiftly, Grace skillfully moved her feet and jumped a few steps back to safety.

    Without wasting a breath, she quickly channeled mana into her smart bracelet and summoned a halberd into her hands.

    However, before she could fully gather herself, Lucas lunged towards her, leaving Grace no time to even catch her breath.

    Bending her knees slightly, Grace took a step forward and swung her halberd in a horizontal arc.

    Swish¡ª

    Lucas agilely leapt over her swing and, while still in mid-air, thrust his spear down at her.

    Thwish¡ª

    Grace swiftly swirled to her right, evading Lucas'' downward spear thrust.

    She then used the momentum of her spin to carry out another sh attack as soon as Lucasnded in front of her.

    She thought that Lucas would be momentarily off bnce and vulnerable uponnding back on the ground. That''s when she nned to strike him.

    Unfortunately for her, Lucas didn''t put any strength into his knees.

    So as soon as hended, his knees bent from the force of hisnding and he fluidly dropped in a crouched position.

    As a result of that, Grace''s halberd passed harmlessly over his head. From his low position, Lucas then thrust his spear forward at her.

    Widening her eyes, Grace attempted to tilt her head to the side to evade Lucas'' spear, but she was a split second toote.

    Kach¡ª!!

    The de of Lucas'' spear grazed the right side of Grace''s face and a red line formed on her cheek before blood started to trickle down from her wound.

    Without stopping, Lucas swiftly pulled his front leg inward and used the momentum to spin on his foot to deliver a powerful spinning heel kick.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    His heel struck Grace''s jaw with precision, sending her tumbling to the side from the sheer force of the kick before she fell down on one knee, momentarily stunned.

    "Fuck you!" she cursed, her tone dripping in venom.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Mustering his strength, she gripped her halberd tighter and thrust it forward at Lucas'' chest, aiming to impale his heart.

    Swish¡ª

    However, Lucas effortlessly sidestepped and evaded the attack before grabbing the shaft of her halberd firmly.

    Channeling strength into his grip, he broke the shaft of her halberd, which was made from super-reinforced steel, as if it were a mere toothpick.

    "Oh, boy!" Lucas gasped dramatically. "Were trying to kill me for real?"

    Not bothering to entertain him by responding, Grace rose to her feet and lunged towards Lucas.

    In response to herst ditch effort, Lucas gracefully twirled his spear and nted the blunt end of his weapon into Grace''s sr plexus.

    Thruck¡ª!!!

    "Khuaaa!" Grace gasped as the wind was knocked out of her lungs.

    The impact caused her legs to give away as she buckled down, falling to her knees.

    Normally, this wasn''t an attack that would''ve put down Grace.

    However, right now Lucas had a much higher mana core rank than Grace.

    The amount of mana he used to reinforce his spear far surpassed whatever amount she had used to strengthen her own body.

    As a warrior, the sr plexus was a crucial area to protect since one''s mana core is located there.

    A powerful strike to the sr plexus not only caused excruciating pain that would leave them unable to use mana for a few minutes, but it also carried the risk of shattering the mana core if the impact was severe enough.

    Of course, Lucas didn''t use that force.

    He had merely delivered a strike strong enough to temporarily disable Grace from using mana.

    "Khuaa! Haaa! Haaa!" While still down on her knees, she continued to violently gasp for air.

    Her delicate body waspletely vulnerable since she couldn''t strengthen it using mana.

    Lucas took this chance to slowly circle behind her as if he was relishing the state he had rendered her in.

    Upon reaching behind her, he finally swung his spear at Grace, aiming to hit her with its shaft.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    As Lucas'' spear connected with the back of Grace''s neck, the blunt force knocked her out instantly.

    Her eyes widened briefly before she copsed face-first onto the ground.

    Thud¡ª!

    She put up an admirable fight, her efforts valiant, but ultimately, she was no match for the silver-haired spearman.

    "Alright," Lucas sighed, nodding to himself in acknowledgement. "That''s taken care of."

    Surveying the wrecked state of the terrace, which wasrgely caused by him, Lucas''s gaze fell upon a red-haired girl, who met his stare head-on.

    "Are you next?" Lucas quipped, wiggling his eyebrows and deftly spinning his spear from one hand to the other.

    "Nah," in response to him, the red-haired girl raised her hands and turned around to leave. "I don''t get paid enough for this shit."

    Upon reaching the terrace door, she pointed at the door with an open palm and conjured a fireball spell.

    Thwaam¡ª!

    The fireballunched forward at the door and exploded upon impact, creating an exit for her.

    Without wasting a moment, she quickly walked out of the terrace, not wanting to be there for even a second longer.

    As soon as she left, Lucas shifted his gaze to the sole remaining individual on the terrace.

    The one who was still standing tall amidst the chaos ¨C Kai Wiseman

 Chapter 220 Talk [1]

    ?

    Despite the bodies of hisrades lying unconscious all around him, not even a speck of trouble flickered in Kai''s eyes.

    From the beginning, he had been keenly observing Lucas, watching him effortlessly defeat members of his clique one after another.

    Kai was sure that Lucas'' skills had far surpassed that of the first-year cadets by now. He could even rival some of the top second-year cadets.

    Well, that was to be expected, considering his rank was up in the top 200.

    However, the more Kai watched Lucas, gracefully twirling his spear amidst a ze of scarlet red mes, the more he noticed something peculiar.

    He began to see striking simrities between Lucas and one of the prophetic heroes mentioned in his Book of Prophecy.

    ''Could he truly be the Spearman at the World''s Edge?'' Kai pondered to himself in his mind.

    After all, the prophecy did foretell that he would find all three heroes at the Global Academy.

    One of them was undoubtedly Nero ¨C the Swordsman of Wrath.

    There were two more heroes left for him to find ¨C the Martial Queen of Sorrow and the Spearman at the World''s Edge.

    Could Lucas be that Spearman?

    Silver locks of hair, a captivating face, unparalleled mastery of the spear that would awe anyone, and brilliant mes surrounding him like a phoenix ¨C Lucas undeniably matched the description.

    However, Kai shook his head, clearing his mind, and decided to confront Lucas first, asking him the questions he wanted to ask him from the start.

    After all, it was still too early to draw any conclusions.

    "You... you''re strong," Kai remarked as Lucas approached him after knocking out Grace.

    "You''re not supposed to be this powerful in this or any other timeline. And you shouldn''t even be aware of the future, yet here you are. And that armor, was that the Phoenix''s Embrace?" he added.

    "You know about it?" Lucas inquired, before honestly confirming as he met Kai''s gaze. "Yeah, it is."

    As Lucas came to a halt a few steps in front of Kai, thetter couldn''t help but raise a question.

    "Do you know who was supposed to get that armor in this timeline?" Kai asked, a look of irritation on his face.

    "I know," Lucas nodded in response. "It was supposed to be Nero, wasn''t it?"

    "Yes!" Kai eximed. "If you know that, then how could you so carelessly take that armor for yourself?! Do you even fathom the magnitude of ripples this action of yours will cause through the timeline?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Oh? You are one to talk!" Lucas let out a scoff. "You think I wouldn''t recognize the sword you''ve been using? It is the ck Orb, isn''t it?"

    Kai maintained silence in response to Lucas'' words, while the silver-haired youth subtly pointed his chin towards Quinn, who was still lying unconscious on the ground.

    "Quinn was supposed to find that ck Orb," Lucas stated matter-of-factly. "But you took it for yourself."

    "I would have given him The Orb when it was his time to find it! But since you''ve donned that armor, it has be inseparable from your body! Now because of you, Nero will not be able to use Embrace Discard in the future!" Kai emphasized, pressing his fingers to his forehead to calm down his nerves as he exined.

    "And now that I''ve exposed myself, our actions have already caused significant ripples in the timeline," Kai let out a deep sigh.

    "True," Lucas nodded. "You weren''t meant to possess this level of strength either, you know?"

    "Yeah, I know! That''s why I remained in the shadows, faithfully ying my part in the world! But then you appeared out of nowhere and fucked everything!" Kai snapped.

    "The Mock War was never meant to unfold how it did! You nearly altered the entire course of that event! Your ss was on the verge of victory even when Nero hadn''t used his Gift! And if that wasn''t enough already, you also changed the oue of the Silveserine City massacre!" He added, frustration evident in his tone.

    "Do you have any idea how many years I''ve sacrificed, meticulously setting everything up, moving the pieces from the shadows? I''ve forsaken everything in my life to serve this timeline! But then you came along and overturned everything by deviating from your Destiny! I had no choice but to confront you directly, before you create countless more butterfly effects!" Kai continued passionately.

    "Okay, dude, just calm down!" Lucas chipped in as soon as he got an opening. "I don''t understand what you mean by all that, but if you know so much about this timeline then you should know how this world ends, right?!

    "This world is destined for doom! The vampires will ravage more than half of the world before the final war even begins. If you were to simply follow the timeline as it''s meant to unfold, you''d arrive at the same oue! You won''t be able to change anything and we''ll die!"

    Kai couldn''t help but facepalm in response to Lucas'' words, almost as if he had said something profoundly stupid.

    "You''re an idiot!" Kai yelled. "I concurred that you didn''t know everything based on some of your actions, but it seems like you are even more clueless than I originally thought."

    In response to Kai''s words, Lucas arched an eyebrow. He had no idea how to even reply to what Kai said.

    However, after a few minutes, Lucas did manage to find some words and form a response.

    "What?! Okay, then, exin to me what I did wrong by trying to change the fate of this world?!" He asked.

    Kai took a deep breath as if readying himself before answering. "You know what? Fine, I''ll tell you what you did wrong. But first, you tell me how you came to possess knowledge about the future?"

    "Yeah, buddy, that''s not happening," Lucas shook his head. "I''m not telling you anything before you tell me about yourself. After you do that, I might ¨C and I mean, I just might ¨C consider answering your questions."

    Kai facepalmed again in response but this time, after he was done, he summoned his greatsword and spoke, "Then you''ve made the wrong choice."

 Chapter 221 Talk [2]

    ?

    "Woah! Woah!" Lucas raised his hands slightly. "How about we talk like two civilized people and NOT try to kill each other, yeah?"

    "Will you tell me how you acquired the knowledge about the future?" Kai arched his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

    "As I said, I won''t tell you anything until you tell me about yourself," Lucas decided to stick to his demands.

    His decision wasn''t wrong. In this world filled with war, two things are absolutely necessary.

    If you have these two things, you must never lose them. If you don''t have them, then you must strive to find them.

    What are these two things, one might wonder? Well, they are Comrades and Information.

    The more you have these two things in abundance, the more would be the chances of your survival.

    So naturally, Lucas didn''t want to give up what he knew without getting something first.

    After all, he didn''t know how much he should tell Kai. He didn''t know the extent of knowledge Kai had about the future.

    What if he identally reveals something he shouldn''t?

    In this world, against a person of Kai''s caliber, that would be a blunder that Lucas just can''t afford to make.

    And it is, as they say, great minds think alike because Kai was also thinking the same thing as Lucas.

    He didn''t want to reveal what he knew first.

    Since both of them were strategists by nature, they wanted to be in control of the situation as much as possible.

    And in this case, the one who''ll make the other reveal their cards first will be able to take charge of the situation and devise a n of action ordingly.

    However, since they both wanted control, they would get nowhere by just talking about it.

    Or maybe they would? If they were to find a way to verbally outsmart each other, one of them would eventually end up losing and revealing their cards.

    They both were definitely smart enough to pull that off and they both knew that.

    However, that would take a lot of time, patience, mind games, psychological traps, and effort.

    While Lucas was ready to do that, Kai wasn''t. He wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible so that he could move on to focus on the Vampire Attack that''ll happen in two days.

    And since the fastest way to resolve this was with their fists, Kai opted for it without any hesitation whatsoever.

    He raised his greatsword slightly and shook his head in disapproval.

    "No," he said. "I don''t have enough mind cells left to waste on you."

    "So your original n was asking me to reveal my knowledge to you politely, and your alternate n is to beat me up until I do?!" Lucas snapped.

    "Well, yeah," Kai nodded. "Don''t you remember, you also agreed that simple ns like beating someone until they surrender are the most effective ones?"

    "It is a good n but when it''s not being used against me!" Lucas barked before trying to get Kai to reason with him.

    "Listen, you should know what''s going to happen on the seventh day of the King''s Tournament, right?!" Lucas asked. "We should work together to stop that first, shouldn''t we?"

    "No," Kai shook his head again. "You have already created enough of a mess. Because of you, I''ll have to change the course of my n. My priority here is to get you under control before you do something that even I won''t be able to undo. So, for the veryst time, will you tell me how you got to know about this timeline''s future?"

    "Kai, listen to me¨C" Before Lucas couldplete his sentence, Kai interjected.

    "Yes or no?" He asked. "Answer with either yes or no."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "...No, but listen to me¨C" Lucas wasn''t even done answering him before Kai willed mana into his legs and shot at him like an arrow.

    Fwish¡ª!

    Kai covered the distance between him and the silver-haired boy in an instant.

    "....!!" Lucas could only widen his eyes at Kai''s disy of speed when he appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

    Step¡ª! Swish¡ª!!

    Kai stepped in and swung his giant sword at Lucas. However, his greatsword passed right through Lucas'' body as the spearman disappeared like a mirage.

    He was talking to an illusion until now.

    "Fuck this technique of yours!" Kai cursed out in frustration before fluttering his eyes across the terrace, in search of Lucas.

    And he found him almost immediately.

    Lucas was standing a few steps behind him at the edge of the terrace. In his hands, he was tightly gripping a Yumi Bow with an arrow knocked on its taught bowstring.

    Particles of glowing azure mana were clustering at the tip of his arrow, causing a halo to appear around Lucas.

    As soon as Kai''s eyes met with him, Lucas let go of the bowstring and his arrow shot forward at the Wiseman.

    Swish¡ª!!

    "Come on!" Kai yelled and raised the t side of his giant sword as a shield to block the iing arrow.

    Kwish, Kwish, Kwish¡ª!!

    However, suddenly the glowing azure arrow looked as if it was multiplied into ten more arrows and raised down on Kai like nano missiles.

    Thwosh, Thwosh, Thwosh¡ª!!

    Each time, an azure arrow collided with Kai''s greatsword, it exploded and pushed him a few steps back.

    Since he had a big mana pool to draw power from right now, Lucas was leniently putting a crushing amount of mana into his arrows.

    Kai knew that since Lucas was well above his rank, he can''t just try to overpower him as he did during the g game.

    Well, that''s not a problem for him. Since if he can''t beat Lucas by overpowering him, he would do so with his technique.

    After all the arrows rained down on him, Kai lowered his sword and looked at where Lucas had shot the arrow from.

    Unfortunately for him, Lucas had already moved from that spot.

    He was right above his head, descending on him with his spear poised forward to strike.

    "....!" At the veryst moment, Kai sensed a presence over his head and swung his huge sword in an arc over his head.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Lucas managed to block Kai''s de with his spear, but the force of the sh flung him in the air until hended a few meters to the side.

    Without wasting a breath, Lucas gripped his spear tightly, engulfing it in scarlet red mes as he pointed it at Kai.

    In response, Kai raised his greatsword once again and yelled, "Come!"

 Chapter 222 Fight [1]

    ?

    In response to his beckoning, Lucas willed mana into his legs and rushed towards Kai with a burst of speed.

    However, as he covered half the distance, a multitude of illusory clones emerged from his body and swiftly joined the charge towards Kai.

    "Tsk!" Kai clicked his tongue and started swinging his giant sword around, crushing everything that dared to step closer to him. "This is really getting annoying!"

    Just as he said that the real Lucas tried to sneak in and stab Kai from his left.

    Unfortunately, Kai instantly sensed his presence and noticed him. He swung his sword at Lucas and flung him back in the air like a rag doll again.

    Cling¡ª!

    Thud¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" Lucas did manage to block his sh again but when hended back on the ground, he couldn''t help but feel a little frustrated.

    Gritting his teeth, he channeled mana into his shiny red spear once again until the air around it started to crackle.

    Quickly, he darted towards Kai like a bullet with his spear poised over his head.

    As soon as he stepped into the striking range, Lucas brought down his spear on Kai.

    In response, Kai also unleashed a powerful upward vertical sh and matched Lucas'' spear head-on.

    Cling, ng, Cling¡ª!!

    Both of them fiercely shed against one another as sparks flew in the air each time the cold steel of their weapons collided.

    Each time Lucas would try to overpower Kai, thetter would use his greatsword as a shield to block the attacks.

    Then, after Kai would disrupt the flow of Lucas'' attacks, he would initiate his own swings and shes.

    However, Lucas would block or dodge them each time before unleashing a flurry of attacks at Kai again.

    Like this, both of them were locked in a stalemate.

    Lucas needed tond just one strike with his spear which was enveloped in a huge amount of mana.

    Unfortunately for him, it was impossible to break through Kai''s defence.

    No matter how much mana Lucas would put into his attacks, or how strikes would he throw at him, Kai''s sword would block everything.

    Lucas, of course, knew why his spear couldn''t break Kai''s sword.

    The thing is, Kai''s sword was a relic that was known as The ck Orb in the novel.

    Yes, in reality, Kai''s sword was a sword but an Orb¨C an Orb that could take the shape of anything that its wielder wants.

    Whether it be weapons, armor, or even vehicles¨C as long as the wielder knows the working mechanism of something and has enough mana to supply, they could use The ck Orb to take its shape.

    One of the most noticeable features of The ck Orb was its insane durability.

    But if that wasn''t enough, it had one more feature.

    If its wielder transforms it into a weapon, then they would temporarily be a master in its usage.

    So if they transform the Orb into a Spear or a Greatsword, they would temporarily know several weapon arts rted to that weapon.

    Yes, that''s what made it dangerous. It was a Divine rank relic and Quinn got it almost around the same time as when Nero found the Phoenix''s Embrace in the story.

    That''s the reason when Quinn fought Kai in the current timeline, he thought that Kai had several years of battle experience.

    Which was actually not the case since it wasrgely because of The ck Orb that Kai was able to win against Quinn.

    However, Lucas would be damned if he let Kai win against him like this right now. He was going to back down.

    Swish¡ª!!

    So jumping a few steps back to avoid Kai''s sword, Lucas pointed his open palm at him and was about to utter a magic chant.

    However, before Lucas could do that, Kai bent his knees slightly and got into the sprint position.

    He then shot at him with breakneck speed like a bullet and arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "...Haa!" Once again amazed by Kai''s disy of speed, Lucas widened his eyes in surprise.

    However, soon the look of surprise melted into a smirk as Lucas closed his open palm into a fist and pulled his hand backwards.

    Almost immediately, a mingnce was conjured right behind Kai. It shot at him like a missile and hit him in the back before exploding.

    Booom¡ª!!

    "Arghaaa!" The force of the explosion pushed Kai onto his knees as he fell forward.

    Lucas hadn''t put enough mana into his spell since he didn''t want to kill Kai.

    But he also didn''t think that Kai would be conscious after being hit by that. So that surprised Lucas a little.

    However, he acted quickly and thrust his spear forward at Kai, who was still on his knees in front of him.

    "Arghaaa!" Kai let out a groan and gripped his giant sword tightly.

    And in the next moment, that giant hunk of iron softened as if it was made of a slimy substance and reshaped itself around Kai''s hand in the shape of a shield.

    ng¡ª!!

    Reacting quickly, Kai used that shield to block Lucas'' thrust before deflecting his spear away.

    Kai then rose to his feet and stepped forward while simultaneously his shield transformed into a gauntlet around his left hand.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Before Lucas could react in any way, Kai threw his fist forward at him, connecting squarely with his face.

    Thack¡ª!!

    The force of the impact once again sent Lucas flying back in the air before his body skidded a few times on the ground and hit the terrace boundary.

    "Arghh!" Lucas groaned, touching his face as blood trickled down from his nose.

    He quickly jumped back to his feet and raised his spear to get back into the fight, but by the time he did that, Kai was already a few steps away from him.

    With lightning-fast reflexes, Lucas quickly unleashed a destructive horizontal sh at Kai.

    Swish¡ª!!

    However, Kai ducked under his spear and swiftly threw an uppercut at Lucas.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    His fist connected with the base of Lucas'' chin, momentarily stunning him from the jarring impact as he gritted his teeth in pain.

    Kai used this moment to grab Lucas by his neck with one hand and grip his right shoulder with another.

    Mustering up strength, Kai lifted Lucas up, spun around, and threw him forward as if he didn''t have any weight at all.

    Thack¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" As soon as Lucas'' body crashed against the ground, a pained groan once again escaped from his mouth.

    However, still refusing to stay down, he quickly got up and turned around to face Kai.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    As soon as he turned around, however, he saw that Kai was once again only a few steps away from him.

    Without any hesitation, Lucas thrust his spear forward at Kai''s chest. In response, Kai transformed the Orb on his left hand into a crossguard sword.

    Cling¡ª!!

    Kai parried Lucas'' spear before swiftly hitting the base of his spear''s shaft with its de.

    As a result of this, Lucas'' spear jerked off out of his grip andnded a few steps away from him.

    Just as Kai was about to swing his sword at Lucas, the silver-haired boy quickly let out a roar, "Mana Burst!"

 Chapter 223 Fight [2]

    ?

    Kaboooom¡ª!!

    Instantly, an azure explosion urred with Lucas'' body at its epicenter.

    The sheer force of the explosion propelled Kai backwards through the air.

    Despite the impact, Kai swiftly regained his bnce, deftlynding on his feet just a few inches away from the terrace boundary.

    Before Kai could react, however, he noticed that Lucas was already sprinting towards him with remarkable speed.

    Gripping his crossguard sword tightly, Kai swung it towards Lucas, aiming to strike him down.

    However, Lucas quickly crouched by bending his knees, allowing the sword to pass harmlessly over his head.

    But instead of stopping his charge, Lucas continued to press forward.

    Lowering his head as much as possible, Lucas extended his right arm, positioning his bicep perpendicr to his neck.

    Thrack¡ª!!

    Kai couldn''t even move to evade Lucas'' attack as his shoulder and bicep connected with the middle of Kai''s abdomen, just below the right side of his ribcage, striking his liver with precision and performing a wless Spear.

    But Lucas didn''t stop there. He wrapped his arms around Kai and continued his forward momentum while lifting him off the ground.

    Thrack¡ª!!

    They crashed against the terrace boundary soon, shattering it, and hurtled over the edge of the terrace, plummeting down from the multi-story building towards the unforgiving concrete street below.

    "Aghhaaaaa!"

    "Fuuuuuck!"

    As they hurtled towards the concrete street below, Lucas'' grip on Kai began to weaken.

    The force of their descent,bined with the chaotic situation, caused Lucas to lose hold of Kai''s body.

    A scream escaped from both of them as the wind rushed past, brushing against their faces and causing difort as they had to squint their eyes.

    Finding a way out of this situation became their priority.

    For Kai, time seemed to have stood still as he tightly clenched his fists.

    He had dropped his sword earlier when Lucas speared him, so now he couldn''t even use The ck Orb to save himself.

    The rush of wind and the distant sounds of the city faded into the background as Kai''s mind raced, searching for a solution to this dangerous predicament.

    Should he use his Gift and teleport away?

    No, that wasn''t an option.

    Before calling Lucas, he had fought against Quinn. And in that fight, he had already used his Gift twice.

    Even though he drank mana potions to replenish his mana pool, his Gift was still on cooldown since he could only use it to teleport twice in one day.

    Besides, even if he could use them, running away from this fight was not an option for him.

    It was a peculiar sensation, but deep inside, Kai knew he had to see this battle with Lucas through to the end.

    There was a purpose behind it, though he wasn''t eager to acknowledge it.

    So with that determination in mind, he crossed his arms over his chest and began enveloping his body in mana.

    Until that moment, Kai had no idea how to employ Martial Aura.

    However, in a sudden surge of survival instincts, he managed to maintain ayer of mana close to his body even after releasing it into the atmosphere.

    Lucas also decided to do the same, utilizing his Martial Aura to encase his entire body in a dense armor of mana.

    To the people walking along the street or the residents peering out of their nearby apartment windows, it looked as if two azure shooting stars were descending towards the street until...

    THWAAAM¡ª!!!

    They collided with the ground, creating two massive craters as the impact reverberated through the concrete.

    "What the¨C?!"

    "Lookout! Something just fell from on top of that building!"

    "What the fuck?! Were they people?! Double suicide?!"

    "Medical line! Someone call the medical helpline!"

    "On it! Someone else call the Cadet Council and inform them about this!"

    Naturally, upon witnessing their sudden descent from the sky, nearby cadets who were walking down the street began to panic.

    Some hastily dialed the medical emergency line on their smart bracelets, while others contacted the Cadet Council.

    "Arghh!"

    "Fuuuck!"

    However, all of them stopped in their tracks as the dust settled and the figures of the individuals who fell from the top of the building became visible.

    Bothy sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain, clearly having broken more than just a few limbs and bones.

    The first to make any kind of movement was a silver-haired boy.

    Clenching his fists tightly, Lucas struggled to his knees before finally pulling himself up to his feet.

    ¨C"Hey, is that Lucas Morningstar?"

    ¨C"Yeah! Yeah, it is him!"

    Indeed, Lucas had managed to envelop his body with more mana, minimizing the extent of his injuriespared to Kai.

    So obviously, he was the first to regain his footing. Though, he could still feel the agonizing pain of multiple broken bones.

    "Arghhaaa!" Another pained groan escaped Lucas as he rubbed the back of his head.

    Meanwhile, after several failed attempts, the raven-haired boy also managed to rise to his feet.

    Yet, he struggled to maintain his bnce, asionally stumbling as if he was drunk.

    ¨C"And look! That''s Kai!"

    ¨C"Oh, my god! Were they fighting each other?"

    ¨C"Quick, call the Cadet Council! Quick!"

    "Oh,e on!" Ignoring the murmurs of the growing crowd around them, Lucas vented his frustration upon witnessing Kai''s attempts to stand.

    "What would it take for me to put you down?!" Lucas added as he approached Kai, who appeared to be suffering from a severe case of concussion.

    In response, Kai mustered what little strength remained in his body to his hand and swung his right fist at Lucas.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Thwack¡ª!!<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Lucas swiftly ducked under the feeble punch and sidestepped to the right, countering with a forceful blow to Kai''s exposed right side.

    "Arghh!" Kai grunted as he threw another swing at Lucas, this time with his left fist.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Once again, Lucas evaded the attack by ducking and sidestepping, this time to the opposite side, before delivering a powerful punch to Kai''s vulnerable left ribs.

    But Lucas didn''t stop there. He stepped in front of Kai, raised his leg, chambered his knee, andunched a swift front kick.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Arghhh!" Staggering backwards, Kai struggled to maintain his bnce after receiving the force of Lucas'' strike.

    Seizing this opportunity, Lucas closed the distance and threw a jab straight at Kai''s face.

    Swish¡ª!!

    But reacting swiftly, Kai twirled his whole body as he spun on his heel while stepping inward and extending his arm slightly, before delivering a powerful spinning elbow strike to Lucas'' face.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Aaaah!" A cry of pain escaped Lucas''lips as Kai''s elbow made contact with his nose, causing it to throb.

    Without hesitation, Kai capitalized on his sessful counterattack, straightening his palm like a sword and thrusting it toward Lucas, striking him in the throat.

    Thaaak¡ª!!

    "Khaaaa!" Gasping for breath, Lucas staggered backwards as Kai nted his straight palm in his adam''s apple, his face contorted in pain and shock from the sudden strike.

    Spotting another opening tounch an attack, Kai swiftly closed in on Lucas once more, throwing a right cross punch at the Morningstar.

    Swish¡ª!!

    However, Lucas sidestepped yet again and grabbed a hold of Kai''s arm, using his own momentum to execute a basic Judo throw, flipping Kai''s body over.

    Thaaam¡ª!!

    "Khuaaa!" Kai''s body crashed hard against the unforgiving concrete and his vision was momentarily engulfed in darkness.

    Meanwhile, Lucas wasted no time and quickly mounted him.

    By the time Kai came back to his senses, Lucas had already positioned himself firmly on top of him.

    Thwack¨C!! Thwack¡ª!! Thwack¡ª!!!

    Pinning Kai down in ce, Lucas started hammering the Wiseman''s face with his fists ¨C jabbing punch after punch at him.

    "Stay! The! Fuck! Down! You! Bastard!" Each punchnded with Lucas'' bellowing words.

    Preparing for the final blow, Lucas pulled his fist back and channeled a crushing mana into it.

    With full force, he threw what he thought would be thest punch of this fight at Kai.

    However, at the veryst moment, Kai tilted his face, narrowly avoiding the devastating strike and letting Lucas'' fist hit the ground.

    Thwaaak¡ª!!

    "Arghhh!" As a result of that, when Lucas'' fist struck the concrete with extreme force it resulted in him breaking a knuckle or two.

    Using this chance, Kai grabbed Lucas'' head with both of his hands and forcefully mmed his own skull against the Morningstar''s face.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Standing up and staggering back in agony when Kai''s skull thrashed his nose, Lucas regained his footing, emitting pained moans.

    "Arghh!" Meanwhile, Kai gritted his teeth and got back to his feet again after a short struggle.

    Directing whatever mana was left within his body into his knees, Kai quickly lunged forward, aiming to deliver a knee strike to Lucas.

    However, Lucas acted quickly and stepped in to catch Kai''s knee right when it was about to hit his face.

    "Huh?!"

    Lucas then wrapped one of his arms around Kai''s thigh and hoisted him up over his shoulder while using his other hand to maintain a firm hold on Kai''s neck ¨C locking him in a sort of fireman''s carry position.

    "Let go! Arghh!" Kai resisted, attempting to bash his elbow against the side of the silver-haired boy''s face. However, Lucas didn''t let go of him.

    Instead, with a disy of sheer strength, Lucas pulled Kai''s upper body down by yanking his neck while simultaneously propelling his lower body upward by pushing his legs ¡ª flipping Kai over his shoulders and forcefully mming him onto the cold, hard concrete, while Lucas himselfnding on his knees.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    "Arghhhaaa! Haaaaa!" Kai let out a series of anguished cries as he writhed in pain, attempting to numb the agony in his back.

    However, he still didn''ty down. Despite the suffering, Kai refused to give up. With determination, he got up on all fours, struggling to rise back to his feet.

    "What the fuck?!" Lucas couldn''t believe his eyes.

    Despite the relentless beating Kai had endured in the past half hour, he still fought to stand.

    Just what was driving him to win?! Just what was this important?!

    Honestly, Lucas couldn''t help but feel that if he were in Kai''s position, he would have surrendered long ago.

    "Tsk, fine!" Lucas exhaled deeply, preparing to deliver the final blow to Kai.

    ¨C"Hey man, maybe you guys should stop¨C"

    "Fuck off!"

    As some individuals attempted to intervene and stop this madness, Lucas forcefully pushed them away and charged at Kai, who was still on all fours, struggling to stand back up.

    Upon reaching Kai, Lucas jumped and forcefully stomped his one foot on the back of Kai''s neck, driving his head into the ground.

    He made sure to exert as much force as humanly possible without actually killing him¡ªinflicting as much pain as he could.

    Thwaack¡ª!!

    Needless to say, Kai did not rise from that brutal curb stomp.

    He was knocked unconscious the moment his face met the ground.

    Lucas, who finally managed to knock his opponent out, took a few deep breaths and fell to his knees, adrenaline leaving his body and the searing pain from his broken bones and torn muscles overwhelming him.

    "Arghh fuck!" He cursed out loud as he noticed that his nose was broken and blood was running down his face from it.

    But as if the pain wasn''t enough of a headache, Lucas then spotted several cadets from the Disciplinary Committee, d in blue and white uniforms, rushing toward them from a distance.

    The onlookers must''ve called them ¨C Lucas deduced.

    The mere thought of facing his sister again elicited nothing but a curse from Lucas'' lips.

    "Well, fuck."

 Chapter 224 Punishment

    ?

    "Do you have ANY idea what you both have done?"

    Upon discovering us, the Disciplinary Committee quickly apprehended us and took us to the Academy infirmary.

    Well, to be honest, it more resembled a fully equipped hospital rather than a mere infirmary.

    We spent close to six hours receiving treatment from the Academy medics.

    After we were able to move again and most of our injuries were healed, we were finally summoned by the Vice President of the Cadet Council in her office.

    Yes, my ''sister'' was the one who was yelling at us currently.

    And just to rify, when I refer to ''us,'' I mean myself and Kai. Yes, only the two of us were summoned by her.

    The other cadets who were involved in the incident would be addressed by the Cadet Council, specifically my sister, once she had dealt with our situation.

    "Are you both even listening to me right now?!" she continued to yell at us.

    Yelena was leaning forward while sitting on a chair that resembled a red, cushioned throne, while being dressed in blue and white academy uniform.

    "You both could have died or even killed others!" Her voice echoed across the room as she mmed her hand against the armrest of her chair.

    Kai and I stood in front of her with our hands firmly sped behind our backs and heads bowed as if two disciplined soldiers being scolded by their general.

    "Answer me this instant! Why were the two of you fighting, and so barbarically at that?!" Yelena barked, her tone filled with frustration.

    In response to her question, Kai and I turned our heads to face each other and exchanged a short nce. It was as if we were telepathicallymunicating our thoughts.

    Kai gave me a look that screamed, ''Well, go on! Answer her!''

    I returned his gaze, conveying, ''No, you take the lead!''

    ''What the hell are you talking about?!'' Kai stared at me intensely. ''She is your sister! So deal with it!''

    Before I could respond to his unspoken challenge, Yelena''s voice boomed once more. "I asked both of you to answer me!"

    "Aaah," Taking a deep breath, I sighed heavily. I knew I had no choice but to step forward and face the consequences.

    In my heart, however, I vowed to exact my revenge on Kai and pay him backter for putting me in this position.

    "It was nothing serious, Vice President," I began speaking. "We were arguing over a novel."

    "...."

    "...."

    Silence filled the room as Kai couldn''t help but facepalm at my foolishness.

    Meanwhile, Yelena gave me a scornful gaze, the end of her eyebrow twitching uncontrobly.

    "A novel?!" Yelena snapped. "You expect me to believe that you two were fighting over a damn novel?!"

    "Yes," I nodded, proceeding to exin. "I suggested that the story could have taken a different direction for a better ending, but Kai insisted that every aspect of the plot was necessary. The argument escted and eventually turned into a physical alteration."

    "A fight of that intensity over a novel?!" Yelena arched her eyebrows and curled her lips in disbelief. "Do you really think I''m foolish enough to believe that you nearly killed each other over a goddamn novel?!"

    "It''s true," Kai interjected. "You may not understand the trends of our generation, so you might perceive it as excessive. But I assure you, the argument became heated."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What do you mean by ''our generation''?" Yelena snapped once again. "We belong to the same generation!"

    "The point is, it wasn''t a serious matter," I interjected. "Anyway, we are fully aware that we have vited academy rules and vandalized the academy property. We are prepared topensate for it."

    Yelena turned her attention to me, a challenging look in her eyes. "I know Kai canpensate for the damages, but what about you? Thest I checked, you were disowned by our family. How will you pay the academy then?"

    "I will pay for the both of us¨C" as Kai was about to step him, I cut him off.

    "No need for that," I said while tapping on my smart bracelet a few times.

    Immediately, a holographic screen popped up in front of me and I flipped it at Yelena.

    It was my bank bnce.

    Aftering back from Silveserine, I had been investing my money but I still kept a few million Credits in my ount.

    ====

    Your bnce as of June 28, 2723, 19:26:56

    ¡¤?¦Èm ount Number: XXXX XXXX 3766

    Avable Bnce: 9,652,727.78 ?

    ====

    "Half of this should be more than enough to cover any damages caused by both of us, right?" I questioned the silver-haired elven girl, who appeared to be in a state of shock.

    "D-Did our father send you all this?" She finally managed to ask.

    "Haa," I scoffed dismissively. "No, I earned that money myself. Don''t worry about it."

    "Don''t lie to me," Yelena gave me a stare. "You couldn''t have earned that much on your own. So, tell me the truth. Did our father send you this?"

    "Are you even listening to me?" I arched an eyebrow, meeting her gaze firmly. "I already told you, I earned it myself. And besides, as far as I recall, I am disowned. Why would he send me a penny?"

    Yelena clenched her teeth, exhaling deeply in an attempt to calm her frustration.

    "Fine, whatever. I don''t care," she waved her hand dismissively. "If you both refuse to disclose the real reason for your fight, then your punishments will be doubled."

    "We''re still going to get punished?" Kai questioned, raising his eyebrows in confusion. "Then why do we have to pay for the damages?"

    "If you don''t pay, your punishments will be tripled," Yelena replied firmly. "You are being punished not only for refusing to disclose the reason behind your foolish brawl to your superior, but also for engaging in misconduct by viting the rule of no fighting among the cadets."

    Kai and I both let out sighs of resignation.

    We knew there was no escape, so our only option was to obediently ept whatever punishment was handed down to us.

    "Now, head to the President''s office," Yelena ordered. "The President will administer your punishment personally. You will also reimburse him for all the damages."

    Nodding in acknowledgment, we turned to leave the room. However, just as we were about to depart, Yelena''s voice called out from behind us.

    "Lucas, you wait," she said. "Kai, you may head out without him."

    Ah, damn it. I knew she was letting me off way too easily.

 Chapter 225 Revelation

    ?

    After Kai exited the room, I turned towards my elder sister and inquired politely, "So, you wanted to discuss something with me?"

    Yelena leaned forward on her throne-like chair as she rested her hands on the table in front of her and gently interlocked her fingers.

    "You lied to me," she dered.

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I don''t understand."

    "Don''t! Just drop the act," she blurted out, her anger evident in her tone.

    Before I could respond, Yelena added, "When I asked you about our family''s weapon art, you lied. You imed to know nothing."

    "So?" I probed, urging her to exin further.

    Yelena pointed directly at my chest and added, "So why do you possess the same relic that the spearman who used the Dawnbreaker during the Mock War had?"

    A frown creased my face as I nced down at my chest.

    Hidden beneath my buttoned shirt was a red ruby that was embedded in my chest¡ª on the exact spot where Yelena was pointing at.

    "The medical team had to sedate you before they could begin healing your injuries. While you were unconscious, a red ruby appeared on your chest," Yelena told me.

    "The medical staff alerted me, and I used Athena to identify that relic. To my utter surprise, it was a semi-divine-ranked relic. Athena informed me that she had sensed this relic with someone from ss 1-A-1 who participated in the Mock War. And, again to my surprise, it turned out to be you," she added.

    "Yeah, that''s all well and good, but it doesn''t prove that I was the one who used the Dawnbreaker, does it?" I retorted.

    "It does," Yelena sighed, casting me a cold re. "I asked Athena to track the person who possessed that relic in the VR world. She informed me that it was both you and the spearman I just mentioned. Not to mention, you have also started using a spear again, haven''t you?"

    ...Ahh! Damn.

    I didn''t know Athena was capable of that.

    Well, considering we were in a world created by her, it shouldn''t havee as a surprise to me that she knew about what relics the Cadets brought in the VR.

    However, I am sure that I hacked into Athena''s mainframe just before my duel with Quinn.

    ...Ahh, wait, okay, I see now.

    After hacking into Athena''s mainframe, I only disrupted her tracking program so that she couldn''t broadcast what was happening in the VR world.

    But she must have still sensed someone using a relic in that world because, as I said, Athena made that VR world herself.

    In simpler terms, Yelena already knew that the spearman in the VR had employed a relic called Phoenix''s Embrace since it''s a relic that''s in the Academy''s Records of Relics.

    So when she discovered the very same relic in my possessionter on, coupled with the fact that I started using a spear as my main weapon, she deduced that I was the spearman from the Mock War, huh?

    Mhmm. It''s really simple. I just slipped up.

    Well, I can''t be med for that. I don''t know what exactly Athena is capable of as an AI.

    Back in my real world, AI technology wasn''t this developed. In this world, on the other hand, AIs like Athena can maintain a whole city alone.

    "What''s the matter, my genius little brother?" Yelena asked, a hint of mockery present in her tone. "Is this checkmate for you?"

    I matched her gaze before a smirk formed on my face. Letting out a scoff, I replied, "Huh? Checkmate, you say? Nah. I admit it was me. I did lie to you, so? What will you do?"

    "I will tell Dad," Yelena seethed in anger.

    "Oh, okay! By all means, go ahead!" I sneered. "I mean, how do you think I used that technique? Obviously, our father showed it to me."

    Yelena tightly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh as she controlled her anger.

    Of course, she knew the only way someone could''ve used the Dawnbreaker is only if the two people who know that technique¨C her and her father¨C would''ve shown it to them.

    And since Yelena never used the Dawnbreaker in front of Lucas, that only means their father did.

    But why?! Why did he do that?!

    She had to wait for such a long time and put in so much effort to gain her father''s acknowledgement, but he showed it to Lucas just like that?!

    When he was a child, at that?!

    When Yelena and Adel were young, they weren''t allowed anywhere near her father when he would train.

    Once, they tried to sneak in on him and as a result of that, they had to runps around the whole city! They were just nine and ten at the time!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Yet, he not only never punished Lucas, but he also showed him the Dawnbreaker?!

    "Fuuu!" Letting out a deep breath, Yelena faced Lucas with an icy chill re.

    "You not only lied to me, you also used our family secret weapon art in the open like that! You know it''s secret for a reason! No one who ever bore witness to the Dawnbreaker never lived to see the dawn of the next day," she said. "But you¨C you exposed it in a Mock War?!"

    "Calm down, will ya?" I raised my eyebrows at Yelena, ring back into her deep merlot-red eyes.

    "I only performed the first step, not the whole technique," I added. "I don''t even know the whole technique. Hell, I don''t think I even performed the first step correctly."

    "No, you performed it perfectly," Yelena muttered under her breath.

    "Huh?" I raised my eyebrows. "What did you say?"

    "Nothing!" She snapped before continuing. "Your argument is irrelevant. Even if you only performed the first step, it''s not a technique that you can perform just like that!"

    "That may be true for you, but not for me," I retorted.

    "What?" Yelena narrowed her eyes.

    "I mean, it''s a technique that the Morningstar family should not use in the open because it''s their secret technique right?" I asked a rhetorical question. "But as you said earlier, our kind father already disowned me from our house."

    "...So this is your way of getting back at us?" Yelena asked, gritting her teeth.

    "That''s not it¨C" I was about to speak up when she cut me off.

    "Don''t lie!" She shouted. "The rumors about you being Leo Kurogami''s disciple are true, aren''t they?! Do you know how much Dad hates that guy?! You are clearly trying to get back at Dad by pulling all these stunts!"

    "What does that have to do with anything?! And why do I care about who he hates or not?! I didn''t even know that he hated Leo because no one ever told me! No one in our family even talks to me!" I snapped back.

    "Oh, don''t start with your sob story again!" Yelena scoffed.

    "Huh? What does that mean?!" I inquired. "Are you seriously calling my past a sob story?! You guys abandoned me! And I''m not even allowed to talk about that?!"

    "Oh, shut up! No one abandoned you!" Yelena yelled back. "Mom and Dad still catered to all your needs. You were given a monthly allowance and you attended the best school in the Western Continent! It was not like anyone was torturing you!"

    "Haaa!" A mocking gasp of disbelief escaped my mouth as I heard her.

    "Are you serious right now?" I asked. "Is that what you remember happened? Let me tell you what I remember, sister! I remember Adel, my own twin brother, bullying me every day until he went to the Ethereal Academy.

    "I remember my father turning a blind eye to my existence as if I was nothing but air. I remember the cold re of my mother as if I hadmitted a crime by not having a high-ranked potential. I remembering to your room one night to tell you about my problems and youughing at me!"

    Yelena, who was about to burst out, went quiet when she heard thest part of my sentence.

    "My family¨C The people that I loved and who loved me, changed their behavior overnight! I was just a fucking kid back then! Do you fathom the mental anguish I must''ve been in?!" I yelled, my tone dripping in venom.

    "I remember how you guys celebrated Adel''s birthday every year while I was always alone in my room! I remember when I woulde back from school, beaten and battered by the bullies, and everyone ignored me!

    "I got a monthly allowance, you say?! Well, that money didn''t fill the void in my heart that you guys created! So I indulged myself in whatever pleasure I could find, just to stop the wrenching pain in my chest!

    "But you know what? I see how wrong I was now. I should''ve just stopped caring. I should''ve just stopped caring about you all because look at me now! As soon as I did that, I turned out to be fine!

    "I did what I have done to get back at our father, you say? No, Yelena. I don''t care about him, or you, or mother, or Adel." I concluded.

    A heavy silence hung in the room after I finished speaking. Yelena closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead for a few seconds.

    Meanwhile, I couldn''t help but wonder why in the world I got so worked up over what she said.

    It shouldn''t affect me that much, right?

    Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts.

    This is not the time for thisckluster drama. I should wrap up the matters here and return to my training.

    The vampire attack¨C Yes! I should being up with a n to deal with the vampire attack.

    As soon as I thought that, Yelena spoke up again, in a soft tone this time.

    "Get out of here," she said.

    Giving her a final look, I turned around and left the room through the door.

 Chapter 226 Did You Win?

    ?

    As soon as Lucas left the room, the tough demeanor that Yelena had been keeping up shattered.

    She instinctively covered her face with her hands and took a series of long, deep breaths.

    This marked the second time she had witnessed Lucas behave in such a cold manner.

    The first time was when she summoned him after the Mock War. Today was the second.

    He had definitely changed. He wasn''t acting like a brat nor was he acting like his young self.

    However, what unsettled her about his behavior was that not a flicker of hate was visible in his eyes when he was talking to her.

    While his words were indifferent, his tone sharp and his gaze cold, there was no trace of resentment unlike before.

    "Haaa!" Yelena released a deep sigh, the weight of the situation settling heavily upon her.

    She understood what Lucas was going through since she and Adel had been through a simr situation.

    During their childhood, Lucas had been the golden child of the family. After all, he was an all-rounder genius.

    He was brilliant in academics and adept atbat. It was clear to everyone that he would be a great figure in the Union Military.

    As a result of that, their parents directed all their attention toward him instead of sparing any for Yelena and Adel.

    Even after Lucas awakened a mediocre potential and Adel became the heir, their father''s disappointment was evident since Lucas could have been a better sessor had his potential been higher.

    Even when he taught her the Dawnbreaker, Yelena knew she would never have been his first choice if Lucas didn''t possess a mana core potential one tier below hers.

    That was the root of her jealousy towards Lucas.

    However, unlike Adel, who took out his years'' worth of frustration on Lucas, Yelena did no such thing.

    Why? Because, deep down, she still saw Lucas as her brother.

    That night when Lucas came to her, she didn''t mean tough at his misery. To this day, she couldn''t understand what hade over her.

    She never wished to harbor jealousy towards him. On the contrary, she wanted to support him.

    But after that night, when Lucas hade to her in tears and she relished his pain, cracks formed in their rtionship.

    She never apologized and distanced herself from him even more than before.

    And he was never the same again.

    "Fuck," Yelena cursed under her breath, frustration seeping through.

    She summoned a smartphone in her hands from the dimensional storage of her smart bracelet.

    She then quickly dialed a number on it and waited for the call to connect. And after waiting for a few seconds, it did.

    ¨C"Yelena?" a deep voice resonated from the other end of the line.

    "Dad," Yelena greeted, her voice tinged with a mix of emotions. "I need to tell you something."

    ¨C"Can it wait? I''m in the middle of something," Reynold replied from the other side.

    "It''s about your prodigal son," Yelena informed.

    ¨C"Haa. What has he done now?" Letting out a deep sigh, Reynold inquired further.

    ?

    By the time I made my way to the President''s office after my conversation with Yelena, I found out that Kai had already departed from the academy.

    Well, I have a feeling I will soon talk to him again anyway.

    As punishment, the President ordered me to participate in a two-day training drill that''ll be held after the King''s Tournament under Instructor Matterhorn''s supervision.

    I learned from the President that Kai and the other cadets involved in the incident received the same punishment, except they would have to participate in the training drill for the entirety of our semester break.

    Honestly, I couldn''t help but feel a twinge of pity for them.

    Their holidays werepromised because of a matter between Kai and me.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    I''m d I got off with only two days.

    I showed the President the proof that Kai was the one who called me to him under the pretence of talking andter ambushed me.

    My whole defence was that I did what I did because I was acting in self-defence.

    While my argument was legally not wrong, the President knew that there was more to the situation.

    That''s why, despitecking substantial evidence, or rather, precisely because of that, he sentenced me to the two-day training drills.

    It''s fine. I''ll simply enjoy my holidays two dayster than everyone else.

    Right now, however, I should start focusing on the fact that the Vampires will attack the academy in two days.

    I will have toe up with a n of action before that happens.

    Well, to be honest, before a n of action, I will make a n of defence since my own safety takes priority over everything else.

    "Lucas!"

    Just as I was about to leave the academy campus, a voice called out from behind me.

    Frowning, I turned around and spotted a tall, well-built man with shoulder-length red hair tied in a braid and dressed in a dogi making his way towards me.

    "Master?" I raised an eyebrow, showing my confusion. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

    "I heard you got into a fight," he spoke as he approached.

    Before I could respond, he began patting me all over my body, as if inspecting and ensuring that I was unharmed.

    "Haha! Master, I''m fine. Don''t worry," I reassured him with a chuckle feeling a little ticklish.

    "Yeah, I can see that," he said, stepping back and giving me an intense gaze. "More importantly, did you win?"

    "Huh?! More importantly?! Is winning or losing more important than my safety?!" I narrowed my eyes at him.

    "Of course," he replied, crossing his arms and putting on a smug smile. "You are my disciple, after all. Death is preferable to losing."

    "Huh?! No, it''s not!" I retorted but eventually sighed and answered him with a smug smile mirroring his own. "But yeah, I won."

    "Heh! Nice," he chuckled before turning serious and smacking my forehead.

    Thack¨C

    "Ouch! Why did you do that?!" I snapped.

    "You could have fallen and died from that height, you know?!" he yelled back. "Can you imagine how pathetic it would sound if Leo Kurogami''s first pupil died from falling off a building?!"

    "But I didn''t!" I retorted. "I used Phoenix''s Embrace."

    Hearing my response, he calmed down a bit and took a deep breath. "Just don''t be so reckless, alright?"

    "Yeah, yeah," I nodded, assuring him.

    "But I''m impressed that you defeated Kai," he remarked.

    "Right? You should praise me more," I replied, grinning.

    Leo smirked before saying, "Of course, I will."

    "You will?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, by training you even harder." Leo nodded as if what he was bestowing on me was the best gift I could possibly ask for.

    The smile on my face disappeared as I heard his words. With a nk expression, I replied, "No, thank you."

    "You don''t have a choice," he informed, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the dojo. "We''re going to train."

    "Oh,e on!" I protested, trying to free my hand from his grip as if throwing a tantrum. "I nearly died today falling from a multistory building! And you want me to train?! Seriously?!"

    "You said you were fine, right?" he retorted, continuing to pull me towards the dojo despite my futile attempts to escape. "Besides, the main event is closing in."

 Chapter 227 Elemental Aura

    ?

    "Haaa! Haaa!"

    Huffing and puffing, I fell back first on the matted floor. Leo, who was standing over me, tossed me a bottle of energy drink and a clean towel from his dimensional ring.

    "Nice try," he sent a nod my way before taking a few steps back and clutching his wooden sword tightly, raising it high. "Try toe at me again. This time, use more feint attacks, and don''t fight me head-on."

    Glup, Gulp¨C

    "Haaa~" Letting out a content sigh after drinking the contents of the bottle Leo threw at me, I stood up on my feet.

    I too grasped a wooden spear in my hands tightly and pointed its head at Leo.

    Gradually, ayer of azure mana started to envelop my wooden spear as I unleashed Sword Qi.

    "Good," Leo remarked with a hint of surprise and pride. "Your Sword Qi is definitely bing more stable. In a few weeks or a month at best, you''ll be able to learn the True Sword Qi."

    Right now, the mana around my spear was still wavering as if it was water in zero gravity.

    However, it was much more stable than when I first started using the Sword Qi.

    In a few weeks, just as Leo said, I should be able topress my mana around my weapon to the level where it would look as if it was in a solid state.

    "Now,e!" Leo''s booming voice shook me back to reality as I took a deep breath and rushed at him with breakneck speed.

    Swoosh¡ª!

    As soon as I stepped into the striking range, I thrust my spear at him.

    Thack¡ª

    But Leo swiftly deflected my spear with his sword and the sound of wood shing against wood reverberated in the dojo.

    Quickly pulling his sword back, Leo swung it at my head, prompting me to crouch and evade his attack by ducking.

    Thak, Thak, Thak¡ª!

    I sprang up from my low position with my spear poised to strike but Leo parried my attack once again.

    We continued to exchange blow after blow until a kicknded squarely on my chest and the force of it flung me back in the air.

    Thwak¡ª!!

    Uponnding on the ground, my body rolled around a few times before I finally managed toe to a halt and get up to my knees.

    "Arghaa!" Letting out a pained groan, I clutched my chest and shot a re at the red-haired man in front of me. "Take it easy on me, will you?!"

    "You should know by now that this is me going easy," Leo smirked, walking up to me and extending me a hand.

    I took his hand and he pulled me up back to my feet. "Well, then, go even more easy. I fell from a building today, remember?"

    "Yesterday," Leo corrected me.

    "Huh?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

    "I said, it was yesterday," Leo exined, a slight smile visible on his face.

    "What?" Frowning at his words, I quickly switched on my smart bracelet and looked at the time.

    [08:54 AM]

    "What the?!" I couldn''t help but mor in a shocked tone as I saw what time it was. "So we have been training for more than twelve hours?!"

    "Yeah, I must admit, you be very focused when there are no distractions around you," Leo remarked with a deep, thoughtful look on his face. "Are you sure you don''t have a condition like ADHD?"

    "Ah, I don''t think so? Beforeing to the academy, a physiatrist did all the tests but my reports were normal," I shrugged. "Anyway, I''m hungry. Feed me!"

    The thoughtful look on Leo''s face turned into an amused one as a chuckle escaped his lips.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Haha, okay," he said. "I''ll order something real quick. What do you want?"

    "Whatever you''re having," I replied, falling back on the matted floor, exhausted. "The Tournament is tomorrow, huh? Are you sure you can''t stay to watch me, Master?"

    After ordering a take-out from his smartphone, Leo turned to me and gave me an apologetic look.

    "Lucas, I''m really sorry," he told me. "If it was up to me, I wouldn''t have missed your match for the world. Besides, I''m sure you will win the Tournament anyway."

    "Really?" I arched an eyebrow. "You think I can win against Nero?"

    "Ahh," a conflicted look washed over Leo''s face as he thought about how to answer me. "To be perfectly honest, I can''t say. I don''t know. It''s clear that Nero surpasses you in both Technique and Power, but he''s a human. He bleeds so he can be defeated."

    "True," I nodded in agreement. "But it is nearly impossible to beat him in a head-on fight."

    "Hmm," Leo gently touched his chin with his fingers as he suggested something. "Do you want me to teach you something?"

    My ears perked as I heard him. "What? What? That Air-Walking weapon art?"

    "No," Leo chuckled again. "It''s not something you can learn in a day."

    "Then what?" I pressed.

    "Ah, it''s a really simple technique but if done correctly, it can be helpful in a lot of situations," Leo began exining. "So the concept is, you employ Martial Aura and then imbue one of your elemental affinities in it ¨C it''s called Elemental Aura.

    "For example, you have an affinity for lightning, right? So in theory, you can imbue the lightning element in your Martial Aura and make it a Lightning Aura."

    "That does sound cool, but how will that help me?" I asked.

    "Basically, you can exploit the qualities of the element you chose to imbue," Leo said. "For example, if you use Fire Aura, your strikes will be explosive.

    "If you use Lightning Aura, you can move fast. If you use Ice Aura, you can inflict freeze on your opponent upon contact. If you use¨C"

    Before he could continue by listing the qualities of every single Aura variation, I cut him off.

    "Master, I get it!" I interjected. "That does sound useful."

    "Exactly," Leo nodded back. "And if that''s not enough, then whatever Aura you chose to employ will boost the spells of its own element. For example, Lightning Aura can boost the efficiency of lightning spells and so on."

    Hmm, now that he mentioned all this, I think I''m starting to remember stuff like this was mentioned in the novel too.

    Eh, I skipped most of the info dumps so I have a very little idea.

    Suddenly, however, a worry popped up in my mind.

    "But Master," I said. "I don''t know any Lightning spells. I mean, I do know one, but that''s a low-level one."

    "Is that so?" Leo asked. "It''s fine. Since my affinity is also Fire and Lightning, I will give you some of my personal favorite spells. But you won''t be able to learn all of them by tomorrow."

    "It''s fine," I assured him. "My High-Elven is very¨C and I mean¨C very fluent."

    "That''s the thing though," Leo shook his head. "You will be learning how to cast the spells by using hand signs not incantations now."

    "Why is that?" I inquired, curiosity visible in my tone.

    "Because hand signs are faster in the real battle," Leo responded. "I want you to be an all-rounder warrior. If you can only cast spells by chanting then you''ll need to focus more, which will take time. Sometimes you will also be way too out of breath to even move let alone chant a spell.

    Using magic spells by hand signs may be a little weak inparison to chanting, but it''s way faster and much more urate in a real battle since you''ll only need to move your mana in a certain way and make a few hand signs."

    "I see," I replied while softly rubbing my chin. "So when do we start?"

    "Right now," just as Leo said that he was about to show me how to use Elemental Aura, but right then a notification bell rang in his smartphone.

    Taking out his phone, he checked it and turned to me. "But let''s eat the food we ordered first."

 Chapter 228 Meeting

    ?

    After eating, we trained for another five hours as Leo showed me how to use the Elemental Aura.

    It was easier than I thought yet difficult at the same time.

    You see, maintaining an aura of fire or lightning is much more difficult than just using mana to envelop my body.

    Master said that I''ll be able to use it efficiently with practice. For now, I can barely maintain it for a few seconds.

    Then, Master also gave me a few magic spell scrolls and asked me to memorize and practice the hand signs within them.

    Right now, after training some more, I was exhausted andying t on the matted floor, looking at the ceiling above while panting heavily.

    "Okay, break''s over," Leo''s voice soon reached me as he appeared over me. "Get up, let''s resume your training."

    "Master mercy!" I cried out through my ragged breaths. "I can''t¨C I can''t anymore!"

    "No, I''m pretty sure you can go on for about another three hours before finally passing out," Leo grabbed my t-shirt cor and effortlessly pulled me up on my feet.

    "Master, I have a match tomorrow!" I tried to reason with the red-haired monster, but he just shed me a smile.

    "It''s fine," he waved his hand. "After you''ll pass out, I''ll leave you be so you can rest until it''s time for the Tournament."

    "Huh?! Do you want to kill your sole pupil by training him like this?!" I snapped at him.

    "What? No, of course not," Leo denied. "I don''t think you''ll die like that. Look, my own master trained me like I''m training you and I turned out fine."

    I wanted toment on him iming that he turned out fine, but I quickly dismissed that thought. I love my life, after all.

    "Now then, let''s get back¨C" Before Leo could order me to get back to my training, a notification sound rang from my smart bracelet.

    Ding¡ª

    "I told you to switch it off during training, didn''t I?" Leomented upon hearing the chime of the notification bell.

    "Ahh, my bad," I replied apologetically. "I switched it on to look at the time and forgot to turn it off. I''ll do it now."

    As Leo nodded at my words, I tapped on my smart bracelet to turn it off.

    However, just as I was doing that, my gaze fell on the notification that had popped up and I stopped.

    It was a text message.

    And it was from Kai.

    The content of the text message said:

    ===

    Lucas Morningstar,e to the location below in fifteen minutes. Come alone and don''t try to pull anything.

    I just want to talk.

    ===

    Along with the text message was GPS location.

    Deja vu much?

    "What is it?" Noticing that I was taking too long to turn off my smart bracelet, Leo asked if there was any problem.

    "Sorry, Master, but I think I''ll have to run," I said as I started heading for the exit door. "Something urgent hase up."

    "Huh?" Leo eximed. "What about your training?!"

    "I''ll continue itter!" I shouted back at him as I left the dojo.

    In the background, I could hear Leo distressingly screaming at me, "Don''t get into any useless fights or I''ll break your bones myself!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ?

    Before anything else, I first went back to my apartment. I needed to check up on Sera.

    After making sure that she was fine, I left some cherries for her on the dining table before I left the apartment.

    It''s only been a few weeks, but she''s growing so fast. Right now, she is already easily around more than half the size of my arm.

    Soon I''ll have to take her out for hunts and walks.

    Anyway, that''s forter, currently I was walking toward the location Kai had sent me.

    He asked me to be there in fifteen minutes and I was already runningte. It had been around twenty minutes since I read his text.

    After walking for ten more minutes, I finally reached the location I was supposed to reach.

    And guess what? It was the same apartment building that he asked me toe to earlier!

    Why the hell did he send me the location then? He could''ve just asked me toe here! Since I''ve already been here once, I know where this ce is!

    Haaa, anyway, as soon as I entered the apartmentplex, I received another text on my smart bracelet.

    Ding¡ª

    I tapped on the notification as soon as it appeared and a holographic screen projected out in front of me.

    ===

    Come to apartment number 374.

    ===

    It was from Kai.

    "Damn," I couldn''t help but be impressed by the dramatics he was putting on.

    I mean, I feel like I''m going to have a secret meeting with a mafia boss or something.

    Shaking my head and clearing such distracting thoughts out of my mind, I checked the building list of room numbers and found out that number 374 was on the fifth floor.

    Taking a mental note of that, I walked into an elevator and got onto the fifth floor.

    After walking in the hallway for a bit, I found the apartment I was looking for. On the main door of apartment 374 was a note that said, [Come in.]

    "He really does love dramatics, huh?" I thought to myself out loud.

    I mean, he could''ve been here waiting for me at the door, but he left a note instead.

    "Haaa," shaking my head again, I gripped the doorknob, twisted it, and twirled open the door.

    Taking my shoes off at the doorway, I walked through the gallery into a drawing room.

    The drawing room was lit in a dim, red glowing from the red light bulb on the ceiling, casting eerie shadows on the antique furniture in the apartment.

    There I saw a young man with ck hair sitting on a plush crimson couch.

    He had his shoulder-long ck hair neatly swept back, entuating the chiseled features of his face.

    Dressed in a tailored ck suit that seemed to meld seamlessly with the darkness around him, Kai had his legs crossedfortably.

    But as soon as his teal eyesnded on me, he opened his mouth to speak.

    "You''rete," he said as he slowly rose from the couch and stood up.

 Chapter 229 A Token Of Trust

    ?

    Silence.

    Utter and awkward silence.

    After telling me that I waste, we stood there for a few seconds in silence as I looked at him, at a loss for what to say.

    The first thing that I did was turn to the wall nearest to me and find a switchboard there.

    I turned off the eerie red light bulb and switched on normal ceiling lights. As the room brightened up, I nodded my head in satisfaction.

    "Much better," I remarked before turning to face Kai. "Did you do all that before calling me over?"

    Kai averted his gaze and let out a dry cough. "All what? I don''t understand what you''re talking about."

    I pointed at the red bulb on top of us, the antique furniture, and his tailored suit.

    "The lighting, the furniture, and even your attire! Did you set up all this to make an entrance?!" I questioned. "Just for the dramatics?!"

    In response, Kai let out another dry cough before speaking up.

    "I still don''t know what you''re talking about," he said. "Anyway, if you''re done with your useless questions, shall we move on to more pressing matters?"

    I narrowed my eyes at him but finally let him off the hook.

    "Fine," I replied. "Let''s just do that, but I''ll say this ¨C you have a very serious fetish for dramatics."

    "It''s called making an effort to look awesome!" Kai snapped, but he quickly coughed once again and calmed himself.

    Finally, turning serious, he shot me a cold re and said, "You do know why I called you here, right?"

    "You are finally going to exin things?" I answered with a question.

    "Yes," Kai nodded. "But before I do that, I need you to do two things."

    A confused frown creased my forehead as I questioned, "What?"

    "I know you don''t want to tell me how you got to know about the future of this world, but I need you to at least tell me what are your goals," Kai replied, his eyes intensely staring into mine.

    Without a speck of hesitation, I instantly answered him, "I know the world will be destroyed. I want to survive past the final war which means I would have to stop the destruction of the world. My goal is to save the world."

    Kai stood frozen in his ce after listening to my answer. He then took a deep breath and went back to sit on his couch before crossing his legs.

    "I see," he heaved a sigh and rubbed his face.

    "What is your motive?" I asked, unable to wait any longer.

    "Can''t you tell?" Kai gave me an ''Isn''t it obvious'' look and answered, "I have the same end goal as you."

    "So why were you trying to stop me from changing the events of the future?" I asked, my voiceced with confusion.

    Instead of giving me an immediate answer, Kai furrowed his brow, as though debating over whether or not to tell me something he shouldn''t.

    "Just do it!" I urged. "You''ve said it yourself that we share the same end goal, right? So tell me what you''re hiding!"

    Letting out a sigh, Kai gazed back at me. "Fine. But before I reveal it, you''ll need to offer me a token of trust."

    "And what does that mean now?" I inquired, my frown getting deeper.

    "As I mentioned before, it''s alright if you don''t disclose the source of your future knowledge right now," Kai reiterated. "However, if I''m going to disclose my secret, I need you to reveal something that holds equal significance to you."

    ¡­I see.

    I understood his request. He wanted me to share something that he could use against me if I ever crossed him.

    It was understandable, I guess.

    If he really has the same goal as me, then it is better to maintain a level of caution and never ceplete trust in anyone.

    After all, you don''t know who will turn on you in this world.

    With a nod, I began speaking.

    "I have a Phoenix," I disclosed.

    ".....?!" Kai''s eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing my words.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What?" he stammered, clearly taken aback.

    "During our trip to Silveserine City, I found a Mythical Beast Egg. I brought it back with me, and it eventually hatched into a Phoenix," I revealed.

    "Wait, that means you killed that former Abyssal Vampire King, Reina!" Kai raised an eyebrow, genuinely shocked. "You must have taken the egg that was in her possession!"

    Ah, so he even knew about that.

    "So that''s how you were so easily able to ascend to the Silver tier! You must have used William''s Soul Sync with the Beast Egg!" Kai deduced.

    "You''re not angry that I altered the future once again?" I questioned, my brow furrowing in a frown.

    "By killing Reina? No," Kai waved his hand dismissively. "I don''t think she helped the heroes in any meaningful manner, so her death doesn''t matter."

    Before I could fully understand what he meant by that, Kai spoke up again and interjected my thoughts.

    "But do you understand the consequences of sheltering a Phoenix? If the Central Government were to discover your secret, they would directly punish you!" Kai hissed.

    "That''s precisely why I''m telling this to you," I promptly replied. "This is my token of trust."

    After a brief pause, Kai couldn''t help but rub his forehead once more.

    "Arghh!" He groaned in frustration before reluctantly nodding. "Fine, there''s nothing I can do now that your soul has already synchronized. Your potential must have already reached the Mythical rank. Though there will be several variables and butterfly effects, it cannot be helped."

    Muttering to himself, Kai rose from the couch once again.

    "I appreciate you telling me this," Kai said, taking a few steps toward me. "Follow me. I''ll show you something."

    Without awaiting my response, Kai walked past me, leaving me to trail behind him.

    ?

    "Uh, Kai," I called out to the young man standing beside me. "Why are we standing in front of a Teleportation Gate?"

    Yeah, we were in front of the Academy''s Teleportation Gate, with a guard standing on duty, dressed in aplete blue and white uniform.

    Instead of answering my question directly, Kai retrieved his ID card from his pocket and showed it to the guard, whispering to him the destination he wanted to go to.

    Ah, I remember now.

    In the novel, Kai had some connections with the Cadet Council.

    Currently, he was the only first-year cadet permitted to use the Teleportation Gate.

    But where were we going now?

    After checking Kai''s ID, the guard nodded in acknowledgment and handed Kai two circr metal tokens. The Wiseman then passed one of the tokens to me.

    The guard put in the coordinates on theputer in front of him and after a brief pause, a portal materialized within the Gate frame, seamlessly tearing through the fabric of space.

    Without uttering a single word, Kai stepped through the portal.

    Letting out a slight sigh, I followed suit, entering the Teleportation Gate behind him with a hint of hesitation.

    Kwash¡ª

    In an instant, the scenery underwent aplete transformation as I traversed the portal.

    Towering skyscrapers, crafted from a silver-like metal adorned with green vines, high-rise structures, well-paved roads filled with fallen leaves, and tall trees lining the sidewalks.

    The entirendscape looked like a fusion of modern infrastructure and nature. Right now, we were on top of a skyscraper ourselves.

    "Wee," a voice greeted us upon our arrival.

    I noticed an elven girl standing in front of us, donned in the female blue and white guard uniform.

    Wait¡­ I know this ce!

    "Silveserine?" I muttered under my breath before turning to Kai who was standing on my right. "Why are we in Silveserine?"

    "Didn''t I tell you?" Kai said to me before heading for the exit of the terrace. "Come, I have something to show you."

 Chapter 230 Hideout [1]

    ?

    "Are we just going to walk, or will you tell me where we are going?" I repeated my question for the tenth time, frustrationcing my words.

    However, just like the previous nine times, Kai continued to walk silently ahead of me without uttering a response.

    "Hey!" I snapped, my impatience getting the better of me.

    I quickened my pace and reached out to grab the back of his tailored suit''s cor. "I asked you something!"

    My sudden pull on his cor caused Kai''s body to jerk back, forcing him toe to an abrupt halt.

    "Let go, will you?" Kai uttered, his voice filled with annoyance. "People are looking at us."

    I nced around and noticed that a few passersby were indeed turning their heads to look at us as we stood in the middle of the street.

    Ignoring their curious gazes, I pressed on, repeating my question again. "First, tell me where we are going?"

    "We are already here," Kai replied with a click of his tongue, pointing to our right with his thumb.

    Following his gesture, I turned my head and gazed in the direction he was pointing at. As soon as I did that, a frown appeared on my face.

    To my surprise, the building he was pointing at was¡­ a church?

    "....Huh?!"

    It was just an ordinary church building, gleaming under the sunlight like the other silver-like metal structures in the city.

    However, it stood apart with its towering spire that reached toward the heavens, making it clear that it was a church.

    Atop the spire, a cross was embedded within what appeared to be a silver sun.

    You see, in this world, when humans gained god-like powers and ess to abundant, clean energy, it caused most of them to abandon their beliefs in religion.

    The merging of the world''sndmass into one didn''t help either.

    "Religions are diversities and people should stand united in times of war!" ¨C with that one statement, the now-revered Central Government banned the practice of all religions.

    At first, there were several protests and riots, but after a generation and a half, things calmed down as no one could keep on protesting forever.

    Besides, most of the people after that generation didn''t even know exactly what they were protesting for.

    Most of the dwarves, much like humans, agreed with the decision and chose to forsake their religious diversity. Those who didn''t, were forced to do it.

    However, the Elves strongly opposed this tyrannical rule.

    Their whole species practiced a single religion which was deeply intertwined with their culture and race.

    After all, they do say that Elves were the favored race of God.

    After a long struggle, the Central Government gave up on the Elves.

    So now they are now the only race that still practices religion in the world.

    Or rather, the Elven religion was the only one that had managed to survive the Government''s attempts to eradicate it.

    While some Dwarves and Humans also followed the Elven religion, most, especially those from our generation, had forgotten the concept of religion entirely.

    That''s why I couldn''t help but be surprised when Kai brought me to a Church.

    "Kai," I called out to him, "Do you believe in God?"

    "I do," Kai replied. "I believe there is a God, and he''s a madman. He revels in our sufferings as we amuse him through our miseries."

    Without saying another word, Kai freed himself from my grip and confidently strode towards the entrance of the church.

    Hesitant yet curious, I followed closely behind, my footsteps blending with the bustling sounds of the street.

    As we entered the church building, the atmosphere shifted.

    The scent of incense sticks mingled with the soft notes of organ music, enveloping us in an ethereal embrace.

    Sunbeams danced through the stained ss, painting the interior with a kaleidoscope of colors.

    Rows of wooden pews lined the aisle and I could see some people, most of them Elves, sitting scarcely.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It was then that I noticed a que near the entrance, bearing the name of the church.

    Sun God''s Cathedral, it read.

    Sun God ¨C one of the three deities alongside the Moon God and the Nature Goddess that the Elves worship.

    But I couldn''t understand why Kai had brought us to this location or why we were inside an Elven church.

    Before I could voice my confusion, a tall, adult Elven man dressed in elegant white robes approached us.

    From his appearance, it seemed like he held a prominent position within the church, perhaps even the pope.

    "Master Kai!" he eximed,ing closer with a warm smile and greeting Kai, who stood on my right. "You are back!"

    Then, the man shifted his attention to me before quickly refocusing on Kai.

    "Is he a new recruit?" the pope asked, gesturing at me with his chin.

    "No," Kai replied with a shake of his head. "But he will being here a lot, so I''d like you to remember his face."

    "As you wish, Master Kai!" the pope replied, slightly bowing his head in a show of respect.

    Waving his hand, Kai resumed walking, moving past the pope as I followed him behind again.

    Confusion growing, I trailed behind him as we made our way around the aisle and into a hallway.

    Eventually, after walking across the hallway for two minutes, Kai led me to a wooden door.

    If not for a big circr, intricate geometric pattern engraved on it, the wooden door appeared ordinary.

    Without hesitation, Kai summoned a small metal que from his smart bracelet that had the same geometric design on it as the door.

    He ced the metal que against the door, causing the pattern to emit a vibrant azure glow.

    Click¡ª

    Immediately, the door unlocked with a satisfying click.

    Kai pushed the door open, unveiling a staircase that was going down, probably leading to a basement.

    "Hey, are you nning to kill me and bury me in a church basement?" I quipped.

    Unamused, Kai shot me a nk nce before heading down the stairs.

    "Close the door behind you," he instructed casually.

    With a resigned sigh, I followed him again by stepping inside and shutting the door before descending the stairs.

    The walls were adorned with embedded light bulbs, so it wasn''t dark.

    After precisely walking down thirty steps, we stood before another door.

    It had to be the entrance to the basement.

    Knock, knock¡ª

    Knock¡ª Knock¡ª

    Knock, knock¡ª

    Rather than twisting the doorknob, Kai began rhythmically knocking on the door.

    Click¡ª

    And after hisst knock, the door clicked open again.

    However, instead of an ordinary basement, what I saw behind the door was a vision I could''ve never imagined.

    As a result of that, I couldn''t help but let out a surprised gasp.

    "....Huh?!"

 Chapter 231 Hideout [2]

    ?

    "What the hell is this?" I blurted out in a voice filled with shock. "Where the hell even are we?!"

    "Lucas Morningstar, I wee you to my secret base," Kai replied with a smirk, finally responding to my question.

    But his words only added to my confusion.

    A secret base?! What is he, a puppet master-type viin who pulls the strings from shadows?!

    Wait¡­ never mind, he is exactly that.

    You see, I had expected to find a simple church basement when Kai brought me here and opened the wooden door.

    Although even that would have been confusing, it wouldn''t have been as mind-boggling as this!

    Before me was not basement.

    Instead, concealed beneath the innocent facade of a grand church,y a sprawling undergroundbyrinth!

    It was an expansive underground chamber that stretched far into the distance. By my rough estimation, it was asrge as the entire church grounds!

    Yes, that big! And I''m not even exaggerating!

    The walls were crafted from a type of pristine silver-metal alloy, and the entire area was illuminated by bright, white ceiling lights.

    Ceiling air conditioners and air vents provided venttion, as I felt the cold air brushing against my face when I tried to nce inside.

    Astonished beyond words, I stepped forward and swiveled my head around to take in the scene, my eyes widening in disbelief as I looked around curiously.

    I noticed that this ''secret base'' of Kai was divided into several sections, each serving a specific purpose.

    What could only be described as the centralmand center stood at the heart of this underground hideout.

    It was a high-tech chamber filled with monitors, control panels, and simr equipment.

    Many young adults, roughly my age, were sitting there.

    All of them werepletely engrossed in their work while continuously tapping virtual keys and filling up some kind of files or engaged in conversations as if on a break.

    Everyone was minding their own business and no one noticed us entering.

    The few who did notice us gave Kai a nod of acknowledgment and went on with their work.

    "Keep moving," Kai''s voice snapped me back to reality as he walked past me, urging me to follow behind him once more.

    Adjacent to themand center was an elevator. We entered it, and Kai pressed the button for the floor below.

    After reaching the floor below, as the elevator doors opened, revealing the view, I was once again left in a state of shock by itsyout.

    This floor resembled a training facility, where individuals were homing theirbat skills.

    The room reverberated with the sounds of hand-to-hand and weaponbat, as martial artists engaged in intense sparring sessions.

    Rows of state-of-the-art weaponry and equipment lined the walls, ready to be utilized.

    "Just what the hell is this ce?" I muttered to myself, taking note of all the people present here while walking behind Kai.

    "Come on," Kai said, moving ahead of me once again. "Pick up the pace and stop gawking at them."

    "I''m not gawking!"

    "You''re staring stupidly. That''s called gawking."

    "Well, I call it observing!"

    Adjacent to the training hall, there was another elevator.

    We quickly stepped inside it, and Kai pressed the button with a downward arrow (¡ý) for the floor below.

    "Why are there so many elevators instead of just one going up and down?" I asked, my confusion evident on my face.

    "Thest floor at the bottom is the most important one," Kai exined as the elevator doors closed and we began to descend. "In the event of an attack, the enemy would have to go through all the floors rather than directly reaching the lowest level."

    Ahh, I see. I understand his reasoning.

    Even if they disable the elevator during an attack, the enemies could simply break the door and jump down through the elevator shaft to reach the lowest level.

    But with this method, even if they jump down the elevator shaft, they would only reach one floor below so that would still take some time.

    Yes, it''s only normal to take such precautions to safeguard an underground secret base.

    Good, good.

    ...Wait a fucking minute! What am I even thinking?<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Having an underground secret base is far from normal!

    As I was deep in such thoughts, the elevator''s descent came to a halt, and the doors creaked open.

    Simr to the previous two floors, this one was different in more ways than one.

    Unlike the floors above, this one wasn''t bright at all and instead of the silver-metal alloy, the walls here were made of brick and cement.

    In ce of ceiling lights, this floor was dimly illuminated by lighting from the burning torches fixed on the wall.

    Rather than a high-tech facility, it resembled an old dungeon. The air carried a heavy scent of blood, mingling with other nauseating, putrid odors.

    Caverns were hewn into the walls and secured with what appeared to be exceptionally reinforced steel bars.

    Wait a second¡­ caverns with steel bars?

    These were prisons!

    And inside these prisons, all I could see were a variety of mana beasts... and alive humans!

    Two individuals stood before each of these cells, diligently guarding them. Judging by their age, they seemed to be around the same as me just like the people on the floors above.

    Ironically, on this dimly lit floor, I noticed something that I had overlooked on the previous two floors above.

    "These people..." I trailed off, observing the young guards standing in front of the cells before turning back to Kai. "These are cadets from our academy! I recognize them!"

    Not just them, but the individuals on the upper floors as well! Many of them were cadets from the Global Academy!

    I couldn''t identify all of their faces, but I had definitely seen some of them while walking across the academy halls!

    "Took you a while to notice," Kai chuckled briefly. "Honestly, I''m impressed that you noticed at all."

    Stepping out of the elevator, he resumed walking forward while I followed closely behind. We passed by the prison cells, and I observed the prisoners within.

    The mana beasts relentlessly wed at the iron bars in an attempt to escape, but their efforts were in vain.

    These were all low-level mana beasts, and judging by the way they looked, they hadn''t been given anything to eat for the past few days. They had no chance to break these super-reinforced steel bars.

    I also spotted some humans but most of them had already given up. They appeared malnourished and sickly frail, teetering on the brink of death.

    Completely ignoring the prisoned humans as if they were nothing but air, Kai began speaking without slowing his pace.

    "Many of the people here are from our academy," Kai informed me. "There are also many from the Ethereal Academy. And some individuals here don''t belong to either academy. However, onemon factor among all of them is that they all are scions of influential and affluent families from all over the Five Continents. There are also adults affiliated with us, like the pope from the church above, but they''re only tasked with maintaining the facade."

    "Kai, don''t tell me¡ª" I began to voice my thoughts, but Kai interrupted me with a wave of his finger.

    "No," he interjected. "Don''t ask any questions here. Let''s proceed to the bottom floor first."

    This time, instead of an elevator, we headed towards a set of stairs located at the far end of the floor, leading downwards.

    We descended the stairs until we reached the lowest floor, where a ck metal door stood in our path, blocking our way.

    The door had a simr geometric pattern on it as the basement door. Kai took out his metal que and ced it against the door.

    The pattern instantly emitted a brilliant azure glow, and with a resounding click, the door''s lock was opened.

    Click¡ª

    Kai pushed open the door, revealing the bottom floor.

    Calling it a floor wouldn''t be entirely urate¡ªit was more like a grand hall.

    Don''t get me wrong, it was huge. But despite its vastness, it was smaller inparison to the floors above.

    A red carpet adorned the floor, hiding the pristine white marble beneath. The walls mirrored the silver-metal alloy of the upper levels.

    Antique furnishings were ced around the hall, while golden vaults and portraits adorned the walls.

    Numerousrge holographic screens were projected in the center of the hall, ying surveince footage of every nook and vanny of the floors in the underground base and the immediate surroundings of the church.

    Some screens also disyed live satellite footage from various locations, including the Global Academy and more.

    A single individual sat cross-legged on one of the sofas, observing the screens intently while sipping boba tea through a straw that wasing out from a cup in his hands.

    His brownish-ck hair was neatlybed back and his bright red eyes shifted from the holographic screens before him to our figures as soon as we entered.

    And the moment I locked eyes with him, I immediately recognized the boy before me.

    How could I not recognize him?! He had been a big question mark in my mind since the start of this story!

    My eyes widened once again, and I couldn''t help but exim, "Hugh Jass?!"

 Chapter 232 Hideout [3]

    ?

    "What are you doing here?" I eximed in surprise, my eyes fixed on Hugh.

    "Close the door again," Kai interjected before Hugh could speak up, asking me to shut the door as he slumped back on the sofa.

    "Oh, sure," I replied with a polite smile and closed the door. Then, I turned back to them and eximed in shock once again.

    "No, seriously, what the fuck is going on here?!" I yelled, my voiceced with a mix of bewilderment and puzzlement.

    Hugh, who was still sipping on his boba tea, finally turned to Kai, who was seated on his left, and asked, "Did you not tell him anything?"

    In response, Kai merely shrugged his shoulders, as if it was the most natural thing to do to answer Hugh''s question.

    Because of that, Hugh couldn''t help but let out a deep sigh, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

    After a while, he let out another sigh and looked up to face me.

    "Pardon him," Hugh said to me, pointing at Kai with his thumb. "He has a thing for being dramatic."

    Yeah, I figured ¨C I thought to myself.

    "So, what is this ce?" I repeated my question for the nth time, my patience on the edge.

    "This is the hideout of a next-generation elite shadow organization known as the New World Order," Kai responded. "I''m the one who created this organization to achieve my goal."

    "A shadow organization?!" I blurted out in utter shock. "But you weren''t¨C"

    "But I wasn''t supposed to do something like this?" Kai interjected before I could finish my sentence. "Yeah, that''s why every member I recruited in this Order did not y a major part in the original timeline."

    ¡­Oh, I see.

    Extras!

    In a long-running story, there are hundreds of extras and thousands of unnamed characters.

    Some characters are only there to be in the background ¨C only there to add a dialogue or two and never appear in the story again.

    While some are merely small stepping stones in the protagonist''s path who would not y a major role in the story after their part is done.

    If I have to give an example, think of that Jake guy who came to me during the g game.

    Now, I''m not saying I''m a protagonist or something, but he was only there in the game to be a stepping stone for me.

    Small characters who wouldn''t affect the flow of the story in any way with their appearance or disappearance ¨C those are Extras.

    So, does Kai want to say he recruited Extras to be in his organization?!

    "But why?" ¨C was the only question that escaped my lips. "Why did you go through so much trouble?"

    "Isn''t it obvious? I can''t save the world alone," Kai retorted matter-of-factly. "The smart move is to have as many pawns in my game as I can. That way, I can easily control a multitude of scenarios to my advantage."

    After a heavy silence thatsted a couple of seconds, I was about to ask something.

    However, before I could even open my mouth, Kai stopped me in my tracks and spoke up, "I know what you''re going to ask. I will tell you now."

    In response to Kai''s words that held a vague meaning, Hugh turned to him and gave him a look of disbelief.

    "Wait, are you really going to tell him about the Book?" Hugh asked, a hint of surprise evident in his tone.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Yes," Kai nodded. "I kind of have to."

    "But didn''t you say that showing it to people is very risky since we can''t predict how it may affect the timeline?" Hugh leaned forward with a frown on his face.

    "I know what I said, Hugh," Kai said. "But the situation has changed now. Besides, I have reason to believe that Lucas is ''The'' Spearman."

    "Wait¡­" The frown on Hugh''s face deepened upon hearing Kai''s words. "No, how are you so sure?"

    "Because he has a Phoenix in his possession," Kai revealed.

    Hugh''s eyes widened to the point where it looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

    With mouth agape, he yelled out, "He has a what?!"

    "Hey!" I hollered at Kai, taken aback. "I asked you to keep it a secret! Whatever happened to that talk about the token of trust and all?!"

    "Calm down, Morningstar," Kai waved his hand nonchntly. "Hugh is trustworthy."

    As if that was a cue, Hugh turned to me, his jaw still hanging from the shock, as he yelled out at me this time, "You have a what?!"

    After patting Hugh''s back as a gesture to calm him down, Kai got up from the sofa and walked over to a small golden vault on the wall.

    After he ced his thumb on a biometric sensor on the wall and aligned his eye in front of what looked like a retina scanner, the vault unlocked.

    Before opening the vault, however, Kai turned to me and started speaking:

    "When I was little, one day I went out to y in a park with my friends. There, I met someone. She was an olddy. Old, wrinkled, tired, lonely. She had no friends, no family, and no one to rely on as I woulde to know.

    "Yet, she had a smile on her face. A smile that wasn''t the brightest in the world, but it was enough to tell me that she was at the very least happy with the life she had led.

    "That day, my friends left early after I had a fight with them. Because they left me, I started crying. The olddy came to me and gently patted my head.

    "She asked me why I was crying and I recounted what happened to her. She silently listened to my petty, mundane problems and lovingly consoled me.

    "After I was done crying, she said that I should apologize to my friends and makeup with them. I refused, saying that I don''t need them.

    "In response, the olddy said that no matter how grand of a life I live, it would mean nothing if no one is there to notice it. I, of course, was dumbfounded by her words which were too confusing for the little me to understand.

    "Seeing my dumb face, the olddyughed and asked me if I wanted to see my future. I said yes, being the curious little kid I was."

    Kai took a pause, causing me to ask, "What happened next?"

    As if waiting for that question, he resumed, "The olddy touched my forehead, and suddenly, memories that were mine yet quite not, of a time that I have yet to live, began to flood in my head."

    ¡­Wait a second!

    "I saw my future. Actually, I saw quite a few futures that could''ve been mine. But you know what? In all of them, one thing remained the same. I died without being able to aplish anything¨C without being able to reach my goal.

    "From the sudden surge of all the information that overwhelmed my mind, I stumbled back and fell. When I looked ahead, the olddy was gone."

    It was only then Kai opened the vault and took out a book with a red cover on it.

    Showing the book to me, he said, "In ce of her, this book was on the ground."

 Chapter 233 Book Of Prophecy [1]

    ?

    With the red book openly lying on the table in front of us, Hugh, Kai, and I settled on the sofa encircling it.

    Breaking the prevailing silence in the hall, I was the first one to speak up.

    "So, you possess knowledge of multiple timelines?" I inquired cautiously. "And what exactly is that book?"

    Kai nodded, affirming my im. "Yes, since you also seem to possess future knowledge, your statement from earlier was true ¨C this world is destined for doom."

    Before I could delve deeper and ask some follow-up questions, Hugh interjected into the conversation.

    "That book is known as the Book of Prophecy. You can think of it as an instruction manual to save this world," he exined. "Inside that book are a series of instructions, both advising what to do and what to avoid, along with various kinds of prophecies and solutions for different problematic situations."

    "An instruction manual, you say?" I inquired, trying to hide the slight hint of absurdity in my voice. "But who wrote it?"

    "We do not know," Kai shook his head. "But I can assure you that the Book of Prophecy is authentic."

    With my curiosity piqued, I asked Kai, "And just how did you confirm its authenticity?"

    "As I mentioned earlier, I have my memories from different timelines," Kai borated. "In several of those timelines, I did some things that the Book of Prophecy advises to avoid. And as a result of that, the destruction of the world was fastened or worsened."

    Thoughtfully touching my chin, I probed further, "So, this Book of Prophecy, was it present in all your timelines?"

    "No," Kai responded, shaking his head once more. "This is the first timeline in which I''ve seen the Book Of Prophecy. However, that old woman approached me in all the other timelines and returned my memories to me."

    What in the world...

    This revtionplicates matters far more than I thought. Many of my theories are refuted by this nascent knowledge.

    Not only are there multiple timelines for this world, but Kai possessed future knowledge in all those other timelines because of an enigmatic olddy.

    But who is this olddy?

    And why did she choose Kai?

    Kai was merely a minor antagonist in the novel. I don''t recall anything particrly remarkable about him.

    Or perhaps, his wasn''t particrly remarkable precisely because he had knowledge of the future and was trying to stay in the shadows.

    But my earlier question still stands ¨C who was this olddy, and why did she select Kai instead of main characters like Nero, Amelia, or Anastasia to return their memories if she had the power to do so?

    Shaking my head and shelving this thought for now, I decided to ask another question.

    "How many timelines exist?" I inquired.

    "This is the eighteenth one," Kai swiftly responded, almost as if he had anticipated my question.

    "And do you have any idea why that olddy chose to give you the memories of other timelines?" I inquired.

    Kai shook his head once more. "I don''t know. In every timeline when she returned my memories, she vanished before I could ask her anything. Honestly, I thought Nero would have been a better choice."

    Eighteen times, huh? So he has lived this life eighteen times already.

    I know this isn''t the time for jokes, but isn''t regression supposed to be the cheat reserved for the protagonist?

    Clearing my throat, I continued my questioning. "So, did we fail to save the world in all of those timelines?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "No, we failed," Kai replied, emphasizing the word ''we,'' before adding, "You were either in prison, dead, or not very helpful in most of those timelines. That''s why I was surprised when you started behaving the way you did."

    "...I-I see," I coughed awkwardly, averting my gaze. "Then tell me, why did you try to stop me from changing the timeline? I mean, if you''ve truly lived eighteen lives then you should know that we can''t just sit passively and hope for survival, right?"

    Kai shook his head. "As I mentioned before, I didn''t have an issue with you making changes in the timeline."

    "Then what is it?" I pressed.

    "It''s because you were trying to change important events," Hugh was the one who answered my query.

    "Wait, before I ask what that means, let me ask this: who are you?" I directed my question to Hugh. "I don''t believe you were meant to exist at all."

    "You''re right," Kai chimed in. "Hugh was my childhood friend who sacrificed his life to protect me from an assassin when we were young."

    "Encountering one or two assassins isn''t particrly unusual for the heir of a noble family. In every other timeline, I survived solely because Hugh died while saving me," Kai exined in a bit of a wistful tone.

    "However, in this timeline, I managed to alter that fate. I saved him. You could say he''s an anomaly. After awakening to mana, Hugh developed an incredibly powerful Gift. Along with his exceptional intellect, I recruited him into the New World Order," he added with a somber expression, but a hint of relief in his eyes.

    "Huh?!" Hugh''s upper lip curled up as he spat back in an absurd tone. "You didn''t recruit me, we founded NWO together!"

    Ignoring his remark as if he has done that several times, Kai continued speaking to me, "About your earlier question - You see, the Book Of Prophecy describes that the Heroes must face hardships so that they could get strong enough to avoid destruction of the world.

    "After I recruited Hugh to NWO, we devised the best possible route we could take to reach the end of this timeline.

    "Since I already knew Nero was one of the Heroes, we decided together to make him face as many hardships as he possibly can.

    "I thought about throwing minor stepping stones on his way at first, then throwing big adversaries like Quinn. That''s why I circted the rumors about his Gift and pushed Chris to create trouble with him and his group."

    ¡­I guess that does make sense in a very twisted way?

    I mean, after all, in any progression fantasy, the protagonist has to face hardships, right?

    It is because of those hardships that he grows strong in order to reach his goal.

    Those goals could range from trying to rise against his own family, facing his past, challenging society, or any number of generic stuff like that.

    A story where azy protagonist who won''t have to face hardships and grow stronger wouldn''t be much of a story now, would it?

    However, it''s different when I myself am living inside that story!

    "But do you have any idea what''ll happen tomorrow?" I shot a question at Kai.

    "The vampires will attack with the goal of eliminating Nero. They will dispatch six of their top Squads to achieve that goal," Kai responded.

    "...Do you have any idea how many people will die?" I asked, my tone t.

    "Many," Kai replied with a single word. "I know it''s not a morally correct thing to do, but you have to believe me, it''s necessary. It''s an important event for Nero and the other Heroes to grow."

    "Insane! You''re insane!" I squeezed my forehead with an exasperated look on my face.

    But then, as if I suddenly remembered something, I snapped my head to look back at him. "Wait, did you say other Heroes?"

 Chapter 234 Book Of Prophecy [2]

    ?

    If my memory serves me right, the Vampire King Reina mentioned something about three Heroes.

    She also spoke of a prophecy.

    If Kai''s Book of Prophecy really lives up to its name, then I need to understand what she was referring to.

    "What do you mean by ''Heroes,'' and how many of them are there?" I asked, locking my eyes with Kai.

    Without hesitation, Kai responded to my question as if he was waiting for me to ask it.

    "There are three heroes: a swordsman, a spearman, and a martial artist," he said. "I could tell you who they are, but aside from Nero being the swordsman, I don''t have much information about the others."

    "Even with your Book?" I inquired, to which Kai nodded. "But how is that possible? I thought you possessed memories from eighteen different timelines."

    "The truth is, I never made it to the end of any of those timelines myself," Kai replied with a despondent look. "As I mentioned before, I always died before aplishing my goal."

    Haah! And you were trashing me about not being much help in those timelines!

    Well, I guess he was trashing Lucas not ''me,'' but still!

    "It is said that the world can only be saved when the three heroes unite and fight together," Hugh chimed in. "Individually, they can only dy the destruction for a limited time. That''s why in this timeline, we focused all our energy up until now in search of those three Heroes."

    "The Book mentions that we will find all three heroes at the Global Academy at this point in time," Kai added. "I was certain about Nero being one of the Heroes based on my memories."

    "I mean, let''s be honest, with his monstrous talent, it''s not difficult to discern that he''s someone special. In one of my lives, I heard rumors about a girl referred to as the Martial Queen in the Northern Continent. However, before I could discover who she was, I died," Kai replied, his eyes reflecting his mncholy.

    "I see, that¡­ certainly is a problem," I sighed.

    To be honest, it''s not hard for me to guess who the hero named Martial Queen could be.

    It''s obviously Anastasia.

    With her innate prowess in martial arts and the power of God''s Eyes, there''s hardly anyone more suited for that title.

    Of course, in this world, I couldn''t be certain of my own shadow let alone something this big, so I refrained from voicing my thoughts just yet.

    In the next moment, however, with curiosity brimming in my voice, I asked, "And what about the spearman? Did you ever encounter him in your past lives?"

    "No," Kai shook his head. "He is believed to be the most crucial piece in saving the world, yet I didn''t even find a single mention of his name in the previous timelines. Not even once."

    As I was about to respond, Kai spoke again, "But I think I have a good idea who it could be."

    "...Oh?" I raised my eyebrow after a short pause. "And who could that be?"

    "Before that, I want you to tell me something. Do you think I should have done things differently?" he asked.

    "Why are you asking me that?" I shrugged. "It seems like you are fullymitted to following the instructions in that Book."

    "Why am I asking you? You see, the Book of Prophecy contains many instructions, but there''s one that supersedes all others," Kai informed me.

    "Huh? What does it say?" I crossed my arms, interested to hear what he has to say.

    "It states that when you encounter the spearman, disregard the instructions in the Book and follow him."

    "....."

    ***

    "So you think I''m the spearman?" I asked, finally breaking the silence that followed his answer.

    "Yes," Kai replied earnestly. "It is most definitely you."

    "How are you so sure?" I questioned, but in my heart, I knew what the answer was going to be since I had already heard it from Reina.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Your description," Kai replied, pointing at me. "It matches the description of the spearman in the prophecy."

    "Plus, if what you told Kai is correct, then you having a Phoenix is most definitely a sign indicating that you''re the spearman," Hugh chipped in.

    "There''s a prophecy that states that the spearman will possess a Phoenix?" I raised another question.

    "There are multiple Prophecies which state that¡­ well, not exactly that, but close enough," Hugh answered.

    "I see," I uttered while gently running my chin.

    "You already knew this, didn''t you?" Kai asked, judging from myck of surprise or any reaction at all.

    "Yes," I didn''t try to hide it. "Before I killed Reina, she told me something simr."

    "I see," Hugh spoke out. "Well, Vampires, Elves, and Dwarves ¨C all have their own versions of prophecies so it''s not surprising that a former Abyssal Vampire King knew about it."

    "True," Kai joined in with an affirmative nod.

    "So like, how many prophecies are there?" I voiced a question that had been pressing on my mind for a while now.

    "Uh, like fifteen, I think?" Kai replied. "Many of them are in deadnguages so it''s nearly impossible to decipher them. So only five are actually of any help. If you are interested then go ahead, take a look at the book."

    "But Kai¨C" Hugh was about to speak up again to retort his decision but Kai spoke first.

    "It doesn''t matter," Kai said, turning to face Hugh. "If he''s truly the Spearman of the World''s Edge, then it doesn''t make sense to keep the Book from him."

    "What if he''s not, though?!" Hugh argued.

    "Look at him! He has knowledge of the future!" Kai raised his voice.

    "So do you! But that doesn''t automatically make you a prophetic hero, does it?!" Hugh retorted.

    Kai took a deep breath, seemingly preparing to respond, but before he could, I interjected into the conversation.

    "I don''t care whether you believe me to be some kind of hero or not, because the truth is, even I don''t believe it," I stated, clenching my fist.

    Then, with an even tone, I continued:

    "My only concern is my own survival, not anything else. I am willing to sacrifice whatever it takes if it means I get to live. Saving the world is merely a consequence of saving myself. I am selfish, and I''m fully aware of that. The things that I''ve done... I don''t believe they align with what a hero destined to save the world would do.

    "But one thing you cannot deny is that with me on your side, the chances of saving this world of yours will increase exponentially."

    A heavy silence descended upon the hall after my confession. Hugh gazed down at his feet, lost in deep thought. He was likely thinking about what to do next.

    Finally, after a minute or two, he decided to end his awkwardly long pause and nodded his head slightly.

    "Fine," he muttered under her breath.

    Nodding back, I extended my hand to reach out and grab the red Book, but before I could even touch it, Hugh spoke up again.

    "But before you touch it, I need you to tell me where you got your future knowledge from."

    "Hugh, I already promised him that he doesn''t have to do that," Kai interjected but Hugh dismissed his words.

    "Exactly, you promised him, I didn''t," Hugh spoke up, summoning his twin handguns.

    "And what if I refuse to tell you?" I asked, preparing to summon my own weapon.

    Hugh simply pointed the barrels of his handguns at me and spoke in a deathly calm tone, "Then you''ll not escape from here."

 Chapter 235 Book Of Prophecy [3]

    ?

    I couldn''t help but experience a feeling of deja vu when Hugh pointed his guns at me.

    For a second, I froze as the shback of a certain author killing me appeared in my mind.

    However, I recovered quickly and kept my poker face on as I asked, "Will you kill me?"

    "I can if I want," was what Hugh replied with.

    He wasn''t wrong. It would at least take me a split second to deploy my martial aura and shield me from the bullet.

    By that time, I would already be dead with a bullet in my head.

    But unfortunately for Hugh, I don''t need to employ my martial aura when I can simply use Phoenix''s Embrace.

    Even then, however, I would want to resolve this matter peacefully. As if he shared the same intentions, Hugh said:

    "But I won''t kill you. Something tells me I can''t anyway. So I''ll imprison you in one of our cells until you tell us what''s the source of your future knowledge."

    Even though I didn''tpletely agree with the level of aggression Hugh was showing, I knew his demand wasn''t exactly wrong.

    You see, they have already shown me their trump card. What''s to say I can''t just go to the Vampires and sell them these secrets?

    Hell, for all they know, I could be a spy since Lucas wasn''t supposed to behave like the way I''m behaving in the original timeline.

    Or what if the future knowledge I have is nothing but a trap that would lead this timeline another bad ending?

    Maybe I''m just an imposter acting to match the description of the spearman from the prophecy to let them get their guard down.

    The possibilities are endless.

    Since I know the source of Kai''s future knowledge, I have alsoe to know the weaknesses in it.

    His knowledgees from the memories of his alternate self that lived in the other timelines.

    That means his knowledge isn''t omniscient like mine since all he knowses from his perspective.

    That means, he only knows about the events and characters that he encountered.

    I, on the other hand, know everything that Joe wrote in his novel.

    Well, truth be told, my own knowledge hasn''t proved to be very omniscient either, but at least I can confidently say that I know more than Kai.

    So since I know their weaknesses, Hugh''s argument is that it''s only fair that they know mine.

    "Fine," after a bit of thinking, I nodded my head. "I''ll tell you ¨C I''ll tell you about the world I came from."

    ?

    After approximately twenty minutes, Lucas was done telling his secret to Kai and Hugh.

    As a result of that, the entire hall fell into an overwhelmingly deafening silence.

    The two cadets aside from Lucas remained motionless on the sofa, their faces filled with a mix of confusion, surprise, shock, and various other indescribable emotions.

    Within this absolute stillness, Kai and Hugh appeared like lifeless statues, only the sound of their breathing confirming that they didn''t die from the shock.

    Breaking the prolonged silence, it was Lucas who spoke first.

    "Would you two like for me to offer some water or something?" Lucas sarcastically asked, unable to bear the oppressive silence any longer.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Hugh followed suit, "So, let me get this straight. You''re saying that Lucas is dead, and you''re now inhabiting his dead body? You seem pretty alive to me¡­"

    "What?!" Lucas nearly leaped up, taken aback by the sheer absurdity of Hugh''s statement.

    For some reason, he felt a slight sense of offense. After all, Hugh pretty much called him a zombie.

    Zombie? Him?! An extremely handsome person such as him?! What nonsense!

    "I''m very much alive. I merely shifted into his body... unintentionally. The term for it is transmigration in modern pop culture."

    Well, modern in his world.

    "...How does that even make sense?" Kai pondered aloud, his fingers grazing his chin.

    Lucas shrugged, unsure of how to exin any more clearly than he already has.

    After a bit of thought, Hugh chimed in, "Actually, it does. It does kind of make sense."

    "Hmm?" Kai gave Hugh a quizzical look. "Well, go on then, exin."

    Rubbing his chin as if remembering something important, Hugh began to exin, "In one of the prophecies, it mentioned a spearman standing at the junction of two worlds.

    "If we really consider Lucas as one of the Heroes, then it''s not far-fetched to think that the prophecy was referring to this very situation.

    "Perhaps it meant that one of the heroes woulde from a different world to save ours. Of course, deciphering prophecies is challenging because of their cryptic and vague nature, so we can''t be sure. But I think there is a good chance the spearman can really be him."

    At that statement, Hugh received a look from Kai that screamed, ''I told you so.''

    In response, Hugh held back his urge to roll his eyes.

    Meanwhile, Lucas was lost in his own thoughts.

    ''A spearman standing at the junction of two worlds, huh?'' Lucas took a long, deep breath as an unwanted memory resurfaced in his mind.

    During his childhood, when he¡ª ''he'' as in: Noah Lambert¡ªused to have recurring nightmares every single night, there was one particrly harrowing memory that remained etched deep within his soul.

    Although most of the details from that nightmare had faded from his memory after growing up, he could still vividly remember seeing a boy standing at the convergence of two worlds with a two headed spear in his hands.

    One world appeared futuristic yet mystic, while the other resembled a world Noah was very familiar with¨C his own Earth.

    He remembers that the boy would lock eyes with him and utter in a sad tone...

    "This is the point where our worlds collide."

    "Hmm? What did you say?"

    Both Hugh and Kai looked at Lucas with a confused look as he mumbled something under his breath.

    With their gazes locked on him, he merely shook his head. "Ah, nothing."

    Almost instantly, however, Lucas turned to Hugh and asked, "So, can I read the book now?"

    "Haaa," letting out a soft sigh, Hugh closed his eyes for a few seconds before finally opening them and giving me a strong look.

    "Fine," he nodded. "You can read it."

 Chapter 236 Book Of Prophecy [4]

    ?

    With Hugh quietly sitting in front of me and Kai pacing around the hall, I slouched back on the sofa.

    Biting my lower lip softly, I would turn the pages of the red Book in my hand ever so often, my eyes only focusing on its contents.

    The Book Of Prophecy was exactly as Kai and Hugh had described to me.

    It had a lot of instructions written in it and solutions to different kinds of problems that may arise.

    ===

    19# Do not attempt to alter the destinies of any of thepanions apanying the Hero.

    ==

    ===

    23# The Heroes must face and ovee challenges to grow stronger and save the world from the malevolent entity threatening the universe''s existence.

    ===

    ===

    32# The Heroes, except for the Spear Hero, must not be informed about this Book or their future under any circumstances at all. Allow them to discover it on their own.

    Failure to prevent this will only hasten the world''s destruction.

    ===

    ===

    42# Head to the Global Military Academy to find the three Heroes, but remember instruction number 32# at all costs.

    ===

    ===

    75# Establish a covert order to operate in the shadows and adhere to the instructions.

    ===

    ===

    86# If you believe you have saved the world¨C If you believe the Heroes have saved the world, think again.

    ===

    ===

    93# Do everything necessary to assist the Heroes, for they are the chosen Champions of the Cosmic Womb¡ªthe conscious mind of the universe with knowledge of the past, present, and future.

    ===

    ===

    101# The final instruction in this book is: if, by some stroke of luck, you manage to find the Spearman, disregard all other instructions and follow them.

    They are the Last Hope Of Heaven.

    ===

    Cosmic Womb? I should look into it.

    Taking a mental note, I finally flipped thest two pages after ncing at the instructions.

    On thest two pages, a bunch of prophecies were cursively written with red ink.

    I tried reading them, but most of them were so vague and cryptic that I couldn''t understand a thing.

    Frowning in confusion, I was about to close the book when I saw something that caught my eye.

    "T-This," I muttered in a whispering tone that barely reached my own ears let alone the others present near me.

    The thing that I was looking at was a prophecy just like the others. But this one¡­ this one was different.

    Why? Well, because I have heard something simr somewhere!

    ===

    ``From the den of wolves will rise a Phoenix carrying the brilliance of heavenly fire.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    From the house that carries the will of the Sun will rise a Prince that''ll make the dawn sire.

    Inspiring his people, he will shoulder their burdens, lifting them to greater heights.

    Unbeknownst to anyone, he will sacrifice his lives in circumstances o'' so dire with no respite.

    By breaking the shackles of time, he shall write his own destiny.

    Weaving the red threads of fate, he shall vanquish his enemy.

    In the end, forging adder with blood, tears, and fire''s ire,

    The Phoenix will make his ascend and reach the heights none can tire.

    With nowhere left to run and no life left to spare in the end, the Prince will take the LastStandatThe World''s End.``

    ===

    The frown on my face deepened as my lips quivered. Thatst line¡­ I''ve heard it before!

    But where¡­

    It was then I remembered that when I was fighting Reina before she killed herself, she said something to me.

    She mentioned something about The Prince who will take the Last Stand At The World''s End.

    ¡­Hugh did say that Vampires have their own version of prophecies. So this could be one of them?

    "Arghh," I grunted, closing the red Book and frantically scratching my head.

    Confusing! It''s all so confusing!

    "Lucas," Kai''s voice reached my ears as he called my name. I raised my head and looked at him.

    He stood at the corner of the hall, arms crossed over his chest, giving me a knowing look. "I know it''s a lot to take in."

    Well, ''a lot to take in'' would be an understatement.

    I don''t even know where to begin.

    Prophecies, instructions, Heroes, Champions¡­ This world had much more than what that bastard Joe described.

    For a second, my breathing quickened, and my heart pounded hard against my chest.

    Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to calm down by taking several long, deep breaths.

    Finally, I shook my head, dispersing the thoughts guing my mind.

    It doesn''t matter ¨C I thought to myself.

    Right, all this doesn''t change my n.

    Whether Lucas was actually supposed to be some kind of prophetic hero or not, my goal remains the same ¨C survival.

    "Fuu," I let out a soft sigh, turning to Kai. I needed to make this fact clear to him too.

    Locking eyes with him, I said, "As I told you earlier, I don''t care about these prophecies. The only thing I actually care about is surviving the world''s destruction. Saving it¨C"

    "Is only the byproduct of you reaching your goal," Kai nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I also don''t care about your goal. I believe wholeheartedly that you are one of the three Heroes. So as long as you can save the world, you can do whatever you want for all I care."

    "Okay," I nodded, satisfied with his answer. "So is it safe to assume you will work with me?"

    "Sure," Kai assured. "As long as whatever you''re doing helps save the world, I''ll have your back."

    "Good," I remarked. "So our first task will be to prevent the Vampire Attack from happening tomorrow."

    "But it''s already toote for that!" Hugh pointed out. "The Vampires must have already dispatched their toon to attack the academy by now!"

    "You''re right," I acknowledged, turning to face Hugh. "But we can still limit the casualties."

    "That''s a tall order, you know?" Kaimented.

    "I''ll make it happen," I said, leaning forward slightly. "But when all this is over, I need you to hand over some paw¨Cpeople to me."

    "Some people?" Kai raised an eyebrow at my request and gave me a questioning look. "Who?"

    "Quinn and Grace," I replied, a smirk ying on my lips. "I can put them to much better use than you."

 Chapter 237 Future Invaluable Helpers

    ?

    After talking with Hugh and Kai some more, I headed out to leave.

    We had so many things to discuss, but we also had to prepare for tomorrow¡ªwell, that and because Leo had been calling me.

    It seems like he really intends to train me until the start of the main event tomorrow.

    Haa~

    Anyway, back to the main topic: I did it. I never thought I would reveal my secret to someone, but I did.

    I told them that I have transmigrated into Lucas'' body from a different world.

    By the way, for reference, I also mentioned the novel. I exined to them that I read it in my real world and gained knowledge about this world''s future.

    However, I didn''t talk about Joe or how he killed me.

    I didn''t have any particr reason for not telling them about him; I simply didn''t think telling them that would be of any use.

    Besides, I had a gut feeling to keep Joe''s identity close to me.

    Nevertheless, I did share with them that I have cracks in the memories that I inherited from Lucas.

    Initially, I thought they would be weirded out by my revtion, which they definitely were, at least for a little while.

    Butter, they didn''t seem to care. All they want is hope¡ªthe hope of saving this world.

    As weird and confusing as this whole ordeal was, one thing came out in my favor¡ªI managed to switch Kai to my side.

    He and his covert organization, the New World Order, will prove to be invaluable helpers to me in the future.

    Not to mention, I have also secured Grace and Quinn under my authority too.

    Dealing with Grace might be challenging, but I have great ns in mind for her.

    Yes, no matter how I look at it, fighting Kai and almost dying was definitely worth it.

    Speaking of Kai, the Wiseman was currently walking me out of the base.

    While on our way out, I turned to look at him and asked:

    "By the way, do you know how exactly the world would end?"

    "Hmm?" Kai arched an eyebrow at my question, a little bit confused. "You said this world was a novel you read in your real world, right? So, wasn''t the end mentioned in it?"

    "Just tell me," I pressed. I didn''t want to admit that I never read the end of that novel. "I want to check something."

    Kai continued to give me a weird look before he finally sighed and started talking.

    "Well, as I told you, I never managed to reach my goals. Every single time I died before the final war was over. The farthest I''ve reached is in my tenth life. We had defeated the Kalis, and ourst war against the Vampires was drawing to a close.

    "But right then, just when we were about to win, the Vampire Monarch awakened from his slumber and single-handedly obliterated anyone who stood in his path."

    Shocked, a slight frown creased my forehead as I looked at Kai with a hint of disbelief.

    Kai shuddered as if he was remembering something very, very dark and unpleasant.

    "The Vampire Monarch ¨C he can''t be stopped," Kai added. "There is just no way to kill that abomination. That''s why we will have to defeat the Vampire forces before he awakens."

    "I see," I muttered under my breath.

    While I was talking to Kai and Hugh, I came to a conclusion.

    The novel depicted a timeline very simr to the one I am currently in. That means the world shown in the novel wasn''t exactly this one, but maybe some other timeline.

    That would exin the existence of Hugh ¨C who turned out to be an anomaly whose life was saved by Kai, or else he wasn''t supposed to exist at all.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It would also exin some other subtle changes I found in this world that weren''t mentioned in the novel.

    The timeline in the novel was the one where Kai couldn''t save his friend again.

    It was a timeline where I wasn''t transmigrated into this world.

    In that world, the future was bleak. Kai continued to push Quinn until he sided with the Vampires.

    Quinn and Nero fought each other to an apocalyptic destruction, and the Vampire Monarch awakened.

    However, that future will not be mine. It belonged to some other ruined timeline, and I will not let it repeat itself.

    This future is mine. In my future, I will ensure that Quinn does not switch sides, Nero and Quinn do not fight, and the Vampire Monarch does not awaken.

    If I prevent these events from transpiring, I am sure that I will win. I will be able to survive past the Final War, save this world, and reach a perfect ending.

    As I once again reminded myself of my goal, I nodded my head in silent determination.

    But right then, I noticed something.

    We were walking past the prison floor, and suddenly a question popped up in my head.

    "By the way, Kai," I began, looking at the steel bars. "Who are all these people in these cells?"

    "Oh, right. Well, they are the people who tried to betray us or got too close to knowing about us," Kai told me. "There are also some people who refused to join us after we told them about us, so we had to imprison them."

    I arched my eyebrows in surprise as I listened to him. After blinking a couple of times, I asked:

    "What are you going to do with them?"

    "Well, those who are of no use have already been killed or will be soon. They will be thrown to these hungry mana beasts," Kai said, pointing at some of the cages.

    Yes, aside from people, there were also mana beasts trapped in these cells.

    They were relentlessly wing at the super-reinforced steel bars, trying to break free.

    "As for the others, well, we can''t kill them since they are scions of big families with high status," Kai said. "I have my men and women impersonating them and taking their ce in society, so if they are ever caught, these people can be used as bargaining chips."

    "Wait a second," I interjected. "You have your people taking their ce?"

    "Yeah, I had to find a couple of relics that could let their wielders shapeshift, so no one would notice the disappearance of these noble kids," Kai exined.

    "...Do you know how wrong this sounds?!" I eximed. "If you''re found out, do you have any idea what kind of punishment you could get?!"

    "I can''t help it," Kai shrugged. "I wanted their influence, but since they were unwilling to side with me, I had to take some measures."

    "Still, isn''t it wrong?" I said, not convinced at all. "You have practically kidnapped people and sent your own followers to impersonate them just because they didn''t side with you."

    "Oh,e on!" Kai chuckled. "Are you sure you are fit to say that? You reek of blood. You''ve also killed someone, haven''t you?"

    ¡­I wanted to retort, but I couldn''t find the words to do so. He was correct. I had no right to tell him he was wrong.

    After walking for a bit and taking several different elevators, I reached the exit door of the basement.

    "Wait," just as I was about to walk out, Kai called out to me.

    He took out a small metal que, simr to what he had used before to open the doors, and handed it to me.

    "Those are runic doors. Even a High-level artillery spell can''t break them easily. Use this que to open them and don''t lose them," Kai said.

    Taking the metal que from him, I inspected it for a quick couple of seconds before nodding and walking out.

    Okay, this was done.

 Chapter 238 Training For The Kings Tournament

    ?

    Tak¡ª!!

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Arghh!"

    Grunting and mumbling in pain, I fell to my knees, panting. My breath was shallow and ragged, and my heart felt like it was about to burst.

    Taking out a bottle of cold water from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet, I pushed down its content in big gulps and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

    As the burning sensation in my lungs slightly cooled down and the pain subsided a little, I got up and cast an angry gaze at the person responsible for rendering me in this state.

    Of course, that person was none other than my own master ¨C Leo Kurogami.

    "You want to kill me, don''t you!" I cried out.

    Around us, long des of grass swayed along the wind. After our sh, some of the grass des in the area were cut short, creating several clearings.

    The sun was directly above us, yet it wasn''t scorching us with its heat. I would say it was warm ¨C as if on a winter''s morning.

    With a clear blue sky in the backdrop, the red-haired man in front of me smirked.

    He wore a red and ck Kendo Keikogi, with his long red hair untied, swaying with the grass along the wind.

    Scrutinizing me with his matching red eyes for a second, Leo quickly disappeared from my sight the next moment.

    Kwish¡ª

    "....What the?"

    Before I could register what had happened, Leo was already right in front of me, his de poised over his head.

    Swish¡ª

    Leo brought his sword down, cleaving my body into two vertical halves.

    "Heh!"

    However, a smirk formed on my face as the two halves of my body wavered and disappeared like a mirage.

    It was my illusion.

    I had used this time to encircle Leo. Azure lightning sparked all around my body as I enveloped my body in the Lightning Aura.

    I felt my speed and reaction time heightening visibly as I lunged forward, thrusting my spear, which was also d in lightning, at Leo.

    "Nice try," Leo muttered.

    Confusion was evident on my face. My spear was about to hit him, so what did he mean by "nice try"?!

    ¡­It was toote for me before I finally grasped the meaning of his words.

    Leo''s figure blurred in a burst of speed as he sidestepped to avoid my spear. From the side, he swung his sword and hit the back of my neck with his glowing red de.

    As soon as his de met the back of my neck, it cut through my flesh and bone like a hot knife to butter.

    In the blink of an eye, my head was severed from my body as a bright crimson light shed through the area.

    As my head rolled through the air, with my widened eyes, I saw the world upside-down before it finally hit the ground.

    Soon after, darkness shrouded my vision, and everything turned ck.

    I was dead.

    ***

    "Gaaah!"

    Clutching my neck, I sat up straight. My whole body was drenched in a cold sweat as I looked around with terror-filled widened eyes.

    My chest heaved in and out as I struggled to gasp for breath. Panic settled in, but along with it came rity.

    Gently rubbing my neck and turning my head side to side ¨C so slowly that I was scared it would fall ¨C I had to make sure it was in ce.

    After confirming that I was definitely alive, I clutched my chest and tried to calm down my violently beating heart by taking long, deep breaths.

    "It was not real! It was not real!" I repeatedly told myself.

    It was indeed not real. We were in Virtual Reality.

    Since I didn''t have much time to practice my Elemental Aura and new magic spells, master suggested a brilliant idea.

    He asked me to train in Virtual Reality with a time dtion effect.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Basically, with the time dtion effect in ce, one day spent in Virtual Reality would only be six hours in the real world.

    So basically, I could continuously train for four days while in reality only a day would have passed.

    There were only two problems.

    You see, no matter how much you train in VR, it would only affect your mind, not your body.

    But I was fine with it since I only need to get used to the feeling of using Elemental Aura and my new magic spells.

    However, the second problem was that only the third-year cadets could use the time dtion effect in VR.

    But since it was Leo who wanted me to train with time dtion in effect, the Cadet Council didn''t have much choice but to give me permission to ess it.

    Unbeknownst to me, there was also a third problem.

    You see since I can''t die in VR, Leo thought that it would be a good idea to FUCKING KILL ME!

    He killed me thrice! Thrice!

    That man is not right in the head! He''s insane! He shouldn''t be allowed anywhere outside of a mental asylum!

    "Are you fine, my dear disciple?"

    Oh, speak of the devil!

    I looked around as soon as I heard a familiar voice. Right now, we were in the VR room.

    I was sitting up straight inside my VR pod, drenched in cold sweat after dying inside the Virtual Reality with 100% immersion!

    Yeah! 100% immersion meant I felt every ounce of pain that this man who calls himself my master inflicted on me!

    Stepping out of my VR pod, I looked at Leo who was also out of his VR pod and was now leaning against it.

    He had a satisfied smile on his face that did nothing to calm my rage.

    "Fine?! You ask if I''m fine after killing me for the third time!"

    "Oh, it was just VR. Don''t be dramatic."

    "Just VR?! It was a hundred percent immersion! I felt all that pain!"

    "Well, now you know what dying feels like so you''ll do good to avoid it."

    "..."

    Is this man for real?!

    I can''t tell him I already know what dying feels like, but even if I didn''t, his argument doesn''t make any sense!

    ''Oh, I simply killed you so you would do good to avoid dying.''

    Yeah, right! Because otherwise, I was eager to die!

    As I was lost in my silent rant, a thoughtful look appeared on Leo''s face.

    "It''s weird¡­" he muttered to himself.

    "Hmm? What?" I asked, still pouting.

    "You know, it doesn''t feel like you''re learning anything new. It feels like you''re just remembering what you''ve already learned." Leo remarked, touching his chin.

    "What nonsense are you on about now, master?" I looked at him with a nk expression.

    "Nothing, maybe I''m just overthinking," Leo waved his hand. "Anyway, isn''t it time for you to go?"

    "Hmm?"

    Casting a confused look, I gazed at the smart bracelet on my wrist to know the time.

    It was [7:35 AM] right now.

    The main event would start in thirty minutes.

    "Arghh! Yeah, I should go!"

    Quickly rushing for the door, I waved at master and thanked him for the training, even though he killed me THRICE!

    But still, because of him, I did manage to learn some High-level spells. My arsenal is very versatile now thanks to him.

    "Haaa!" I couldn''t help but let out a sigh as I rushed home to freshen up and get ready.

    The day was finally here¨C The day of the King''s Tournament.

 Chapter 239 Planning

    ?

    Ding¡ª

    Leaning against the wall, Kai tapped his smart bracelet, alerted by a notification bell signaling a text message.

    Just then, Hugh entered through the door, catching his friend absorbed in reading on the holographic screen popping out from his smart bracelet.

    "Kai, they''re all gathered," Hugh said, shaking Kai out of his trance.

    "Ah, okay," Kai nodded, averting his gaze from the holographic screen in front of him.

    "What are you reading?" Hugh asked, a little curious.

    "It''s an outline of the n to prevent the Vampire Attack today," Kai exined.

    Hugh walked up to him and started reading the contentsid out before them on the holographic screen.

    "Hmm," Hugh touched his chin after thoroughly reading the text. "Yeah, as long as we don''t mess it up, this strategy will work. Well, at the very least, we would be able to prevent as many casualties as possible."

    While Hugh spoke, Kai seemed lost in deep thought.

    After a bit of silence, he spoke, "Hey, do you really think what Lucas told us was the truth? And is he really the Spearman, or am I making a mistake here?"

    "Having second thoughts?" Hugh cast his friend a look and then gave him a crooked smile.

    After a short pause, he added, "I don''t think he was lying. As for whether or not he''s really the Spearman, I think you know the answer to it already."

    Kai pondered Hugh''s words before speaking in a somber tone:

    "Lucas mentioned that he read a novel in his real world. That novel¡­ is this world. If that''s true then, do you think our fates had been written beforehand? D¡ªDo we even have free will? If everything we do is just part of some story¡­ then the one writing our story must be a God. If that''s true, then are we really just puppets dancing on his will?"

    Hugh remained silent for a few minutes, struggling to find the right words to reply to Kai.

    Finally, after a few more minutes, Hugh managed to form a reply. He patted his friend''s back and said:

    "Honestly¡­ I don''t know. Maybe our fates really are pre-written. Maybe God really is some twisted being ying with us like puppets on his will. Maybe¡­ Maybe the ending of this story has already been decided. But what I do know is that you will not give up. And if I were God, I would be on the lookout for you because making an enemy of you is the worst thing someone could do¨C even if that someone is a God."

    Kai threw his head back and chortled at his friend''s words.

    The depressing, bleak look in his eyes from before slowly dissipated as he nodded his head, solidifying his resolve.

    Yeah, Hugh was right.

    So what if their fates were already nned? To hell with all that and to hell with God.

    Kai had already tried seventeen times to change his fate, and despite failing in all of them, he knew one thing: he would not give up.

    No matter what happened, he would change his and this world''s fate this time around.

    Especially since in this life, his friend was beside him.

    Thwak¡ª

    "Ouch!"

    Determined once again, Kai smacked the back of Hugh''s head hard andughed as thetter let out a pained groan.

    "You''ve always been good at buttering people," Kai grinned. "Okay, let''s go."

    With that said, Kai headed out for the first floor. Hugh rubbed the back of his head before smiling and following behind.

    On the first floor, hundreds of cadets were gathered in neat rows and files.

    They were all Cadets of the Global Academy.

    Most of them were first-years, many of them were second-years, and there were even a few third-years present among them.

    Looking at the crowd, Kai nodded his head and dered in a loud tone:

    "You all should know that there have been some changes in the n. Instead of letting it happen, we will prevent the Vampire Attack. I will tell you the n in detail after we reach the Academy. I will say this, however: The King''s Arena will be a battlefield today. Prioritize your own life at all costs if all hell breaks loose."

    "Yes, sir!" ¨C The cadets shouted back in unison.

    With a nod, Kai yelled back, "We walk in shadows, sworn to secrecy, so the world can see the light! We do not fancy fame or want the world to know our name! Our goal is just to create and serve the New World from behind the veil of shadows! Embrace the Veil,Ignite theFuture!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Embrace the Veil, Ignite the Future!" ¨C The crowd of cadets repeated thest words of Kai in a loud tone.

    Raising his head, Kai showed a pleased smile. Almost instantly, a cadet stepped forward and walked up to him before slightly bowing his head.

    He was a cadet named Luke, one of Kai''s most trusted members of the NWO.

    With ck hair and matching eyes, a in-looking face, and a well-built body, Luke didn''t stand out in any way. In fact, he wasn''t from a very wealthy family either.

    Kai had recruited Luke since they were children because Luke possessed a powerful Gift.

    "Luke, open the rift," Kai ordered.

    Despite his unremarkable appearance, Luke possessed an extraordinary Gift.

    Nodding, he extended one of his hands and opened his palms. After some minutes, a bluish portal ripped through the fabric of space and opened in front of him.

    Luke had the Gift of opening teleportation Gates to anywhere he had been once. The w of his Gift was that it takes him a long time to open these portals.

    "This will get us to the top of your apartmentplex, Kai," Luke informed.

    Nodding once again, Kai spoke out, "Let''s go."

    ?

    "He should''ve received the text by now, right?" I thought out loud as Ibed back my hair to the side.

    My hair has grown a lot since I first came to this world¨C it covers the back of my whole neck now.

    "Ahh, should I trim it or let it grow?"

    I didn''t mind letting it grow and tying it in a braid or a bun like Master. But the thing is, I have a flower boy face.

    I don''t want people to think that I''m a girl cross-dressing as a guy.

    "Wait, what the heck am I thinking!"

    Right, this is not the time to think about hairstyles!

    "Haaa!"

    Shaking my head, I buttoned my shirt and put on my tie. Since I had to change intobat attire soon anyway, I didn''t bother putting on the zer.

    "Okay, I have three tasks at hand."

    First, I will have to try and end the King''s Tournament as soon as possible.

    I was very tempted to go back to my original n and let Nero easily beat me in the finals.

    But a promise is a promise. I said that I''d put him in his ce, and I will not go back on the words I gave to myself.

    Second, if Kai and his team stick to my n, then the Vampire Attack will be prevented, or else I would have to act on n B, which I''ve already set in ce.

    As for the third task at hand¡­

    "Crieck~!"

    "Oh,e on, Sera! Please let me go!"

    Yeah, I will have to do something to get Sera off of me!

    She has grabbed my shoulder with her ws and is now refusing to leave me!

    Maybe it''s because I haven''t been spending much time with her that she has decided to take matters into her own ws and stick to me like glue!

    "Sera, please! I promise I''ll take you out soon, I swear!"

    "Crieeek~!!"

    Oh, darn it!!

 Chapter 240 Toward The Academy

    ?

    "Crieek~!"

    "Yeah, yeah, are you happy now?"

    "Criek, criek~!"

    "That''s good to hear."

    In the end, I decided to bring Seraphina along with me.

    She was perched on top of my shoulder using her talons, chirping merrily as if she were extremely happy.

    Actually, I didn''t really decide anything ¨C I just didn''t have a choice. She was really not letting me go.

    I tried to wrestle with her, trying to get her to leave me, but she was relentless! I feared that she would find a way to fly out of the apartment and follow me if I left her like that.

    So in the end, using my Edit Pen, I created an appearance-altering potion and let Sera drink it, which did its job.

    Now, her bright red feathers hadpletely turned to ck, and her silver shade had been reced with white.

    Her radiant glow had also subsided, and even her eye color turned ck. She looked like an ordinary species of bird, just a little bigger in size.

    Oh, yes, Sera has grown quite a lot again.

    Her body was now as big as my arm, and her wingspan was even bigger. Phoenixes do grow at an rming rate, huh?

    It''s fine, though. If someone asks, I can just say she''s my tamed beast. Having tamed beasts with you is not against the rules of the academy, after all.

    Ding¨C

    Right when I was about to enter the academy gates, deep in thought, a notification bell shook me out of my daze.

    It was a text message.

    I checked it and confirmed that it was from Kai. He alerted me that he and his team havee back to the academy.

    But I wonder, though, how did they travel?

    I mean, it''s not like so many people can use the Teleportation Gate of the Academy.

    Apart from it not being very secretive, it''s also not feasible, as the Cadet Council would soon notice so many people using the Gate and put a stop to it.

    Well, I will ask him about it when I see him next time.

    "Lucaas! Lucaaaas! Lucaaaaaas! Brooooo!"

    "Hmm?" Frowning, I spun around as I heard someone shouting my name at the top of their lungs.

    Only then did I see a young elven man with the lightest shade of blue hair and azure eyes.

    He usually had a rather handsome face, but right now it was contorted as he ran toward me with tears streaming down his cheeks and a running nose.

    Ahh, right.

    In the past few days, Kent tried to reach out to me, but Ipletely forgot to call him back.

    I may or may not have also ignored all his texts.

    Hey! In my defense, I was really busy! Besides, Leo gave me zero time to waste in the past few days!

    Thak¡ª!

    "Ouch!"

    I couldn''t help but let out a pained and startled scream as Kent''s body mmed into mine, trapping me in a tight hug.

    Ahh, well, I can''t run away from him now, can I?

    ?

    After consoling Kent and calming him down, we set off together toward the academy. Somewhere along the way, we were joined by an unexpected guest.

    "By the way, bro! I didn''t get to say this earlier, but your performance during the g Game was great!" Kent eximed with clear excitement in his voice.

    "Thanks," I replied, trying not to let a smug smile creep onto my face.

    At that moment, the third person walking with us spoke up.

    "And I didn''t get to say this earlier, but thanks, Lucas. Not only did you keep your promise, but you also led us to victory."

    It was Amelia.

    I turned towards her and nonchntly waved my hand in a dismissive manner.

    "I told you already, I was just returning the favor, so there''s no need to thank me for it," I said, offering a polite smile.

    I hadn''t had the chance to meet Amelia and Kent after the game ended on the first day.

    Our team had interviews scheduled, so Kent couldn''t join us during that time.

    As for Amelia, the Academy thought it best not to be seen together to avoid any further controversies, so her award ceremonies and interviews were held separately.

    After the game, I did catch a glimpse of Amelia in the medical room, but we had no opportunity to talk as Nero spoiled my mood first and I headed home.

    After that, Master dragged me to perform vigorous training with him, leaving me little time to even catch a breath let alone talk to people.

    Amelia shook her head, insisting, "No, I still need to thank you for other things."

    An enigmatic expression crossed my face as I inquired, "What other things?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Amelia hesitated for a moment before averting her gaze. "I don''t want to tell."

    Huh? What? I swear to God, I don''t understand her at all!

    I couldn''t help but be puzzled.

    Before I could probe further, Kent jumped in, changing the topic, "By the way, bro! We heard that you and Kai fought! What happened?!"

    Surprised by his question, I raised an eyebrow. "The news has already spread?"

    Amelia scoffed and tapped on her smart bracelet, saying, "The news? There''s a video going around the inte showing you stomping Kai''s head into the ground. Some people are even iming that you both fell down from a building, can you believe it?"

    As she said that, a holographic screen popped up in front of us, disying a video in which I was indeed seen stomping Kai''s head into the concrete.

    Damn, I know how to deliver a curb stomp.

    After the video ended, Kent quickly spoke up, "When I heard the news that the Cadet Council was punishing you, I rushed to the academy to meet you. But by that time, we were informed that you had already left with Leo sensei."

    "We?" I furrowed my brow, curious about Kent''s words.

    Amelia''s ears perked up, and her face momentarily paled as Kent continued, "Yeah, after arriving at the Academy, I found Amelia was also there."

    I turned my gaze to Amelia, and she simply shrugged in response.

    "I was nearby, so I decided to check up on you. You know, I still needed to thank you and all," she exined.

    Then, she gave me a curious nce and asked, "So why did you two fight?"

    I hesitated for a moment before replying, "It was an ego fight."

    "An ego fight?" Kent raised an eyebrow.

    "Yeah, you know, when two guys can''t stand each other, they just duke it out," I rified.

    "I know what an ego fight is," Kent interjected, "And you had a fair reason to get into a fight with him after how he targeted you that day."

    "Targeted him?" Amelia looked at Kent with a questioning expression.

    Kent proceeded to tell her about the incident when Kai confronted me, causing a frown to form on Amelia''s face.

    "I see," she said, "But still, didn''t you guys go a little too extreme on each other?"

    "It''s fine, it''s fine," I waved my hand dismissively. "We''re perfectly fine now."

    "I also heard his group got involved too," Kent added.

    "Yeah, but they didn''t fight," I rified.

    Well, to be precise, they couldn''t put up a fight.

    Kai was the only person there who could have defeated me, and he even came close to doing so despite all the stat boosts I had.

    If not for the fact that he had fought Quinn just moments before my arrival¡ª

    No, actually, now that I think about it, I could''ve defeated him even in his top condition since it wouldn''t have made much of a difference.

    "And what was the punishment you got?" Amelia inquired, raising her eyebrows.

    After a moment of contemtion, I replied, "Uh, nothing drastic. The Vice President just made us pay for the damages, and the President asked us to participate in a training drill for martial discipline. My own martial discipline willst for two days after the King''s Tournament."

    "Right, and I suppose paying such a lowly amount wouldn''t have even made a dent in your Highness'' wallet, right?" Ameliamented yfully with a smirk.

    "Haa! Now you understand my greatness! Good, good!" I retorted with the same energy.

    With that banter, the three of us continued walking while chatting about various things.

    Amelia mentioned that my poprity had suddenly skyrocketed, as had Kai''s.

    Both of us were the individuals that no one expected to deliver such a remarkable performance in the game.

    It was shocking for almost everyone at the Academy, and our duel became the most interesting part of the g Game.

    In fact, the g Game ended up being the second most captivating match-up in this year''s King''s Tournament¡ªa surprising achievement considering it''s usually very easy to surpass the hype generated by the main event on the first day.

    But in our case, none of the matches, except one, came close to the level of entertainment we provided.

    Moreover, after the snippet of our little fight went viral, our poprity only kept increasing.

    Even people from outside the Academy were hyped to see us sh again in the main event of the King''s Tournament.

    Heh, poor souls.

    Anyway, Kent also asked me about the bird perched on top of my shoulder. I simply told him she was my parrot that he had seen earlier.

    Kent insisted that the parrot he saw was red, but Amelia and I yfully gaslighted him until the poor soul had no choice but to believe us.

    As we indulged in such topics, we finally reached the Academy.

    The cadets who were in the top 200 academic rankings were asked to head toward the western or eastern pavilion.

    Those who had tickets to watch the match ¨C yes, this match wasn''t free to watch even for the academy cadets ¨C were directed to their seats in the stadium.

    Waving his tickets, Kent parted ways, saying, "I guess it''s my cue. I''ll cheer for you both, so you better win!"

    Waving him back, Amelia and I headed for the western pavilion.

 Chapter 241 Fading

    ?

    "Sooo, is she your Phoenix? She has grown quite a lot from thest time I saw her."

    "Crieek~"

    As we walked, Amelia gently patted Sera and ruffled her soft, silky feathers under her neck.

    "Wait, how do you know she''s a she?!" I couldn''t help but exim in surprise.

    It took me weeks to understand that Sera was a girl. How did she know it in one meeting?!

    Amelia gave me a worried look, concern clearly visible in her eyes. As my frown deepened, she waited for a few seconds before hesitantly speaking:

    "Lucas, is your memory getting worse, or is it mere exhaustion?"

    ".....?" I raised an eyebrow, a confused look forming on my face. "What do you mean?"

    "...Lucas, you were the one who told me about her gender, remember?" Amelia said, her tone tinged with concern.

    "I¡­ I did?"

    I don''t remember¡­

    Conversations aren''t something I forget easily. After all, it''s very essential to keep track of what I say and what others say to me.

    Not only does it give me insight into their character, but it also helps me gauge how much I can reveal about myself in front of someone.

    No matter how minor the detail, I remember absolutely everything I reveal to others and what they reveal to me.

    So then¡­ How did I forget about this?

    "Are you sure you aren''t gaslighting me like Kent?" I narrowed my eyes at her, but Amelia wasn''t in the mood to amuse my humor.

    "Lucas, you know you will have to get to the bottom of this, right?" she said, giving me a concerned look.

    I guess she won''t drop this topic, huh?

    The thing is, talking about my memory ¨C or Lucas'' memories, actually ¨C is a little unnerving to me for some reason. That had especially been the case after reading those journals.

    And now, after going through all those prophecies and whatnot, I''m not sure what to make of Lucas.

    There was definitely more to him than meets the eye. Everything is a mess. I think I''ve said this before, but I''ll say it again¨C I hate mysteries.

    Letting out a soft sigh, I nced at Amelia and said, "I guess you are right. I have been having trouble remembering things recently."

    I keep forgetting mundane tasks like whether I had eaten breakfast, taken a bath, answered texts, and other such things.

    Rememberingplex things like what I said to people, the face of the person who bumped into me earlier, or even a simple math equation has be a challenge.

    I can still recall events from Lucas'' memories, but it feels like the cracks that were there before are getting bigger and bigger by the day.

    Even memories from my previous life are fading. My parents'' faces have blurred in my head, and I can''t even recall how many siblings I had.

    I didn''t want to admit it until now, foolishly believing that if I didn''t say it out loud, it wouldn''t be real.

    But it is already the reality.

    I began to confess with shaky breaths, "I¨CIt''s worsening. I keep forgetting things. I fear soon I''ll forget everything and just be a shadow¨C"

    Before I could continue, Amelia interjected, "It won''t happen. Return to Wolfshire as soon as your semester break starts and investigate there. I''m sure you''ll find some clues."

    "That''s the n," I shrugged and replied with a somber expression.

    In the next second, Amelia spoke up again, "Besides, I would be damned if something happens to you before you give me an apology gift."

    "...Sorry, what?"

    "Hmm?"

    "You want an apology gift?"

    "Yes, at least a Legendary or Divine rank relic would suffice."

    After nkly staring at her for a couple of seconds as she put forward her shameless demand, I burst out.

    "You do know there''s a chance that I was mind-controlled, right?!" I retorted. "So why would I give an apology gift when I was also the victim?"

    "Haaah!"

    Amelia dramatically gasped, as if I had asked her for her kidneys, and widened her eyes.

    She then proceeded to wipe non-existent tears off her face and said:<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Wow, you not only hurt me, but you refuse topensate for hurting my feelings? Do they teach these ethics in the Morningstar household?"

    "..."

    Faking snobs and sniffs, she put on a show that would put even the greatest actors to shame.

    Before I could speak up, however, bright lights suddenly shed on us. Squinting my eyes, I looked around and saw crowds of media reporters swarming towards us.

    Ahh, fuck.

    Today''s match was a significant event, attracting not only cadets of our academy but also many people who were permitted to attend this event from outside the City.

    Among the attendees were top media associates, including influencers and reporters from all over the world.

    They were grantedplete ess to roam freely within the Academy grounds, given the magnitude of today''s event.

    As we continued chatting and walking, we failed to notice that some reporters had started following us.

    To make matters worse, Amelia was crying, albeit only in acting.

    And on top of that, the cadets were explicitly asked to avoid any controversies.

    It wouldn''t take a genius to figure out that we had messed up, right?

    Given our history, we shouldn''t even be seen a meter close to each other!

    As I gave a sidelong nce to the girl walking beside me, she returned the look and muttered, "...Well, damn."

    ?

    After choosing to remain silent in the face of a flood of questions thrown at us and not escte any controversies that we might have given birth to any further, we decided to quickly part ways with each other.

    Yet, I couldn''t shake the feeling that I would soon be receiving an earful from a certain someone again.

    Haaaa.

    Anyway, right now I was casually strolling through the Academy, taking in the festive decorations in the stadium as if it were a grand festival day.

    The stadium was adorned with vibrant banners and colorful streamers.

    gs of all four Ruling Houses fluttered in the breeze, and the air was filled with the buzz of chatter andughter.

    I could even see the Morningstar family g. It had a sigil of a wolf howling with the backdrop of the rising sun at dawn.

    The podium at the far end was decked with dazzling lights, making it a focal point of attention.

    Meanwhile, tall spotlights stood around the circr, concrete ground at the center of the stadium, where our matches would take ce.

    Reporters were already present, busy capturing the moment, as influencers took selfies or made videos, and the audience in the stands grew increasingly impatient.

    They wanted to start the match as soon as possible.

    As I casually walked through the crowd of cadets rushing to the pavilion building where I myself was headed, a strange feeling settled in my heart.

    It reminded me of the same sensation I experienced in Silveserine.

    These people¡­ will die.

    It felt like I was in a graveyard, surrounded by the graves of the people walking beside me.

    So many lives will be lost today and so much blood will be spilled, despite my efforts to prevent it.

    Dammit, Lucas, focus!

    pping my cheeks, I shook my head and dismissed such dark thoughts. I had already done what I could.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted someone I instantly recognized without even turning my head.

    It was Nero Dekrauf.

    Yes, whatever will happen today, he is to me for all of it.

    Today is the day he''ll realize he''s not as unstoppable as he thinks he is. I''ll make sure of that.

 Chapter 242 Would You Like To Make A Bet?

    ?

    Wearing a sleeveless top, full-length trousers, and a pair ofbat boots that made up my ck and redbat attire, I stepped out of my pavilion room and headed toward the VIP stand.

    Master had called me there. Yes, he was still in the Academy. He said he would leave in the afternoon.

    Right now, it was barely 10:00 AM, so there was still time to watch at least some of the matches before he would have to head out.

    Honestly, I tried everything I could to make him stay.

    The added protection that Leo Kurogami''s presence in the academy could''ve provided against the vampires attacking today would''ve put me at ease.

    However, I wasn''t able to sway him. Turns out, the matters he had to attend to were more than a little necessary.

    Haa, it''s fine.

    I know with my current battle prowess I would be able to survive the harrowing horde of lower-ss vampires.

    Although it wouldn''t be easy, it won''t be impossible.

    As for the high or noble-ss Vampires, well, I would just have to avoid them and let Nero and Anastasia deal with those monstrosities.

    Don''t get me wrong, it''s not like I was hiding behind them¡­ actually, yeah, I was.

    But can one me me?! Look, they are the protagonists of this world! They have what we normal people call Plot Armor!

    They will survive!

    I, on the other hand, am just a minor viin, albeit a little mysterious one, but still a viin! I don''t want to know if I have Plot Armor or not.

    Consumed by such thoughts, I soon arrived at the VIP stand, perched high above the stadium, essible by a private entrance.

    The luxurious seating, cushioned forfort, beckoned the esteemed guests to rx and indulge in the spectacle below.

    From up here, the view was simply breathtaking.

    If one stands at the edge, they could easily see the entire stadium sprawled out before them.

    The whole stadium was filled with cheering crowds, fluttering banners, and the gray expanse of the concrete field.

    The roar of the crowd below reverberated through the stand, creating an electric atmosphere that sent chills down my spine.

    Damn!

    The VIP stand''s elevated position provided an unparalleled perspective, allowing the people to witness every moment of the games with utmost rity.

    Yet, since the stand was spacious, the seating arrangement at the back did not allow the people here to spectate the matches very clearly.

    For them, there were huge holographic screens present on the side walls, each as big as a theater screen, that telecasted the happenings of the field below us.

    "Lucas, here!"

    As soon as I entered the stand, a familiar voice called out my name. I nced around at the diverse assembly of people seated here.

    Instructors, teachers, a few third-year cadets, numerous guests from influential families outside the academy, and, of course, the entire Cadet Council were present.

    No one minded my intrusion as they were engrossed in their own conversations and activities.

    However, a few pairs of eyes did notice me, and even fewer lingered to follow my movements.

    My sister was among those who noticed my arrival. Handling her had be a familiar routine¡ªI simply ignored her.

    Which, in turn, seemed to sharpen the intensity of her gaze even more like usual, piercing holes in my back.

    Apart from her, I spotted E Bright in herbat attire, looking more fitted than mine. She sat beside her father who was a member of the Council of Global City.

    Yes, there was a Council made up of the descendants of the city''s founders, and the Brights were one of those influential families.

    They held authority above the Cadet Council, and whatever decisions they made, the Cadet Council had to follow.

    Though, to be honest, they seldom interfered and mostly just observed.

    Yet, it was important to remember that this city belonged to them, and someone like E could easily be considered one of the princesses of Global City.

    When our eyes met, E gave me a subtle nod of greeting, and I returned it before making my way over to where Leo was seated.

    The red-haired swordsman wasn''t dressed in his signature Keikogi at the moment.

    Instead, he was wearing a three-piece red and ck suit, and needless to say, he looked as handsome as ever.

    Sitting beside him was someone I instantly recognized.

    It was an alluring woman donning a breathtaking ck one-piece party gown that entuated her lithe figure.

    With her legs crossed and an indifferent expression, her raven ck hair with violet ends, and those reddish-violet eyes thatplemented her wless ivory skin, she looked as irresistible as she looked otherworldly.

    It was Liz Snyder.

    But she wasn''t alone. On her right was a young man with ck hair and matching deep abyssal-like eyes that contrasted his fairplexion. It was, of course, her disciple.

    Nero gave me a side nce and I returned the look, but not a word was spoken between us.

    We had nothing to say. He has already apologized to me for losing his cool and I had rejected his apology.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    That only escted the rift between us to the point where tension was palpable in the air now that we hade face to face.

    Despite our thoughts about each other, we both knew that once we engaged inbat, we wouldn''t hold back.

    Or rather¡­ we wouldn''t be able to hold back.

    Nero, despite his stability issues, held firm to his noble morals. He wouldn''t fight to kill in a match like this. But he knew that I would. And he was right; I would.

    It''s not that I truly wish to kill him, though. It''s just that I will have to go all out if I want to defeat this monster of a man.

    I know it''s a stupid decision. I know I''m being an idiot here. I should prioritize dealing with the Vampire Attack over my silly dislike for Nero.

    But this is important. I will have to pull him down right now, or else his thirst to thrive will be the end of him.

    I remember in the novel, there was one monologue of his. After a defeat against Liz in one of their sparring matches, Nero thought to himself:

    If I lose, then all the pain that I''ve been through would mean nothing! I will win! I will have to win!

    At the moment of reading it, I simply brushed off that dialogue as one of Nero''s cringy lines.

    But upon reflecting on it a little, I now see that it reveals the depth of Nero''s character.

    Nero lost his mother when he was a kid. He had to run because he couldn''t go against his father. He had to rely on Liz to provide him with shelter and support.

    Having endured such traumas and tragedies, along with the intense training that pushed him to the brink of death every time, Nero felt that the world was continually taking from him.

    So now, after he has grown stronger, it was his turn to take back.

    He decided to turn the tables and take what he believed he deserved. If the world won''t acknowledge his pain and reward him, then he would simply seize those rewards for himself.

    That''s the reason he adamantly refuses to lose. He holds a deep disdain for this world, and he''s determined not to let it triumph over him.

    However, Nero needs to understand that he''s no longer solely responsible for himself.

    The more he grows stronger, the more his actions will inevitably affect those around him.

    I know it''s not fair, but that''s the destiny he was born with!

    He must learn to consider more than just his own pain when taking action.

    That''s why, I will have to make him realize that winning at all costs is not always the right choice.

    To achieve victory sometimes, he might have to ept defeat. And to truly grow stronger, he may have to experience loss.

    He''s the protagonist of this story, and his actions will have consequences, far bigger than what he could imagine.

    "Haa," I sighed softly, taking my eyes off Nero, and settled on Leo''s left.

    As I made myselffortable, Liz''s voice reached my ears as she started talking about me.

    "So it is true?" She said, her gaze fixed on the growing crowd below. "The God of the Battlefield has taken someone under his wing after refusing to ept geniuses from the most influential families as his disciple."

    Leo shrugged, his expression even more stoic than Liz''s. "What can I say? I have a soft spot for the underdogs."

    "Underdogs, you say?" Liz gave him a sidelong nce. "Do you say this while being aware of his past?"

    Leo responded in a t tone, "You can''t imagine the kind of mental scars inflicted on a child''s mind when their family shuns them for something entirely out of their control."

    "Is that your attempt to justify his behavior?" Liz scoffed.

    "No, it''s my attempt to make you understand that people can change. Especially children who have made mistakes while lost in the fog of their scarred youth," Leo concluded.

    Liz returned her gaze to the stadium below and remained silent for a few seconds.

    Though I wanted to interject and let them know I was right here and could listen to them talking about me, my instincts told me to keep quiet if I valued my life. And I definitely value my life.

    "Well, I suppose that''s eptable," she said with a sigh after a few moments. "But it still doesn''t change the fact that you''ve made a wrong choice in choosing your disciple. You could have taken any number of genius noble heirs, yet you chose¡­ him. Is it because he''s a Morningstar?"

    Seriously, I''m right here, woman!

    "Please," Leo chuckled. "Keep your judgments to yourself until you see him best your protege inbat."

    Liz seemed taken aback for a moment, then turned to me with raised eyebrows.

    Nero also wore a simr expression. He remained quiet, but he knew Leo''s legendary status.

    He understood that Leo should be aware of the improbability of me winning against Nero.

    So why did Leo make such a statement? Was he biased against his own disciple?

    "You''ve finally lost your mind," she said, looking back at Leo. "I know you''re aware that, except for maybe a few handfuls of third-years, no one in the Academy can fight against Nero and win."

    "Nah, you''re overestimating your protege," Leo waved his hand, seemingly provoking Liz.

    Despite her apparent irritation, the Witch of Soul Harvestposed herself and looked back at the stadium.

    In the ensuing silence, she proposed, "Fine, would you like to make a bet?"

 Chapter 243 Thank You

    ?

    So in the end, Leo Kurogami and Liz Snyder did indeed make a bet.

    Liz dered that if Lucas could manage to make Nero even bleed a single drop of blood, she would reward him with a legendary relic.

    Leo, on the other hand, wagered that if Nero could defeat Lucas, he would give the ck-haired swordsman a legendary relic too.

    However, the bet wasn''t made on equal terms because Liz imed that it would be one-sided and unfair to Lucas. She firmly believed that the poor boy had no chance against Nero.

    After making the bet, Leo and Lucas left the VIP stand and walked off, seemingly to discuss something privately.

    Soon, the match bracket was released, capturing everyone''s attention.

    Given therge number of cadets participating in the tournament¡ª exactly two hundred¡ª conducting one-on-one duels would not only be very impractical but also time-consuming.

    So instead of doing that, the Academy decided to stick to the tradition of the King''s Tournament and set up the first round as the Last Man Standing Battle Royale.

    For this round, twelve groups were formed, with eight groups consisting of seventeen cadets each and thest four groups having sixteen cadets, totaling two hundred participants.

    Moving on to the second round, there would be four Triple Threat matches among the twelve winners of the Battle Royale.

    Finally, the victors of the Triple Threat matches would advance to the third bracket, which would involve two Duels.

    The winners of these two Duels would then face off against each other in one final match.

    The participants received the match brackets on their smart bracelets, and the same information was disyed on the Arena''s biggest screen.

    As Lucas saw his name in the first bracket, he took a moment to search for another particr name he had in mind.

    "As I thought," he muttered to himself, finally finding the name he was searching for.

    From the beginning of their silent dispute, Lucas had a lingering feeling that this was inevitable.

    He somehow knew that he would meet Nero in the finals and not before.

    It almost felt as if... someone was trying to make their fight more interesting by prolonging it to the end.

    Was this what they call fate?

    "Haa," Lucas sighed as he made his way down to the arena.

    Leo greeted him off with a wave, and Lucas returned the gesture with a polite smile on his face.

    Leo had full confidence that his disciple woulde out victorious in the first bracket.

    Knowing Lucas''s capabilities, Leo was aware that there were only a handful of individuals who could defeat him in his current state.

    Lucas seemed unusually determined this time, a far cry from his usualzy demeanor.

    It was the first time Leo had seen him so driven, and he wasn''tining.

    Witnessing Lucas''s motivation was a rare and pleasing sight for Leo. He wished that it would happen often from now on.

    Meanwhile, in the VIP stand, Nero turned to Liz. His first-round match was going to be thest in the first bracket, giving him a bit more time to rx than others.

    "Master," Nero began, curious about Leo''s unwavering confidence in Lucas. "Why do you think Sensei Leo was so certain about Lucas'' chances of defeating me?"

    Liz pondered the question for a moment. She had been wondering the same thing herself all this time now.

    Leo rarely spoke so highly of someone, and she was taken aback by his praise for Lucas.

    While she knew Lucas was a Morningstar and had been hailed as a prodigy in his childhood, she wondered if he could still live up to that reputation.

    Considering Lucas''s impressive performance in the Mock War and his crucial role in stopping the Massacre of Silveserine, Liz knew that he wasn''t an ordinary cadet by any means.

    However, she couldn''t help but question¡­

    Was Lucas truly exceptional enough for Leo to im that he could defeat Nero?

    Perhaps Leo''s judgment was biased due to his history with the family of wolves. After all, disowned or not, Lucas was definitely a Morningstar.

    After much thought, Liz simply shrugged in response to Nero''s inquiry. "We will see."

    Nero hesitated for a moment before a resolute look furiously zed in his eyes.

    He didn''t care.

    Regardless of who stood in his way, he was determined not to experience defeat again ¨C not ever.

    Observing that determined look in her disciple''s eyes, Liz couldn''t help but let out a concerned sigh.

    She knew what was going through Nero''s mind.

    She wanted to remind Nero that winning isn''t everything and that he should focus on the aspect of learning and growth rather than solely on victory.

    However, she had already tried that, and it didn''t affect him at all.

    It seemed that nothing could shift Nero''s mindset.

    Thus, Liz could only sigh once again, her worry evident, as she nced down at the crowd of cadets gathering in the concrete field below.

    ?

    After parting ways with Master, I made my way down to the Arena.

    Since he would leave immediately after my match, I knew I wouldn''t see him again today. Well, there was nothing I could do about that now.

    Haaa.

    Still feeling a little down, I walked with heavy steps toward the entrance that led to the open concrete field.

    As I stepped from the shadows of the entrance into the bright light of the Arena, I had to squint my eyes a little due to the direct sunlight shing on my face.

    Suddenly, the crowd in the audience stood up on their feet to wee me.

    As a cacophony of cheers and whistles broke out¡ª with some even chanting my name, though their voices were drowned out by the rest of the crowd¡ª a frown initially froze on my face.

    But that frown quickly transformed into a wide smile as I realized, "They love me!"

    I was famous!

    Well, Kent and Amelia had already told me that, but the reaction from the crowd still oddly satisfied my somewhat narcissistic self.

    In any case, I waved at the cheering audience as I walked up to the center of the field, taking my rightful ce in the spotlight.

    One by one, sixteen more cadets walked out to the field. The crowd weed them all with cheers, though not as loudly as when I arrived. Heh.

    Of course, some entrances got a louder reaction than others. I deduced that the first-years who participated in the side games had made themselves familiar faces to the crowd.

    That''s why some entrances, like mine, garnered a more enthusiastic response, while others did not.

    But I didn''t dwell on that fact for long, as soon my eyes caught sight of a familiar young man with dark raven hair and matching ck eyes.

    It was Quinn.

    As our eyes locked, I maneuvered through the gathering cadets in the middle of the arena and approached him.

    Waving my hand, I greeted him, "Yo! Long time no see! Well, I did see you a few days ago, but you were unconscious."

    Quinn''s expression remained unreadable as he looked at me. He stayed silent for a while before finally speaking up.

    "You¡­ did it," he said.

    I instantly knew what he was referring to. "Of course, I promised you, didn''t I? And I never go back on my word."

    "How did you do it? Are you sure he won''t retaliate in the future? And would he reveal... you know... about me?" Quinn asked, a hint of repressed emotions present in his eyes.

    "Don''t worry about it. He won''t go against me. I struck a deal with him," I reassured him. "And yes, he won''t reveal your secret. As I said, I''ve fulfilled my promise."

    Quinn stared at me for a moment. I was sure he wanted to ask how I achieved that.

    But after a bit of thought, he decided that this wasn''t the ce to talk and simply gave me a slight nod before saying, "Thank you."

 Chapter 244 Start

    ?

    After a few minutes, seventeen Cadets had gathered in the King''s Arena.

    The crowd had fallen silent, eagerly awaiting the announcer to dere the start of the match.

    The announcer proimed, his voice booming through every speaker present in the Arena:

    [The rules of the following match are as follows!

    First, do not inflict mortal wounds upon your opponent.

    Second, stay within the bounds of the Arena.

    Third, relics are strictly prohibited, except if your main weapon is a relic, and in that case, you may only use that specific relic.

    Any other relic usage will lead to disqualification.

    Fourth, each cadet''sbat attire has a badge on their left side chest, and you can disqualify your opponent by breaking it.

    Thest cadet standing will be the winner of this Battle Royale and advance to the next round.

    And with this, at the sound of the match bell, let''s begin the main event of the King''s Tournament after two years!]

    The moment the announcement was made, the silent crowd erupted into cheers and whistles once again.

    Yes, it had been two years since thest main event took ce.

    Now, one might wonder why such a gap exists.

    Well, it''s because the King''s Tournament allows both first and second-year cadets to participate, and if a first-year cadet bes the crown President of the Academy after winning, the main event won''t be held the following year. It would only be held after they enter their third academic year.

    However, if a second-year cadet emerges victorious, the main event to decide the King will be held the following year since the crowned President would''ve moved on to their third academic year by then.

    So, even though the King''s Tournament itself is held annually, whether or not the main event to decide the next King is held every year depends on which year cadet won the Tournament the previous year.

    For instance, let''s say, Nero, a first-year cadet, wins the main event this year, then there won''t be a main event in the next year''s King''s Tournament.

    But if a second-year cadet wins this year, the main event will take ce next year.

    The current Cadet Council President won the tournament when he was in his first year, which led to the main event being skippedst year.

    Because of that, everyone was hyped and excited beyond words to see the main event this year.

    I looked around and saw a number of first-year cadets. They all were also sweeping their gazes around nervously.

    The reason for their nervousness was the second-year cadets present among us here.

    Among seventeen first-year cadets, there were around ten second-years. So yeah, we were outnumbered.

    Almost instantly, all the first-years present in the Arena instinctively had the same thought shed through their heads.

    It was as if everyone here shared a single consciousness.

    Eliminate the second-year cadets first.

    After all, they had more experience than most of the first-year cadets here. They were the priority target.

    After eliminating them, we first-years could fight among ourselves and decide the winner.

    However, not everyone followed the same train of thought. I turn to Quinn, who was still standing on my right, and said:

    "Quinn, destroy everyone."

    Quinn looked back at me and nodded.

    The cadets who stood in our immediate surroundings whipped their heads to look at us but before those poor souls could even understand what was going on¡­

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!!

    The match bell rang.

    "Mana Burst!"

    Without wasting a single breath, I yelled out loud as if defying the heavens itself and activated my Gift.

    Quinn hopped a few meters back and summoned his daggers from the pocket space of his smart bracelet.

    In the blink of an eye, mana rushed out from my mana core into the atmosphere and disturbed the equilibrium, sending off a brilliant azure explosion with my figure at its epicenter.

    Booom¡ª!!

    Some cadets who were standing dangerously close to me were caught in the explosion.

    The intensity of the explosion flung them back as they didn''t have the time to cover their bodies with mana.

    The small, circr ck badge on their chest broke and they were instantly disqualified before they even fell to the ground.

    However, not all of them were so slow.

    A few cadets were able to react on the spot and shroud their bodies in a thickyer of mana to protect themselves from my attack.

    And since I weakened my Mana Burst a lot to not kill the unprepared cadets, none of those who were able to react quickly were flung back.

    Instead, they summoned their weapons and rushed at me with zing anger in their eyes.

    Smirking, I also summoned my spear and prepared to fight.

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    With each sh of our weapons, sparks flew and the mor of metal hitting metal filled the Arena, which was drowned in the loud cheering sound of the crowd.

    Around three to four cadets were swinging their weapons at me. I either parried or deflected their attacks, each swing of my spear quickly followed by another.

    Every step, every strike of mine was precise and calcted. I was in the flow.

    There was no crowd around me. There were no sounds. I had no thoughts filling my mind. The world around me vanished.

    Nothing existed around me in these moments¨C nothing but technique.

    Clenching my jaw, I stomped my foot on the ground to gain footing and tumbled my vision at the iing cadet before me.

    He had a Jian gripped in his hand that he had raised. The curved de of his saber sped down on me as he brought down his hands to perform a downward vertical sh.

    Observing his stance to find any potential weaknesses, I stepped forward and quickly unleashed an upward vertical sh with my spear.

    Thak¡ª!!

    The de of my spear hit the pommel of his Jian and his hands were pushed back upward from the force of my swing.

    The cadet stammered back, his expression grim as he knew that my attack had left his whole body open and vulnerable to any follow-up attacks.

    His worst fears came true as I quickly pulled my spear down, aligned it to my chest, and thrust it forward.

    Crack¡ª!!

    Before the poor guy had any time to react and get away from the long reach of my spear, its crimson de had already stabbed the badge on his chest and broken it.

    He was disqualified.

    However, using this chance, the other three cadets rushed at me to capitalize on the momentary opening that had been created in my defense when I defeated the cadet in front of me.

    However, before they could pose any threat to me, I yelled, "Quinn!"

    Almost instantly, a figure stepped out from my shadow like a demon ascending from hell and dashed at the iing cadets.

    The n that the first-year cadets had devised to attack the second-year cadets first was now in shambles.

    Everyone was fighting everyone. It was a mayhem and I was enjoying every moment of it.

 Chapter 245 Perfect Necromancer

    ?

    One after another, in the blink of an eye, a ck blur swept past the three cadets with a speed that could only be considered inhumane.

    The small circr badges on their chests instantly broke and shattered into several shards, unable to withstand the swift shes from Quinn''s dagger.

    In no time, they were all eliminated.

    "Has he grown stronger?"

    Yes, he had indeed grown much stronger. Much stronger than he should''ve been at this point in the story.

    So, my actions have affected the timeline once again, huh?

    Will I get the Edit Points for that too? Uh, I guess not.

    One thing I''ve noticed is that I only get Edit Points for a few immediate ripples that my actions cause in the plot.

    For the sake of simplicity, let''s say this: If I create a domino effect, then I would only be able to reap Edit Points for flipping the first few domino pieces.

    That means that by the time thest domino falls, I would get hardly anything if absolutely nothing at all.

    ¨C"Haaaa!"

    Ahh, I didn''t have time to think about such things. Edit Points or not, my priority right now is to win this damn Battle Royale.

    Suddenly, a battle scream erupted behind me, causing me to swiftly spin around. I saw a spearman rushing at me with the tip of his weapon pointed in my direction.

    Seeing him, I raised my hand and pointed an open palm at him. "Don''t alert your opponent before attacking by screaming out loud, fool."

    Shaking my head, I muttered a chant under my breath, and suddenly a fireball appeared in front of my open palm beforeunching at the iing spearman.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    Like a cannonball, the zing sphere of red mes shot at my opponent, but the spearman nimbly ducked down and rolled forward.

    My fireball harmlessly passed over his head and continued on its trajectory.

    For a second, I worried that the stray artillery spell might hit someone from the audience.

    However, before that could happen, the fireball hit an invisible barrier at the end of the concrete field and dissipated into thousands of sparkling embers.

    Right, I almost forgot about it.

    The entire concrete field was enveloped in a magic nullifying barrier. Any spell that came in contact with it would be nullified on the spot.

    Of course, breaking the barrier would require several high-level spells to hit a singr point, but that wasn''t going to happen amidst the mayhem since no one was aiming at a specific spot on the barrier.

    ¨C"Die, you fucker!" The cadet yelled a curse, getting up on his feet from the roll and using the momentum to pounce at me while simultaneously throwing his spear at my chest.

    A smirk yed on my lips.

    Immediately, I moved the fingers of my free hand at a blurring speed and made a few quick hand signs.

    As soon as I was done, I thrust my hand forward, palm facing the cadet. This time, a static charge surrounded my arm, and suddenly a bolt of lightning shot forward.

    The cadet widened his eyes, but once again, he managed to react in time. He raised his spear to his chest and blocked my thunderbolt spell.

    However, even though he avoided the direct hit of my spell, it barely missed him by a hair''s breadth. The force of the thunderbolt strike sent him flying back through the air like a rag doll.

    Not long after, the spearman violently crashed on the ground and rolled to kill the momentum of his fall.

    Gritting his teeth, he groaned in pain and got up to his knees. But that was all he could do before he saw a crimson glint shing in an arc in the air in front of him.

    The de of my crimson spear shed the badge on his chest, barely sparing him any deep wound or gash.

    -"...Huh?"

    The poor guy could only widen his eyes and let out a confused moan. What he did couldn''t even be called putting up a fight.

    He, one of the top two hundred cadets in the academy, lost in just a few seconds.

    However, he shouldn''t me himself. He wasn''t the only one to fall, after all.

    All around me, several cadets were already on their knees, their faces showing expressions of disbelief and terror.

    Quinn had already taken care of them.

    At least this cadet in front of me was able to see my face and had a chance to struggle before finally sumbing to the de of my spear.

    Those who dared to stand against Quinn, however, didn''t even see him attacking them. From their own shadows, he emerged and destroyed their badges.

    Yet, the round wasn''t over. There were still a few¡­ no, more than a few second-year cadets left standing.

    Just like a few moments before when the first-years decided to mark them as targets, these second-years had decided to make Quinn and me their priority.

    They knew that keeping us on the battlefield any longer than this would spell trouble for them.

    Pitiful fools. They had no idea that it was already over for them. Even if every single person on the battlefield had attacked us in unison, they wouldn''t have been able to defeat Quinn and me.

    With a mocking grin on my face, I turned to Quinn, who had nowe to stand on my right.

    "Deal with them," I said.

    As if waiting for that cue, the remaining cadets rushed at us. Some of them stayed behind and readied their bows or artillery spells to fire at us from a distance.

    ¨C"Rush at them! There are only two of them and seven of us!"

    ¨C"Fire your arrows and spells at will!"

    ¨C"Come on, guys! Surround them! The albino is fast, and the edgy one can use shadow magic, so be careful!"

    As they rushed at us, they barked orders to each other andmunicated on how to tackle us.

    Their n was really simple but very effective.

    They were going to shoot spells and arrows at us. While we were busy defending against the barrage of attacks, they would rush at us and exploit our openings.

    Since neither Quinn nor I had water, ice, earth, or metal affinity to use a barrier spell, their n was almost sure to seed.

    But before the mana-infused arrows or powerful artillery spells rained down on us, however, Quinn let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

    "Awaken, souls of the damned. Awaken and serve your master."

    Almost instantly, the shadow beneath Quinn''s feet began to grow in a perfect circle.

    In a split second, it spread and covered the entire circr concrete ground.

    It looked as if we were standing on top of a circle made of eternal darkness that no light could pierce.

    Within that darkness, several dark silhouettes of human and mana beast figures emerged, as if a legion of biblical demons ascending from hell.

    The sheer sight of it sent shivers down the spines of those present in the arena and those spectating the match.

    The atmosphere became suffocating, and an unsettling feeling settled over the crowd.

    Everyone was harrowed by the dark spectacle.

    They all must know about Quinn and his Necromancy spell, but this was their first time seeing the Perfect Necromancer use it.

    It was as if they were witnessing a forbidding omen, their instincts urging them to run away.

    Just a quick nce was enough to tell that the spell Quinn had unleashed was nothing short of ominous and sinister.

    And they were right.

 Chapter 246 A Way Out

    ?

    After a few minutes, the second-year cadets who attempted to fight usy sprawled on the ground, groaning and grunting in pain as medics rushed to their aid.

    Thankfully, none of them were injured¡­ at least, not very seriously.

    The remains of their broken badges were scattered on the ground indicating that all of them had been eliminated.

    Twenty minutes! Not even twenty minutes!It was surprising that they couldn''t endure Quinn''s shadows for even twenty full minutes!

    To add insult to injury, Quinn had held back during the fight, refraining from using Shiya ¨C not that he had any intention of doing so anyway.

    To be fair, Quinn had summoned around seventy of his Shadow ves, outnumbering his opponents by seven to one.

    But still, I had expected the second-years to put up a stronger resistance and disy more power.

    As it turned out, apart from having a higher level of mana core and a bit more battle experience, they had nothing on us.

    From the perspective of an ordinary first-year cadet, they were undeniably impressive.

    Unfortunately for them, they were not facing an ordinary cadet but Quinn, the Cmity Bringer.

    Even I barely survived against him when I first fought him. And I used not only one near-indestructible armor but also several traps. These poor souls had neither at their disposal.

    In the end, they were likembs to the ughter.

    Afterpleting his tasks, Quinn casually waved his hand to dismiss his spell.

    The shadow creatures surrounding us dissipated back into his shadow in the blink of an eye.

    "You''ve grown stronger," I remarked.

    By now, if my suspicions were correct, Quinn could not only use Shiya but also his other shadows to augment himself.

    Yup, if not true to his name before, he was actually a Cmity Bringer now.

    Quinn turned around to look at me. He lingered for a moment and then said, "And it still wasn''t enough. I''m surprised to see that you defeated him."

    I instantly knew who Quinn was referring to ¨C Kai Wiseman.

    At this point, Quinn should''ve been on par with, if not stronger than, Kai in terms of raw strength and battle prowess. Yet, he was still defeated.

    Naturally, it was astonishing for Quinn to discover that I had defeated Kai. But deep down I was certain that he knew that my victory over Kai was inevitable.

    Well, he wasn''t wrong. Besides having a mythical rank potential and a legendary rank spear, I even had a semi-divine rank armor.

    If Kai had managed to defeat me despite all the cheats I possessed, I would''ve killed myself out of sheer embarrassment!

    But instead of dwelling on such thoughts, I returned Quinn''s look with a serious gaze and questioned, "Do you remember your promise?"

    I had subdued Kai before the King''s Tournament. I held true to my end of the bargain. Now it was his turn.

    Quinn hesitated for a few moments before nodding, "I remember."

    His next words were barely above a whisper, inaudible to the several camera drones hovering around us.

    "If you truly have the intention of ending the war and banishing this hell we call the world, then I will help you. I will be your shadow."

    After getting the answer I''ve been wanting to hear, I nodded and said, "Then let me eliminate you. Save your strength because we will need you soon."

    Quinn frowned, then tilted his head. But when I brought the tip of my spear to his chest, he didn''t resist.

    With a swift yet precise strike, I broke the small, circr ck badge on his corbone and eliminated him.

    There were three reasons why the Vampires were able to kill so many of the cadets so easily.

    First, the cadets weren''t ready. How could they have been? No one believed until then that the Global Academy could be attacked and breached so easily.

    Second, not many Instructors were present in the Arena. After all, they had no interest in whoever won the Tournament and became the next King since it wouldn''t affect them in any way.

    So aside from those who had taken in disciples participating in the Tournament, not many Instructors were present on the spot.

    Third, Quinn and Nero, arguably two of the most powerful characters in the whole series, were in no shape to fight at their full extent when the Vampires attacked.

    Why? Well, because they fought each other.

    And even though Nero wasn''t pushed to his absolute limits in that outright brutal fight, he was still exhausted.

    Well, now I''ve at least changed one thing about this arc. I''ve prevented Quinn from moving on to the finals and fighting Nero by eliminating him in the very first round.

    As if waiting for that moment, the announcer quickly made a deration and shook awake the shocked crowd at the cue of the match bell that rang to mark the end of the match.

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!

    "[Lucas Morningstar! Lucas Morningstar has done it! He has won the first round of the King''s Tournament and has moved to the second bracket!]"

    The crowd, however, didn''t share the announcer''s enthusiasm. For theck of better words, they felt like they''d been teased and then blue-balled.

    Well, I couldn''t me them. By the end of the match, it appeared that after defeating all the other cadets, Quinn and I were going to face off.

    Knowing my recent reputation and his past, they were excited to say the least.

    Unfortunately for them, Quinn wasn''t the only one who needed to conserve his strength. If I wanted to stand a chance against Nero, I had to do the same.

    Besides, if there is any chance to avoid facing the absolute battlefield menace that Quinn is, I shall dly take it.

    Don''t get me wrong, I could defeat him if we shed, but I didn''t want to go down that road.

    "Good¡­ Thank you," I nodded to Quinn and headed out to exit the stadium grounds.

    As I walked past him, I spoke in a low whispering tone, "We will talk again soon."

    Quinn knew that our next conversation would revolve around my future ns for him or just my future ns in general.

    Also, during our next talk, I wanted to make it clear that he wasn''t bound to work with me in any way.

    Yes, I wasn''t going to force his cooperation now. I would let him know that I wouldn''t reveal his secret even if he decided to walk away and not work with me.

    Why? Because I understood how difficult it could be to keep an ally who was unwilling to obey you. You couldn''t force loyalty into someone.

    So yeah, I would give him a way out. I would give him a chance at freedom. But¡­ I was a hundred percent certain that he would not take it.

    I just knew it.

    With that, after winning the Battle Royale, I exited the Arena.

    Quinn hesitated for a few moments before leaving the grounds himself through the other side of the exit.

 Chapter 247 Another Monster

    ?

    "Crieek~!!"

    As soon as I entered my pavilion room, a lithe ck-haired girl was waiting for me. A ck bird perched atop her shoulder, chirping merrily upon noticing me.

    In the next moment, Sera jumped from Amelia''s shoulder to mine, softly grabbing it with her talons.

    Since Amelia already knew Sera''s true identity, I entrusted her to Amelia.

    Even though I''d been cautious and changed Sera''s appearance, one can never be too careful.

    "Yeah, yeah," I smiled, gently caressing the beautiful bird on my shoulder.

    Sera replied by rubbing her head back against my hand.

    "Thank you for taking care of her," I turned to Amelia and expressed my gratitude.

    Amelia simply waved her hand before asking, "What was that, though?"

    Even without asking, I knew what she was talking about. Everyone was thinking the same thing after witnessing my match, more or less.

    Why did Quinn let me defeat him so easily?

    Shrugging, a smile yed on my lips. "I''m full of tricks, what can I say?"

    Amelia lingered for a few moments before she shook her head and started walking away. It was her match next.

    "Good luck," I wished and walked away myself. I already knew who was going to win the Battle Royale in her bracket.

    It was going to be her. Although Anastasia was also present in her bracket, she was not going to use her full strength.

    After all, she had no interest in joining the council. In fact, aside from being able to support her siblings, she had no big goals in life.

    That and hiding her true power ¨C God''s Eyes from the government. This is one of the reasons why she''s always so reluctant to show her martial prowess.

    Well, it doesn''t matter to me. As long as I don''t have to face her in her domain ¨C closebat ¨C I''m all good.

    With that thought in mind, I went inside my waiting room where a tray full of different kinds of snacks and refreshments was waiting for me on the center table.

    ?

    Just as expected, Amelia won the Battle Royale and moved on to the next round to face off in a triple-threat match.

    I have no interest in her bracket since I knew she was going to lose because a guy named Alfa Zenith was going to be one of her two opponents.

    Alfa Zenith was a powerful second-year cadet. He was a minor character in the first few arcs of the novel and a major character in the Civil War arc.

    Unfortunately, due to his timely death in the War Of Union, he wasn''t able to participate in the Final War.

    Anyway, I was more interested in my own bracket.

    Since I''ve taken Quinn''s ce, who was originally supposed to move to the second round, I had a general idea regarding who was going to be my opponents next, but I still decided to watch their Battle Royale matches.

    Just as I expected, one of the cadets who won her match and moved on to the next bracket to be in my match was a girl named Trish Zenith.

    She was also a very, very powerful second-year cadet and a major character during thest few arcs of the novel.

    Next up to win his match and be my second opponent was, to my delight, none other than Chase Woods.

    A small giggle escaped my lips as I saw Chase delivering a final blow with his shield gauntlets to one of the cadets.

    I couldn''t help but hide my excitement as I murmured, "I''ll certainly enjoy my next match."

    ?

    It didn''t even take the full afternoon before the Battle Royale matches were over. The results were more or less what I had expected.

    In the first bracket for the second round, the participants were yours truly, Chase Woods, and Trish Zenith.

    In the second bracket, the participants who moved up to the second round were E Bright, Grace Goodwill, and Kai Wiseman.

    Initially, instead of Kai, Aster was destined to win the Battle Royale of her group. But I asked the scion of the Wiseman family to change that and win himself.

    The third bracket for the Triple Threat match consisted of Alberto Okoro, Amelia ck, and the guy named Alfa Zenith I was talking about earlier.

    Finally, for the fourth andst bracket, the cadets who would be participating in the second round were going to be William Sinoath, Elijah Steelforged, and Nero Dekrauf.

    Now, I know I shouldn''t be apuding the guy I was seething to face in a duel, but I had to admit, Nero was indeed a monster.

    He fought every cadet present in his group single-handedly. He alone eliminated them all! Instead of a Battle Royale, by the end of it, his match looked like a One vs All.

    And he still won that in under measly ten minutes! Yes, ten minutes was all it took for him to squander not only every single first-year cadet who dared to step in front of him but also all the second-years too!

    Those witnessing that spectacle of a one-sided massacre couldn''t help but shudder involuntarily.

    How¡­ How can a single person be so powerful?

    How indeed. While everyone else was surprised at the disy of his prowess, I was bewildered for an entirely different reason.

    While everyone else feared his beasteal strength, I couldn''t help but question his unquenchable thirst for victory once again.

    His drive to win outweighed his menacing, borderline overbearing strength.

    As I witnessed the crushing defeat that others suffered by the edge of his de, I helplessly raised a silent question in my head.

    Will I really be able to change his mindset?

    Well, it''s not a matter of whether I will be able to or not. I''ll just have to¡­ I''ll have to do it.

    With a determined nod, I finished the can of an energy drink that had been in my hand for quite some time now and sighed.

    I then got up and headed down to the Arena. Sera was already asleep so I gently ced her on the sofa and did not disturb her sweet slumber.

    ?

    "Huaaa~"

    Even though it was only the afternoon, I couldn''t help but sluggishly let out a yawn.

    I hadn''t been able to sleep wellst night or for the few nights before that.

    The Tournament''s excitement and nervousness were only partially to me; my messed-up sleep schedule was the real culprit.

    Haaa.

    Goddamnit, I have to correct it one of these days. Should I start cutting coffee after the evening?

    As I pondered such thoughts, a deep, almost irradiating voice reached my ears.

    "Didn''t get good sleepst night?"

    I turned to my right to look at the owner of the voice, though I already had an idea about their identity.

    And sure enough, it was Chase Woods.

    Upon seeing the tall young man, with long dark brown hair tied into a back bun, dressed in the samebat attire as me, an urge to roll my eyes welled up, but I suppressed it.

    "Don''t worry. Soon, I''ll knock you out, and you''ll get that sleep, fuckface," Chase said with a polite smile that contradicted the contents of his statement.

    I looked at him with a ludicrous expression and then decided against speaking to him.

    I wasn''t retreating. No, I was sparing him.

    The poor guy wouldn''t be able to cope after not only getting verbally obliterated but also physically beaten by me in a few moments.

    However, Chase seemed to mistake my benevolent restraint for cowardice and smirked with a triumphant look on his face.

    Oh, this pitiful fool.

    What''s even his problem with me? Is it because I opposed him during the Mock War and made Kent the leader of the spearhead squadron?

    Is he that petty?

    Or maybe it''s just as Elijah once told me. Maybe he hates me because I brandished my knife at him the same day during the Mock War.

    Well, whatever the case, we seemed to have started on the wrong foot. Still, I can''t fathom how a person can be this petty.

    Just as I was about to shake my head, the voice of the announcer shook me awake.

    Chase and I had been waiting for the third member of our match to arrive in the arena for a few good minutes now.

    The crowd, just like us, was growing impatient, waiting for the match to start.

    So when the announcer spoke, the whole stadium fell silent.

    "[She''s here! The daughter of the Zenith n and the princess of Mount Hua Sect has made her appearance! Trish Zenith has entered the King''s Arena!]"

    I quickly whipped my head toward one of the entrances and saw the figure of a young woman walk out of the darkness.

    The lithe girl had silver hair and matching eyes with a cold glint in them. Instead of the usual ck body-fitted battle suit with red lines, she donned a white and blue suit thatplemented her porcin skin perfectly.

    Her waist-long hair swayed along with the gentle breeze as she gracefully walked our way before finally reaching us.

    The crowd erupted into loud cheers and for a good reason.

    Let me say this, I''m not a simp. I repeat I''m not a simp! But aside from being alluringly arresting, this girl in front of us was a member of the Disciplinary Committee¡ª one of the Top 16.

    Those cadets in the top 16 had been said to surpass the realm of geniuses and were considered monsters now.

    In the novel, after taking out Chase in the first thirty seconds of the match, Quinn, another one of the Top 16 cadets, had to practically use every weapon in his arsenal except for Shiya to defeat Trish Zenith.

    Trish met Quinn''s onught head-on, going toe to toe against the perfect Necromancer, for twenty-seven minutes straight before finally losing, only because she had exhausted her mana pool.

    After Nero, she was the only cadet who came so dangerously close to defeating Quinn.

    And now that Quinn is not here, and Chase is a dead weight, I''m the only one who''ll have to defeat her if I want to move on to the next round.

    Instinctively, I felt my body tremble slightly.

    Insane¡­ I''ve finally gone insane in this ursed world, huh?

    Instead of trembling out of fear, I was struggling to keep my excitement from bursting out.

    Yeah, this match was indeed going to be fun.

    I didn''t even notice that the announcer had finished going over the rules for the match. My daze was only broken upon hearing the match bell ring to life.

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!

 Chapter 248 Triple Threat [1]

    ?

    As soon as the match bell rang, the cadets sprang into motion and began the first Triple Threat match of the day.

    The key to winning this match is bing thest warrior remaining standing.

    So until one of them renders the other two incapable of continuing the fight ¡ª by either knocking them out or making them surrender ¡ª and wins, the match won''t be over.

    Chase dashed at Lucas, while the silver-haired girl named Trish Zenith simply stayed put before summoning a Jian sword in her hand, trying to look for an opening before attacking.

    Summoning his weapon, Lucas drew a deep breath.

    Thrusting his spear forward, Lucas met Chase head-on as thetter tried to cross his arms and use his triangr shield gauntlets to guard against the spear attack.

    Pushing away Lucas'' spear to deflect his attack, Chase stepped in along the shaft of the Morningstar''s spear.

    A spear is a formidable weapon. Its long reach and simple learning requirements had dominated the battlefield during the age of cold weapons.

    However, unlike a sword ¡ª the king of weapons ¡ª there are so many ways to counter a spear.

    The first and easiest is to deflect the thrust attack of the spear or simply move out of the spearhead''s way and then close in on its wielder.

    Like any other polearm-type weapon, the spear doesn''t have a long de. It''s a mid-range weapon, after all.

    So once you move in too close, the spear is useless. Naturally, a guy who specializes in a shield-type weapon can easily render the spear useless after predicting one attack and using a bit of speed.

    So, as soon as Chase pushed away Lucas'' spear and rushed in, he thought his victory over the silver-haired guy was certain.

    With a triumphant smirk, Chase threw a fist forward, intending to bash Lucas'' skull with the rim of his triangr shield with only enough power to knock him out cold.

    Lucas, however, only mirrored Chase''s triumphant smirk. Not seeing even a bit of hesitation on the silver-haired boy''s face, Chase frowned a little.

    Then, suddenly Chase''s eyes widened. It took him a second but he quickly realized that he had willingly stepped into a trap.

    Unfortunately for him, it was already toote for him. Lucas simply raised his chin and yelled out a defiant roar, "Mana Burst!"

    Tendrils of scarlet me appeared from out of his spear and danced around Lucas'' body.

    Chase reacted in the nick of time and canceled his attack before crossing his hands over his face while simultaneously strengthening his core to brace for the iing impact.

    ''This is going to hurt!'' he thought.

    As if waiting for that cue, in the next moment, instead of an azure explosion, a fiery st detonated with the young Morningstar''s body at its epicenter.

    Booom¡ª!!

    The st was akin to a ton load of TNT going off. The sheer impact of it alone sent Chase crashing back a few meters.

    If he hadn''t covered his body with mana and protected his head with his gauntlets, he wouldn''t havee out of that attack without at least half of his bones shattered to dust.

    Lucas had only noticed this aspect of his Gift recently. If he employs his Mana Burst in conjunction with a fire magic spell, instead of a mana st, his Gift casts a fiery explosion. That, in turn, enhances the potency of his attack.

    Wisps of smoke rose from Chase''s shield as he uncrossed his arms and shot a death re at Lucas. He tried to stand up but staggered back to his knees, seemingly concussed by the previous attack.

    Just right then, Lucas felt a presence trying to sneak up on him from behind. Without wasting a breath, he quickly spun around and raised his spear.

    ng¡ª!!

    Almost instantly, a short de of a sword, with beautiful intricate patterns engraved on it, struck the shaft of his spear.

    If not for that, the de would''ve shed his shoulder muscles, rendering him incapable of using his weapon.

    Lucas moved his eyes from the de of the jian to the person grabbing its hilt. Just as he had guessed already, the wielder of the sword was a lithe young woman with silver hair and matching eyes.

    "Attacking from behind? And I thought the princess of Mount Hua would have some pride," Lucas smugly remarked before saturating his body with mana and pushing away the silver-haired girl with force.

    Trish hopped a few steps back and raised her de again, tilting her head slightly and speaking, "You sensed my presence? It seems like the rumors are actually true. He has indeed taken in a disciple."

    Trish was the daughter of the Zenith n. The Zenith n was the one who founded the Mount Hua Sect, or rather, re-founded it.

    Mount Hua Sect is not only the most influential martial arts sect in the Northern Continent but also the whole world.

    It is said, the warriors who train there and join the military are a force to be reckoned with because their battle prowess is just on another level.

    Mount Hua Sect also has its own militia and is permitted tomand its own military corps into the Northern border.

    With that much influence, and such rich history, it''s not umon for them to know every person worth knowing.

    Leo Kurogami was obviously one such person. That fact that he had refused to train Mount Hua''s disciples in the past but took one on his own must have reached their ears.

    But unbothered by such facts, Lucas simply readied his spear and engulfed it in zing red mes.

    As if responding to his beckoning, Trish raised her own sword and ran her fingers down the t edge of her de.

    The intricate markings on her de began to emit a faint, pink glow. Following that, several fiery wisps appeared around her jian before quickly taking the shape of petals.

    ¡­Plum blossom petals.

    Lucas shuddered for a second, noticing the rise in the temperature around them.

    With an icy cold expression still present in her eyes, Trish dashed forward at Lucas.

 Chapter 249 Triple Threat [2]

    ?

    As Trish dashed forward, the fiery plum blossom petals danced around her de before swirling around it like a whirlpool.

    That''s a level five weapon art! This bitch is pulling out a level five weapon art at this point in the match?!

    As an expression of disbelief found its way onto Lucas'' face, he shook his head and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

    It doesn''t matter. Lucas knew he would have to face a powerful weapon art at some point in the battle against her. He knew this match was going to be tough.

    It''s good that she used her trump card right at the start when Lucas was still in his peak condition.

    Now Lucas won''t have to hold back either. Not that he was nning to do so anyway.

    Channeling mana into his legs, Lucas gripped the shaft of his spear tighter. The sole of his boot dug into the concrete before he darted forward with a burst of speed.

    Mana seeped out from his hand and spiraled around his spear as Lucas initiated his own battle art.

    [6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st]

    The corner of Trish''s mouth twitched as she saw the weapon art that the silver-haired boy had chosen to deploy against her.

    Lucas didn''t miss that reaction. He knew what the girl was thinking.

    How dare he use my own Sect''s weapon art against me?!

    But Lucas couldn''t care less. He carried on with his attack and threw his spear at the graceful swordswoman the moment she stepped into the striking range.

    Despite not being a spearman, Trish knew every weapon art of her sect. Naturally, she also knew Blossom Shattering st relies solely on spear thrusts.

    So with a graceful upward swing of her jian, Trish deflected the iing spear thrust at her.

    However, that was what Lucas wanted her to do. As soon as Trish deflected her spear away, Lucas took a single step back and willed mana only in his triceps, shoulders, and elbows.

    As soon as he was done augmenting his muscles with mana, in a fraction of a split second, Lucas brought down his spear at the girl in front of him.

    He had changed his weapon art mid-attack and now, instead of spiraling around his spear like a drill, the mana was oozing off into the atmosphere and churning and twisting the air around it.

    Trish looked up and saw a spear speeding down on her, tendrils of scarlet lightning crackling around its de as a result of the distortion of air.

    The girl quickly raised her sword over her head ¡ª her one hand gripping the hilt of her sword with the other supporting the end of her t side de ¡ª to block the iing blow.

    CLANG¡ª!!

    A loud ngor reverberated throughout the field as a stinging pain shot through Trish''s arms. The pain continued to course through her body. Her muscles and bones held but the ground under her didn''t.

    A of cracks formed on the concrete below the soles of her boots as she blocked Lucas'' spear.

    Despite the fact that his attack connected fair and square, Lucas couldn''t help but widen his eyes.

    She stopped it?!

    Lucas wasn''t surprised that Trish blocked his attack. He knew her reaction time was going to be fast.

    After all, in the novel, during this round, she went toe-to-toe against Quinn.

    However, Lucas was surely surprised that his spear didn''t shatter that sword of hers in a million shards! That downward sh carried was destructive enough to obliterate a small hill!

    Unbeknownst to his bewildered thoughts, Trish shifted her weight and angled her sword in a slight tilt. Lucas'' spear, which was still pushing down on her, slid right off her de and struck the ground.

    In a moment of vulnerability, Lucas widened his eyes as Trish stepped forward and unleashed a powerful horizontal swing at him.

    Lucas had no time to block it. If the de manages to reach his neck, he would have no choice but to surrender. If he jumps back now, he would be defenseless in the air.

    No matter how he looked at the situation, it was a checkmate for him.

    "Haa!"

    Or at least, it would''ve been if he wasn''t ready for something like this. Although Lucas didn''t want to use this card right now so early in the tournament, he had no choice.

    In the blink of an eye, azure mana enveloped Lucas'' body as he deployed his martial aura.

    Blocking Trish''s sword with it was not his intention, as he knew it wouldn''t be effective.

    Instead, he had other ns.

    Suddenly, Lucas'' entire body lit up with sparks of electricity dancing around him, forming an electric aura that covered himpletely.

    By the time Trish''s sword reached him, Lucas swiftly vanished from his original position.

    A bolt of lightning shed and struck the ground a few steps back, where Lucas suddenly appeared again, the sparks of electricity slowly diminishing around him.

    Learning the electric aura granted him to use superspeed. However, using such power drained his mana pool very quickly.

    In fact, he could only maintain the electric aura for a few seconds before exerting his body severely.

    On the other hand, he could sustain the fire aura for a bit longer ¨C about a minute or so ¨C but that was the extent of his current capabilities before he needed to rest and regain the strength to use it again.

    Well, that was not going to be a problem since Lucas nned to end this match soon anyway.

    As a surprised expression appeared on Trish''s face, Lucas pointed an open palm at her as if he was going to cast a spell.

    Trish willed mana into her legs, intending to lunge at the silver-haired spearman before he could get a chance to finish his chant.

    Unfortunately for her, Lucas had already done that. He closed his palm into a fist and pulled his hand back.

    Suddenly, around tennces seemingly made of nothing but pure scarlet mes materialized above Trish''s head and came down on her.

    Thak, Thak, Thak¡ª!!

    The mingnces struck the ground all around her and barred her from all sides as if imprisoning her.

    But as if that wasn''t all, thences erupted in a fiery st like a salvo of missiles and entrapped Trish in a mushroom cloud explosion.

    The shockwaves from the explosion shook the whole arena as everyone leaned forward to the edge of their seats.

    A spark of suspense filled the air as rising ck smoke and incandescent mes obstructed the swordswoman''s fate from the view of the spectators.

    As Lucas swept his gaze across the smoldering concrete near the spot of the explosion, a single thought shed in his mind.

    Did I get her?

    But almost instantly, one other thought popped up in his head.

    Wait, did I just raise a g?

    As if to answer the question in his head, like a vengeful demon, Trish''s figure appeared out of smoke.

    Herbat attire was burnt in several ces, leaving her previous porcin skin¨C which was now covered in charred, ck burnt marks¡ª exposed at various parts. Her hair was disheveled and soot was smeared on her doll-like.

    But more importantly, scarlet mes were embracing her figure in a protective aura as her sword only grew brighter.

    If before she looked alluring and arresting, now she looked nothing short of demonic with that fire aura covering her body.

    Of course, she knows how to use Elemental Aura too!

    Lucas let out a deep sigh as he noticed several fiery petals starting to swirl around Trish''s de again.

    Only this time, instead of a small harmless whirlpool, the swirling of those fiery plum blossom petals looked like an advent of a huge, crushing tornado.

    "Haaa!" Trish let out a battle cry and stomped her foot on the ground to acquire proper footing before carrying out a horizontal sh even though she had yet to reach Lucas.

    The tornado of fiery petals moved along her de as an extension of Trish''s sword and closed in on Lucas from his right.

    Goddamnit!

    Lucas cursed in his mind and pulled back his spear.

    As mana began to churn and twist around the crimson de of his weapon, Lucas waited for a few moments for the petal storm toe near him and finally unleashed an upward vertical sh.

    Kwish¡ª!!!

    A loud, thunderous bolt of crimson lightning shed as a result of the air being distorted so violently and broke through the storm of fiery plum blossom petals.

    Trish had used this chance to rush up to Lucas from his left and unleash a swing of her sword which was engulfed in bright pink mes.

    As her glowing, incandescent de neared him, Lucas raised his spear and parried the iing attack.

    Sparks flew, explosions erupted, and concrete ground shattered as the two warriors shed in the cacophony of loud, melodic ngors of their weapons.

    Meanwhile, Chase finally recovered and rose to his feet before willing mana into his arms.

    He looked at Lucas, who was busy parrying and deflecting Trish''s attacks, and spoke in a tone seething with venom, "You''re dead!"

 Chapter 250 Triple Threat Victory

    ?

    Booom¡ª!!!

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    With each sh of their weapons, brilliant mes erupted, crimson lightning shed, and explosions rocked the arena, reducing it to a half-ruined state.

    The ground bore deep grooves, marked with depressions and huge craters, as concrete shards flew in the air with every passing second.

    In terms of skill, technique, and battle prowess, Lucas and Trish seemed evenly matched.

    If only Lucas could utilize Phoenix''s Embrace¡­ If only.

    Lacking the protection and enhancement provided by his semi-divine grade relic, Lucas was not able to perform at his peak.

    Still, that didn''t mean he was losing ground. In fact, he was going head-on against Trish.

    The silver-haired swordswoman proved to be even stronger than Lucas had initially thought.

    As she hadn''t yed a major role in the novel up to this point, Lucas didn''t have much information about her.

    He knew she was strong, but he hadn''t expected her to be THIS strong! Well, he did have an idea, considering she was a member of the Disciplinary Committee, after all.

    But it didn''t matter. Regardless of her strength, Lucas was confident that he could defeat her if this was the extent of her abilities.

    At first nce, it may appear that Trish and Lucas were evenly matched, but that couldn''t be farther from the truth.

    Trish maintained a relentless offensive stance, while Lucas predominantly adopted a defensive approach.

    He rarelyunched attacks, unless he had no other choice but to do so.

    For the most part of the battle, he just blocked, evaded, deflected, and parried with utmost precision.

    One might wonder why Lucas adopted this strategy. Why wasn''t he attacking? Why was he staying on the back foot?

    Well, the reason was that he was carefully studying his opponent''s fighting style.

    The young woman relentlessly attacking him was using firm and grounded footwork, allowing her to execute fast and surgical precise strikes with her jian.

    Whenever needed, she swiftly transitioned into a defensive posture, making it nearly impossible to find any openings in her technique.

    Even Lucas couldn''t find any w in her technique, despite his rigorous training under Leo who taught him to dissect and decipher his opponent''s technique to counter it.

    Leo always said that a warrior''s body should function like a well-oiled machine, with each part performing its designated function in perfect harmony, yielding astonishing results.

    To achieve this, various techniques were employed, helping in coordinating the body''s movements.

    However, if an opponent managed to break and decipher these techniques, the entire machine would crumble.

    However, as far as Lucas could tell by shing des with her, the girl before him had already mastered her technique.

    There were no openings. There were no patterns to study. The movement of her sword was swift and unpredictable. Her footwork was impable and disorienting to look at.

    She was the master of her art.

    "Argh!" A stifled yelp of pain escaped Lucas'' lips as a faintly glowing pink de shed across his right arm, leaving a shallow gash behind.

    Before he had the chance to react, the right side of his ribs and upper left shoulder were also shed.

    Blood spurted out and Lucas staggered back but maintained his stance, continuing to deflect and parry Trish''s de.

    She was fast and his defense was slipping. Soon, she was going to break through his attempts to block her attacks and make him surrender.

    Heh!

    Or at least, that''s what he wanted her to think. The corner of Lucas'' lips curled up as he began his counter.

    Lucas knew that he wouldn''t be able to break Trish''s technique. Not without his armor and not without making too much of an effort.

    He hates hard work. There was an easy solution to all this. If he couldn''t find any openings in Trish''s defense, then he would just subtly manipte her and lead her into a trap then end her.

    Manipting the flow of battle and the movements of your opponent was not as easy as Lucas made it sound.

    In fact, it was something that Leo had long noticed but didn''t point out to him.

    He didn''t tell him that what he is capable of doing is far more terrifying than any amount of raw power one could ever face in a battle.

    Knowing that you didn''t have any free will from the start¡­ that all the moves you made were not only predicted but forced onto you by your opponent¡­ What could be scarier than that?

    And right now, Trish was about to feel that terror.

    As she thrust her de forward, aiming at Lucas'' heart, the silver-haired spearman used the long reach of his weapon to parry the iing attack once again.

    ng¡ª

    Lucas'' spear collided with Trish''s short sword and pushed it to their right.

    But instead of stopping or staggering, the silver-haired swordswoman spun on her foot to her left, using the momentum to unleash a sh at Lucas'' vulnerable open left side.

    The pink glowing plum blossom petals danced around her graceful figure and swirled around her de.

    A glint of victory appeared in Trish''s eyes but suddenly she felt as if something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

    Lucas had been on the defensive for quite some time now. Why did he parry with the end of his spear de?

    Did he make a mistake? But why? Thiste in the battle he should''ve grown used to Trish''s battle style.

    Did he grow desperate? He did receive some wounds, so was he trying to end this battle quickly and made a blunder?

    Trish''s eyes widened as she realized¡­

    Trap! It''s a trap!

    But it was already toote. Even though her mind realized the situation, her body had followed through with the attack.

    ng¡ª!!

    A loud ngor of metal reverberated in the air as the butt of Lucas'' spear struck the t side of Trish''s sword.

    Since his left upper shoulder was damaged and the de of his spear was away, Trish thought it was the right time to move in.

    But to her surprise, Lucas had dropped to one knee in order to bring the pommel of his spear down and push away her de.

    This time, her right side was left open.

    Before she could react, Lucas jumped back from his kneeling position and pulled up the end of his spear, bringing its de down like a lever.

    Kach¡ª!!

    A shallow cut appeared on Trish''s right wrist as Lucas'' spear de slid across her hand.

    Even though the cut was shallow, it did its work. It severed the median nerve on the wrist of the swordswoman.

    As Trish lost the feeling in her right hand''s grip weakening, the hilt of her jian slid from her fingers.

    Fortunately, she caught her weapon with her left hand before it could hit the ground, but she was nearly not fast enough.

    Lucas used this time to charge at her and follow up with his attacks. Trish already knew what wasing as she had seen Lucas raising his spear from her peripheral vision.

    He was about to deliver a downward sh to possibly mutte her left shoulder and render her incapable of using her weapon anymore.

    To counter it, she quickly raised her sword over her and prepared to stop Lucas'' spear from reaching her shoulder.

    Unfortunately, it was another trap. By raising her de, Trish had left her whole body vulnerable.

    Thak¡ª!!

    Lucas'' spear harmlessly struck the ground on her left as the spearman himself lunged forward to deliver a forceful knee strike to her pretty little face.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The force of the impact sent her crashing back a few steps, blood streaming down from her fractured nose.

    Trish tried to move her body but she was left momentarily stunned and disoriented. The world around her was spinning.

    However, her body which had been trained for countless hours remembered the instincts drilled into her.

    Her hands quickly searched for her de which had jerked from her grip earlier.

    Upon finding her sword, she rolled onto her belly and got on all fours, struggling to get up on her feet.

    A crooked smile appeared on Lucas'' face as he saw the perfect position in which Trish was in. Willing mana into his legs, the young Morningstar prepared to deliver a perfect curb stomp.

    But before he could do that, a figure of a man jumped out from his side and lunged at him.

    Lucas had barely any time to react before the rim of a triangr metal shield neared the left side of his face.

    Thack¡ª!!

    Lucas quickly enveloped his body in a thickyer of mana, deploying his Martial Aura. But even that wasn''t enough to shield him from the surprise attackpletely.

    As the blow connected with his jaw, Lucas swayed sideways and fell to his right knee.

    Before he had any chance to react, Chase rushed forward and grabbed Lucas'' head in ce with one hand, and pulled back his other.

    He then unleashed a fury of relentless punches, bashing the edge of his shield against Lucas'' face.

    Chase''s metal gauntlets featured tough, triangr-shaped shields at the back of his hands, covering most of his forearms.

    The shield''s triangr design provided an advantage inbat, allowing him to deflect and block attacks from various angles more effectively than a traditional circr shield.

    But far more importantly, its pointed, blunt edge that extended out to cover his fists could be used to deliver powerful, concentrated blows.

    So getting hit by it was not a pleasant experience. A few hits were enough to render anyone incapable of moving.

    Yet, instead of a triumphant gleam, a feeling that could only be described as pure, beasteal fear crept into Chase''s eyes with each punch he threw at Lucas.

    His blows were powerful enough to shatter boulders, yet Lucas'' face was far from the bloody mess he had hoped to turn it into.

    Instead, Lucas looked almost¡­ unscathed.

    Chase''s eyes widened as a cold feeling of dread settled into his heart. A realization forced its way into his mind.

    M-My attacks¡­ My attacks aren''t doing any damage? He thought.

    Yes, aside from that first surprise attack, none of his blows did any significant damage.

    Lucas'' face was bleeding in many ces, but his teeth and jaw were still intact as if the silver-haired boy was made of steel.

    The reason for that was his Martial Aura. It has grown a lot stronger and sturdier now. Instead of an undting surface of liquid, the mana surrounding his body now looked like a semi-solid structure.

    Since Chase didn''t know how to use Martial Aura yet and couldn''t enhance his weapon with it, his attacks could not inflict proper damage on him.

    But that''s not to say Lucas wasn''t feeling any pain. Instead, he was in so much pain that he was entertaining the idea to rip apart Chase''s throat and put down this simp in his grave right here and now.

    But controlling his emotions, Lucas slowly started rising to his feet, overpowering Chase''s grip which held him in ce.

    Chase, however, instead of backing down, started punching Lucas with the edge of his shield even more furiously now.

    Thwack, Thwack, Thwack¡ª!!

    Until¡­

    ng¡ª!!

    The shield on his gauntlet broke. The broken shard of his triangr shield''s tip broke and flew off, causing an expression of pure terror to appear on Chase''s face.

    Lucas, half of his face stained crimson from his own blood, looked like a vengeful, menacing demon.

    His bright red eyes glistened with a cold gleam under the afternoon sun as he shot a death re at the boy standing in front of him.

    His lips twitched and then moved to produce a low growl, "You must be itching to court death, huh?"

    Chase took a step back, his body shuddering involuntarily before he shot his other fist forward, intending to start bashing Lucas with his remaining, intact shield.

    Lucas reacted quickly, done with entertaining this fool, and slithered under his arm like a snake before stepping behind him.

    From behind him, he wrapped one of his arms around Chase''s neck and the other grabbed his head from behind, locking him in a chokehold.

    "Gaah¨C! Novti¨C Novti¨C" Chase tried to chant a spell and cast magic, but Lucas'' around his neck suddenly tightened to a crushing degree.

    The air neither escaped nor entered his mouth, turning Chase''s face red in agony.

    Lucas looked forward and saw Trish was already getting on her feet. That made him tighten his grip around Chase''s neck even more until his face turned blue and his body went limp.

    Retreating his hands and letting his body fall to the ground with a loud thud, Lucas stepped forward, picked up his spear from where he had dropped it, and rushed at the lithe swordswoman.

    Trish, who had all the time in the world to recover until now, gritted her teeth and turned around.

    Plum blossom petals danced around her legs as she disappeared and reappeared right in front of Lucas and shed his chest.

    However, instead of meeting any kind of resistance, her de pierced through Lucas'' body as if he was made of air.

    In the next moment, Lucas'' figure wavered and blurred out of existence like a mirage. Almost instantly, all around her, several figures of Lucas appeared and rushed at her from all sides.

    Trish''s eyes widened. She instantly recognized this technique as one of Leo''s signature moves.

    "This won''t work on me, Morningstar!" Trish roared angrily and raised her de up high.

    Plum blossom petals once again swirled around her de and in the blink of an eye, a pink tornado was created out of them above her head.

    In the next moment, she brought down her sword and struck its de into the concrete ground below.

    The plum blossom petal storm dispersed and the zing petals shot in every direction like bullets, leaving faintly glowing pink trails behind.

    The petal bullets burst through the horde of mirages and destroyed every single one of them.

    Only a single figure didn''t disappear and rushed at Trish with breakneck speed. It was real Lucas. His right leg and forearm were pierced by the petal bullets and blood was gushing out of his wounds but he didn''t halt his charge.

    His spear was engulfed in bright, immting mes and was pulled back to unleash a devastating sh.

    Trish herself pulled out her sword and darted at Lucas. As soon as they both stepped into the striking range, the warriors carried out their attacks.

    The de of Lucas'' spear closed in on Trish from his left, and she swung her de from her right to counter.

    ng¡ª!!

    "Huh?!" Trish let out a surprised gasp as her sword shed against Lucas'' spear.

    Lucas'' attack didn''t have nearly as much strength behind it as Trish had thought. It was a¡­ feint?

    No, Lucas was in no state to follow up an attack! Unless¡­

    Trish gritted her teeth as she realized she had once again stepped into a trap. Lucas allowed the force behind Trish''s sword to push away his de.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    He then quickly changed his grip on his spear and simultaneously spun it in his hands before hitting the opposite side of Trish''s jaw with the back end of his weapon''s shaft.

    The young swordswoman staggered to her right, visibly concussed. But before she had the chance to recover, Lucas stepped in, spun around, and delivered an elbow strike to his fractured nose.

    The girl buckled down in pain, her sword leaving her grip again, as Lucas ced the cold edge of his spear against her neck.

    As if waiting for that cue, the match bell rang out loud and marked the end of the match as the announcer yelled:

    "[It''s over! It''s finally over in a shocking victory for the charming young wolf! The Princess of Mount Hua and Chase Wood have lost! Lucas Morningstar has once again emerged victorious!]"

    "Haa! Finally."

 Chapter 251 Third-Rate Villain

    ?

    "Gaaah!"

    Opening his eyes, Chase was greeted by the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.

    He jolted upright in bed, his hand pressed tightly to his bruised throat as if hoping to muffle the gasp that had already escaped his lips.

    His thumb felt the erratic pulsing of nerves in the side of his neck.

    He kept his hands in ce until his heart finally calmed down a little, or at least that''s what he told himself.

    Disgusted by the way the damp fabric clung to his sweat-soaked skin, Chase peeled the sheet from his chest. As soon as his feet touched the cold, hard, marble ground, an image popped up in his mind.

    The infirmary bed crackled under his shifting weight as he stood up.

    "Th-That bastard¡­."

    Recalling the events of the Triple Threat match, a shiver ran across Chase''s spine. Until today, he had no idea he was this powerless.

    He knew he wasn''t the strongest... But to experience such embarrassment at the hands of the person he so much wanted to put in ce?

    "True Martial Aura! That bastard used the True Martial Aura! He won only because of his master, Leo Kurogami! Yeah, if I had a master like him, I would''ve won easily¡­"

    Chase realized how stupid he sounded in the middle of uttering that sentence. His words turned to a whisper as he dropped his head in shame.

    Sure, Leo Kurogami might have taught him how to use Martial Aura, but the True Martial Aura could only be achieved after deepening one''s understanding of their own body and mana.

    Some people took half their lifetime to achieve that level of understanding, not because it was overly difficult, but because they didn''t practice enough.

    For those who practiced daily and strived to reach that understanding, using True Martial Aura would only take a few years at most.

    However, if Lucas was truly a "trash" and hadn''t practiced Martial Aura beforeing to the academy, then he was simply a genius to achieve it in such a short time.

    Normally, Chase would''ve tried to refute that fact. He would''ve said that Lucas was only acting to seem like trash when, in reality, he never abandoned his training.

    Then he might''ve added, "He could''ve done something like that too if he had a big family like the Morningstars backing him up."

    But this time, Chase didn''t say such things. For some reason, he just knew that the person he faced in the Triple Threat, if he could even be called a person, was on apletely different level than him.

    They were of the same height, Lucas and Chase. However, as Chase remembered how he had tried with all his might to thrash at the Morningstar''s face, only to be met with cold indifference in Lucas''s eyes, he felt small.

    It was almost as if Lucas was looking down on a creature too puny for him to be of any real concern.

    Was he¡­ Was Chase really not a threat to him? Well, turns out he was not.

    It was as if he, an ant, was trying to go up against¡­ a god. The way Lucas stared at him made him feel utterly insignificant, sending shivers down his spine.

    "Damn it!" Chase cursed out loud, clenching his fists in frustration. This was humiliating and not to mention utterly frustrating.

    As he was lost in his thoughts, the door to the infirmary swung open, and medics rushed up to him, gently pushing him back onto the bed, resuming their check-ups despite his protests that he was fine.

    The infirmary room was divided intopartments, each containing a bed and curtains for privacy.

    A few beds away from Chase, in one suchpartment,y a lithe young woman with a fractured nose.

    Her nose was wrapped in bandages, and minor injuries were already healed after she drank a few healing potions.

    Her long hair, each strand resembling the shine of melted silver, was tied in a graceful braid.

    Her porcin skin, smooth as the finest of jade, peeked through some areas of her raggedbat attire.

    "Haaa," Trish let out a soft, tired sigh.

    Chase wasn''t the only one reflecting on the Triple Threat match. Trish was also doing the same.

    She hadn''t been beaten like that in a long time, especially by someone around her age.

    It must have been the first time since she mastered the [22-Movement Plum Blossom Petal Sword]¡ªone of the strongest and most versatile weapon arts her Sect had to offer.

    She rigorously trained every single day, striving to be better and stronger to catch up to her brother.

    Yet, despite her efforts, she couldn''t achieve that goal. To add insult to injury, a boy a year younger than her defeated her in a head-on confrontation.

    However, instead of feeling sad or angry, Trish couldn''t help but be impressed by the technique disyed by the silver-haired Morningstar during the match.

    Not only that, but he had subtly led her into a deliberate trap, not once but twice. Amidst the intense battle, he executed all his ns with sheer perfection.

    It was almost to the point of being terrifying.

    He was... He was...

    "So cool."

    Indeed, he was cool, but that''s not the sole reason why Trish''s mind was preupied with the charming young wolf.

    His fighting style clearly revealed the vast battle experience he had umted, whether he did so by fighting for his life or fighting against his own master.

    After all, it is as the elders of her n say¡ª "One real battle experience is better than a thousand days of safe training."

    Or something along that line. She never paid attention to those old fools really.

    Anyway, her loss wasn''t due to her technique being weaker than his; on the contrary, it was stronger. The differencey in herck of battle experience.

    No one in her n or her brother showed enough interest to train with her. Her peers, for the most part, weren''t strong enough to provide her with meaningful experience.

    She needed to face opponents stronger than her, not weaker. She needed to fight up to get stronger, not fight down.

    As for the Disciplinary Committee, it was led by her brother, making her an outcast there too. To top it all off, she had no friends, so she couldn''t even find suitable sparring partners.

    Her technique and battle arts had carried her this far, but now she found herself standing in front of an insurmountable wall.

    "Haaa," she sighed, covering her eyes, and decided to try falling back to sleep, knowing full well that it would be futile.

    ?

    While his opponents were lost in their thoughts, Lucas reclined on the sofa, watching a video on the holographic screen in front of him.

    Sera, still sound asleep, was resting in hisp. Turns out, this little one was aszy as him. After all, if given a chance, he would also spend all day sleeping like a sloth.

    Ahh, surely that was a coincidence and not at all his fault, right? ¡­Right?!

    Suddenly, he closed the holographic screen and covered his face with his hands. His body convulsed in visible agony, not from physical pain, but from cringing at his own clip.

    The video he had been watching was of his Triple Threat match, where people in thements referred to him as the "Fallen Angel" due to his charm and aura.

    However, that wasn''t what made him cringe.

    "You must be itching to court death?! Why the fuck did I say something like that?! Am I an idiot?! Or have I actually be a third-rate viin?!"

    Well, to be honest¡­

    After some reflection, he realized that he possessed all the qualities of a third-rate viin:

    Seeing ordinary people as far beneath him as he was some sort of a self-proimed holy being.

    His unrelenting narcissistic behavior.

    Referring to others as mere side characters.

    Maniacallyughing at others'' suffering.

    Being the cause of others'' misery.

    And now, he was even coborating with other viins like Kai and Quinn while also nning to create trouble for the protagonist.

    "Wait... What the heck?! Am I actually a third-rate viin?!"

    Well, it took him a long time to realize that.

 Chapter 252 Lets Get This Started

    252 Let''s Get This Started

    After watching some clips of my Triple Threat match and ego-surfing my name on the inte, I finally decided to check the results of other matches.

    Everything yed out more or less like it did in the novel, with only the oues of the first and second brackets changed.

    The brackets were straightforward. In the first bracket, it was Chase Wood, Trish Zenith, and me. Since I emerged victorious in my match, I advanced to the semifinals.

    Moving on to the second bracket, the contenders were Kai Wiseman, Grace Goodwill, and E Bright. The winner of that match turned out to be Kai.

    An interesting thing happened in that match, but I will get to itter. Heh.

    Anyway, as for the third bracket, it involved Alfa Zenith, Alberto Okoro, and Amelia ck. I only watched some short clips of this match, but it was Alfa Zenith who emerged as the winner.

    Amelia put up a good fight, and I must admit her archery skills have improved a lot. And by lot I mean a LOT.

    She disyed a level of strength that exceeded what she should''ve been capable of at this point in the story.

    It seems my interference has once again influenced her to change her course in the plot.

    Okay, yeah, that''s good. That''s good indeed.

    That''s a positive development, as the more changes ur in the storyline, the greater the divergence from the end of the novel.

    Of course, Amelia''s growth wasn''t enough to grant her victory against the second-year cadet named Alfa Zenith, who also happens to be the older brother of the girl I fought against in my match, Trish Zenith.

    Alfa''s sword effortlessly cut through any magic or mana-infused arrow Amelia shot at him, as if he was slicing through paper.

    After a bit of struggle, he closed in on the ck-haired archeress, and the match came to an end instantly.

    His incandescent sword, with plum blossom petals swirling around its de like a storm, sliced through Amelia''s bow in a single, decisive sh, and the match bell rang.

    "She asked for a legendary-rank relic," I muttered to myself. "Should I gift her a bow?"

    Wait hold on, what am I even thinking?

    Why would I give her something like that?!

    Besides, it was clear she was just joking. And truth be told, I don''t have any reason to do so.

    My focus should remain on changing the plot of the King''s Tournament and then uncovering the mystery of my memories for now.

    Yeah, that''s right.

    "Bro, what are you thinking?" Kent''s voice reached my ears from my left. I shifted my gaze to look at him. He had returned with a tray full of popcorn tubs and soft drinks.

    Currently, we were seated in the audience stands of the King''s Arena, eagerly anticipating the match that was about to begin any minute now. The air was filled with cheers of excitement from the crowd.

    Though participants were supposed to remain in the pavilion until the end of the King''s Tournament, theck of stimtion had be boring, so I sneaked out.

    I found Kent in the audience stands and decided to watch thest match of the fourth bracket live with him.

    To my surprise, well, maybe I shouldn''t be surprised by it anymore, Kent was sitting with a group of four attractive girls, enjoying the match in theirpany.

    Haa, this guy.

    Anyway, I walked up to him, he introduced me to his new friends, and then went off to get some snacks.

    As he returned, his voice brought me back from my daze to reality. I made room for him to sit down beside me.

    "What were you thinking?" Kent asked.

    "Not much," I replied. "Are you enjoying the matches?"

    "Oh, yeah!" Kent nodded with a bright smile. "Especially your matches! You''re doing great, and it looks like you might actually win the Tournament!"

    Of course, he''s enjoying the matches with his harem. How does a dense guy like him even manage to pull girls?!

    "Yeah! We''re all loving your matches, Lucas! Actually, we''re all rooting for you!" one of the girls to my right chimed in, showing me her smart bracelet.

    On the disy, there was a poll website open. The question of the poll was, [Which contestant do you think will win the King''s Tournament this year?]

    My name''s option on her bracelet was highlighted in blue. It meant that she had voted for me.

    But what caught my attention was the percentage. Forty-three percent! My name''s option had forty-three percent votes! What the heck?!

    Nero''s own name was at forty-five percent! Do people really have that much faith in me?!

    Heh! They really do love me!

    Suppressing the smug smile that threatened to creep up on my face, I slightly shook my head and asked in a t tone, trying to sound as casual as possible, "A lot of people voted for me, huh?"

    "Duh!" Another girl sitting to Kent''s left responded. "You''re like the newest sensation of the Global Academy. They even gave you a brand new title¡ªFallen Angel!"

    Yeah, and it still sounds so chuuni!

    "They call you that because of how you cleverly advanced to the second round after saying something to Quinn and letting you defeat him effortlessly. Also, because of your...uh, cute face, I guess," the girl twirled her hair and added, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

    After a few seconds, I raised an eyebrow curiously and asked, "Uh, what about Nero? Did they give him a title too?"

    "Oh, yeah!" A girl from the right, sitting next to the girl sitting beside me, replied.

    God! Why are there so many people here!

    "I think they are calling him the Sword of End," the same girl added. "They call him that because no matter who he faced, they couldn''t defeat his sword, and he emerged victorious every time."

    Sword of End, huh? Yeah, that''s the same title he got during the King''s Tournament in the novel too.

    People called him that until he joined the military and became William''s partner before the world started calling the two of them The Reapers of the End.

    Letting out a soft sigh, I reclined back in my seat and waited for the match to start.

    Soon, the cadets participating in the match made their entrance. William Sinoath was the first toe out.

    His curly green hair swayed gently in the breeze, and his sharp eyes shone brightly with a mix of violet and purple hues.

    The young elf looked like a noble warrior, holding a striking red, somber spear in his hand, whichplemented his ck and redbat attire.

    As he walked in, the crowd, especially quite a few girls charmed by his elegant elven beauty, rose from their seats and cheered loudly.

    Elijah Steelforged was the next to arrive.

    His broad shoulders and strong, slightly muscr yet lean build, along with his rough features, revealed his half-dwarven lineage.

    He brushed back his long light-brown hair with his fingers and stood at the center of the arena, his giant battle hammer in hand.

    Finally, the protagonist, Nero Dekrauf, made his entrance.

    He walked toward the center of the arena with a slow, powerful stride, radiating an aura of unfathomable strength and exuding a clear air of dominance.

    His ck hair and deep, abyssal-like eyes scanned the cheering crowd as if he was acknowledging their wee.

    His bastard sword rested on his shoulder, its de glistening under the sunlight until Nero came to a stop and ced it on the ground, its pointed edge striking the earth and digging into the concrete ground.

    "Let''s get this started," he muttered.

 Chapter 253 Ten Minutes

    ?

    Destruction.

    What happened during the match could only be called utter destruction.

    Since the three of them were friends, after exchanging some greetings, Nero, William, and Elijah began their match.

    William and Elijah knew they couldn''t defeat Nero in a one-on-one fight, so they decided to team up and eliminate him first.

    The poor fools had no idea that even theirbined effort would be futile against that monster hiding in the human skin.

    William unleashed a fury of relentless thrusts and shes with his spear, trying to keep Nero on his back foot for as long as possible.

    Using that time, as Nero parried and returned William''s attacks, Elijah chanted a few spells in the High-Elven tongue to cast magic.

    As soon as he was done, he signaled William and the young elven spearman instantly hopped a few meters back to safety.

    Before Nero had a chance to react, several huge chunks of concrete broke off from the ground and flew to stick to Nero like iron fragments to a giant ma.

    In the blink of an eye, Nero was entrapped in a huge earthen sphere made of concrete shards.

    As if that wasn''t enough, Elijah chanted another spell and this time iron shackles erupted out from the ground and wrapped themselves around the giant concrete sphere in which Nero was imprisoned.

    Not one, but Elijah had cast two imprisonment spells to stack up on each other.

    The concrete sphere wrapped in iron shackles made it almost impossible for Nero to break out of¡­ almost.

    If in his ce it was any other cadet, well, maybe aside from Kai, Quinn, me, and a few others, their bones would''ve already cracked under the entangling pressure of Elijah''s imprisonment spell.

    However, unfortunately for the half-dwarf, on the receiving end of his spell happened to be none other than the monster himself, Nero Dekrauf.

    Before any of them had a chance to follow up with an attack, the ground under their feet, or what was left of it at least, rumbled loudly.

    In the next moment, it felt like something was trying to break out of the metal lump of a ball that was created as the result of Elijah''s magic to keep Nero sealed.

    When the rumble died down, the top portion of the metal chains wrapped around the concrete sphere began to greatly heat up.

    Their rough, bleak ck structure turned slightly orange then burning red a few momentster.

    As everyone held onto their breaths, a pir of white, incandescent light broke out from the ball of iron shackles and shot toward the sky.

    The concrete sphere exploded as the iron chains gave away to the pressure at which the pir of white light erupted.

    Shards of smoldering concrete and lumps of molten iron flew away in the air before being pulled down by gravity and raining on the other two cadets like crashing meteors.

    Even from my vantage point, I could see the faces of Elijah and William twisting in disbelief and their mouths moving slightly to curse under their breaths.

    They tried to dodge the rain of attacks, which were the result of Elijah''s spell being backfired against them.

    The half-dwarf was visibly puzzled. He couldn''t understand how his two mid-level trap spells were so easily broken?

    Unless¡­ the Swordsman of End used an extremely high-level spell or a level four to five weapon art!

    Both of those thoughts were unnerving. I mean, I can''t me the guy. From Elijah''s point of view, his spell didn''t even leave Nero any air to properly breathe let alone chant a spell or perform a weapon art!<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    After all, he was being crushed from all sides, goddamnit!

    How then?! How did he do it?! How did he break free, in just a few seconds no less?

    Well, Elijah didn''t have any time to find answers to such questions.

    He was already moving toward Nero, skillfully evading the ming shards of iron and concrete raining down on him.

    William also followed suit. He raised his spear, shattered the ming shards that threatened to burn or squash him, and charged at Nero.

    Only after the dust and debris settled, it turned out that the pir of light, which was now slowly diminishing, wasing from Nero''s sword, its tip pointing at the heavens.

    As the bright pir of light finally died down, Nero looked at the two oing attackers and smirked.

    His radiant de was white-hot after conducting that amount of light. Nero simply pointed it at Elijah and slightly muttered a chant under his breath.

    Instantly, particles of lustrous white light appeared around Nero like shimmering snowkes and trailed to umte at the tip of his de and formed a luminous orb.

    Elijah''s eyes widened but before he could even move a muscle, the orb of light facing him broke out in a radiant white beam at him, leaving destruction in its wake.

    Fortunately, the half-dwarf brought his imposing battle hammer in front of him to shield himself from Nero''s attack.

    However, Elijah''s hammer exploded into a flood of shrapnels as soon as its hammer''s huge, metallic face came in contact with that beam of light.

    Elijah''s eyes widened in terror. Before the beam could touch him, however, it quickly dissipated, frittering away into harmlessly beautiful shimmering snowkes-like light particles.

    Nero dismissed his spell in the nick of time. If not for that, the beam would''ve exploded through his skull like a hot knife to butter.

    That act of mercy and Elijah''s incapability to protect himself from what could''ve been a decisive blow counted as the half-dwarf''s loss.

    The announcer dered his elimination, but the match was yet to end.

    William circled around all this mayhem and valiantly lunged at Nero from behind, not caring for the elimination of his friend one bit. It was just one less opponent for him.

    Nearing the Swordsman from behind, William violently pushed his glimmering spear forward at Nero''s back, who was momentarily off-guard after putting Elijah down.

    But as it turned out, Nero''s guard was never down. Instead, he had led William into a trap.

    The ck-haired swordsman spun around on one foot and dealt a swift horizontal sh at the iing striking red spear.

    The movement of Nero''s de was nearly as fast as the speed of light, and just as sharp. Before the audience, or William himself, had the chance to even blink an eye, the match was over.

    Nero''s sword cleaved through William''s spear¡ª which was probably created by the best of eleven cksmiths¡ª as if it was made of cardboard and the cold steel of his somber de found itself sharply pressed against the throat of the eleven spearman in the next moment.

    The announcer dered Nero as the winner of the match, much to the loud support of the jubnt crowd who stood up to cheer for the Swordsman of End''s solid victory.

    Ten minutes. Two of the strongest cadets in the academy onlysted for ten minutes against this monster.

    "Haa," letting out a sigh, I rose from my seat and walked to the pavilion. As Kent wished me good luck, I waved him a hand and continued to walk away.

    Let''s just get this over with.

 Chapter 254 The End Of Semi-Finals

    ?

    After reaching my pavilion room, I changed into mybat attire before stepping outside.

    I left Sera undisturbed as she continued to soundly sleep on the sofa and locked the door. I must say, she''s quitezy, even more so than myself.

    Despite being a phoenix¡ª the creature associated with light¡ª she appears to be a nocturnal creature. But surely, her messed up sleep schedule is not my fault, right?

    ...Right?!

    Ahem, anyway, as I walked toward the Arena, I spotted Amelia heading out of the pavilion building toward the audience stand.

    She tried to hide it, but I could easily tell that she was in a dejected mood. It looks like losing her match affected her more than it did in the novel for some reason.

    After chatting with her for a few minutes, I finally made my way to the stadium as the announcer called my name.

    I had no doubt that she would recover; Anastasia and Aster would be there with her in the audience stand to lift her spirits.

    Also, it''s better for her and Anastasia to stay far away during the final match, considering they''re both archeresses.

    They can provide better cover fire from that vantage position in case something goes wrong with my n.

    And let''s be honest, at this point, I''mpletely certain that something will definitely go wrong. Or maybe it''s just my paranoia.

    But still, having archers positioned at a safe distance will be crucial when the vampire attacks.

    With those racing thoughts in my mind, I once again made my entrance, walking out onto the field.

    The jubnt crowd erupted into a loud cacophony of cheers and whistles as I reached the center of the field, their eyes filled with joyous glee, eager to witness the hyped match between Kai and me.

    I nced around to survey my surroundings and found that the crevices and fractures from the Triple Threat match between Nero, Elijah, and William had already been repaired, giving the whole field a fresh look.

    Summoning my spear, I rested its shaft on my shoulder, patiently waiting for the arrival of my dear opponent.

    Right then, Kai emerged from the shadows engulfing the entrance tunnel, the falling evening sun casting a dim glow around him as he approached.

    I wished to wrap up this event before dusk, but Nero still had one more match before qualifying to face me in the finals and the evening was already approaching.

    Achieving my desire seemed like a highly unlikely scenario at this point.

    The thought of facing several elite squads of high-ranking vampires in the shroud of darkness provided by the night sent a shiver running down my spine.

    Yet, I couldn''t help but only let out a sigh of resignation. This was the only way. I can not turn back from here.

    Besides, this was necessary to actually change Nero''s mindset.

    Damn him. Damn it all.

    As I silently cursed the world and everyone in it in my mind, Kai stepped forward, summoning his imposing, lusterless ck greatsword.

    The contrast with his slender figure made the sword seem almost impossible to lift. He brushed back his dark shaded hair, gazing at me with his bright cyan eyes.

    "Ready?" Kai asked, and the announcer repeated the rules in the background.

    In this one-on-one duel, the way to win was to make your opponent surrender or render them unable to continue the fight.

    Meeting Kai''s gaze, I gave him a solemn nod and inquired, "Are your preparationsplete?"

    Kai nodded back in response and lifted his sword, which, for some reason, triggered a very loud reaction from the crowd.

    It appeared they had mistaken our actions as a symbol of provocation, thinking we were taunting and beckoning each other.

    Well, that''s exactly what we wanted them to think.

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!

    Soon, the match bell rang, and Kai and I sprang into action. In the blink of an eye, we closed the distance between us as our figures turned into blurs, and...

    In the next instant, the cold, crimson de of my spear found itself pressed against the warm, pale skin of Kai''s neck.

    The match was over.

    For a moment, the whole Arena fell into confused silence. Then, a loud murmur of puzzlement swept through the vicinity like a flood of singr emotion.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "[Th-The Fallen Angel¡­ Lucas Morningstar has won¡­ the first round of the semi-finals is over with his victory.]"

    As the announcer''s voice echoed to break the silence, causing the crowd''s reaction to shift. Instantly, thunderous boos erupted from almost everyone present in the stand.

    I couldn''t me them, to be honest.

    After all, our rivalry made the news. People were hyped up for this match. Everyone, even those in the outside world, had been eagerly looking forward to this moment.

    But in the end, all they received was nothing but a deja vu from my face-off against Quinn.

    Poor souls.

    A sheepish smile appeared on my face as I turned around and quickly headed back to the pavilion building before they might start throwing eggs at me.

    ?

    A few minutes after returning to my pavilion room, I felt tremors coursing through the whole Arena.

    The ground visibly shook, and loud ngor could be heard even from where I was. It was evident that Nero''s match was underway.

    He was fighting the third-year cadet named Alfa Zenith. The novel depicted their match in great detail, so I knew just how destructive it was going to be.

    Part of my mind wanted to see the scenes I read in the noveling to life and watch the match. However, another part just wanted toze around until the start of the final match.

    Hey, I was not beingzy! I just wanted to rest as much as possible before all hell would break loose.

    Anyway, after a few minutes, the tremors stopped, and the ngor died down. Nero had prevailed once again.

    The semi-finals were over.

    The final contestants were Nero Dekrauf and Lucas Morningstar.

    To pass some free time before the start of the final match, I attempted to meditate for a few seconds¡­ yeah! I can''t meditate, okay?

    Anyway, after that, I opened the search engine and ego-surfed my own name again.

    It looked like people were still hating me for pulling some strings and taking an easy way out of the match. Some called me a coward, while othersbeled me as fake.

    However, some people were amused by my tricks and wanted to see how I would perform in the finals.

    Of course, some people were still supporting me, acknowledging that I possessed both wits and power, evident from my performance in the Triple Threat match.

    Others were just curious about what I said to Quinn and Kai that made them surrender so easily.

    After around an hour passed, and the sun started to hide behind the horizon, introducing the arrival of the twilight hour, I received a knock on my door.

    It was a third-year cadet. She called me and said that I should proceed to the arena as my match¡ªthe final match¡ªwas about to start.

    Nodding, I got up and let out a final sigh.

    All my preparations were finished.

    I only had two tasks at hand: surviving the vampire attack and doing whatever it takes to fix Nero''s mentality.

    The first task was rather simple albeit not easy. To achieve the second task, however, I needed to aplish three things in my match against Nero.

    First, I must exhaust him.

    Second, I must make him use his gift.

    Third, I must set up a trap during our duel.

    There''s also an additional fourth step, which is the promise I made to myself for this match: Beat the evesting hell out of Nero.

    The fourth step is not necessary for my future ns, it''s just to content my own heart.

    Nodding, I got up and clenched my fists.

    "Okay, let''s do this."

 Chapter 255 Finals [1]

    ?

    Standing at the center of the Arena, my heart mmed wildly against my chest like a caged beast as the sun dived down the horizon, making way for the moon to take its ce.

    The fervent glow of the moonlight ignited the Arena, illuminating the countless stars that adorned the vast expanse of ck skies, resembling white rivers coursing through an ashennd.

    All the spotlights switched on, focusing solely on me, contenting my narcissistic self as I became the focus of everyone''s attention.

    Nero, as usual, was runningte.

    As a result, the crowd''s reactions, whether positive or negative, were directed mainly at me, again giving me a sense of satisfaction.

    Some booed, still not over how easily I advanced to the finals by defeating Kai, which obviously was the result of tant match-fixing, depriving everyone of a good match.

    However, I didn''t care.

    Maintaining a calm gaze, I looked at the entrance cave in front of me, through which Nero was supposed to walk out any minute now.

    The night had already arrived, and the moon was high. Soon, the creatures of the night would emerge from the shadows, ready to wreak havoc.

    I needed toplete all my tasks at hand to execute my already wless n to utter perfection.

    "Haaa~"

    Letting out a soft sigh, I summoned the Bringer Of Lost mes and rested its shaft on my right shoulder. Its crimson de glistened under the moonlight, ready to draw blood.

    After a bit of thought, I also summoned the metallic Yumi bow and slung it across my shoulder, wearing it tightly on my back.

    I harbored absolutely no delusions of defeating Nero without having to go all out. I didn''t even entertain such thoughts.

    In fact, even after using everything in my arsenal, I was sure that our match would be a very, very close call. I just knew it.

    That was especially going to be the case after I made him use his gift. Oh, and I was absolutely going to need him to use it.

    I know it will put him and everything rted to him in danger since that would confirm the vampires'' suspicion about him, but that''s exactly why I needed to do that.

    To be honest, I didn''t even know how I was going to win if I made him use his Gift. However, as I said, making him use his Gift was necessary too.

    It''s a paradox of sorts.

    There was a chance if I had been able to use Phoenix''s Embrace. But unfortunately, the tournament doesn''t allow armor-type Gifts to be used by contestants.

    "It''s fine," letting out another sigh, I shrugged my shoulders. "I will think of something on the fly."

    Yeah, I wille up with something. I mean, my main objective was to make Nero use his Gift against me. Winning was only going to be the cherry on top.

    With that thought in mind, I raised my head and cast a look at the entrance leading to the arena, its gate shrouded in darkness.

    In the next moment, as if waiting for that cue, a silhouette of a young man became visible as his figure stepped out into the spotlight.

    The young man walked toward me with slow, menacing steps, his slightly long raven-ck hair swaying gently from being caressed by the wind.

    His deep abyssal-like eyes stared at me with a hollow expression as the young man stood a few steps away from me.

    Ahh, how could a person with an affinity to light possess such darkness in his eyes?

    I''ve mentioned this once before, but I, just like every other person in this world, could experience a slightly ufortable feeling aftering near to a person with an affinity opposite to them.

    I could feel that feeling from Kai, Quinn, Amelia, and Aster for example since the first three possess an affinity for darkness and thest girl possesses an affinity for water¨C both of which goes against my affinities for Light and Fire.

    So how could Nero emit such an aura, one might ask? I know how. The darkness in his eyes was not that of an element but the things he had seen in his life.

    How could I possibly defeat a person like him? A boy who had been living on the razor''s edge since he was young.

    A boy who had been training until the brink of death when Lucas was fooling around.

    A boy who is not only talented but has also honed the skills to wield that talent.

    How¡­ How could I possibly defeat him who had been pursuing one goal for practically all his life¨C to win and to get stronger?

    Casting a defiant look at him, I steeled my resolve. It doesn''t matter. I will have to do it and thinking will only make me nervous.

    With thatst thought in mind, I cleared my head and watched as the world all around me disappeared.

    In my mind, there was no future and no past. There was no peace and nopassion.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    The world ceased to exist and all that remained was technique¡­ technique that was drilled into every fiber of my being my Master.

    I only came back to reality when the match bell rang to life. The judge was done going over the rules and announced the start of the match.

    I could hear the distant voices of thementatorsing out of the speakers throughout the arena and the deafening cheer of the crowd. Yet the ring of the bell drowned it all.

    Ding, Ding, Ding¡ª!!

    A of cracks appeared on the ground beneath Nero''s boots as he lunged forward at me at the first ring of the bell.

    "Fast!" I muttered under my breath with a bit of surprise.

    He was indeed fast, but not fast enough to not give me enough time to react. He shot at me like an arrow. I returned his gesture by doing the same.

    Raising the incandescent crimson de of the spear which was engulfed in bright orange mes, I used it to block Nero''s furious assault.

    ng¡ª!!

    "Tsk!"

    However, I couldn''t help and click my tongue as soon as my spear collided with his sword.

    My body involuntarily shuddered as the force of the impact behind his attacks sent horrid tremors coursing through my body.

    It felt as though instead of hitting a de of a sword, I was trying to cut a mountain.

    The des of our weapons entangled for a moment, and then separated as the both of us quickly jumped back a few meters.

    Nero enveloped his sword in a thickyer of a semi-solid state of mana, unleashing his True Sword Qi.

    As the austere de of his bastard sword shimmered under a protectiveyer of azure mana that enhanced its sharpness and resilience, the mes around my own spear started growing brighter and brighter until the glow around the Bringer Of Lost mes turned yellow.

    With that, we both lunged forward again and swung our weapons at each other. In the middle of his attack, however, Nero swiftly changed the trajectory of his horizontal sh.

    In the next moment, the glowing azure bastard swordshed out at me from below instead of appearing on my side.

    ng¡ª!!

    I parried his attack but Nero quickly retracted his sword before unleashing it on me.

    In the midst of the attack, he suddenly changed the trajectory of his attack again¡­ and then again, and again, and again.

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    Goddamnit!

    I couldn''t help but curse in my mind as my spear moved to feverishly defend against his unrelenting assault.

    But instead of backing down, I continued to chain my blocks and deflections into one uninterrupted sequence of swift moves.

    However, despite my best efforts, I reeled slightly after each strike I blocked or deflected.

    It was as if I was being hit by a hurricane of adamantine sledgehammers, each hit making my bone tremble and groan.

    What insanity is this?!

    How¡­? I couldn''tprehend how he was so strong?!

    Sure, I knew that we had a slight difference in mana core ranks and that his swordsmanship was going to pose some troubles, but right now he was outright overpowering me!

    Was it his usage of mana? Was he using it differently, or more efficiently and fluently than me?

    I did not know what was the source of his crushing strength, and I did not care. I am a simple man. If I see a strong opponent, I run. If I can''t run, then I avoid facing them head-on in their own game.

    Nero was overpowering me, sure. So that means, fighting him with strength was just simply put in question.

    I would fight him with speed and agility instead.

    With that thought in mind, I backed a few steps and lunged forward, this time I changed my entire battle style.

 Chapter 256 Finals [2]

    ?

    As Lucas dashed at him head-on, Nero raised an eyebrow and then thrust his sword forward toward the silver-haired boy.

    Quickly, the young Morningstar''s figure sidestepped to evade Nero''s sword. It looked as if he had evaded the attack harmlessly.

    But that notion was short-lived.

    A thin red line appeared on Lucas'' right cheek, warm drops of blood rolling down from it. Just a few centimeters higher, and he would have lost his right eye.

    Lucas despised that Nero''s sword marred his beautiful face, as much as he hated how his opponent could effortlessly track his movements.

    Despite Lucas'' incredible speed, which made him look like a blur to everyone else present in the Arena, he was no match for Nero.

    Lunging to Nero''s right, Lucas shot his spear toward his opponent''s vulnerable ribs.

    But that opening proved to be a trap. Nero had lured Lucas there deliberately.

    As the crimson de of the spear moved in his direction, Nero instantly seized the opportunity and jumped up, spinning his body mid-air.

    Using the momentum of his spin, Nero attempted to bring down the de of his sword on Lucas like a guillotine.

    But Lucas was prepared. He abruptly halted his thrust and wlessly executed an upward vertical sh with his spear, meeting Nero''s descending sword.

    ng¡ª!!

    Nero''s sword collided with the crimson de of Lucas'' spear, his eyes widening in surprise.

    Nero spun in the opposite direction,nding a few steps back, still in a state of shock.

    He hadn''t expected Lucas to block his attack with such skill. Nero believed that the young Morningstar would be forced to use his Gift to fling him away.

    ''Was it a fluke?'' Nero thought, reluctant to ept that his attack had been seen through.

    Shaking his head, Nero darted forward at Lucas and swung his glowing azure sword at him.

    It was fine. Even if it was a fluke, Lucas wouldn''t be able to repeat it. After all, it is as they say, ``There''s no value in sess if one can''t reproduce it.``

    Determined to crush Lucas before any more miracles urred, Nero unleashed a frenzy of unpredictable shes at the silver-haired boy, holding nothing back this time.

    Swish, Swish, Swish¡ª!!

    ''¡­Huh?''

    To Nero''s astonishment, however, the phenomenon he dismissed as a fluke or miracle kept repeating itself.

    Each swing of his de, every sh that he unleashed... met nothing but air!

    Lucas skillfully maneuvered on his feet, effortlessly dodging Nero''s attacks by sidestepping, jumping, ducking, or performing abination of all three.

    ...How?! How was he doing it?!

    Nero was baffled. His attacks were being effortlessly seen through. His technique had been deciphered with ease! He felt utterly exposed!

    Despite avoiding Nero''s attacks, Lucas wasn''t counterattacking just yet. Instead, he decided to stick close and move around at a quick speed.

    At this range, Nero should have the advantage in attack since Lucas'' spear was basically useless for such closebat.

    Yet, Nero couldn''t do much when his attacks weren''t connecting, could he now?

    Initially, his sword managed to leave a few gashes and cuts on the silver-haired boy, but now, his de wasn''t even connecting!

    For a moment, Nero considered the possibility that the young Morningstar really possessed some sort of future sight despite what he had said in the past.

    But then, something caught Nero''s attention. Lucas... his eyes... they weren''t focusing on him!

    No, Lucas chose to focus on Nero''s feet instead¡­ Or more specifically, on his footwork.

    "I see!" Nero mumbled under his breath.

    Footwork is the foundation of most if not all, techniques. It provides the movements, after all. Movements that are molded into techniques.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    It''s possible to decipher feint attacks by studying your opponent''s movements.

    Some masters ofbat and geniuses can even break down their enemy''s technique through their footwork.

    Was Lucas doing the same? Was he reading Nero''s movements?!

    Nero''s face turned pale and his expression of surprise deepened. After a few seconds, he shook his head.

    Fine, so Lucas had deciphered his technique. So what? Nero would simply change it.

    Suddenly, Nero''s footwork changed and grew erratic. His sword strikes, which were unpredictable before, now became almost impossible to follow.

    An azure gleam streaked through the air as Nero''s de shed toward Lucas. The silver-haired boy managed to dodge the attack but did not remain unscathed.

    The de connected with Lucas'' shoulder, leaving a deep gash. It shed again, this time wounding his right ribs.

    Nero''s n was rather simple. If Lucas could read his movements, then he would simply change techniques after Lucas grew ustomed to his movements.

    By the time Lucas slipped past the gaps in his movements, Nero would''ve injured him enough and changed into a new, unfamiliar technique.

    Nero''s n was as dangerous as it was good¡­ If only Lucas hadn''t thought of it and had a way to counter it already.

    Before Nero''s de could connect with his opponent for the third time, the air around Lucas suddenly changed.

    The movement of his spear, the sound of his breathing, the subtle fluttering of his eyes... all of it changed ever so slightly, but the difference became crystal clear.

    ''This guy!'' Nero cursed in his mind, a wild grin appearing on his face.

    Lucas had also changed his own technique.

    As Nero''s sword neared him, Lucas angled his spear in a way that allowed the de of his opponent to harmlessly slide off his weapon.

    Nero didn''t stop his assault, however. He continued to swing at Lucas, only to be met with the same result.

    His de was fast, and Lucas couldn''t entirely avoid it, so now he was deflecting the attacks instead.

    If before his technique resembled invible air, now his movements were as shapeless and formless as water.

    How could he change his technique so fast? How could he change his battle style so fast?

    By definition, a battle style was a structured framework of patterns of attacks that dictated how one should act to defeat an enemy.

    Those patterns were used as a foundation and expanded into a variety of specific movements to create a style.

    Changing those patterns in the midst of battle is crazy, something that mere teens like them shouldn''t be able to do.

    Yes, Nero did it, but he was special. Not only did he have talent, but he had also been training since a very, very young age.

    Lucas was indeed called a genius once, but he wasted most of his young life and discarded his training.

    How could a boy like that shift his battle style so easily like a master ofbat?!

    Yet, instead of a frown, a grin yed on Nero''s lips and widened even more with each passing second.

    After his attacks were deflected a few more times, Nero knew that he could do nothing to harm the silver-haired boy.

    Nodding, Nero jumped back a few meters and created a safe distance between him and his opponent.

    "I underestimated you," he said, looking at Lucas with an insane glint in his eyes. "I can see that I can''t defeat you with technique alone, so prepare yourself, Lucas."

    Lucas gritted his teeth. He knew what this meant. Up until now, they were merely shing with their weapons.

    Now¡­ Now, however, spells and weapon arts were going to get involved.

    "Fine then," Lucas spat out, gnashing his teeth as he rushed forward, and suddenly¡­

    The air wavered around him, and several figures perfectly resembling his own appeared forth and charged at Nero.

 Chapter 257 Finals [3]

    ?

    As a barrage of illusionary clones¡ª all of them resembling the silver-haired boy¡ª rushed at Nero, the Swordsman of End smirked and slightly bent his knees.

    He pulled his sword back and took a single step forward.

    As if responding to his will, shimmering snowke-like particles of radiant white light appeared in the air and started to swirl around his de.

    Nero let out a soft breath and brought his radiantly glowing sword forward. Almost instantly, a pir of incandescent, white light burst forth from it.

    [12-Movement Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [Third Form: Heaven Splitting Sword]

    The collision of the pir of light with Lucas'' illusionary clones shattered them instantly. Those silver-haired young men created by Lucas'' Mirage Step wavered and disappeared.

    Under the intense pressure of Nero''s spell, the ground was obliterated, the pir of light leaving behind nothing but flying chunks of shattered ground, rising dust, and smoldering concrete in its wake.

    Although the pir stopped when it touched the barrier meant to protect the audience from any stray spell, it wasn''t dismissed.

    Nero willed strength into his arms and traced his sword horizontally, and the pir of immting light moved in order to follow its source, sweeping over dozens of illusionary clones of Lucas.

    One after another, Lucas'' clones and everything in its path were destroyed by the incandescent pir of light.

    Yet, Lucas'' remaining clones didn''t stop their charge.

    Seeing this, Nero''s smirk widened and he quickly finished his trace.

    The pir of light made an arc in front of him, obliterating practically everything that dared to stand in his way.

    A huge cloud of cement shards and dust blew up, but in the nick of time, a single silver-haired boy jumped up to avoid sharing the same fate as his clones.

    It was the real Lucas.

    Hended and momentarily disappeared behind the cover of rising dust and flying debris.

    However, his figure soon emerged and stepped into sight, still rushing to cover the distance between him and his opponent.

    The pir of light diminished as Nero stopped feeding his sword mana. Yet, the blinding glow around his sword remained as it continued to emit light.

    "Just how much mana does that bastard have?!" Lucas mumbled under his breath and shuddered, but didn''t stop rushing forward at the bastard in question.

    In fact, Lucas gripped his spear tighter, and suddenly, immting yellowish-orange mes engulfed his body and weapon in a warm embrace.

    This was his natural element¡ª Fire. Being surrounded by it, Lucas could feel a sense of safety and a feeling of rejuvenation, not to mention the explosive strength coursing through his veins.

    Nero shot forward at the iing silver-haired boy like a loose bullet and swung his sword at him.

    Lucas sidestepped, deflected Nero''s glowing de, and continued his charge until he rammed into him with his shoulder.

    At the veryst moment, Lucas activated his Gift and an explosion urred. It felt like Nero was hit by a speeding train. The sheer impact of Lucas'' tackle and the huge explosion sent him flying back a few meters.

    But Nero soon regained his bnce andnded on his two feet before lodging his de in the ground to stop himself from sliding back.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    He looked at Lucas with a bit of surprise, whips of smoke rising from hisbat attire. He already knew that the young Morningstar could create mana explosions, but this was his first time seeing him create a fiery explosion.

    "So his Gift could also be used like that?" Nero silently noted and then brandished his sword once again.

    Lucas was already onto him. This time, however, instead of closing the distance, he made a few quick hand signs.

    The fire around him started to change color, turning into the darkest shade of blue as he pointed at Nero with his right hand.

    Instantly, the mes started to crackle with intensity, turning into tendrils of sma, quickly bearing the semnce of electricity.

    Before Nero had the chance to react, a huge, bright bolt of lightning burst from the aura surrounding Lucas and shot in an arc at Nero.

    The protagonist widened his eyes and crossed his arms, bracing for the iing pain. The bolt of lightning struck him with a thunderous roar. The shock of electricity wasn''t as severe as the burning feeling he felt in his skin.

    Yet, despite the pain, Nero held and gritted his teeth, not allowing even a single yelp to escape from his tightly shut mouth.

    The bolt of lightning was dismissed soon and allowed Nero to catch his breath. A lot more whips of smoke rose from him and residual electricity crackled around his figure.

    He was momentarily disoriented but at least the pain wasn''t there. However, a moment was all Lucas needed to quickly follow up with another attack.

    The Fallen Angel used his speed to circle around the Swordsman of End, using the distorted state Nero was left in because of him to its fullest.

    After arriving behind him, Lucas weaved a few more hand signs and once again faced the open palm of his free hand at Nero.

    Suddenly, a huge orb of searing blue mes manifested itself in front of Lucas'' palm. At that moment, the orb burst forth and unleashed a torrent of fire at the silver-haired boy''s target.

    As the river of immting blue mes neared him, Nero instinctively turned around and faced the iing spell.

    It was toote to cast a spell of his own, so Nero didn''t even entertain the idea of doing that. Instead, he raised his own sword and struck its de down on the ground.

    As if a small meteor had struck the ground, the shards of concrete broke and flew up in the air in front of Nero, shielding him from the iing attack.

    As soon as the torrent of destructive blue mes collided with the concrete shards, an explosion urred again and sent Nero a few meters back once more.

    This time, Nero gracelesslynded on his back and rolled a few times before plunging his sword into the ground anding to a halt.

    Stunned, Nero blinked his eyes a few times and raised his head to spot the silver-haired boy.

    Lucas was already rushing at him again, hoping to follow up with another attack. Unfortunately, this time, Nero was not going to give him a chance.

    Lucas had already turned out to be far more cunning and dangerous than he had given him credit for.

    At first, Nero respected his intelligence and insights as a strategist. But the mere fact that he managed to arrive in the finals of the King''s Tournament, albeit by using a few underhanded measures, was proof enough that Lucas was not weak.

    In fact, the few exchanges of blows he had with him had already told Nero that Lucas was just as dangerous, if not more, than him.

    The grin on Nero''s face turned deep as he said, "Let''s do this."

 Chapter 258 Finals [4]

    ?

    Without giving Nero a moment of respite, Lucas rushed at his kneeling figure with his spear pointed at the fallen swordsman.

    However, Nero was already up on his feet in the next second. Before Lucas could back down or even think to change his approach, Nero advanced at him.

    Realizing he couldn''t avoid a head-on confrontation with the protagonist anymore, Lucas once again readied himself to cross des with Nero.

    In the blink of an eye, Nero blurred out in thin air and reappeared right in front of Lucas.

    Lucas could only widen his eyes as Nero clutched his sword in the reverse grip, and attempted to bash the pommel of his sword into the young Morningstar''s sr plexus with enough force to destroy a small boulder.

    However, if the torturous months of rigorous training with Leo had taught one thing to Lucas, it was that protecting his sr plexus takes priority above all else, as it houses his mana core.

    Thus, Lucas unnaturally careened to his right side, removed his right hand from the shaft of his spear, and without stopping his charge, raised his elbow to hit Nero in the face with it.

    Nero reacted quickly, sidestepping to swiftly move behind Lucas. He then transitioned into and sped his sword into a traditional grip and swung its de at Lucas'' vulnerable right ribs.

    Gritting his teeth and knowing there was no escape now, Lucas tried to get out of the way of Nero''s sword as much as possible but was still left with a gaping gash on his right ribs side.

    "Argh!"

    Swallowing hard and grunting slightly, Lucas shifted his weight and swung his spear at Nero, and thetter replied by moving his own de at him in an arc.

    The ngor of metal hitting against metal resounded throughout the arena like a deadly symphony until Nero avoided one of the shes from Lucas and took a single step back.

    One of Nero''s hands left the hilt of his sword, and his fingers closed in except for his index and middle finger, which were pointed at Lucas like a prop handgun.

    Lucas'' eyes widened, but before he could move out of the way, shimmering particles of radiant white light clustered in front of the barrel of Nero''s handgun.

    In the next moment, a blinding white light shed and drowned the entire Arena as if a sun had descended there.

    When the light diminished, the figure of a silver-haired boy was visible, kneeling a few steps away from Nero.

    A gaping hole was also visible on Lucas''bat attire in the middle of his chest, its ragged edges burnt.

    Lucas himself didn''t seem to have possessed any serious injuries, however, a small, shallow hole akin to a bullet wound was present on his chest.

    Blood was gushing out the hole in his chest, albeit it wasn''t very deep. Lucas was on his knees, breathing shakily. The fiery elemental aura surrounding him was gone.

    Nero, on the other hand, looked at Lucas with surprise and said, "Congrats, Lucas. I think you''re the only one I''ve met who was able to tank the full might of that spell at point nk, head-on without any armor because usually it''s a finisher."

    Lucas coughed hard a few times and rose to his feet. He shot a re at Nero and spat in a hoarse voice, "Aren''t you too full of yourself?"

    Nero raised his eyebrow, prompting Lucas to continue, his voice returning back to its normal with each word.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Who the hell do you think you are to congratte me? If anything, I should be the one congratting you," Lucas added.

    Nero''s eyes grew a little cold as he asked, "Oh? And why is that?"

    "Why else? You''re the first cadet in the tournament who survived against me for more than ten minutes," Lucas gritted his teeth and then lunged forward again.

    The wound on his chest, ribs, and several other small gashes did nothing to slow him down; instead, he only looked faster now.

    The reason for that was several small bursts of explosions going off under his feet, propelling him like a rocket every time he stepped on the ground.

    Dozens of small craters were left in his wake as he advanced, searing blue mes appearing and dancing around him once again.

    Nero raised his glowing azure sword as trails of light particles started to swirl around his de.

    Suddenly, he himself rushed forward at Lucas.

    From the viewpoint of the audience, a line of pure white, radiant light, and a trail of zing blue inferno drew arcs on the ground as they collided one after another.

    Each sh was apanied by thunderous shockwaves that swept through the vicinity, and the concrete ground was obliterated a little more.

    Explosions erupted, and smoke obscured some parts of the Arena.

    Even the barrier meant to keep the stray spells away looked to be struggling to maintain its ce facing the sheer scale of the battle of this intensity.

    To the mundane people watching the matches at their homes or even some of the first-year cadets in the academy, it may have looked like both the Fallen Angel and the Swordsman of End were on par with each other, but it couldn''t be farther from the truth.

    In actuality, each time Lucas and Nero shed, disengaged, and then shed again, both of them were receiving wounds.

    However, Lucas was umting more and more injuriespared to Nero. Each time their des nged, they inflicted damage on each other, but Lucas was on the losing end.

    That was to be expected. The battle had grown to the point where sticking to technique was impossible now.

    It was just the sheer sh of their respective strengths.

    Lucas didn''t want that, of course. From the start, he was trying to resist this inevitable moment. However, the flow of the battle always follows the strongest.

    Or rather, it''s more precise to say that only the strongest have the luxury to choose the flow of the battle.

    If you try to resist it more than you should, then you would eventually be crushed.

    Lucas did whatever he could, but now the duel was finally turning in favor of Nero. After all, between the two of them, he was without any doubt the strongest.

 Chapter 259 Finals [5]

    ?

    Boom¡ª!!

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    After a few minutes of struggle, even to the mundane people, it has be obvious that the Fallen Angel was losing ground.

    Each time their des shed, Lucas was pushed back slightly more than thest. Nero''s relentless attacks showed no sign of ending.

    His de fell on the young Morningstar like a hurricane of boulders raining down on him.

    Lucas was sure that if his spear was anything short of Legendary rank, it would''ve shattered like ss by now.

    He inwardly thanked his master for providing him with the Bringer Of Lost mes, but it wouldn''t ensure victory in this match.

    The whole Arena was plunged into pin-drop silence. The audience sat at the edge of their seats, staring at the half-ruined concrete field with anticipation.

    Everyone looked at the ongoing match with their mouths hanging open and eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets.

    Each one of them was extremely still like a statue, as if moving even slightly would disturb the unfolding spectacle before them.

    Evenmentators were silent, their asional surprised yelps and gasps betraying the fact that someone was sitting behind the mics.

    No one expected this level of fight from two first-year cadets. Well, some people did from Nero, but no one expected much from Lucas.

    Yes, his recent development showed him worthy of his previous title of a genius, but in the eyes of the world, he was still not in the same league as Nero.

    After all, Nero had fought his way up in the bracket alone, while Lucas clearly had some people who pushed him up except in the second round¨C the Triple Threat match.

    The abilities Nero disyed were in the realm of being unbelievable, in contrast to the humane cunning and moderately excellent battle prowess that Lucas showcased.

    Yet, somehow, defying all logic, Lucas was here, still in the match. Well, yes, he was fighting a losing duel, but it''s not like there was no chance of winning.

    There was still a chance¡ª That''s what the people supporting the fallen Morningstar chose to believe.

    Well, them and Lucas himself. After all, he knew that Nero had been fighting the whole day while he only had to fight a little in one match.

    He had already exerted himself enough. Even though Nero was a monster, he was still human, hopefully.

    His mana core, albeit a bit higher than most of the people his age, was still limited. There was only so much he could strain it.

    Then there was the question of his physique itself. Nero had acquired several wounds from his previous battles.

    And now, even when Lucas was receiving more wounds in this duel, Nero was still the one more injured between the two of them.

    One mistake¡­ Lucas wanted Nero to make just one mistake. He was stalking Nero like a predator observing his prey.

    Lucas was sure that just one single mistake would be all it''d take for him to im victory or, at least,plete his task over Nero.

    However, to his dismay, Nero also had an inkling about it, so he was cautious enough not to make a single blunder.

    His movements were fluid and unpredictable, but also grounded and firm. Every strike, every step was calcted and efficient, focused on delivering the maximum amount of damage while preserving as much of his strength as possible.

    Each time they engaged, a shockwave would erupt, causing them to disengage and fly back a few meters before rushing at each other again and lunging forward to sh and repeat the process.

    By now, Lucas'' body was littered with fresh scars, with streams of warm, crimson blood rolling down his perfectly toned physique.

    Nero wasn''t left unharmed, however. His own state resembled very much that of Lucas'', albeit less extreme.

    Once again, after being flung back by the force of their own collision, Nero and Lucas lunged forward at each other.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    ng¡ª!!

    This time, before shing their des, Nero stomped the sole of his boot on the ground and willed as much mana as he could into his feet.

    After acquiring proper footing, his swordshed forward and met Lucas'' spear after making a wide, glowing azure arc in the air.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!!

    This time, most of the shockwave that erupted from their collision was directed solely at Lucas, or at least he was the one who seemed to be more affected by it.

    His body flung back and high in the air, as the world turned upside down in his vision.

    "What the¡­?!" Lucas grunted, widening his eyes in shock. He was thrown in the air like a rag doll!

    Gnashing his teeth, Lucas pulled strength into his core and performed an abrupt somersault in the air to kill the momentum pushing his back.

    His body was suspended in the air for a few moments. Lucas made full use of his high position and willed more mana into his fiery elemental aura.

    The immting blue mes engulfing his figure crackled with intensity and turned into electricity.

    He changed the grip on his spear and ced one hand in the middle of its shaft and another near the end of its tip.

    The electricity crackled around him even more vigorously before Lucas threw his spear forward like a javelin.

    Thuuuum¡ª!!

    A loud thunder roared through the night sky, and a bright sh of light flickered under the fervent glow of the moonlight.

    Almost instantly, the spear from Lucas'' hand shot down at Nero akin to a bolt out of a railgun, like a god incurring his wrath on a mere mortal.

    However, Nero was anything but a mere mortal. His sword gleamed with a blinding light as he swung his sword at the iing spear d in a destructive bolt of lightning.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    Nero''s de nged against the spear, leaving it mere inches away from impaling his chest until he finally mustered enough mana in his hands and pushed away the spear.

    Thak¡ª!!

    The spear struck the ground next to Nero, residual electricity still crackling around it.

    The impact of deflecting such an attack sent tremors of pain coursing through Nero''s bones as his hands were left trembling and shaking.

    It really did feel like Nero had to deflect a bolt shot out of a railgun. As he took a few moments to catch his breath, Lucasnded a few meters away from him.

    Even though he didn''t have a weapon in his hand, he didn''t rush to get it back. Not like Nero would let him do that, anyway.

    Instead, Lucas muttered a chant under his ragged breath and pointed his open palm at Nero. He then closed his hand into a fist and pulled his arm back.

    Instantly, more than a dozennces of zing crimson mes appeared in the air above Nero''s head.

    Before the swordsman had the chance to react, the zingnces fell down and struck the ground around him in a circle, as if entrapping him behind ming bars.

    In the next moment, all of thosences exploded and created a destructive ball of smoldering fire, a mushroom cloud of ck smoke rising above it.

    "Did I get him?" Lucas thought with gritted teeth, but in the next moment immediately regretted his decision.

    "Damn it!" He cursed. "Why do I always raise a g."

 Chapter 260 Winner Of The Kings Tournament [1]

    ?

    As soon as Lucas was done¡­ raising the g, something stirred inside the rising mushroom cloud of ck smoke.

    Soon, a halo of bright light shed inside its darkness, resembling a single shiny star amidst the vast expanse of a nightly ck void.

    In the very next moment, a radiant pir of blinding white light shot towards the sky, as if attempting to reach the heavens itself¡­ or split it in half.

    The smoke that obscured the vision dispersed after the appearance of the radiant pir of light, which vanquished the darkness.

    A lone silhouette of a young man, holding a sword that appeared to be the source of the pir came into sight.

    The halo around the young man made it almost blinding to look at him, but it nevertheless prompted beads of cold sweat to roll down Lucas'' forehead.

    "Fuck!" Lucas cursed out under his breath but before he could react, he felt his body being frozen in ce.

    No, it wasn''t out of fear or any other whimsical emotion like that.

    In reality, the pir of light stretching out into the sky like a tower over Lucas'' head had started to move.

    It was falling down¡­ on him!

    The force of its descent sent pulverizing pressure crashing down on Lucas, and it felt like a mountain had fallen on his shoulder even though the pir of light had yet to reach him.

    "Arghaa!" Lucas gnashed his teeth and willed mana into his legs and forearms before falling onto all fours.

    He then pushed back on the ground with his feet and pulled with his hands, swiftly galloping across the field like a tiger.

    Nero brought his sword down in one fluid motion, causing the pir of light to descend faster as it struck the ground.

    Thwoooom¡ª!!!

    A thunderous shockwave coursed through the Arena, causing the whole vicinity to tremble like a deck of cards as the pir of light hit the spot where Lucas was present a few moments before.

    Thend was obliterated, shards of concrete once again flew off in the air as a wide vertical crack was formed on the soldering ground.

    Lucas, however, had already moved from there. This was his chance! After deciding that he was safe, he got up on his feet and moved like a human.

    He still didn''t stop running, of course.

    As he moved in an arc around Nero, who looked sickly pale after performing thatst attack, Lucas weaved a few quick hand signs.

    This was indeed his chance! A few seconds ago, Lucas hit Nero with ming Lance¡ª a high-level spell¡ª without holding back anything.

    It would''ve killed or at least seriously injured even the strongest of cadets, and Nero would''ve shared that fate too if not for his true Martial Aura.

    But could he survive being hit by another high-level spell? That''s what Lucas wanted to find out.

    A few seconds¡­ That was all the time he gave Nero to catch his breath because, in the next moment, a zing aura of fiery crimson mes engulfed Lucas'' figure.

    Seeing that, Nero gritted his teeth and sprang into action. He was getting ready to face another artillery spell, but instead, Lucas did something strange.

    The silver-haired boy abruptly stopped running and came to aplete halt, facing Nero, who stood a few meters away from him.

    mes started to umte around Lucas'' right fist as he raised his arm.

    He then fell on one knee and punched the ground, striking it with his fist d in crimson mes.

    Thwaam¡ª!!

    The ground cracked and crevices spread across the concrete like vines from the point where Lucas had punched the ground.

    Nero looked in confusion as the cracks started to widen. It almost looked as if something was trying to protrude out of the ground, before suddenly¡­

    Thwoom¡ª!! Booom¡ª!! Booom¡ª!!

    Several zing pirs of crimson mes erupted from the ground one after another, reaching toward the sky like dragons awakened.

    The razing explosions of fiery pirs started closing in on Nero at a concerning speed.

    The swordsman''s eyes widened as he realized the type of spell Lucas had unleashed.

    "An AoE spell?!" Nero raised his eyebrows in utter shock.

    Obviously, there were many types of spells one can learn to cast. Some spells favor a specific group of awakeness with specific affinities.

    For example, barrier-type spells are mostly meant for water, ice, or earth elemental users to cast.

    Artillery spells can be used by mostly all the existing affinities like fire, earth, water, lightning, and so on.

    There are some healing spells that are divided into two groups: Self-healing and Target Healing. Those are mostly meant for water elemental affinity users.

    Thest and most fearsome type of spells are AoE, or Area of Effect, spells. Instead of a single target, they influence the whole area.

    AoE has many other variations like crowd control or crowd healing, but the ones to look out for are an area of destruction spells.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Lucas had, just now, unleashed an Area of Destruction spell. It was a high-level spell at that!

    Nero couldn''t help but wonder how did the young Morningstar learn two high-level spells in such a short time?!

    However, he couldn''t think about it much because the scorching waves of heat spread over him as the pirs of fire started exploding all around him, entrapping him in a circr ensnare.

    Without thinking much, Nero held his sword in a reverse grip, his left hand clutched the hilt of his bastard sword and his right hand grabbed the far end of his de with its t side.

    Holding it like a sledgehammer, Nero flooded his sword with mana and bashed it down on the ground with all his might, not holding back anything at all.

    THWAAAAM¡ª!!!

    The ground trembled as if a meteor had crashed against its surface, sending violent quakes in every direction.

    The crimson pirs of fire erupting from the ground disrupted a little before Lucas himself lost his bnce and swayed to his side a little.

    Only then did the spell he had cast dismissed since he lost his focus. The young Morningstar widened his eyes and picked himself up from his kneeling position and stood up.

    The vibrations still coursed through the ground. Lucas looked at Nero, a huge crater was dug out beneath him from the impact of hisst attack that literally summoned an earthquake.

    Nero met his gaze and rushed at him before Lucas could cast his previous spell again.

    The silver-haired boy gritted his teeth. Since he still didn''t have his spear, Lucas summoned his yumi bow and drew its string taut.

    The yumi bow shimmered slightly in a dim azure glow before a shimmering arrow, seemingly madepletely out of a bright blue bolt of lightning, appeared on its string.

    Lucas had used his Edit Pen to turn the bow into a relic. Now he could use his mana to create elemental arrows that his affinities could support.

    Gritting his teeth and locking his target on Nero, who was darting toward him, Lucas rxed his finger.

    The blue bolt of lightning shot forward at Nero, leaving behind a trail of crackling electricity with blurring speed.

    Nero raised his sword, but before he could do anything, the lightning arrow split into ten darts and rained down on the young swordsman.

    "Tsk!" Nero clicked his tongue and stomped his foot on the ground to gain proper footing.

    ng¡ª!! Thaaam¡ª!! ng¡ª!!

    He then swung the glowing de of his azure sword and unleashed a swift fury of powerful yet surgically precise shes at the iing lightning arrows.

    One after another his sword hacked down the blurring bolts of lightning as if he was cutting paper, not at all taken aback by their speed.

    The audience was left utterly baffled. The lightning arrows were traveling nearly at the speed of thunderbolts. Yet, not only Nero precisely tracked each one of them down, but he also managed to destroy it with his sword!

    Truly, he was befitting of his title!

    It was, however, very bad news for Lucas!

    ¡­Or at least it would''ve been if Lucas had already not anticipated this situation to ur.

    By the time Nero was down cutting down his lightning arrows, Lucas had already hopped back several meters.

    Not only that, but he had also cast his previous spell. Once again, Lucas punched the ground with his fist d in crimson mes.

    In the very next moment, once again, pirs of immting crimson fire burst out from beneath the concrete ground.

    "Damn it!" Nero cursed, knowing he couldn''t do what he did to cancel Lucas'' castst time.

    His mana reserves were already running dangerously low. One more move like thest one, and Nero wouldn''t have any mana left to counterattack.

    So instead of trying to avoid Lucas'' spell, Nero decided to tank it and attack with his own!

    "Fine!" Nero bit his lower lip and raised his sword once again. A blinding pir of incandescent white light shot upward from his de as the fiery eruptions started closing in on him.

    Before long, Nero was surrounded by several dozens of fiery fountains while a tower of light shooting up from his sword only grew brighter.

    "Arghaaaa!"

    "Come on!"

    Both Nero and Lucas let out a beasteal battle cry and braced themselves for the iing, inevitable impact.

    The ground beneath Nero''s feet shattered as if it was ss and a destructive explosion erupted from under his very feet.

    Simultaneously, Nero brought down his sword, and the pir of light that was being projected out from his sword descended on Lucas.

    THWAAAAM¡ª!!!

    BOOOOM¡ª!!!

 Chapter 261 Winner Of The Kings Tournament [2]

    ?

    Most of the audience present in the arena rose to their feet while some remained petrified in their seats.

    Their mouths hung open, their jaws practically touching the ground.

    Their eyes were practically either glued to the screen that hovered above the arena or on the field itself.

    Their vision was obstructed by the rising ck smoke that filled half of the arena and the cloud of white dust and particles of light that veiled the other half.

    ¨C"Wha-What the¡­ What just happened?"

    ¨C"I¨C I don''t know?"

    ¨C"H-Huh?"

    Everyone in the audience¡­ All of them werepletely and utterly stumped out of their minds.

    The events that unfolded before then were¡­ indescribable!

    But it wasn''t over yet¡­ The match itself wasn''t over, or was it?

    Even in the VIP stand, the instructors present there looked at the Arena with quizzical and baffled gazes.

    They weren''t sure of what to make of the duel they had just witnessed.

    Even Liz herself, who was so sure of Nero''s victory earlier, seemed to be in a stupor, as if unable to believe her eyes.

    After witnessing some of the matches, she knew that Lucas was strong. But he was this strong?!

    He knew two high-level spells and such deepbat intelligence! He was, and Liz couldn''t believe that she was even thinking this, almost as strong as Nero.

    ¡­Almost.

    While everyone seemed to be thinking that the match resulted in a draw, Liz herself knew better.

    She knew that if pushes to shove, her disciple would pull all breaks and pull out his Gift. Which, to her fear, he had already done.

    As the smoke slowly dispersed and dust calmly settled, two silhouettes of handsome young men became visible.

    One was on his knees, violently coughing blood as he struggled to rise up on his feet.

    The other, however, was already on his feet and nearing the kneeling figure of the silver-haired young man.

    As soon as Lucas'' spell hit Nero and the young swordsman was entrapped in an immting explosion, the silver-haired boy looked up and saw a pir of light descending on him.

    Lucas gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, and strengthened his back before crossing his arms over his head while maintaining his true Martial Aura to the best of his humble abilities.

    But nothing was enough to shield him from the full might of Nero''s weapon art. In the end, it felt as if a giant mountain had fallen on him from the heavens.

    If not for his true Martial Aura, Lucas would''ve been crushed under the destructive force of that pir of light.

    Of course, crushing weight wasn''t the only obstacle he had to face. The incandescent white light that the pir was made of also burnt him in several ces.

    His beautiful face, to his horror, was especially married with a wicked burn mark running down his left cheek.

    Coughing a mouthful of blood, Lucas shot a death re at the figure stepping out from the smoke in front of him.

    Nero looked almost unharmed¡­ almost.

    His battle attire was in rags, revealing his toned physique in several ces with lean muscles rolling under his skin.

    He looked like a fantasy swordsman who had just in a god¡­ or was about to.

    The bastard sword in his hand was broken, but Nero had another sword in his hand¡­

    In his left hand, the ck-haired man firmly grasped an intricate ninjato with a shiny azure de.

    It only took Lucas a single nce to recognize that sword. It was the Heavenly Sword of Water.

    Nero had used his Gift¡­ He must''ve used a water barrier spell to protect himself from the destructive explosion cast by Lucas earlier.

    "Heh," a smirk formed on Lucas'' face before he shifted his eyes to Nero and spat in a tone dripping with venom while still coughing violently: "You scarred my handsome face!"

    Nero shrugged, stopping a few steps away from Lucas. "You challenged my strength."

    The silver-haired boy looked at the young man in front of him and lingered for a moment before he threw his head back andughed hysterically.

    After a few seconds, he stopped and turned to Nero, amused for some reason. "I hate your guts, man. At first, I thought I would just ignore you and interact with you only as much as I need to. But goddamn! There are only very few people who can irritate me so much in the world and you''re on top of that list!"

    As Lucas said all that, he couldn''t help but remember how he nned to stay away from Nero and avoid the fated duel with him as he did in the novel.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Yet, here he was, doing exactly that.

    Nero looked at Lucas with an unreadable expression and then asked, "Why? What''s your problem with me? I said I''m sorry, did I not? Even though I knew we could never be friends, I at least expected us to be on good terms. If you''re still hung up on what I said to you, then I''ll apologize again since it was my fault. I''m sorry."

    "You don''t understand," Lucas shook his head. "Well, for what it''s worth, I don''t me you. I just hope you will soon be able to see my point."

    As he said that, Lucas started rising to his feet. Flickering orange mes appeared and enveloped him in their warm embrace.

    These mes, however¡­ They didn''t look ordinary or mundane¡­ No, they looked different.

    They looked¡­ pure.

    Before Nero could understand what was happening, Lucas started standing up. The orange mes surrounding him flickered vigorously and turned to¡­ silver!

    Soon, the burnt marks and gaping wounds on Lucas'' body started to heal, his body repairing itself!

    This was something Lucas had discovered recently. He had gained an extremely fast regenerative healing factor after syncing with Sera.

    He found it when he was training with Leo and acquired a wound on his wrist. Only then he found out that by focusing on his and Sera''s bond, Lucas could summon mythical mes.

    These silver mes could heal his wounds, but to what extent, Lucas didn''t know.

    He doubted that using it could bring him back from the brink of death like an actual phoenix, but the healing factor was still appreciated.

    "....?!" Nero looked at Lucas with wide eyes.

    Learning healing spells, especially self-healing spells, with fire affinity was not unheard of, but all of those spells were of high level.

    So¡­ does that mean that Lucas had learned not only two but three high-level spells?!

    Well, not really.

    His me Lances was a spell that Lucas instantly learned after obtaining the Bringer Of Lost mes. His healing fire was more like a second Gift that he got from Sera rather than a spell.

    The only high-level spell he actually learned in all this time was the Hellfire Explosions that he unleashed on Nero earlier.

    But the ck-haired swordsman didn''t know that. So he looked at Lucas with a shell-shocked look but then quickly came back to reality.

    Finally, after his wounds were healed, Lucas weaved a quick hand sign and then stretched out his hand.

    His palm was instantly d in crackling electricity as Lucas bent his knees and prepared tounch himself at Nero.

    Nero, in turn, also bent his knees and raised his ninjato,pletely discarding his broken Bastard Sword.

    Nero didn''t even have a single drop of mana left in his body anymore. He was surprised that Lucas was able to cast a spell even after the level of duel they had.

    However, Nero was still certain of his victory. He knew that Lucas could only cast a single spell. The young Morningstar was also at his limit.

    Nero, on the other hand, could cast as many water spells as he wanted to with the help of one of his Heavenly Swords.

    If Nero could avoid this one attack from Lucas, then his victory was inevitable.

    ¡­However, Nero didn''t want to avoid this attack. He already had a big advantage over Lucas now that he had summoned his Gift.

    If he ran from here, then where would he go?

    Drawing a deep breath, Nero clutched his azure short sword tightly. A stream of water flowed out from the de of his ninjato and formed a sharp edge as if extending its reach and sharpness.

    Not a single word was exchanged as both warriors rushed at each other, Lucas with his lightning w and Nero with his azure ninjato.

    Nero waited until he stepped into Lucas'' striking range and only then did he swing his own de at him.

    In response, Lucas himself lunged forward at Nero with his w d in lightning.

    Thak¡ª

    Fwuush¡ª!!

    Both figures of the cadets disappeared and reappeared a few meters away from each other, their backs facing one another.

    Nero had a deep, gaping wound around his heart while Lucas had a long gash running along the right side of his lower ribs.

    Thud¡ª

    In the next moment, both Nero and Lucas swayed a little, but the one to fall face first on the ground¡­ was the young wolf.

    "[It''s over! The final match has now officially ended! The Fallen Angel, Lucas Morningstar, is unable to continue the duel! Nero Dekrauf, the Swordsman of End, has won!]"

 Chapter 262 Vampire Attack [1]

    ?

    "Argh¡­"

    Good lord! My ribs hurt. It felt like most of my right side was broken and battered.

    I could physically feel the sharp splinters of my broken ribs piercing my lungs. Yes, it was very painful.

    I tried to get up, struggling with all I had in me to rise to my feet. Yet, my body refused mymand to move.

    In the end, I could only exhaustedlyy on my belly pressed against the cold, hard concrete ground, breathing heavily as jolts of organ-rendering pain continued to course through my body.

    Before long, the voice of the announcer reached my ears, dering Nero as the winner of the King''s Tournament.

    Thud¡ª

    Almost as soon as the announcement was made, I heard a low thud resounding from a few steps behind me.

    I tried to get up and look back, but as I said, I couldn''t even move an inch. I had an idea of what must''ve happened, of course.

    Nero Dekrauf fell.

    He managed to stand a few seconds more than me, enough time for him to obtain the victory.

    "Graah!"

    Another groan escaped my lips as I tried to move a little and rolled over to my back. I moved my hand and tried to examine the right side of my ribs.

    My hand felt¡­ warm?

    I brought it back and looked at my palm only to see warm, crimson blood dripping down from it. Well, that''s to be expected since I had a gaping wound there.

    In the next moment, I heard the hurried sound of footsteps growing closer with each passing second.

    Very soon, the medical team reached us and gave several high-quality healing potions to us¡ª both me and Nero.

    Several of them who were well-versed in healing magic also started chanting spells to heal us of our wounds.

    After a few minutes, most of the pain-numbing and agonizing me was gone, so I sat back up and summoned several vials of high-quality mana recovery potions, and greedily drank them all.

    I was frustrated by my loss. Somewhere deep inside my heart, I knew that I never stood a chance against Nero.

    However, aftering this close in our duel, I thought maybe I could really defeat him. Even though I knew about his broken Gift, I still foolishly thought that.

    Haaa! If only I was allowed to use Phoenix''s Embrace, if only!

    However, what''s done is done. Time is of the essence right now. Even though I was not able to win, I didplete all the tasks I had made for this duel.

    The vampires will attack any minute now but I wasn''t too worried. I''ve set the stage already. If everything were to go ording to my n, I would sessfully break that mentality of Nero.

    "Gaah!" Letting out a satisfied sigh as I was done consuming the mana potion, I focused on my soul bond with Sera and summoned mythical silver mes.

    The medics near me stepped back with a furtive and startled expression as the silver mes enveloped my bodypletely.

    I could feel my shattered bones merging back in ce and my mangled or torn muscles regenerating and healing quickly.

    ¨C"Ahh, do you want us to apany you to the infirmary?" One of the medics asked with a worried expression.

    I cast him a neutral nce and raised my hand with a shake of my head, "I''m fine. I don''t require medical attention."

    ¨C"B-But¡­" the medic was about to retort in some way, but before he could, his other colleague pulled his arm to stop him.

    ¨C"Those were healing mes. That was a high-ranking self-healing magic. If he can use that, then he should be fine." Sparing me a reverend nce, his colleague said.

    Well, they weren''t wrong.

    As long as I have mana and I could feel my soul bond with Sera, those mythical Silver mes could be summoned to heal me of any wounds.

    Of course, the more severe the wound I receive, the more mana I would have to spend to heal it.

    In simple terms, bringing the Silver mes to heal several life-threatening wounds would require me to spend an equally great amount of mana.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    In other words, as long as I have mana, I could keep healing myself and continue to fight.

    Actually, I lost against Nero because of two reasons:

    First, I had long exhausted my reserves of mana before our final sh. After fueling the Silver mes, I could only supply mere drops to my Lightning w spell.

    So, I wasn''t able to deal as much damage as I wanted to Nero while he hit me with a devastating water spell since he didn''t need to use mana after activating his Gift.

    His Gift allows him to summon Seven Heavenly Swords which in turn grants himplete control over their respective elements.

    Damn that overpowered protagonist and his cheats.

    Anyway, the second reason was that¡­ I simply was just a step behind.

    Yeah, during our final sh, for a split second, Nero was faster than me. Just a single step, damnit! I was slow by just a single step!

    As I gritted my teeth, the thunderous cheers from the crowd brought me back from the depths of my thoughts.

    I looked around and saw people standing in their seats, loudly apuding at our brilliant performance tonight.

    I whipped my head around in search of the opponent I faced in the finals just a few minutes earlier.

    My eyes darted across the ruined concrete field and stopped on a mana with swaying jet-ck hair. Nero''s eyes were as dark as ever, and when he felt my gaze, he turned them to me and returned my look.

    Several medics were swarming all around him, casting healing spells on him and providing him with consumable mana potions.

    Nero stared at me for a few moments and lingered before finally opening his mouth as if readying to speak something.

    But right then, loud sounds of firecrackers boomed throughout the Arena.

    Several trails of light shot up in the sky before exploding into a dazzling disy of fiery sparks, lighting up and littering the night sky with a breathtaking view of a light show.

    Nero was startled by the sudden interruption but quickly turned around me and tried to resume what he wanted to say earlier.

    However, once again, before he could speak up this time, several people came rushing out from the entrance of the field and swarmed us¡ª well, mostly Nero.

    As for me, I saw a blue-haired elven young man darting across the field and pouncing at me.

    He fell on me and entrapped me in a tight hug before shouting right in my ear, "Bro! Lucas! Bro! Are you okay?! Damn, that was so cool!"

    "G-Get off me, you idiot! I''m still hurt!"

    Well, actually I wasn''t, but I was also not in any shape to carry a giant baby around especially when the vampires were about toe out of the cover of night.

    Putting him down, I heaved a few times to catch my breath while Kent continued to babble.

    "That was so cool! I didn''t know you had already learned not one but three! Three high-level spells! Teach me!"

    "How can I teach you?! All my high-level spells are of the fire aspect and you have¡­ wait a second, what is your affinity?"

    Kent frowned and cast me a worried nce, "Bruh, did you hit your head in the match? Just the other day I told you about how I should make it rain so the girls would have wet clothes clinging to their figures. That way, we could discern who is the hottest."

    "..." I stared at Kent with a deadpan expression and then shook my head. I turned to look at Nero one more time and saw him surrounded by his own group.

    Medics had healed his injuries¡­ most of them, at least. Now they were asking him to visit the infirmary.

    His friends patted him and congratted him, only one of them¡ª Anastasia¡ª was concerned about his well-being and asked him to head to the infirmary first.

    Theceration on his chest from my Lightning w spell was gone yet, unlike me, most of his wounds were yet to be treated properly.

    "Lucas?"

    Suddenly, Kent, who was babbling in the background until now, stopped and a new voice greeted my ears.

    It was Amelia, and with her was¡­ Trish?

 Chapter 263 Vampire Attack [2]

    ?

    "You put up a nice effort and it was a very close match. Nice try." ¡ª That was all that Trish managed to utter clearly, stuttering through her sentence a few times, before abruptly turning around and leaving the field.

    Kent, Amelia, and I looked at her receding figure for a few moments in an awkward silence left by her before they turned to me.

    I, of course, had no idea what that was so I just shrugged and we all talked for a few moments.

    "But it was really a nice try," Amelia said, changing whatever topic Kent had brought up. "If not for Nero''s Gift or the rule against the use of armour-type relics, you could''ve won."

    "Please," I chuckled with a bitter expression. "There are a million other variants I could add to give myself an edge over Nero. And I would defeat him in all of those hypothetical situations. But the fact of the matter is that I lost, and you know what, to be honest, I''m fine with it."

    I wasn''t lying. Not totally, at least. I really was fine with the results. After the attack in Silveserine City, I came to a dreadful realization.

    Not everything will go ording to how it was written in the novel. Fiction and reality are different.

    The Vampires in Silveserine attacked a few minutes before they had done so in the novel. That threw most of the preparations I had done beforehand into shambles.

    I was caught off-guard.

    But I learned from my mistake and this time I was ready for them to attack in the midst of my match with Nero.

    Fortunately, that didn''t happen. Now, it could only mean that the events today will hopefully, for once, follow the plot.

    What does that mean? That means the Vampires are going to attack in about a few minutes from now.

    Nero is about to head to the infirmary. As soon as he steps away from his friends and a little farther from the VIP stand where the instructors are, the vampires will jump out of the shadows.

    Then, all hell will break loose.

    Right now, both Amelia and Anastasia are on the ground. I thought if the Vampire attacked early, both of them and several of the other archers would be able to provide cover fire from above.

    Well, it''s fine. Even though both of them are here, other archers are still in the audience stand.

    Surrounded by so many cadets, even the elite vampire toon would have to face some difficulties to carry out their attempt of assassinating Nero.

    "Well, I still think your performance was excellent," Amelia shrugged, trying to console me. "You went toe-to-toe against Nero and nearly emerged victorious. Not many people can im that."

    Tsk.

    Though I knew Amelia meant well, her words left a bitter taste in my mouth for some reason.

    I refuse to settle for almost winning against him. If I start epting that¡­ If I start to find constion in almost seeding, I won''t be striving for true sess; I''ll merely be trying to avoid failure.

    In my past life, I settled for almost and stopped trying, and looking back now, I have nothing but regrets.

    I take pride in my efforts. Just six months after transmigrating, I challenged the protagonist of this story, and I came close to winning.

    Sure, that''s a remarkable aplishment, worth celebrating even, but it won''t be the defining point of my story. It won''t be the climax of my life.

    Nero is merely a stepping stone for me. So what if I stumbled and failed now? I''ll ovee that obstacle too.

    Amelia frowned, noticing the strange look of defiance in my eyes. Before she could speak, I asserted:

    "I will surpass him. His Gift can only aid him for so long, and my armour won''t remain an excuse for my failures forever. The next time we sh... and we definitely will... I will win."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Amelia slightly widened her eyes, even Kent, who was grinning until now, grew silent at my serious promation.

    After a few long moments, Amelia let out a deep breath and nodded silently. She then started moving in Nero''s direction.

    Seeing that, a sudden scowl appeared on my face as I asked, "Wait, where are you going?"

    She stopped and looked at me strangely before replying, "To congratte him, why?"

    I shot my head to my right and looked at Nero only to see him already moving away from his group toward the infirmary.

    I looked back at Amelia and said, "No, you can''t."

    Nero could stop a horde of elite Vampires hell-bent on killing him on his own, but I doubt Amelia''s capabilities to be able to do the same.

    I''m not calling her weak, but she''s an archer. There''s no way she would be able to survive the wave of elite Vampires by being on the frontline.

    "Uh¡­ Huh? What do you mean I can''t?" Amelia cast me a mix of confused and dubious gaze.

    "You just can''t go there," I said, shaking my head, knowing full well how crazy I was sounding.

    Amelia lingered for a moment and narrowed her eyes before her lips slightly curled up, "Huh? Is it that the young master doesn''t want me to congratte Nero on his win?"

    My eye twitched slightly at the way she referred to me, but ignoring it to the best of my abilities, I gnashed my teeth and said:

    "Sure, I don''t want you to congratte him. Now, don''t go there."

    Kent whistled as I shot him a death re, prompting the blue-haired elf to avert his gaze.

    Amelia, meanwhile, raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn''t expect this level of honesty from me.

    After a few seconds of startled silence, she cleared her throat and said, "Okay, Lucas, whatever it is between you two, I don''t know. But he''s my friend, so I should¨C"

    Before she could continue, I shook my head and said, "No, you don''t understand!"

    Amelia''s brows furrowed, but before she could even utter a single word, a sudden high-pitched blood-curdling shriek echoed through the arena.

    Following it, in rapid session, several terrified screams erupted throughout the building as grotesque creatures emerged from the shadows surrounding the crowd in the audience stand.

    Those creatures had humanoid forms with charcoal-like skin, sunken cheeks, and glowing, ominous blood-red eyes.

    Tall and menacing, these creatures had four limbs, with obsidian ck nails and sharp fangs protruding from their hands and mouths respectively.

    Donning ck armour which were adorned with intricate blood-red patterns, each one of these grotesque abominations wielded various weapons.

    In the blink of an eye, they materialized in the audience stands as if they had been there from the start.

    There was no need for introductions; everyone knew these vile beings were the dreaded creatures of the night¡ªVampires, and judging by their armour, they all seemed to be of noble rank.

    I saw Nero standing at the far end of the field. Yes, the attack on the Global Academy was about to start.

 Chapter 264 High-Vampire [1]

    ?

    Much like humans, the vampires also followed a social hierarchy construct, albeit theirs was a bit archaic.

    However, unlike humans, their society is based on power. So, in a sense, their titles are also a symbol of the strength they possess.

    For example, Common Vampires are the least feared and less powerful. Above them are Noble Vampires. They are ruled by Seven Vampire Kings. And the one who rules them all is the one who was in slumber for the most part of the novel¡ª The Vampire Monarch.

    Most of the Noble Vampires are elite soldiers of the vampiric army.

    These abominable fiends are seen as the Harbingers Of Death and for a very good reason. After all, they are the second most dangerous beings their species has at their disposal currently.

    So, naturally, seeing around forty or so of these harrowing bloodsuckers stepping out of the shadows and appearing before them was a dreadful sight for the cadets present in the audience.

    Before those poor souls could even summon their weapons or ungracefully run away, the Vampires d in lusterless ck armor jumped at them and slit their throats with their sharp, obsidian ws or simply ripped their hearts out.

    In mere moments, several cadets were killed after the appearance of these vile creatures of the night.

    An iron stench of blood filled the stand as the warm, crimson liquid flooded between the rows of seats down like water or sttered down like rain.

    After around a dozen deaths, the petrified cadets came to their senses upon seeing theirrades being ripped to shreds and quickly summoned their armor and weapons.

    Nero, however, seemed to be frozen in ce. He tried to move, but his body just refused to register hismand.

    His eyes widened and his shocked gaze was fixed on the massacre happening all around him in the audience stand above him.

    "Wh-What the¡­?!"

    Before he could even process anything, Nero saw around eight to ten gaunt figures of humanoid creatures jumping down from the boundary of the audience stand to the concrete field.

    Their figures were just a silhouette covered in the dark veil of night right now, but it was easy to imagine that these grotesque abominations were obviously vampires.

    They moved with breakneck speed and ran toward Nero like bullets. Slowly their harrowing figures became clear and the crimson des of the swords in their hand gleamed with a murderous zeal under the dim glow of the moonlight.

    Nero tried to move, but he couldn''t. He was stuck in ce. All he could do was stare at the iing horde of vampires who seemed to have possessed a beasteal glint of madness in their eyes.

    Nearing him, one of the abominations swung its crimson sword at Nero''s neck, intending to sever his head like dropping the de of a guillotine on him while his head was locked in stock.

    ng¡ª!!

    However, before the crimson de of the Vampire''s sword could bite into his neck, a radiant azure arrow whistled part Nero deflected the bloodsucker''s attack.

    Without stopping, several more Vampires lunged at Nero and bared their fangs with the intention of ripping his throat apart.

    But before they could even touch him, a stream of water rose from the ground, and in the next second, the water molded into a shell and epassed Nero in a protective embrace.

    The Vampires stopped, but only for a split second. One of them jumped forward and immediately unleashed a devastating sh of his sword.

    The crimson de of the vampire''s sword traveled in an arc and broke through the water shell protecting Nero, dispersing the water in a ssh of rain.

    As Nero was once again left vulnerable, several vampires pounced on him again, but this time, a number of iron shackles shot out from behind him and wrapped themselves around Nero''s waist.

    In the next instance, the iron shackles jerked and pulled Nero back with them.

    It was Anastasia, Aster, and Elijah who had saved Nero using their spells right now. Elijahmanded his chains to bring Nero to them, and they did exactly that.

    As Neronded among them, Anastasia moved in front of him and drew back the string of her bow before asking, "Are you okay?"

    Nero tried to nod his head, but once again, he found himself unable to move. After a bit of struggle, he managed to force out a few words, "I''m fine but I can''t move!"

    Anastasia frowned, turned to face him, and scowled. Her crystal-like golden eyes were shining under the night sky like a pair of stars adorning her alluring face.

    Despite her beautiful visage, the look on Anastasia''s face was ugly. She hesitantly dismissed her bow and moved closer to Nero.

    She had activated her Gift, God''s Eyes. It allowed her to perceive the world in a way that no mortal could ever hope to fathom in a single lifetime.

    Currently, she could see inside Nero''s body, not the physical one that was already before then but the spiritual one.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    She saw arge, radiant nexus of glowing ethereal strings in Nero''s abdomen with several trails of light extending inside his body like some sort of awork.

    They were the Mana Pathways.

    In simple words, they were roads through which mana traveled inside a person''s body.

    However, that wasn''t what Anastasia was concerned with. Moving her gaze up, she saw a ck patch of darkness blocking some of the trails of light inside Nero''s head.

    "A mind hex," she muttered to herself.

    It was a known fact that the Vampires'' main choice of magic attacks was darkness and soul or mind spells.

    Mind magic was, in more ways than one, different from soul magic.

    While soul magic was mostly rted to TrueDamage, i.e. a form of attack that can''t be stopped since it affects the soul rather than the physical shell of a human, mind magic was rted to hexes like hypnotism,pulsion, and so on.

    Dismissing mind hex was supposed to be almost as difficult as blocking soul attacks, meaning borderline impossible.

    Yes, warriors with years of experience inbat and magic arts could achieve both of those borderline impossible tasks, but even for them, it was difficult.

    For normal people, being targeted by soul or mind magic might as well mean death.

    After all, that is the reason why Liz was so feared amongst the high military circle despite being so young in agepared to most of the great veteran warriors.

    She was the Witch of Soul Harvest.

    Luckily, Anastasia was not a normal person either. She was capable of seeing through the Realm designed by Gods, after all.

    Channeling mana into her fingertips, Anastasia pressed her hands gently against Nero''s head.

    Strings of ethereal blue light, invisible to everyone around them, entered Nero''s head and ripped asunder the ck patch inside his skull.

    And with that, Nero was able to move again. He drew a heavy gasp and swayed a little before regaining his bnce.

    He wanted to ask Anastasia what was that, but clearly, they had more pressing matters to focus on.

    Besides, the grim look on Anastasia''s face did not exactly sit right with Nero. Aside from the iing horde of Vampires who were rushing at them with bloodlust, Nero had a gut feeling that something more deadly wasing.

    He was right. Anastasia did not scowl earlier because of the mind hex. She was worried for some other reason.

    The mind hex that petrified Nero was a high-level spell. A spell that couldn''t be cast inside another person''s body without at leasting in contact with them.

    However, the Vampires just appeared a few minutes ago. That only meant one thing: The caster of that spell ced that mind hex on Nero from a distance.

    A powerful being like that who could defymon sense so easily was beyond anything that they could handle.

    "We should run," Anastasia uttered, trying to calm the extreme feeling of unease in her heart.

    She quickly turned around toward the VIP stand and continued, "I don''t think we are ready to fight whatever it is that¨C"

    Before she couldplete her sentence, the entire concrete field was plunged into a dark, ominous aura.

    In front of Anastasia''s gaze, a harrowing figure of a vampire noble appeared. This one, however, was different from his otherpanions.

    This was a man, or at least looked like one, with shining blood-red eyes and hair in the darkest shade of ck.

    Instead of metal, he donned an intricate onyx armor littered with all kinds of glowing red intricate patterns.

    The vampire''s skin was ivory pale and his figure was shrouded in a veil of darkness that seemed to absorb the light around him.

    Despite his unsettling handsome face with perfect, sharp features, it was easy to tell that the air he carried was foreboding.

    He was, without a doubt¡­ a high-vampire of true noble blood origin.

 Chapter 265 High-Vampire [2]

    ?

    Anastasia''s face lost color as she caught sight of a high-vampire emerging from the shadows, blocking their path of retreat.

    Ahead of them, a horde of bloodsuckers could be seen approaching, while behind them loomed a high-vampire.

    High-Vampires are essentially ancient beings who have lived for hundreds of years. Unlike humans, elves, and dwarves who grow weak as they get old, Vampires are the opposite.

    Since they grew stronger each time they fed themselves, it could basically be tranted as the longer they lived, the more they fed.

    Meaning, the older a vampire was, the stronger that abomination was bound to be.

    In essence, high-vampires were superior creatures¡ªfaster and stronger than most, if not all, other vampires in their ranks.

    That is especially the case if they are the direct blood descendants of their former Vampire Monarch.

    A high-vampire of true noble blood origin, or the direct descendants of Monarch, like the one before Anastasia was as deadly as a threat of its level could get.

    Seeing her terror-filled frozen look, Nero frowned and then turned around to spot the object of Anastasia''s terror.

    And when his eyesnded on the high-vampire, a bleak chuckle escaped his lips.

    "Well, looks like we are royally fucked, aren''t we?" Nero clicked his tongue.

    After his battle with Lucas, although most of his wounds had healed, Nero was in no condition to use his Gift again or employ his best weapon art as he did a few minutes ago.

    He had been fighting all day. And unlike Lucas, he couldn''t even use self-heal so he required immediate medical attention.

    After all, that''s why he was on his way to the infirmary in the first ce.

    Moreover, using his gift, especially for extended periods as he did during his duel with Lucas, strained Nero''s life force significantly.

    Although he could now stand after receiving some treatment from the medics, he could only do so barely and he couldn''t even move freely.

    The thought of fighting a squad of elite noble vampires, let alone a high-vampire, was unimaginable in his current state so he didn''t even entertain it for more than a single second.

    As if waiting for him toe to this realization on his own, the high-vampire shifted his blood-red eyes towards Nero and grinned in a bone-chilling manner, sending shivers down the spine.

    In a raspy, blood-curdling voice, he bared his fangs and hummed, "Aha! There you are!"

    Damn, it looked like things had taken a turn from bad to worse.

    Nero didn''t know what high-vampire''s meant by that, but one thing was clear: the high-vampire recognized him.

    Was Nero that high-vampire''s target? And if so, why?

    Nero had little time to muse over such questions.

    Why? Because just as he was done deciphering the high-vampire''s intentions, the bloodsucker started moving in their direction with dreadfully slow, eerie steps.

    Almost at that moment, Elijah''s desperate shout also reached Nero''s ears along with several beasteal screeches of the other vampires rushing at them from the other side.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What should we do?!" Elijah asked, looking at Nero for directions.

    However, Nero was as lost as the guy next to him. He didn''t have any idea of what he should do to escape this perilous situation.

    They were ensnared in a pincer. In front of them was the high-vampire and behind them were his minions,paratively less but almost equally as dangerous to them as their leader.

    Nero cast a nce around and looked at the audience stand. There, cadets were trying to hold their ground against the unexpected attack.

    Despite thousands of cadets present here and only a handful of vampires, the cadets seemed to be on the losing side for two reasons:

    Firstly, it was already night. The vampires, much like any other dark elemental magic users, were terrifyingly stronger in the veil of night.

    They could disappear into shadows and mold darkness into tangible constructs and cast a thousand more spells like that.

    Secondly, there seemed to be two more high-vampires aside from the one blocking the path of Nero''s group.

    They were the ones fighting the cadets, holding them back with a bit of trouble but still proving to be sessful in their endeavors.

    After the initial few surprised kills, the vampires did not manage to take many cadets. The first-year cadets were fighting hand-in-hand with the second-years.

    Each time a vampire seeded in taking down a cadet, three more would appear in their brethren''s ce, protecting their fallenrades and continuing their attack on the monstrosities.

    From the looks of it, the cadets would eventually be defeated by the vampires but right now, both sides were locked in a fragile equilibrium.

    However, this bnce was soon going to be tipped.

    Nero shot his head right and looked at the VIP stand. He could already see several silhouettes jumping down the concrete structure and running to assist theirpatriots.

    There were third-year cadets and several instructors. Nero knew in a matter of seconds, Liz would join them here.

    It meant that they only had to stall for a few seconds and then they would be saved.

    Okay, with that settled, all he had to do was takemand and everything would be fine.

    Command¡­

    As that word echoed in Nero''s mind, he whipped his head to gaze across the field and found himself involuntarily searching for a certain young man.

    As if to assist him, a rich, calm voice shot out in the air, as if defying the very nature of chaos that was filling the atmosphere.

    "Anastasia, take a stand next to Amelia and fire at will! All the front-line fighters present here in the field, instantly assume a defensive circr position around our archers! All the mid-range fighters, protect yourrades!"

    All the heads turned to the source of the voice. It was a lean young man with snowy silver hair and shining red eyes that looked almost as ominous as that of the vampires around them yet somehow infinitely more hypnotizing.

    Half of the young man''s face was covered with his own hair, with his eyes peeking through the strands of the silver curtain. He locked his gaze with Nero as they both shared a look for a few seconds.

    With a bit of reluctance, Nero nodded and heeded the young Morningstar''smand with starwalt determination.

 Chapter 266 Plan In Motion [1]

    The rest of them also acted quickly and followed the issuedmand, almost as if instinctively submitting to the young wolf''s will.

    Their actions were understandable, of course. All of the cadets present in the field have been participants in the Mock War, Massacre of the Silveserine City, and the g Game.

    All of them knew better than most what Lucas was capable of achieving with people under hismand.

    He was, without a sliver of doubt, a brilliantmander, natural war general, and a terrifying nner along with being proficient in deceit and maniption.

    Although, they didn''t have to know thest part.

    So without wasting a single breath, all the cadets rushed and gathered around in a circle with Amelia, Anastasia, and Aster at the center of it.

    Aster could provide invaluable defense with her barrier spells, so Lucas asked her to take a safe position in the center next to the two archeresses.

    He also wanted Elijah to be in the center but doing that would mean thinning their offense way too much for Lucas''fort.

    So despite the defensive earthen spells that the half-dwarf could provide, Lucas kept him in the front lines.

    Aiding him were Chase and Nero while William, Kent, and Lucas supported them with their spears and scythes.

    As soon as they gathered, the vampires lunged at them with all their might. Aster cast a barrier spell whenever it was needed and the rest of the cadetsunched their attacks one by one.

    They did not aim to strike down the vampires. No, instead, they only intended to stall for time.

    Deflecting one of the iing shes, Nero turned to Lucas and asked, "What about that high-vampire?"

    Now that they were in a circle and surrounded by vampires from all sides, Nero feared that the high-vampire would jump on them unseen any moment now.

    All his worries were for naught as Lucas merely dismissed them with a shake of his head.

    "That thing will not attack us," Lucas said, thrusting his spear at one of the iing bloodsuckers, only for it to get deflected in the next instance. "Not yet, at least."

    "Are you sure?!" Kent asked, swinging his scythe at a vampire that was about to dig its fangs into Elijah''s unprotected neck.

    The usual aloofness in Kent''s voice was nowhere to be found. His face also didn''t look stupid, instead, as his shiny blue hair swayed with the rough movement of his arms andplemented his sharp face, he looked almost entrapping.

    If not for this dire situation, Lucas would''ve made a narcissistic joke about still looking better than him.

    But instead of that, he merely nodded and let out a single word, "Yes."

    Unbeknownst to them, Lucas knew what the high-vampire was waiting for. Because of that, he was certain that the creature of the night would not attack them yet.

    Not at least Liz steps into the field¡­

    While all that was happening in the concrete field below, the VIP stand looked just as chaotic if not more.

    Many of the VIPs present here today were mundane with formal military training or connection to mana.

    They were what this world considers duds.

    But since they were people of high status, no one would ever dare to utter that word to their face let alone refer to them as one.

    The instructors present in the VIP stand divided two tasks amongst themselves and formed two groups.

    One group was tasked with assisting the cadets to hold off or possibly kill all the vampires while the other group would escort the mundane VIPs to safety.

    Liz was one such person tasked with fighting the vampire.

    While Leo Kurogami was not here, almost all of them were certain that the Witch of Soul Harvest alone was more than capable ofying waste to the vile bloodsuckers who dared to attack this city.

    Yet, she was among thest ones to jump down into the concrete field and assist in the fight.

    As her gaze swept across the entirety of the King''s Arena, a cold shiver ran along the length of Liz''s spine.

    "Miss Snyder," a voice called out to her from the front.

    She turned her gaze up and looked at a pale-skinned man with auburn hair and light, hazel eyes that stared back at her with a slight tinge of concern.

    It was E''s father and one of the most important figures present at the VIP stand, Damain Bright.

    Aside from being the head of the Bright family, this redhead man was also one of the most renowned war heroes of the current generation.

    A man of his status would''ve had no problem shielding behind his title and letting the other soldiers escort him out.

    Yet, Damian had no qualms about staying and fighting, in fact, he even insisted on helping out.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Liz had no idea whether it was his sense of duty, honor, and other whimsical stuff like that, or the fact that his own daughter, E Bright, was stuck somewhere inside that mess that kept him here.

    However, the very fact that he had the guts to back up his bravado and reputation spoke volumes about the man.

    "Are you all right, Miss Snyder?" Damian asked, shaking Liz out of her thoughts.

    "I''m fine," Liz shook her head and let out a shaky breath before repeating her words as if she was telling it to herself rather than answering a question. "Yeah, I''m fine."

    In reality, she was far from fine. She could not remember how long it had been since she had felt like this.

    It was definitely not fear that she was feeling, but something very closely resembling it.

    She tried to move but as if her feet were anchored to the ground, she kept standing petrified in ce.

    No, she was not under a mind hex. A party trick spell like that won''t even affect her, after all.

    This was something else¡­ This was her very own intuition. Yes, her own instincts were screaming at her, holding her glued in ce.

    Liz had known for a long, long time that her intuition was much more than just a mere manifestation of her subconscious.

    Although she knew it wasn''t possible, she believed her intuition to be a Gift of sorts.

    Every time she faced something far more dangerous than what she could handle, she would feel a heart-wrenching terror calling out to her, telling her to run.

    At some point, however, she stopped running. She started choosing her battles and winning.

    In no time at all, she ascended to a realm that only a handful of people in the world could ever hope to climb.

    After she became strong, far stronger than she had ever imagined herself bing, she forgot the sense of dread.

    But now, after all these years, it was back.

    Liz gnashed her teeth and shook her head before muttering in a low, almost inaudible voice, "I''m strong now, damn it!"

    Letting out a stiff breath, she scanned the Arena on the lookout for anything that could be triggering her instincts.

    She didn''t find anything, but she did see something of interest. One of the four high-vampires in the vicinity was closing in on Nero.

    A frown appeared on Liz''s face. Were they targeting her disciple? Was this attack meant for him?

    But why? Was it because of the rumors about his Gift? Were all these vampires here to kill him, a future threat?

    But, once again, why?! There had been powerful, promising talents enrolled in the Global Academy in the past too! Liz and Leo themselves were two such examples!

    Why would they send such an elite toon to assassinate a single target? Nero wasn''t even a threat to them right now.

    Yes, he was strong, but not to the level where high-vampires would be wary of him.

    It would at least take Nero two more years of military education and a decent amount of experience in real wars to be an actual threat to the vampires.

    Then why were they acting now and why were they acting so rashly?

    Liz didn''t know, but she had a bad¡­ A very, very bad feeling about all this.

    "Miss Snyder, we should go!" Damain''s voice jolted her out of the dazed state once again.

    Liz gazed at the redhead briefly, then nodded, taking out her rectangrmunicator resembling a hybrid of smartphones and modern smart bracelets used in their academy.

    On the device, she typed a text and sent it to someone, hoping he would read it and arrive before any mishap urred.

    With a sigh, Liz affirmed, "Let''s go."

    Her words barely left her lips when an intricate metal armor materialized around her slender yet plump figure, enveloping her in a cold embrace.

    The tips of her hair radiated a dark violet hue, while her eyes emitted a crushing murderous aura.

    Fear? What nonsense. A witch''s heart had no room for something as nonexistent as that.

    Tensing her calves, she shot forward, leaping out of the massive ss window of the VIP stand and descending onto the concrete field like a meteor.

    As Lucas witnessed that, his lips curled into a sinister smile.

    His n was finally set into motion.

 Chapter 267 Plan In Motion [2]

    With a loud thud, Liznded on the concrete field below.

    Without wasting a moment, she summoned her weapon, and heeding her call, a bastard sword materialized in her hand with a rain of ethereal light sparks.

    The de of her sword was obsidian ck from tip to guard as it constantly emitted a dim violet glow.

    Right beside hernded a red-headed man, his calm hazel eyes scanning the vicinity as if in search of someone.

    In his hand, Damian wielded a thin silver rapier. Without a change in his expression, he turned to Liz and spoke, "Should we aid the cadets?"

    "No," Liz shook her head and pointed at the high-vampire with her chin. His back was turned to them but Liz knew that the bloodsucking abomination had already sensed them.

    "We will deal with that bastard first," she said, slightly lifting her sword. "I will go in and you will cover me."

    Damian nodded his head, and as if waiting for that cue, the high-vampire spun around and peered directly in their direction.

    The high-vampire bared his fangs into a chilling grin as he noticed the Witch of Soul Harvest.

    Liz indifferently raised her eyebrow and charged forward with her sword pulled back.

    The high-vampire, who had been moving toward Nero with slow yet eerie steps until now, also dashed toward the charging Witch and swung his sword at her.

    ng, ng, ng¡ª!!

    As their swords ngored against each other, crevices appeared on the already ruined concrete field beneath their feet while the immediate area around their shes was instantly pulverized.

    Each attack of theirs was enough to decimate a whole building to dust, yet none of them managed to scratch their opponents.

    The resulting shockwave of their sh shook the whole Arena, toppling many cadets as they fell to their feet as a result of the localized earthquakes.

    Lucas, Nero, and others used this chance to scurry away from the vampires circling around them. They did not run away. They just spread out and changed their strategy.

    Lucas, who had been keeping an eye on his surroundings during all this mess, had already informed them about the iing shockwaves so everyone had a good amount of time to react.

    After spreading out across the field, they were joined by many third-year cadets and even some of their ownrades.

    E, for example, jumped down from the audience stand and joined the battle in the concrete field after seeing her father there.

    Grace, despite their current rocky rtionship, decided to forget the events that transpired in their match and followed her friend down.

    At the center of all this chaos, a single woman was fighting head-on against a high-vampire of pure, noble lineage¡ª a creature so ancient that it could overshadow her own age.

    Yet, the woman refused to falter and instead pressed on, pushing back the high-vampire and constantly trapping the abomination into a corner.

    Slowly but surely, the bloodsucking fiend started to umte gashes onto his body and warm crimson blood spurt out from his wounds.

    ¡­The high-vampire was losing a fight against a single human! A mere mortal was making an immortal like him bleed!

    ng¡ª!!

    Desperately blocking a sh that would have severed his head and sent it flying, the high-vampire reeled back, feeling like he was hit by a moving mountain.

    The high-vampire quickly regained its bnce after staggering back a few steps but by then the witch was already on him.

    To create some breathing space, the high-vampire willed the shadows beneath them to move.

    As if the darkness itself came to life, the various shadows being cast on the ground shifted and shot up into the material world by bing tangible ck spikes.

    Liz had no time to move and evade the attack as the ck spikes directly shot from under her, intending to skewer her like a butchered animal.

    However, before that could happen, Liz''s eyes glowed in a bright violet hue, and just then her whole body turned incorporeal and intangible.

    Whilst intangible, Liz shot forward¡ª she had an ethereal appearance mostly made of a transparent body with violet outlines¡ª and phased through the unavoidable attack.

    As soon as the attack was avoided, her body turned corporeal again and she returned to her normal appearance.

    The high-vampire knew that his attack would not amount to much damage but to think it didn''t even leave a scratch on the human woman?!

    Before he could escape that thought, a bone-crushing kicknded on his chest and sent the high-vampire crashing a few steps back.

    The bloodsucker rolled a few times but quickly jumped up to his feet. However, it was already toote.

    Thack¡ª!!

    As soon as he pulled himself up, a ck obsidian impaled the vampire''s chest, piercing his heart and dealing a deadly blow.

    Liz indifferently gazed into the vile high-vampire''s eyes as thetter violently coughed up blood, a surprised look stered on his face.

    "H-How¡­ H¡­ Argh!"

    The high-vampire tried to say something but right then, Liz pulled out her sword, causing the bloodsucking fiend to convulse and fall to his knees with a pained groan.

    Standing imperiously in front of the kneeling abomination, Liz indifferently spoke as she hovered her palm before the high-vampire''s skull, "Look into my eyes as I take your soul."

    "H¡­ How¡­" the high-vampire craned his neck and looked directly at Liz with his ssy eyes, obviously on the verge of death.

    Liz paid no mind to his incoherent mumbling and began to extract her soul. However, just as she did that, a deep, ugly scowl appeared on her face.

    Liz could absorb the souls of her vanquished opponents after leading them to the brink of death. She can then use those souls to perform a variety of tasks.

    Obviously, she could also feel souls.

    And right now she couldn''t feel the high-vampire''s soul in his body. Or rather, it was there but it was being drained.

    But she wasn''t the one draining his soul, no, it was being drained by the ground, as if someone or something was hungrily devouring it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    As if waiting for that cue, a cruel grin appeared on the vampire''s face.

    shing his long, sharp canines, the bloodsuckers wheezed out a mocking chuckle and eximed, "How foolish!"

    At that moment, realization dawned upon Liz. The looming dread she had felt found its exnation.

    Liz had seen something like this happening once.

    Yes, this situation had a precedent. During her time in the Northern Defense Force, some vampire survivors from an entire division had once taken several human children hostage.

    Her toon was asked toy siege to the vampire camp where they had been taken hostage but not go inside and simply to await further instructions.

    At the time, Liz didn''t know why the militarymand would issue such an order.

    However, she knew one thing, if she didn''t act, the kids inside the camp would die since those vampires were hungry.

    So not following her given instructions, Liz barged into the camps and ughtered everyst bloodsucker she could find.

    She thought she had saved the kids, but when she found them, they were¡­ different.

    They weren''t turned by the vampires, in fact, they weren''t even harmed. But their souls¡­ their souls were being drained by something.

    If she hadn''t acted quickly and got out of the camp by turning intangible, she could have seriously been killed. But her squad wasn''t as lucky as her.

    Herrades were killed. She led her squad into a trap. As a result of that, she was suspended and sent to the Global Academy.

    Who knew that here, so far from the reach of the Northern borders, Liz would once again face her past?

    For an instant, she froze. Survival, in solitude, wasn''t an option anymore. She couldn''t let these cadets die.

    Fortunately, this time, she was stronger. She didn''t have to survive alone, she could save others this time.

    With an unyielding determination burning in her heart, Liz quickly willed mana into her sword and stepped forward.

    While doing that, she expanded her mana all around her and molded it into the shape of a dome. No spell would ever be able to escape this dome. This was her domain.

    However, her intent wasn''t limited to containing the spell; she aimed to obliterate it before it could materialize.

    Post her suspension, Liz had meticulously researched the vampire spell used that she had witnessed that day.

    Dubbed Bloodpolis, this spell required an intricate rune of immense size engraved either on or beneath the ground.

    Ample spilled blood would then activate the runes afterpleting its qualitative or quantitative requirement. Stray souls in the vicinity would be devoured by it and Bloodpolis would be unleashed.

    There''s only one way to stop it after it''s activated and that is to destroy the runes.

    However, before it is activated, there are multiple ways one could go about stopping the spell. For example, pulverizing the soul meant to serve as the anchor for the spell.

    In this case, Liz had no doubt that the anchor soul for the spell was going to be this high-vampire. He was ready to die to achieve whatever mission their kind had here.

    Well, fine, if death was what he wanted, then Liz would grant him his wish.

    An obsidian de humming a bright violet hue streaked through the air and closed in on the kneeling figure of the high-vampire.

    Liz could absorb the souls and also destroy them using true damage. That was her trump card, after all.

    However, just as her de neared the body of the high-vampire, Lucas, who had been fighting against one of the vampires until now, shifted his gaze to her.

    While hopping back to safety, he raised his hand and swiftly pointed it at Liz and the high-vampire.

    A red plume pen appeared in his hand before the silver-haired boy waved it in the air as if writing on some sort of invisible paper.

    This was the reason Lucas had not been using most of his Edit Points. He wanted to save as much as he could for this exact moment!

    Around six thousand Edit Points¡ª that''s how much he had on him right now. Lucas knew that Liz''s weapon would at least be a Legendary-grade relic, so modifying it was bound to take a lot of Points from him.

    But was it still enough? Apparently, it was.

    Lucas didn''t need to enhance Liz''s weapon either. No¡­ he needed to destroy it.

    He expected that shouldn''t take as many Edit Points as modifying an already powerful relic, and he turned out to be right.

    With only a few hundred Edit Points remaining, Lucas'' Edit was finalized.

    Instantly, a of cracks appeared on Liz''s sword, disintegrating it into an explosion of shards.

    The witch couldn''t help but widen her eyes as her reliable weapon broke without a trace of magic attacking it.

    Had she inadvertently fractured it? Overloaded it with mana? Impossible! A veteran like her couldn''t possibly make such a rookie mistake!

    Before she could react, however, Bloodpolis surged forth.

    Fwuuush¡ª!!

    The kneeling high-vampire detonated into a blood cloud, crimson mist shrouding the area and engulfing all in its path.

    Liz''s dome partially contained the crimson mist, but not wholly.

    The crimson tide swallowed a significant portion of the central arena, though most cadets evaded it. Yet many instructors were ensnared.

    And with this, the first phase of Lucas'' n was nowpleted.

 Chapter 268 Bloodpolis [1]

    As the arena was engulfed by the tenebrous crimson mist, crippling fear rippled through the bystanders.

    Damian Bright and Liz Snyder, along with most of the instructors who jumped down from the VIP stand, were now ensnared within the moving blood cloud.

    Even those unfamiliar with the morbid spell hesitated to approach the spreading crimson mist.

    It was almost as if everyone intuitively knew that the danger it posed was far beyond their mundane imagination.

    The mist, as everyone suspected, held a perilous touch. Even Liz''s spell-nullifying dome struggled to fully contain it and soon broke.

    As soon as that happened, the blood cloud began to expand through the arena again, threatening to devour everything.

    Cadets staggered backward, instructors shared the same unease, and the air was punctuated with a litany of startled, fearful screams.

    Taking advantage of the intended confusion, the vampires stopped fighting and lunged forward.

    Their ghastly figures disappeared into the tenebrous crimson mist, leaving everyone else puzzled by their strange behavior.

    Amid the escting terror and confusion, an authoritative voice cut through, causing everyone to turn their heads toward its source.

    "Get back!" Yelena''smand shook everyone out of their petrified state.

    The young elven woman donned silver metal armor adorned with small intricate glowing blue patterns, a striking contrast to her bright red eyes radiating unyielding determination.

    She resembled a noble queen who descended from her royal castle to rescue her people from worldly turmoil.

    Yelena took a step forward and the Longsword in her hand disappeared into a cascade of ethereal white sparks.

    She then heroically raised her arms, palms open, aimed at the growing crimson mist.

    A biting cold wind arose, and a colossal ice barrier soon manifested. It encased the growing blood cloud and entrapped it within.

    In a heartbeat, an immense ice mountain materialized at the arena''s heart, plunging the ambient temperature to bone-chilling degrees.

    Yelena was inherently a swordswoman. It means that she was typically not inclined to cast spells of this magnitude under any normal circumstances.

    However, the current circumstances were far from normal. Despite her modest mana reserves, she had used up most of it on an ice prison spell to contain the growing crimson mist.

    Although some people present in the arena felt a sense of relief wash over them as the crimson mist of blood was encapsted, not everyone shared in the sentiment.

    "What in the world are you doing?!" A sharp voice reverberated through the surroundings. It was E.

    E''s gaze nervously shifted from the colossal ice mountain of a dome that Yelena had created back to her, and her voice rose again in urgency.

    "My father is in there!" E eximed. "Do you even know who he is?!"

    Echoing E''s sentiment, Nero''s voice joined the chorus, tinged with frustration. "My master is trapped inside as well! Release your spell this instance!"

    Several other cadets, their loved ones or instructors ensnared by the dark crimson mist, also voiced their objections, their voices carrying a blend of concern and anger.

    ¨C"Yes, there are people in there! Don''t you know?!"

    ¨C"With all the vampires in there all well, you have trapped everyone in a cage!"

    ¨C"What the hell?! My brother is in there!"

    Only the instructors who stayed outside and did not manage to get caught by the crimson mist remained silent. They were too busy activating the academy''s defense systems through the academy AI, Athena.

    After all, since they were the adults here, resolving this situation was on them now.

    Amid the chorus ofints, Yelena clenched her teeth and yelled, "Yes, I understand there are people inside and they are trapped there with vampires! But for now, they''re on their own! We''ll follow the proper procedure and¡ª"

    Before the young elven woman could finish her reasoning, attice of cracks appeared on the surface of the icy dome she had summoned to imprison the crimson mist.

    Her face turned pale in an instant, and a curse involuntarily escaped her lips. "F-Fuck."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Everyone furrowed their brows in collective confusion. They followed Yelena''s gaze and turned their eyes to look at her ice dome only to match her reaction momentster and blurt out curses.

    However, before any action could be taken, in the next moment, the cracks widened and the ice dome exploded into an array of snowkes, allowing a surge of blood mist to burst forth like a crimson flood and swallow the whole arena.

    Observing the crimson deluge consume hisrades, Lucas, standing at the edge of the concrete field, took a deep breath.

    He noticed some individuals attempting to flee the arena, but most of them proved to be too slow to escape.

    Well, a few of them did manage to escape, but Lucas knew that they would instantly face death upon reaching the arena gates.

    Not every vampire had jumped into the crimson mist. A portion chose to remain outside, guarding potential escape routes. Unfortunately, two of those bloodsuckers were high-vampires.

    These poor souls stood no chance of facing them and escaping.

    A pang of guilt gnawed at Lucas'' heart as he just stood there, not even bothering to prevent their impending death.

    Nevertheless, he knew that they weren''t his primary concern.

    In contrast to those around him, Lucas disyed no hint of hesitation, fear, or terror.

    He appeared almost... serene? His mind was calm and his eyes were indifferent.

    Well, why wouldn''t he be calm? He had, after all, spent weeks preparing for this exact moment.

    At one point, he believed that passivity and reactive problem-solving would guarantee his survival.

    If he could just react to the situation and survive, that would be enough.

    However, just a few months after arriving in this ursed world, Lucas realized that being reactive equated to a death sentence here and survival was never enough.

    After all, that mentality nearly cost him his life against the Vampire King, Reina.

    He hadn''t anticipated such a plethora of variables arising.

    He hadn''t concealed his identity, thinking it was unnecessary. And because of that, he ended up taking the life of a human child.

    Yes, relying on passivity and reactionary tactics proved worthless. So, this time, he decides to take control of the situation.

    Though this was far more dangerous, at least this way he could predict the events with high certainty.

    And not to mention, he needed to reshape Nero''s mindset regarding his blind pursuit of victory.

    Since Nero''s obsession for victory is more or less traced back to watching his mother die in front of him, Lucas nned to inflict a scar deeper than that traumatic experience.

    He also needed to handle this situation very delicately to avoid breaking Neropletely¡ªotherwise, it would only mean more work for him.

    That''s why he came up with this wless n.

    But the magnitude of danger he had put himself in made him question his own sanity.

    "Fuck! Am I really this insane?" Lucas mused aloud.

    Well, wasn''t he?

    He was going this far only to manipte a teenager''s emotions by inflicting a deeper scar than the loss of his own mother.

    "Whatever," shaking his head, Lucas summoned a pill in his hand and gulped it down. It was a relic that he had made with his Edit Pen. It allowed him to not breathe for half an hour.

    As the crimson flood reached him, Lucas released a silent scream, "Come, Phoenix''s Embrace."

    In the next moment, the whole King''s Arena was swallowed by the crimson mist, obscuring visionpletely and muffling the agonizing screamsing from within it.

    If one were to look from above, instead of a stadium, one would see nothing but a patch of crimson fog amidst the concrete jungle.

 Chapter 269 Bloodpolis [2]

    ?

    Bloodpolis was a dangerous spell in more ways than one.

    It''s a devastating spell utilized only by vampires. Upon being cast, it conjures a dense cloud of crimson blood.

    This dark and ominous technique involves the vampire channeling their own essence and life force, transforming it into a swirling, ethereal mist.

    Other vampires could easily traverse in this crimson mist and fight with utmost proficiency since it''s a spell cast by their own kind.

    And fighting in a cloud of blood is their domain for obvious reasons.

    When unleashed, the cloud envelops the immediate area, obscuring vision, and disorienting opponents.

    The blood within the cloud is imbued with vampiric powers, making it highly corrosive and capable of weakening or even incapacitating those whoe into contact with it.

    That''s why, no spell could ever be cast inside the Bloodpolis at its full potential since it would immediately be corroded.

    Also for the same reason, the blood mist couldn''t be contained like Liz and Yelena had tried to do.

    Anyone, if they''re not a vampire, instantly gets poisoned if they inhale the mist. Their bodies also sustain corrosive damage so fighting inside the blood fog is akin tomitting suicide.

    That is, if one is not as prepared as I was.

    Yeah, aside from obscuring my view, the crimson mist did not inflict much damage on me.

    Since I won''t need to breathe, I wouldn''t be poisoned. And not to mention, since I donned Phoenix''s Embrace, the corrosive property of the mist was reduced by almost ny percent in efficiency.

    Don''t get me wrong, my flesh was still being continuously damaged, but not as severely as others might be having it.

    In the novel, Liz managed to stop the Bloodpolis from activating so none of this happened. But in this reality, she was the closest to the activation point of the spell.

    If my guess is correct, then I would only need to let this spell be activated for a few more minutes. After that, I will disrupt it.

    Yes, I could dismiss this spell whenever I want. Bloodpolis needs some special runes engraved on or under the ground to be activated.

    That is the sole reason why it couldn''t be used on the battlefield since it''s a trap spell.

    Anyway, my point is, below this concrete field is the runic circle for this spell. If I damage this, the spell would copse.

    During my fight with Nero, Iy several traps of my own. The fissures and cracks that were created as a result of our duel¨C I filled them with explosive marbles that I created beforehand with the help of my Edit Pen.

    At mymand, dozens of those marbles would explode and shatter the entirety of the concrete field, destroying the runic circle below us.

    So, without a care in the world, I moved forward in search of the people I was looking for.

    My visibility was almost reduced to zero¡­ almost. I kept my guard up since I could be attacked from any direction.

    But it seemed like most of the vampires were either focusing on Liz and E''s father, who were in the center of the mist.

    After all, they were the most dangerous threat here.

    Aside from them, the rest of the vampires were trying to assassinate their target¡ªthe reason for which they came here.

    Soon, guided by the loud mor of weapons shing against weapons, I found them.

    My visibility was still partially obscured but I could make out several figures.

    Elijah and Chase were on their knees, eyes widened and their breathing ragged. The poison was slowly taking effect on them it seemed.

    Kent, Aster, and William were already sprawled on the ground, their bodies convulsing in pain. The poison had already done a number on them.

    Well, all of them were elves and the corrosive property of this mist was made of dark elements. It was sure to harm them the most.

    Walking past Kent''s agonizingly writhing body, I muttered an inaudible apology. I will get this to end soon.

    As I moved closer, the figures of Amelia, Anastasia, and Nero became more and more clear.

    All of them were... engaged inbat.

    Huh?! While othersbored to even move without losing consciousness, they were fiercely fighting!

    Amelia kept firing arrow after arrow, while Nero maintained an endless, rhythmic swing of his sword.

    Anastasia, on the other hand, had forsaken her bow and was now engaging in closebat, her fists enveloped in azure gauntlets forged from pure mana.

    They faced a horde of vampires, and without a doubt, each of them had mortal wounds in multiple ces on their bodies.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Amelia had a deep gash along her left rib, inflicted by one of the vampires'' vicious ws.

    Nero appeared to have lost an eye, a long scar tracing from his right eyebrow down to his cheek.

    Surprisingly, Anastasia seemed to have not received any severe injuries, but the umtion of minor wounds across her body was evident.

    Main characters or not, all of them would surely die at this rate.

    Gripping my spear tightly, I swiftly charged in their direction and deftly parried a series of strikes before impaling a vampire from behind, catching the monstrous creature by surprise.

    Kaach¡ª!!

    Pulling back my spear, I maintained my fight, my movements surpassing those of the other cadets, to the point that even some vampires appeared taken aback.

    Gradually, I fought my way through, inching closer to Nero. The protagonist noticed me with his one remaining intact eye and gave a look that looked like relief.

    "Lucas!" he eximed, shing down a bloodsucker inside its own domain.

    "You look terrible!" I said, skewering a vampire''s arm with my spear as it tried to swing its w at me.

    "You look¡­ How the fuck do you look so good in this hell?!" Nero scanned me up and down only to give me a surprised look.

    Right then, another bloodsucker tried to jump at us but before it could sh its sword at us, an arrow whipped through the air and pierced its eye.

    The bloodsucker staggered back and right then Anastasia lunged forward. She bashed her fist squarely into the face of the vile vampire.

    The vampire''s skull exploded as if it was hit by a speeding mountain. I couldn''t help but shudder as I saw that.

    Just how strong is this slender-looking girl?!

    "Boys, can you both please concentrate?!" Amelia''s voice shot through the mayhem. She coughed a mouthful of blood and then continued shooting her arrows again.

    "Yes, focus on cutting down these vampires first," Anastasia added,nding a wless uppercut on another vampire.

    "I need to find my master!" Nero spoke, his voice full of worry. "She was at the center of the most!"

    "You can''t," I shook my head as I noticed something stirring through the mist behind me.

    Without even wasting a breath, I spun around and thrust my spear forward to attack the vampire that tried to sneak up on me.

    Kach¡ª!!

    As the satisfying sound of bones being crunched resounded when my spear drilled a hole into a bloodsucker''s skull, I continued.

    "The mist only grows thicker the more you move toward its center. It''s already enough of a miracle that you can stand, let alone move at this density of the mist," I told him.

    Nero gave me a frustrated look and then opened his mouth to yell, "I know!" He coughed some blood and then continued. "But I can''t leave her there!"

    Of course, you can''t. She is the closest thing to a family you have.

    Stopping a smirk to appear on my face, I said, "Don''t ask how, but I have a way to disrupt this spell. However, there are four high-vampires in the arena. After the mist settles down, none of the cadets would be in the shape to fight."

    As Nero continued to listen intently, I took a short pause and resumed:

    "You will have to fight at least one of them. I know you''re in no condition to fight either, but you will just have to."

    "What about the other three high-vampires?" Nero asked, a bit of uncertainty present in his voice.

    "I will handle the rest so don''t worry about them," I reassured him. "Can you summon your Gift?"

    Nero lingered at my question for a few seconds and then answered in a low tone, "Yes, but only for two, or at most, three seconds so it won''t be of any help."

    "No, that much will be enough," I replied with a shake of my head as Amelia and Anastasia continued to cover us, knowing we were discussing something important.

    "I want you to strike me with a bolt of lightning as soon as this crimson mist drops," I ordered. "Can you do that, Nero?"

    The ck-haired swordsman waited for a few seconds then nodded slightly. "Sure, whatever your n is."

    "Good," I replied and finally turned to look at the center of the arena. Almost instantly Imanded the explosive marbles to detonate.

    A sh of light appeared through the deep cracks in the ground and a devastating localized earthquake hit the arena the next moment.

    BOOOOOM¡ª!!

 Chapter 270 Bloodpolis [3]

    Amidst the crimson fog, the solitary silhouette of a woman came to view, her body was littered with scars and her metal armor was caved in and fractured at various ces.

    Since her sword had shattered earlier for some mysterious reasons, she clutched an ebony dagger in her hand which seemed to have been carved out of a b of stone rather than some precious metal.

    Intricate runes adorned the dagger, emanating a brilliant violet glow, hinting at its extraordinary nature.

    And extraordinary it was. It possessed the ability to inflict soul damage, a weapon perfectly attuned to Liz.

    Surrounded by towering figures of eerie creatures of the dreaded night, Liz remained unfazed.

    The vampires'' eyes gleamed with fierce red hue and their jaws hung open, as if eager to sink their fangs into her flesh.

    Seeing this, Liz couldn''t help but scoff derisively. Despite the evident poisoning and flesh corrosion caused by the crimson mist, Liz defiantly confronted the horde of bloodsuckers.

    "Come, you oversized leeches. Hunger has gued me for so long¡ªfeed me your souls," Liz eximed with a dementedugh, her tone more menacing than the monsters around her.

    Indeed, Liz was the Witch of Soul Harvest, after all.

    She possessed the power to absorb the souls of her fallen foes, using them for various purposes, including enhancing herself and healing her injuries.

    However, even the vampires knew of her troublesome powers. Thus, they hesitated to engage her immediately.

    Even when she attempted to pounce on them, the vampires cowardly withdrew, maintaining a substantial distance from her.

    They even thwarted her attempts at casting high-level spells, threatening to lunge at her to break her focus as soon as she would try to chant.

    Only when the pain from the poison seemed to have slowed her down did they resume their assault.

    Kach¡ª!!

    With a swift motion, one of the vampires dashed forward and shed at the back of Liz''s left knee with his ws, causing her to stumble.

    Before she could regain herposure, another vampire lunged and struck her chest, delivering a powerful kick with an inhuman amount of force backing it up.

    Her chest te caved in once again and the force of the impact propelled Liz back a few steps as her body skidded on the ground a few times like a t stone on the water''s surface.

    After a series of rolls, she managed toe to a halt and pulled herself onto her knees as she struggled to stand back up.

    Capitalizing on this opportunity, another vampire rushed in, attempting to gouge Liz''s throat with his w.

    However, Liz reacted with lightning speed, slithering beneath the vampire''s arm and emerging behind him.

    From this position, she drove her dagger into the vampire''s back, piercing his heart in one decisive blow.

    Before hispanions could retaliate or try to stop her, Liz consumed the vampire''s soul and without dy, used it to heal herself.

    The ck patches of corrosion on her skin vanished, and her lungs, which had been ame due to the toxic air before, suddenly began to cool down, returning to normal.

    She could breathe freely once more.

    ¨C "Don''t let her iste you, fools! Fight in pairs!"

    One of the vampires instructed his soldiers, but it was already toote. Liz had already moved, appearing behind another vampire with her dagger poised near his skull.

    However, before she could drive her dagger into the vampire''s head, a forceful blow struck the sides of Liz''s torso, hurtling her several meters away.

    Gracefullynding on the ground after somersaulting through the air, the witch attempted to swiftly regain her footing.

    It felt as though she had been struck by a moving train.

    Somewhat disoriented, Liz pulled herself together and cast her gaze toward her previous position.

    Her eyes widened, and her face paled slightly upon discovering a high-ranking vampire gazing back at her nonchntly, a smirk adorning his almost human-like beastly face.

    Another high-vampire?! But she had been so vignt! She kept an eye on everyone present around her!

    Even within this crimson mist, no one should be able toe near her unnoticed!

    The mist might conceal their bodies, but not their souls, after all! So how?! How did a high-vampire manage to approach her undetected!

    ''And not to mention...''

    Liz shifted her gaze to the other high-vampire present.

    One more of them ought to be fighting against Damian. One was here. Thest one died to make a sacrifice to activate the Bloodpolis.

    That was all three of them!

    ''So why is there a fourth one?''

    Had there been more than three high-vampires who attacked the Arena?! If that were the case, just how many were there?!

    Liz clenched her teeth in frustration. She could handle one high-vampire inside this blood mist, but two would undoubtedly pose a challenge.

    "Oh,mander? You''re here, sir? I recall you vowing to eliminate the target," the other high-vampire remarked, eyeing the one who had just appeared.

    Ahh, so the high-vampire who had managed to sneak up on her unnoticed was theirmander. Liz took a mental note of this detail and raised her dagger.

    "Settle down, Dias. I''ll dispatch the Witch first and then the target. Achieving two goals with a single surprise attack," the high-vampiremander gestured casually and advanced toward Liz.

    Dias, the other high-vampire, wanted to retort at first but eventually decided against it.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Even though hismander was young and slightly inexperienced in actual border wars, he knew themander was right in this particr instance.

    Their target, a human named Nero Dekrauf, should already be on hisst legs after enduring the corrosive and poisonous effects of Bloodpolis for so long.

    Killing him wouldn''t prove to be much of a challenge. However, killing the Witch of Soul Harvest was a different story.

    One of their soldiers had already fallen victim to her. Who knew how many more of their kind she would take down before being defeated¡­ If she even gets defeated.

    It would be wiser for theirmander to kill her first. Keeping this in mind, Dias nodded and spoke, "Do you wish for our assistance, Commander Kl''Drog?"

    Kl''Drog, the high-vampiremander, simply shook his head and summoned a silver crossguard sword into his hand.

    Suddenly, several spikes erupted from the hilt of the sword, impaling Kl''Drog''s grip.

    The once-shiny silver de of the sword started turning scarlet, as though the sword was feeding on the vampire''s blood.

    Soon, Kl''Drog was holding a dark scarlet crossguard sword in his hand instead of silver.

    Liz wasn''t standing idly either. She was already done chanting a high-level spell.

    Abruptly, a dark violet haze enveloped her, and an ominous whirlpool began to swirl around her.

    In the next moment, the violet haze shifted and took form.

    The haze grew darker and darker, until it transformed into ck, giving shape to several flying skeletons with ghastly trails instead of legs, scattered around Liz.

    These were the trapped souls of many enemies Liz had defeated in battle. She didn''t prefer using this spell, but now wasn''t the time to hold back.

    Some of the ghastly, ck-haze skeletons attacked the high-vampire, while others entwined themselves around Liz.

    It appeared as though she wore a ck cape woven from several ghastly skeletons, their hands clutching her from behind in a deathly cold grip.

    Kl''Drog swung his dimly glowing scarlet sword effortlessly, dispersing the attacking ghosts with consecutive shes.

    Once done, Kl''Drog gazed at Liz and saw her hovering a few inches above the ground, her ghastly skeleton cape swaying in the air.

    A hazy crown made of ck bones materialized above Liz''s head as she spoke, "I''ll tell you one thing, bloodsucker. None of you will live to see another night."

    As soon as she uttered those words, Liz dismissed her dagger and extended her open palm toward the high-vampiremander within her sight.

    The eldritch skeletonsposed of ghastly ck mist that enveloped her also shifted, aiming their open palms at Kl''Drog.

    Suddenly, numerous orbs of violet energy materialized before their open palms and hurtled toward the high-vampiremander like bullets.

    Feeling a sense of urgent dread, Kl''Drog swiftly blurred and vanished into thin air, his speed allowing him to dodge the iing violet orbs.

    Out of the corner of his eye, from his peripheral vision, the high-vampiremander saw one of hisrades struck by one of the violet orbs.

    The vampire¡ª who was hit by the violet orb¡ª shuddered as his eyes rolled back before his body went limp and he fell lifeless to the ground.

    It was clear to Kl''Drog that he had to avoid those orbs at all costs.

    Gritting his canines, Kl''Drog sliced his w through the air, causing the scarlet aura around it to surge outward in three crescent arcs aimed at the levitating witch.

    Lizmanded a few ghastly skeletons to intercept the iing attack, but before she could do anything else, a crimson spike shot toward her and pierced her chest.

    "Khuuak!?!" Liz''s eyes widened as the skeletons and the bone crown around her dissipated into the ghastly ck haze.

    With her spell undone, she plummeted down to the ground andnded on her knees, blood trickling from her lips.

    She shifted her gaze downward, spotting a crimson spike crafted from some crystal-like material jutting from her chest.

    Gritting her teeth, Liz grabbed the spike and yanked it out. The crystal spike softened and turned to liquid.

    Then it struck her: Kl''Drog must have used some form of blood maniption.

    Since the whole crimson mist was made of blood, Kl''Drog would have attacked her from any direction. The scarlet crescent arcs were merely a distraction.

    Muttering curses under her breath, Liz struggled to rise as the gaping hole in her chest began to heal on its own.

    But before she could regain her footing, another spike shot upward from the ground beneath her, this time skewering her like a spear.

    Liz could only cough up a mouthful of blood as her spine was shattered and her abdomen was pierced.

    Two additional spikes erupted from the sides of the main body of the spike, looking like a crimson cross.

    It looked like a witch was impaled on a bloodstained cross.

    Approaching the crimson cross, Kl''Drog grinned at Liz, who struggled to turn her gaze toward him.

    "Not even this can end you, huh?" Kl''Drog sneered. "Then let''s test whether you can survive being torn to shreds, witch."

    With that, Kl''Drog raised his arm, preparing tounch more blood spikes at the woman impaled on top of the crimson cross.

    However, before he could unleash the attack, the ground quaked violently, an isted earthquake shaking the entire vicinity of the King''s Arena.

    "What the...?"

    Then, in the next instant, the crimson mist slowly began to thin and dissipate until it vanished entirely.

 Chapter 271 Bloodpolis [4]

    ?

    Kl''Drog let out a low gaunt and his almost human-like face instantly contorted into a deep scowl. His sharp canines glistened sharply as if to mirror his frustration.

    What in the world was happening? How could the Bloodpolis vanish? The crimson mist was supposed to spread even more, not dissipate.

    "That explosion," a sudden thought raced through Kl''Drog''s mind. "Did someone disrupt the runic circle?"

    But who could it be? And how did they learn of it? Not many individuals should be aware of a spell like Bloodpolis.

    And even if they were aware of it, the runic circle for Bloodpolis was hidden deep beneath the concrete ground, ced there by their trusted spy.

    No one should have been capable of digging so deep, let alone casting an explosive spell potent enough to destroy the runic circle in such a brief time.

    Especially considering the corrosive and poisonous effects of the crimson mist they should be under. No one should be strong enough to pull off something like that.

    But someone obviously did!

    Who?! Who was behind this? Did the academy''s defense system activate already? No, it should have taken at least ten minutes for that to happen.

    Then how...?

    While Kl''Drog was trapped in such thoughts, a brilliant arc of blinding white light shed in the vast expanse of the night sky.

    Soon after the sh of light, a deafening thunderbolt struck the ground somewhere on Kl''Drog''s right.

    Startled, Kl''Drog snapped his head around and saw a bolt of blue lightning hurtling toward him.

    "...Huh?!"

    An artillery spell? Someone shot an artillery spell at him?!

    Was he being attacked? No! It wasn''t just a stray spell. The lightning appeared to be targeting his... heart?!

    In an instant, his vampiric instincts took over. Kl''Drog shielded his chest with his left hand and swung his sword at the approaching bolt of blue lightning with his right.

    ng¡ª!!

    The lightning bolt collided with the scarlet de of his sword in a rain of sparks, resulting in a resounding sh of metal shing against metal.

    Indeed, it wasn''t an ordinary lightning bolt.

    From this close-up, Kl''Drog could clearly see a young silver-haired boy surrounded by an Electric Aura.

    It was Lucas. He had used his spear to parry the strike of the high-vampiremander''s sword.

    Without wasting a breath, Lucas coiled his spear around Kl''Drog''s de and thrust it forward.

    Kach¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" Kl''Drog grunted in pain as Lucas'' sharp spearhead struck his left arm.

    ''He is trying to pierce my heart?!'' Kl''Drog frantically thought.

    "Foolish boy!" Kl''Drog roared, releasing a crimson shockwave that surged from his body, rippling across the arena.

    The power of the shockwave sent Lucas hurtling backward a few meters, but he managed tond on his feet, jamming his spear into the ground to kill the momentum pushing him back.

    Residual sparks of electricity crackled around him as he pulled out his spear from the ground and aimed its pointed tip at the figure before him.

    Earlier, Lucas had asked Nero to unleash a bolt of lightning at him using his Gift.

    Using the ambient electricity, Lucas supercharged his Electric Aura and streaked toward Kl''Drog at the literal speed of lightning.

    His intention was to take down the high-vampiremander in one unexpected blow.

    A surprise attack.

    However, his n appeared to have failed.

    In the novel, Liz barely managed to defeat Kl''Drog. She had to use every spell avable at her disposal.

    Lucas was confident that even in this reality, Liz must''ve given her all, but under the influence of Bloodpolis, her efforts did not amount to much and she failed to put Kl''Drog down.

    Lucas knew that Kl''Drog would try to kill Liz before moving on to target Nero¡ª unlike in the novel, where Kl''Drog focused on Nero first¡ª since in this reality, the Bloodpolis was activated.

    Lucas'' strategy was to swiftly dispatch Kl''Drog and end the fight immediately. Sadly, he couldn''t do it.

    Indeed, killing a high-vampire wasn''t a simple task, huh?

    Thankfully, he only had to hold off Kl''Drog for a mere seven more minutes at most. After that, the academy''s defense system would activate.

    Could he manage that, though? Yes, he could definitely do that, right...? Right¡­?

    Just as he thought that three crescent arcs of ominous crimson aura, resembling the shape of a w, surged toward him.

    Lucas didn''t evade or try to dodge; he didn''t even attempt to move. When the arcs connected with his body, his figure wavered and dissipated like a distant mirage.

    "Illusion?" Kl''Drog raised an eyebrow, immediately sensing an attack nearing him from behind.

    ng¡ª!!!

    Swiftly spinning around, he thrust out with his sword, using the crimson de of his sword to stop a spear''s attack. A loud sh ensued, apanied by a cascade of sparks.

    Lucas''figure came into view shortly, materializing out of thin air. His presence caused Kl''Drog''s fangs to bare in response.

    "Know your ce and step aside, you vermin!" Kl''Drog mustered strength in his arms and used his sword with force to shove Lucas backward as if swatting a mosquito.

    The impact hurled Lucas back like a discarded puppet. He careened across the ground ungracefully, crashing multiple times before finallying to a stop and hauling himself upright.

    "Kill him," Kl''Drogmanded in a low growl before proceeding toward Liz.

    "Oh, good grief," Lucas muttered, massaging the back of his head to numb the concussion.

    When he surveyed his surroundings, Lucas saw several eerie forms of nightmarish noble vampires, draped in obsidian armor, rushing toward him.

    Grumbling, Lucas tapped on themunicator device in his ear and mumbled, "I shouldn''t have tried to y the hero. Guys, help me out here a little."

    As if waiting for that cue, under the fervent glow of the moonlight, several silhouettes appeared as if plummeting down from the night sky.

    They donned ck robes and their faces were hidden behind in ck masks, which were identity-concealing relics.

    They were members of the New World Order. And as soon as they appeared, each and every single one of them rushed in and engaged with the vampire forces.

    des shed and sparks flew.

    The members of NWO fought like elites without even showing a speck of fear or hesitation.

    Every single one of them was elite, recruited and monitored by Kai himself, after all. Armed with powerful relics and enchanted weapons, all of them were a force to be reckoned with.

    If nothing else, they would at least be able to stall the vampires long enough for the academy''s defense system toe online.

    Seeing that, two of the high-vampires decided to join the battle so they rushed into the chaos head-on.

    Kai and Hugh jumped down from the audience stand, where most of the cadetsy sprawled on the ground due to being unconscious or in pain because of the effects of the Bloodpolis.

    But surprisingly, much like Lucas, both of them also seemed unharmed. Both of them darted toward one of the high-vampires and shed against him.

    Using this chance, Lucas ran toward Kl''Drog who was nning to kill the Witch of Soul Harvest.

    Obviously, it was something Lucas couldn''t allow to happen. He needed to change Nero not break him. So he rushed to stop it.

    While running, he spared a nce at his luxury watch on his left hand only to see he would have to stall Kl''Drog for six more minutes at best.

    He could do that! Yes, he could definitely¨C

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Before he could continue motivating himself in his mind, a powerful blow mmed into him from his side and sent Lucas toppling.

    Rolling sideways a few times, the silver-haired boy quickly jumped back to his feet and looked to his side only to see a sword nearing his neck.

    A low whisper escaped his lips, "Quinn."

    ng¡ª!!

    Immediately, from Lucas'' shadow, a figure of a young man stepped out and parried the attack that would''ve been the end of him.

    The one who dared to attack him was a high-vampire. And Quinn, after literally saving his neck, stood guard in front of him.

    Lucas darted his eyes across the field which was plunged in havoc and saw Nero''s figure rushing toward them.

    "Tsk, he was supposed to engage another high-vampire but just like always he''s runningte," Lucas cursed Nero a few times and turned to Quinn.

    "Quinn, can you stop this high-vampire for a few seconds? Nero wille to assist you in a few moments," Lucas asked.

    "Sure, no problem." Quinn nodded and turned his head to look at the gruesome figure of the high-vampire in front of him. "You don''t die, though."

    Lucas didn''t even bother to reply as he only tapped Quinn''s shoulder once and rushed toward Kl''Drog.

 Chapter 272 White Knight

    ?

    E gracefully maneuvered through the half-ruined concrete field while not trying to step on any cracks and losing her footing.

    She skillfully thrust her slender rapier at any opening she could spot in defense of the vampires they were fighting.

    With Grace backing her up using her halberd, they formed a deadly duo.

    Yes, they weren''t managing to kill many vampires or any for that matter, but they were sessfully holding their ground.

    Despite being in dire straits when the crimson fog was active, they now managed to move more swiftly and fight with greater finesse.

    Although the lingering corrosive and poisonous effects of Bloodpolis on their bodies were still enough to elicit a wince or two on their faces from time to time.

    They were still not in their best shape, but at least they weren''t being butchered. They were inwardly thanking the person who destroyed the crimson mist.

    And now that they could fight, everything was going to be alright. Nothing, not even the elite vampires, could easily kill them if the both of them worked together.

    Their synchronizedbat style was almost eerie to witness.

    They were covering and defending each other''s backs while oftenunching attacks of their own.

    But the scariest part of all that was¡­ they weren''t speaking a word to each other.

    Even after all the tumultuous events of the past few months, their battle synergy remained unaffected by their rocky rtionship.

    After all, they had been inseparable friends since childhood. They were almost like sisters¡­ almost.

    This was what made it hurt so much for E when she discovered that Grace had shared the information about her sister with Kai. It felt like a betrayal that broke her heart.

    Did she really betray me like that, after everything I''ve done for her?! E remembered herself thinking.

    Even now, coordinating with Grace left a bitter taste in her mouth.

    Ironically, they hardly ever needed to exchange words toprehend each other''s thoughts during the heat of battle.

    Yet, this only amplified E''s bitterness as she grappled with the fact that someone who understood her so profoundly had betrayed her so easily.

    But shaking her head and clearing her thoughts, E refocused on the battle ahead.

    This was no ce to whine about the past.

    Grace moved forward and unleashed a devastating sh with the hook of her halberd.

    Following Grace''s powerful strike, E seized the opportunity to deftly impale a vampire through the heart with her rapier.

    They had achieved it¡ªtheir first kill. A noble vampire had fallen by their hands.

    However, their joy was short-lived, as two more of these vile creatures quickly took the fallen vampire''s ce.

    While E grimaced at this situation, in the next moment, her expression turned even paler as she glimpsed something past a vampire''s shoulder.

    Her father! She saw her father in the distance!

    He was on one knee with a gaping wound on his chest. Blood was gushing out like a waterfall and a deep scowl etched across his face.

    "E! Hey!"

    In front of Damian stood a high-ranking vampire of noble lineage.

    This abomination was covered in obsidian ck armor adorned with intricate red patterns, concealing its grotesque figure.

    In one of its hands, it clutched a ck sword, while the other exposed its obsidian ws.

    "E, lend me a hand! Hey!"

    In mere moments, the vampire would deliver a fatal blow to the defenseless human before him.

    E''s face drained of color further as this realization hit her. She couldn''t allow that to happen.

    First her sister, and now her father! What kind of sick joke was this? She couldn''t lose another family member!

    A dark grimace settled on her face as E infused mana into her legs.

    She slightly bent her knees and poised tounch herself toward her father like an arrow.

    However, before she could act, a desperate cry reached her ears.

    "E! Help me here! Hey!"

    E''s expression soured as she spun around to look at the source of the desperate plea.

    It was Grace. She was surrounded by two grotesque creatures of the night, who were about to attack her with their fangs and sword.

    At that moment, one of the creatures seeded in tearing into Grace''s side with its w, inflicting a deep wound.

    Grace staggered, pain contorting her features as she swayed slightly. Fear and hope mingled in her eyes as she gazed back at E.

    E lingered for a split second, feeling conflicted. It was her father against her friend who betrayed her. But still, could she really leave her childhood friend like that?

    However, E''s reaction was swift and decisive.

    Gritting her teeth in frustration, she came to a quick decision and without a second thought, E turned away, ignoring Gracepletely, and rushed toward her father.

    Grace''s eyes widened in shock, but before she couldprehend the fact that her friend had deserted her, something moved toward her.

    One of the vampires had used this chance to lunge forward, intent on ripping into her throat with its fangs and savoring the taste of her blood.

    As the vampire''s gaping maw drew closer with each drawn-out second, the world seemed to slow down for Grace.

    She shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the iing, inevitable pain.

    She was no stranger to pain. Her father''s abuse had been a daily ordeal during her childhood.

    ording to her father, she wasn''t worthy of bing his sessor. Yet, she knew that if she didn''t try, her father would turn to her little brother next.

    That was something she couldn''t allow.

    So, she fought tooth and nail to prove her worth. She tried everything she could to be a good sessor. But her best efforts were in vain.

    In the end, she just wasn''t as good enough as her father wanted her to be. Despite her efforts, her little brother was chosen to be the heir of the Goodwill family.

    Even her plea to avoid the military academy fell on deaf ears. Elites had ways to evade necessary military academy time for their heirs.

    But Grace''s father did not try to defend her from being enlisted even though she cried and begged him for it.

    Her pleas went unanswered.

    Enrolling at Global Academy, she hoped to secure a backseat and a rtively safe military position.

    Building connections was the first step, some connections in this world meant power.

    Thus, she aligned herself with Kai. Despite his assigning her strange tasks like being a traitor in her own ss or framing Lucas, she went with it all.

    Escaping pain was impossible for her. She had suffered enough in her lifetime.

    Yet, destiny seemed determined to thwart her. Not only was she tormented by Kai, but after Lucas defeated him, the scion of the Wiseman n did not contact her even once.

    Adding insult to injury, her best friend distanced herself following a rift in their rtionship.

    Life had never favored her. Had it ever?

    Grace had always been on the receiving end of life''s cruelties, and perhaps this was her destiny.

    Even if she met her end here, nobody would remember her. She was expendable, insignificant. Her death would mean nothing.

    With a resigned sigh, Grace rxed her muscles. The pain from her wound seared, but she steeled herself for the inevitable.

    In just a matter of seconds, it would all be over soon. She would die and then there would be no pain.

    It was soon going to be over, yes.

    ¡­However, it wasn''t. Time continued to pass, seconds after seconds, and Grace remained very much alive.

    Yes, the wound on her rib area was painful, but the pain was a reminder that she was alive, right?

    With cautious curiosity, Grace slowly opened her eyes, half-expecting to witness the vampires waiting for her to open her eyes before killing her.

    But what she saw instead was a young man with silver hair standing in front of her, his lean yet broad back facing her.

    He held a gleaming red spear, impaling a vampire at its tip. Another vampire lunged at him from the side, but the silver-haired boy swiftly retracted his spear and deftly countered the attack.

    After adeptly blocking the blow, Lucas channeled arcs of lightning from his spear.

    The lightning traveled from Lucas'' spear to the sword that the vampire held in its hand, electrocuting the bloodsucker and leaving it momentarily incapacitated.

    Capitalizing on the moment and the stunned state of the vampire, Lucas pushed the abomination back and expertly impaled it on his spear in a seamless motion.

    Only then did her silver-haired savior turn to face her and ask, "Need a hand?"

 Chapter 273 God Is Here [1]

    ?

    Grace gazed at Lucas, momentarily stunned, as the young wolf extended his arm and offered her his hand.

    After hesitating for a few seconds, Grace grasped Lucas'' hand and pulled herself up. A sharp pain coursed through her ribs, causing a moan to escape her lips.

    Examining the deep wound on her side, Lucas rubbed the back of his head briefly before summoning a vial of light green liquid in his hands.

    The liquid gleamed within the vial as Lucas tossed it to Grace.

    She caught the small container and looked at it with a dubious expression before turning to face Lucas.

    "Is it poison?"

    A scowl crossed Lucas'' face upon hearing that. With a stiff sigh, he responded:

    "Do you think you''re valuable enough for me to waste my precious poison on you? Haah, please. It''s a healing potion. Use it and get back to fighting."

    Across the chaotic battlefield, Lucas pointed towards Nero and Quinn in the distance.

    Quinn was fighting with shadows wrapped around his body to augment himself while Nero was barely moving but still trying to help the perfect Necromancer in any way he could.

    They both were fighting a high-vampire ¨C one who seemed especially deadly. But as expected of the future two most powerful characters, none of them seemed to be losing for now.

    Lucas cleared his throat and said:

    "Look there. Nero is struggling, and Quinn is giving his all, but it doesn''t seem to be enough. Why don''t you go there and help them? Make some new friends who won''t desert you, yeah?"

    So he was watching!

    A pang tugged at Grace''s heart, and even though she wanted to retort, she couldn''t find the right words to utter a coherent response.

    Besides, Lucas immediately vanished from sight after saying what he had to say.

    Left in puzzlement, Grace hesitated for a moment before twisting the lid of the vial and consuming the potion inside it.

    Once done, with determined steps, she headed in the direction where Quinn''s shadowy ck figure was engaged in battle.

    ?

    Grace isn''t naive. At least not as much as I would like her to be. Sooner orter, she''d realize that I had been waiting for this very moment.

    The moment when she found herself utterly alone, physically defeated, and mentally drained ¨C the moment I''d step in to guide her, to rescue her like a knight in shining armor.

    However, this realization wouldn''t help her. Even after all this, in the end, she''d dance in the palm of my hand and she''d be happy to do so.

    I don''t want her servitude. I want no one''s servitude. I want soldiers, not ves. If Grace were to serve me, much like Quinn, it would be of her own volition.

    With that in mind, I continue to charge forward in the direction of Kl''Drog. I had yed my final card against Grace.

    And now, I was nearly certain that my gamble would definitely pay off. My n finally fell into ce. Everything yed out exactly like I wanted it to, for the most part.

    Yet, a chill ran down the length of my spine. God, I couldn''t help but be scared of myself. I had to admit, I''m insane.

    While this wasn''t the first time I hade to this realization, it was the first time I had put myself in so much danger while pulling something so audacious.

    This damned world had finally managed to make me go insane.

    Truth be told, I would never like to face someone like me in a battle or in life. Well, I doubted there was anyone quite like me out there anyway.

    Heh.

    Arghh! No! Focus, damn it! I am getting distracted by my own supreme self again.

    Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I continued to rush straight. Within a span of a few seconds, I arrived a few meters away from the high-vampiremander.

    In my sight was a colossal crimson spike thrusting out from the ground, nked by two smaller spikes on its sides.

    The whole thing resembled a crimson cross fashioned from what appeared to be crystalline blood. Atop the two-meter high blood cross, the silhouette of a lone woman came to view.

    She was impaled on the cross, the main blood spike skewering her akin to a witch crucified to pay for the sins of her life.

    Her lips trembled, and her body convulsed with torment. Since her abdomen had been pierced, and her sr plexus destroyed ¨C where a person''s mana core was located ¨C Liz couldn''t cast any magic.

    Any other ordinary person would''ve surely sumbed to the cold, dark embrace of death by now.

    However, Liz was no ordinary being. To be honest, I wasn''t even certain what it would take to end her.

    Well, actually, I did know.

    Liz''s near-immortal body was a result of her control over soul magic.

    The physical body revolves around the soul ¨C it''s the foundation, after all. If the soul could regenerate, so would the body.

    In simple words, whatever shape the soul takes, the body follows. Yet, manipting one''s soul in such a manner wasn''t a simple task.

    Liz could do that, yes, but even she would die if her body suffered damage beyond her soul''s capacity to repair.

    Currently, it looked like the high-vampiremander aimed to do just that. He was going to rip Liz''s body to shreds and kill her.

    Dealing with Nero after that, in his state, would be a breeze for Kl''Drog.

    Of course, I couldn''t let it happen. Just five minutes. Merely five more minutes and all this would be over.

    As if hearing my thoughts, Kl''Drog sensed my presence and turned around to look at me.

    The bloodsucker didn''t even spare me another nce as he signaled one of the vampires standing guard near him.

    The vampire he just signaled to attack me, disappeared from sight and closed in on me with blurring speed.

    My eyes couldn''t even follow its speed. But I didn''t need to follow it anyway. I already sensed that the vampire would be trying to attack me from behind.

    Quickly, I spun around and raised my spear to deflect the iing blow. But my beaten and battered body was a split second toote to react.

    The vampire''s de inched perilously close to my neck, biting into my flesh and beheading me in an instant.

    Kwiish¡ª

    However, before the vampire could savor its victory, it came to realize that the boy it had just killed was nothing but a distant mirage ¨C an illusion.

    I was standing far behind him.

    But it was already toote. I gripped my spear tighter in my hand and d it with crackling electricity.

    With a solid step, I arched my body, withdrawing my hand. Summoning every ounce of strength I possessed, I snapped my hand forward, propelling my spear akin to a javelin.

    Booom¡ª!!

    The sound barrier broke and a toppling shockwave rippled through the arena as my spear hurtled forth with the speed of a tungsten projectile unleashed from a railgun.

    The vampire turned around in time but before it could do anything, my spear pierced its chest¡ª right where its heart should''ve been.

    Okay, that''s one down two to go.

    With that thought, I lunged forward, retrieving my spear from the vampire''s falling body. I did not need to confirm my kill, but I still did.

    And yes, I had definitely killed that bloodsucking aberration.

    With that, I darted toward Kl''Drog, aiming to catch him off guard.

    But before I could move anywhere close to him, another high-vampire who stood guard nearby reacted quicker and mmed into me with its shoulder.

    The force of the impact sent me tumbling over several meters. I rolled a few times and then sprang back to my feet.

    A low grunt escaped my lips ¨C not of pain but of sheer frustration.

    An attack like that one would have crushed a regr cadet, reducing them to a mush of flesh and bone.

    Had it not been for the protection of my Phoenix''s Embrace, I might have suffered the same fate.

    However, what disturbed me was the fact that I should have sensed an attack like thating from a mile away.

    Arghh, perhaps exhaustion had finally started to cloud my mind. I was slipping up. Damn it, this meant I needed to finish the battle quickly.

    Drawing a deep breath, I straightened my back and anxiously moved my head to look at the vampire who rammed its shoulder into me like a moving train.

    However, as soon as I got back on my feet, the vampire was already in front of me. Its menacing ck de was dangerously closing in on my neck, ready to sever it.

    Damn it!

    Even though I knew that the Phoenix''s Embrace would hold and prevent the attack from getting through, the sheer impact of the iing attack might disorient me for a few precious seconds.

    Seconds, no matter how small, could determine victory or defeat in a battle like this one. And losing here meant death.

    True, the initial attack wouldn''t kill me, but the vampire would swiftly follow up while I was disoriented, striking again and again.

    I couldn''t let the bloodsucker take control in a battle like this. Yet, its sword was closing in, leaving me no time to evade.

    My eyes widened, and almost on instinct, my left hand moved, summoning my Edit Pen. But what was I thinking? There was no time to make an Edit on anything!

    Right then, an idea struck me!

    I''ll take the first blow and then use Mana Burst to throw the vampire back. After that, I will target the vampire''s armor with my Edit Pen and use it to kill the bloodsucker!

    The n wasn''t half bad. As it formed in an instant in my mind, I sighed internally - there was no time for an actual sigh - and braced myself for impact.

    However, at that very moment, something strange happened.

    A bright red streak of light shed across the vampire''s arm, the one wielding the sword, cleanly cutting it off.

    The severed arm of the vampire flew off, blood spurting out of it like a crimson fountain.

    But before anyone had the chance to even realize what happened, the phenomenon repeated a few more times, the red light forming a web-like pattern across the vampire''s body.

    "...Huh?!" The vampire could only widen its eyes before its body was chopped apart, resembling minced meat.

    With a revolting thud, the vampire died, its mutted remains falling down in a heap. I couldn''t help but frown, both in disgust and surprise.

    "What in the¡­?" I stood there, stunned. Baffled, I looked around and finally understood what was going on.

 Chapter 274 God Is Here [2]

    ?

    Liz let out a stifled pained grunt. She was unable to see much of what was unfolding below due to her position.

    A massive spike had pierced her abdomen from beneath, causing her to face the ck expanse of the night sky.

    With another grunt, she tried to move her body from its core, despite the gaping hole in her stomach from which the giant spike was protruding out, desperately hoping to look downward.

    Down there, in front of the massive spike on which her body hung, Kl''Drog stood callously.

    The high-vampiremander''s open palms aimed at the helplessly hanging body of the human woman, clearly ready to cast a devastating spell.

    Liz had absolutely no illusion that she would survive an attack in her current condition. In reality, she should have already been dead by now.

    Her grip on life was tenuous at best. If someone could just pull her down from this spike, perhaps she could recover in time.

    ¡­No, even then, full recovery would take weeks, maybe months, and she''d still be at death''s door.

    The vampire truly got her good.

    Letting out a resigned sigh, from her peripheral vision, Liz spotted a young silver-haired boy locked inbat with a high-vampire.

    The boy wore an intricate, lightweight golden armor that did good to not hinder his movements, and he wielded a gleaming red spear.

    ''What is that fool trying to do?''

    Liz knew this boy well. He not only was a cadet in her ss but also emerged as a finalist in the King''s Tournament, just like her own disciple.

    Without a doubt, that boy was Lucas.

    ''He''s going to get himself killed.''

    At this rate, he would really die...

    ''Huh?''

    As she pondered this, Liz watched Lucas kill the vampire attacking him and charge toward Kl''Drog.

    ''Wait... What''s he doing?! Why isn''t he running... Could it be?''

    Liz''s eyes widened and the utter absurdity of the situation struck her. Was the boy trying to rescue her?! He was going to get himself killed!

    Although the academy''s defense system was set to activate within minutes, Lucas would likely die long before then.

    After all, themander of a toon of high-vampires wasn''t someone that a mere cadet could hope to kill. At least not on the cover of the night!

    As this thought raced through her mind, another high-vampire jumped in front of Lucas, blocking his path.

    ''Run! Run, you fool!''

    But the boy didn''t run.

    Instead, he started fighting the vampire, and just as the blood fiend was about to strike Lucas with its sword, something strange urred.

    Several red streaks of bright light shed, obliterating the vampire and reducing its body to bits as if it was thrown into a meat grinder.

    Witnessing this, a glint appeared in Liz''s half-dead, ssy eyes. Color returned to her face as she began tough hysterically.

    ¡­Or at least she tried. Her attempt atughter devolved into wheezing and pained coughs, apanied by spatters of blood.

    Kl''Drog, in the midst of conjuring a devastating spell aimed at the woman impaled upon the blood cross, furrowed his brow as he observed the witch''s erratic behavior.

    Had she finally lost her mind? Was the approach of death causing her will to break?

    ...No! At that very moment, a slight tremor coursed through Kl''Drog''s hands, and an icy chill ran down his spine.

    Suddenly, an unsettling sensation of cold dread settled within his heart, as if his vampiric instincts were screaming at him to run.

    The sudden urge to quickly abandon his soldiers and escape as soon as possible grew overwhelming, prompting him to run as fast as he could, as far as he could.

    The intensity of this urgency was beyond hisprehension, yet he was able to grasp one undeniable truth: if he stayed here for too long, he would definitely die tonight.

    The night''s embrace, typically warm andforting for his kind, now felt like a shroud of impending doom.

    ''What is happening?'' his mind raced.

    He didn''t have to wait long for an answer. Soon, high-pitched screeches from his own kin reverberated throughout the arena.

    The atmosphere shifted, and Kl''Drog frantically swept his gaze around, trying to search for the source of the object of his sudden terror.

    All he saw instead was his fellow vampires being ughtered, one after another, by an unseen force.

    Red streaks of radiant light shed through the air, cutting down the figures of the vampires into heaps of mangled remains, as though a relentless tempest of sharp des was unleashed upon his kind.

    S-Something¡­ Someone was killing them!

    But who or what?!

    He couldn''t see anyone, and the carnage was spread out, not confined to a single location. His soldiers were being chopped all around the arena.

    It was as if a natural force rather than a person was raining destruction upon his kind.

    "C-Commander, what''s going on here?!" a high-vampire standing guard right next to Kl''Drog asked, its eyes wide with shock as it observed the massacre happening all around.

    Instinctively, Kl''Drog took a step back and slowly shook his head. "I-I don''t know..."

    In that very instant, a burst of entricughter reached his ears from above. It was Liz. After a short struggle, she managed to utter a chilling chuckle.

    "Why do youugh, witch!" Kl''Drog raged furiously. He actually wanted to let out an imposing tone but ended up sounding a little agitated instead.

    Despite a wince of pain causing her to halt herughter, a smug smirk remained on Liz''s face.

    Suppressing the strain and keeping her voice from breaking down, Liz spoke:

    "Oh, remember what I warned you about earlier? You won''t live to witness another night, bloodsuckers. You don''t know what is going on? Allow me to enlighten you¡­ God is here, you fool! Brace yourselves for his judgment!"

    Kl''Drog furrowed his brow at Liz''s words, and the noble vampires standing by his side mirrored his confusion.

    Only one high-vampire showed a different emotion. His face quickly contorted and an expression that seemed remarkably close to fear instead of hesitation appeared on his visage.

    Kl''Drog was about to respond, but the high-vampire under hismand spoke up first instead, his voice quivering with nervousness:

    "Th-The Sword Saint... Is she referring to the Sword Saint?"

    Liz, her voice strained to hide the pain wracking her body, only emitted another chuckle in response.

    "Dias, do you understand what this witch is saying?" Kl''Drog directed his attention to the high-vampire who had spoken.

    The high-vampire named Dias nodded, beads of sweat gathering on his broad, pulsating beast-like forehead.

    "Y-Yes,mander," Dias stammered, his tone quivering. "I advise you to flee. Let us stall the Sword Saint and grant you time to escape."

    Kl''Drog''s brows knitted in a mixture of anger and disbelief. "What?! Are you out of your mind, Dias!? Why would I, Kl''Drog of the Blood Blossom family, flee? And from whom?"

    Gritting his fangs, Dias persisted, trying to convince hismander while there was still time.

    "Commander, you fail to grasp the gravity of the situation! I have seen all this before! It''s the Sword Saint! Our informants said that he wouldn''t appear tonight, but they were clearly wrong. He''s here, and that just means we are all going to die! There is no other way to do that! So, please, I ask you to run! At the very least ensure your own survival,mander!"

    Kl''Drog''s eyes widened. He had never seen his second-inmand so overtaken by fear.

    After all, he was a high-vampire. What in the whole wide world could scare him to this degree?!

    After a moment''s consideration, Kl''Drog shook his head resolutely. "No, I won''t flee. It''s merely a single human. Do you truly believe I could be defeated by a single human? We were entrusted with a mission and we shall aplish it before finally fleeing from this ce together!"

    Dias clutched his head in frustration at his ignorantmander''s nonsensical response and shouted:

    "No, you don''t understand,mander! Three years ago, I encountered the Sword Saint on the battlefield. My squadmates urged me to retreat, but I didn''t heed their advice. I didn''t think that a single human would pose a threat against our squad of noble vampires."

    Dias paused, taking a moment to steady his ragged breath, while Kl''Drog looked at him with rapt attention, prompting him to continue.

    "However, by the time I finally realized, it was already toote! Our opponent was no ordinary human. It was not even a living being! It was, in a way, akin to a deity! The humans call him the God of War, but that title is inadequate,mander! He''s more of a demon than a God! My squad was utterly destroyed by him... In the blink of an eye, seventeen elite vampires were obliterated! I survived solely because I fled. That demon didn''t give chase because he didn''t even consider me a threat!"

    Kl''Drog''s expression was aplex mix of emotions as he listened, his words stifled by uncertainty.

    In the end, he found himself unable to respond, allowing Dias to continue:

    "Please,mander! I implore you, run! Escape for your life! Facing that thing is unthinkable, for anyone! Maybe, only maybe, if all the Vampire Kings united, they might stand a chance of killing him! But no one else, and certainly not mere high-vampires like us! I beseech you, flee while we try to stall him! At least ensure your own survival!"

    Dias was, in no way, exaggerating.

    More than anyone else here, he knew the sheer dread of facing the Sword Saint¡­ the futility of it. He had survived that day by sheer luck alone.

    He wasn''t a priority target for the God of War during that encounter. Had he been, he would not have escaped with his life.

    Kl''Drog, hismander, was oblivious due to the Sword Saint''s primary focus on the border. And since Kl''Drog''s unit excelled in scouting and infiltration, they weren''t well-versed in deep border affairs.

    The vampire forces on the border had to revise their tactics drastically due to the God of War''s intervention on more than one asion.

    A single human''s involvement in war led them to change their whole strategy! Only Vampire Kings were that big of a threat!

    During his time on the border, Dias had heard one piece of advice over and over again: "If you ever encounter a human d in red, holding a sword in his hand, then turn around and run."

    He had only disregarded that advice once, and the price was paid with the death of hisrades.

    Dias was not going to let history repeat itself again. Not today, at least!

    Gritting his fangs, Dias tried to yell once more, "Commander, you must listen to me and¨C"

    However, before he could finish, a shiver coursed down his spine.

    From his peripheral vision, Dias glimpsed a figure adorned in red armor, wielding a sword, slowly advancing in their direction from a distance.

    No... It was toote to escape now.

    The God of War had descended upon them to grace the impure mundane world with his presence¡­ and only destruction was going to follow.

 Chapter 275 God Is Here [3]

    ?

    Dias'' charcoal-like, rough, ck face drained of color as he noticed a human figure d in red approaching them.

    "Oh, Monarch!" He eximed, turning his head to look at Kl''Drog, who also noticed the sight of the human figure by now.

    Urgency resonated in his trembling voice as Dias let out a desperate yell, "I beg you,mander, please, run! Perhaps with the help of your shadow teleportation, you can make your escape!"

    "Escape? But isn''t it already toote for that?"

    "Yes," Dias nodded nervously. "However, perhaps, with our remaining forces here and a touch of luck, we might still be able to¨C"

    At that moment, Dias felt his skin crawl and his eyes widened. The reason for this was a sudden yet strange realization during his exnation.

    The voice that questioned him not only didn''t belong to hismander, but it also came from the wrong direction!

    It resounded from behind him!

    Quivering, he looked at Kl''Drog and saw hismander staring past his shoulder with wide eyes.

    Someone¡­ Something was behind him¡­

    But how could this be possible? Seven noble vampires stood guard around them in a circle! No one should be able to breach their defenses without being noticed first!

    A bead of sweat trickled down Dias'' forehead as he lunged forward, positioning himself near Kl''Drog, and swiftly turned around to face the source of the voice.

    There! A tall man with fiery red hair stood, just a step behind where Dias himself had been a few seconds ago.

    The man wore shiny red armor that perfectlyplemented his pair of clear, scarlet eyes. A faint smirk graced his face, as if the man was proud of himself for some undisclosed reason.

    Yes, undoubtedly, the red-haired man looked more like a holy deity who had descended from the heavens, untainted by the impurities of the mundane world rather than a mere human.

    In his hand, the man firmly gripped a slender katana¡ªor perhaps, it was toorge to be ssified as a katana. The sword he held was a nodachi, its de still sheathed.

    "Come on, don''t make me wait like this. Spill the beans ¨C who''s trying to escape, and where?" The red-haired swordsman asked with a beaming grin.

    Kl''Drog''s lip twitched. That bastard! He was actually grinning! A mere human was looking down on him!

    However¡­ inexplicably, Kl''Drog found himself rooted in ce. It felt as if his body was frozen, unable to move under the gaze of this mere human.

    Fear gripped him¡ª he recognized that gut-wrenching sensation all too well, after all.

    Yes, definitely, it was fear, but not just any ordinary fear, it was the fear of standing before a being he could never dream of matching.

    He instinctively understood that a mere gesture from this human could effortlessly wipe him out of existence.

    A being with no equal¡­

    A deity without any w¡­

    A God without mercy¡­

    That was his enemy!

    Suddenly, five of the seven noble vampires surrounding them lunged at the red-haired man and unleashed a ferocious onught of shes with their ws and swords.

    Kling¡ª

    However, before any of these repulsive creatures could evene near the red-haired swordsman, something extraordinary unfolded once again.

    Bright streaks of red light shed all around Leo, looking like a web of spherical scarlet threads for a fleeting moment.

    In an instant, the foolish vampires who dared to approach the God of War were dismembered, their once grotesque forms reduced to heaps of minced meat.

    ughtered¡­ They were all ruthlessly ughtered just like that!

    Kl''Drog personally handpicked each one of those vampires for his unit! He knew every single one of them!

    And now they were all dead¡­ just like that?!

    The red-haired man hadn''t even lifted a finger, or worse, unsheathed his sword!

    In that moment, Dias'' voice rang out, jolting Kl''Drog from his terror-stricken stupor, "Commander, flee!"

    Kl''Drog trembled and gradually turned towards his second-inmand. Dias had drawn his sword. He was ready to throw himself in front of the red-haired butcher, despite understanding the futility of his efforts.

    Kl''Drog wanted to protest! He wanted to stand and fight! He wanted to escape this ce with his entire unit intact!

    But that wish was unattainable...

    The brutal reality was right in front of him. Staying here meant facing a gruesome end, much like his fallenrades.

    At least one of them had to survive¡­

    At least one of them had a chance¡­

    Telling himself that he was the only one who could escape this ughter, Kl''Drog turned to Dias and whispered, his voice low and apologetic, "I''m sorry."

    Right after that, Kl''Drog chanted a spell and dissipated into the shadows only to teleport far away, not wanting to witness the end of the unfolding events.

    Dias gazed at the spot where Kl''Drog had stood just a few moments before, shaking his head with a faint smile.

    "It''s alright," he murmured, shifting his attention back to the red-haired man, his eyes burning with smoldering anger.

    Leo Kurogami¡­ that was the name of this human.

    By now, he had already killed all the vampires standing guard around them. Now, Leo''s gaze was fixed upon Dias, an amused smirk ying on his lips.

    Dias clenched his teeth, a surge of fury rising within him. But with anger came fear and frustration.

    The memory of his previous encounter with this human resurfaced in the back of his mind ¨C a reminder of his helplessness.

    Yet, Dias shook his head and suppressed his surfacing emotions, focusing solely on the present.

    Back then, when he first met this man, Dias was weak! But not now! He was much stronger! Yes, he was one of the strongest noble vampires of his generation!

    In the past, he could only flee, leaving hisrades to their deaths, a burden he still bore and a memory that still haunted him.

    However, things had changed. Today, he would avenge their deaths! Even inflicting a single wound, causing Leo a modicum of pain, would satiate his desire for revenge!

    Back then, his only option was escape.

    But now, he had power. He could at least stall this demon long enough for Kl''Drog to flee.

    Ironing his resolve and fueled by mes of vengeance, Dias raised his sword and faced Leo.

    As the red-haired swordsman met his gaze, Dias spoke in a venomden tone which was filled with determination, "I''ll make you suffer!"

    "Hmm?" Leo quirked an eyebrow, his amusement turning into confusion.

    "You¡­ You killed my family!" Dias growled. "You killed myrades! They were like family to me, and you took them away!"

    Leo furrowed his brow in utter confusion as if he was struggling to remember a face, "I don''t even know you."

    "You will now," Dias dered,unching forward with blurring speed, leaving afterimages behind.

    But before he could even move an inch closer, a crimson streak shed, severing his left leg, and he crumpled to one knee.

    "Gaah!" Dias cried out, but before he could make sense of the situation, another red line shed, cleanly severing his right arm from his shoulder.

    "W-What¡­?!" Dias'' thoughts scattered, disoriented by pain and shock.

    He couldn''t even see where the attacks wereing from!

    And how could a single strike cut through his enchanted armor?! How was such a thing even possible?!

    However, Dias had no time to dwell. With his remaining moments, he aimed to hinder Leo Kurogami''s advance.

    That was the final purpose of his life!

    So that''s what he attempted to achieve.

    Extending his remaining intact arm, Dias aimed his open palm at Leo, conjuring a foreboding sphere of true darkness.

    In the blink of an eye, the dark orb erupted into a pulsating beam, leaving devastation in its wake as it shot forward.

    Yet, just like before, a single red line darted through the air, intersecting the path of the shadowy beam. Dias'' hand was sliced off in the same instant as the beam dissipated.

    Swuush¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" Dias let out a cry of agony, his severed arm flew away, blood spraying in all directions.

    It was incredulous! No, he refused to believe that this human was devoid of weakness!

    In his heart, Dias could have epted failing to eliminate Leo in closebat, even after approaching him.

    But the thought of dying without the red-haired swordsman having to even lift a finger was enough to drive him insane.

    Was his existence so inconsequential before him?

    This was the power of God, then?

    As this realization dawned on him, Dias lowered his head, his eyes unfocused and clouded with defeat.

    Even though his life was still intact, he was already dead. Seeing his state, a soft sigh escaped Leo''s lips.

    Stepping closer, Leo unsheathed the long de of his nodachi, and said, "For your valiant efforts, I shall grant you the death most glorious."

    In a mere fraction of a second, the slender yet giant shiny silver de of his nodachi whipped through the air, severing the high-vampire''s head from his body.

    As the detached head rolled on the ground with a low thud, Leo sighed once more and turned his gaze to the towering crimson cross.

    Perched on top of the cross, Leo spotted the hanging figure of a woman. With a bit of hesitation, he called out, "Liz, I think you might need a hand if you wish to get down from there."

    After a few moments, a weak yet irritated whimper reached his ears, "Oh, really? You think?! Bravo¡­ You must be a genius!"

    As if she achieved her goal, Liz let out a pained groan and fell unconscious.

 Chapter 276 Moving Slaughterhouse

    ?

    ...Huh?!

    What the heck just happened?!

    Okay, I''ll try to not soundpletely insane while recounting this, but I think all the vampires just fell!

    Just like that!

    Just like that, they were all killed!

    Or if killed is even the right term... Dismembered into tiny pieces and ughtered might be more urate...

    I nced all around, and everyone seemed as stunned as I was. The vampires they were fighting against until a few seconds ago were killed just like that!

    Of course, I knew who was behind all of this.

    A few moments ago, I thought I saw Master. Before I could dismiss what I saw as mere hallucination, Master''s figure suddenly materialized a few meters in front of me.

    He killed the high-vampires standing there near the towering crimson cross upon which Liz was impaled.

    Kl''Drog managed to escape, but the rest were dealt with as if they were helpless cattle headed for ughter.

    God of War? No, a moving ughterhouse seems like a more fitting title for him!

    Anyway, as soon as the vampires met their end, Leo swung his sword and shattered the crimson cross into fine scarlet dust without somehow harming Liz in the process.

    Liz was now unconscious, and it was reasonable to assume she would remain that way for a few weeks or months at least.

    Nero, even though he could barely move himself, rushed to Liz''s side, barely holding back tears.

    Gosh, seeing him in such a state almost made my heart ache in guilt... almost.

    Leo handed Liz''s unconscious body to the medics and instructed them to take Nero to the infirmary along with her.

    Just then, several massive mechanized robot frames rushed in through the arena entrance or descended from the sky above to secure the perimeter.

    Several more instructors and medics arrived from helicopters that filled the night sky.

    Kai discreetly signaled the NWO members to move, and in an instant, they vanished from sight as though they had never been there, to begin with.

    A few of the defense personnel who had just arrived shouted at this sight.

    ¨C "Hey! Some people just disappeared! Secure the area and search for them!"

    ¨C "Ask Athena to track the use of Teleportation Gates as well while you''re at it!"

    ¨C "Vampires can conceal themselves in shadows, so search every corner of the arena meticulously! I swear to god, if a bloodsucker jumps at me from the side, I''ll kill all of you myself!"

    Amidst all of this, I saw Leo casually walking alongside a member of the defense personnel, engaged in conversation.

    As they moved closer to me, I happened to catch a glimpse of their conservation.

    "...Yeah, and don''t bother trying to look for those individuals who managed to escape. I can''t sense their presence, so they''ve likely already left the city. My guess is that one of them must possess some kind of spatial teleportation Gift. Instead of them, use your people to search for any vampires lurking in the shadows, although I doubt there are any I missed but better to be safe than sorry."

    Leo''s brow furrowed for a few seconds before he continued:

    "And keep an eye out for a traitor. This couldn''t have happened without a spy among our ranks. I want you to also seize any Teleportation Gate activity to prevent anyone from escaping or getting into the city. I want full-on lockdown. This matter should be settled by tomorrow. As for the media¡­ don''t answer any of their queries. The Global City Council will handle them on their own."

    The man next to Leo continued to bob his head up and down in agreement with each word that came out of Leo''s mouth.

    By the time they approached me, the man appeared as if his head was attached to a spring.

    Noticing my kneeling figure, Leo''s expression lit up as he stepped closer and said with a bright smile:

    "Oh, hey, Lucas. Meet this gentleman. He''s the head of defense for the Global Military Academy, Private Warren."

    I nodded to the man named Warren, who stood beside Leo and managed to painfully rise to my feet.

    Leo went on, "Partly thanks to his not-so-great security measures, the vampires made this attack possible."

    Private Warren, who had been nodding until now, abruptly stopped as a sour expression washed over his face.

    Leo chuckled. "I''m just messing with you, Warren. I know your security measures are top-notch. Nevertheless, I''d appreciate it if you could apprehend that pesky traitor, alright?"

    Private Warren nodded again while Leo shifted his gaze to me and inquired with a hint of concern, "Lucas, are you injured anywhere?"

    "No," I shook my head. "I''m exhausted. After the final match, just being able to stand is a miracle, let alone fight."

    Leo surveyed the scene, noticing the fallen bodies of two vampires. His gaze then fell on me as he saw the blood stter on my shiny golden armor. He nodded, "Hmm, well done."

    After a brief pause, he asked yfully, "So, did you emerge victorious or taste bitter defeat?"

    I lingered for a moment before replying with an even expression, "I''m sorry, master. I lost. I was a single step behind."

    Leo''s facial expressions softened slightly at my response, but his amused smirk soon returned, "Nope, that''s the wrong answer."

    I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean? I genuinely lost."

    Leo shook his head as if I were missing an obvious point and said matter-of-factly:

    "You might have lost the match, Lucas, but in life, the one who remains standing is always the victor. So look around and tell me again, did you lose?"

    Pausing for a single second, I drew in a deep breath and scanned my surroundings. I saw cadets being carried away on stretchers or being tended to by medics.

    Some were whimpering, while others struggled to suppress their cries of pain. A few had broken down upon witnessing their friends'' deaths.

    Unlike in the novel, thanks to NWO''s intervention and the majority of the vampire force being focused on Liz and Damian, there weren''t many cadet casualties in this reality.

    However, that didn''t mean there were no losses. While the death toll was low, the injury count was significantly high.

    As I observed their conditions with an indifferent gaze, a soft sigh escaped my lips as I admitted, "Perhaps I didn''t lose after all."

    I mean, even Nero, the protagonist of this world, was battered and bruised.

    And the emotional turmoil he must be experiencing after seeing the only maternal figure in his life at death''s door was unimaginable.

    Quinn and Anastasia didn''t fare much better. Their bodies were littered with injuries and bruises.

    I didn''t even bother to look out for Chase, knowing that he would be lying unconscious somewhere.

    I could also spot Amelia''s unconscious figure being transported to the hospital building.

    Her injuries weren''t severe, but the deadly poisonous and corrosive effects of Bloodpolis had taken their toll on her.

    A smirk danced on Leo''s lips upon hearing my response, and he remarked, "Excellent. So, shall we go?"

    I looked at Leo, a perplexed expression on my face, but I had a feeling he was about to suggest something rather absurd.

    With a hint of hesitation present in my voice, I asked, "Go... where exactly?"

    "Where else," Leo tightly gripped the back of my neck and lifted me up effortlessly as if he was holding a puppy.

    As my feet left the ground, I involuntarily tried to wrestle free of Leo''s grip.

    However, before I could even grasp the situation, an azure bubble made purely of mana enveloped us and Leo spoke up:

    "We''re off to hunt a high-vampiremander!"

    The tone Leo used this time was akin to how grandfathers invited their grandsons to go fishing with them.

    However, before I could offer a retort or attempt to break free, Leo stomped his foot onto the ground, and the next instant, we were floating through the sky, thousands of meters above Global City.

    The whish from traveling at that speed alone should have knocked the breath out of my lungs and turned my insides to mush.

    Yet, the mana barrier seemed to shield us from all kinds of resistance. Of course, that didn''t mean I wasn''t rendered utterly speechless.

    Before I could even manage to let out a startled yelp or a shocked mewl, Leo''s voice cut through the rush of air:

    "Today, I want you to observe two things, my dear disciple. Watch how a real sh between two high-level entities goes down. And witness my secret technique, one you''ll soon inherit as my disciple."

    As soon as Leo said that, he kicked the air itself this time and the scenery around us changed once again.

    This time, we found ourselves on the edge of a port harbor, full of sleek architecture and polished surfaces, devoid of any people in sight.

    The mana barrier fell down, allowing me to feel the crisp ocean breeze carrying a faint metallic tang, ruffling my clothing in a gentle dance.

    Beneath my feet, the ground was a seamlesswork of panels, gracefully blending into the horizon.

    The silence was soothing yet eerie, only disturbed by the soft hum of hidden machinery and the undting waves of the distant sea.

    The soothing silence and the serene atmosphere did notst long, however.

    Soon, the tall form of a grotesque creature entered our field of vision. The creature was clearly trying to escape into the great ocean.

    It was none other than our target, Kl''Drog, the high-vampiremander from earlier.

    In its desperate path of escape stood Leo and me.

    Well, mostly Leo, as I shamelessly hid myself behind him.

    Truth be told, I wanted no part in this. What I truly wanted was to get some sleep. Yet, when have I ever been granted my wishes?

    With a resigned sigh, I listened as Master spoke to the high-vampire with a trace of amusement in his tone, "I''m afraid entry into this city isn''t free. So don''t mind if I levy a hefty tax upon you, yeah?"

 Chapter 277 Symphony

    ?

    Gritting his fangs, Kl''Drog fixed his predatory gaze upon us, his vertical pupils locked in ce.

    I mean, let''s be real, he must have already realized the futility of his chances for escape.

    Unless he chooses to fight us¡ªwell, fight with Leo specifically¡ªthere''s simply no possible way for him to break free from this situation.

    But then again, fighting Leo would beparable to a death sentence.

    After all, he was there when Leo casually ughtered hisrades without even lifting a finger.

    How could he even think about standing against such overwhelming might? But, as I said earlier, he had no other choice.

    With resolute determination etched on his beast-like face, Kl''Drog summoned a long silver crossguard sword into his grasp.

    Suddenly, spikes sprouted from the hilt of the sword, impaling Kl''Drog''s grip, and in the next moment, its silver de turned a deep shade of crimson.

    Nheless, Leo remained unfazed, shifting his attention toward me.

    With a nonchnt smile on his face, he started speaking as if we were here to take a leisure stroll, rather than confronting a formidable high-vampire.

    "Do you have any idea how I''ve managed to gain such an exalted reputation and formidable power despite only having a rtively average mana core level?" Leo inquired.

    Observing that Leo had turned his back on him, the high-vampire tried to attack, only to discover that he couldn''t move an inch.

    Kl''Drog''s eyes widened, but regardless of his efforts, his feet were firmly anchored to the ground.

    A crease formed on his forehead as he looked down.

    He saw several luminous azure chains, made up entirely of mana, bursting forth from the ground and trapping his feet, effectively shackling him in ce.

    Before he could think of a solution, an overwhelming pressure descended upon the high-vampire''s shoulders, akin to a mountain falling upon him.

    Despite his inhuman strength, Kl''Drog''s knees buckled, and he copsed onto all fours.

    Throughout all of this, Leo''s unwavering gaze remained fixed on me. He was waiting for my response.

    In truth, I already knew about his source of power. While the novel never mentioned Leo''s precise mana core level, it did show his capacity.

    I knew just how strong Leo was and how he was able to achieve such power.

    However, feigning ignorance, I shook my head and posited, "Could it perhaps be because of your impable technique?"

    Leo let out a heartfelt chuckle. "I would have been happy if that was the case. But regrettably, technique, regardless of how refined it is, can only carry one so far. Yes, it can bridge the gap between two people in a fight, but only until the gap in their strengths isn''t too big."

    I secretly nced at the high-vampiremander, who struggled to draw breath, let alone rise to his feet, before returning to Leo and asked, "So then, if it''s not your technique, what is it?"

    A smile graced Leo''s lips as he replied, "It''s a mana art. Think of it like a magic spell, albeit not entirely. In fact, it bears more semnce to martial arts than magic spells. I call it a mystic art, as it surpasses all human understanding of mana and its maniption."

    Even though I already knew what Leo was about to tell me, an inexplicable curiosity gripped my heart.

    It was as if I had always wanted to learn the secrets of his technique for quite some time now.

    The desire to know tugged at me¡ªa mix of curiosity and excitement. Yes, I don''t know why but I was excited.

    Noticing the glimmer in my eyes, Leo spoke up with a genuine smile:

    "The name I''ve given to this mystic art is Symphony. Through it, I attune myself to the environment and control the ambient mana within it with my will."

    Despite knowing all of it already, I let a shocked expression show up on my face, faking a stunned reaction.

    Observing this with his smile, Leo continued, "Basically, my mana core resonates in harmony with the mana surrounding me. Also, the manawork within me bes one with my surroundings. In simple words¡­"

    Before Leo could continue to borate, I chipped in, "You be one with nature itself and control the mana present around you."

    The corner of Leo''s lips curled up as he affirmed, "Exactly. Be it spellcasting, enhancing my body, or using martial arts, I can do it all. I can even exert authority over Mother Nature herself. Additionally, I can also nullify any magic spells aimed at me, forcing my enemies to rely solely on martial arts or reinforcement spells if they wish to fight me."

    Though I already knew some of the applications of his mystic art, hearing him recount it still shocked me a little for some reason.

    Leo was, quite literally, a force of nature.

    It''s not really surprising that Nero had to use all seven of his Heavenly Swords to barely defeat him.

    Before Leo could continue, a guttural, beastly grunt reached our ears. It was the high-vampire, still struggling to break free.

    Leo''s gaze shifted towards the sound, his brows lifting as if he had momentarily forgotten about his captive.

    "Anyway, we''ll talk more about thister," Leo dered with a sigh and very casually waved his hand.

    Almost instantly, the azure chains binding the high-vampire shattered into a cascade of azure light particles, and the crushing force falling on him also disappeared.

    The high-vampiremander was once again free to move. Wasting no time, the bloodsucker swiftly lunged at Leo, rushing toward his own death.

    Leo''s smile widened as if he had been anticipating this.

    Immediately, a single red line of light streaked through the air, tracing an arc with Kl''Drog''s head in its way.

    Yet, before the thin red sh could reach his neck, Kl''Drog raised his crimson de, intercepting the oing attack.

    Sparks flew and the red line was abruptly extinguished.

    "Nice one!" Leo quipped, a trace of amusementcing his words. "At least you don''t seem as weak as yourrades."

    Despite the amusement in Leo''s tone, Kl''Drog didn''t take those words lightly. Enraged, he rushed forward, chanting a spell.

    Suddenly, from the shadows all around us, dark, obsidian spikes shot forth, aimed to skewer both Leo and myself from every conceivable angle.

    Thaaak¡ª

    However, before the pitch-ck spikes of darkness could even reach us, a of radiant azure cracks formed on them, causing the spikes to shatter into tiny fragments that dissolved back into the shadows.

    Kl''Drog''s eyes widened, yet he didn''t slow down his charge. In fact, he continued to speed up.

    Leo, with a nonchnt smile, lifted his hand and flicked his fingers in the air. Kl''Drog''s eyes widened even more as he hastily cast another spell.

    In response to his will, shadows around him surged from the ground, solidifying into a tangible cocoon of darkness that enveloped the high-vampire in an instant.

    All this happened in a fraction of a second, sparing me no time to grasp what was even going on or why the high-vampire cast another spell¨C a defensive one at that!?

    At the next moment, I understood his reason.

    As soon as Leo''s fingers were done flicking through the air, the sound barrier broke and an immense shockwave of destruction erupted.

    The shockwave rolled forward and utterly obliterated or toppled over everything in its path.

    The shockwave soon collided with the cocoon of darkness, shattering it easily and hurling the high-vampire, who was trying to take cover in it, backward in the air.

    Soon, his body ungracefully tumbled across the ground as he rolled a few times, letting the momentum drag him back.

    Halting his movement, Kl''Drog soon jumped up to his feet.

    Before Leo could react, the high-vampire''s body disintegrated as he jumped into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

    Huh?

    From the looks of it, Kl''Drog had stopped entertaining any thought of fighting Leo and now he was trying to flee back to the Global City.

    Perhaps he thought about hiding within the city for some time and hoping to get Leo off his trail.

    Such a task was going to be difficult if not borderline impossible, considering how many defense personnel were out in search for him.

    However, even escaping Leo was going to turn out to be as futile as fighting him.

    Master had no intentions of letting Kl''Drog escape. And without his will, there was no way he could achieve it.

    As soon as Kl''Drog disappeared into the shadows, Leo heaved a sigh and raised his hand.

    Several hundred meters aloft, a radiant sphere of luminous white mes quickly materialized.

    Burning with immting intensity, the sphere of white mes looked as if a sun had spawned amidst the night sky.

    The sphere of incandescent white mes dispelled the pervasive shadows, flooding the surroundings with blinding light.

    As a result of that, the very shadows Kl''Drog was using to hide dissipated, forcing him to emerge back into the material world.

    Even when he was forced out of the shadows, Kl''Drog did not stop running away.

    He scurried awkwardly with his back turned to us. By now, he had managed to put a considerable distance between us.

    Leo shook his head, and the zing orb of white mes suddenly started to reshape itself into a long fiery javelin.

    "No, no, no," I muttered under my breath, but it was toote; events were already in motion. In one fluid movement, Leo brought down his hand.

    As if waiting for that cue, the white-me javelin, which was suspended in the air before, plummeted down at Kl''Drog.

    The hapless vampire had no time to even react before the colossal javelin made of immting white mes struck the ground, creating a massive congration upon impact.

    Booooom¡ª!!!

 Chapter 278 Distant Vision

    ?

    A destructive shockwave rolled over the port harbor, and the scorching heat from the immting explosion turned the alloy it wasposed of into a radiant shade of incandescent orange.

    Just before the heat of shockwave from the explosion could reach us, Leo swiftly cast a mana barrier to envelope us, allowing us to see theplete devastation of the port harbor in all its glory.

    However, I didn''t get to see much. The blinding light from the brilliant explosion against the dark sky of the night strained my eyes too much to keep them open.

    Yet, after a few seconds, as all the chaos subsided, I opened my eyes, wondering why my eardrums hadn''t ruptured from the intensity of the explosion.

    When I gazed in front of me, I couldn''t help but widen my eyes in sheer shock.

    Before mey a scene of utter ruin. The alloy panelwork that formed the port harbor nowy inplete devastation, bent unnaturally after by scalding heat.

    Alloy beams protruded from the ground at irregr intervals, once sleek structures nowy destroyed, even the distant waves of the ocean bore giant ripples caused by the explosion''s force.

    The mana bubble that protected us was hovering a few feet above the smoldering ground.

    Suddenly, an icy cold wind swept through, immediately forming a circr b of ice beneath us.

    The mana bubble that Leo had cast around us quickly dissipated, and wended on the icy ground below.

    Strangely, for some reason, the giant ice b below us remained unaffected by the rising temperature, as if it was refusing to melt.

    Without any dy whatsoever, Leo swiftly snapped his fingers and unleashed another powerful gust of cold wind that cooled the smoldering alloy ground.

    While the craters, cavities, and protruding alloy beams still remained throughout the ruined port harbor, at least the scorching heat had subsided.

    Heavy plumes of smoke that rose in the aftermath of the explosion soon settled, restoring our visibility ¡ª our vision now unobscured.

    In the distance, the debris shook and a grotesque silhouette of a vile humanoid creature emerged from below it, struggling to free itself.

    The tall, humanoid figure swayed a little before regaining its bnce, revealing its identity. It was Kl''Drog.

    His nightmarish body was battered and littered with bruises, but at the very least he was still alive.

    He was missing his left arm and his rough charcoal-like skin was marred with several third-degree burns.

    Even from this distance, I could easily spot some ghastly deep wounds on Kl''Drog''s body, blood spurting out like a fountain from each one of them.

    In ce of his right eye, an alloy rod protruded out from his eye socket, while a huge chunk of his left cheek was torn off, revealing his inner mouth which made it look as if he was smiling, giving him an eerie yet pitiable appearance.

    Heh.

    In this state, even I can defeat the mighty high-vampiremander with rtively considerable ease.

    "Oh? Sure then, go ahead," as soon as I thought that, Leo chimed in with an infectious bright smile.

    "Huh?" I responded with a puzzled frown.

    What was he talking about?

    "You said you could defeat him in this state, right?" Leo gestured toward the high-vampire with his chin. "So why not give it a shot? It''ll be a good experience."

    Wait, did I say that out loud? What the heck!

    Mistaking my expression for that of concern, Leo spoke with a reassuring smile:

    "Don''t worry. He has used up all his mana in a desperate attempt to survive thatst attack from me. Besides, his injuries are severe. Taking him down won''t prove to be very challenging, but it could still be a good experience."

    I hesitated, giving Leo a nk, deadpan stare. "Can I pass on this?"

    "No," Leo''s smile turned into an evil grin. "Consider it your punishment for losing to Nero."

    "Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "What about that speech on winning in life and all that? Wasn''t it you who said the only one who remains standing in the end is the true winner?"

    "Yeah, that''s true and all¡­" Leo shrugged. "But did you really think you''d escape your punishment?"

    As a bitter sigh escaped my lips, I clenched my teeth and started moving forward.

    Summoning my shiny red spear and tightly gripping its shaft with my hands, I silently muttered some curses under my breath.

    The high-vampire had already started to run away again, if you could even call it running.

    In reality, he was dragging his right leg and awkwardly hopping forward with his left, moving at a snail''s speed.

    The high-vampire was still adamant to escape.

    Now I know, normally, one might think it''d be easy to defeat a creature in such a condition. Yet, I knew better.

    Injured or not, mana drained or not, that creature was a high-vampire. And not to mention, he held the rank of amander. Such a position wasn''t easily attained.

    Then again, I''ve killed one of the Seven Abyssal Vampire Kings¡ª a position even higher than that of this high-vampire.

    Shaking my head, I dashed at him from behind.

    As soon as I stepped into the striking range, I thrust my spear toward him. But my attack was abruptly blocked when the high-vampire clumsily spun around and deflected my spear with his w.

    From the looks of it, his sword was destroyed by Leo''s attack ¨C well, it was a miracle that even he survived ¨C leaving only his ws to defend himself.

    Stepping back, I twirled my spear before lifting its de over my head.

    The air around my spear started to churn violently, and sparks of crimson electricity crackled all around it.

    Without giving the high-vampire a moment''s respite, I brought my spear down and unleashed the Scarlet Demon Devouring art upon him.

    The bloodsucker evaded my first attack by hastily hopping back, but I charged in on him and followed with another strike.

    Kach¡ª!

    My spear shed through the air, leaving behind a crimson trail and in the next instant, the high-vampire''s remaining arm was cleanly severed, rendering himpletely defenseless.

    ¡­Or so I thought.

    Apparently, the high-vampire still had some mana remaining within his core.

    Instantly using what little drops of mana he had, the bloodsucker cast a spell.

    In the next second, the streams of blood gushing from his wounds shifted as if they hade to life and solidified.

    In a heartbeat, it looked as if several blood tentacles had sprouted from the body of the high-vampire.

    "What in the name of Lovecraft?!" I involuntarily gasped in revulsion. Before I could react further, a number of his blood tentacles whipped toward me.

    I knew better than to let a high-vampire''s blood touch me. So I swiftly evaded and sidestepped the frenzied barrage of blood tentacles.

    Whenever possible, I would counter an attack by shing my spear, severing the tentacles with its crimson de.

    Just like that, I deftly dodged and ran around the storm of blood tentacles. Finally, spotting a clear opening, I bent my knees slightly and drew back my spear.

    In the blink of an eye, I assumed a swordsman''s stance.

    During the King''s Tournament, I refrained from using this technique since the match was being seen and broadcast live.

    Yes, the Morningstar house didn''t concern me, but since I was soon going to visit the Western Continent, I thought it''d be wiser not to provoke my family any further than the original Lucas already had.

    But here, no one was present around me aside from Leo. Well, Leo and my prey.

    My lips curled up into a smirk as I coated a thick azureyer of mana around my spear, employing the True Sword Qi.

    Before the blood tentacles could surround me, I took a single step forward and swiftly executed a powerful horizontal sh, as though I was wielding a sword.

    Fwoooosh¡ª!!

    Though my spear''s crimson de never touched the vampire''s neck, his head cleanly parted from his body due to the crescent arc unleashed by my spear''s motion.

    With a dull thud, his headnded on the cracked alloy ground and rolled away, his body dropping lifelessly.

    The blood tentacles also dissipated, melting into a crimson rain.

    And with that, the final arc ¨C Vampire Attack on the Global Academy ¨Cof the first volume ended.

    Numerous changes were made in the plot, which meant I would receive a generous amount of Edit Points, but my focus¡­ was elsewhere.

    ¡­A split second before I unleashed the Dawnbreaker¡­ I had a vision.

    A young man peered down at me with intense bright red eyes. He proudly sat upon avish high-rise golden throne, its st ending in the shape of a dragon''s maw.

    Silky strands of jet-ck hair cascaded down and coiled around his neck, while a wicked, fearsome smirk adorned his sharp visage.

    His porcin white baster-like skin entuated his features and added to the chillingly unsettling aura of death that surrounded him.

    That man¡­I had met him somewhere¡­ I had known him. But who was he?! And when did I meet him?!

    My heart mmed against my chest like a caged beast, as if threatening to break my ribs, while the air refused to settle in my lungs.

    Cold beads of sweat formed on my forehead and trickled down my cheek as several emotions surged, mingling anger, sorrow, helplessness, fear, and bitterness.

    Leo''s voice reached my ears from behind as he rushed toward me, perhaps sensing that something was wrong.

    Yet, I paid no heed to his approaching footsteps. It felt like I was on the verge of remembering something¡­

    Something important, as if it was a lost memory¡­ Something I shouldn''t recall, yet I couldn''t help but ignore it any longer¡­

    Soon, my throat felt heavy and my breath grew ragged. My heart contorted as if it was thrown into a grinder.

    Only two words escaped my trembling lips before my consciousness faded into the darkness and I copsed.

    "Sa¡­ Samael Gracefell¡­"

    Thud¡ª

 Chapter 279 Samael Gracefell [1]

    ?

    Several centuries ago, in a universe far away¡­

    Guraaah¡ª!!!

    A young man, adorned with locks of raven ck hair and piercing red eyes, valiantly fought a swarm of humanoid creatures.

    Instead of sporting a suit of armor, the young man dressed in regal attire ¡ª wearing a red tunic crafted from the softest of silk and ivory trousers ¡ª almost as if he was out for a casual stroll and not for aary battle.

    These humanoids, tall and thin, possessed distinctive greenish skin, making their appearance grotesque.

    But since they were d in high-tech battle suits that exuded a polished white shine, their repulsive features were hidden from view, concealed beneath their sleek armor.

    Pew, Pew, Pew¡ª!!!

    Some of them carried weapons that strikingly resembled modern-day mana guns crafted by humans.

    Without waiting for a breath, they unleashed a relentless barrage of blue energy bullets upon the young man, each shot crackling with destructive power.

    Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª!!

    However, as if an imprable, invisible barrier shielded the young man, every energy bullet fired by the humanoid creatures was thwarted, unable to even graze a single strand of his hair.

    ¨C"Squad Tetra, ready yourselves for close-rangebat! Equip your Energy Sabers!"

    ¨C"Squad Geto, provide cover for Squad Tetra! Today is the day we must bring him down! We shall put an end to his reign of tyranny!"

    ¨C"Indeed! He has oppressed our world for far too long! This battle is for the sake of our world and our entire universe!"

    ¨C"Yes! We will defeat him before our king even arrives on the battlefield and give his head to him! The evil dragon will fall today!"

    Surrounded by the greenish aliens, the young man could hear their voices intermingling as theymunicated with each other.

    Their call-outs, instructions, and self-motivation echoed in his ears.

    Although he didn''t know theirnguage, he somehow understood their emotions, allowing him to grasp the essence of their words.

    Almost instantly, a group of humanoid creatures ced their guns back into the hostlers on their waists and swiftly took out torch-shaped handles from their high-tech suits.

    In the blink of an eye, brilliant blueser des erupted from the handles in their hands as they charged toward the young man.

    Unfazed by their advance, a menacing smirk grew on the young man''s face.

    He stood there calmly, eagerly waiting for his enemies'' approach, and as they drew near, he dropped the invisible barrier he had cast in front of him.

    Engaging in close-quartersbat, he fearlessly shed with the aliens, his movements swift and precise, countering their attacks with utmost finesse.

    Swish¡ª!!

    Swiftly evading a horizontal sh from one of theser swords, the young man dropped to his knees into a crouched position.

    He then quickly thrust his hand deep into the abdomen of the audacious humanoid creature who dared to swing his Energy Saber at him.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    The force of the young man''s strike sent the humanoid flying through the air until he collided with several dozen of his own kind who wereing to assist him.

    The impact sent them sprawling, creating a domino effect as they all crashed to the ground, entangled in a heap of fallen bodies.

    Pew, Pew, Pew¡ª!!

    Right then, in a desperate attempt to protect their fallenrades, the gunmen standing at the back fired a barrage of energy bullets toward the ck-haired young man.

    "Idiots," but that only caused the smirk on the young man''s face to grow even wider.

    He lifted up his hand in front of his face and suddenly it morphed into what could only be called a giant dragon w.

    The w was thrice the size of a normal human hand and four times thick. It was charcoal ash in color and was covered in what appeared to be reptilian scales.

    Tak, Tak, Tak¡ª!!!

    The young man effortlessly blocked the iing barrage of energy bullets with his w by using it as a shield, leaving the humanoid creatures visibly frustrated and clenching their jaws in vexation.

    Taking advantage of the distraction of the ck-haired boy, the remaining members of the Tetra squad seized the opportunity to rush him with their Energy Sabers ready to strike.

    Unfortunately, the young man was already prepared for them.

    "Fools!" He yelled as he swiftly transformed his other hand into a matching dragon w.

    Kwish¡ª!!

    With a sweeping motion, he shed through those who had approached, sending them hurtling back into the air.

    "ytime is over," he dered, his toneced with an air of finality.

    Before any of the humanoid creatures could react, the young man inhaled deeply, causing his chest to puff up before¡­.

    FWOOSH¡ª!!!

    A torrent of white mes erupted from his mouth, engulfing the battlefield in a searing ze.

    As the young man unleashed the scorching white mes, he did a swift spin, creating an arc of fiery destruction that burnt down everything in its path.

    The intense heat devoured anything it touched, reducing both the humanoid creatures and their high-tech suits to nothing but ashes.

    Despite the fire resistance features integrated into their suits, they offered no help against the young man''s immting inferno.

    Those who did manage to survive that assault of hellish mes by the sheer stroke of luck, dissipated into light particles, their bodies disappearing into the thin air.

    It was almost as if the white mes had snuffed them out of the very existence itself.

    After a few moments, the ck-haired young man was left standing alone on the battlefield.

    His barren surroundings sizzled as the white mes slowly died down, leaving the ground scorched and piles of ashes behind.

    As the embers flew all around him and the air crackled with heat, the young man let out a short sigh.

    "Samael Gracefell!"

    Just then, a sudden cry pierced the air, making Samael halt in his tracks.

    Slowly, the ck-haired young man turned, his sharp gaze darting across the battlefield to look for the source of the voice.

    Soon, a figure emerged from the rising pirs of distant smoke and walked toward Samael. It was another humanoid creature.

    Tall and gaunt, the creature had the familiar greenish skin like the rest of his kind.

    Yet, this particr creature looked more human than others of his species.

    Maybe it was because he didn''t have any high-tech suits on him; instead, he donned a long brown robe that fluttered behind it, leaving his face open.

    "So, you''re their king," Samael Gracefell raised an eyebrow, his voiceced with a hint of slight mockery. "Back on my home, Earth, in ancient times, kings used to adorn themselves with precious metals and gems in order to set them apart from themon folk who wore ragged clothes and robes. Quite the opposite here, it seems. Ha!"

    "You find this amusing?!" A re of indignation ignited within the creature''s eyes. Its words crackled with fury. "You''ve killed millions of my people¨C"

    Samael interjected, his tone filled with audacious confidence. "And I will kill a million more. That is, unless you surrender to me."

    Rage, disgust, and disbelief mingled in the creature''s gaze as his eyes fixed upon Samael.

    "Why?! Why are you going this far?!" The creature''s voice trembled with intensity. "Have you not caused enough suffering, destroyed enough lives across countless universes already?!"

    "I''ve caused suffering and destroyed lives?" Samael raised an eyebrow, a look of genuine confusion washing over his face. "No. I''ve conquered those universes and bestowed upon them tranquility! The inhabitants there now live in blissful harmony, living more securely than ever! They are happy under my reign, under my Empire."

    "You''ve enved them! They''ve be your puppets! You''ve stripped them of their free will, you monster!" The creature retorted with fury. "And those who dared defy your twisted version of peace were killed by you! This is no peace, it''s tyranny!"

    "Obviously," Samael replied with a nonchnt shrug. "How can one challenge the will of God and hope to live through it?"

    "The will of God?!" The creature let out a hysteric chuckle, his eyes gleaming with a spark of madness. "You really think you''re some kind of God, huh?!"

    "Yes," Samael stated matter-of-factly. "But let''s shift the focus from me, yeah? You, let us talk about you. So tell me, are you one of the champions of Akashic Records?"

    "Yes," the creature affirmed and tightened his grip on the hilt of his Energy Saber.

    Instantly, the glowing red de of aser sword ignited and the alien king assumed a battle stance.

    "And by that stance, I gather you''re not going to surrender easily," Samael mused.

    "Never," came the resolute reply from the alien king, causing Samael to let out a long exasperated sigh.

    "All you champions are the same. Causing trouble until the end. You guys never ever surrender, even when victory is nothing but a distant dream," Samael shook his head, stretching his hands casually.

    "I''ll avenge my fallenrades, Samael Gracefell! I am Beidara of the Kashi race, one of Akashic Records'' three champions in this universe! It is my destiny to kill you, and I will happily fulfill it!" The creature dered.

    Then, after a short pause, he continued in a low growl, "I shall take my Last Stand At The World''s End."

    In the next moment, he lunged forward at Samael.

    The ck-haired conqueror, now done with his stretch, faced his iing enemy with lidded eyes. "Indeed, you shall try."

 Chapter 280 Samael Gracefell [2]

    ?

    As the tall, gaunt creature neared Samael, thetter puffed his chest to inhale a long, deep breath.

    In the very next instant, Samael opened his mouth to unleash a torrent of incinerating white mes that had the power to erase beings from the very ne of existence itself.

    Beiadra, the alien king, already knew that no one, no matter how strong they may be, could ever hope to withstand Samael''s existence-erasing mes.

    Hence, the gaunt creature sidestepped, allowing the pir of white mes to pass harmlessly to his right.

    Samael thought about spinning to spit the mes in a wide arc, but before he could act on this idea, the alien king ran forward with remarkable speed, appearing before the ck-haired conqueror in the blink of an eye.

    Without giving his opponent even a second to react, the alien king swung his radiantser sword at Samael, aiming to cleave off his neck.

    But just before he could do that, Beiadra was flung back several meters into the air, as if struck by an invisible force akin to a speeding train.

    Stabling himself in the air, Beidaranded on his feet, gritting his teeth, and thought out loud, "Telekinesis? How many powers does that monster possess?"

    Hearing the alien king speak, Samael threw his head back and let out a short chuckle.

    "That was not mere Telekinesis I used. What I hit you with is known as Neither Energy," he said.

    Neither did Beidara know what that term meant nor was he interested.

    Instead of dwelling on such useless topics, the alien king willed a surge of strength into his legs and rushed forth again.

    Seeing the fool charge to his own death, Samael shook his head and released a huge destructive shockwave of invisible energy forward, capable of leveling cities to ruins.

    Instead of backing down, Beidara sped up and unleashed a devastating telekic surge to counter Samael''s attack.

    Booom¡ª!!

    The two cataclysmic waves of invisible energies collided to nullify each other.

    However, their sh shattered the earth and tectonic tes beneath the point of collision, causing a catastrophic localized earthquake.

    Any remaining tall structure that wasn''t toppled before was surely not standing now.

    Ground cracked, clefts and crevices surged and dust rose in a raging storm yet the two perpetrators of this destruction were leftpletely unharmed.

    Samael raised an eyebrow upon seeing his attack not inflicting any harm to his alien enemy.

    In a surprised tone, he remarked: "Ah, I see why my General struggled to put you down."

    Unfazed and unttered by hisment, Beidara rushed forward at a blurring speed and soon stepped into the striking range.

    As soon as that happened, the alien kingunched a barrage of powerful shes on the Conqueror of Worlds using hisser sword.

    Exasperated, Samael rolled his eyes and deftly evaded every strike.

    Soon, however, the alien king made a mistake. Samael quickly seized a clear opening.

    His fist shot forward, striking Beidara on his upper torso. Swiftly, he followed with a series of punishing punches, each infused with enough force to shatter a mountain to dust.

    Thwack, Thwack, Thwack¡ª!!

    Helpless against the Conqueror''s onught, the alien king found himself defenseless.

    Despite the fact that he was much taller than his opponent, Beidara couldn''t fend off his enemy.

    Samael''s speed and strength were utterly insurmountable; his arms moved in a blur, carrying enough strength to topple cities.

    Beidara only managed to remain somewhat standing because of the Telekic barrier he had cast around him beforehand.

    Anyone else would''ve already been dead if they had tried to face this session of blows.

    No, even he should''ve been dead by now! Surely, the Conqueror was strong enough to surpass his Telekic force, so why had he not done so yet?

    Then it hit him. Beidara suddenly realized that Samael didn''t only want to kill him.

    No, he wanted him to experience the agony of being powerless. He wanted to make him suffer and grant him a painful death.

    Truly, he was facing someone worthy of the name Demon King.

    Just when Beidara believed the agony would never end, Samael stepped in and delivered a final devastating punch.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    The impact propelled the alien king backward, akin to a marite with severed strings.

    The gaunt creature crashed violently onto the scorched ground, rolling several times beforeing to an abrupt halt.

    Taking a split second to catch his breath, the alien king quickly jumped back to his feet.

    Coughing out fetid, acid-like green blood that matched his skin color, Beidara red forward with fury.

    Suddenly, however, the gaunt creature''s eyes widened in shock as he saw Samael had puffed up his chest once more.

    Before Beidara could even react, Samael opened his mouth and unleashed another torrent of incinerating white mes.

    Yet, before the mes could reach him, Beidara summoned his strength and stepped forward.

    Putting everything he had, the alien king swung the incandescentser de of his lucent sword with destructive force.

    Thwoosh¡ª!!

    A crescent arc of devastating Telekic energy surged forward, shing against the torrent of incinerating white mes and dispersing it.

    Samael raised his eyebrows in shock and quickly crossed his arms over his body to shield himself from the iing attack.

    Thwam¡ª!!

    The arc of invisible energy collided with Samael, pushing him back a short distance as two grooves were left on the ground beneath his foot.

    Without pause, Beidara lunged forward and brought his radiantser sword down at Samael.

    "Tsk!" Samael clicked his tongue in frustration as if he was dealing with a mere roach rather than the king of an entire powerful alien civilization.

    He casually raised his arm and caught the approachingser de with his bare hand.

    Beidara''s eyes widened as soon as Samael caught the sharp sma de that should have been able to slice right through even the most durable metals in this universe!

    And not to mention, he casually withstood the force of an attack that could have very well obliterated a descending meteorite.

    "You''re strong," Samael''s voice was cold, yet his eyes held a hint of amusement. "But you''re starting to annoy me, and I don''t like resilient bugs. I''m ending this y now."

    As Samael spoke, violet energy crackled around him, and an imploding bolt of pure ck lightning shed in the air.

    Beidara''s eyes widened as Samael''s body became engulfed in a blinding violet glow.

    In the very next instant, a massive nuclear explosion erupted and blue mes surged forth with Samael''s body at its epicenter.

    From above, it looked as though a radiant blue sun had spawned on the ground.

    Soon, the blue sun shrunk and copsed on its own before exploding once again and then surging forth in all directions, reducing everything to nothing but ashes.

    As the blinding brilliance of the blue explosion faded, a colossal ebony Dragon emerged.

    Beautiful obsidian scales covered the Dragon''s body like a suit of majestic armor, emitting a faint violet hue from between the insets.

    A single flutter of the Dragon''s mighty wings sent churning gales throughout the area, almost as if forcing the ground itself to kneel before it.

    In the Dragon''s wake, a single humanoid figure stood. It was Beidara.

    An invisible telekic energy barrier shielded him from the explosion, but he was left bleeding from his mouth and nose due to the shockwave that followed.

    Terrified, the gaunt alien creature looked up at the ebony Dragon hovering proudly in the sky, thunderously pping its wings.

    "G-Gods¡­ Please have mercy¡­" Beiadra helplessly uttered, gripping the hilt of his Energy Saber tightly, knowing full well that his weapon was not going to provide any help.

    Though the radiantser de of his saber still glowed, the resolve to kill Samael in Beidara''s heart was now nothing but snuffed out.

    Yes¡­

    The colossal Dragon, which was as big as a metropolitan city, was none other than the Conqueror, Samael Gracefell himself.

    With a fear-inducing, deafening roar, capable of even shaking the heavens, the mighty Dragon parted his maw and unleashed a sea of immting white mes.

    ?

    The entire was now destroyed.

    Although it was just a dwarf, orbiting like a moon around the alien king, Beidara''s home, it was suddenly destroyed¡­ just like that.

    The dwarf was now nothing but a scene of utter wreckage, with a substantial portion of it obliterated.

    Incandescent white mes smoldered around the whole, making it look as though it was hit by a sr re.

    Amidst the debris from the obliterated portion of the dwarf that scattered across the frigid void of space, floated the lifeless body of a humanoid creature.

    The creature''s once rough green skin was now a charred mass, reminiscent of burnt coal,pletely unrecognizable.

    Above the burnt remains of the creature, a majestic ck Dragon soared. Slowly, the Dragon''s mighty form started to shift and shrink as it began to change shape.

    In a matter of moments, Samael reverted to his human form. Several pieces of regal clothing materialized around his bare body.

    He then turned around and flew back to what was left of the barren dwarf that he himself had decimated.

    Gentlynding on the smoldering ground, Samael let out a soft breath, not affected by the heat of the immting mes around him even a bit.

    Another champion had fallen by his hand. How many champions had he killed by now?

    He didn''t even bother keeping count but the number must''ve been billions if not trillions already.

    It had likely been a century since anyone had challenged him for more than a few minutes before being incinerated by his Dragon''s Breath.

    Well, to be perfectly honest, he could have effortlessly ended the battle with a mere gesture of his hand if he had wished to.

    However, it had been so long since hest transformed into his Dragon form that Samael had shown restraint with the alien king.

    A soft sigh escaped his lips once again as Samael surveyed his surroundings. Around him, the white mes were devouring the life of this dwarf.

    If there is hell, then it must look like this, right? Quite fitting for someone who is known as the Demon King to be here, Samael thought.

    His gaze then shifted upward, seeming to pierce the very heavens as he uttered coldly:

    "How many more of these champions of yours must I vanquish? How many more of your creations shall meet their end by my hand? Do you think the Gates of Heaven will protect you forever, O Gods? No, I will reach you one day. I will¡­ kill you all one day. It''s only a matter of time before I get my hands on Akashic Records now."

    At that very moment, a rift tore through the fabric of space behind Samael, and a tall young man emerged from it.

    The young man swept his jet-ck hair back with his fingers and surveyed the he had teleported to with his bright blue eyes.

    His attention soon fixed on Samael''s figure. A gleam entered his eyes as he addressed the young man, saying, "Brother."

 Chapter 281 As God Wills It

    ?

    Samael turned around in response to the voice that called out his name and quickly recognized a familiar figure standing there behind him.

    A smile formed on Samael''s lips as he addressed the person, "Michael, you''re back."

    The young man named Michael mirrored a genuine smile and excitedly nodded before speaking up:

    "Yes, brother. I came here because I received a distress signal from one of our Generals while I was in branch Universe #637. As soon as that happened, I quickly brought my division here to help."

    Samael nodded back in response, "Yeah, I received the same signal and came here on my own to manage the situation. It seems one of this realm''s champions obliterated a field army under Kiara''smand."

    Michael smirked. "So, you, the Demon God himself, came here to assist? Or is it just an excuse for some fun?"

    "Please," Samael scoffed, "Fighting these so-called champions is barely fun for me anymore, just like everything else. Eternal life, it seems, has be boring."

    "Hey, hey, hold on!" Michael squinted his eyes. "Don''t you even think about dying! If you die, we all die. And I''d prefer to live for a few more billion centuries."

    Samael chuckled at his brother but soon turned serious. Shaking his head, he said, "Rest assured, brother. I won''t die before I bring down Heaven''s Gate. After all, it is my destiny."

    While they conversed, something moved and stirred within the rising plumes of smoke in the distance.

    Suddenly, from behind that wall of smoke, an ethereal violet serpent shot forth toward them at breakneck speed.

    Unperturbed, both Michael and Samael remained motionless, engaged in their conversation.

    They had already sensed the approaching presence long before it even appeared. So naturally, they had nothing to worry about.

    Besides, who in the multiverse would ever try to attack not one but two deities akin to Gods in their sane mind.

    As soon as the serpent reached them, it shifted its form and transformed into a new shape.

    It took on the form of a captivating young woman with silver hair and amethyst eyes emanating a royal aura.

    Draped in a white regal dress, her slender yet graceful figureplemented her fairplexion. Along with her full red lips and a sharp, bewitching face, the young woman looked nothing short of a goddess who had descended from the heavens.

    "Kiara," Michael greeted the silver-haired woman. "You''re alive... and just as useless as always, I see."

    Kiara rolled her eyes,pletely ignoring Michael''s remark and turning to Samael. With a bow, she addressed him, "The distress signal was from me, Sam."

    Samael arched his eyebrows up in a subtle sarcastic manner. "Really? I never would have guessed."

    Of course, Samael knew about it already.

    Kiara and Michael weren''t just Generals of his Demon Army. No, they also shared a strong mental connection with him.

    Samael held dominion over life. Yes, he could manipte the very concept of life itself.

    He can create new life, control it, ruthlessly bend living beings to his will, and even extinguish them from the very ne of existence itself.

    Yes, by erasing their existence, he could make it so that they never existed to begin with.

    If that wasn''t enough already, he could also resurrect them from the dead as many times as he would want.

    He could also enhance beings, evolve them or even devolve them back to their species'' origin if he so wished to do so.

    He had long since shaped Kiara and Michael into a species above humans. He had made them Demons much like him. He had also bound them to himself.

    In essence, now they were like extensions of his own being. They were like his limbs.

    He did the same to the inhabitants of the universes he had conquered, altering their bodies and minds to align with his desires.

    The inhabitants of his conquered universes now shared only one purpose, perception, and consciousness¡ª his own.

    Their free will was snuffed out, but at the cost of their freedom, they received unity. They now live in a world where everyone lives in unison.

    No wars, no crimes, no injustice.

    Even though he was just a human once, Samael Gracefell was now more feared and, in some ways, revered than even the Gods.

    Kiara stifled her urge to roll her eyes and continued, "Thank you foring. By the way..."

    A smug smile yed on her enchanting face as she added, "Ie bearing gifts."

    In the very next moment, as if waiting for that cue, another violet ethereal serpent plummeted down from the sky, crashing onto the smoldering ground below.

    Samael raised an eyebrow, noticing that the serpent had coiled around something, wrapping it.

    With an excited smile, Kiaramanded the ethereal serpent to unwound. Instantly, a humanoid creature was released from its ensnarement and fell to the ground.

    It was an alien creature, and it clearly belonged to Beidara''s species, but this one was notably slender and tall.

    The humanoid creature''s body was gaunt in appearance, with rough green skin and long, grotesque limbs, but this one also possessed an unusual feature: lengthy ck hair.

    Clearly, this alien creature was a female of her species. Samael, with his ability to manipte biology, had more than one way to know.

    "Who''s this?" Samael inquired, his tone uncaring.

    The silver-haired girl smirked and said, "Allow me to present the Queen of the Kashi race."

    Samael arched an eyebrow. Kashi was the name of the alien race whose king he had just killed.

    After a bit of thought, he inquired, "And why have you brought her here? Her mate, the king, is dead. I n to obliterate their as well. Surely, you don''t n to take her as a war prisoner, right?"

    Kiara shook her head, a sly grin forming on her face.

    "No, I have no intention of taking her in, but you might. She''s a soothsayer," Kiara revealed.

    As soon as Samael heard that, his eyes widened and he turned to look at the gaunt alien creature with a bit of surprise.

    Samael had conquered countless universes and destroyed even more. But the number of times he met someone who can foresee the future could be counted on one hand.

    Maybe nine, at most. Yet, there was an oracle right in front him! Oh, what a lucky day it was today!

    The oracle in the spotlight, however, looked at Samael with seething rage burning in her entirely ck eyes.

    Looking at the female alien, Samael put on a predatory smile and said, "I have a question for you, Oracle."

    The female alien''s re turned into a murderous stare as she retorted, "My name is Briha, you demon! And I shall answer none of your questions!"

    Despite her defiance, Samael''s smile remained.

    In a calm tone, he asked, "Is this because I killed your mate? If I resurrect him and leave your world alone, would you answer my question?"

    Briha''s gaze intensified, and she countered, "No, you''re lying... No one can resurrect the dead. I sense my connection to Beidara has shattered! You''re lying!"

    Samael threw his head back and let out a heartfeltugh.

    "You don''t know much about me, do you, Oracle? Believe me, I''ve been killing and reviving people since I was a kid. I can certainly bring him back. Now, will you answer my question?"

    A conflicted look appeared on Briha''s face for a split second but she quickly clenched her fists and ironed her determination.

    "No," she dered with firm resolve. "I shall not aid a Demon in his pursuit to break Heaven''s Gate."

    Samael sighed deeply, his expression heavy. The fact that she knew about his goal only meant how strong of an oracle Briha was.

    But unfortunately for her, Samael had more than one way of breaking someone. Nodding, he approached the gaunt female alien.

    Briha attempted to crawl backward, but Samael quickly grasped her head, holding her in ce.

    With one hand on top of her skull and another beneath her chin, he spoke, "Briha the soothsayer, tell me where I can find what I seek. Where are the Akashic Records?"

    This time, however, Briha surprisingly didn''t resist answering Samael''s question. Strangely, she also stopped her attempts to break free from his grip.

    Her resistance seemed to have waned, as if something within her mind had suddenly changed.

    She was now ready topletely obey the person who had taken her mate''s life.

    Locking her entirely ck eyes onto Samael''s, she started speaking:

    "Your... causality is all messed up."

    Samael''s eyes widened. Finally, it was a sess! In the past, anyone who tried to peer into his future died for some reason.

    No matter how many times Samael brought them back from the dead, they all died just all over again.

    But finally, after all these centuries, Samael came across an oracle capable of glimpsing at his fate.

    Soon, however, Samael''s mind returned back to her words. He asked, "What do you mean?"

    "Your fate is entangled in a never-ending mess. I... I cannot understand how or even why. Observing these threads in such a state puts a strain on my soul."

    Samael raised an eyebrow. This could be the reason behind why all those previous oracles who dared to look at his fate died.

    Their minds and souls, it seemed, couldn''t endure theplexity of his fate.

    While others might have found this confusing, Samael was not perplexed. He had a pretty good idea why the strings of his fate were in such a state.

    The heavens.

    The Gods were trying to stop him. They feared him, so they were trying to stop him from reaching Heaven''s Gate.

    Maybe they just wanted to buy some time to prepare for his inevitable arrival and gather their armies by then.

    Or maybe they just intended to trap him in the realm of their creation.

    All of it was useless, however. Samael knew that even fate could be bought if dealt the right price.

    After all, he had in so many champions who were fated to kill him. Fate is, and never was, absolute.

    With a bitter taste in his mouth, he questioned, "And what about my first question? The location of Akashic Records?"

    Briha exhaled deeply. "I can''t pinpoint its location. But I see a Map Of Stars within your possession. It can guide you to the Cosmic Womb."

    "...Then tell me, where can I locate this map?" Samael''s impatience grew evident.

    "...In Universe branch #637, on a named Earth."

    Samael''s heart started to race.

    Earth... a word he believed he''d never hear ever again. He was also from Earth, albeit a different one.

    Wait, Universe #637?

    A furrow formed on Samael''s brow as he cast a sidelong nce at his brother, Michael.

    Michael looked at his sire and nodded, "I was there, as I''ve told you. I was also on its Earth. Apparently, that universe is parallel to our home universe. And yes, their Earth shares the same history as our birth, albeit their present is slightly different. I think they were in the year 2024 AD when our army invaded them."

    After a bit of pause, Michael added:

    "I crippled their military in the span of a few days. Their Earth also didn''t have any superheroes unlike ours, so bending those monkeys to their knees was easy. I was so close to conquering them when I received the distress signal. Since it was the first one I received in centuries, I quickly came here. If I had known it wasn''t from you but Kiara, I should''ve continued on with my mission."

    Samael waved his hand. "What''s done is done. How much time must''ve passed on that Earth by now?"

    Time is rtive.

    This theory holds especially true when discussing time across entirely different universes.

    For Michael, who could bend space to his will, it must''ve only been a few seconds since he retracted his division army and left that Earth.

    However, for the inhabitants of that Earth, years could''ve passed already.

    "Ah, about six centuries, give or take," Michael replied. "I know it''s a lot of time, and since I did leave them a warning that we would return, they must''ve been preparing for our second invasion."

    Samael scoffed.

    "Don''t be ridiculous now, my brother. If the humans on that Earth are in any way simr to where wee from, then those individuals must be locked in a power struggle among themselves after you disrupted their system."

    Michael cocked his head. "Can''t argue with that. So what do you want? Should I go back there and retrieve this Map Of Stars for you?"

    "No," Samael shook his head. "This oracle said that she saw me holding that map, so I suppose it''s my destiny to go there myself."

    Suddenly, as though he remembered something, Samael turned to the oracle and inquired, "I want you to also tell me about the three champions that I''ll have to face in that realm."

    The gaunt alien slowly shook her head. "I don''t see any champions¡­ They are there, but it seems like their existence is hidden."

    Samael clenched his teeth.

    Damned Gods and their divine interventions!

    He shook off his anger and inquired, "Can you tell me anything else?"

    After a bit of struggle, Briha gritted her teeth and continued, "I hear cries of a fallen angel¡­ I see a Phoenix and a Dragon fighting, surrounded by nothing but dark, empty, endless void¡­ Under the blood moon, the sky has turned scarlet, with pirs of white mes devouring thend¡­ Stars being forged into weapons¡­ A solitary divine figure with silver hair and a brilliant golden halo making a final stand against a horde of demons, wielding a two-headed spear, a swordsman splitting a in half, and an archeress piercing the sky with her arrows¡­"

    The oracle uttered a few more words, but none of it reached Samael''s ears. His mind was now fixated on one thing.

    A figure with silver hair wielding a two-headed spear?

    It suddenly felt as though Samael was on the precipice of remembering something very, very important¡­

    A lone figure with silver hair¡­ Final stand¡­ Phoenix¡­ A two-headed spear¡­ Golden halo¡­ A fallen angel¡­

    Suddenly, Samael spoke up, "Lucas¡­ Morningstar."

    "Hmm?" Michael turned to his brother. "I''m sorry, what was that, brother? Who is this Lucas Morningstar?"

    "I''m not sure¡­" Samael shook his head, a hint of confusion etched on his face.

    At that instant, Briha spoke up, "He is one of the warriors you''ll have to face in your future. Both of your destinies are deeply intertwined. If you''ve recalled him now, he likely remembers you too. By time, you both will only start to remember about each other even more."

    Samael wore an inscrutable expression. After a few seconds, he gazed at Michael and dered, "Gather the generals."

    "Are we nning an invasion? That universe, I mean?" Michael inquired.

    Samael nodded. He then directed his attention to the silver-haired girl and instructed, "Kiara, you''ll be the first to go there. Assess the situation and act as you see fit. Try to locate the three champions. We''ll try toe as soon as possible."

    The silver-haired girl nodded and turned to the other man present there. "By the way, how long will it take for you guys to reach there?"

    After some mental calctions, Michael responded, "By the time you arrive there, it will have been seven centuries since my invasion. Following that, you''ll be on your own for seven to eight more years before we arrive."

    "Huh, in that time, I could conquer a gxy," Kiara scoffed.

    Samael shook his head and pulled back his hands. "Don''t do anything foolish, Kiara."

    As soon as he said that, Samael turned around and started walking away, leaving the oracle behind.

    Briha suddenly seemed to regain herposure. A glint of light returned to her all-ck eyes as she unsteadily rose to her feet and cried out, "Wh-What did you do to me¡­?!"

    Kiara turned around, giving Briha a brief nce before turning to Samael. "So, what do you want to do with her?"

    Samael shook his head once more. "Leave her to die here."

    Oracles were the only individuals that even Samael himself couldn''t fully trap in his mind-control.

    Pushing them too far always led to their death.

    Moreover, Samael had already acquired all the information he needed so he had no need for Briha.

    Suddenly, a rift in the fabric of space tore open in front of the trio.

    Michael and Kiara entered first, and as Samael was about to follow suit, he looked to his right.

    In the distance, he spotted a colossal around which this dwarf orbited.

    A twisted smirk yed on his lips as Samael lifted his arm and casually flicked a finger in the''s direction.

    Momentster, the disintegrated¡­ Shattering into pieces, cracks ripped it apart until it was reduced to fragments adrift in the void of space.

    "No¡­ No¡­ No! No! No! You fiend! The Gods will never forgive you, you Demon! You shall meet your end one day! Someone will end your tyranny, you demon!"

    With a satisfied grin, Samael heard Briha cry and curse loudly behind his back, but he continued walking into the rift casually, eventually disappearing from sight.

    Briha fell to her knees, tears streaming down her gaunt alien visage and her chest tightening up in pain.

    It was all over.

    Her mate was dead, her home destroyed, her people ughtered, and she remained alive to bear witness to it all.

    She had once seen all this in one of her nightmares, and now a Demon from the depths of hell had made it alle true.

    Wailing as if it was the end of the world, which it was for her, Briha sobbed out her pleas for Samael to suffer for his atrocious deeds.

    She begged the heavens to impart justice on the Demon one day. She begged and cried without stopping.

    After an eternity, when her throat began to burn and her vision grew hazy, she grabbed a shard of smoldering, sharp stone nearby and pressed it against her neck.

    Before ending her own life by shing her throat, she uttered just one thing, her voice fading along with her life, and her body copsing to the ground with a sickening thud.

    "I know you''re watching¡­ Please¡­ Kill him! Kill that Demon! ...Sicut Deus Vult."

    [End of Volume 1: As God Wills It]

 Chapter 282 A New Day

    ?

    With a suffocating gasp, I shot my eyes open and sat back up. I rubbed my bleary eyes and tried looking around through a bottle-ss blur.

    Huffing and puffing, I felt my heart raging like a wild rabid beast, smashing against my chest to the point where even taking a full breath was painful.

    Gods, could this be a heart attack? Am I seriously having a heart attack?! What the actual fuck?!

    No, on second thought, it couldn''t be a heart attack!

    My body was awakened to mana. My physical stats were also good. No way I''d suffer from something so mundane as a heart attack.

    "Gaah!"

    But as a low guttural growl of pain escaped through my lips again, I began to doubt my earlier assumption.

    Fortunately, a medic quickly rushed to my side and started chanting a healing magic spell to rx my violently wrenching cardiac muscles.

    Slowly, my breathing began to calm down and my heart started to beat a little more rhythmically.

    ¨C"...et ...cas! Can ¡­u he¡­ me?!"

    The world, which had been spinning until now, started to return to normal, and my vision became a lot clearer.

    I heard someone speaking to me.

    Although I had to concentrate a little, I was barely able to make sense of what they were saying.

    ¨C"First-year cadet, Lucas! Can you hear me?!"

    It was the medic who was speaking. I slowly turned to him and gave a tired nod. Even moving a little was tiring, for some reason. It felt as if I had no strength at all.

    Upon seeing my response, the medic offered a bright smile and nodded back.

    ¨C"Okay, that''s a good sign. Now listen to me, first-year cadet Lucas, you''re currently experiencing a severe case of hyperstress. I''ll inform your guardian, Instructor Leo, that you''re awake. But until then, please take this."

    With that, the medic handed me a small jar of white pills and asked me to consume two instantly.

    I did as I was told, and almost immediately, my mind numbed. The headache that I didn''t even notice until now subsided and I felt light-headed.

    "What the heck happened to me¡­" I finally uttered, carefully looking around for the first time.

    Drips connected to a bag of liquid were attached to my arm, while many machines monitored all my vital signs¡ªheartbeat, brain pulse, and more.

    I wore an all-white patient robe, and bedsheets clung to my profusely sweating body.

    Now awake and calm, I could finally think back on what happened.

    I used Dawnbreaker and then saw a vision of a¡­ king? A god? Sitting on a tall throne, looking down at me.

    Afterward, I fell unconscious and saw more vivid visions in my dreams¡­

    I saw gxies being ravaged by billions of battle-ready warships. I saw countless suns and stars being extinguished.

    I saw people of different races ughtered by invaders. Bloodshed, darkness, and agonized cries all filled the air.

    But most of all, the vision that scared me the most was that of a giant ebony Dragon overshadowing an entire like an omen of death and destruction.

    The Dragon opened its maw and let out a sea of incinerating white mes burning entire sr systems, and my vision ended there.

    "Arghh," I let out a frustrated groan and massaged my temples.

    This nightmare¡ªor whatever it was¡ªfelt eerily simr to the recurring nightmares from my past life when I was little.

    Much like them, this one was vivid and real. The destruction and bloodshed I saw was gut-wrenching.

    But throughout all that chaos, a single name continued to echo in my thoughts.

    "Samael Gracefell¡­"

    Who¡­ Just who was that? And why do I remember that name now?

    "As if something wasn''t already wrong with my memories. Now I''m even starting to see visions."

    Letting out a sigh, I shook my head. Well, I guess it''s one more mystery for me to solve then, huh?

    Just as I was trapped in my train of thought, the sudden screeching sound of the infirmary door opening shook me out of my daze.

    In came a tall man with fiery red hair tied into a high bun. He looked at me with his ember eyes, full of worry, and shouted:

    "Lucas, are you okay?!"

    I managed to put on a weak smile and said, "Master, was I cool?"

    ?

    So, apparently, the doctors said that I experienced a crippling case of hyper stress because of Bloodpolis.

    Somehow, the crimson mist must''ve affected my mind, they presumed.

    I knew it was far from the truth, of course. After all, I had my Phoenix''s Embrace on me when I dove into the crimson mist.

    Even though Phoenix''s Embrace can''t protect me from any mental damage, I knew that the reason for my deteriorated condition was that harrowing vision.

    Anyway, Leo was way too worried about me. He thought that he worsened my condition by pushing me to battle the high-vampiremander.

    He didn''t let it show too much, but I sensed he was angry at himself. He promised to never push me that hard again, but I knew he would.

    After we talked for a bit about this and that, he was called to the academy council meeting. They were going to discuss recent events and how to handle the media.

    They were also going to find the traitor who helped carry out this attack soon.

    Until that, everyone was asked to stay cautious of everyone else around them.

    I was now discharged, so I was free to go home, but since I didn''t feel like it, I was currently headed for the terrace of this hospital building instead.

    Arriving on the terrace, I drew in a deep breath of fresh air and looked at the bustling city below.

    Even after a vampire attack, the streets were full of cadets going about their day.

    Yes, it was a new day already. Currently, it was [8:46 AM]. Our semester break was supposed to start today, but now it''s put on hold for three days.

    We won''t have to attend any sses, but no one is allowed to leave Academy City.

    Even from up here, I could see that some cadets walking down the street were a bit shaken, but none of them were scared.

    Yes, the vampires somehow managed to attack one of the most secure and powerful cities in the world.

    Yes, they also managed to seriously injure one of the strongest soldiers stationed here as an instructor.

    Yes, they killed many cadets and mortally wounded even more.

    However, in this war-filled world, situations like these weremon. It''s just that no one dared to touch the Global City until now.

    But now the vampires have crossed even that line. It shows that they are growing desperate for some reason.

    It shows that they are willing to put their elite squads in danger just to achieve their goal.

    Yes, this attack was the first, but everyone knew in their hearts that this attack was just one of many toe.

 Chapter 283 She Looks Like... A Crow

    ?

    "Kriek~!!"

    Dressed in a casual ck tee and ck trousers, I leaned over the edge of the terrace boundary, observing the city below in the morning light, when a sudden bird chirping caught my attention.

    I looked up, and in an instant, something fell onto my face. It was a bird! It had my head gripped in itsrge talons while pecking at me with its beak!

    "Ouch! Hey! Hey! Sera! Stop!"

    Cursing, I managed to grasp Sera by the end of her neck and pulled her up.

    By now, she was more than half the length of my arm, and she was unusually heavy even for a bird of her size.

    Pulling her up was a bit difficult in my current condition, but I managed.

    Despite my efforts to pull her back, though, Sera persisted in trying totch onto my head with her huge talons until she finally gave up.

    "I''m sorry I left you alone, but it was dangerous outside Sera! And you were sleeping!"

    "Kriek~!!"

    "Okay, fine! I promise I won''t leave you alone like that."

    "...Kriek?"

    "Yes, I promise. And I''m fine, just a little exhausted. Don''t worry about me and for the love of god, stop pecking at me!"

    A troubled expression washed over Sera''s pretty little face before she pped her wings andnded on my shoulders.

    With a relieved sigh, I gently caressed her hair in a loving way, and she responded by rubbing back her head against my hand.

    Suddenly, the terrace door swung open again, and a familiar figure strolled in my direction.

    "So, that''s your phoenix?" Kai shot me a wide grin. "She looks like¡­ a crow."

    "Kriek!"

    Hearing his words, Sera attempted to lunge at Kai, but I grabbed her before one of them got killed.

    I had used a light transformation potion on Sera, giving her ck feathers. It was easy to mistake her for an oversized crow, so I couldn''t me Kai.

    "She''s not in her usual form," I rolled my eyes and turned my gaze back to the bustling city below.

    "I see," Kai said, casually walking over to stand beside me. "How are you? I heard you copsed?"

    "Ha! Please," I scoffed. "I was just a little exhausted. Perhaps as a result of my messed up sleep schedule. By the way, good job."

    "Thanks," Kai chuckled. "I''m just relieved that no one from NWO was killed."

    "Hmm," I hummed affirmatively. "Well, honestly, I''m surprised that the vampires were stupid enough to split their forces like that."

    "True," Kai agreed. "If they had focused solely on either Liz or Nero, they might have managed to eliminate at least one of them."

    I nodded again. But despite our analysis, we both knew the vampires had no other choice but to split their forces.

    They were aware that as long as Liz was alive, they had no chance of killing Nero. However, they didn''t have time to deal with Liz and then shift their focus to Nero.

    The academy''s defense system would''ve activated in ten minutes. And upon its activation, defense personnel, and warbots would''ve rushed to the scene.

    If that had happened, it would have spelled doom for the vampires. Splitting their forces and attempting to kill both targets was their only option.

    Considering we were being attacked within our stronghold¡ª within our homes, we held the upper hand.

    If not for that advantage, the vampires might have gone all out and eradicated the cadets.

    Sighing as I thought all that, I suddenly recalled something.

    "By the way," I began, "How do you manage to move in and out of the City without being noticed at all?"

    Kai smirked. "We have someone in NWO who can create teleportation gates. He can only open gates to ces he''s been before, but his Gift is quite useful. We also have a tech genius among us who can mess with Athena''s tracking function to conceal our location."

    "Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "You''ve certainly assembled quite a useful group over the years, Kai."

    "I know, right," Kai boasted. "I also made sure to keep their trump cards hidden from the government as much as possible."

    "That''s a smart move. Pass me themand."

    "No."

    "Tsk. Worth a try."

    We exchanged nces for a moment before throwing our heads back and bursting into heartyughter.

    After a few moments, Kai calmed down and asked, "So, Lucas, you know about Leo Kurogami, right?"

    I didn''t need to ask him to exin since I already knew what he was talking about.

    "I do," I answered. "He''s affiliated with Spider, right?"

    "Yes," Kai nodded. "He will be our enemy in the uing scenarios. What will you do then?"

    I shot Kai a cold re. "What are you trying to imply, Wiseman?"

    Kai sighed and looked at the streets below with an unreadable expression on his face.

    "You know what I''m trying to imply," he turned back to face and continued. "Can you assure me that when the timees, you won''t let your emotions cloud your judgment?"

    Haa, I knew this conversation was due.

    Shaking my head, I spoke up, "I''m only using Leo Kurogami, learning his skills and techniques. He has so much to offer, and that''s all the reason I''m sticking with him. When the timees, I''ll kill him in cold blood, I give you my word, Kai."

    Kai looked at me with a dubious expression but ultimately nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly.

    Again, I can''t me him. Even I don''tpletely believe myself to be callous enough to kill a man I''ve called master in cold blood.

    Don''t get me wrong, though. If in the future, Leo bes my enemy, I will have no choice but to eliminate him.

    However, until then, I will try my best to not let that happen. Yes, at first I said that changing an event as big as War of Union would affect the plot too much but now I have changed my mind.

    If I can save my master by taking a bit of risk, I would do it in a heartbeat.

    "I believe you," Kai said. "I know you will prioritize the survival of this world over everything else."

    For a few moments, a still silence grew in the atmosphere with only the ruffling of the morning wind audible.

    After some awkward silence, Kai spoke up again, "Anyway, your n was a sess, more or less. What are you going to do now?"

    "I''m thinking of going back to Wolfshire," I replied while scratching the back of my head. "My intuition tells me that I will find all my answers there."

    Kai looked like he wanted to ask more, but in the end, decided against it.

    Instead, he asked a different question, "And what will you do about Nero now?"

    My lips curled up in a wide smile. "Oh, I''m d you asked. I was actually going to talk to him. But don''t worry, I will update you soon."

 Chapter 284 Consequences [1]

    ?

    Cradling a cup of coffee in his hands, Nero leaned back on the chair and let out a deep sigh.

    The corner of his eyes was freshly bruised red ¨C a clear indication that he was crying until very recently.

    Rubbing his nose, Nero looked up and saw a woman lying unconscious on the hospital bed, her arresting beauty held true even while she was at death''s door.

    Many state-of-the-art medical machines were attached to her to monitor her vitals and provide support if needed.

    A gaping hole was visible where most of her abdomen should''ve been. Even in this state, her body was slowly regenerating, trying to restore back to its natural state.

    It would''ve been slightly easy if her mana core wasn''t destroyed, but since it was, the problem was going to be exacerbated even further.

    The truth of the matter was, Liz Snyder could die any moment now.

    Yes, she was the master of soul magic. So as long as her soul remain intact, she could theoretically recover from any wounds.

    However, theory and practicality are two very, very different things. She must be in excruciating pain right now.

    Without mana to aid her and make the process easier, no one could say if Liz was going to be fine, not even the top doctors and medics.

    The most they could do was stop the bleeding and transfer blood every few hours so that her body could heal on its own without going into a severe anemic shock.

    Nero gritted her teeth and finished his cup of ck coffee in one big gulp. mming the cup onto the ss top of a nearby side table, Nero clenched his fist.

    His nails bit into his flesh until his palms were bleeding, but even then he didn''t stop.

    His throat felt heavy and tears filled his eyes to the brim. Barely, he stopped himself from breaking down again.

    However, no matter how much he tried, Nero could subdue the feelings that were resurfacing in his heart.

    He was powerless¡­ Even after all these years, nothing changed. He was still the same kid who could only hide in the closet to see his mother getting killed right in front of him.

    Even after all these years¡­ He was still powerless. Too weak to matter¡­ Too weak to change anything.

    Gods, it was as if the world was mocking him right now, utterly ridiculing his efforts to change himself.

    Even after all these years... the world was still able to take whatever it wanted from him.

    "No!" Nero bit his lower lip and stifled a scream.

    No, the world still hasn''t taken anything from him.

    Gritting his teeth again, Nero got up and walked over to the side of the sole hospital bed situated in the room.

    Grabbing his master''s hand, he talked to her unconscious body.

    "I know you can listen to me, master. I just want you to remember¡­ You promised that you would never abandon me¡­ So¡­ please don''t die."

    Feeling like he was about to break down again despite his best efforts, Nero rubbed his eyes and turned around to stride out of the hospital room.

    Aftering out in the hallway, Nero leaned back on the cold, hard white marble wall and mmed his head back.

    "Even after all that big talk¡­ Even after you promised yourself that you''ll never let your loved ones suffer, just look at what happened," he mocked himself.

    But right then, another voice apanied his own.

    "And you know what the worst part is? It all happened because of you." ¨C the voice said.

    Pulled out of his self-ridiculing thoughts, a frown etched onto Nero''s face as he turned his head around to look at the source of the voice.

    What¡ªor rather¡ªWhom he saw made the frown on his face turn deeper.

    Walking toward him was a silver-haired youth of tall stature and a lean figure. The youth was dressed in a casual sleeveless ck tee and matching cks.

    Yes, the fashion choice of his attire was indeed questionable, however, even Nero had to admit that the kind of fetching face that the boy possessed would allow him to pull even being dressed in nothing but leaves.

    Perched atop the youth''s right shoulder was¡­ a crow? An oversized ck crow? Nero had never seen a crow like that.

    Was it a mana beast? Did Lucas tame a mana beast recently? Nero didn''t know anything regarding that.

    ¡­Nor did he care for that now.

    Currently, his mind was focused on what Lucas had said a few seconds ago. After a bit of thought, Nero opened his mouth to speak:

    "What do you mean¨C"

    Before he could finish, however, Lucas interjected.

    *By the way, have you tried the coffee that they serve here? I swear to god, I don''t like hospital coffee because usually it''s burnt but the one they serve here is actually pretty good."

    Lucas'' voice carried a bit of mirth but Nero was in no mood for fooling around.

    "Lucas, I asked you¨C"

    Right before Nero could finish, Lucas jumped in again.

    "Oh, I forgot to ask, how''s Instructor Liz doing? It must be hard for her to always clean your mess, no?"

    Nero stayed silent for a few seconds as if his brain was processing the words he had just heard.

    After a while, he spoke, "What? What did you just¨C"

    But once again, Lucas cut him off.

    "I mean, now that I think about it, didn''t your mother also die while trying to hide you? Liz is also on her deathbed because she tried to save you. Oh, yes, I did some research on you so don''t mind me."

    For a few silent moments, Nero stood there like a statue, dark shadows covering his eyes.

    In the very next second, however, a dark, crushing aura swept over the hallway and it felt as if a mountain had fallen on Lucas'' shoulder.

    Despite the fact that Nero unleashed the full force of his crippling mana pressure and bloodlust, Lucas didn''t even flinch.

    He stood there unscathed, the smug smile still intact on his sharp visage. The marble walls around them began to screech as if they were about to crack.

    Right then, before the walls could give in, Lucas spoke up, "Yeah, go ahead. Do it."

    As if Lucas'' words shook out him of some berserk state, Nero swiftly retracted his mana pressure, however, his bloodlust was still lethally aimed at the silver-haired youth.

    "I said," Lucas uttered again, his smile fading and a cold, icy look taking over his face. "Go ahead, do it!"

    His voice echoed in the empty hallway, but Lucas continued.

    "Summon your Gift, cast your chants, don''t restrain your anger, and just put me in my ce! What''s the worst that happenedst time you did all that, huh? So go on ahead, do it again!"

    A long, awkward silence settled between the protagonist and the young wolf until Nero finally parted his lips and spoke:

    "You knew¡­ You knew something like this was going to happen!"

    His tone was harsh and a bit grating, but Lucas shrugged his killing intent off and replied:

    "I''d be stupid to not see iting. I tried to warn you, Nero. I told you, your actions will have consequences, didn''t I? I told you that you''ll realize this fact soon, didn''t I?!

    "Unfortunately, it seems to me that you''ve still failed to grasp the meaning of my words, let alone the consequences that your own actions have followed!"

    Nero calmed down a bit, averted his gaze, and gulped hard before hesitantly speaking in a barely audible tone:

    "I know¡­ I know that the vampires were targeting me¡­ They knew that Master would never have let me die so they targeted her too."

    Satisfied a little, Lucas nodded, "Yes. But do you know why they were attacking you?"

    "...I do but I don''t understand," Nero shook his head. "I''m not the first one in the history of Global Academy who has shown threatening talent, so why did they target me?"

    To be honest, this was a question even Lucas had been wondering about for the past few weeks.

    Even in the novel, many people showed overwhelming talent and possessed dire Gifts that could''ve threatened the bnce between the United Army and the vampire forces.

    Yes, Nero''s Gift was more devastating than anyone in history. Yes, he had the potential to be a real menace on the battlefield.

    However, he still had years before bing the threat that the vampires should be wary of.

    There would be multiple opportunities to eliminate him in those years, and none of them would be as hard and troublesome as breaching the Global City barriers to attack him inside its safe confines.

    So why were they growing so desperate oh him?

    Lucas could onlye to one real reason¡­

    The vampires had guessed that Nero was one of the three prophetic Heroes of this world.

    The more time they give him, the closer he''ll be to realizing his destiny. And what could possibly be more dangerous for the viins than the hero who has realized his destiny?

 Chapter 285 Consequences [2]

    ?

    Of course, despiteing to that conclusion, Lucas couldn''t just outright tell Nero about the prophecy.

    Part of the reason was that he himself doesn''t understand the prophecies of the Three Heroes. And he''d dare not breach what he doesn''t understand.

    The other part of reason was that Lucas remembered reading a specific rule in Kai''s Book of Prophecy.

    In it, it was said something along the lines of ¨C Never inform the Heroes about their fates.

    ¡­Or something like that.

    Truth be told, he doesn''t remember the exact words. In fact, now he could barely remember what he ate for breakfast.

    So sighing slightly and shaking his head, Lucas spoke up, "Because they recognize you as a threat far more dangerous than anyone in the history of our world, Nero."

    Taking a brief pause, Lucas continued.

    "You should''ve already known this, but your need for victory, Nero¡­ It blinds you! You have no self-control! You are one of the future pirs of this world and not some bastard child of a noble anymore! You are something far greater now! You''re a future hero!"

    Nero shifted ufortably, but Lucas did not stop speaking.

    "Now, your actions are going to affect the world! Now, you''re not only responsible for yourself alone but also for those around you! Yes, I know that isn''t something you asked for and I''m sorry but you will have to start acting more responsibly because winning is not always worth it. And sometimes, the cost of victory would be too much than you''d be willing to pay."

    Clenching his fists, Lucas continued.

    "If you had not prioritized winning during the Mock War and kept your Gift hidden, then the vampires wouldn''t have caught the rumors about you. They wouldn''t have attacked. So many cadets wouldn''t have died and Liz wouldn''t have been injured. Nero, I''ll be blunt, people died because you short-sightedly prioritized victory over reason. And this won''t be thest time if you don''t change soon."

    Lucas wasn''t lying here. In the novel, this wasn''t thest time people died because of Nero''s obsession with being victorious.

    By the end of the Final War, Nero and Quinn were caught in a bloodied conflict. They were archenemies.

    This one time in the story, Quinn, knowing Nero''s need for proving himself better than everyone else, lured him out of a siege fortress by ughtering thousands of soldiers.

    Since Nero was the only soldier capable of putting an end to the rampage of Perfect Necromancer, he decided to heed Quinn''s beckoning.

    Even though the armymand ordered Nero against going in to fight Quinn, the protagonist disregarded themands of the higher-ups and heroically went ahead alone to fight the necromancer.

    As a result, Nero was led into a trap. Even though he somehow managed to break out of the trap, he was severely weakened as a side effect.

    As a result of that, he couldn''t fight Quinn at his full potential, and several thousands of people were killed as coteral of their battle.

    If not for Nero disobeying themand issued to him, the army could''vee up with a proper strategy and avoided possible traps.

    But Nero''s need to prove himself better than anyone else in the world blinded him and so many people died as a consequence of his direct actions.

    And that was one of the many times something like it happened.

    Lucas, obviously, didn''t want such casualties to ur. He wanted to broaden Nero''s perspective and made him put duty over his personal feelings.

    Lucas nned to enter armymand in the future. He needed perfect soldiers, not some ticking time bombs. Since he wanted to make full use of Nero as the protagonist of this world, he wanted him to be what he was not in the novel¡­

    He wanted him to be at peace with himself and his past.

    Words alone might not be enough to change one''s mindset ¨C Lucas knew that. But that is under normal circumstances.

    When under stress and emotional turmoil, people are in a vulnerable ce. That''s the right time to break their mental fortitude and have your words leave an impact on them.

    People like Nero, who bore deep emotional trauma scars from childhood, tend to have a defensive coping mechanism to protect and keep whatever remaining pieces of sanity intact.

    For example, in the case of Nero, his mind deludes him by telling him that whatever happened wasn''t his fault.

    He would still me himself for being weak and unable to protect his loved ones, but he would never regret his actions that led to the situation where his loved ones were put in danger because of him.

    Because of that, he only focuses on getting stronger instead of confronting his trauma and stabilizing his mental state.

    Lucas was surprised Nero didn''t break by the end of the Final War with that kind of wed mentality.

    In this reality, however, Lucas didn''t want to take any chances. He would rather try to eliminate every problem that might ur in the future now when he could.

    That''s why, today was the day Lucas was going to reshape Nero''s mindset. He was ready to take extreme measures, use even harsher words if he needed to.

    Fortunately, it seemed that Nero was not going to push Lucas that far. After a few seconds of gritting silence, Nero''s tightly clenched fists quivered and he spoke:

    "I¡­ I know I act a little selfish sometimes¡­ I know that! I understand that! But it''s not like I do that willingly! If I don''t win¡­ If I lose a battle then what would be the point of all the pain I''ve suffered until now?!"

    Tears threatened to well up in Nero''s eyes, his voice shaking, yet he clung to his resolve and pressed on, saying:

    "This cruel world, Lucas¡­ It just takes and takes whatever the hell it wants from the weak! What would be the point if I let it strip away everything I fought to change about my own weakness? If I fail here¡­ If I fall here, then all the pain I''ve endured until now would lose its meaning! My pain would be meaningless!"

    A vein on Lucas'' forehead twitched violently as he continued listening to Nero.

    However, strangely irritated by his words, Lucas found himself also feeling a sliver of sympathy for Nero.

    He understood Nero''s twisted reasoning.

    He read Nero''s monologues in the novel, but it was only now that he truly knew the turmoil Nero must be feeling inside.

    In this new world, for the first time in both his lives, Lucas felt attached to something like never before.

    At the start of his transmigration, Lucas waszy. But over time, as he delved into training, he discovered that he liked growing stronger.

    Seeing his own sweat andboring into fruition made him feel a sense of aplishment.

    However, after he was defeated by Nero in the final duel of the King''s Tournament, Lucas experienced a sentiment he had thought was never going to feel ever.

    Dejection and defeat swept over him. Although he didn''t show it, he sensed as if his hard work had betrayed him.

    Everything he had poured into his training felt futile in that moment of defeat. It was a crushing feeling.

    Of course, Lucas'' end goal was above merely winning the tournament, which helped him shrug off the weight of defeat.

    Nero, however¡­ His entire being hinged on being the best. With his unstable mindset, winning is a matter of life or death for him.

    If he were to feel that crushing feeling of defeat, Lucas was sure that Nero would break.

    But despite knowing all this, Lucas was irked by Nero''s words. Why? He couldn''t quite understand it himself.

    Finally, gritting his teeth, Lucas couldn''t hold back any longer and yelled at Nero:

    "Enough! Stop this search for reasons behind your suffering, Nero! Stop seeking validation! You don''t need it! You im the pain and suffering you''ve endured would lose its meaning? No, you''re mistaken! Your entire life, all your experiences, have shaped you into the person you are today! That''s all the meaning you need for your pain!"

    Lucas paused briefly, then continued as Nero''s clenched fists began to tremble even more, his grip faltering.

    "Understand this¡ªvictory won''t validate your suffering! The worth of your pain is what you decide it to be!"

    Nero''s voice, choked with sobs, resounded in a low tone, "But what if who I am is not enough? What if the worth I assign to my past ends up being less than it deserves?"

    "None of us will ever be ''enough,'' Nero. It''s true for both of us. However, despite that, we should always strive for perfection even when we know how fruitless that pursuit is because when we stop moving forward, we stop living. Know this, Nero, our past pain, however heavy, will be worth it in the end. Trust me."

    Lucas paused again before speaking once more.

    "I promise you, Nero. Remember my words, a few years from now, you''ll look back on this conversation andugh at how foolish you were."

    Finally, tears spilled from Nero''s eyes as he cried out, "So, should I give up on seeking revenge for my mother''s death?"

    "No," Lucas shook his head. "That''s what drives you. But don''t let vengeance blind you. Keep sight of what truly matters¡ªthe people in your life now. Prioritize their safety above all else, because, as I said, your fate is intertwined with theirs. Just remember that your actions, however small, will affect them too."

    Nero hupped a few times before finally allowing himself to break down.

    Observing him sobbing, Lucas stepped closer, also feeling emotional for reasons he couldn''t quite understand, and lightly tapped the ck-haired young man''s shoulders.

    "Find peace, Nero. You''ve been in pain for too long."

 Chapter 286 Lucas Quest

    ?

    After bawling his eyes out for a few long minutes, Nero swiveled and staggered back to sit on a nearby waiting bench.

    Lucas'' words hit too close to home for him.

    He was already in a distressed state after seeing Liz''s condition, and at the back of his mind, he was also feeling guilty for all the cadets who died.

    He told himself that their blood wasn''t on his hands, but somehow he knew that they were.

    Just as Lucas said, if he hadn''t prioritized his victory in the Mock War and used his Gift, the vampires would never have made him their target.

    Yes, by that logic, those deaths really were on him. In fact, he was also to me for Liz''s current condition.

    If Lucas hadn''t confronted him, he was probably going to delude himself into believing that he wasn''t at fault.

    Thankfully, the young wolf came to talk to him. With bleary eyes, Nero shot a furtive nce at Lucas, who was standing a few steps away from him, looking back at him with discerning eyes.

    "Sorry you had to see that," Nero spoke up, taking in a deep breath.

    Nero never used to break down easily, buttely, it seemed like nothing was going his way. Everything was just awry.

    His frustration had been building, along with a well of anger that had yet to burst. It was a wonder he hadn''t reached his breaking point sooner.

    Liz''s fall was the final nail in the coffin. Had Lucas not confronted him now, Nero was sure that he might have let his rage fester and done something he''d have regrettedter ¡ª perhaps sabotaging his rtionships like he usually does.

    On second thought, there was another matter Nero needed to apologize to Lucas for.

    After a brief silence, he hastened to add, "And this time, I''m genuinely sorry. You were right before. I failed to understand your perspective and wrongly let out my anger on you."

    Lucas stayed quiet for a moment before giving a nod.

    "No worries. If you ever feel indebted, just stop me if I''m ever doing anything foolish in the future. Or, you know, you could always keep in mind what an amazing person I am and just serve me for life."

    Taken aback, Nero gazed at Lucas'' self-assured grin, then responded with a slight smile, remarking, "You know, before I met you, I thought I had a bit of a narcissistic streak. Now that I''ve met you¡­ Well, let''s just say you''ve set the bar quite high."

    Lucas threw his head back, bursting into heartyughter, which eventually subsided as he quipped, "Yeah, well, I also hate your guts."

    Nero scoffed before his smile deepened. Gradually, his amused expression evolved into one of genuine gratitude, as he said, "Still, thank you once again."

    Lucas waved a dismissive hand. After a short contemtive pause, Nero furrowed his brow and inquired, "By the way, where are you going to go now?"

    The first semester was over. That only meant one thing ¨C Vacation was around the corner!

    In three days, the cadets would be allowed to leave the Academy City and return to their homes or whatever destination they might see fit to spend their hard-earned holidays.

    For some people, however, onest task remained iplete before their vacation.

    What might that be, one may ask?

    Well, the winner of the King''s Tournament or the next King will choose his royals or the next Cadet Council.

    Yes, the president is allowed to pick his or her whole crew. After all, they need to be able to work together for the next two to three years.

    Aside from that, three people were going to receive honorable medals from one of the representatives of the Government for ying the Vampire that attacked ss 1-A-1 during their trip to Silveserine City.

    Yes, those three Cadets were Anastasia Bigod, Lucas Morningstar, and of course, Nero Dekrauf.

    Initially, the medal presentation ceremony was going to be held during the King''s Tournament.

    However, due to some dy, it was now being held after the Tournament. Whether this dy was a result of his involvement or not, Lucas possibly could not know at this point.

    However, just thinking about attending a regal award ceremony caused Lucas'' head to ache feverishly.

    However, forcing his mind to stray from that train of thought, Lucas parted his lips to answer the ck-haired swordsman.

    "Well, I was thinking about heading back to Wolfshire."

    "The Western capital?" Nero looked at him for a few seconds before speaking bluntly, "But weren''t you banished from there?"

    "I wasn''t banished!" Lucas retorted in an offended tone. "My father just disowned me unofficially. Officially on paper, I''m still a Morningstar. Even though I don''t have any noble titles now, that is still my city, you know?"

    "I see," the corner of Nero''s lips curled up but soon his expression crumbled.

    Lucas knew the reason for his somber mood, of course. Nero had no home to return to this vacation.

    Returning to his father''s town was out of the question for obvious reasons. And even though he had keys to Liz''s mansion, she herself was unconscious.

    Seeing the lost look on his face, Lucas heaved a deep sigh and uttered, "I suggest you go to Shaolin."

    Nero''s brows curled into a frown. "Shaolin, you say? Why?"

    "They say that those who try to seek out peace often find themselves standing in front of the gates of Shaolin," Lucas said.

    Before Nero could interject, however, Lucas spoke up again. "And then I suggest you go find a petal of Ambrosia flower. On second thought, find two."

    "Wha¡­ What?" Nero squinted his eyes in downright confusion. "Why?"

    Lucas patiently responded:

    "You might not know this, since it''s information that nobles gatekeep, but it''s said that the petals of Ambrosia contain the vitality of five hundred springs."

    Lucas cringed inward at how xianxia-like that sentence sounded, but it was a direct quote from the novel so if anything, it''s the author''s fault.

    Nero, on the other hand, just grew even more confused. Before he could voice any questions, however, Lucas spoke up to rify.

    "Generally, the Ambrosia flower is used to create a myriad of stuff ¨C its roots are used to make strong aphrodisiacs, its stems are used to brew anabolic substances, and its nectar is used for making psychoactive drugs."

    Lucas paused for a brief moment to observe Nero''s face. Apparently, he still had no idea where Lucas was going with this.

    That''s to be expected since everything that Lucas listed right now was justmon knowledge.

    However, what he said right after was something new to Nero.

    "And its petals, unlike what you''ve been told, aren''t useless. Petals of Ambrosia can be used by alchemists to make healing potions strong enough to regenerate lost limbs and gaping wounds. However, that''s not all. A potion brewed from the Petal of Ambrosia can also heal one''s mana core."

    Instantly, a gleam lit up in Nero''s dark pupils, and his eyes widened. His shocked reaction was expected.

    After all, there are some top-ss healers who can help regenerate a person''s lost limb.

    Hell, there are some alchemists who could brew healing potions that could achieve the same result.

    However, no one, no matter how strong or experienced they are, can ever heal, let alone, regenerate a person''s mana core.

    "What? Are you serious? Why do I not know about it?" Nero shot up in surprise and eximed.

    Lucas shrugged. "As I said, nobles don''t want the general public to know about it. It''s not the only information they gatekeep anyway."

    "But¡­ why?" Nero questioned. "I mean, information like this would benefit everyone, right?"

    "Nero," Lucas began. "When I told you that the Petal of Ambrosia contains the essence of five hundred springs, I wasn''t poetic. It really takes five hundred years for one Ambrosia flower to bloom."

    Nero''s shoulder slumped and a spark of realization flickered in his eyes. Lucas nodded.

    "Now do you understand, Nero? Ambrosia flowers are a luxury. And what do nobles do? They monopolize and prioritize all luxury for themselves, of course."

    Nero gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. "So how will I find a single petal of Ambrosia then let alone two?"

    Lucas smiled, the corner of his mouth widening until he was practically grinning.

    This was it. He threw the bait and the fish took it. Or should he say he gave a quest and the yer took it?

    "Don''t worry. In three weeks, a ck market auction will be taking ce in the Eastern Continent. One of the items up for auction will be the Ambrosia flower," Lucas informed.

    Nero listened to Lucas'' words with intense focus. He wanted to inquire about the source of the Fallen Angel''s information but in the end, held his tongue.

    Ultimately, he kept on listening intently.

    However, it was clear that Lucas wanted Nero to head to Shaolin not only because he wanted him to find peace.

    Nero was absolutely sure about this because Shaolin was located amidst the Eastern mountains.

    "Go to Shaolin. Assemble a group there. Since Shaolin monks are righteous and there are going to be some questionable items in the auction, it''s likely that at least a few of them will agree to raid the auction venue," Lucas said, pausing briefly to catch his breath before resuming:

    "Be vignt and keep your guard up all the time. Of course, trust no one. When the monks initiate the raid, use the opening to break in and secure the Flower for yourself. Some of my people will retrieve the flower from you and craft a healing potion for Liz. In simple words, your quest is to acquire an item from a super shady underground auction and smuggle it."

    Nero parted his lips several times, only to close them again without speaking.

    However, as Lucas concluded his exnation, all Nero could manage was a feeble nod. "Alright."

    Acknowledging Nero''s response, Lucas nodded in return. "Good. In that case, I''ll go and check up on Amelia and Kent. I guess I''ll see you tomorrow at the medal presentation ceremony."

    Nero''s emotions shifted once more at the mention of the uing ceremony. Lucas, meanwhile, suddenly remembered something and turned around:

    "By the way, take this."

    With a swift gesture, Lucas summoned a in white full-face mask from a red dimensional ring on his finger, handing it to Nero.

    Nero gave him a questioning look. Lucas'' grin widened even further as he exined, "It''s a mask that can conceal your identity."

 Chapter 287 Apology

    ?

    After examining the mask in his hand for a few moments, Nero came to the realization that the task I had assigned him required him to keep his true identity a secret.

    Well, that was expected, considering he would be stealing from an underground auction organized by a covert organization ¨C thetter part was still hidden from him.

    Just to be perfectly clear, this covert organization wasn''t Spider. It was a different extremist group that needed to gather funds in the novel to execute their next assault against the government.

    The ruling family of the Eastern Continent, the Vermi?r family, also known as the cksmiths from Heavens, dispatched a few of their troops to raid the underground auction.

    They asked for the assistance from the disciples of the Shaolin sect.

    Their hastily assembled makeshift army unit''s raid proved sessful in the end, and they managed to confiscate all the relics from the underground auction.

    However, in my eyes, it was all a big waste.

    Oh! All those precious relics! I''d prefer to have them for myself! Of course, that''s not possible, as I won''t have the time to travel to the Eastern Continent during my break.

    My entire one and a half month vacation schedule is all fixed and packed.

    I was going to use the first two weeks to visit my hometown. Then, the remaining time was going to be used for training with Master. Yeah, he forced me to put it in my ns.

    Now, since I can''t make the visit to the Eastern Continent myself, I decided to send a proxy.

    Yes, yes, if I can''t obtain all the precious relics, I could at least secure the most expensive one, couldn''t I?

    Besides, this way I could aplish two tasks. It''s like killing two birds with one stone.

    By curing Liz, I would be granting Nero a huge favor. And just like that, I could use one more Petal of Ambrosia to curry favor with E.

    After all, E''s sister should be suffering from a mana bacsh ¨C a condition that could only be treated with the Ambrosia''s petal.

    Nero nced at me once he was finished scanning the full-face mask and nodded slightly. "Okay, got it. But if I may ask, why are you doing this?"

    "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow, paused for a moment, and then responded. "I''m simply doing you a favor. When I ask for one in return, just oblige, and we''ll call it even."

    As soon as I said that, I shed a smile at him and was about to turn to leave when an extremely strange detail caught my attention.

    My gaze met Nero''s, and only now did I realize that his right eye, the one he had lost in battle, was still not healed yet.

    His right eyelid was tightly shut, and even though the gash running down from his eyebrow to the side of his cheek had sealed into a scar, his eye socket itself still felt hollow.

    "Uh, what will happen to your eye now?" I inquired, pointing at the right side of his face using my chin. "Why isn''t it healed yet?"

    "Oh, the de that wounded me was coated with some kind of unknown vampire poison. Aster offered to heal it after the battle was over, but I asked her to focus on others. By the time the academy''s medical personnel arrived, it was already toote to save my eye."

    Nero gently touched his closed right eye before letting out a soft sigh.

    "Since the corrosion had already spread to my optic nerve by then, cauterization had to be performed at the back of my eye socket to prevent the poison from reaching my brain. And so, even the most skilled medics, capable of regenerating limbs, are powerless to assist me now without damaging me more in the process."

    "I see," I replied. "So, what''s the n now?"

    "Ah, I intend to search for other healers who could maybe help me. However, in the meantime, the Academy has decided to provide me with a Legendary-ranked relic eye. I guess that''s a goodpensation, don''t you think?"

    His words prompted a moment of silence from me. After a long pause, I asked but a single question, "Is this Legendary-ranked relic eye called the Seer Of Unknown?"

    "I think so, yes," Nero responded with a surprised look. "How do you know about it?"

    "Never mind," I dismissed with a wave of my hand as I turned around and walked away. "It was just a guess."

    Of course, I was well aware that it wasn''t merely a guess.

    The truth is, even in the novel, Nero lost his right eye at one point, although it did happen muchter in the story. I think it was near the early stages of the War Of Union.

    In the story, he lost his eye during a fight with Quinn, who had recently switched sides to aid the vampires.

    Interestingly enough, during that battle, Liz held off three vampire kings who were going to use that opening to nk Nero.

    Much like the current reality, she suffered grave injuries in the novel as well. Nero had no choice but to retreat to the army base.

    That marked the start of the bloody conflict between him and Quinn.

    In any case, the militarymand granted Nero a relic that the Global Academy had in its possession at the time as recement for his lost eye.

    This relic was named Seer Of Unknown.

    Basically, it was an advanced cybeic eye crafted by a renowned cksmith and a brilliant engineer.

    It had the ability to Analyze things, whether it was scanning for weak points in an enemy''s defense, examining an inanimate object, or scrutinizing another relic itself.

    The Seer Of Unknown was capable of analyzing practically anything. And as if that weren''t enough, it could store user''s mana and release it in a form ofser beam or act like a battery and charge the user''s depleted mana core in time of need.

    Argh, darn it. If I had known that getting an injury on academy grounds could lead to apensation like that, I might have intentionally sacrificed my eye against one of the vampires too!

    In fact, I had my sights set on it. I was going to obtain Seer Of Unknown for myself somewhere in thete future.

    Still, it does leave me wondering... Nero ended up receiving the very same relic he got in the novel after suffering a simr ordeal like he did in the story.

    Is that¡­ fate?

    And if it is, what will ur when the story progresses to the point where he should receive the Phoenix''s Embrace?

    ...Hmm, perhaps it''s just coincidence and I''m overthinking things. Yeah, that must be it.

    Caught up in these musings, I sighed and eventually arrived in front of a certain hospital room.

    Pausing briefly, I mustered my courage and twisted the doorknob, swinging the door open.

    As soon as I opened the door, my breath got caught in my chest, almost as if my heart had a momentarypse.

    There, right in front of me, was a young woman in herte teens. Her skin was as smooth and white as porcin, with the softness of the mostvish silk.

    Her vibrant green eyes, reminiscent of a serene forest with sunlight peeking through dense leaves, fluttered slightly and locked onto me, trapping me in a capitative trance.

    Expressions changed on her alluring face, and her cheekbones shot up in surprise, turning her cheeks a shade of red that revealed her embarrassment.

    Embarrassed, indeed. Anyone would be embarrassed if caught in such a situation.

    And what situation was that, one might ask? Well, to be blunt, Amelia ck was currently hanging upside down from the ceiling fan...

    Her leg had gotten tangled in a bowstring, which somehow ended up entwined with the fan, suspending her in mid-air.

    Thankfully, the patient robe that draped around her slender figure was also caught in the string, sparing her any further humiliation.

    I stood there for a split second, then started to slowly close the door.

    "No, wait! I can exin!" Amelia''s voice rang out urgently, causing me to pause. "Just help me get down from here! I can''t pull up and untangle myself!"

    I hesitated and stopped. "Alright, but I doubt you can exin that."

    I summoned my spear and used its crimson de to slice through the bowstring, freeing Amelia''s leg.

    Like a cat or an experienced acrobat, she flipped andnded gracefully on her feet. However, her bnce wavered, and she ended up dropping to her knees.

    I quickly walked to her side, offering support before guiding her to her bed. Clearly, she was still recovering so her bodycked strength.

    "Are you alright?" I inquired as she settled onto the bed with an exhausted huff. "And how in the world did that even happen?"

    "That damned ceiling fan! It was too slow and too high up! I thought I could adjust its length a bit. I leaped from my bed and hooked my bowstring on the fan''s shaft, but somehow my right leg got caught in the string and I found myself hanging like that!"

    I gazed at the girl before me with a deadpan expression. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before finally yelling:

    "The air conditioner is running! Why would you even need the fan? Are you dumb?"

    "So you''re telling me you never use a fan when the AC is on?"

    "...That''s not the point! You could have asked for help instead of attempting acrobatics! And by the way, you can''t extend a ceiling fan''s shaft like that!"

    "Oh, right, my bad! I forgot that you''re a noble by blood! Pardon me, your highness, but usmon folks like to do our work ourselves instead of ordering others around like servants!"

    "Excuse me, did you injure your head? Seeking help isn''t the same as ordering people around, especially when you''re physically weak!"

    "You''re physically weak!"

    "What?!"

    Amelia was about to yell back and continue our pointless argument, but a low pained groan escaped her lips as she nced down at her leg.

    Her right foot, which was caught in the string earlier, was now bruised, with a faint red line running along its width.

    "See! You''ve hurt yourself!" I eximed, rising from my chair and summoning a bandage from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.

    Kneeling in front of her, I gently took hold of her leg and began wrapping the bandage around it.

    Amelia arched an eyebrow but made no attempt to stop me. Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red as she averted her gaze.

    An awkward silence hung in the air, broken by Amelia herself.

    "So, what brings you here?" she inquired, her gaze still focused on the view outside the window.

    "I came to check on you," I responded, before hastily adding, "And Kent."

    "I see," she mused. "So, were you worried about¨C"

    But before she could finish her sentence, I interjected, "I''m sorry."

    No exnation was needed for what I was apologizing for. Actually, there was little need for the apology itself, as both of us held the suspicion that I, Lucas, might have been manipted by someone else.

    Yet, that didn''t negate the fact that I had hurt her.

    In the past, I had avoided apologizing to her, convincing myself that I was different from Lucas.

    Now, however, the line between me, Noah, and Lucas had blurred. At this point, I can''t even distinguish between my two personalities.

    Amelia turned her head sharply to face me, surprise widening her eyes before a tender smile graced her lips.

    Tears shimmered in her eyes as she whispered, her voice soft and content, "You should be¡­ fool."

 Chapter 288 Award Ceremony Disaster

    ?

    Thevish grand hall was adorned with opulent tapestries.

    Shimmering chandeliers made of real diamond hung from the ceiling, casting a warm and resplendent glow throughout.

    Intricate carvings telling valorous stories of the cadets of the past were engraved with pure gold on the walls, paying homage to the academy''s history.

    The air was filled with a sense of anticipation.

    Many esteemed guests and uniform-d cadets crowded the hall, tes of snacks or sses of wine in their hand as they socialized, their excitement was clearly visible.

    A high stage stood in the front of the hall, nked by two colossal banners painted with the academy''s emblem.

    The lectern draped with a rich velvet cloth was ced at the center of the stage.

    The cadets who were going to receive their awards this evening were standing on the right side at the base of the stage, awaiting themencement of the ceremony.

    Of course, I was among them and I was very, very ufortable. I don''t like formal clothing at all.

    But guess what, since I had to attend a formal event, I had to dress ordingly. What a drag.

    However, even I had to admit that I was looking quite attractive today in such formal clothing.

    My neatlybed silver hair fell like a cascade of moonlight, a stark contrast to my bright red eyes that seemed to be aze.

    My attire was a unique blend of tradition and modernity. A silver jacket elegantly draped over my shoulders, while I wore a crimson shirt beneath.

    Along with silver pants, a ck belt, many luxurious pieces of jewelry around my neck, hands, and clothes, and a sharp face that only added more to my allure, I looked like a noble out of a fantasy book.

    Look, I know I could be a little narcissistic sometimes, but it wouldn''t be wrong to say that I was the most handsome person in this hall.

    People, especiallydies, were stealing nces at me from all over the grand hall.

    Heh, yeah! Look at me, mortals! Look what true beauty is like!

    "Kriek!"

    Right, Sera was also with me. She was sitting atop my shoulder, chirping merrily from time to time. Her feathers were ck and her firey aura was hidden. No one could that she was a Phoenix.

    By now, she was the full length of my arm so having her sit on my shoulder was really tiring.

    Anyway, standing to my right was the protagonist.

    Nero, with his ebony hairbed to the side and raven-ck eyes glistening with determination, was dressed in a tailored suit that exuded both sophistication and confidence.

    The jet-ck fabric of his suit embraced his form, contrasting sharply with his pale skin.

    An elegant silver tie adorned his crisp white shirt. The aura he emanated was one of quiet strength, quite a contrast to the crybaby I remember from yesterday.

    Standing to my left was Anastasia. Her flowing ck hair fell down her back like a river of ck silk.

    She looked exotically splendid in an exquisite gown that shimmered like golden starlight.

    Her crystal-like golden eyes held an air of mystery and allure, entuated by the way they caught and reflected the light.

    The gown''s intricate design danced around her figure, giving her a sense of regality and grace. As she moved, the fabric seemed to shift and change, mirroring the enchantment that surrounded her.

    Just behind me was Amelia.

    Her dark hair framed her face as she emitted an aura of serenity in her flowing emerald gown that left her right leg exposed up to her knee.

    Her forest-like green eyes utterly captivated the heart of anyone she looked at. The gown''s verdant hue seemed to merge with her very essence. Her presence was calming, almost soothing.

    On her right was Aster. The elven girl with cerulean hair emanated an ethereal charm in her simple yet captivating attire.

    Her blue eyes held a sense of wonder. The gown she wore had delicate embroidery that represented the delicate intricacies of her elven heritage, while her radiant smile illuminated the room.

    To Amelia''s left was Grace. With her blonde hair framing her face like a halo, she stood out in her vibrant dress thatplemented her fairplexion.

    Her dark brown eyes sparkled with vitality, yet her alluringly sharp face remained stoic.

    Hugh was standing at the very back. With his ck hair falling over his forehead, he exuded an air of mystery in his impably tailored attire. His red eyes held a depth of unknown emotions, hinting at the secrets he carried.

    The suit''s dark hues and clean lines entuated his enigmatic aura as if it was a reminder that appearances could be deceiving.

    There should have been more cadets receiving awards. Well, to be precise, only Anastasia, Nero, and I are going to receive medals. The rest will receive honorary badges.

    For instance, E, Elijah, William, and Chase weren''t present here. The reason was that E was with her father who was still unconscious, while Elijah, William, and Chase couldn''t attend the ceremony because they were not in a condition to leave their beds yet.

    It would take them at least three more days to be able to move freely and recoverpletely.

    After waiting for a while, the event finallymenced.

    A hushed silence enveloped the hall. A figure of a tall man with broad shoulders stepped forward, projecting an aura of dignity.

    The man was one of the members of the Central Government. He donned a ck suit, his shoulders adorned with several stars.

    Upon reaching the lectern, he spoke into the mic, "I am Count Dekrauf. Today we gather here¡­"

    His voice, resonant andmanding, echoed through the hall as he recounted the heroic tale about how we stopped two deadly bloodsucking abominations from breaking out into the streets of Silveserine City and massacring countless civilians.

    The media reporters present here did well to note down every word that left the lips of Count Dekrauf.

    All the cameras were focused on him, and even the lights in the grand hall seemed to shine brighter on him.

    That level of presence was to be expected.

    After all, Count Dekrauf was one of the twelve cardinal members of the Central Government. He was above thew, above everyone else.

    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that he was one of the twelve kings of the world¨C one of the twelve people who rule everything, even the military.

    Only one person in this grand hall seemed indifferent to Count Dekrauf''s presence. It was his own bastard son, Nero Dekrauf.

    I looked over to steal a nce at Nero and him gritting his teeth. It looked as if he was barely holding himself back, his fists clenched and his face red.

    It would be tough to see the murderer of his own mother, standing there right in front of him yet being powerless to do nothing.

    However, I had nothing to worry about. Yes, Nero had a bad temperament but I knew that he could control it.

    I think I''ve mentioned this before but in the novel, he barely ever lost his cool and leashed out. He used his rage to mostly drive himself toward his goal, using it as fuel.

    Anyway, after Count Dekrauf was done speaking, several reporters stood up and asked several questions. He answered them all one by one before calling us out to present our awards.

    At our cue, we stepped onto the stage one by one. Apuse erupted from the crowd, a blend of thunderous ps and loud cheers.

    I didn''t get the chance to see the badges but the medal I received was a splendid masterpiece.

    It was a shiny golden cross with intricate designs engraved on it, suspended from a red ribbon.

    As each medal was ced around a recipient''s neck and each badge was pinned on the cadet''s shoulder, the crowd erupted into resounding apuse once again.

    After receiving my medal, I nced back and saw Count Dekrauf presenting the final medal to Nero Dekrauf.

    In a hushed, almost inaudible tone, Count murmured, "Who will protect you now?"

    He tapped Nero''s shoulder with a deadly cold look in his eyes, and I could swear I almost saw Nero shudder.

    However, the protagonist soon clenched his teeth and shot a daggering re at his biological father.

    With indignation clearly present in his voice, Nero retorted, "One day, I will look you in the eyes and ask you the same question as you''ll choke on your own blood."

    Wow, talk about family drama¨C

    "Kriek!"

    My train of thought was disrupted when Sera attempted to peck at my neck with her sharp beak.

    "Ouch! Sera! You''ll slit my throat! Are you trying to kill me?"

    "Kriek!"

    "Ouch! Hey! Hey! Wait, give me my medal back!"

    Before I could pry her off, she snatched my medal and soared upward toward the ceiling.

    A soft, melodious giggle reached my ears as Amelia strolled over from my right. "Seems like she has a thing for shiny objects."

    "Huh?!" I furrowed my brows before speaking in a low tone. "You do know she''s not actually a crow, right?"

    "Perhaps Phoenixes also have a liking for shiny things, who knows¨C Aah! Ouch! Oh! Sera, wait! No!"

    Just as Amelia was speaking, Sera swooped down upon her, seized the badge from her shoulder, and took flight again.

    Before I could step in to grab her, Sera hopped from one cadet to another, stealing their medals and badges.

    Seeing all the risingmotion, I could only hold my head as Amelia gaped in shock.

    Since Anastasia was dressed in a shiny golden gown, Sera actually tried to nab the entire thing! Thankfully, she couldn''t tear the gown off¡­

    But what happened next had me thinking about digging a hole in the ground and hiding in it.

    Sera headed toward a certain father and son duo who were locked in a face-off, and shended right on Count Dekrauf''s face, trying to steal the stars on his shoulder!

    Everyone in the grand hall covered their mouths as stifled gasps escaped their lips and all I could do was facepalm in sheer embarrassment.

    Goddamnit, Sera!

 Chapter 289 Future

    ?

    So, five days had passed since the disaster. The award presentation ceremony was concluded without a hitch.

    Alright, okay, maybe not entirely without a hitch, but hey! At the very least, no one was killed, and somehow, the world didn''t end!

    That counts as something, right?

    Amelia helped me catch Sera with her wind magic. Anastasia, Aster, and Nero helped me return the stolen badges, medals, and various other shiny trinkets that Sera had snatched from the crowd.

    I had to apologize to Count Dekrauf. He merely gave me a cold, indifferent look before concluding the award ceremony with a brief speech and striding away.

    After the ceremony came to an abrupt end, I had to apologize to everyone else. I swear to the heavens, I bowed so many times that day that my back started to hurt.

    Some media folks didn''t let go of the opportunity to emphasize how unheroic I apparently am despite the fact that I belong to the Morningstar family.

    Slowly but surely, I''m beginning to believe that the media isn''t exactly fond of me for whatever reason.

    Well, to be perfectly frank, I do know the reason and I can''t exactly me them for that.

    Given my public history, it''s very clear that the general public isn''t overly fond of me either.

    If the media were to portray me in a positive light, they''d undoubtedly face a bacsh from the masses, and that would not be good for their viewer ratings.

    That said, not every single person out there downright hates me.

    After some of my recent aplishments, especially after my surprising performance at the King''s Tournament, I''ve gained a modicum of support.

    Believe it or not, there are more than a couple of fan pages bearing my name on a few social media tforms.

    People have even been creating edits of my battles.

    So, I guess, it''s safe to assume that at the very least, people of my age group aren''t entirely averse to me.

    Anyway, enough about me. I should talk about what happened during these past few days.

    Hmm, let''s see. Oh, the academy managed to catch three vampire spies on campus!

    Two of them had been posing as janitors, while thest one disguised himself as a construction worker. All of them were trying to escape.

    Of course, these three were the very culprits who had been leaking insider information to Kl''Drog and his unit.

    Leo was tasked with extracting information from one of them.

    And somehow, almost as if he was going on a fishing trip instead of interrogating a bloodsucking abomination, Master asked me to apany him.

    He took it upon himself to educate me about how to y with a vampire.

    Okay, that came out wrong... Maybe I should''ve just used the word torture.

    Ahem, well, moving right along, after a little bit of grueling torture, the vampire spilled the beans on all he knew.

    As it turns out, these three spies were the only ones dispatched to the Global Academy.

    But what was their mission? It was to provide assistance to Kl''Drog and his unit by giving him all sorts of information about the academy.

    Now, as for why they chose tounch an assault on the Global Academy and risked the obliteration of some of their most elite squads? Well, even the spies didn''t know about it.

    Given their lowly status within the military hierarchy, they were basically small pawns following someone else''s orders.

    But here''s the thing: they did tell us that this particr attack wouldn''t be theirst and the vampire forces would dispatch even more squads to the Global Academy.

    Leo regretted the decision to not capture Kl''Drog alive. But in the end, he proceeded to torture the bloodsucker until the poor vampire was dead.

    I had to admit, that Leo could sometimes be even more callous and cruel than me.

    There was a point during the vampire''s torture when even I felt a twinge of sympathy.

    Or perhaps it was revulsion? I can''t quite remember. What I do remember is that all of it was disgusting.

    I highly doubt I''ll ever have to torture someone, but if circumstances forced me to, I believe I''d do a good job.

    Ah, well, enough about torture.

    After the vampire spies were captured, the academy allowed the cadets to leave the confines of Global City.

    Over the past two days, Global City turned into a ghost town. Once-vibrant streetsy deserted, shops mostly shuttered, and an eerie silence pervaded the academy halls.

    Most cadets had already left the city.

    Of course, a handful of cadets, including Grace, Kai, Alberto, and the rest of Kai''s group, as well as myself, stayed behind for our assigned punishment.

    And that punishment was enduring several hellish training drills, closely supervised by Instructor Matterhorn, ourbat arts teacher.

    Two days passed like that, and much to my surprise, I managed to stay alive!

    I somehow endured the torturous ordeal that our borderline insane Instructor called training.

    To be honest, I was beginning to miss Leo''s training sessions. After all, at least he gave me rewards for enduring his training.

    Anyhow, for better or worse, I managed to survive andpleted my punishment by the end of the second day.

    Kai and his clique had a few more days of punishment ahead, but finally, I was free to depart the City.

    After discussing a few matters with Kai, I packed my stuff and was ready to leave the city. Well, kind of. Technically, there was one final task I had to do before leaving.

    Right now, I was standing in front of two rather peculiar individuals in the guest room of Kai''s apartment.

    One was a young man with raven hair cascading around his neck, his deep ck eyes appraising the girl beside him.

    The young blonde woman next to him was alluringly beautiful, her bewitching face capable of enving the hearts of countless men with a single nce.

    Yet, the tall young man only looked at her with nothing but disinterest, while the blonde continued to re daggers at me.

    The two of them looked almostical standing side by side.

    Releasing a soft sigh, I stopped avoiding Grace''s gaze and addressed the duo:

    "Wee, you two. Given that you''ve both been here before, feel at home and take a seat, please."

    Quinnplied, slumping onto a nearby sofa with his legs crossed, while Grace remained standing, arms crossed.

    Observing her, I couldn''t help but sigh once more. After a brief moment, Grace finally broke her silence:

    "Why did you call me here?" Her voice dripped with coldness. "What schemes are you plotting now?"

    Beneath her cold exterior, I sensed that the hostility in her tone had gone down a little, if not at all.

    Drawing a deep breath, I sank into a sofa myself, crossed my legs, interlocked my fingers, and tilted my head slightly.

    Clearing my throat, I began, "I wanted to have a conversation with both of you... about your futures."

 Chapter 290 Safety In Strength

    ?

    Grace shot me another re, her expression tense, but she remained silent. Quinn, on the other hand, seemed a bit confused.

    Feeling the need to rify, I spoke up,

    "You both may already be aware that I''ve been wanting to recruit the two of you for quite some time." I shifted my gaze to Quinn.

    He gave a slight, hesitant nod, prompting me to continue with a sigh.

    "Quinn, you''re already on board to work with me. However, I did push you into this role without giving you a choice."

    Quinn fidgeted on the sofa, seemingly showing a hint of difort as he sensed where I was heading with this topic.

    Adjusting my posture too, I leaned forward slightly.

    "But I''m willing to do that now. I''m offering you a choice right here. You can either work with me, or you''re free to leave right now. If you do decide to walk out right now, I will leave you alone and there won''t be any repercussions. The decision is yours."

    Quinn met my gaze for a moment, his expression furrowed. "You mean¨C"

    I interjected, "Yes, I won''t expose your secret."

    As soon as I mentioned a secret, Grace''s ears perked up but I paid it no mind and allowed Quinn to continue.

    After a bit of thought, Quinn opened his mouth to speak:

    "I was thrown into the battlefield as a child by my own father. I''ve witnessed enough war and bloodshed for several lifetimes. I''ve seen things that no one should ever be put through."

    Quinn lifted his head, locking eyes with me. His gaze contained hidden traces of contempt, but it was not directed at me or anyone else in the room.

    The contempt in his eyes was directed at this messed-up world. For some reason, I thought that in a sense, I guess, Nero and Quinn are very simr.

    After a brief silence, he inquired, "You once gave me your word that you''ll end this war and bring peace. Tell me, are you still going to stay true to your promise?"

    In a heartbeat, I responded firmly, "Yes. I won''t ever go back on my word."

    "In that case, the decision is clear for me," Quinn leaned back on the sofa, half of his face obscured by the shadows.

    The room seemed to grow darker as he spoke further, "As long as you remain true to your word as you im, I will be your shadow. I''ll support whatever actions you take, as long as they''re in pursuit of ending the war and bringing peace."

    Suppressing a smug smile from appearing on my face, I nodded and settled back onto the couch myself.

    My attention shifted to the striking blonde figure standing right next to Quinn, her arms crossed over her chest.

    "And what about you, Grace? Before the start of the King''s Tournament, I warned you to pick your side carefully. Given what happened thest time you fought me, I doubt you needed much time to decide. But now, you must. So, have you thought about my proposal?"

    Grace narrowed her eyes at me, her fists clenched. After a moment of thought, she uttered, "I have."

    Before she could respond, I took the opportunity to speak again.

    "Before you tell me about your decision, know this¡­ I can grant you whatever you want. If a secure position within the army is your wish, it''s yours," I offered, my arm extended toward her as if I were offering her the world.

    Right then, I extended my other arm too, my palm closing into a fist. Locking eyes with her, I dered:

    "However, will that truly be enough for you? No matter what your rank or position is, you will never truly be safe. Why, you might ask? Because safetyes from individual strength. Connections can only keep you safe for so long, but without personal strength, you''ll always remain weak and vulnerable. There''s no middle ground. So, if strength is your true desire, I can bestow upon you an unimaginable amount of it."

    Grace held her silence for a few minutes, presumably mulling over my words. In her mind, she must have thought all of this over already.

    The past months had undoubtedly been rough for her.

    First, Kai had pushed her to her limits. Then, I arrived and messed up her ns. And then, even her friendship with her closest friend was ruined.

    Okay, I was to me for thest part but that''s not the point.

    What was the cause of all this? Why did she suffer so much?

    Why else? Shecked conviction. All this time, she wanted safety, not strength.

    However, that''s impossible. Without strength, safety is unattainable. And without diving into danger head-first, you can''t achieve strength.

    It''s a paradox, really. But it''s a paradox that she must face.

    She already knew that being someone else''s pawn in their grand scheme of things would never guarantee her own safety.

    Kai must''ve already made her see that point pretty clearly.

    That''s why I offered her something in return. Something that she couldn''t ever hope of achieving alone.

    Finally, after an unusually long moment of stressful silence, Grace spoke up.

    "What''s your end goal here? Oh, and please spare me the crap about saving the world. I know you''re not that kind of person. What game are you ying? And what role do I y in your schemes?"

    A soft smile formed on my lips before I began to answer her paranoid queries.

    "There''s no game and no role for you to y, Grace. As for my end goal¡­ I just want to survive. In a few years, our world will be plunged into unimaginable chaos. The bnce between our army and the vampire forces will be tipped. Kalis won''t remain a threat but something far more dangerous will emerge."

    After a brief pause, I continued:

    "I can''t survive that chaos alone, and nor can anyone else. To counter that dreadful future, I want to assemble an elite unit that follows my directmands. I won''t force you to put your life on the line for my goals, I give you my word on that. But should you choose to ce yourself in danger for my cause, I will reward you generously."

    Letting out a short sigh, I paused for a second, gathering my thoughts before resuming.

    "You have a knack for politics and vile schemings. It will be a valuable asset in the future. Not only that, but you also have the potential to be one of the most formidable warriors of our generation. But you already know all this, right? Let me cut to the chase then. For the final time, Grace, what do you choose? Security or strength?"

    I didn''t ask for her opinion on joining me since her previous question had already hinted at her decision. Yes, she had already made up her mind.

    And a few minutester, I was proven right.

    Grace was lost in her thoughts for some time, an unreadable emotion present on her face. Eventually, she broke the silence.

    "I¡­ don''t want to lose anymore. I want to grow much, much stronger than what I am currently capable of."

    A grin tugged at my lips the instant her answer reached my ears.

    A brief chuckle escaped me as I responded, "Very well, then, wee aboard."

 Chapter 291 Departure

    ?

    After I was done discussing some matters with Quinn and Grace, I decided that it was finally time.

    I was about to leave the Global City.

    It felt kind of strange. It''s been¡­ What, six or seven months since I transmigrated? It already felt like I''d been in this city for a lifetime.

    Out of nowhere, I was thrown into this world and I slowly began to call this city my home. Now, it felt strange leaving it.

    Well, it''s like I was leaving for the first time. I left the city before, for our trip to Silveserine City.

    But that and this were two different things. This time, I was leaving for a long time ¨C roughly around two months.

    The first time I witnessed this city out of the pages of the novel in reality was the day I was struck with a feeling very simr to deja vu.

    And now, when I was about to leave, I was feeling that very same sense of deja vu again.

    "Haa! Wait, what am I getting emotional for?!"

    Right, if I was like this for leaving the city for only a few months, then what the hell would I do when it''d be time to leave for the army?!

    "Get it together," I pped my cheeks and let out a hard breath. "You''re a grown-up, damnit."

    Yes, I shouldn''t forget that despite the fact that I was in a teenager''s body, and my two personalities were starting to blue, I was still a grown-up.

    In fact, that''s the reason why I didn''t try to hook up with any of the girls I checked out with Kent during several of our bar trips.

    And speaking of Kent¡­

    "Yo! Bro, you''re here!"

    As soon as I stepped out of the cab being driven by a robot driver, Kent was the very first person I saw waiting for me at the entrance of the building on which the Teleportation Gate was situated.

    As soon as he saw me, Kent joyously waved his hand with an infectious smile on his handsome elven face.

    Upon seeing him, I shed him a warm smile and waved back.

    "Hey, Kent. You''re all better now, I see."

    Kent walked up to me wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me to the lift before smiling even more brightly.

    "Yes," he said. "I never felt better actually."

    "That''s good," I nodded. "So, where are you going now?"

    Thest time I met Kent was the day I checked up on him and Amelia. We talked for a long time, catching up.

    Amidst all the madness of Kai''s real identity and NWO and preparation for the vampire attack, I had very little time to spend with Kent.

    So, that day, in his hospital room, we talked for hours. And¡­ that''s the day I realized how much I liked talking to this elven boy.

    Maybe¡­ I had made a real friend.

    Anyway, I told him that I was going to visit Wolfshire but I forgot to ask him where he was going to go.

    "Oh, I''m going to the Southern Continent. I heard the gals there are wild! The food is also good and I thought about training in the Southern Edge sect for a while."

    I nodded. "Yeah, the food there is good. I went there with my Master and¨C Wait for a damn second¡­ Did you say training?! Who the hell are you and what have you done to my friend!"

    I let out a dramatic gasp and Kent shot me a deadpan re in return. "You''re acting like I never train."

    "You do?" I raised an eyebrow.

    "I do!" Kent eximed. "I''m just not a gym maniac like you! I train modestly¡­ Like an hour or two a day, that''s it."

    "I''m not a gym maniac!" I frowned.

    "Right," Kent sarcastically scoffed. "Every time I ask you to apany me, you are either training or recovering from your training!"

    ¡­Well, damn. Maybe I really am a gym maniac. Well, it''s not my fault! I lose the flow of time when I''m training!

    Clearing my throat, I was about to retort but before I could do that, the door of the lift opened and we saw a couple of cadets standing in front of the Teleportation Gate.

    "Oh, I didn''t know Nero and Anastasia were still here," Kent mused curiously.

    Right, in front of us were Nero, Amelia, Anastasia, Chase, Aster, and William.

    I knew the reason why Aster and William were still here. They were elves and they received the most damage from Bloodpolis so they recovered very recently just like Kent.

    Nero might have been waiting for Anastasia and Chase was the same. Bunch of simps I say, bunch of simps!

    As for why Amelia was still here, I actually had no idea. In fact, thest time I met her was during the medal presentation ceremony.

    After that, I was busy enough going through my punishment that I had no time or energy to keep track of others.

    Amelia was the first to notice us. She waved at us and we both walked over to the group.

    Nero gave us both a short nod. Aster and William also greeted us and shot furtive nces at me for whatever reason.

    Chase¡­ merely averted his gaze in an attempt to ignore my presence.

    "Lucas, you were also in the city?" Anastasia was the one who asked that question with a curious smile.

    "Ah, yes," I nodded. "I had to participate in training drills conducted by Instructor Matterhorn. Don''t worry, I survived as you can see."

    Anastasia let out a soft giggle and I looked around and asked, "So, where are you guys headed?"

    Nero was quick to answer.

    "I asked Anastasia toe with me to Shaolin. Chase is alsoing along with us," he said.

    "Actually, my home is in the Eastern Continent so I was already headed there. After Nero told me he was going to Shaolin, I decided to apany him," Anastasia chipped in.

    "I''ll be going home," William sighed. "To the Southern Continent."

    "Oh, maybe we can travel together," Kent turned to William with a pleasantly surprised look.

    "Huh, sure thing," William nodded. "Aster, what about you? Where are you going?"

    Amelia also shifted her focus on the blue-haired elven girl and asked, "Are youing home?"

    Scratching my chin, I nodded inwardly. Right, Aster''s home should also be in the Western Continent.

    Aster, however, shook her head and spoke in a meek tone. "No, I think I''ll go to the Southern Edge to train. These past six months have made me realize howcking my offensive prowess is. So I want to get stronger."

    I couldn''t help but arch an eyebrow after hearing Aster''s words. For some reason, I felt happy.

    The second volume of the novel was about to start. Compared to the first volume, the second one wasn''t that long.

    In fact, it wasn''t even that perilous. But that''s only because it was all a set-up for the third volume.

    A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about it.

    The third volume¡­ It''s where things start to get dark and hopeless. The third volume was the beginning of an end.

    Aster was not a major character until the second volume. She was weak and meek during most of the first volume.

    However, she yed a major role in the third volume. It was the same with William and Elijah.

    All three of these characters got some major development in the third volume and it won''t be wrong to say that a few major plot points were rted to them.

    So naturally, I was happy to know that they were going to strive for strength.

    Because the more strong they get, the easier it would be for us¡ª or specifically, me¡ª to resolve the chaos in the third volume.

    Yeah, get strong, you all¡­ Get as strong as you can because god knows¡ª or rather, I know¡ª how dreadful the future ahead is.

    As I was lost in my thoughts, I soon heard a soft, almost soothing voice reach my ears.

    "Lucas, you are smiling creepily again."

    I turned to look at Amelia, who was standing beside me and arched my eyebrows.

    "I think you meant to say, charmingly."

    "No, I''m pretty sure I meant creepily."

    "Tsk."

 Chapter 292 Queries

    ?

    After some minutes, the faculty member at the Teleportation Gate reviewed our IDs and granted us permission to leave the City.

    Nero, Anastasia, and Chase were the first ones to step into the Gate frame and vanish.

    William, Aster, and Kent followed the suit.

    That left only Amelia and I.

    While the faculty member was setting up the gate to teleport us to the Western Continent, I shifted my gaze to Amelia.

    As I nced over, I saw an alluring ck-haired girl toying with her long, silky locks.

    Her bright green eyes, reminiscent of a sunlit forest where rays filtered through the dense canopy of leaves, fluttered around aimlessly, holding a curious gaze.

    She was dressed in an elegant, flowing dress that seemed to sway with the gentle breeze.

    Noticing my gaze, she turned to me and wiggled her eyebrows. I lingered for a few seconds before speaking, "So I didn''t ask this before but why are you still here?"

    Amelia arched an eyebrow and yfully uttered, "Oh, I''m sorry for subjecting the great Your Highness to look at my lowly self."

    I resisted an urge to roll my eyes and spoke through gritted teeth with a forced smile on my face, "I meant, why didn''t you leave yet?"

    Amelia was probably going to continue her joke but stopped upon seeing my irritation and shrunk her smile.

    After a bit of thought, she said, "I actually waited for you. I had something to ask you and I''d prefer asking you directly than over text."

    I knew it.

    I knew exactly what question Amelia was going to ask, to be honest. I knew she was smart so she must''ve connected the dots on her own given all the time she had in the hospital.

    In fact, she must''ve already had a suspicion when I went to meet her at the hospital.

    Back then, however, I apologized to her so she never had a chance to bring up this topic.

    After that, during the medal presentation ceremony, the chaos caused by Sera once again didn''t give Amelia a chance to raise her question.

    Of course, it was only a matter of time before I had nowhere to run. Now that we were all alone, I couldn''t avoid her queries.

    And to my dismay, after a bit of thought, Amelia posed the very same question that I had doubted she would ask.

    "Lucas, how did you manage to know about the vampire attack beforehand both times?"

    Damn it! Always being correct is more of a curse than a boon, I say! A curse!

    In ast-ditch effort, I tried to feign ignorance and furrowed my brows. "I don''t understand, Amelia. What do you mean?"

    Amelia gave me a disappointed nce and remarked, "You''re better than that, you know?"

    ...Yeah, I could have at least lied more efficiently. What happens to my deception skills when I need them?!

    Before I could plunge myself into the depths of self-deprecation, Amelia continued speaking.

    "At the ballroom back in Silveserine, you requested a dance with me. Although I didn''t think of it much back then, you subtly pulled me away from the spot where the vampires were going to attack."

    I wanted to palm my face and find a ce to hide all the while barely refraining from leaping off this very building.

    Meanwhile, Amelia continued,pletely oblivious to my internal turmoil.

    "And then, after the King''s Tournament, you once again stopped me from getting closer to Nero, who happened to be close to the vampires hiding in the shadows. No one knew about their presence, not even the academy''s defence personnel. So, how did you know about them?"

    Before I could even think about lying my way out of this precarious situation, Amelia stopped me.

    "Oh, and please don''t lie because I will believe you. If you don''t want to tell me, that''s fine," she said, giving me a serious look.

    I studied her for a few seconds as the gentle breeze ruffled her flowing ck hair.

    The hem of her dress danced in the air while her bright green eyes peered into mine. I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart and let out a sigh.

    After a long moment of silence, I finally parted my lips and murmured, "I won''t lie, I promise you of that. But I also can''t tell you. It''s not that I''m unwilling, I simply can''t."

    As I said, I wasn''t lying. I was not against telling the truth about this world and my true identity.

    Yet, for some reason, my instincts bellowed at me, urging me to remain silent.

    And besides, Amelia was very close to Anastasia and Nero in the novel. Even in this reality, she was their close friend.

    While I somewhat genuinely trusted her, I would never trust her enough to not share something I intended to keep hidden from Nero.

    Yes, I must not forget how intimately close Amelia and Nero were in the novel. They were romantically involved, after all.

    Argh, it''s frustrating¡­ Just remembering that fact leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Damned protagonists and their harems.

    Whatever.

    Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts and fixed an unwavering gaze on Amelia, feeling agitated for some reason.

    "So, I''d appreciate it if you didn''t pry further into this matter, got it?"

    Amelia waited for a moment before weakly nodding her head.

    Ugh, did I sound rude? It wasn''t my intention.

    Scratching the back of my head, I asked, "By the way, I was thinking... Will you travel with me?"

    Amelia''s mood lifted at the question, and a smile lit her lovely face.

    She replied with a yfully mocking tone, "Sure, why not? After all, it''s not like Your Highness can navigate a city without a guide."

    "Huh?! What''s that supposed to mean?" I frowned.

    Amelia averted her gaze and teased, "Your Highness managed to lose their way even on a straight street."

    I blinked in surprise before retorting, "I¡ª It only happened once!"

    Our back-and-forth exchange was only interrupted when the faculty memberpleted setting up the Teleportation Gate.

    We were handed a metal token and ess codes to unlock the academy''s AI, Athena.

    Amelia stepped into the Teleportation Gate ahead of me, and I followed closely, excitedly muttering under my breath.

    "Heh, finally, I can interact with a real AI!"

    Grinning, I rolled my tongue, put two fingers in my mouth and let out a sharp whistle.

    Soon, a big ck-feathered bird swooped down from the sky andnded gently on my shoulder.

    Alright, I had two tasks at hand.

    Firstly, I had to unravel the mystery of my fractured memories and uncover the truth of what really happened before Lucas'' personality changed.

    And secondly, I had to find any leads rted to the prophecies.

    "Let''s go, Sera. It''s time to uncover some mysteries."

    "Kriek~!"

 Chapter 293 Hideout [1]

    ?

    I found myself standing amidst the captivating streets of a big metropolitan city.

    They call it a city where old stories and new adventures dance together.

    The reason for that saying is Wolfshire was one of the very first cities that was established after the Dark Ages when all the continents merged together, giving birth to chaos.

    Wolfshire was a symbol of hope back then as it offeredw and protection from the never-ending dangers and carnage of the Dark Ages.

    In fact, even now it was a city of reverence.

    Of course, the reason for most of the city''s fame wasn''t its rich history but the fact that one of the four ruling houses had its seat of power here.

    The overlords of the Western Continent¡­

    The family of heroes¡­

    The pack of wolves¡­

    The Morningstar house.

    With a curious gaze, I looked around and saw tall, shiny buildings stretched toward the sky, their mirrored surfaces reflecting sunlight in yful patterns.

    Neon signs and bright billboards painted the scene with lively colors, turning the sidewalks into a vibrant canvas.

    Beneath my foot, I saw roads paved with cobblestone instead of cement or concrete.

    The cobbled paths whispered stories of times long gone, adding a touch of history to the futuristic city before me.

    Delicious smells from various cuisines hung in the air, tempting anyone passing by to stop and taste the world.

    Cozy caf¨¦s lined the streets, inviting people to sit, chat, and watch the world go by.

    Looking up, I saw buildings adorned with hanging gardens, nature''s touch in the midst of urban life.

    Parks nestled between the tall structures, offering green oases for people to rx and find some much-needed peace of mind.

    Amid the city''s hustle and bustle, people of all races hurried about, from elegant elves to short-statured dwarves and mundane humans.

    But what really caught my attention was the wayrge gs were flowing in the breeze atop each building.

    An emblem showing a wolf howling with a rising sun in the backdrop embroidered on the gs.

    It was as if the whole city was united by the single fact that they were under the protection of the same overlord.

    A sigh escaped my lips as I continued to look around. It felt like I had been here before like I had seen all this before.

    However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t remember anything rted to this city.

    Yes, my mind was drawing in nk. I couldn''t ess Lucas'' memories of this city no matter what.

    The memories were there, I could feel it. I just couldn''t recall it. It was as if they were locked.

    I could still remember some streets and ces that Lucas used to often when he was young, but nothing else.

    Ahh, it was a weird feeling.

    However, one thing was certain. I was going to find a clue about my fractured memories here.

    I could just feel it.

    This city¡­ It was hiding something from me. My instincts were yelling at me, telling me that I would find at least some of my answers here.

    "Let''s see what you were hiding, Lucas¡­" I let out a soft breath and clenched my fists.

    Right then, an irritated voice reached my ears.

    "Lucas! Are you talking to yourself again? I swear to god, it doesn''t make you look cool and mysterious! You just look creepy!"

    Gritting my teeth, I turned around and shot a re at the ck-haired girl who stood a few steps away, spouting nonsense.

    "What''s the use of my disguise if you''re going to shout my name for the whole city to hear!"

    "I''m sorry? Is thatme outfit supposed to be a disguise?!"

    "Excuse me?!"

    "You''re excused."

    "...Wha-What?!"

    Just to rify, my outfit wasn''tme at all. I could never wear ame outfit.

    In fact, I could even make wearing nothing but leaves look exquisite! Amelia just had no fashion sense.

    For reference, I was wearing an open red shirt with a in white tee underneath and ck jeans to go with it all.

    ¡­And a pair of fake mustache sses.

    Okay, maybe thatst part was an overkill.

    Okay, maybe my outfit really did look stupid with the addition of those sses.

    But hey! I couldn''t help it! I had no choice but to go overboard.

    Since I gave my mask to Nero, I didn''t have any other means of concealing my identity.

    Everyone knew me in this city, and as I had mentioned before, my reputation among the masses wasn''t exactly good.

    Not many beings in this world could actually hurt me unless I let them, but I wouldn''t exactly want people to throw rocks at me wherever I go, right?

    "Anyhow, now that you''re back here, do you remember anything?" Amelia inquired curiously as I walked up to her.

    I shook my head. "Nope, not a thing. To be honest, I can''t remember much about the city itself."

    "I see," Amelia sighed, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. "I suspected it wouldn''t be this simple."

    After a moment of thought, she posed another question, "So, do you want to head overto sector 13 or to a different area?"

    I furrowed my brow slightly. "Why? What''s special about sector 13?"

    Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Oh, dear. It''s worse than I thought. Lucas, the Wolf''s Den is situated in the heart of Wolfshire, which is sector 13."

    "Ahh," I scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    Right, the Wolf''s Den is the title given to the Morningstar family mansion. It should be located in the center of Wolfshire.

    "Hmm," I scratched my chin, thinking for a few extended moments. Looking up at the sky, I noticed the sun was nearing the horizon.

    I checked my watch and noted that it was [5:45 PM] now. There should be around an hour left until sunset.

    Yes, that should be plenty of time.

    With an approving nod, I replied, "No, I''d like to go elsewhere first. Amelia, are you familiar with a caf¨¦ named Hideout?"

    Amelia blinked a couple of times and then shrugged. "I''m not, but, Lucas¡­ There are a number of cafes around here."

    I shook my head. "No, any other ce just won''t do."

    A frown appeared on the ck-haired archeress'' face as she asked, "Why? Do they offer something special?"

    "Not usually, they don''t," a grin sparked up on my face as I added, "But tonight, we might just meet a vampire there."

 Chapter 294 Hideout [2]

    ?

    In the novel, Nero didn''t head to the Eastern Continent. Instead of going to Shaolin, he went to the City of Wolves.

    That''s right, he visited Wolfshire.

    For what reason, one might ask? Well, his master asked him to buy a relic which was in possession of one of the noble families here.

    But that is not the important part.

    The thing is, during his trip, Nero stopped by an opulent cafe nearby.

    The cafe was close to his hotel room, so he decided to enjoy avish dinner there before returning.

    Unfortunately, that evening was ruined for him when Nero spotted a suspiciousdy posing to be a customer in the cafe.

    Soon, he realized everyone in the cafe was acting a little strange¡­ All of them were a bit erratic.

    Everyone seemed¡­ lifeless.

    Before long, Nero himself began to feel a bit odd.

    It didn''t take him long to understand that someone was trying to bewitch him. He was falling under a mind hex.

    Luckily, with some luck and thick plot armour, Nero deduced that the suspiciousdy was the cause of it all.

    She was a vampire trying to control his mind. She was the reason everyone here felt a bit weird.

    Nero quickly summoned one of his Divine Swords. Using it, he defeated the vampire but not before she managed to kill some entranced customers.

    After the incident, the military police conducted a thorough investigation. Soon, they discovered the vampire was a former spy for the vampire forces.

    Apparently, she cut ties with the vampire forces on her own when she fell in love with the owner of that cafe, eventually marrying him.

    A bizarre yet clich¨¨ spy romance story, if you ask me.

    Anyway, the owner was hiding her and they were using the customers as a source of her food.

    Her speciality was casting mind hex and putting all visitors under her mind-control spell.

    All the customers forgot about being fed on by a vampire after leaving the cafe but feltpelled to return the next day.

    They became regrs there ¨C a steady food supply for the vampire.

    Of course, in the end, things didn''t end well for them. The owner was arrested for treason, and Nero killed the vampire.

    However, that is still not the important part. You see, that vampire didn''t cast mind hex using her own magic.

    In truth, she used a relic that allowed her to trap her enemies in deliberately crafted illusions.

    She used it to peer into her victims'' minds, trapping them in harrowing nightmares or even delightful dreams.

    That relic¡­ I want it! I need it!

    It was actually the very first relic I nned to obtain when I found myself thrown into this world.

    I thought of it even before I thought about acquiring Phoenix''s Embrace. Of course, back then, there was one tiny problem.

    Back then, I was already in the Global Academy and I couldn''t leave the Global City on my own ord, which meant I didn''t have an opportunity to take the relic.

    I didn''t have a choice but to sit and wait patiently. But not anymore! Haa! The time for me to get my hands on that relic was finally upon me!

    Haa! Ahaha! Aaaahahaha!

    "Lucas, can you please stop smiling like that¡­ It''s creepy."

    "Shut up."

    Shaking my head at Amelia''s remark, I looked at my smart bracelet and followed the virtual mapid out before me.

    Right when we were about to miss a turn, a calm, feminine voice resounded from my smart bracelet and reached my ears.

    [Sir, you missed a turn. Take that right, please.]

    It was Athena, the academy AI that had been unlocked in our smart bracelets.

    "Oh," I eximed, a bit startled, and took a step back before turning around the corner.

    "How can you, arguably the smartest person I''ve ever met, be so terrible at reading maps," Amelia frowned.

    "Heh," I grinned. "Yeah, that''s right. I am smart."

    "You''re missing the point," she let out a sigh before giving me a sidelong nce.

    A bit ufortable, I rolled my eyes and asked, "What is it this time?"

    Amelia lingered for a few seconds before opening her mouth. "I¡­ I know I agreed that I won''t pry but how do you know that we''ll encounter a vampire where we are headed?"

    I heaved a deep sigh before finally replying to her, "Amelia, I can''t tell you how, but I have knowledge about some future events. My knowledge is not absolute, it isn''t evenplete, but I''m certain that we will find a vampire at Hideout Cafe."

    Instead of showing surprise or shock, the ck-haired girl merely continued walking next to me with a lost look on her face.

    "By yourck of reaction, can I assume that you already know I possess future knowledge?" I asked.

    "I thought it could be possible," Amelia answered with a frown. "I still don''t know why or how, though."

    A smile formed on my lips upon hearing her answer.

    "Good," I nodded. "As I''ve told you before, a good strategist is the one who considers every possibility. We are humans, we can''t possibly predict every oue, but at least we can try."

    After a bit of thought, I added, "Of course, the easiest way is always to manipte the situation in a way where the odds fall in your favour."

    "...I don''t understand," Amelia shot me a confused look. "How is manipting the odds easier than predicting an oue?"

    Iughed. "Don''t worry, you wille to understand what I mean one day."

    Suddenly, I remembered something. I turned to her and asked, "By the way, is it alright for you to not go home? You must''ve told your father about your return, right? Wouldn''t he be worried?"

    "It''s fine," Amelia waved her hand dismissively. "My father isn''t in the city so I was going to be home alone anyway."

    "Ahh, I see."

    [Sir, you have arrived at your destination. If you have any other requests, please feel free to ask me.]

    Right as we were engaged in our conversation, Athena''s voice rang out.

    I looked to my right and there it was. In front of us was a cafe building with a neon billboard reading [Hideout].

 Chapter 295 Enigma Sightstone [1]

    ?

    After arriving in front of the opulent cafe, we stepped in through its ornate doorway.

    What greeted us was the soft melody of a piano ying in the background and cold yet pleasant air mixed with a soft touch ofvender scent.

    Along with it was the lingering aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sweet, delicate pastries, enticing our senses.

    Amelia''s eyes lit up with a mixture of curiosity and delight as she took in the charming scene before us.

    The cafe was adorned with little intricate details ¨C from the designer patterns on the wallpaper to the carefully arranged bouquets of flowers on each table.

    Softly glowing aesthetic light bulbs lit up the interior, casting a gentle golden glow throughout the cafe, while a number of exquisite wooden furniture adorned the entirety of the space inside.

    We chose a corner table, its white tablecloth impably clean, and took our seats on the plush cushioned chairs.

    Amelia looked around curiously before opening her smart bracelet and typing a text in it.

    Almost instantly after she sent it, my smart bracelet buzzed before a text notification popped up on its screen.

    ¨C[Are you sure there''s a vampire here? Not to doubt you but why would a vampire choose to hide here?]

    I let out a sigh. Hiding in in sight is like the oldest trick in the book.

    As for why a vampire would risk it? Well, if it is capable of putting a mind hex on such arge number of people all at once, then it really isn''t risking anything.

    However, instead of telling all this to her, I merely typed Amelia a simple text.

    [Shut up and believe me, will ya!!]

    ¨C[Tsk, at least tell me something about this bloodsucker!]

    [It is a female and she can use a deadly crowd control spell. Once she takes control of your mind, you''re done for.]

    ¨C[So, like the one we fought in Silveserine?]

    [Yes, only this one''s mind control is absolute and can''t be broken. So, don''t look into her eyes, don''t let her touch you, and don''t step near her.]

    ¨C[How in the hell are we supposed to fight her then?!]

    [Not us, I. You will hold all these customers back and I will fight her on my own.]

    ¨C[What do you mean¡­ all these people?]

    As soon as Amelia sent me that text, she raised her head and looked around with a cautious gaze.

    Finally, she noticed it.

    The people sitting here all around us weren''t eating the food served to them. They were merely sitting there with gaped mouths and a lost look on their faces.

    The spark of light was almost snuffed out of their eyes. They were talking, but most of them were just incoherently mumbling.

    One wouldn''t notice this huge detail unless one would know what to look for in these people.

    It was almost like it was all there yet not there at the same time¡­ as if our brains were refusing to pay attention to these details until we forced them to.

    That was also one of the aspects of the mind hex that the vampire had cast on the very premises of this cafe.

    Anyone who stepped through this cafe would be unable to notice the unusualities here unless they knew exactly what to look for.

    It was kind of a strange feeling.

    Amelia''s eyes widened in horror upon seeing all this. She waited for a few seconds before typing me another text.

    ¨C[Are all of them under a mind control spell? Are we safe?]

    [We are safe for now. You just didn''t notice all this because it''s part of this mind hex''s charm.]

    ¨C[Can''t we just inform the military police about all this and leave this ce?]

    [Don''t you think if that was an option I would''ve done so already. We can''t do that. I need the relic the vampire is using to put these people under her mind control.]

    ¨C[So she''s using a relic¡­ But is this relic worth risking our and these people''s lives over?]

    I lingered for a few seconds before nodding in affirmation. It looked like Amelia wanted to say something but soon a waiter approached dressed in a crisp ck uniform.

    "Greetings, sir and mam. What would you both like to order?" The waiter asked us.

    Amelia looked at me and I gestured to her, signaling her that the food was indeed safe to eat.

    She then looked at the waiter, who was smiling at us with the same lost look in his eyes as the rest of the people here.

    He was also bewitched. Since his eyes were hollow, devoid of any light, his supposedly warm smile only looked eerie.

    Since Amelia seemed to be hesitating, I chuckled and ordered first. "Just an affogato for me, please."

    After a few more moments of hesitation, Amelia finally said, "Three cheese and two double patty fried chicken burgers for me."

    I arched an eyebrow but Amelia shot me a re. Squinting her eyes, she said, "Yeah, I love burgers, so what?"

    I raised my hands defensively, "Nothing at all."

    "Sure thing," the waiter replied in a creepy monotonous voice. "Please wait for a bit, your order will be ready shortly."

    "So what''s the n?" Amelia whispered as soon as the waiter left our table. "What are your instructions, where are all your traps, and when are you telling me your brilliant strategy?"

    I stifled a chuckle and replied, "Haha, there are no ns, no traps, and no strategy. As for my instructions¡­ Well, try to cover me, and don''t kill anyone here if you can help it."

    "Wait¡­ what do you mean you have no n?" Amelia gave me a dubious look.

    I shrugged, "Sometimes you don''t need a n to seed, you know? I''m confident in taking her head-on and winning."

    Amelia continued to give me a doubtful look. I frowned slightly, "What?! You don''t believe in my strength, huh?"

    Before I could get my answer from her, however, the door of the cafe swung open and the metal bell hanging over its frame rang melodically.

    In the next moment, a stunning woman with long, flowing red hair entered the cafe.

    She was adorned in a form-fitting red dress that entuated her graceful curves, creating an air of both refinement and allure around her.

    With almost indifferent, otherworldly grace, the woman walked over to the seat in front of us and ordered something from the menu.

    This was her.

    A smile tugged on my lips as I signaled to Amelia and said, "Shall we start the show?"

    "Aww, but I didn''t even get to eat my burgers," Amelia sighed.

    I gave her a deadpan look before shaking my head.

    "In three," I said. "Two¡­"

    The air hung heavy with crackling intensity as the ck-haired archeress before me waited for mymand.

    In the very next instance, I let out a loud roar, and all hell broke loose.

    "One! Phoenix''s Embrace!"

 Chapter 296 Enigma Sightstone [2]

    ?

    By the time the red and golden armor fully enveloped my body, Amelia had already summoned her war bow.

    Themotion we caused didn''t go unnoticed.

    The woman in red quickly noticed us and realized she''d been found out. She quickly rose from her seat, baring her fangs and hissing like a rabid beast.

    I summoned my dazzling crimson spear and also lunged forward from my seat in her direction.

    To stop my advance, the vampire ordered several of her bewitched customers seated nearby to rush at me and intercept.

    However, Amelia reacted faster than them.

    She drew her warbow''s string and shot an arrow that instantly pierced the leg of a customer closest to me, rendering him immobile.

    And just like that, she unleashed a rain of deadly arrows, each finding its mark as if they all had a mind of their own.

    Even through the chaos that followed, no one was killed by her arrows.

    Instead, her arrows only pierced their legs in a way that would leave them incapable of moving anymore for a long while.

    I couldn''t help but smile inwardly; her archery had indeed improved a lot.

    Of course, I had no time to praise her any more than that. Shifting my gaze, I focused on my own target.

    In front of me, the captivating woman in the red dress had already transformed.

    Her previously smooth, jaded skin now bore a grey hue like charred wood, and long fangs protruded from her lips, while her fingers ended in sharp obsidian nails, turning her palms into ws.

    Her cheeks appeared sunken, and her limbs seemed to grow out a little, giving her a grotesque appearance.

    With eyes now shining bright red like two pools of blood, gazing into them felt like I was staring at death itself.

    If I remembered the novel''s description correctly, it was mentioned that she could trap anyone in a deliberate illusion simply by locking eyes with them.

    However, I also knew that there was a small window of time before the illusion would take hold of the victim''s mind and she''d be able to use it like her ything.

    Yes, since I had already looked into her eyes, my fate was sealed, yet I had more than enough time to kill her before then.

    In fact, I intentionally looked into her eyes.

    I wanted her to start creating an illusion for me to be trapped in. I wanted her to take her time and stay still for a moment.

    The distance between us was about a meter. The vampire probably thought that it would take a second for me to close the gap.

    It would also take a second for her to cast her mind hex on me. By the time I''d reach her, she would''ve already won.

    However, she made a blunder.

    Instead of trying to craft an illusion for me, she should''vee at me directly.

    She thought that I would try to close the distance between us. But I won''t do that.

    A smug smile adorned my lips as I took a single step forward and pulled back my spear arm, my entire body poised.

    Yes, I nned to throw my spear at her. Even if she trapped me in her illusion, she would die in the next moment.

    After all, her illusion could stop me but not my spear.

    Tendrils of electricity crackled around me as I unleashed my Lightning Aura.

    In a heartbeat, my arm whipped forward and my spear was sent hurtling through the air, aimed directly at the vampire''s heart.

    Like a projectile fired from a railgun, my spear shot forth and pierced the vampire''s chest with lightning speed, crushing her heart.

    Blood gushed from her mouth as she fell to her knees. With eyes wide in pain and shock, she gazed at me with agony.

    Through her ragged breath, the vampire managed to choke out a few words in a hoarsely harsh voice that I barely made sense of.

    "Why¡­? What have I ever done to you¡­? I only wished to live with my love..."

    As she said that, the vampire crumpled down on the floor. Two sharp canines fell loose from her mouth, a clear sign that she was dead.

    Letting a sigh of relief, I nced around and spotted Amelia standing nonchntly amidst the scattered bodies on the ground.

    The patrons in the cafe slowly began to grasp their understanding and regain consciousness.

    Some started crying and screaming in agony of getting hit by sharp arrows, while others were utterly bewildered.

    Those lucky enough to not get hit by Amelia''s arrows stood with confused expressions in their now-awakened eyes.

    As puzzled murmurs filled the air inside the cafe, I knew I had to act fast. Unlike Nero in the novel, I was not going to exin the situation to them.

    I would finish my task at hand, which is to retrieve the relic that the vampire was using to mind-control these people and get the hell out of here.

    Of course, I would anonymously inform the military police about the incident.

    With that thought in mind, I walked over to the fallen corpse of the vampire. Amelia soon approached me.

    "Do you have a knife?" I asked her.

    Without question, she handed me a stiletto knife and I used it to gauge the right eye out of the vampire''s eye socket.

    Amelia retched in disgust, but I gave no attention to the blood and grime. My mind was focused elsewhere.

    After taking out the vampire''s eye, I crushed it.

    Soon, I saw a small, circr orb embedded within the crushed tissue of her eye. While Amelia was on the verge of throwing up, I took out the orb and inspected it.

    It was a clear, shiny violet marble.

    The intricate andplex patterns within its ssy interior were so captivating that it felt like I would lose myself if I stared at it long enough.

    Haa!

    I did it¡ªI finally obtained the relic I had been wanting to get my hands on for so long.

    In my hands rested the Divine-ranked relic: [Enigma Sightstone].

    "Huaa~" Suddenly, an unbearable burst of lethargy washed over me. It was a long day, and I was reasonably tired.

    Letting out another exhausted yawn, I turned to look at Amelia.

    Her sparkling green eyes, reminiscent of a lush, sunlit forest, met mine, and she uttered, "Wake up, Lucas."

    My eyelids drooped as exhaustion finally took over my mind, and I fell asleep.

 Chapter 297 An Illusionary Peaceful World [1]

    Chapter 297 An Illusionary Peaceful World [1]

    "Huaa~"

    Rubbing my eyes, I woke up just before the break of dawn. Iy still for a while, not at all wanting to leave the warm embrace of the nkets on this cold morning.

    However, after a bit of internal fighting, I let out a heavy sigh and sat up straight.

    As the morning cold greeted me, I shivered and readied myself to leave the bed. I knew I had a long day ahead.

    As I was about to leave the bed, a slender arm reached out from under the nkets and grabbed me by the waist, caressing my firm muscles.

    "Last night was amazing."

    I smiled at those words and grabbed the arm of my girlfriend. Pulling the nkets down, I looked into her deep emerald eyes and said:

    "Get up, Mdy. You know today is going to be tiring."

    My girlfriend rolled her eyes and groaned, contorting the expressions on her pretty little face in exasperation.

    "I don''t wanna!" She cried out like a child throwing a tantrum for not wanting to go to school. "I want to sleep¡­ with you!"

    I giggled at her cute antics and gently brushed my fingers through the length of her silky long ck hair.

    I sat there motionless, idyllically enjoying the bewitching sight of the beauty I had somehow managed to coax into dating me dressing "I know, but since the long war has finally ended, we have to appoint new leaders, set new borders, and enact newws."

    Hearing my reasons, she made a dejected face and rose up to sit straight. After a few seconds, she pouted and said, "Fine."

    I sat there motionless, idyllically enjoying the bewitching sight of the beauty I had somehow managed to coax into dating me dressing herself in my oversized hoodie.

    Well, I didn''t exactly coax her. I''m good in bed, or so she says. Heh.

    Putting on her pajamas, she turned to me and said, "Come on them, get dressed."

    "You''re wearing my hoodie."

    "Your fault for tearing off my jacketst night."

    Heh, that was worth it.

    Staring at her with a stupid smile on my face for a few seconds, I finally sighed again and got up from the bed.

    To shrug off the cold, I cast a warmyer of Fire Aura around me and let the warmth embrace me again before putting on a thin silk shirt.

    Who knew my once formidable Elemental Aura would one day be reduced to being used as a mere recement for a heater, huh?

    Well, to be honest, I''d rather prefer this than using it to kill. Fortunately, my wish had been granted.

    The war was now over. Vampires were defeated and Kalis were all exterminated too.

    The world was at peace once again. All the races could now finally live in peace and harmony.

    There was no need to forcefully deploy children in wars anymore. We didn''t need to worry about terrorist or vampire attacks.

    There were no borders we needed to defend nor were there any space stations we needed to guard now.

    After all this time, we had achieved peace.

    It would be at least a few hundred years before the world''s inhabitants start to fight among themselves.

    Not our problem, since we would be dead by then.

    Our generation has done our part by ending the centuries-long war, now we will enjoy our time in this mortal realm and leave everything else to future generations.

    Of course, while the soldiers had done their part and were free to rest now, the duty of the leaders was just beginning.

    As one of the war heroes who brought peace to this world, my girlfriend had a myriad of tasks that demanded her attention.

    Obviously, since I was her most trusted second-inmand and her life partner, I would have to be there to help her.

    Turning to me, she shed me an arresting smile and said, "Let''s go."

    As soon as we left our luxurious quarters, the servants, who were already at work to prepare for the day, bowed respectfully and greeted us with warm voices.

    Walking beside my love, I read through a holographic screen that was open in front of me and recounted all the tasks she had to tackle today out loud.

    "We''ll have to see what we can do about the Sinoath family. All of their members are dead so their territory is open. Same with the Wiseman family. At least there is a Goodwill left. The council will have to decide on what to do about military rule. Since the war is over, democracy can be employed into the system again."

    "Council members won''t be happy with that suggestion," she replied. "Even I think it''s a bit early to restore mass freedom."

    "So, will that be your stance in today''s council meeting then?" I asked, curiously.

    She didn''t reply to me immediately. As she lingered, we arrived at the well-maintained garden of our mansion.

    Visiting the garden first thing in the morning had be her daily routine by now.

    Plucking out a fresh rose, she turned to me and answered, "No. I fear if not today, then liberty will never return to this world. It''s time to employ democracy."

    I looked into her bright green eyes for a moment and smiled brightly. Nodding, I proceeded to ask another question.

    "And how do you suggest we bring up this topic to the Council¨C"

    Before I could finish, however, she intercepted and chipped in her own question.

    "Wake up."

    "...Huh?" A frown appeared on my face as I stared at her with a confused look. "What? I''m dead awake."

    She shook her head, her emerald eyes staring into mine. "Do you remember who you are? Can you remember your name?"

    The frown on my face deepened as I responded, "What are you talking about? Of course, I know who I am. I am¡­ ahh¡­ huh?"

    Slowly, my eyes began to widen as my jaw dropped in bewilderment.

    "Who¡­ am I? I¡­ I can''t remember¡­ Huh¡­ I am¡­ Who?"

    Panic started to slowly seep into my voice as I gradually realized that no matter how much I tried, I couldn''t recall my identity!

    As soon as she asked me for my name, my mindpletely nked out. Grabbing my shoulders, she peered at me and said:

    "Remember! You are the second-born of the Crimson Wolf, Reynold Morningstar, and the Ice Monarch, Yennefer Morningstar! You are Lucas Morningstar!"

    Something suddenly clicked in my head and I soon remembered everything. Right, I was Lucas! Lucas Morningstar!

    But¡­ where was I?

    Before I could even understand what was going on, suddenly, the clear blue sky above us split open and a tear appeared in the very fabric of space itself.

    A colossal ebony Dragon emerged from the spatial rift. Almost instantly after that, a thunderous voice boomed throughout the world, raging:

    "You just had to remember, you fool! Couldn''t you have just enjoyed your long-awaited peace?!"

    I could only widen my eyes as in the next instance, the mighty Dragon opened its maw and unleashed a sea of incinerating white mes, setting the world ame.

    Soon, my consciousness faded and I fell into eternal slumber.

 Chapter 298 An Illusionary Peaceful World [2]

    Chapter 298 An Illusionary Peaceful World [2]

    "Huaaa~"

    Exhaling a tired yawn, I sat up straight on my bunk bed and gazed around with bleary eyes.

    Around me, I saw several soldiers and military officers running around, going about their duties and rushing to their posts.

    I checked the dial of my cheap watch and found out that it was around [4:34 PM] by now already.

    Biting my thumbnail and suppressing another yawn, I left the warmth of my bed and headed out of the barracks.

    I was dead tired. In all honesty, I just wanted to fall t right here and slip into the inviting embrace of a long slumber.

    However, I had a long and tiring day ahead of me. The war has ended. The heroes were sessful in their final struggle.

    Peace has been achieved.

    The world leaders must be trapped in a ton of work now. After all, the responsibility to manage the new world has fallen on their shoulders.

    Haaa.

    But what does all that have to do with me? I am nothing but a small, insignificant foot soldier.

    Despiteing from a renowned noble family, my mana core potential was mediocre at best.

    I didn''t possess my mother''s wits nor my father''s strength. I was not a brilliant strategist nor a good fighter.

    I just knew how to survive. Like a roach, I survived on the battlefield for seven hellish years.

    Finally, I could stop now.

    Maybe I''ll return to my hometown, the capital of the Western Continent, and build a small, cozy home there.

    I''ll spend the rest of my life in peace.

    I just wish my friends could''ve gotten a chance to see this peace that they had sacrificed themselves for.

    Coming out of the barracks, I took a deep fresh breath.

    Anyway, even though the war was over, there was still some time before I could enjoy the peace that the heroes had brought.

    Thinking that, I moved my feet toward the vending machine to get myself a can of fresh, hot morning coffee¡­ even though it was already evening.

    "Oh?"

    However, I abruptly stopped right in my tracks upon seeing a woman in herte twenties standing there.

    The woman was wearing a military robe with several stars embedded on her slender shoulders ¨C a reminder of her heroic deeds much like the several medals pinned to her chest.

    I knew this woman. She was my superior. She was the Lady Commander of the field army I served in.

    She, along with a few other heroes of our generation, was the reason why peace has finally returned to our world.

    division returned to Earth, merged with the other two field armies, and defeated the vampires.

    Four years ago, two field armies held back the vampire forces while one field army, in which I served, went to space and battled Kalis.

    After eradicating those aliens under her directmand, our division returned to Earth, merged with the other two field armies, and defeated the vampires.

    Unfortunately, by that time, the Vampire Monarch was awakened. Luckily, we had numerous heroes in our generation who defeated the Monarch after a year of continuous battle.

    Most of the world''s habitat was destroyed in that war. But finally, at least, the Monarch was killed and we were spared extinction.

    This woman right in front of me was one of the heroes I mentioned who fought the Vampire Monarch directly.

    To fight that godlike being and not only survive but also win¡­ I couldn''t imagine just how strong she would be.

    After a bit of hesitation, I straightened my back and greeted her with a firm salute, "Commander ck!"

    Startled a little, Commander ck, who was fetching a can of coffee from the vending machine, turned to me.

    As I locked my gaze with her and looked into her peering, bright green eyes, which sort of reminded me of a lush, sunlit forest, I felt my heart skip a beat.

    Soon, however, I shook my head and pulled myself out of my daze.

    Idiot. She''s way out of your league! I told myself, my cheeks turning red in blushing embarrassment.

    Popping the cab of coffee in her hand, Commander ck pressed another button on the vending machine and said, "Easy, soldier."

    Collecting another can from the machine, Commander ck extended it to me. For a moment, I looked at her hand with a nk expression.

    "Is there a problem?" She asked.

    There was indeed a problem. The can she was handing out to me was of almond milk, but I was here to get a coffee!

    However, since it was Commander ck herself who was offering me the can, I hurriedly took it with a shake of my head.

    Just when I thought it was the end of our interaction, she asked, "So, how are you ready for today, Young Wolf?"

    I blinked a couple of times in surprise,pletely at a loss for words. After a bit of time, I managed to form a sentence.

    "You remember me?" I asked.

    "Of course," she shrugged nonchntly. "Weren''t we in the same academy? You also served under me in the EDF Space Station when we were up against Kalis, didn''t you?"

    Woah¡­ I must be dreaming¡­

    Co-Commander ck remembered me?

    Yes, we were indeed from the same academy but I never expected her to remember me.

    "You also remembered my codename," I murmured in a hushed tone.

    Young Wolf was a title given to me during my days in the academy. Eventually, after I joined the army, it evolved into my military codename.

    I barely ever heard it, of course. Why? Well, a foot soldier has no need for a codename, after all.

    "Of course. Youe from the Family of Wolves, after all. Your father would have been proud that you survived the war¡­ even if he didn''t," she replied, a tinge of sympathy visible in her profound gaze.

    A few minutes passed in silence.

    My father valiantly held back three Vampire Kings alone while Commander ck and her allies were fighting the Monarch.

    Even though he died, he didn''t let even one of those bloodsuckers pass him.

    As for me, I¡­ I struggled to even hold my ground against a mere foot soldier from the vampire ranks. I offered nothing to their final struggle.

    In truth, my role in the Final War was so insignificant that it wouldn''t even have mattered had I not participated.

    Slowly, I shook my head.

    "I doubt he''d feel proud. I couldn''t do anything to help him or you. The blood of heroes might be running through my veins, but I did nothing to honor their heroic legacy."

    Commander ck remained wordless for quite some time, eventually exhaling a deep sigh.

    "Your father was on the War Council. So believe me when I say, he loved you. Listen to me, history might not remember your name or the names of millions of other foot soldiers, but be assured. It was your collective effort that protected us from threats behind our lines. You all were the reason we were able to bring this war to its end."

    As Commander ck''s words settled in, a rush of conflicting emotions surged within me.

    My father fought against insurmountable odds, while I struggled against mere foot soldiers.

    The stark contrast between his legacy and my pitiful performance left a mark on my conscience.

    Commander ck''s words offered me some sce ¨C our collective sacrifice had held the line, which in turn helped the leaders to strategize and strike back.

    Tears welled up in my eyes and a mixture of guilt and gratitude washed over me.

    Right¡­ She was right. My contribution was not as great as her or the other heroes.

    Yes, I was shadowed by the heroic achievements of my family. Yes, I couldn''t ever hope to match their valor and greatness.

    However, I did contribute. I did fight. And I did survive to witness the peace in the stead of my friends who died fighting.

    Holding back my tears, I looked at Commander ck, my voice steadier than before. "Thank you, Commander. Thating from you¡­ means a lot to me."

    She smiled, a mixture of pride and understanding in her eyes. "Good. Now, go and get ready for the night, soldier. We will have to hunt any remaining vampires by the end of the month. It''s going to be a tough week."

    I nodded and turned around, popping the can and bringing it to my lips.

    "Ahmm," I let out a satisfied moan. "This is good, I should cut on coffee and start having almond milk instead."

    Just as I was murmuring that and walking away, a slender hand grabbed me from behind.

    "Argh!"

    Startled, I looked over my shoulder and noticed that it was Commander ck. I furrowed my brows, and asked, "Uh, is something the matter, Commander?"

    "Yes," she replied in a serious tone.

    The next words that left her lips stunned me. My feet felt anchored to the ground and my heart started to beat like funeral drums.

    She said, "Wake up."

    "...Huh?"

    The frown on my face deepened as she continued. Her soft, gentle voice reached my ears in whispers, asking:

    "Do you remember your name?"

    "Y-Yes¡­ I am¡­ Eh? I¡­ I¡­ Wh-Who am I?"

    I¡­ couldn''t recall¡­ What was my name?

    Suddenly, at that moment, all my life turned nk and I was left questioning my existence. I couldn''t recall my name!

    It was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn''t get it out.

    The evening''s orange sky above us transformed into a deep ck at the approach of night.

    whispered into my ears again.

    Countless stars adorned the ebony expanse, resembling a river of molten silver that flowed through an empty canvas.

    Under the starlit night sky, the beguiling woman behind me whispered into my ears again.

    "You are Lucas Morningstar! You''re the second-born of war heroes Reynold and Yennefer Morningstar. You are the Fallen Angel! Wake up, Lucas!"

    My eyes widened as something clicked inside my head again. Yes! How did I forget?! I was Lucas Morningstar!

    I was about to turn around to question the woman behind me on what was happening. However, before I could do that, the night sky above us split and a rift tore through the fabric of space.

    In the next instance, several humanoid creatures flew over to our world from the rift. These creatures were tall and gaunt, with obsidian scales covering their skin and long, round crystal horns shaped around their heads like crowns.

    On their backs, giant bat-like leather wings thunderously pped, keeping them afloat in the air as they looked down on the very world beneath them as if they were some mythical beings descended to impart divine will on this mundane realm.

    I started to panic, my eyes fluttering in unknown horror and terror under the crushing pressure these creatures radiated.

    But the woman behind me held me in ce and shouted into my ears, "Wake up, Lucas! It''s all a deliberate illusion! You''re still inside that cafe!"

    As other soldiers noticed the unfolding supernatural event and began shouting and running in chaos, her voice sounded slightly muffled, yet I managed to discern the meaning of her words.

    Right after she spoke, a booming voice reverberated throughout the whole world, proiming:

    "Just stop this! Just stop resisting and remembering yourself! Why can''t you surrender? I''ll grant you the peace you''ve yearned for so long!"

    Before I could even understand the situation, the demonic creatures extended their hands downward toward us.

    Soon, bright, ominous orbs of violet energy formed in front of their open palms.

    In the following moments, the orbs burst forth into beams of destructive energy and rained down upon the world, obliterating it entirely.

    In an instant, my vision plunged into darkness, and I fell into yet another eternal slumber, weing the cold yet inviting embrace of death.

 Chapter 299 An Illusionary Peaceful World [3]

    Chapter 299 An Illusionary Peaceful World [3]

    "Mhmm~"

    Stretching out my arms, I opened my sleepy eyes and looked around with a blurry gaze.

    Ah, I slept out on mywn today.

    Well, I couldn''t me myself. I was way too exhausted for it to befortable at my age.

    Wait, why am I sounding like an old man? I am just 45! Yes, I''m way too handsome and young to be old right now.

    Grinning at my own narcissism, I got up from mywn chair and headed inside the mansion.

    The servants bowed their heads as I made my way to the hallway. In thevishlyrge and opulent drawing room, I saw a beautiful ck-haired girl sitting on a luxurious sofa.

    In her slender hands nestled a fictional novel, her shiny emerald eyes fixated on its open pages.

    My wife had always liked reading novels but I never understood the appeal. I don''t even know how people can read something with no pictures in it.

    Sneaking around the sofa, I arrived behind her and hugged her tightly.

    My wife was a bit startled as she gently grabbed my arm and said, "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

    "Isn''t it evening?" I nted a kiss on the top of her head.

    "It is," she said as I let her go and sat beside her. As I poured myself some tea from the pot settled on top of the center table, she said, "Isn''t this great?"

    She didn''t have to borate further since I knew exactly what she meant. The long war ended a few years ago.

    The world was now at peace.

    The chaos and destruction that the war had wrought was slowly starting to heal and we could finally enjoy some tranquility.

    My wife and I were back at my family mansion. Since my father named me his heir before perishing in war, the whole Western Continent now belonged to me.

    My sister was ruling the Southern Continent since the Netyoive, the former rulers of the South, were all exterminated for their treason against the Government during the War of Union.

    My brother, may he rest in peace, had valiantly sacrificed himself during the Final War to give the heroes a shot at finishing the long war.

    Along with my father, he held back five Vampire Kings while the heroes and their allies were battling the Vampire Monarch.

    Although my brother never liked me, and I very much reciprocated his feelings, he was still my brother.

    I would miss him.

    I turned to my wife and said, "It''s all thanks to you."

    She chuckled as she replied, "I didn''t do it alone. Those two yed a major role in defeating the Monarch. Also, without you all there, we would never have won."

    I knew she was just being modest. I and all the other soldiers there didn''t do much to help the heroes fight the Monarch.

    History will remember those two and my wife as the three heroes who heroically vanquished the Vampire Monarch.

    Us? We would merely be remembered as their allies.

    In fact, sometimes I couldn''t even believe how I got her, one of the three prophesied heroes, to be my wife.

    She could definitely do better than me. I mean, let''s be honest, I may be the most handsome man in the world, but she is not only the smartest but also the strongest, only second to one.

    She could have anyone she would want in the entire world. In fact, one of the other three heroes was trying to court her.

    But she still chose me. Heh, I won''t lie, it does boost my ego significantly.

    "Why are you smiling creepily again?"

    "I was thinking about you."

    At my response, she blushed a little before bursting into a heartfelt chortle. "What will I do about you?"

    Ahh, yes, life is peaceful.

    Sometimes, I just wonder if this all is a dream. Do I really deserve this much happiness?

    Haa, even if it''s a dream, please never let me wake up.

    Wake up¡­ huh? I¡­ I could almost swear someone asked me to wake up very, very recently. But¡­ who?

    Did I dream it when I was sleeping on thewn? Huh, that''s weird.

    "So, how do you want to celebrate our first anniversary next week?"

    That question from my wife shook me out of my daze and I shed her a bright smile before replying:

    "Right, it''s next week. I don''t know, you tell me. Where do you want to go and what do you want to do?"

    "Oh, so anything I say goes?"

    "You bet."

    After that, it took us around five hours to n out our anniversary vacation. We both still had our jobs to do¡ªI was the overlord of the West and she was one of the leaders of the world¡ªso, nning the perfect trip was a bit challenging.

    However, the two of us made it possible. I mean, to be honest, she did most of the work, I just finalized her decisions.

    ?

    There were a few hups, but we made it to our trip. We decided to visit the Eastern Continent since this ce had the best tourist spots.

    I mean, technically, Western and Central Continents had the best tourist spots but we were familiar with these two ces very much already.

    After all, we both were from the West and during most of our time in the military, we were posted in the Central Continent.

    It would be nice someday to go to the Central Continent and not have PTSD shbacks about our deployment there.

    Anyway, since we were finally here, it was time to enjoy our vacation.

    ?

    Aftering back from our vacation, we both were ensnared in our work. Her duty was even more difficult than mine. That''s to be expected from her kind of work.

    There was a secret I had been keeping from her, however. Since that day, I have been very ufortable. It feels like there is something that urgently needs my attention.

    This sense of urgency won''t settle no matter how hard I may try to divert my focus elsewhere.

    I couldn''t even remember what''s the source of this unsettling feeling. No, it''s more like I don''t want to remember.

    It feels like if I try to remember too hard, I will lose this tranquil life I have. I¡­ I don''t want that.

    I just wish to rest now¡­ I had fought enough.

    ?

    It''s been around seven years since our marriage. Seven years of peace¡­ It still feels almost unreal.

    However, that unsettling feeling had subsided now. I guess it was just me overthinking things again.

    Rationally, I had nothing to fear now. That unsettling feeling waspletely baseless.

    I mean, aside from being married to one of the strongest and smartest humans in the world, I know that all the threats to our world have been exterminated.

    Yes, I could finally let myself feel safe.

    Maybe, back then, the alien feeling of peace and tranquility was too strange for me to process.

    Yeah, that must be it. That must be why I was feeling ufortable.

    "What are you thinking?"

    I turned to my left and saw a pair of shiny emerald-like eyes staring back at me. For a second, I held my breath before shaking my head.

    "It''s nothing," I answered, not wanting to trouble her with my useless worries.

    She was sitting right beside me, reading novels like usual. A captivating smile was adorning her beautiful face.

    Scooting a little closer to me on the sofa, she put aside her novel and hugged my arm and I continued to drink my coffee.

    We talked about this and that, enjoying each other''spany. Even after all these years together, we always have something to tell one another.

    "Papa! Papa, pick me up!"

    Just as we were talking, our little princess entered the drawing room and jumped at me.

    Smiling, I caught her, picked her up, and pinched her cheek with one hand. "Woah, you are getting heavy, Princess."

    Our daughter had my red eyes and silver hair with some strands of "Are you sure it''s not just papa getting old?" She replied with a pout.

    My wife and Iughed at her antics.

    Our daughter had my red eyes and silver hair with some strands of red mixed in. I could tell that even though she inherited my looks, she possessed her mother''s sassy personality.

    I am already sulking over the day I would have to marry her off. No! I won''t! I won''t ever marry her off. Her husband can just live in our mansion. He shouldn''t have a problem with that.

    Why would he have a problem? I could already tell that our daughter would grow up to be a jade beauty with exceptional strength.

    Right, any man would be lucky to have her let alone fulfill all his father-inw''s demands.

    Heh, that''s right.

    "Papa, why are you smiling like that again?"

    "Princess, your papa is beyond help. Please forgive him if you could."

    Frowning, I turned to my wife. "Excuse me!"

    "You''re excused."

    "...Wh-What?!"

    As my daughter and wife broke into a loud, heartfeltughter, I couldn''t help but also smile like an idiot.

    I love this. I love these two and my life.

    If given a chance, I wouldn''t wish for anything else but to stay like this forever.

    Yes, my own and my wife''s work could be a bit stressful at times, but that just makes it all the more exciting when we get to spend time with each other and our daughter during weekends.

    Truly, all of my dreams havee true in this life. This¡­ Maybe this is what peace is really like.

    Dreams¡­ huh?

    A frown appeared on my face and the surreal feeling I had been experiencing until nowpletely vanished.

    All that remained was the rabid beating of my heart and a surge of familiar, unsettling emotion washing over me.

    I clenched my fists as my eyes began to tear up. The realization that I had been running from until now, finally dawned upon me.

    Letting out a shaky breath, I put down my daughter and clenched my fists. A single tear coursed down my cheek as I tried to calm myself.

    "Darling? What''s wrong? Hey!"

    "P¡­ Papa? Why are you crying?"

    The concerned voices of my wife and daughter reached my ears but I paid no mind to them.

    After what felt like an eternity, I managed to choke out a single sentence in a low, grating tone.

    "This world¡­ All of this, it''s a dream, isn''t it? An illusion?"

    "Wha¡­ Darling, what on earth are you saying?" My wife''s voice wasced with concern as she firmly clutched my shoulders, while our daughter started crying in the background.

    Amidst her echoing wails, our daughter tugged at my shirt sleeve, her tiny fingers desperately seeking my attention. "Papa! Papa, please don''t cry!"

    It was hard, but once again I ignored their desperate presence and ironed my resolve.

    Summoning all my strength, I roared, "I know who I am! I am Lucas Morningstar, second-born of Reynold and Yennefer Morningstar!"

    After a pause, I added, "So enough of these games. Show yourself right this instance, you foolish bloodsucker!"

    In an instant, the world around me turned still.

    The whimpering cries of my daughter and the worry etched on my wife''s face froze, as though they were lifeless mannequins.

    Time itself appeared to havee to an abrupt halt as a thunderous voice echoed throughout the world, almost shattering my eardrums, saying:

    "Why?! Why couldn''t you simply ept the peace I offered?! Seven long years! You''ve spent seven years in this life, and still you refuse to let go?! Surrender, and I shall grant your every wish! This world can be your utopia! Your paradise!"

    mping my teeth together, I responded with a sardonic smirk.

    My eyes were devoid of any emotions and looked like two dark pools. "This world is not real. Your so-called peace is nothing but an illusion. Your utopia, your paradise is fake!"

    Silence hung in the air before the voice rang out once more, "Very well. I gave you peace, and you rejected it. Brace yourself, for now, you''ve incurred my wrath. Only nightmares shall haunt you now."

 Chapter 300 Breaking The Illusion [1]

    ?300  Breaking The Illusion [1]

    Dream after dreams.

    I was subjected to living in one illusion after another. These intricate nightmares made me go through several lives, each one familiar yet new.

    But it didn''t matter. No matter howyered andplex an illusion was, it didn''t trap me for too long.

    As soon as I remembered my true identity, the dream would shatter, and my death would follow.

    The illusion that held me captive for the longest time was the one where I had almost everything¡ªa caring wife, a lovely daughter, more than enough wealth tost generations, and literally anything else I could''ve asked for.

    It was a perfect life. And that''s why it was the most difficult illusion to break. I was hesitant to leave all that behind.

    Yes, it was a monotonous life¡­ but it was beautiful.

    After that pleasant illusion, I was thrown into harrowing nightmares. Only torment, suffering, and agony followed me in those distressing illusions.

    I became a soldier who watched as a godlike demonic killed myrades and lover right in front of my eyes.

    I became a tactician who was betrayed and killed by my own second-in-

    After that, I saw a world where the long war had ended, but half the worldy in ruins.

    Before we could even start to celebrate, however, an ebony Dragon descended upon our, wreaking unrestrained havoc before killing us as insignificant insects.

    Then, in another illusion, I became a nobleman''s son. I went to a military academy, and there I met a talented young man who sparked my insecurities.

    After all, I was an elite, while he¡ªaplete nobody¡ªsurpassed me in literally everything.

    My one-sided jealousy found its way to him and we turned into bitter enemies over time.

    Eventually, however, I realized that only he alone was capable of saving our war-filled world.

    That''s why, when we found ourselves in a perilous situation, I sacrificed myself to ensure his survival.

    But before my death, I realized that my sacrifice was insignificant and that the world was destined to meet its end anyway.

    We couldn''t stop the Apocalypse¡­

    After that, in the next illusion, I found myself getting squashed by the same giant ebony Dragon once again.

    Then, I was killed by a vampire foot soldier. And then, I tried to battle a Vampire King and met my demise.

    One after another, I was killed over and over again. Yet, the worst part was that I couldn''t move on to the next illusion without experiencing the previous one to its end.

    I realized that my deaths and sacrifices never held any meaning, as the world would inevitablye to an end regardless of my actions.

    Well, at least breaking those illusions wasn''t as difficult as that seven-year one. Remembering myself within that chaos came easily.

    As soon as I remembered myself, I would be killed. Sometimes, I only remembered myself at the brink of death.

    It was a nightmarish loop. However, I never came close to my breaking limit. After a certain point, nothing I saw or experienced affected me anymore.

    The illusions stopped having any impact on my mental state.

    Yes, it was still a grim sight, especially witnessing them consecutively, endlessly watching my loved ones die.

    But something inside me was soon broken.

    Eventually, I stopped living those nightmares and began spectating them as if I were watching a first-person pov movie y out before me.

    I felt disconnected from reality, or whatever that could be called.

    Thest torturous illusion I endured revolved around witnessing my loved ones die before my eyes, yet again for the millionth time.

    Not a flicker of emotion shed on my face as I listened to their agonizing cries. The Vampire Monarch, the cause of all that destruction, took my life along with theirs.

    This time, however, after I died and the darkness of death imed me, I didn''t wake up to live another nightmare.

    Instead, after a while, two shiny eyes resembling bright pools of crimson appeared in the darkness before me.

    Gazing at me with a mixture of contempt, rage, pity, and indignation, the pair of eyes remained suspended in the air.

    After some time, an authoritative voice resonated through the darkness and asked a question:

    "Why? Why can''t you just rest? Haven''t you already endured enough pain? Haven''t you witnessed enough death?! Just stop! I don''t want to hurt you."

    A bitter smile lit up my face as I stared at the brilliant pair of crimson eyes. "I didn''t seed in killing you, did I?"

    I heard a soft, affirmative sigh before a tall, gaunt figure stepped out of the darkness ahead of me. It was the vampire in the red dress from the cafe.

    "When did you trap me in your illusion? I just remember I avoided direct eye contact with you," I asked, my tone indifferent.

    The vampire looked at me with an odd expression.

    In response, she stated, "You were ensnared the very moment you stepped into the cafe."

    Chuckling softly, I nodded. "Ah, I see. I suppose I underestimated your abilities."

    "You certainly did," the vampire agreed. "I had heard quite a bit about you, you know? After the King''s Tournament, you gained a reputation as a genius strategist and once again people started calling you a prodigy."

    After a brief pause, she continued:

    "Naturally, when I saw you, I was more than slightly concerned. But defeating you turned out to be rather easy. However, to double-check, I asked about your n of action, only to find out you had none."

    Amelia had indeed asked me about my n. So, that was an illusion as well?

    "But even after I trapped you in my illusions, your subconscious stubbornly resisted, manifesting itself to remind you that you were in a dream. If only you had surrendered! If only you weren''t so fucking relentless!" The vampire''s words were tinged with frustration.

    Through clenched teeth, she continued, "I made a promise to my beloved that I wouldn''t harm a human. But you¡­ You''re far too dangerous to be left alive. I apologize, hero, but I have no choice but to end your life."

    "''Hero''?" I raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

    "Indeed," the vampire replied, tilting her head back slightly. "Your memories are fragmented. Someone has sealed off your memories using arcane magic. It''s rather ironic that the only individual aware of the truth of the world knows nothing about his own self."

    My forehead creased in confusion as I asked her to exin further, "What do you mean?"

    With a sigh, the vampire borated, "I tried to look into your memories¡­ but I was taken aback by the state of your mind. Those illusions I made you through... they weren''t entirely crafted by me. They were your own memories. I just based my illusions on them."

    What? I practically gaped at her revtion as even my eyes almost bulged out.

    Those dreams¡­ I can''t remember them vividly¡ªthe faces and much of the events are blurry¡ªbut I do have a general sense of their content.

    But they couldn''t be my own memories.

    I never had a wife or a daughter, I never saw so many of my loved ones die like that, and I certainly never experienced multiple deaths myself¡­

    At least not in this timeline.

    The mere existence of Kai was proof enough that there were multiple timelines in this universe. Was it possible that memories from other timelines were also locked away within my mind?

    But why? Why did Lucas have memories from other timelines?

    My bewildered train of thought was only interrupted when the vampire''s voice rang out once more.

    "I was as confused as you are right now. Who would have guessed that you held so much hidden knowledge about this world? Unfortunately, your mental strength is too strong for me to break."

    The confusion on my face turned into a pained grin as I spoke, "So, you''re going to kill me then?"

    It wouldn''t be hard for her to kill me. In the real world, I must bepletely still and vulnerable. In that hypnotic state, she could easily nt her w in my chest and rip my heart out.

    The vampire nodded. "As I''ve told you, I promised to not kill humans. But you have left me no choice. I will have to break my promise. I''m sorry, hero, but you''ll die here along with the girl you''ve brought with yourself."

    "Why her?" I questioned.

    "She¡­ shouldn''t be allowed to live," the vampire shook her head.

    Without asking any more questions, I let out a deep breath and raised my head to look the vampire directly in her eyes.

    After a bit of thought, I said, "You should''ve listened to me."

    The vampire frowned in confusion, not knowing what I meant by that remark at all. "What?"

    The grin widened on my face as I started speaking, "Fine, let''s take the long way."

    Quickly, I followed up with: "You said I left you with no choice. I''ll give you one now. Release me and my friend, surrender your relic to me, leave Wolfshire within a day, and I will spare your life. On that, I give you my word."

    "How very noble of you. Despite knowing the fact that you arepletely helpless and vulnerable in the real world, you want to show me mercy?" The vampire sneered. But her sneer wasn''t filled with contempt, no, it was almost like she was pitying me.

    She added: "In response to your noble, almost delusional, demeanor, I''ll give you a quick, merciful and painless death. On that, I give you my word."

    The grin on my face turned into a one-sided smirk as I cocked my head to the side. "What is your name?"

    The vampire replied proudly. "I''m the daughter of the Setting Sun family of noble vampires. My name is Sofiana."

    As soon as I heard her response, a burst of chuckle escaped my lips. I tried to stifle it but failed entirely.

    Soon, Ipletely lost control and threw my head back before bursting out into full-fledged pitifulughter.

    The vampire was left stunned at my erratic behavior. She tried to speak but received no window in between my wild chuckle.

    After a long, long time, I calmed down and extended an arm. Pointing at the vampire, I spoke with a bitter smile on my face:

    "Setting Sun family, huh? How ironic. It''s almost¡­ fated that you met me. Oh, they''re right. Fate really has a twisted sense of humor."

    I locked my gaze with the confused vampire again and continued, "I see your sun¡­"

    Instantly, I turned the finger I was using to point at Sofiana at our right and finished my sentence:

    "...And I raise you one."

 Chapter 301 Breaking The Illusion [2]

    ?301  Breaking The Illusion [2]

    "I see your sun¡­ and I raise you one."

    Sofiana looked at Lucas with confusion etched onto her grotesque face.

    As the silver-haired boy pointed to their right, she suddenly felt a chill creep down her spine.

    A sense of urgent dread took control of her senses as her vampiric instincts rabidly screamed at her, rming her of some unknown iing danger.

    Instantly, she pulled her consciousness out of Lucas'' mind and returned back to the real world.

    There, she looked around with a sense of veiled panic hidden deep in her crimson eyes.

    It only took her a split second to take in her surroundings and scan for any underlying danger.

    But no matter how cautiously she looked, Sofiana found nothing that could pose her any harm.

    But then why were her instincts in such an anxious state? Something here was so out of ce¡­ so wrong¡­ but what was it?!

    The cafe looked just how it was a few minutes ago, with everyone sitting quietly in their chairs, their pale faces wearing a lost expression.

    Their eyes resembled ck puddles, void of any light and emotion.

    All of them were entranced by Sofiana''s illusions. All of them sat in silence, eating their food without a word. Among them were Lucas and Amelia were ensnared as well.

    Both of them were defenseless, yet something felt amiss to Sofiana.

    A chilling, almost primordial fear settled deep within her heart. She didn''t know the source of it, and she didn''t want to find out either.

    She realized one thing, however ¡ª Her survival depended on it. She understood that she had to swiftly kill both Lucas and Amelia.

    In an instant, Sofiana stood before Lucas and Amelia''s table, her long obsidian nails gleaming with intent.

    She threw her w forward, aiming to rip Lucas''s heart out.

    But before her w could inch anywhere near the silver-haired boy, a radiant white light entered through the cafe window on her right.

    As the cafe''s temperature rose, the unknown, unsettling feeling in Sofiana''s heart dangerously intensified.

    She turned her head around to look at the window and saw a sphere of zing silver mes hurtling toward her, looking like a miniature sun more than a fireball cast by a magic spell.

    Before she could react, however, the ball of incinerating silver mes crashed through the window with explosive speed and hit Sofiana squarely in the chest.

    "Khuaak!" Sofiana coughed a mouthful of blood as she felt the congrating mes burning a hole in her chest.

    She had no time to cast magic and no means of defending herself at this point.

    Was this her end? Was this how she would die? But how? That Morningstar brat! Did he cast a spell before being trapped in her illusions?!

    No, that would be impossible. People below the tinum rank could not control their magic with such precision.

    So then¡­ how?!

    Thinking that, Sofiana looked down at the sphere of zing silver mes and saw a sight that left her agape.

    Shrouded beneath the halo of blinding silver mes was a mythical bird with red and silver feathers adorning her build.

    Its bright, scarlet eyes were aze with fury and its long, sharp golden beak was impaling Sofiana''s chest.

    Ahh, so that''s how it was.

    Although Sofiana saw Lucas'' memories, she didn''t go look at the recent ones. After all, in his head, much more arcane and mysterious secrets were hidden.

    So naturally, she decided to focus on them. She got to learn about the things she didn''t even know were possible let alone existed, hidden in in sight.

    This world¡­ was much moreplex and mysterious than she thought.

    But perhaps, she should''ve focused on the much more immediate task. She should''ve searched through Lucas'' recent memories and made sure he didn''t have a hidden ace up his sleeve.

    If only she had done that, she would''ve seen that Lucas ordered Sera to jump in and deliver a final blow to the vampire while she would have her guard down.

    Well, to be really honest, it wouldn''t have made much of a difference because Sera was ready for that scenario.

    She would''ve attacked had Sofiana discovered their n. With her speed, the phoenix would''ve killed the vampire before thetter could''ve done anything to avoid her demise.

    In a way, her fate was already set in stone the moment she refused Lucas'' offer of mercy and peace.

    But she didn''t know that. In her mind, she made a mistake ¨C a blunder that caused her life.

    Right, they do say that curiosity killed the cat.

    As that thought shed through her mind, Sofiana stumbled back and the zing ball of silver mes pierced right through her chest, erupting from the other side of her body.

    The ring silver mes around Sera soon diminished beforepletely dying out as she soared toward the ceiling andnded on a modern-styled chandelier there.

    Trapped in her beak was a thumping chunk of bloody flesh¡­ A heart! It was a beating heart!

    Blood gushed out from its severed veins each time it beat, yet instead of showing any sense of revolution, Sera just started chewing on it¡­ devouring it.

    Slowly savoring the taste of her first real victory over a vampire, she looked down at Sofiana from above with cold indifference in her eyes.

    Sofiana, on the other hand, staggered and fell onto her knees.

    As she continued to violently cough up blood, she looked at the phoenix above and then turned her gaze to Lucas, who was still trapped in an entranced state.

    But not for long¡­

    Soon, his scarlet eyes fluttered and a glint of light sparked in them. Gasping his mind back from the clutches of the vampire, he took a deep gasp and looked around.

    All around him, patrons were still trapped in intricate illusions designed to keep their minds ensnared and under the control of Sofiana.

    Lucas was the first one to break free as Sofiana struggled to maintain her illusion-casting relic, Enigma Sightstone, active.

    After hepleted scrutinizing his surroundings, Lucas calmed her ragged breathing and stood up from his seat.

    With slow, menacing steps, he walked toward the kneeling vampire and stood before her, towering above her like a god.

    After a bit of reluctance, he said, "You should''ve listened to me."

    These were the same words he had said to her before.

    Sofiana clenched her eyes shut in agony, as her life started to fade away from her grasp like grains of sand. She was dying.

    She could probably try to fight, but there was no point.

    She knew Lucas was capable enough to stall her until she bleeds to death from the gaping wound in her chest.

    Yeah, no matter how she may look at it, this was a checkmate for her. She was the one who underestimated Lucas all this time.

    She lost.

    Using herst few final breaths, Sofiana painfully parted her lips and managed to choke out a few words.

    "Don''t¡­ Don''t trust that girl¡­ She is¡ª"

    Before Sofiana couldplete her sentence, however, an arrow whipped through the air and struck the vampire right in the center of her skull.

    White, gooey brain matter or sticky blood spurted out of her wound, and instantly, the life in her eyes was snuffed out.

    Sofiana was dead.

    Lucas looked over his shoulder in mild confusion. He saw a ck-haired young woman standing a few steps behind him with a war bow grasped in her hands.

    It was obviously Amelia who had shot that killing arrow. She was the second one to break free from the illusions after Lucas.

    As her bright emerald eyes met Lucas'', she asked a single question in a voiceced with concern, "Are you okay?"

    Lucas nodded his head. "You?"

    Amelia nodded back before asking, "Was she saying something?"

    Lucas looked at the corpse of the fallen vampire, her canines fell loose from her mouth and gazed back at Amelia.

    "Yeah," he replied. "But you killed her before I could understand what she was telling me."

    Amelia arched her eyebrows. Scratching the back of her head, she mumbled, "Ahh, I''m sorry."

    Lucas shook his head dismissively. "It''s fine. Anyway, do you have a knife?"

    Amelia walked closer to Lucas and summoned a shortbat dagger before handing it over to Lucas.

    Grabbing it from her hands, Lucas proceeded to do what he had already done once before, albeit in a dream.

    He gouged out Sofiana''s right eye, crushed it, and retrieved a small, intricate violet orb.

    He had finally done it, for real this time.

    He had acquired the Enigma Sightstone!

    Lucas looked at the violet orb with a dark expression deeply etched onto his face.

    Although he didn''t remember most of them, the dreams he saw left a bitter taste in his mouth.

    Noticing his difort, Amelia gently rubbed Lucas'' back and asked, "Was this really the only way?"

    In truth, before entering this cafe, Amelia presented Lucas with a suggestion.

    She told him that they could try to take the vampire inside the cafe by surprise. But Lucas disregarded her suggestion almost instantly.

    In the novel, Nero tried opting for the same tactic. He took Sofiana by surprise but failed to end her in one blow.

    The battle that followed was bloody and chaotic. So many innocent patrons died in its aftermath.

    Lucas doubted that his attempt wouldn''t be much different. Thus, he came up with a foolproof n.

    It involved him and Amelia getting trapped in the vampire''s illusion, giving her a false sense of security.

    And right then, when she would feel that victory was just in her grasp, Sera would chip in and finish the bloodsucker.

    Of course, back then, he didn''t think that the illusions would take such a toll on his mental state.

    However, in the end, no patrons were hurt and the battle ended as quickly as possible.

    Indeed, it was the perfect oue.

    "Yes, this was the only way," Lucas replied.

 Chapter 302 The Wolfs Den [1]

    ?302  The Wolf''s Den [1]

    ===

    Item: Orb

    Rank: Divine

    Name: Enigma Sightstone

    Description: A one-of-a-kind relic, Enigma Sightstone is a testament to the craft of the long-forgotten Gods.

    Forged from the tears of one thousand crying angels, this mysterious pearl offers the user enhanced sight, the power to cast intricate illusions, and look through all kinds of deception so that they could peer into the unknown.

    ===

    After inspecting the Enigma Sightstone, I ced it in the pocket space storage of my dimensional ring that I acquired from the vampire king after killing her.

    After Leo caught me back when he was investigating the unfortunate incident of Silveserine City, I had been more than a little reluctant to put relics or any other object that could lead trails back to me from an event I don''t want to publicly associate myself with inside my smart bracelet.

    That''s why I had been using the storage ring I got from Reina''s corpse after killing her.

    ¡­Haa, remembering that event still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

    I was pulled out of my train of unpleasant thoughts when Amelia, once again, put a hand on my shoulder, pressing on it gently.

    I nced at her over my shoulder. Locking her gaze with me, she questioned:

    "What do you want to do about these people?"

    I cast a quick gaze around and saw people opening their eyes and slowly regaining their consciousness.

    Their previously dark, expressionless eyes lit up and hesitantly disyed a myriad of feelings ranging from mild confusion to utter panic.

    Before they could fully regain control of their mental state, I turned back to look at Amelia and said, "Let''s get out of here. I don''t want to deal with the Military Police and all their useless queries."

    Amelia arched an eyebrow and pointed at several security cameras in the cafe one by one before uttering:

    "Isn''t it toote for that to be your concern now? The cameras had already captured the footage of what happened here¡­ and how you extracted an orb from the vampire''s eye."

    A smug smile tugged on my lips before I responded to her remark, proudly pointing at my face:

    "You see this. I told you this disguise would help me but you called it stupid. I told you to also get one but you refused! Look, Amelia! Look who''sughing now! Oh, karma is indeed real! Now the Military Police would get you to answer their long, useless queries, while Sera and I would be¨C what, why are you smiling like that? Cut it out, it''s giving me the creeps!"

    Just as I was in the middle of my lengthy monologue, Amelia''s smug grin, which very much mirrored mine, caught my attention and I stopped speaking.

    Amelia finally parted her lips and said, "I think you would want to touch your face."

    Frowning, I brought them up to my face and gently traced them around the length of my visage.

    ¡­My mustache ss! It¡­ It was not there!

    My eyes widened at this unwanted surprise as I realized my genius disguise must have slipped and dropped somewhere during all the chaos.

    Ahh, damn it! Without it, the cameras must''ve captured my face in their footage which would allow the Military Police to trace me.

    They would probably ask me about all the useless stuff like what I took out from the vampire''s eye.

    Eventually, they would find a way to seize Enigma Sightstone under their protection so that they couldter just award it to an officer in their ranks.

    Yeah, no, thank you! Even I didn''t get to use it so I was sure as hell not going to let a bunch of fat, corrupt officers snatch it away from me!

    For a split second, I thought about binding it to me. Yes, much like my very first relic, Phoenix''s Embrace, the Enigma Sightstone also binds itself to its user.

    This means, much like my Semi-Divine armor, no one could take the crystal orb away from me.

    However, that would still not solve my problem with the Military Police. They would still hold me, this time under suspicion.

    Nah, that would be uneptable.

    Thinking that, I brought up my smart bracelet and asked Athena to call Kai.

    After my call connected, a deep, raspy voice sounded from the other side of the line.

    [...Hey!]

    "What''s up, my guy!" I asked, forcing a warm smile even though he couldn''t see it.

    [Instructor Matterhorn¡­ That madman is still training us like rabid dogs! Kill him! I will kill him! ¡­Anyway, what do you want?] Kai replied.

    Jeez, calm down, Kai. Killing someone just because they''re harshly training you is a bit insane, even for me. Heh.

    Commenting that in my mind, I asked, "What do I want, you say? Can''t I just call my best buddy in the world, after Kent, without any need?"

    Kai remained silent for a while before answering, [...Anyway, what do you want, Morningstar?]

    Damn, we''re going on thest-name basis now, huh?!

    Sighing, I quickly got on topic.

    "Yeah, so, I''m in this cafe. I''ll send you my location. I killed a hot vampire here. I''ll tell you the rest of the detailster."

    Catching my breath, I continued:

    "Remember you told me you have a tech-genius under you, I want you to ask them to remotely erase all the security camera footage in my locality. Also, erase anything relevant that could potentially trace the Military Police back to me."

    Kai remained silent for even longer this time before he warily posed a question:

    [Just what the hell did you do¡ªYou know what, I don''t even want to know. Your work will be done soon but I would advise you to avoid these kinds of situations. I mean, you do know we are supposed to be a covert organ¡ª]

    Before Kai could continue, I chipped in. "Kai, you''re on speaker."

    This time, Kai was silent for a dreadfully long amount of time before he finally spoke:

    [See you soon.]

    And ended the call.

    Amelia''s curious voice reached my ears next.

    "That was Kai? You two really became such close friends, huh? I mean, it was kind of obvious after the match between the two of you at the King''s Tournament, but I couldn''t have guessed you two were buddies now."

    I squinted my eyes before shaking my head.

    "No, we both are just allies. Kind of close allies. That''s it. Nothing more."

    Amelia shot me a dubious nce and said, "Right¡­"

    ?

    We managed to scurry away from the cafe unnoticed before all the patrons could fullye to their senses.

    Right now, all of them must be in a state ofplete panic. dly, we managed to somehow avoid getting stuck there.

    By the time the Military Police would eventually make it there, Kai would have already erased the footage from all the security cameras in that locality.

    Now I don''t know how the Military Police would react to this situation, but I couldn''t care less about it.

    I got myself the Divine-ranked relic I had been wanting to get my hands on from the start of my transmigration, and that''s everything I need.

    Right now, we were walking down the street leading to the heart of the Wolfshire.

    I thought about taking a cab, but for some reason, walking around in this city felt so relieving.

    Even though I couldn''t remember a thing about these streets, this ce felt like a long-lost home to me for some reason.

    Sera soared the skies above us, looking down at the bustling city in all its evening glory.

    As the sun settled behind the horizon, painting the sky with an orange glow, Amelia turned to me and asked a question:

    "Why were you so determined to have that relic anyway? I mean, there are many powerful relics capable of weaving illusions, aren''t there?"

    I shook my head. A smile tugged on my lips as I said, "None of them are as strong as this one."

    In the novel, Nero possessed the Enigma Sightstone. He acquired it after killing Sofiana.

    Until the day he lost his eye to Quinn, and lost Enigma Sightstone with it, Nero used this relic to win countless fights and dominate numerous enemies with a single nce by obliterating their minds.

    He was a menace. Well, he had always been a menace, even after he lost his eye against Quinn. But he was especially fearsome when he possessed Enigma Sightstone.

    But what I meant to say was¡­ Divine rank relics are one-of-a-kind powerful artifacts.

    There are only a handful of them in this world and most of them were created by old legends or forgotten divine beings.

    There is no way I could ever find anything elseparable to Enigma Sightstone.

    Amelia lingered for a few moments before remarking, "Well, if you believe it was worth risking your life for, then it must''ve been. So, what''s your n now?"

    I pondered her question for a short period of time before responding, "I''ll head to my family mansion, begin my search there, and seek out any clues."

    "Alright, I''m going to head home and¡­ enjoy my break. But if you find anything, feel free to call me. I''ll be in the city for a few days."

    I narrowed my eyes at Amelia. Here I was struggling to unravel the mystery behind my fragmented memories, and she was ready to enjoy her break!

    Nah, no way! I won''t let her off the hook so easily! As soon as I find a clue worth investigating, I will put her to work!

    With that thought in mind, after around thirty minutes, we arrived in front of an expansive estate.

    Giant obsidian gates barred our path of entry, and numerous guards d in military uniforms patrolled the area surrounding the property.

    Amelia said her farewells and headed home, while I gazed at the property before me.

    Even from beyond the gates and perimeter guards, I caught a glimpse of the roof of a magnificent mansion.

    Haaa¡­

    ¡­It was time for me to step into the Wolf''s Den.

 Chapter 303 The Wolfs Den [2]

    ?303  The Wolf''s Den [2]

    ¨C"Lu¨CLucas?! Look, is that young master Lucas?!"

    ¨C"No way! T-That''s impossible! Why did he return here after what happened thest time?!"

    ¨C"Well, I''ll be damned¡­ So, what should we do? Turn him away from the gates?"

    ¨C"Idiot, he doesn''t have any noble titles but he still has Morningstar in his name, doesn''t he?! We don''t have the authority to turn away the General''s son."

    ¨C"The son that the General himself disowned, though."

    ¨C"He didn''t strip away his family name, did he?"

    ¨C"But he banished him from the Western Continent."

    ¨C"Stop, you two. He''s here."

    Seeing my approach, three guards banded together and started whispering to each other, throwing furtive nces at me.

    As I drew closer to the gates, they stopped muttering and turned to face me, feigning as if this was the first time they noticed my presence.

    "Oh, young master Lucas¡­ No, wait, I guess it''s cadet Lucas now. Apologies, it''s a bit confusing to address you properly after¡­ you know," one of the senior guards in the military uniform spoke to me with a bright smile on his face.

    The military uniform these soldiers wore had the Morningstar family''s insignia on their shoulders.

    For a moment, I nearly felt relieved that Sera was not here.

    She was soaring freely in the open skies, as otherwise, she might have just tried to nab those shiny emblems.

    These insignia represented their status as part of the Western Continent''s troops under my father''smand.

    Each of the Four Ruling Families has an elite military division ced under their directmand.

    However, not all Ruling Families could independently move their troops for military operations without the permission of the Central Government.

    Yes, there are specific scenarios in which the Ruling Families could assume fullmand of the troops under them.

    For example, if their Continent came under an unexpected attack from the vampire forces.

    However, if the Overlord of the Continent¡ªthe head of the Ruling Family¡ªheld the military title of General or a higher rank, they were free to move the troops under theirmand as they saw fit.

    They couldn''t, however, march their troops to the Central Continent or engage in any questionable military operations in civilian areas.

    Well, in any case, noticing my silent response, one of the other guards standing before me arched an eyebrow and whistled in surprise.

    "Would you look at that, I guess the rumors were right. The brat has changed," he remarked.

    The third guard standing there smacked him on the elbow, gesturing for him to shut his bbing mouth.

    I merely gave him a short nce and then turned my attention back to the first guard who spoke to me.

    It was not like I couldn''t do anything to get back at him, it was just that dealing with such insects would be beneath me.

    That''s right. As one of the apparent three heroes, I must maintain a sense of nobility and decorum.

    Wow, did I somehow sound even more narcissistic than I usually do? This whole prophecies thing must''ve been getting to my head.

    Internally shaking my head, I locked my gaze with the first guard and spoke, "Clearway, I wish to head inside the Den."

    "I''m afraid that''s not quite possible at the moment, cadet. Youngdy Yelena hasn''t returned from the academy yet while both, Master and Mistress, aren''t home. If we let you inside without their permission, we might face a punishment."

    I looked at the guard with a deadpan expression before a slight smirk appeared on my face.

    After a few seconds, I parted my lips to speak in a calm, indifferent tone:

    "Is that so? Now just imagine what would happen if I break in with all of you here. If that happens, it would lead to much, much harsher punishment, no?"

    The smile disappeared from the guard''s face who had been conversing with me as all the other soldiers present there also turned serious.

    "You think you can break in while all of us are standing right here? Haa! I was wrong. Maybe the brat hasn''t changed that much," The one to speak first and break the tense silence was the uncaring second guard who remarked about me before.

    The smirk on my lips widened until it practically turned into a bright grin before eventually vanishing and leaving nothing but a callous look behind on my face.

    "Don''t worry, if you keep standing in my way¡­ then you won''t be standing for long, soldiers."

    "How dare¨C"

    Before the insects could continue their chirping, I took a single step forward, unloading my bloodlust in all directions.

    Suddenly, an oppressive pressure descended upon the shoulders of every military guard present here, threatening to crush them where they stood.

    Their feet felt anchored to the ground as the temperature around them began to surge dangerously.

    It was as if the very sun itself had drawn nearer to the, burning their lungs and suffocating them with its searing heat.

    "Not a bad trick, huh?" I chuckled with amusement in my voice. "I learned it from my sister. Well, actually, it was my Master who taught me, but it looked pretty cool when Yelena used it, so I had to learn it too."

    I know I had just talked about decorum and nobility, but who doesn''t enjoy a bit of face-pping from time to time, am I right?

    "Gather yourselves! It''s just killing intent!" One of the three guards standing directly in front of me shouted to hisrades.

    Yeah, I had to admit, even if these soldiers were just side characters, they were all seasoned warriors¡­ real soldiers.

    Most of them must have experienced real warfare on the border.

    My killing intent, while overwhelming, wouldn''t do much harm to them. It did take them by surprise, so that was fun to watch. Heh.

    Almost as if waiting for me to realize that, one of the soldiers summoned his weapon, and soon, everyone followed suit.

    Suddenly, I was up against several dozen guards with their weapons in hand and armor dding their bodies, nearing me to put me under arrest.

    "Very well," I said with a smile, summoning the Bringer Of Lost mes into my hand.

    They were indeed real soldiers, but so what?

    As long as my opponent''s name didn''t start with Leo and end with Kurogami, I had confidence in my ability to face anyone.

    With that, I tightly gripped my spear, setting it aze with brilliant crimson mes as I stepped forward to face the approaching soldiers.

    However, just as our weapons were about to sh, the spells we had cast to enhance our bodies and weapons somehow just¡­ dissipated?

    Dismissed?

    Our magic vanished!

    It felt as if the very mana around us had been drained away by some unseen, unnatural force.

    Any mana I tried to channel from my body to cast spells or enhance my abilities was also quickly absorbed by this invisible force.

    The other soldiers were suffering from the same phenomenon, but unlike me, they didn''t look confused.

    If anything, they seemed frightened¡­ like sheep in the presence of a wolf.

    In the next instant, an authoritative voice boomed through the area, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present.

    "Cease this nonsense immediately!"

 Chapter 304 The Wolfs Den [3]

    ?304  The Wolf''s Den [3]

    I whipped my head around to look at the source of the voice, but what met my gaze left my eyes widened in shock.

    Beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead, my brows quivered in nervousness, and my heart mmed against my ribs like a wild beast.

    Before me stood a young man with an aura of darkness that seemed to emanate from his very being.

    His golden hair hung down like molten strands, falling around his angr face, which had a cruel, twisted smile.

    But what truly struck ufort into my heart were his eyes ¨C shining orbs of pure malevolence.

    His eyes were the same as mine, a vivid shade of crimson, but he seemed to pierce through one''s soul.

    In those gleaming red eyes, one could see a hunger for power and a merciless cunning.

    My instincts told me to run¡­ It was a feeling I was experiencing after a long, long time, yet it was something I was very familiar with.

    It was fear.

    However, this fear wasn''t mine. It was an alien feeling that was being forced onto me by the previous owner of this body.

    These instincts weren''t mine, they actually belonged to Lucas.

    Oveing the forced sensation of dread, I forced my heart to calm down and locked my gaze on the golden-haired boy in front of me.

    "Adel," I forced a one-sided smile and spoke through gritted teeth, barely keeping my emotions in check.

    Yes, the young man before me was none other than Lucas'' younger twin brother, Adel Morningstar.

    After long years of living in Lucas'' shadow, Adel changed when they both awakened their mana codes.

    Adel made his life hell after Lucas acquired a lower-ranked potential than him. He did anything and everything to inflict as much mental and physical pain as possible on Lucas.

    Not a day went by without Lucas returning home with bruises covering his face and body, the marks of his own brother''s cruelty.

    Adel never hurt him himself, as if he was above such things. Instead, he just put his goons up to the task. And his underlings were more than happy to oblige.

    After all, who wouldn''t want to relish the chance to put a smug, know-it-all brat in his ce?

    Everyone wanted a piece of the fallen genius. Everyone looked forward to seeing the prodigy fail.

    Remembering all that, the slipping fear in my heart turned into seething rage. But I acted wisely and forced myself to calm down again.

    I was only here to investigate. It wouldn''t do me any good if I killed my twin brother here, would it?

    "Lucas," Adel sneered.

    Retracting his aura, he walked up to me and stood face-to-face.

    We were roughly around the same height, but it clearly felt like he was looking down on me as if basking in the sense of his own superiority.

    After assessing me with a measuring gaze, Adel remarked, "You have grown stronger. Are you finally taking your training a little seriously again? Though, why bother? No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to match my potential. Why try at all? And besides¨C"

    "Look, little brother," I interrupted Adel mid-sentence and hurriedly tapped his shoulder. "I would have enjoyed indulging in your taunts, but I''m only in the city for a few days. I need you to grant me entry to the Den."

    Adel was naturally a bit taken aback by my sudden request. Clearly, he didn''t expect this to happen.

    After recovering from his startled state, Adel began to speak in a toneced with venom, "Why would I do anything for you? Father banished you from the mansion. Hell, you shouldn''t even havee to show your face in the West. And not to mention¨C"

    Adel abruptly stopped speaking as his mind suddenly wandered off to somece else. He lingered for a few moments before his lips pursed up into a wicked smile.

    His eyes gleamed with a cold, deadly glint as he continued, "You know what? Fine, I will permit your entry. But should Father decide on an even harsher punishment for you this time, like stripping our family name from your unworthy self, don''t me me for it... big brother."

    I suppressed a scoff from escaping my lips. Of course, that''s what he would want¨C for Father to strip away our family name from me.

    I didn''t have any particr problem with it, but the name Morningstar had kind of started to grow on me.

    But it wasn''t something I was unwilling to sacrifice. In fact, I could think of an even cooler surname if they take it away.

    Yeah, yeah, totally!

    Taking my silence as an answer, Adel smirked and turned around to walk in through the gates.

    It was only now that I noticed the white and red uniform he was wearing. It must be the Ethereal Academy''s uniform.

    So he came here straight from the academy without even changing, huh?

    "Step away," Adel looked at the guards andmanded in a low, irritated tone.

    The guards moved away, making way for the future head of the family to enter the Wolf''s Den.

    As soon as Adel stepped closer to the premises of the expansive estate, the giant obsidian gates swung in to reveal the Morningstar family mansion.

    The ce was a blend of futuristic splendor and modern architecture with a touch of fantasy.

    Amidst a huge lush circrwn stood a towering mansion, its outer walls gently shimmered with crystalline panels, akin to dragon scales, and ancient elven-style turrets adorned the roofline.

    Adel stepped in through the gates first, and I soon followed behind.

    As soon as we passed through the gates, two huge canines, bearing a striking resemnce to dire wolves, rushed at us from somewhere within the lushwn and leaped at Adel.

    Yes, they looked like the extinct species, dire wolves, but their fur was dyed in the lightest shade of azure.

    "Ahha! You two have grown, Luna, Solis!" Adel staggered back slightly from the impact of the two giant wolves jumping on him like that, but he managed to stay on his feet.

    He gently ruffled their fur and lovingly caressed their necks before shooting me a smug look.

    There was a reason behind that look. The thing is, all Morningstar children are asked to tame a Wind Wolf.

    Solis, one of the wolves Adel was currently petting, used to belong to Lucas until he was deemed unworthy of taming a Wind Wolf by his father.

    It was the right decision since the Wind Wolves are formidable mana beasts. They would never submit to a weak master. Yet, the day they took his pet cub from him remained one of Lucas'' most painful memories.

    Seeing Adel smugly pet Solis ignited something within me. I had an overwhelming urge to punch this guy.

    Haaa¡­

    Whatever, I have a Phoenix now anyway! Haa!

 Chapter 305 Binding

    ?305  Binding

    I went ahead and entered the mansion first. I had a few recollections of this ce, so I knew where I was going.

    More than memories, it felt like I was driven by instincts. I knew just where to go even though technically I had never been here.

    As I headed to my room, I passed several whispering and gossiping butlers and servants along the way.

    Naturally, all of them were confused.

    Some even wanted to stop me and ask me to get out of here before their lords returned, but none of them dared to carry on with their foolish thoughts.

    After ascending a spiral staircase and walking down a uselessly long,vish hall, I arrived in front of a particr room.

    Taking a deep breath, I twisted the doorknob and swung open the door, entering the room.

    It was a huge room, almost twice as big as my current dormitory apartment in the Global City.

    Opulent and luxuriant were the two words that popped into my head at the first sight of my room.

    Luxurious items like custom furniture, modern art pieces, all kinds of high-

    end state-of-the-art electronics, regal carpets and rugs, and things like that filled the room.

    However, the one thing that caught my attention the most was an enormous silver mirror with all kinds of precious stones like diamonds and rubies embedded in its frame.

    The ornate mirror was set in the middle of the room, taking almost one-third of the space in the room.

    "Damn, he really was obsessed with his appearance."

    Well, to be fair, I''m obsessed with this appearance too. How could anyone not be¨C Ahh, no, focus.

    Shaking my head, I walked up to a window and leaned back on the wall.

    The front sidewn view was clearly visible from my room. I could see Adel there, still with his wolves.

    Looking up through the ss, I saw a ck dot circling around the mansion in the vast, clear blue sky.

    It was Sera. Should I call her down?

    After thinking about it for a while, I decided to leave her for now. After all, I had something I had to do first.

    With an exasperated sigh, I strolled over to the giant silver mirror standing in the very middle of the room.

    "Damn it," I cursed.

    The reason I cursed was that I had finally decided that it was time to bind Enigma Sightstone to me.

    ¡­And it was going to be very painful.

    I don''t like pain.

    Releasing another sigh, I summoned a knife that I stole¨C that I took from Amelia and raised it up.

    Slowly, I brought it to my left eye and tightly clutched the helm of the knife, sping it in a firm grip.

    The only way to bind the relic to me was to rend my eye and stuff the violet crystal orb in ce of my iris.

    The relic would then heal my eye, and grant me supernatural sight along with the powers to thrall someone with a single nce.

    Gritting my teeth, I positioned the tip of the knife right in front of my left iris and gradually started drawing the knife closer.

    I felt a chill crawl under my skin as the tip of the knife began to get bigger and bigger in my vision with each passing second¡­

    ¡­Until it was almost about to touch my eye!

    "Arghakaaa!"

    The moment the knife made contact with my eyelid, I screamed like an elementary school girl and pulled the knife back.

    "Gaaah," gritting my teeth, I took in the fact that I was just about to rip my eye open.

    Through deep breaths, I calmed myself down a little.

    Ah, why am I scared? It''s just a stab¡­ a stab in the eye. I had been stabbed plenty of times before. Hell, I had been bashed, shed, and stabbed together.

    Right, this shouldn''t scare me.

    Taking a few more deep breaths, I brought the knife close to my left eye again.

    But just like before, when the knife brushed against my eyshes, my mind involuntarily pulled my hands back.

    "Ahh,e on!"

    Grunting, I threw my head back and cursed a few times. Why is inflicting a wound on myself so hard?

    I mean, I know the biological reasoning behind it, but I''ve sustained far worsecerations! Hell, I''ve even been shot to death once!

    "So then why is my body scared of a small injury that''ll heal instantly?!"

    Voicing my irritation again, I clicked my tongue. Once again drawing a few deep breaths, I started to iron my resolve.

    Come on.

    You''ve fought a former Vampire King.

    You''ve dueled the fated Protagonist of this world to almost a tie.

    You''ve killed so many high-vampires.

    You''ve got every talented cadet in your academy working under you.

    They call you the Fallen Angel. Well, what''s a little pain an angel, right?

    "Right."

    So, get that knife and stab it right through your iris. Do not hesitate, okay?

    "Okay," I nodded and gripped the knife tighter in my hand. But this time, instead of taking my time, I brought it to my eye and pierced it in one fluid motion.

    ¡ªKach

    "Anghh!"

    I bit down on my lower lip in order to desperately stifle the excruciating scream that threatened to escape my mouth.

    Soon, the metallic tang of blood assaulted the taste buds on my tongue as my teeth sank into the tender flesh.

    A soft mewl still managed to escape me. In the mirror, I saw blood gushing out my left eye, coursing down my cheek as if I were crying tears of crimson.

    Some of it was smeared across the silver mirror in front of me in which I saw my face was contorted in unsightly agony, my teeth still digging into my flesh, letting the blood drip out from my lips too.

    Ahh, yes, it was a mess, to say the least.

    The knife was still plunged into my eyes and I didn''t have the resolve to take it out. In fact, I didn''t even know how I was standing.

    By all logic, I should''ve crumpled down on my knees after being subjected to this level of intense pain.

    But somehow, I managed to not gracelessly fall back first onto the ground and start wailing like a scolded child.

    What are you doing, fool? Pull it out!

    Pull it out and ce the relic there!

    "I''m trying! Gaaah!"

    Talking with myself ¨C or rather cursing myself ¨C I mustered my remaining strength and pulled on the knife that was still nted in my left eye, practically jerking it out.

    "Arghhhaa!"

    Screaming this time, I fell down to my knees and started hitting the ground in pain, practically crying.

    It''s fine, it''s okay! The worst¡­ the worst is over! Well¡­ for the most part¡­.

    Telling myself that over and over again like reciting some sort of a mantra, I ignored the scarlet blood trickling from my eye - or at least what remained of it - onto the luxurious, furnished carpet below, staining it in a revolting patch of crimson.

    I resisted the urge to summon the Silver mes and heal myself right here and now, since my task was still unfinished, and doing so would mean experiencing this entire harrowing ordeal from the start once again.

    Through mybored breath and pained whimpers, I once again gathered what little strength I had left in my body to move my arm.

    In the very next moment, I channeled mana into my dimensional storage ring and summoned a violet mystical marble in my hand, its surface adorned with intricate patterns so bewitching that one could lose their mind if they stared at it for too long.

    Gasping, I left my mind nk and brought the violet orb to my injured eye¡­ then inserted it into the gaping wound!

    "Arghhha! Arghahahaha! Ahahaha!"

    I didn''t get it in on the first try, so I had to try again.

    When I finally seeded, the excruciating sensation of the tiny marble stretching the tear in my eye was so intense that I just wanted to cry.

    By now, there was a puddle of crimson beneath me on the carpet.

    But finally, the organ-rending pain that had numbed all my other senses finally started to diminish a little.

    Slowly, after I sessfully inserted the Enigma Sightstone in my eye, the open wound quickly started to heal.

    Gods, finally¡­

    Through relieved pants, a slight chuckle escaped my lips. Finally, it was over.

    To be honest, inflicting a wound wasn''t that painful¡­ The expectation of iing pain was just fear-inducing.

    A smile appeared on my face as my vision finally returned to my left eye and the pain fully subsided.

    "Haaa~" letting out afortable sigh, I staggered back and exhaustedly reposed on the bed.

    Shaking my head, I missed, "Gods, why couldn''t binding it have been as simple as when I binder Phoenix''s Embrace to me?"

    I mean, I literally just had to enter the mouth of a talking tree and touch a glowing orb to bind Phoenix''s Embrace to me.

    It was thatsimple.

    Scoffing, I threw my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes. I wanted to test out my new relic and the enhanced sight it had granted me, but I was extremely lethargic.

    I had to sleep first.

    I didn''t even know when my tired mind let go of my consciousness, and I slipped into the embrace of sweet slumber.

    ¡­But when I woke up, I wasn''t in my room.

    I was in heaven¡­

    Standing before a God.

 Chapter 306 The God Of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, And Existence [1]

    ?306  The God Of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, And Existence [1]

    After long,fortable hours of peaceful slumber, I decided it was finally time to wake up.

    I rubbed my eyes, waking up from my sleep, but to my astonishment¡­ I wasn''t in my room!

    I wasn''t in my bed!

    I blinked my hazy eyes and looked around with an iprehensible gaze. Very soon, a confused frown was strewn across my face.

    Instead of myfortable, king-sized bed, I found myself standing in an open castle hall with nothing but a vast blue sky above me.

    Perplexed, I opened my eyes wide as the vestige of sleep disappeared from my tired mind, and I took in my surroundings.

    Giant white marble pirs were erect all around me, bearing intricate patterns engraved in pure gold.

    Books¡ªcountless books¡ªfilled the space, neatly arranged invish bookshelves that adorned this giant castle hall.

    For a moment, I entertained the thought that I had somehow sleepwalked into the Morningstar family''s library.

    However, that was just the remnants of my sleep and nascent shock clouding the logical part of my brain.

    The thing is, this library, or whatever it was, was too huge to be the Morningstar mansion. This hall stretched as far as my eyes were able to see.

    Moreover, above me was a vast blue sky, when it should have been night or at least evening by now.

    Yeah, I had to face the truth¡ªI was definitely not home.

    So, the pressing question remained: Where was I?

    Just as that thought crossed my mind, a voice rang in my ears, causing me to turn around.

    "Wee, Lucas Morningstar."

    Startled by the sudden noise, I spun on my feet and saw a graceful silhouette seated atop an immense, high-rise throne that seemed to pierce the heavens.

    The being''s appearance defied logic.

    His figure was enveloped in a halo of divine radiance and unholy darkness ¨C an aura that seemed like a mixture of both profane and pure.

    It was a being that ignited a myriad of feelings in my heart just from a nce¡­ everything ranging from reverence to fear surged forth and I staggered back.

    His skin shimmered with an ethereal luminescence, reminiscent of the soft glow of twilight.

    With each breath he took, the air around us hummed with an otherworldly energy, carrying a subtle fragrance of unknown blossoms.

    His eyes, deep and enigmatic, held a wisdom that hinted at secrets far beyond what my mortal mind could everprehend.

    The silhouette was cloaked in robes that shifted between iridescent shades. He also wore a crown adorned with symbols I did not understand.

    His hair cascaded like liquid silver, flowing in intricate patterns that seemed to have a life of their own.

    When he spoke again, his voice resonated through the space around us, its melody both soothing and unsettling, pleasing and revolting, correct and wrong, beautiful and terrifying¡­.

    Unholy and divine¡­

    "Wee," he whispered, his words carrying a weight I couldn''t fathom. "You wouldn''t believe how long it has been since I had visitors."

    I didn''t listen to his words. I couldn''t. My mind was too upied withprehending the full scope of this being''s existence.

    I had never seen a God. I''ve seen mortals who were so strong that they were called Gods, like my Master, but never an actual God-like existence.

    Yet, I didn''t need anyone to point out that what I was seeing before me was indeed a God, or at least the closest thing to one.

    The radiant and dark halo around the being disappeared, finally making the vision of his visage clear.

    And as soon as that happened, my eyes widened even more. Tha¨C That man¡­ God¡­ or whatever! I¨C I knew him!

    The only difference was that thest time I saw him, he waspletely and utterly unassuming in each and every way.

    Ordinary¡­ He was ordinary in every regard.

    Now, however¡­ It felt like now was the first time I actually looked at him. As if, his radiance was hidden in in sight from me thest time I saw him.

    Finally, I managed to find some words and choke out a single word. "Joe?"

    "Thank heavens," the God-like beingughed from atop his throne.

    Shifting and crossing his legs, he spoke again, "For a second, I thought you had forgotten the man who graced you with a transmigration chance."

    I scoffed as a mocking chuckle escaped my lips despite my best efforts to stay silent.

    "Graced me? You killed me! You shot me to death with a gun!" I refused. "And then dumped me in the body of a side-viin! Not even the protagonist!"

    "Oh, I think you''re selling yourself short. I believe everyone is the protagonist of their own story," Joe waved his hand with a dismissive smile.

    "Is that so? Is that what you think? Then why give so many cheat abilities and plot armor to the protagonist?!" I yelled back.

    The God-like being before me stayed silent for a few seconds before replying, "Okay, I guess that''s a fair point. But I gave you a cheat too, didn''t I?"

    "That''s not the point!" I spoke through gritted teeth. I stayed silent for a while, looking around, then asked in a calm voice, "Where am I?"

    Joe smiled at my question, lingering for a few seconds before getting up from his throne and saying:

    "You are behind Heaven''s Gate. Rejoice, mortal. For you are the first of your kind to step into Arcadia, the Land of Gods, while still alive."

    "Arcadia?" I frowned.

    Noticing the look of confusion on my face, Joe began to exin:

    "It''s the name of this realm. There are many realms in this world. Some belong to Gods, and some don''t. Arcadia is the realm where Gods were created."

    Created? The frown on my face grew deeper upon hearing that word.

    So not only were the Gods real, as I had suspected, but they weren''t born. They were¡­ created into existence?

    But then¡­ who was powerful enough to create Gods, who themselves were said to be the creators of everything ording to the Elves?

    As if reading my mind, Joe spoke, "That is not important right now. You will soon get to learn everything, anyway."

    I craned my neck up and looked at the being standing there on a high-rise throne. I stayed silent for a few seconds before finally speaking:

    "So you were indeed a God, just like I thought."

    "Yes," Joe gracefully nodded in reply. "My real name is Joeveirian. I am one of the fewst remaining TrueGods and the first son of the Primordials, Order and Chaos."

    After a brief, dramatic pause, he continued: "I''m the God of knowledge, wisdom, fate, and existence. The sole King of Arcadia."

    I looked at Joe¨C Joeveirian with a deadpan expression for a few long minutes before smacking my lips and saying, "So you''re a big shot, is what you''re telling me?"

    The so-called God of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, and Existence stared at me for a few seconds before replying in an irritated tone, "Yes, Lucas. I''m a big shot."

    Nodding, I asked, "Okay, so Mr. Big Shot, why am I in heaven? Surely, I am not dead yet, am I?"

    "You are not dead," Joeveirian shook his head before whispering in a barely audible tone, "Well, not entirely."

    My ears perked up at that whisper as I yelled, "Huh? What?! What does that mean?!"

    Joeveirian made a guilty expression and said, "Well, mortals can onlye to this ce if they''re chosen by the Gods here. But even then, they had to be dead. Even as the King of the ce, I can''t change the rules of the realm. So I kind of had to kill you in your sleep¡­ just for a few seconds, though. So don''t worry."

    Don''t worry?! Don''t worry, he said!

    I wanted to bark and shout and curse at this man!Throw pebbles at him! Reject one more of his novels from apetition!

    Killing me once wasn''t enough that he had to kill me again!

    But since the man before me was literally a God, I choked down my curses and stayed silent, wearing a forced amicable smile.

    After choosing my next words carefully and weeding out some angry curses that were going to slip in, I asked in a polite tone:

    "Okay, so why did you call me here, O'' King of Gods? Surely, you aren''t suddenly in the mood for catching up, are you?"

    "Catching up," Joeveirian scoffed.

    He pointed to somewhere on the ground before me and said, "I have been observing you ever since. I know all that you''ve been up to. I don''t need to catch up."

    My gaze darted forward to the point where Joeveirian was pointing, and I saw arge, circr pool there. Inside it was a clear puddle of water that reflected the clear blue sky above.

    It wasn''t hard for me to imagine what that pool could do. So he had been keeping an eye on me, huh?

    Well, the Edit Pen''s description did ask me to create changes in the story that would please him. I guessed back then that the him in question was Joe.

    So, of course, he had been watching me from the start.

    Just as I reached that conclusion, Joe spoke up again, "I wanted to talk to you¡­ about the path that you''ve chosen."

 Chapter 307 The God Of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, And Existence [2]

    ?307  The God Of Knowledge, Wisdom, Fate, And Existence [2]

    I waited for a moment before speaking out loud, almost in the same authoritative tone as the God before me, "Well, I also wanted to talk to you. But sure, you go ahead first."

    Joeveirian put his hands elegantly behind his back as he looked down on me from his high-rise position.

    After a bit, he said in a somber tone, "Do you know what you''re even trying to do? You''ve already been warned once. I advise you to get stronger instead of searching for the reason for your fractured memories."

    I sneered before proceeding to answer the man in white robes, "And just like I had disregarded that warning, I''ll ignore your advice too."

    "You don''t know what you''re doing, you foolish mortal! You don''t know what you are trying to awaken!"

    While he clearly used some sharp, grating words, his tone was anything but. To me, he somewhat sounded on edge for some reason.

    A God¡­ scared of something?

    For some primal reason, that thought did not sit right with me so I decided toe right out and ask it.

    "Why? What''s so wrong if I want to know what transpired with Lucas before I came to this world and over his body? Listen, I am not a master of the topics rted to transmigration, but these memories in my head aren''t natural. I can feel it. What am I doing wrong if I want to investigate it?!" I asked.

    "You''re on a path to discover things that should be left untouched. That''s what you are doing wrong. Take my advice, Lucas. Turn away, return to your Master, and try to get as strong as you can before the end of next year. Only I know how much you''ll need the strength you cultivate now, so do not waste this time ying detective," Joe stated in a stern tone.

    "If you''re that worried about my future then you tell me! Just tell me who is the reason for the fractured memories in my head?! Does Lucas have a recollection of his life in other timelines, if so then, why? Tell me did Lucas know someone will take over his body in the future? Is that why he wrote all those journals?!" I inquired.

    Joeveirian massaged his eyebrows before yelling down at me, "If I tell you all that, then what would be the point? In those journals, the original Lucas asked you to stop prying, didn''t he? So at least heed his advice if not mine! Drop this obsession and get stronger."

    I lingered for a moment before replying in an even tone: "I will when you tell me."

    Joeveirian looked at me for a moment.

    He opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally clenching his fists and shouting, "I can''t. I can''t intervene."

    I scoffed at his answer. "Haa! Isn''t it toote for you to say that now? You killed me, twice by the way, threw me into a magical world of your novel, and then gifted me with a golden finger that encourages me to change your plot."

    Joeveirian gritted his teeth and continued to add on his previous statement, "I can''t intervene anymore¨C"

    "Why?!" I yelled.

    "Because even I can''t change the fate I have already weaved," Joeveirian exploded. "Not without destroying my Authorityover it. Fate can''t be changed lightly. You don''t understand the intricateplexity of the Red Threads. Everything is connected in this world. Everyone''s fate affects one another ¨C their births, their lives, their deaths, no matter how insignificant, leaves a mark."

    I stood there still for a couple of seconds.

    Only silence hung in the hall before I finally uttered some words, breaking it.

    "...So, you were the one who weaved it, the Fate of that world, I mean?" I asked.

    Joeveirian didn''t reply immediately. Just like me, he took a couple of seconds before opening his mouth.

    "Yes," he replied in a firm tone. "That and all the other worlds and their inhabitants."

    Joeveirian gestured to all the shelves in this hall, his fingers lingering to point at books in them.

    As I followed his gaze and looked around, Joeveirian said, "I''m the author of worlds, the creator of realms, the preserver of fate and existence¡­ and the destroyer of all."

    "That means the fate that awaits me and the people of the world I live in¡­" I drew in a deep breath.

    Joeveirian nodded in affirmation. "I am to me for it all."

    "...Why?" I asked, trying to at least appear as calm and collected as possible. "Why would you create a hell like that?"

    Joeveirian looked away and said in a straight tone, "You won''t understand even if I tell you right now."

    "I don''t need to understand anything now!" I eximed, finally unchaining my suppressed emotions. "We are living in a hell you created! You''re the reason for our suffering! That''s all I need to know!"

    "Sure," Joeveirian shrugged. "Let''s go with that. Yes, Lucas, I am the cause of all your past, present, and future suffering. What will you do? What can you do?"

    "I will change my fate! I will change the fate of that world!" I dered.

    Listening to my words, Joeveirian burst into a fit ofughter. "You, a mere mortal, will change the fates woven by me?"

    I yelled back, "If you''re not observing me with your eyes closed, you''ll see that I have already achieved much of my goal! I have changed my fate! Quinn is now on my side, and so is Grace! Their fates are already different! I''ll soon have E, Aster, Chase, and all the main characters working for me¡ª"

    Joeveirian chipped in to cut me off before I could finish my sentence. "Ohh! You poor thing. You think you''ve changed their fates, have you? You think you''ve changed your own fate?"

    As a frown appeared on my face, a smile formed on Joeveirian''s lips. He looked at me with a mixture of pity and amusement.

    Just as I was about to ask him to exin himself, the God before me spoke up.

    "You failed to stop Nero from unleashing his Gift before the world, twice. You failed to stop the Massacre of Silveserine. If that wasn''t enough, you also lost your duel with Nero. You may have stopped Quinn from changing sides, but his role is already fulfilled. Liz is mortally injured just like she was supposed to be in the future and Nero has acquired the Seer Of Unknown."

    As Joeveirian''s words dreadfully began to settle in, my first reaction was to try and retort. To tell him that I had still changed a lot of things.

    But in the end, my argument remained stuck in my throat. The reason for that was probably because I knew that whatever I had done wasn''t enough.

    My efforts weren''t enough.

    My results weren''t enough.

    "Fate can''t be broken¡­ not at least without paying a hefty price for it," Joeveirian said. "You can change its course, you can alter a few events, but in the end, fate will arrive all the same."

    "So there is no way to change my fate?" I asked, a hollow feeling slowly nestling in my heart.

    "Of course, there is. Didn''t I tell you already, even fate can be bought with the right price," Joeveirianmented.

    A frown appeared on my face. I had heard that somewhere¡­ Did I once say that?

    My train of thought was suddenly broken when the God before me continued.

    "Of course, whether or not you can pay the price is actually questionable. The easiest way to do so is to kill a divine being."

    "A divine being?" The frown on my face deepened.

    "Yes, generally a divine being''s fate is so massive that killing one of them will impact everything in the world."

    Dropping my head, I looked down and started thinking over Joe''s words. A divine being, he said. Where would I even meet one?

    Joeveirian stopped and lingered for a moment before continuing, "But the fate that you want to change is tooplex and vast for it to be changed by even that. If you want to change your fate, then you''ll have to kill the one who made it."

    My eyes widened as realization dawned upon me. I slowly looked up to face God, who still eyed me from above.

    "Yes, you''ll have to kill me."

    Without a speck of hesitation, I instantly tried to summon my spear. But soon found out that I couldn''t do it.

    Joeveirianughed as he said, "You dared to step into my domain, and try to kill me¡­ here?! No, Lucas. Unfortunately, killing me won''t be easy. If anything, it''s impossible."

    "If that''s the case then why did you bring me to this world?! What is my purpose?!" I yelled out.

    "Purpose? Lucas, this is your punishment. I will watch you, the mortal who insulted my creation, suffer. I will see you try, and make changes to the plot, but fail in the end! In yourst moments¡­"

    Joeveirian abruptly stopped as if he made a mistake and quickly corrected himself, his tone growing ominous and cruel.

    "...Until yourst moment, you''ll entertain me in my solitude. That''ll be your glorious purpose, Lucas. You''ll entertain me with your survival, until the apocalyptic ending I''ve written for you arrives."

    Left devastated by those words of finality, I somehow pushed aside all my rational thoughts and lifted my hand.

    Extending an open palm toward Joe, I uttered a silent chant and cast my fastest and strongest magic spell, [me Lances].

    Without holding anything back, I conjured seven pirs of incinerating blue mes around me.

    As Joeveirian raised an eyebrow, I sent my me Lances hurtling forward at him with a mentalmand.

    In a burst of speed, thences reached the God draped in white robes, exploding upon impact like missiles and sending massive shockwaves rolling throughout the hall.

    High on the throne, it appeared as though a sun had spawned. Brilliant blue mes raged beneath the rising mushroom cloud.

    I had little doubt about whether my magic would work here in the throne room of Arcadia, but since I could feel mana in this ce, I thought about at least giving it a try.

    In the next moment, however, any joy I felt when my spell hit Joe vanished.

    "Nice try¡­"

    A booming, authoritative voice rang out through the world, and the blue mes were instantly snuffed out.

    Joe''s figure became visible once more through the thin plumes of rising ck smoke. Clearly, my strongest spell had no effect on him.

    Joeveirian, like the God he was, continued to look down at me, savoring his apparent superiority as he added, "But it will take you to live through thousands of lifetimes to kill me."

    With that, he flicked a finger in my direction, and the next thing I knew, I was gazing at the vast blue sky above me.

    My entire body was flipped¡ªno, not my whole body¡ªjust my head!

    He... He severed my head!

    Just like when he killed me thest time, thest thing I saw before darkness imed my vision was a vicious grin stered on my killer''s face.

    ?

    As soon as Lucas'' detached head hit the ground and rolled away with a thud, the remnants of his body vanished from this divine realm in a cascade of ethereal light sparks.

    Suddenly, as if awaiting that signal, the God draped in heavenly white robes began to cough up blood and staggered back, copsing onto his throne tiredly.

    "This man will be the death of me."

    Casting Time Reversal and Parallel Timeline Rebirth to transmigrate him had already exacted a great toll on Joeveirian.

    He suspected that now he had just enough life force to endure only a few more years at best.

    The throne of Arcadia would then be without a ruler...

    ...And that meant breaking Heaven''s Gate would be much, much easier.

    "This won''t do," Joeveirian muttered, wiping the smeared blood from the corner of his lips.

    He exhaled deeply before settling backfortably on his throne. After a while, he extended his hands forward and started moving his hands in a st

    range, erratic motion.

    God returned to crafting his grand n, weaving the threads of fates, forging the cosmic destinies... and writing the stories of existence itself.

 Chapter 308 Questions [1]

    Chapter 308 Questions [1]

    "That bastard! Argh! That fucking bastard¨C Ahh! Dammit! Fuck, I''ll kill him!"

    The weather outside was pleasant. Basked in the fervent glow of the moonlight, the urban jungle teemed with life.

    People went out to savor the nightlife of the city to the fullest.

    Meanwhile, the military police were rattled by a particr case centered around a caf¨¦ that, as it happened, was haunted by a vampire until very recently.

    How did the vampire get there?

    Who killed that vampire and how?

    How did the vampire manage to keep her activities hidden until now?

    No one knew the answer to these puzzling questions. There was no evidence, nothing out of the blue, and no security footage either.

    Someone erased everything. But who? No one knew.

    So while the military police struggled to find a lead in their newest case, nobles, too, were busy in their bustling lives.

    Especially those nobles who were in charge of the area where that caf¨¦ was.

    Hardly anyone in this splendid city had the time to pause and admire the full moon gracing the night sky tonight.

    Within this beautiful city, if one were to peek through a particr window of the mansion belonging to the West''s Overlord, the Morningstars, they''d see a young man yelling and wailing, shouting a chain of profanities and course as he pummeled his pillow.

    Like a man possessed, he continued to rain down punches on his pillow until it turned into nothing but tattered fabric and cotton.

    He still didn''t stop punching, however.

    If anyone were to see the crazed glint in the handsomed''s eyes, coupled with the way he drooled while relentlessly punching the remnants of his pillow, they would surelybel him as a deranged lunatic.

    That deranged lunatic... Well, that would be me. Yeah, I was the one cussing and punching my pillow.

    Well, can anyone truly me me?! If they can, they''ve clearly never been killed by the hands of a God not one but three times!

    Yes, for anyone audacious enough to question my crazy behavior, I want them to get shot, killed in their sleep and have their head severed by a divine being.

    "Arghh! Damn, I''m so angry! Arghh, I''ll kill him! Who does he even think he is? I don''t care if he''s a God or anything else! How dare he kill me again"

    After fuming for a long time, and breaking a few items, like some electronics and those ornate gold vases, I finally managed to regain myposure.

    Solemnly, I reflected on myself and surveyed the wreckage in my room.

    Letting out a heavy sigh, I said to myself, "When did I begin smashing things when I got angry? That''s some rich spoiled brat behavior."

    Shaking my head in self-disapproval, I fell back on my opulent bed and nkly stared at the intricately designed ceiling above.

    My mind was still upied with what just happened. So, my theories were true. I was correct.

    Gods do exist. Joe was one of them. He threw me into one of his creations ¨C his world ¨C all because I insulted him.

    A divine retribution.

    ¡­Yeah, no, I''m not buying it for a second.

    A God took offense at the words of a mere mortal like myself. Haa, as if. I''m not foolish enough to believe such a feeble lie.

    Besides, there''s that thing he said before he shot me in my previous life. Though I can''t recall his words clearly, I distinctly remember him uttering something along the lines of:

    "Casting Time Reversal and Parallel Timeline Rebirth will take a toll on my body. I may lose half of my life essence but I''ll make you remember. I''ll make you remember what it''s like being alive."

    Back then, I didn''t focus on his words too much because for me he was just a crazy author holding a gun to my head.

    After my transmigration, I suspected him to be a God of some kind, but I had no clear proof.

    Now I do. Now I could recall each and every word he said and analyze them. For instance, he said he was going to cast Time Reversal.

    Which tells me that this timeline has already ended once. The only reason these people are living again is because the God of Existence reset the timeline.

    "But is this the first time he reset it?"

    I mean, Lucas had memories of alternative timelines, although all of it is currently locked somewhere in my head. Kai has them too.

    What if¡­ instead of alternate timelines, what they remember is just their lives in previous timelines?

    I talked to Kai about it once. He dubbed those timelines where the world was destroyed as Ruined Timelines.

    Regression¡­

    Hmmm.

    After that, Joe also mentioned he''d also be casting Parallel Timeline Rebirth.

    If it means what I think, then the Earth from my previous life was in a different universe.

    This proves another one of my theories. The Multiverse is also real.

    Now finally, the question is: Why?

    Why did Joe kill me and throw me into this world?

    Before he shot me, he looked disappointed that I insulted his story. He didn''t kill the other Editors, only me.

    He said that I''ve forgotten what it''s like being alive and that I''ll remember how to live if he sends me back.

    Wait¡­ back?

    "I''m not sure, but I remember he said he''ll send me back¡­."

    But¡­ back where? In his novel? In this world?

    Sitting up straight, I widened my eyes slightly and drew a few deep breaths to stay calm.

    I know I could very well be overthinking, but it''s certainly possible that I originally belonged to this world.

    Maybe, after this timeline ended and I died after the world ended, I reincarnated in a different universe, on a different Earth.

    If Gods are real and Transmigration is possible, then so must be Reincarnation.

    Maybe, after this timeline ended and I died after the world ended, I reincarnated in a different universe, on a different Earth.

    Maybe I had always been Lucas.

    That would exin so many things. For example, our simr intelligence, taste in material things, thought process, and other things like being overly handsome.

    ¡­Okay, maybe not thest part.

    "But yeah, it is possible."

    But then, I have two more questions.

    In Lucas'' journals, he wrote my name. So how did he know about my previous life?

    How did he know someone named Noah was about to possess his body?

    But that''s not the only thing. What did Joe gain through all of this?

    If what he said was right, then he lost so much of his life essence just to make me transmigrate¡­ or reborn, whatever.

    Why did he do that?

    Aghh, I''ve found the answer to one question, only to be swamped with four more. And people wonder why I hate the mystery genre!

 Chapter 309 Questions [2]

    Chapter 309 Questions [2]

    The relentless, hushed patter of footsteps echoed in my room as I circled around the center table positioned in front of my bed.

    Before long, Sera returned from her flight, politely knocking on the ss window.

    I was confident that by now, she must have thoroughly explored the entire city.

    With a smile, I weed her in, and she gracefully settled on my bed.

    Taking a seat next to her on the bed, I summoned two basketsden with fruits and meatballs from inside the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.

    Picking up a handful of meatballs and fruit berries, I started feeding Sera.

    I knew she was perfectly capable of eating on her own, but feeding her with my own hands like this made me feelfortable. Besides, Sera seemed to like it too.

    Well, in truth, she liked anything that gave her a sense of significance. Basically, she liked feeling important.

    She liked it when I gently patted her head and lulled her to sleep. She liked being fed. She liked it when I ruffled her crimson and silver feathers. She liked it when I groomed her plumage.

    Truly, a princess''s behavior.

    So either she was exceptionally clingy or perhaps, she had inherited my very own narcissism. I doubt that it was thetter.

    I mean, our souls were linked, so it would be rather strange if she didn''t adopt my most distinctive trait ¨C narcissism.

    Heh.

    Sighing, I shook my head and started thinking about other things. I still had too much to think about.

    Aside from investigating and finding the person responsible for the fractures in my memories, I needed to think about my parents.

    Reynold and Yennefer would be home any moment now. I needed to think of a good excuse that I could give them.

    I mean, after all, I had to justify why I was here despite being unofficially banished from the West.

    Besides, there was one more thing that had been pestering me since the evening earlier.

    After I killed that vampire in the caf¨¦ ¡ª well, to be precise, when Amelia killed her ¡ª she was on the verge of telling me something.

    What was she about to say? Before she could finish her sentence, Amelia shot an arrow and silenced her forever.

    She told me not to trust her. Did she mean Amelia? She had to mean her.

    But there''s a very real possibility that the vampire was just trying to create strife between us.

    Perhaps her goal was to sow confusion in my mind and strike when my guard was down.

    However, even she must have realized that any kind of resistance in those final moments was entirely futile.

    So, what was her n? Was she genuinely trying to alert me about something? But why? Why would a dying vampire try to help a human?

    Even if Amelia posed a threat to me, a vampire like Sofiana had no real reason to make me ¨C her killer ¨C aware of that fact.

    I remember when I warned Sofiana and asked her to let us go, she responded by saying, "That girl shouldn''t be allowed to live"¡ª

    referring to Amelia.

    But why? Why was Amelia so important? I''m fairly certain there''s something in my memories about Amelia.

    While peeking in my head, Sofiana saw it. She saw something that made her shift her focus from me to Amelia.

    Even though Ick evidence, my instincts are urging me to heed the vampire''s warning.

    ...This is difficult for me. For some reason, I wanted to trust Amelia. I mean, I''ll still trust her, but not blindly. I''ll keep an eye open and use caution around her.

    "Arghhh!"

    Scratching my head, I sprang up from my bed and groaned in frustration.

    All of this mystery would be solved if I could just take a look inside my head.

    Unfortunately, the only relic capable of aplishing something like that was in my possession, linked to me.

    Yes, I thought about using it on myself, but I knew all too well it couldn''t be used in such a manner.

    After all, at one point in the novel, Nero tried to do just that. He wanted to erase some painful memories by employing the Enigma Sightstone on himself.

    But, as I mentioned earlier, it didn''t work. He couldn''t even activate it on himself.

    Quite ironic, isn''t it? In the novel, Nero yearned to forget, while here, I needed to remember.

    Mockingly scoffing at the twisted humor of fate and its God, I walked over to a study desk tucked into the corner of thisrge room.

    "Kriek~?"

    Sera chirped confusedly when I didn''t return to her side, as if she was calling me and asking if I was fine.

    I offered her a reassuring smile. "No, I''m fine, Sera. Go ahead and rest. I''ll wake you up if I want anything."

    As if she was waiting for mymand, Sera nestled beneath the cozy nkets of the bed and gently closed her eyes, drifting into a peaceful slumber.

    Smiling at her once more, I turned around and summoned a bunch of journals. One by one, I put them all on the desk.

    After arranging them in front of me, I called out to my smart bracelet, "Athena."

    Instantly, a mechanical yet distinct feminine rang out in my ears.

    [Is there something you need my assistance with, first-year cadet, Sir Lucas?]

    "Yes actually," I replied. "Athena, I want you to scan these journals. Analyze their content thoroughly and tell me when the author''s personality started changing. I also want you to provide me with any other details you find worth telling me."

    [Are these your journals, sir?]

    "Yes, Athena. These are my journals."

    [If you don''t mind me asking, what is your objective, sir?]

    "Investigation. I want you to pinpoint when my personality started changing in an unnatural manner. Is that possible?"

    [If it happened abruptly, then yes. There could be a few ways like analyzing the writing style, event details, and more such things.]

    "Good," I nodded before sitting in front of the desk and opening the first journal. "Let us get to work then."

    ?

    It took me just over an hour to go through all the journals and let my smart bracelet scan every page.

    I personally skimmed through most of the content.

    I didn''t need to read every entry manually; I had asked Athena to analyze and provide me with a summary of everything.

    Currently, Athena was analyzing the collected data, searching for any clues about my personality change that I might have overlooked before.

    Finally, as I continued to lean back in my chair and spin it, Athena''s AI voice echoed in my ears.

    [Sir, I believe I''ve found it.]

    Tham, Tham, Tham¡ª!!!

    A smile crept across my face as I heard that, but before I could ask Athena to make her report, a loud, disruptive banging erupted at my door.

    Tham, Tham, Tham¡ª!!!

    "Who is it?!" I yelled, visibly angry.

    The door swung open and in came a butler impably dressed in a formal ck suit.

    He looked at me with sweat dripping down his forehead, bowed a little, and said, "Ah, young master Lucas... His Lordship and Her Ladyship have returned. They are waiting for you in the dining room downstairs, along with young master Adel."

    At first, I only wanted to scold the butler a little for his loud door-pounding earlier, but after hearing his news, I felt a strong urge to downright strangle him instead.

    But suppressing my irritation, I put on a cheerful smile and yelled, "Rise and shine, Sera! It''s dinner time!"

 Chapter 310 Family Dinner [1]

    ?310  Family Dinner [1]

    Before descending the stairs, I took a moment toplete a very important task¡­.

    Changing my watch.

    The watch I currently had on me was rather cheap and didn''t really look good on me.

    After putting on an expensive piece of watch, I slipped out of my clothes, as most of it was stained red from my own blood.

    By now, the blood had dried and a sharp metal stench wasing off from me.

    So after stripping down, I washed up, paying particr attention to the eye I had stabbed, as blood patches were still visible around where the gaping wound had been.

    After washing up, I put on a luxurious yet simple attire ¨C a ck silk shirt, matching trousers, and various golden jewelry pieces like chains and rings thatplemented the earrings of the Phoenix''s Embrace.

    Only after I was satisfied with my graceful appearance did I step out of my room.

    Sera jumped on my shoulder and used me as her personal vehicle. Her feathers were still dyed ck, so I didn''t have to worry about anyone discovering her identity.

    However, my concern at this point wasn''t about her disguise, but rather her size and weight.

    Sera had grown so much, and just one wrong move on her part could easily dislocate my shoulder.

    Yes, she was that strong now.

    Fortunately, she was also aware of this issue so when I extended my forearm, she shifted to perch on it instead.

    With Sera sitting on my extended arm, akin to a hawk, I descended the stairs and arrived at the entrance of a magnificent dining hall.

    Without hesitation, the guards pulled open the gates, granting me entry to the grand room hidden behind.

    Upon entering, the first thing that I saw was a long dining table set at the center of the hall.

    The dining table easily had the capacity to host at least thirty people, yet it appeared dwarfed inparison to the giant dining hall.

    Crafted from luxurious wood that matched the table''s material, numerous seats were positioned in front of it.

    The ceiling was adorned with majestic chandeliers made of pure gold and real diamonds, while opulent artworks adorned the walls.

    Several alcoves were embedded in the walls all around. In each one of them, a single guard d in lustrous metal armor stood like a statue of steel.

    Damn, those knights look menacing! ¨C Imented in my head.

    Finally, my gaze traveled along the length of the long dining table and settled at the end of it, locking onto three figures sitting there.

    There they were ¨C The revered Family ofWolves.

    Sitting at the head of the table was, obviously, my father ¡ª General Reynold Morningstar, known as the CrimsonWolf or the Wolf ck.

    He was a man in his forties with a head full of short, curly golden locks that fell down to his neck and a matching thick beard.

    His striking bright red eyes, often called the symbol of the Morningstar bloodline, reflected the ceiling light, resembling an exquisite pair of shiny, most clear rubies.

    Reynold had a tall, robust physique that would undoubtedly give anyone doubts about approaching him carelessly, and he exuded amanding presence that couldpel even kings from ancient times to kneel before him.

    Even if I hadn''t known who he was, I could''ve still been able to tell that this man was a monster.

    Taking the rightful position on his right was my mother ¡ª Yennefer Morningstar,monly referred to as the Ice Monarch.

    She, an elven woman in herte thirties, appeared as if time had stopped affecting her, with all signs of aging stopped on her body.

    Her porcin white skin, along with her overall fairplexion made her look as if she was frozen in ce, unaffected by the impure, mundane world.

    Her ageless beauty was evident in every aspect of her appearance.

    She possessed long, silvery hair that flowed gracefully down to her waist, framing her slender yet graceful figure.

    Her long ears perked up the moment I entered the hall, and her gray eyes, reminiscent of a deep, frozenke, shifted to find me, shimmering in the ambient light of the hall.

    If not for gray eyes instead of red, she would look like a slightly older, more mature version of Yelena.

    Damn, even I had to admit, Elves were beautiful. Like, believe it or not, but I had never met an ugly elf in this world. Even Kent is drop-dead handsome.

    Anyway, sitting on Reynold''s left was Adel. He looked¡­ the same as before, I guess.

    The only noticeable difference was that there was a mischievous smile adorning his sharp face now, making him look even more insufferable.

    His gaze met mine, a glint of mischief appearing in his wild eyes, as he announced, "Oh! Look, Father and Mother, your prodigal son returns!"

    I spared Adel a brief nce before sensing the twin pairs of eyes belonging to Reynold and Yennefer locking onto me.

    Without bothering to utter a response, I moved to the end of the table nearest to me, pulled out a chair, and took my seat.

    Sera jumped from my arm andfortably sat on top of the table, leisurely enjoying the gazes she received from the people present in the dining hall.

    "What are you doing?" Reynold was the first to break the silence after Adel''s snarkyment. His gaze held a hint of curiosity as he leaned back in his chair.

    "Sitting," I replied casually. "Surely you didn''t call me here just to stand and watch you all eat. I mean, even you can''t be that petty, right?"

    To be honest, I was well aware of the underlying meaning in his words and my actions here.

    In noble families, the established seating etiquette dictated that sitting opposite to the head of the table signified an equally important authority.

    But in my case, it could be seen as me trying to challenge Reynold''s authority.

    Well, this was merely an informal family dinner, so there was no need to look into it too deeply, but I was certain that my Father understood my message.

    Adel shot me a sidelong nce and spat, his words dripping with venom, "Don''t lecture on pettiness when you weren''t even invited to step inside this house!"

    Once more, I spared Adel a brief nce before turning my eyes away from him. My indifference seemed to irk him as a nerve popped on his forehead.

    "Are you trying to ignore me now? You''ve certainly grown, haven''t you, brother?" Adel eximed, a crazy grin stretching across his lips.

    "Woof! Woof!"

    "Wurf! Wurf!"

    As if to mirror his hostility, his two wolves, who were sitting beside him on the floor, started growling and barking.

    I turned my attention to the fairer of the two wolves, Solis. A pang of regret struck me as I saw him baring his fangs at me.

    "Kriek~!!"

    Sera stood up, unfurling her enormous wings as if she was about to pounce on the two wolves before I quickly grabbed her and whispered, "Not here."

    I couldn''t allow her to reveal her powers here.

    Fortunately, just at that moment, Yennefer chipped in with her icy voice, which seemed to sweep through the dining hall like a chilling blizzard.

    "Cease this, you two! Let''s eat first and then discuss... the other matters."

 Chapter 311 Family Dinner [2]

    ?311  Family Dinner [2]

    Adel nkly gazed at his mother for a few moments, then offered her a polite smile and nodded.

    "Of course, Mother," he said before turning toward the butler standing near the table. "Well? Don''t just stand there. Go ahead and serve the meal."

    The butler hurriedly signaled to the other servants, who came carrying traysden withvish dishes and set them upon the long dining table.

    One by one, tes were ced before each family member, and their portions were served.

    "Pass me the chicken," Lucas ordered, extending his hand toward a servant.

    But right at that moment, Adel chimed in as if it was apetition, "I''ll have the chicken."

    The poor servant, who found himself standing between Lucas and Adel, could practically feel the tension crackling in the air as the two brothers locked gazes. And he was in the middle of them, caught in the crossfire!

    In the end, in a desperate attempt to save himself from the crushing pressure emanating from the both of them, the servant presented the chicken hotpot to Adel.

    After all, Adel was still a member of the family, so serving him first seemed like the logical choice, didn''t it?

    ...Or did it?

    Throughout the whole week that will follow, the poor servant would question whether or not he had made the right decision that night.

    But right now, Lucas couldn''t care any less. He merely made an expression that seemed to ask, "Are you serious?" to the servant and moved on.

    Meanwhile, Adel relished his moment of petty victory and rewarded himself with a generous portion of chicken.

    If Lucas had any lingering doubts before, there were none now. He could confidently say that Adel was unquestionably a very, very petty person.

    Shaking his head, Lucas ate in silence for a while. To say the food was delicious would be an understatement of the century.

    Before him were the most scrumptious, almost heavenly, dishes Lucas had ever tasted aftering to this world.

    Unfortunately, he really had no appetite today. Well, at least Sera was enjoying the mouth-watering dinner.

    Lucas wasn''t alone, actually. No one on this table had any appetite today no matter how inviting the food looked.

    Adel was only waiting for the discussion that was going toe after this dinner.

    While Reynold and Yennefer were only eating because they wanted to prolong that discussion for as long as possible.

    To be honest, both of them were surprised when they were informed of Lucas'' return. Neither of them thought they would be seeing their second-born this year.

    Their surprise only grew into shock after seeing how much Lucas had changed

    ¡ª or rather, changed back into his old self.

    Reynold was informed by Yelena, but still, seeing Lucas act as confident and proud as he used to be in his childhood was rather¡­ strange.

    It almost felt like he never suffered those years of solitude, disparity, and depression before ultimately being disowned¡­ almost.

    The cold indifference in his eyes and his sharp posture were a stark reminder that their son was a different person now¡­ a person they didn''t know.

    Reynold was still curious to know as to what caused Lucas to change again. What was it that made him the genius he used to be?

    All the talks about Lucas'' performance in the King''s Tournament and especially what happened after it had not eluded his ears.

    But how could he go about this and talk to Lucas? His son rightfully resented him too much.

    He couldn''t just straight up ask, "Hey, son. I heard you had an amazing academicyear. Tellyour old man about it!"

    Thankfully, his wife stepped in right then. Yennefer turned to face Lucas and made a remark, breaking the silence.

    "I heard you received a medal of honor for your role in stopping the Massacre of Silveserine," she mentioned.

    Lucas nced at her briefly before returning his attention to the te of food in front of him.

    "Yeah, sure."

    Her attempt at conversation met a curt response, causing Yennefer to fall silent. A pang of remorse gnawed at her heart.

    She still vividly remembered how Lucas used to follow her all around the house as a toddler. But now, he wouldn''t even talk to her properly.

    What made it even sadder was the fact that he had every right to behave this way after how they both had treated him.

    Before she could pose another question, however, Adel interjected.

    He mmed his hands onto the table and eximed, "Instead of asking him why he''s here, you''re asking about his medal?"

    At that moment, Lucas finally put down his spoon and fork. He looked at Adel and spoke with a smile that was as mocking as it was polite, "You know, if I didn''t know you better, I''d almost think you''re jealous, brother."

    Adel scoffed, reclining back in his chair and tossing his cutlery aside. "Ha! Jealous? Please! Why on earth would I be jealous of someone like you?"

    Lucas shrugged, his smile turning into a daring grin.

    "I don''t know, you tell me. You enjoyed bullying me when we were kids. You took delight in taking my things. You also never missed an opportunity to belittle me, even in our younger days. So, I''m curious, why do you have this obsession with me?"

    Adel scrutinized Lucas for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "I see what you''re trying to do. You''re trying to ruin the first dinner I''m having with my family in so long. But you won''t get under my skin."

    "Your family?" Lucas arched an eyebrow, not missing how Adel put emphasis on the word ''my'' in his sentence.

    "What, you still think you have a ce on this table?" Adel sneered. "You''ve been disowned. I suggest you kneel and thank my father for not stripping our family name from you!"

    Lucas''s mocking grin turned into pity as he responded, "You don''t truly consider yourself a Morningstar, do you, Adel?"

    "Huh?!" Adel furrowed his brow in confusion as Lucas continued.

    "You were never the first choice, little brother. The position you hold now was initially meant for me. Your father taught the Dawnbreaker to Yelena, not you, the designated heir of this family. If Yelena weren''t a girl, she''d have taken your ce as heir as well. Do you understand what I''m saying, Adel? You didn''t earn your position! You were the only option left."

    Adel widened his eyes in fury as he attempted to retort, but before he could, Reynold''s authoritative voice thundered through the hall.

    "Stop your quarreling, both of you!"

    Lucas couldn''t help but let a grin creep back onto his face as he shifted his focus to the patriarch of the family.

    With a scoff, he mocked, "Oh, dear Father has finally decided to intervene! And after all these years of turning a blind eye to his children, no less!"

    Reynold let out a disgruntled huff and averted his gaze.

    Lucas was about to continue, but in an instant, his younger twin brother took the window.

    "Why are you evenining?! You''ve been enrolled in the best military academy and were permitted to take bags of all your expensive belongings on your ''exile'' for your bad behavior! And now that you have finallye back, no one even questioned your return! This is not punishment! It''s practically a vacation!" Adel eximed, mming his hands on the table again.

    Lucas narrowed his eyes at the golden-haired boy and sneered. "...Is that how you see it?"

 Chapter 312 Family Dinner [3]

    ?312  Family Dinner [3]

    Silence descended in the hall and even the armor-d knights standing there seemed like they wanted to run out of this room.

    It was a funny sight. The soldiers of the Morningstar family are feared and revered throughout the world. Yet, those fearsome warriors were scared of what was going to transpire in this room.

    Soon, only Lucas'' voice reverberated throughout the deafening silence that filled the grandiose dining hall.

    "I was forced out of my own home! You are right, Adel. This is indeed your family because I lost mine years ago! I haven''t eaten in this dining hall since the day I awakened my mana core! This is the first dinner in years I''m having here!"

    Gritting his teeth, Lucas rose from his chair and slowly started walking toward Adel, who looked back at him without a speck of expression on his face.

    "I used to be upstairs in my room, crying while listening to you guys talking here! I yearned for you all to look my way and acknowledge my existence! I felt like a stranger in my own home, with no one to talk to!"

    Stopping right before Adel, Lucas continued, "And you¡­ You were my brother. But you made my life a living hell! You had no idea how painful it was for me and how easy you had it!"

    Adel rolled his eyes, a frustrated look stering itself on his face.

    "Easy?!" He scoffed. "I spent my life living in the worst kind of hell there is before I finally got my chance at life! Before the heavens finally took pity upon me!"

    Lucas threw his head back andughed erratically before growing silent and asking through gritted teeth, "Oh, what could possibly be worse than what I had suffered in this mansion?!"

    Adel mmed his hands on the table again and rose up toe face to face with his older twin brother. "Sharing the same birthday as you!"

    After a bit of pause, he rposed himself and continued, "Turns out when your twin brother is an angelic prodigy, you have no choice but to live under the shadow cast by his silver wings!"

    Adel took a menacing step forward, bringing his face barely an inch away from Lucas'', and bellowed:

    "So you were ignored after your awakening? Well, boo hoo! Yelena and I lived like that until your awakening! You and I share the same birthday, but no one remembered mine until I finally outshone you! No one paid any attention to me until I finally surpassed you! Not even my own parents acknowledged my existence until I finally stepped out of your shadow!"

    A manic giggle escaped Adel''s lips as he continued, "So please, hold it against me for the rest of your miserable life, but I relished the moment when you awakened with low potential! I reveled when I saw the despair in your eyes! I cherished the fact that you could never surpass me! It''s ironic, but your worst day was the best day of my life, big brother!"

    Lucas red at the young man before him for a few moments before bursting intoughter.

    Adel stared at Lucas in puzzlement until the silver-haired boy''sughter subsided and he began to speak, "And you said you weren''t jealous? Well, this, my dear brother, is jealousy! You idiot! Throughout our lives, I was in the spotlight, and you hated me for it. But even after I was forced out of it, you were not the center of everyone''s attention, were you? You still share that spotlight with Yelena. And now, with my recent rise in fame, you must be feeling threatened, am I right?"

    Adel clenched his jaw tightly for a moment before parting his lips, revealing his pearly white teeth as he spoke with mockery and determination present in his voice:

    "I don''t need any more validation. I''ve already surpassed you! I''ve defeated you several times! You''re not a real threat to me."

    Lucas couldn''t help but smirk. "Your actions seem to suggest otherwise."

    Adel balled his ns into fists as he retorted, "Is this newfound confidence of yours the result of Leo Kurogami taking you under his wing like a dog? The same man that my father defeated years ago for the throne of the West?"

    The smirk on Lucas'' face vanished as he uttered a challenge, "Okay, enough talk. Summon your spear."

    Adel scoffed, dismissing the beckoning of his brother. "You don''t have the nerve."

    Lucas shook his head. "Take out your weapon, or your courage will be sttered on the floor with your blood in the next second."

    Before they could continue, however, Reynold stood up from his seat. The mere act of his rising up from his chair sent an obliterating pressure rolling throughout the hall.

    Both Lucas and Adel gritted their teeth as they felt their own father''s bloodlust.

    In the next moment, Reynold yelled out and retracted his killing intent. "Return to your rooms, both of you!"

    Both Adel and Lucas objected immediately.

    "What?! Are you really grounding me?! He started it!"

    "You''ve disowned me! You can''t ground me!"

    Reynold''s eyebrow twitched as he shouted, "I can and will do whatever I want to the two of you as long as you''re under my roof. If you have a problem with that, I can just arrange rooms for both of you in the nearby barracks."

    "Tsk! Come, Solis! Luna!"

    "Tsk! Sera! Stop stuffing your mouth ande!"

    Both Adel and Lucas fell silent at that suggestion, clicking their tongues before calling their beasts and finally exiting the hall.

    Once they were gone, Yennefer looked at her husband and let out a wistful sigh. "They''ve grown so much, haven''t they?"

    Reynold remained silent for a moment before leaning forward to take support from the dining table and responding, "I wish there was another way."

    Yennefer nodded solemnly, rising to rub her husband''s back, which was currently carrying the weight of the world.

    Seeing this, the guards and servants left the dining hall to grant their lord anddy some much-needed privacy.

    Yennefer hesitantly brought up another topic, saying, "He''s back... You understand what it means, don''t you?"

    Reynold hesitated before finally nodding. After a long pause, he muttered with a heavy heart:

    "It''s starting¡­ isn''t it?"

 Chapter 313 Calm Before The Storm [1]

    ?313  Calm Before The Storm [1]

    "Argh! Fuck, I hate that guy! Actually, no, I hate everyone in this fucking family!"

    Entering my room, the first thing I did was kick my study desk in an attempt to vent out some frustration.

    Then I started shouting a barrage of curses directed at my family, which I am sure at least the servants outside this room must''ve heard.

    "Kriek~?"

    Sera perched on top of the desk and chirped in confusion. Seeing her, I calmed down a little and ruffled her head.

    "Don''t worry, I''m fine."

    Letting out a wistful sigh, I sat on the desk chair and started spinning it. After a while, I dug my hands into my pockets and pulled out my smart bracelet.

    "Athena, give me the report you were about to provide earlier."

    The screen of my smart bracelet lit up and almost instantly, a feminine mechanical voice resounded from it.

    [Yes, first-year cadet, Sir Lucas.

    [After a meticulous analysis of the entries spanning 14 years of your life, two events stand out.

    [The first urred when you awakened your mana core on November 28th, 2717. After your family shunned you, your mental state began to deteriorate.

    [However, there was a certain point in your life when your speech and behavior took on an almost unnatural flip.

    [Between March 31st and April 15th in the year 2719, you went through a sudden and dramatic change, as if some unknown catalyst had triggered it.]

    "So, between those sixteen to seventeen days?" I mused, gently scratching my chin. "Alright, anything else you want to share with me?"

    [Affirmative. During that time frame, a particr bar name appeared repeatedly in your journal entries.]

    "Oh, really?" I arched an eyebrow. "Go ahead, don''t keep me in suspense. Tell me."

    Athena quicklyplied with my request: [The bar''s name is Last Call, and it seems that your visits there coincide with the start of your transformation. However, please note that this is still a suspicion undergoing analysis on my part, so it might not be entirely urate.]

    Nodding in acknowledgment, I deactivated my smart bracelet.

    While I myself had no recollection of that bar, I did notice its name mentioned a couple of times in Lucas'' journals.

    And besides, considering the potential of a supeputer program like Athena, I thought starting my investigation there might not be a bad idea.

    "Hmm."

    Sighing softly, I turned on my smart bracelet once again and called Amelia. After a few rings, she picked up and answered from the other side:

    "[Lucas, got any clues?]"

    "I want you to do something for me," I told her. "Go to the bar named Last Call and try to investigate my past visits there."

    "[Last Call?]"

    Amelia''s surprised voice instantly piqued my interest. I arched an eyebrow and asked softly, "Why, do you know something?"

    Amelia''s answer was quick.

    "[Yes, you¡­ ah¡­ It''s a ce famous among noble kids in this area. You¡­ used to visit that ce very often. You don''t remember that either?]"

    As a frown crept up on my face, I replied, "I don''t. That''s why I want you to go there. Tell me everything, from how much time I used to spend there to whatpany I kept around me."

    "[Okay, I''ll head there right now.]"

    With that, I disconnected the call and leaned back in my chair. I knew it wasn''t a good idea to send her there alone, not because I was worried about her but¡­

    But because I needed to also be cautious of her.

    I knew I shouldn''t let a vampire y with my mind, but I couldn''t exactly turn deaf to a direct warning now, could I?

    I swear to god, if nting the seed of doubt in my mind was Sofiana''s n then she did well¡­ did well indeed.

    "Sera," I turned to the giant ck bird sitting on my desk and called her. "I want you to go to Amelia and keep an eye on her."

    "Kriek~?"

    "By keeping an eye on her, I meant to help her and confirm if her reports are true. Can you do that?"

    "Kriek!"

    Sera energetically bobbed her head up and down in an affirmative nod prompting me to smile brightly at her.

    "Good," I said, before rising from my chair and opening the room''s window. Instantly, Sera soared out of the open ss window into the vast night sky.

    Okay, Sera would keep Amelia in check. I mean, it''s not like I don''t trust Amelia, I do actually¡­ But still, employing a bit of caution isn''t ever bad.

    Besides, Sera has grown a lot stronger. She even killed a vampire with just one attack, so she would be a big help to Amelia in this investigation too.

    Right, I just sent her as a backup, that''s it.

    Satisfied with my internal reasoning, I nodded and closed the window. As soon as I did that, I heard a loud banginging from the room''s door.

    Tham, Tham, Tham¡ª!!

    "Oh, who is it now?!" Startled by the sudden loud noise, I turned to the room''s door and yelled, "Come in!"

    The door swung open and in came a butler in a crisp ck and white suit. It was the same butler from before.

    "You again? Dude, you''ll break the door one day."

    Bowing deeply, the butler apologized. "I''m deeply sorry, young master. Ahh, it''s just that¡­ His lordship has summoned you to the mansion''s front garden."

    I frowned and cast a gaze at my watch. It was already around [11:03 PM]. I knew he wanted to talk to me, but couldn''t he have just waited until tomorrow?

    Rolling my eyes, I nodded and answered the butler. "Fine. Tell them I''ll be down there in a few minutes."

    The butler gasped, his eyes practically bulging out of his sockets at the prospect of me making General Reynold wait for a visit.

    However, the butler knew better than to bother me about it. He turned around and left the room upon receiving my response.

    Haa, let''s do this.

    ?

    I walked into the front garden, crushing the fallen leaves beneath my feet with each step, letting its satisfying crunching sound echo throughout the stillness of the night.

    The garden itself was a lush oasis, awash with all kinds of vibrant nts. In its hearty a serene pond, the calm water inside it reflecting the fervent moon above.

    A symphony of insect chirrups filled the area, mingling with the gentle, rhythmic harmony of a bamboo fountain continually tapping the ground.

    The radiant moonlight filtered through the dense canopy of tree leaves, casting its silver glow upon the man who stood by the calm pond, as though nature itself had chosen to shine the spotlight on him.

    He was a tall, burly man, with a heavy gray fur military coat hanging over his broad shoulders.

    Even from this distance, I could make out a couple of scars tracing their way up the back of his neck.

    With a sigh, I walked over to him and wordlessly stood beside him. A peaceful silence enveloped us, only to be broken when Reynold finally parted his lips to speak.

    "Do you remember this garden?" He asked.

    "Vaguely," I answered, my gaze fixed on a distant tree as a nostalgic feeling washed over me.

    Reynold frowned at my words. "But you used to spend all your time here when you were young."

    I pointed at the distant tree that I was watching and said, "I remember when I tried to climb that tree and fell on my nose."

    Reynold suppressed a smile from appearing on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, you broke your nose. Your mother was so worried about you."

    After a bit of pause, I added, "...But you weren''t. Instead of treating my wound, you pulled me up and asked me to climb that tree again with blood trickling down my face."

    "You ended up climbing it," Reynold added.

    I narrowed my eyes and turned to re at him. After a brief moment of silence, I spat in a furious tone, "After falling three more times! I''m lucky I didn''t permanently scar my handsome face that day!"

    This time, Reynold allowed himself to smile a little and said, "You ended up climbing it though. You even made a tiny treehouse up there, called it your castle, and named yourself the king. You called it your Treedom."

    As Reynold let out a soft chuckle, I eximed, "Shut up! Treedom was a good name for my first Kingdom!"

    "Haha! Yeah, sure."

    And with that, the silence returned to haunt the air between us. After a few long minutes, I spoke up:

    "Yeah, fine. I do remember this ce. But do you remember that night¡­ that night when you disowned me?"

    A solemn expression settled upon Reynold''s face. He paused for a few moments, then uttered, "Lucas, you knew I had no other option. You left me with no choice. The media was all over me, riots were breaking out, and the public used me of condoning your criminal acts... They said that I would ignore your wrongdoing and never bring you to justice. Any other person would''ve served at least five to six years behind bars but you were just exiled¨C"

    Gritting my teeth, I couldn''t contain my anger any longer and interrupted him, my words bursting forth in a fury.

    "Okay, fine! I understand you had your responsibilities as the Overlord of the West. But answer me this, Why did you shun me? Why did you cast me aside? Was my potential the only thing that mattered to you? I was your son... your flesh and blood! You once said that wolves never forsake their kin, didn''t you? Well, you did just that!"

    Reynold''s fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms, drawing blood.

    He opened and closed his mouth several times as if struggling to find the words he wanted me to hear. In the end, he simply asked, "Why are you here? Why are you back?"

 Chapter 314 Bar Fight [1]

    Chapter 314 Bar Fight [1]

    I gave him a look of deep disappointment and turned around to face away from Reynold.

    "You abandoned me because I was weaker than your other son, didn''t you?" I asked, a serene smile slowly washing over my face. "I''ll cripple him."

    "W-What are you saying¨C" Reynold''s eyes widened at my deration, a bewildered shock visible in his gaze.

    However, I cut him off before he could finish voicing his thoughts. "You know I can do it. My Master once imed to sense the power levels of others. I''m sure you can sense it as well. You should know, I can kill him if we were to engage inbat."

    "Do you even know what you''re saying?!" Reynold exploded with anger. "You are talking aboutmitting treason!"

    "Not if he attacks me first," my lips curled up into a smirk as I started walking away. "Then it''ll be considered self-defense."

    Reynold was on the verge of saying something. However, before he could even start, I preempted him and began speaking without even bothering to turn back or stop walking away.

    "Why am I back, you ask?" I retorted, my legs never ceasing their movement as I walked away. "Well, let''s just say that''s none of your damn business. I''ll be gone from the city in a few days. You can treat me as invisible like you''ve always done, but if you want me out of this manor, you''ll have to strip our family name from me."

    ?

    A radiant archeress with emerald eyes, thest of her kind ¨C a Phoenix disguised as a crow, and an adorable puppy with pristine white fur and striking green eyes walked into a dimly lit bar¡­

    Amelia instantly frowned. "Wait, doesn''t this look like the start of a joke?"

    "Kriek?" Sera, who was sittingfortably on top of Amelia''s right shoulder, chirped in confusion.

    "Never mind," Amelia shook her head but then scowled again as soon as she recalled something. "So, did Lucas send you?"

    Sera quickly nodded her head up and down in response. Amelia then turned to look at the little white puppy following closely behind her.

    She met this little creature when she returned home. Her neighbor handed her this puppy and told her that her father left it in their care.

    Her neighbor also said that her father strictly instructed them to only give this puppy to Amelia when she gets back home.

    Since then, Amelia had tried contacting her father but he never responded to her calls or texts.

    "I wonder what''s gotten into him," Amelia mused aloud. Obviously, this puppy was a mana beast.

    But why did her father give it to her? And why didn''t he tell her anything about it?

    "Wait," she stopped moving suddenly.

    It was her birthday in a few months. Was this puppy her gift? But it was still August and her birthday was in January.

    "Maybe he just got a good deal on a mana beast pup and bought it for me," Amelia concluded with a nod before resuming to walk forward.

    She still didn''t know what type of mana beast this puppy was, but she felt herself growing inexplicably attached to him due to his big, round green eyes which looked strikingly simr to hers.

    Yep, they definitely had simr eyes.

    Of course, instead of the spark of intelligence, the puppy''s eyes radiated harmless yfulness like mundane puppies.

    It wasn''t anything unusual.

    Yes, mana beasts were known for their heightened intelligence and superior strengthpared to the mundane animals from which they had evolved seven centuries ago, but the difference wasn''t too magnificent, at least in terms of intelligence.

    They had enough intelligence to followmands orunch crude attacks on small human settlements,ing up with whatever rudimentary ns their primal minds were capable of.

    However, their intelligence was in no way a threat to civilized society. But this got Amelia thinking...

    She shifted her gaze to the bird perched on top of her shoulder and mumbled, "You are quite intelligent, aren''t you, Sera?"

    Sera proudly nced back at Amelia with a blush, as if silently responding with a smug "Thank you."

    Amelia couldn''t help but be amused by Sera''s reaction, covering her mouth with her hands as she chuckled.

    But jokes aside, she had to admit that Sera disyed an exceptional, even unnatural, level of intelligence ¡ª almost too much for a mana beast.

    After all, not only did Sera understand humannguage, but she could also sort of converse with people.

    And the scary part of all this was that Sera was barely a few months old. What will she be by next year or even a few years from now?

    Maybe the old legends were true after all.

    Dragons and Phoenixes, and all the other extinct mythical mana beasts, were said to be blessed by mana itself.

    Ancient elves said that mana granted them a wisdom that far surpassed that of regr mana beasts, and perhaps, to some extent, even humans and elves themselves.

    Maybe the Central Government''s decision to eradicate every single living mythical mana beast wasn''t overkill.

    Maybe the mythical mana beasts were really a threat to humans.

    Thankfully, not only the mythical mana beasts were scarce in number, but the military had alsoe up with ways to kill those immortal, almost god-like creatures.

    Only immortals could kill immortals.

    Only mythical mana beasts could kill one of their kind.

    Only a God can kill a God.

    That''s why the military believed. They used the carcasses of dead mythical beasts and made weapons from their remains.

    Bones turned into swords, spears crafted from their ws, shields forged from their carapace¡ª the cksmiths weaponized each part of their bodies.

    The military equipped their strongest fighters with those weapons and hunted the mythical beasts to extinction.

    The elves, having a close affinity to nature, were not happy with that decision.

    But since most of the council seats in the Central Government belonged to humans back then, they had no choice but toply.

    The dwarves didn''t care much as long as they were paid for employing their best cksmiths and creating those weapons.

    Yet, who would have thought that, after all these years, a mythical creature would be born again into this world?

    Unfortunately, she was thest of her kind.

    The Last Phoenix was fated to die in utter solitude, never to experience the warmth of another of her kind''s embrace.

    It was so poetically tragic that Amelia couldn''t help but feel pity for her as she lovingly patted Sera''s little head.

    "Krieeek~"

    Thwam¨C!

    Just as she was gently stroking the Phoenix''s head, Amelia identally bumped into someone.

    "Ahh," Amelia stumbled backward, startled. She quickly regained her bnce and looked up to see who she had collided with.

    Before her stood a towering, bald young man wearing a ck tank top with an ugly scar running down his face.

    His imposing muscles rippled beneath his skin like boulders of steel, and he cast an irritated look at the ck-haired girl before him.

    But upon scrutinizing her, that look of irritation on his face turned into one of perverted delight.

    Arching an eyebrow, Amelia couldn''t help but be genuinely impressed by the man''s physique.

    Earlier, it felt like she had collided with a solid wall.

    He might just be the most muscr individual, man or woman, she had ever seen, even more so than Alberto.

    But her interest faded almost instantly as she uttered, "Sorry, I was looking elsewhere."

    With that, she began to walk past him, but before she could even take a step forward, the man quickly grabbed her by the shoulder.

    Amelia''s legs stopped moving as she abruptly halted in ce under the man''s iron grip. A sly smirk stretched across his face.

    "Nah, nah, little girl. That''s not the right way to apologize," the young man chuckled, spinning Amelia around with a casual flick of his hand. "Come on, apologize properly with a drink."

    Raising her eyebrows, Amelia scanned the man from head to toe and offered a polite smile. "I''m in a hurry right now, so I''ll have to take a rain check tonight¨C"

    Amelia sighed heavily. She knew this ce mostly only catered to the elites, and this man was also likely among the nobility.

    "Oh, I''m not asking, darling!" The man''sughter was loud, revealing a broad grin as hisrge hand slid from her shoulder to her neck.

    Amelia sighed heavily. She knew this ce mostly only catered to the elites, and this man was also likely among the nobility.

    She really didn''t want to escte things here, but it seemed inevitable. In fact, she could already tell that this interaction was going to turn into a fight very soon.

    Unless¡­

    ncing around, she noticed that the upper-ss patrons were seatedfortably in their booths,pletely turning a blind eye to themotion.

    Never mind, her instincts were correct. No one here would intervene.

    The man''s grin widened upon seeing how Amelia was looking around. "Oh, love, no one''sing to your rescue. I''m a cadet of Ethereal Academy and the first son of the ckwood family, Apolus ckwood. You don''t look like an elite. You''re lucky I even offered you a drink. Stop ying hard to get and join us."

    Oh well, Lucas would have to deal with the consequences. After all, she was here on his request, and not to mention investigating his case.

    "Heh," a wry smile curled on her lips. yfully lifting her chin, Amelia met Apolus'' gaze head-on. "Thanks for this, it was my first bar fight."

    Apolus, looking perplexed, stammered, "Uh, what now?"

    A long, tense silence hung between them. After a while, Amelia''s smile turned into a mischievous grin as she said, "...Fine, let''s do it the hard way."

 Chapter 315 Bar Fight [2]

    Chapter 315 Bar Fight [2]

    "What?" Apolus tightened his grip around the slender girl''s neck but instantly he felt something mming against his chin.

    At first, Apolus didn''t even feel anything but soon the world started spinning and he lost his bnce.

    "...Huh?!" Staggering back, Apolus saw Amelia had one of her legs up in the air.

    ''Di-Did she kick me?! When?!'' was all Apolus could think before he lost his bnce and crumpled to one knee.

    "Guys who can''t take a hint are not my type, so I''ll pass up on that drink, alright?" Amelia shed a bright smile before she turned around and began to walk away.

    But once again, before she could take even a few steps forward, a thunderous roar reached her ears.

    "Hey! Stop it right there!"

    Letting out an exhausted sigh, Amelia turned around and curiously looked at the muscr young man.

    Apolus was already back on his feet. This caused Amelia to roll her eyes as she said, "Come on, can''t a girl catch a break."

    Right at that moment, a few individuals rushed to the bald young man''s side and swarmed him.

    ¨C"Apolus, are you okay?!"

    ¨C"That girl! How dare she?!"

    ¨C"Is she a cadet? I never saw her in our academy! How dare she attack one of us?!"

    ¨C"Come on, guys! Let''s teach her a lesson!"

    Amelia resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. Were these people Apolus'' fellow cadets? Maybe his ssmates?

    Ahh, if they join the fight, it would be very troublesome. It was not like Amelia wasn''t confident in her skills to take on a group of cadets, but it would be troublesome.

    With a dubious gaze, she counted the people in front of her. There were three boys and one girl. Adding Apolus to the total, Amelia was facing at least five potential enemies.

    But thankfully, the muscr bald young man let his immense male ego cloud his judgment for the worse.

    After all, how could he allow himself to take help in order to beat down a delicate girl?! No, he would do it himself!

    Apolus extended an arm to stop his friends and yelled at them, "Stop it, everyone! Just stand back and do not interfere! I will deal with her myself!"

    His fellow cadets wanted to retort and provide their aid, but ultimately listened to him and stood back.

    After all, they knew Apolus was like a raging bull when he was angry. He would not differentiate a friend from a foe in his current state.

    Thest thing they wanted to do was to stand in his way right now and get caught in the crossfire.

    If anything, they were worried about the slender girl who was foolish enough to anger Apolus to this extent.

    Seeing the pity for her in their eyes, Amelia desperately stopped herself from scoffing out loud.

    Instead, she nonchntly shrugged and readied herself, raising her arms to assume abat stance perfected through several hours of hellish training.

    Sera flew away andnded on a nearby empty booth table. The puppy also followed the phoenix and got away from the ck-haired beauty.

    In response, the burly young man swiftly jerked his head to shake off the lingering concussion caused by Amelia''s kick earlier.

    Once he was done, Apolus grunted like a wild bull and raised his arms, adopting abat stance of his own.

    Tension hung heavy as the air cracked with intensity. However, the noble patrons around them seemed entirely unaffected by the unfolding chaos.

    It was almost as if such instances were regr urrences in this bar.

    Everyone remained seated in their plush booths, sipping their drinks, letting out puffs of smoke, and asionally erupting into loudughter¡ªbehavior that hardly befitted their high social status.

    Meanwhile, the confrontation between the muscr man and the lithe girl continued to escte as Apolus channeled mana into his legs.

    His massive calves appeared ready to burst as the pristine wooden floor of the bar cracked beneath his feet.

    In an instant, the hulking young man vanished from his position and reappeared right in front of Amelia.

    With lightning speed, he shot his right arm forward,unching a blisteringly fast straight punch toward her, his fist moving in a blur.

    The ck-haired beauty, however, wasn''t the least bit intimidated by Apolus''speed. She deftly ducked, narrowly avoiding a punch that could have easily broken her nose.

    From her low position, Amelia exploded into action, lunging forward and forcefully ramming her shoulder into his abdomen.

    Though Apolus staggered slightly, he remainedrgely unaffected. Lowering his arms, he wrapped his hands around Amelia''s waist.

    Then, using his monstrous strength, Apolus lifted Amelia onto his shoulder, holding her in a powerbomb position.

    "What the¡­?!" Amelia''s eyes widened, but she wasted no time in reacting.

    Infusing mana into her fists, she let loose a rain of punches upon Apolus, striking blow after blow at his ugly face.

    However, Apolus remained unfazed despite her efforts. After a few more punches, Amelia''s knuckles began to bleed and she felt as if she was pummeling a steel wall instead of a human being.

    Without hesitation, Apolus spun around and mmed Amelia down onto a nearby booth, causing its table to explode into a burst of splinters.

    "Arghhh!" Amelia grunted in pain as her back hit the ground and sharp fragments of the shattered wooden table dug into her flesh. But she didn''t let the pain get to her.

    Acting swiftly, she pulled one of Apolus'' arms inward and wrapped her legs around his head, locking him in a suffocating triangle decided to wear a tee shirt and leggings today.

    ''Jiu¡ª She''s using Jiu Jitsu?!'' Apolus'' eyes widened in shock. But by chokehold.

    For a moment, Amelia felt thankful that instead of a dress she decided to wear a tee shirt and leggings today.

    ''Jiu¡ª She''s using Jiu Jitsu?!'' Apolus'' eyes widened in shock. But by the time he could even fully understand what had happened, he found himself desperately gasping for air.

    The pressure on his carotid artery on the side of his neck caused a rapid drop in blood pressure to his head, resulting in his face turning blue from suffocation.

    However, Apolus refused to yield.

    Instead of backing down, he mustered up his monstrous strength and once more hoisted Amelia into the air.

    Amelia, on the other hand, didn''t let go of her submission hold on Apolus and only continued to apply pressure to the side of his neck.

    "Ahhh!" Apolus let out a fierce battle roar, preparing to unleash another powerbomb on the ck-haired girl on his shoulder.

    However, this time, Amelia had a different n.

    Just as Apolus was about to m her onto the floor, Amelia quickly locked her ankles behind his neck and executed a graceful backward flip.

    Using Apolus''own momentum against him, Amelia expertly flipped the muscr young man, causing him to crash onto the hard wooden floor,nding back-first.

    Meanwhile, Amelia herself ended upnding on her stomach and rolled away to put some distance between her and the monstrous young man she was fighting.

    At the same time, the wind was knocked out of Apolus'' lungs the moment he crashed onto the floor, the wood beneath him cracking from the impact.

    After a handful of seconds, he managed to regain his breath and recover from the blow he suffered.

    "Arghh!" Gritting his teeth, Apolus pulled himself up to his knees and summoned a great axe in his hand.

    He then shot a fierce re in the direction of the ck-haired girl, who had her back facing him, and dered, "You''re dead!"

    Only when the weapons were drawn did the patrons sitting all around them start to worry. They knew that blood was going to be spilled now.

    ¨C"Hey! Stop them!"

    ¨C"Someone call the manager!"

    ¨C"Is he¨C Is he really going to kill her?!"

    Panic broke out but no one dared to step forward to break the fight. Besides, it was already toote.

    Amelia let out a sigh and looked over her shoulder. She saw that Apolus was already on his feet and had his weapon summoned.

    Rolling her eyes, Amelia also conjured her bow. She sprang to her feet and turned around, drawing the bowstring taught.

    Mana spilled out from the tip of her finger and materialized into an azure arrow on the stretched bowstring.

    In the next moment, she loosened her grip on the bowstring and the mana arrow she had conjured shot forward, hurtling toward Apolus at breakneck speed.

    In response, Apolus merely took a single step forward and swung his giant axe. As soon as the de of his axe collided with her mana arrow, the arrow was shattered in a rain of ethereal azure sparks.

    Without giving Amelia a chance to catch her breath, Apolus dashed forward at a speed inconceivable to the human eye and appeared right before her.

    Amelia could only widen her eyes once more as she saw Apolus'' axe inching closer to her like an inescapable de of gullitone.

    Fwooosh¡ª!!

    "Huh?!" However, Apolus could only gape his mouth in utter shock when her axe met nothing but air. The ck-haired girl just vanished from his sight!

    Unbeknownst to him, Amelia was in the air right above his head. She had jumped right in the nick of time to avoid getting cut down by Apolus'' axe.

    Airborne, she took aim and drew her bowstring with an arrow knocked on it. "Got you now."

    Right then, Apolus sensed a presence right above him. But before he could look up or take any other action, an arrow was shot down at him and hit him in the shoulder.

    The arrow pierced through his flesh and bone and struck the ground, pinning him in ce.

    With a graceful thud, Amelianded a few steps away from him.

    "Arghhh!" Apolus let out a pained grunt and broke the arrow pinning his shoulder down, freeing himself.

    But Amelia had no intention of letting him stand up again. In a burst of speed, she appeared in front of Apolus and raised her right leg before bringing it down on his face.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    Unleashing a wless axe kick on his skull, Amelia effortlessly knocked out Apolus. The monstrous young man went limp, his giant body falling unconscious on the ground.

    "Thanks for this, it was my first bar fight!" Amelia eximed with a wide grin on her face before her gaze shifted to Apolus''stunned fellow cadets standing nearby. They stared at her with mouths agape and wide-eyed astonishment.

    After a few seconds of awkward silence, she inquired, "So, you guys are his friends?"

    One of them stammered, "Y-Yes! But, in our defense, we only became his friends a few months ago! I don''t even know his parents!"

    Amelia gave them a nk expression before saying, "Fine, get him to a hospital or something."

    "Y-Yes, ma''am!"

    It took four of Apolus''friends to drag his unconscious body out of the bar.

    The idea of a slender young girl like Amelia overpowering someone as monstrous as him was almostical. It left everyone in the bar struggling to believe what they had just witnessed.

    "Hey, you! Stop right there!"

    But just as Amelia thought everything was over, a bald, elderly man entered the scene, apanied by a group of imposing bouncers dressed in sharp ck suits. They formed a circle around her.

    The bald old man stepped forward and pointed a finger at her, scolding, "You are not allowed to summon your weapons in this bar! I''ll hand you over to the police¨C"

    Before he could finish his sentence, Amelia took a few steps forward and tapped her smart bracelet a few times.

    "What¨C What are you doing?" The old man frowned, but his phone suddenly beeped, alerting him of an iing notification.

    He retrieved his phone, but his wrinkled old face paled when he nced at the screen.

    "I just sent you a couple of thousand Credits for the coteral damage and any potential inconvenience I may have caused you and your patrons," she dered, then turned her attention to everyone in the bar and dered, "The entire night''s drinks are on me!"

    A long silence fell over the bar for a moment, followed by a cacophony of cheers and apuse broke out.

    ¨C "Hell yeah!"

    ¨C "What an amazing fighter, and so generous too! She''s my dream girl!"

    ¨C "Woooooh!"

    The old man, initially taken aback, wore a broad smile that would put even the best politicians to shame. He turned to Amelia and addressed her with hands sped in front of him.

    "Oh, I had no idea you were a noble, youngdy!" he eximed. "I offer my deepest apologies. Please don''t worry about the damages, and thank you for your generous gesture. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to approach me. I am the owner of this humble establishment, and I have numerous connections."

    Amelia furrowed her brow at the old man''s words. She nced down at her own attire, a deep scowl forming on her face.

    Why did people seem to assume she wasn''t a noble? She dressed nicely, evenvishly.

    Could it be her appearance? But deep down, despite her reluctance to admit it, Amelia knew she was beautiful.

    In fact, she was even more beautiful than many noble heiresses she had met in her life.

    So, was it her demeanor? Maybe she didn''t behave like a noble youngdy should?

    She shook her head to clear her thoughts and made a mental note to ask this question to Lucaster.

    After all, he was a noble by birth. He should know.

    Clearing her throat, Amelia turned her attention back to the old man and said, "Actually, I do need help with something. I need information about someone. He used to visit this bar often until a few years ago. If I can get what I''m searching for, I will reward you handsomely."

    The old man''s grin widened until it seemed as though his face might split in half. He responded eagerly, "Oh, I know just the person who can assist you!"

 Chapter 316 Minerva Hart

    Chapter 316 Minerva Hart

    The bald old man walked with Amelia through a long stretch of an underground hall beneath the bar until they arrived in front of a particr room.

    The old man put on a wide, greedy grin on his wrinkled face and said with his hands pressed together:

    "You''ll find ady named Minnerva inside this room. She''s an exalted soldier of the NDF."

    "NDF?" Amelia arched an eyebrow in genuine surprise. "You mean the Northern Defence Force?"

    The old man nodded, his smile growing wider with each passing moment. Amelia, on the other hand, found herself even more perplexed.

    She furrowed her brow and inquired, "Then what is she doing so far from the Northern Border?"

    The old man''s smile faltered for a split second. He averted his gaze for a moment before answering, "Ah, she was suspended for a few months due to misconduct¡­ Um, now that I think about it, don''t tell her I told you this."

    "Right," Amelia narrowed her eyes, prompting the old man to put on a wide smile again.

    "But you should consider yourself really fortunate!" The old man assured her.

    "Why is that?" Amelia asked curiously. "And how could she help me?"

    "You see, youngdy, Private Minerva has eyes and ears everywhere," exined the old man. "Within the army, she''s renowned as the greatest information broker and best spy of her generation. Even if she doesn''t possess the information you seek, she can extract it within days. This one time, she infiltrated a vampire stronghold and¨C"

    Amelia cut the old man short before he could go on a reverent monologue about this enigmatic woman named Minerva.

    "Okay, okay! I understand!" she eximed and raised her hands, gesturing to the old man to stop talking. "What''s your price for helping me?"

    The old man leaned in, bringing his grinning face close to Amelia before whispering a number in her ear.

    Amelia sighed as the old man stepped back with a satisfied smile still stered on his face.

    Tapping on her smart bracelet a few times, Amelia made the payment to the old man. He checked his phone and nodded in acknowledgment.

    "Thank you, youngdy," he said. "You can always find me here in the future if you''re ever in need of anything else."

    With that, the old man turned around and walked away to exit the underground hall.

    Watching the receding figure of the old man, Amelia sighed one more time before turning her gaze to the door in front of her and knocking on it.

    She waited for a while, but nothing happened.

    Receiving no response, she knocked again, but once again, no answer came. Growing impatient, she twisted the doorknob and found out that the door wasn''t locked.

    "Huh?" Frowning, she swung the door open and stepped into the room.

    Inside, she found a cozy wooden chamber adorned withvish furniture such as a custom-made bed and arge sofa near the firece.

    Apartments? There were underground apartments below the bar? Amelia scrutinized her surroundings with a perplexed gaze.

    While she was walking around, exploring, another door within the chamber swung open, and a woman came out through it.

    This woman was strikingly beautiful and tall, with fiery red hair cascading down her back, reaching the length of her waist.

    She appeared to be in herte twenties and her angr face exuded an irresistible allure, adorned by a pair of dull gray eyes that sparkled with a glint of yful humor.

    However, the most noticeable detail about her was that she was wrapped in nothing but a towel with her hair and shoulders dripping wet!

    Did she really just walk out of the shower?!

    The woman cast a curious nce at Amelia, who was staring back at her in shock with her mouth slightly agape and eyes widened.

    A wide grin spread across the woman''s face, enhancing her already ethereal beauty.

    "Oh, an unexpected guest?" The woman yfully touched her chin. "Tell me, why are you here in my room, Amelia ck?"

    Amelia furrowed her brow in confusion and asked, "Ahh, you know me?"

    The woman chuckled. "Don''t be startled, dear. You are quite famous these days. In fact, most of your ss is."

    The frown on Amelia''s face eased a bit, but before she could respond, the beautiful redhead spoke again.

    "I''m Private Minerva Hart, by the way," she said before walking over to the sofa and slumping against its soft cushions. "But since you''re here, you must already know who I am."

    "Right," Amelia nodded absentmindedly before continuing, "The owner of the bar upstairs sent me here. He said you can help me."

    The woman named Minerva crossed her legs, her towel barely reaching her knees, and her smile widened. "Darling, helping people is what I do. Be more specific."

    "Uh, okay. So I need some information on Lucas Morningstar. He used to frequent the bar upstairs," Amelia stated, averting her gaze from Minerva, unsure of where to look.

    The redhead beauty, still draped in her towel, arched an eyebrow, her smile never fading from her alluring face.

    After a moment of contemtion, shemented, "I see. You didn''t need to introduce him, who doesn''t know The Fallen Angel of Global Academy these days?"

    "Right. So, can you help me?" Amelia inquired, prompting Minerva to get up from the sofa and approach her.

    Coming face-to-face with the ck-haired archeress, Minerva gently tapped Amelia''s shoulders before walking past her and opening a wardrobe.

    Taking out some clothes, she spoke, "I told you, love, helping people is what I do. But what information do you need about him? As I recall, don''t you already know him from childhood? Although you two had a falling out a few years back, you should still know more about him than I do."

    Amelia hesitated for a moment before exining, "We suspect that someone tampered with his mind and locked away some of his memories."

    As if suddenly her interest was piqued, Minerva''s eyebrows shot up, and she spun around to face Amelia.

    "Interesting," she remarked. "So you think someone used Arcane Magic on him?"

    Amelia furrowed her brow in confusion. "I don''t know. What is Arcane Magic?"

    Minerva touched her chin, considering for a moment before answering, "Arcane Magic is ancient, long-forgotten magic. It can be used to achieve things that normal magic can''t."

    Amelia''s frown deepened. "That''s a very vague definition."

    Minerva nkly stared at Amelia for a moment before bursting intoughter.

    "Yes, it is. Just think of it like this ¨C the magic people use in today''s world is mostly rted to battle. In the old times, during peaceful periods in the elven world, elves used magic for various purposes, not justbat. That magic is now called Arcane Magic. Tampering with the mind and locking away memories sounds like the use of Arcane Magic."

    "So it could be the work of an elf?" Amelia deduced.

    Minerva shrugged. "It could be, or it could be someone else. Humans can also learn Arcane magic if an elf is knowledgeable enough and willing to teach them."

    "I see," Amelia said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "Can you find out if Arcane Magic was used on him and who did it?"

    "Of course, I can!" Minerva eximed, pping her hands together with a grin. "But since it''s such an old case, it will cost you a fortune."

    "Don''t worry," Amelia smirked. "Money isn''t a problem."

 Chapter 317 Research

    Chapter 317 Research

    It had been a day since I sent Amelia to that bar, and she returned with some information yesterday.

    However, none of the information she provided was directly rted to my case.

    She simply mentioned that she had hired an information broker among a few other things.

    ording to her, it would take around a day for her trusted information broker to investigate my case.

    I had no idea how Amelia had managed to contact an information broker, but if she trusted them, maybe I could too... though I couldn''t help but doubt that this broker was as skilled as Shadow Rose.

    Shadow Rose was a character in the novel and had been an invaluable helper for Nero and his group in theter parts of the story when the war arc started.

    Regrettably, I had no clue where to find Shadow Rose at this point in the story, or else solving these mysteries could''ve been so much easier.

    In any case, Amelia also informed me about the possibility of Arcane Magic being used on me.

    Arcane Magic was mentioned a few times in the story. However, I had skipped most of the info dumps back when I was reading the novel. That''s why, now, I had no choice but to delve into research.

    After spending hours in the manor''s library and surfing the inte, I managed to gather some information on Arcane Magic.

    Apparently, the magic that peoplemonly used in today''s world had been developed specifically forbat purposes over the long span of seven centuries.

    Before that, in the elven world, magic was used for various purposes other than just battle.

    This ancient form of magic, that was nearly dead in today''s world, was known as Arcane Magic.

    Oh, and let me share an interesting butpletely unrted fact ¡ª during my research, I discovered that dwarves had their own unique magic in their home world.

    It was known as Smithing Magic.

    Smithing Magic was used for creating enchanted weapons and machinery. It was also used for extracting Blessings or Gifts from the deceased Gifted ones to create relics.

    Unlike the Arcane Magic of the elves, Smithing Magic was not dead in the modern world.

    In fact, its users have multiplied in this war-torn world.

    But now the burning question was, who in the world capable of casting Arcane Magic used it to target Lucas?

    However, even more perplexing was the why. Why in the name of holy god would someone manipte Lucas'' mind and lock away his memories like that?

    Hell if I know all that.

    Anyway, after Ipleted my brief research on Arcane Magic, I also started exploring something I had previously made a mental note to investigate.

    The Cosmic Womb ¨C a name I came across in Kai''s Book Of Prophecy.

    I didn''t have high expectations when I searched for it online, but I did find results.

    In simpler terms, what I read in the articles online was that the Cosmic Womb is often used metaphorically or poetically to describe the origin of the universe.

    Essentially, it''s the ce from which everything in existence emerged, shaping the world as we see it today.

    In some traditions, the Cosmic Womb is also believed to be synonymous with the Akashic Records.

    Now, the Akashic Records are said to be a cosmic database containing records of every thought, emotion, event, and experience in the history of the universe.

    The elves theorized that essing the Cosmic Womb would grant a mortal the power to be a God.

    Through the power of these records, one could rewrite everything in existence and create it anew, molding the universe and everything in it ording to their own desires, like a true God.

    Though, I found it hard to agree with the majority of the content written in those online articles.

    I mean, I''m a staunch believer in science, and scientifically, the universe came into existence through the Big Bang. It was not given birth by some¡­ Cosmic Womb.

    Perhaps, simr to its definition, Kai''s Book Of Prophecy used the term Cosmic Womb only in metaphorical terms.

    If I remember correctly then the Book Of Prophecy only said that the three Heroes are chosen by the Cosmic Womb.

    As for what exactly it symbolizes as a metaphor, well, once again, hell if I know all that!

    Maybe it was used as a title or nickname for someone. Or maybe it just meant something else entirely.

    I let out a weary sigh and reclined in my chair. Propping my legs up on the study desk in front of me, I whispered to myself:

    "Well, if the prophecy about the Three Heroes holds true, and I am indeed one of them, then I''ll find all my answers soon enough."

    Just as I said that my smart bracelet beeped, signaling that I had received a notification.

    Bringing my hand up to my face, I saw that it was a text from Amelia. She was calling me to that bar.

    Apparently, her information broker had found a lead.

    I looked at the bed at the far end of the room and saw that Sera was soundly sleeping there.

    Deciding not to disturb her sweet slumber, I let out another sigh and spun around before jumping up from my chair onto my feet.

    "Okay, let''s go."

    ?

    Meanwhile, Adel was sitting in a quaint caf¨¦, surrounded by four young men and one youngdy.

    The person directly in front of Adel was a bald young man, whose bulging muscles threatened to burst through the seams of his shirt.

    It was none other than Apolus ckwood, the same guy who had Ironically, Apolus was currently talking to Adel about that very fight¡­ if that one-sided demolition could even be called a gotten into a brawl with Amelia ck just the night beforest.

    Ironically, Apolus was currently talking to Adel about that very fight¡­ if that one-sided demolition could even be called a <nulli>fight.

    "Adel, I''m telling you! That girl was just something else!" Apolus eximed, a mix of shame and regret evident on his face.

    Adel rolled his eyes and a look of disgust crossed his lips. "You lost to a girl! A girl! A hulking guy like you lost to a delicate archeress in hand-to-handbat! Apolus, I don''t think you cane up with anything to excuse your defeat."

    Apolus clenched his teeth before turning to face his friends who had been with him at the bar that night.

    "And these guys!" Apolus pointed at them. "They didn''t even try to back me up! They should at least share the punishment with me!"

    The youngdy in the group was the first to respond. "Are you out of your mind?! If even you didn''t win, then how could we have hoped to stand a chance against that... that demoness!?"

    One of the guys beside her was quick to agree. "Exactly, besides You specifically told us to stay out of it!"

    Apolus sighed in defeat and dropped his head in shame.

    After a long and ufortable silence, he turned back to Adel and said, "Alright, I''ll ept whatever punishment you deem fit. But mark my words, one day, I''ll settle the score with that girl... Amelia ck."

    Adel smirked. "Very well. Don''t worry, I won''t¡ª"

    But suddenly, in the midst of speaking, something clicked in Adel''s mind, causing him to abruptly stop.

    He stared intently at Apolus before asking, "What was the name of the archeress again?"

    Apolus looked puzzled but replied, "Oh, her name is Amelia ck. I did a bit of background check on her, and found out that she''s a cadet at the Global Academy."

    Adel chuckled softly in amusement. "Is that so? Interesting."

    Noticing the intrigued expression on Adel''s face, Apolus hesitated for a moment before inquiring, "What is it, Adel? Do you know that girl?"

    Adel didn''t respond immediately, letting the answer linger before finally saying, "No, but she''s an old acquaintance of my brother. However, it''s odd for her to visit a ce like that bar, Last Call. Last I heard, it''s a haunt for nobles, and she certainly isn''t one."

    One of the guys chimed in, "But that bar is not exclusively for nobles, is it?"

    Adel nodded. "True, it''s not, but mostmoners tend to avoid going to ces frequented by the nobility."

    Apolus questioned, "What exactly are you getting at, Adel?"

    Adel paused again, considering his words before answering, "I''m saying that we pay a visit to Last Call and find out why she was there."

 Chapter 318 Confronting The Truth [1]

    Chapter 318 Confronting The Truth [1]

    Walking down the underground hall beneath the Last Call bar, I looked around curiously.

    For some reason, this ce reminded me of Kai''s hideout. Of course, this one wasn''t nearly as covert and protected as the Wiseman''s hideout.

    "I never knew about this ce," I mused aloud, trailing behind Amelia. "Well, to bepletely honest, I don''t remember much about anything these days."

    Amelia nced over her shoulder and cast a sympathetic look at me before reassuring with a bright smile, "Don''t worry. You will remember soon."

    My gaze locked with the lithe ck-haired archeress in front of me, and I found myself getting lost in her calm green eyes, reminiscent of a lush forest.

    Her eyes¡­ for some reason, they triggered a sense of deja vu.

    Before I could even understand the source of that feeling, my lips moved on their own and I whispered a question.

    "You''re hiding something, aren''t you?"

    "Hmm?" Amelia turned around to look at me, urging me to repeat the words I failed to convey. "What did you say?"

    Coming back to my senses, I shook my head. "I was talking to myself. Don''t worry about it. By the way, you mentioned your father gave you a mana beast?"

    Amelia''s eyes widened as she nodded excitedly. "Oh, yes! Did you see the pics I sent you? I don''t know what kind of mana beast he is, though. What''s your opinion?"

    "I have no idea," I shrugged. "Did you ask your dad?"

    "I tried, but he''s not picking up calls or answering my texts," said Amelia. "It''s not unusual. Sometimes he visits ces with poor reception."

    I tilted my head back and replied, "I see."

    Truth be told, I knew precisely what kind of mana beast her father had gifted her.

    In the novel, Amelia''s father was only mentioned a couple of times outside of shbacks.

    The first time was when he left a Frost Hound pup ¨C a rare divine-ranked mana beast ¨C in the care of their neighbor for Amelia.

    Yes, I had just lied to Amelia. I was well aware of the type of mana beast her pup was. I also knew why her father wasn''t responding to her messages or calls.

    He was at the northern border.

    It wasn''t an event rted to the plot, and he was also not in any danger. That''s why I hadn''t told Amelia about his whereabouts to avoid worrying her.

    Regarding her pup, she would soon find out about him on her own.

    But the mere fact that she had received her new mana beastpanion meant that all the pieces were falling into ce for the beginning of the second volume.

    Time was running out for me.

    The second volume was about to begin in roughly three months. Lost in my thoughts about the future, I released a deep sigh.

    Suddenly, Amelia came to an abrupt halt, and I followed suit by stopping right behind her.

    "What''s going on?" I asked.

    Amelia pointed at the door to our right with her chin and informed me, "This is the room."

    As soon as she said that, Amelia swung the door open, and I entered the room behind her.

    Inside, I beheld a cozy wooden chamber that must be a paradise during the winter season.

    Looking around I saw a fiery red-haired woman sitting cross-legged on the sofa by the firece.

    She wore a white, backless dress that perfectlyplemented her jade-toned skin and snowy-whiteplexion.

    A yful smile adorned her captivating face, which was capable of enthralling anyone fortunate enough to gaze upon her.

    With a glint of allure and a spark of humor present in her dull gray eyes, the woman gave me a curious nce and nodded in greeting.

    "Hello, Lucas Morningstar," the beautiful redhead began. "I''m¨C"

    However, before she couldplete her introduction, I interjected, my voice filled with a sense of shock, "Minerva Hart?"

    Amelia frowned, then turned sideways to look at me. "You know her?"

    Minerva''s expression of curiosity turned into surprise as her gaze shifted between Amelia and me before settling on me.

    Finally, she repeated Amelia''s question, "You know me?"

    "I¨C um," I scratched the back of my neck, then awkwardly nodded. "Yes, I do know you. They say you''re the best spy of our generation."

    Minerva smirked proudly. "Haa! That''s absolutely correct! People do say that. But, wait¡­ isn''t fame the enemy of a good spy?"

    Ignoring her mumbling, I turned to Amelia, my eyes widened in disbelief.

    "Why didn''t you tell me that your information broker was none other than Minerva Hart?!" I questioned.

    Amelia shrugged, looking puzzled. "I didn''t think she was that important. Why don''t I know about her?"

    I resisted the urge to palm my face. Of course, she was important! But naturally, Amelia wouldn''t know about her.

    In fact, anyone outside of those with family ties to the United Military wouldn''t be aware of Minerva Hart.

    At least, not yet.

    Two years from now, Minerva would be known as... the Shadow Rose.

    She would be an invaluable ally to the protagonist and his group during the onset of the War of Union.

    In fact, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that Nero only managed to unite the world after the Civil War solely thanks to the aid provided by Minerva Hart.

    She deftly manipted the information and secrets of all the major world leaders and presented them to Nero in such a way that left them with no choice but to cooperate with him.

    Not only that but she also yed a major role during the final struggle against the Vampire Monarch.

    Undoubtedly, she was the greatest spy and information maniptor of our generation ¨C no, of all time!

    In the novel, aside from the Shadow Rose, she was also often referred to as the Queen of Secrets.

    But despite her revered reputation, there was no information about her in the novel prior to the start of the war arc.

    That was the reason why I didn''t know where to find her at this point in the story.

    But who would have guessed that Minerva was right here in Wolfshire? And Amelia had led me to her!

    If I didn''t have my grievances with the God of Fate, I might have almost believed in the magic of Fate myself.

 Chapter 319 Confronting The Truth [2]

    Chapter 319 Confronting The Truth [2]

    After exchanging initial greetings and a few more words, Minerva insisted that we both take a seat and kindly offered us some tea.

    cing a tter full of sweets before us, Minerva began a lively gossip session with Amelia and me.

    She inquired about the current curriculum at Global Academy and the level of talent among the cadets these days.

    I had a feeling that she was mostly interested in any confidential information we could provide her about these talented cadets.

    Truly, she lived up to her sobriquet of the Queen of Secrets.

    Personally, I had no appetite for snacks or gossip. I was impatiently waiting for her to start talking about my case.

    However, I did not want to seem rude so I let her continue the gossip session and did not interrupt.

    After all, aside from knowing about Lucas'' past, my goal here was to secure Minerva''s alliance for the future.

    I kind of felt guilty for wanting to take away a pawn like Minerva from Nero, but hey, in my defense, they don''t even know each other yet!

    manipte me?"

    "What if I said no?" Minerva reclined on the sofa, bringing her hand Besides, I could use someone like Minerva''s talent far better than a victory junkie like Nero.

    Thankfully, it didn''t take long for Minerva to bring up the topic I had been eagerly waiting for all this time.

    "So, Lucas," Minerva inquired, "I''ve been told that your memories were tampered with, that someone manipted you."

    I nodded, voicing my thoughts, "It''s still a suspicion. That''s why I need you to tell me if that was truly the case. Did someone really manipte me?"

    "What if I said no?" Minerva reclined on the sofa, bringing her hand up to her chin to support it. "What if I told you that only you are ountable for your own actions?"

    "I''d believe you," I instantly replied. "But I''d still ask you for an exnation about my fragmented memories."

    Minerva stared at me, her expression nk for a moment, before she erupted intoughter.

    Eventually, she calmed herself and offered a courteous smile, brushing a finger along the edge of her eye.

    "Why would you believe me so easily?" She questioned. "I could be lying to you."

    "You have no reason to lie," I countered with a shake of my head. "Besides, if you really know about me, then you would know it''s best not to make an enemy of me."

    Minerva leaned back once again, a smirk blossoming on her alluring face. "Is that a threat?"

    I also wore a polite smile and shook my head again. "That depends. Are you going to answer my questions truthfully?"

    The graceful smirk on the redhead''s face only widened as she responded:

    "Well, of course. I said I would help you, so I will. But can you answer a question of mine first?"

    A frown of confusion crept onto my face.

    "What is it?" I inquired.

    The next words that left Minerva''s lips left me stunned for a few seconds...

    "Tell me, why did you do what you did in Silveserine? I''m sure you had a reason for ughtering so many young souls instead of alerting the Military Police. Also, how did you even know about it?"

    As soon as she posed her questions, I felt my heart thumping wildly.

    A wrenching, morbid feeling of disgust and shock settled in my gut.

    I tried my best not to let it show on my face, but I could tell I had started sweating profusely. My mind was not much less of a wreck.

    How did she know about it? I made sure not to leave any trace of it!

    Did she really dig up so much information about me in just two nights? Wait, is that a threat?

    Damn it, should I just kill her?

    If she lets the word out about how I killed a human, I could very well be sentenced to imprisonment.

    No, no, no, no!! I can''t let that happen!

    Just as I was drowning in the midst of such a maelstrom of thoughts, Minerva''s voice reached my ears again.

    "Lucas, I asked you something."

    Shaking out of my daze, I noticed that Amelia was looking at me, a mingled look of concern and confusion visible in her deep emerald eyes.

    Gritting my teeth, Iposed myself and turned to Minerva with a fierce re.

    "You are prying where you shouldn''t," I retorted sharply. "Answer my questions and take your payment. That''s all I need from you."

    Minerva''s eyebrows shot up at the sudden change in my tone. She regarded me with a reassuring gaze and said, "Listen, dear, you have no reason to worry. Whatever you say in this room will not leave these walls¨C"

    Before she could finish her sentence, I interrupted her.

    "No thanks," I scoffed sharply. "I''m not going to trust you. Thest person who made that mistake is being tortured right now, am I right?"

    This time, it was Minerva''s turn to widen her eyes. Her face paled, slowly drained of all color. A ragged breath escaped her lips along with some trembling words:

    "Max¡­ H-How? How do you know about him?"

    I locked my gaze with her, staring deep into her quivering eyes, and stated, "I do not wish to answer your question. I just want to know about my past. Tell me what you know about me, and I''ll be on my way."

    Minerva hesitated for a few seconds. She clearly wanted to ask me how I knew about Max. But in the end, she reluctantly decided to let go of the topic after seeing the fierce hostility in my eyes.

    Closing her eyes, she massaged her temples, her previous yfulness nowhere present on her face.

    I knew I shouldn''t have disclosed what I knew about her, but I needed to let her know that she wasn''t the only one who knew about others.

    As for her alliance, I can not trust her anymore, so I can''t work with her. It won''t work out. I''ll always fear that she''ll betray me.

    As I came to that conclusion, Minerva finally looked at me, a mixture of regret and resignation in her eyes that quickly changed to callous disinterest.

    In an even tone, she finally gave me the answer I had been searching for long.

    "It was your mother. She used an Arcane spell and a magic potion to block most of your memories."

    My brow furrowed into a deep frown as I briskly shook my head. "No, that''s not possible¡­"

    She dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans and took out a bunch of long paper receipts, throwing them at me.

    I caught the slips of paper and started inspecting them, the frown on my face turning into a scowl.

    "Around six to seven years ago, she started brewing a potion. She imported rare and expensive ingredients from all over the globe. Those are the receipts of her transactions."

    A short, shuddering breath escaped my lips as I clutched the receipts tightly in my trembling hand.

    I gritted my teeth, barely stopping myself from tearing the fragile paper in my hands to shreds.

    Mother? Why¡­ Why would she do something like that? What did I ever do to her?

    Heaving a guttural breath, I rose from my seat, my fists clenched tightly around the paper receipts, crumpling them.

    I guess I''ll just have to confront her.

 Chapter 320 Bar Fight [3]

    ?320  Bar Fight [3]

    After departing from the cafe, Adel and his group arrived at the bar within minutes.

    As they arrived before the establishment, Adel carefully surveyed the building from roof to bottom.

    Before him was a two-story building with a glowing neon billboard proudly disying the words ''Last Call'' at its peak.

    Adel shot a quick nce at his friends before speaking:

    "Jace, Lex, Apolus, and Anna ¨C you four search the ground floor. Roy, youe with me to the second floor. I''ll talk to the owner."

    Each member of the group nodded in understanding and headed inside the bar.

    ?

    I stormed out of the cozy wooden chamber with Amelia following me closely behind.

    She stayed silent until we reached the stairs heading up before finally letting her curiosity get the best of her and asking:

    "What was she talking about? What did you do in Silveserine?"

    I halted abruptly at the mention of the city where my dark secret was buried. I forced myself to stay calm and not let the panic escape on my face.

    But I failed.

    I swallowed hard, hoping to suppress my anxiety as a ragged breath got through my trembling lips.

    I wanted to speak, but for a long time, no voice came out of my mouth. I was even unable to hear anything.

    Like a harrowing melody, the agonizing screams of the little girl I left in the slums of Silveserine to die echoed in my ears.

    In my eyes shed her pale face and her terror-filled eyes. Everything around me, even my own senses was drowned in the frightful memory that I so dearly wished to forget.

    Despite feeling as if several torturous hours had passed, all that panic onlysted for a moment.

    I was quickly able to rpose myself and steeled my heart. Trying to even mybored breaths, I turned to Amelia and spoke:

    "I don''t wish to talk about it."

    Amelia looked back at me with concern welling her eyes but didn''t reject my wish. She reluctantly nodded and ced a hand on my shoulder.

    "It''s fine. Everything''s fine."

    Her melodious, almost soothing, voice did finally manage to bring my tumultuous mind to peace.

    After a while, she spoke again, "But can I at least ask who is this Max that she was talking about?"

    Taking in a deep breath, I started walking up the staircase. "Max was the name of her lover. He was a member of Spider. Minerva got close to him, extracted information on Spider from him, and betrayed him atst by turning him over to the military."

    Amelia arched her eyebrows. "Is that so? I¡­ I didn''t know she was¡­"

    "It wasn''t her fault," I said, shaking my head. "She was working for the military, just doing her job. And it took every ounce of courage she had in her to betray her love like that. And besides, it was Max''s fault for telling her his secrets anyway. It was his fault for trusting someone that much."

    Amelia frowned in silence for a few long seconds before speaking again, "It wasn''t his fault, though. We all wish for someone to stand by our side. If we can''t trust them then¡­ what''s the point of anything?"

    I shook my head, finally reaching the ground floor. I turned around to look at her as she was at thest step of the stairs and uttered:

    "My grandmother used to say that if you wish to keep your secrets safe, then only whisper them to a mortal with no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no mouth to speak, and no fingers to chatter."

    The frown on Amelia''s face deepened as she couldn''t help but ask, "What kind of mortal is that?"

    I turned around and started heading for the exit of the bar. As she followed me behind, I replied, "A dead one."

    Amelia stayed silent for a while before sighing.

    "That''s a sad way to live," she said, before touching her chin. "By the way, what''s this Spider?"

    I stopped right in my tracks. Blinking a couple of times, I spun around and faced Amelia, who was looking back at me as if she had just asked the most innocent question.

    I blinked a few more times and eximed, "How could you not know Spider?! It''s like this day and age''s Illuminati!"

    Amelia scowled. "And what exactly is this Illuminati?"

    I rolled my eyes. "Right. I can''t me you for not knowing Illuminati."

    Shaking my head, I cleared my throat and began exining:

    "Spider is a secret societyposed of many influential people of the world. They are said to have millions of active members and sleeper cells throughout all of the five continents, and even in the Government."

    "Ahhh!" Amelia pped her hands. "Right, I did hear something like that once in the news."

    Oh, right.

    I forgot that in the novel Amelia was the kind of person who never bothered herself with politics.

    She was never even up-to-date with the ongoing affairs in the world most of the time, serving asic relief in many scenes and requiring other characters from the main cast to fill her up on the news.

    Rolling my eyes, I turned around and once again resumed walking. "Make it a habit to at least read hot news articles."

    But before Amelia could argue back and probably tell me how tedious and dull she finds concerning herself with news, a loud, booming voice erupted inside the bar.

    "There! That''s her!"

    It was afternoon. There weren''t many patrons at this time of the day so it was easy to spot the source of the voice.

    A few meters away from us stood the tallest and most muscr young man I had probably ever seen in my life.

    However, the innocent youth on his face was still evident, promising to turn into raging, mature vigor one day.

    His head was shaved clean, and his dark eyes were casting a fierce gaze on us. His index finger was pointed in our direction.

    Around him were two more young men, both unassuming, and a fetching young woman.

    The monstrous young man soon let out a beat-like grunt and began striding in our direction, a primal, menacing look glinting in his eyes as hisckeys followed behind.

 Chapter 321 Bar Fight [4]

    ?321  Bar Fight [4]

    The group of misfits approached us, the muscr young man among theming face-to-face with Amelia.

    Instead of stepping back, Amelia clenched her teeth and stepped forward, locking her gaze with the imposing young man.

    I could swear I almost saw the sparks crackle in the air between them where their gazes met.

    A palpable tension hung in the air, apanied by an unsettling yet fragile silence that felt like a delicate piece of ss, moments away from shattering.

    Surprisingly, it wasn''t the ck-haired archeress or the imposing bald young man who broke the silence first.

    Instead, it was a slender silver-haired boy standing behind the muscr one.

    He pointed a trembling finger in my direction and yelled, his voice filled with usation:

    "You! It''s you!"

    I arched an eyebrow and tilted my head slightly, ring back at the silver-

    haired boy.

    Looking around, I saw everyone else was just as confused as me. Even the boy''s friends didn''t know what was going on.

    Finally, I decided to pose a question, "Do I know you?"

    A nerve popped up on his forehead upon hearing me. He widened his eyes, shame and fury visible in his gaze as he yelled:

    "I''m Jace ckwood!"

    I looked around, looking at the perplexed faces of everyone present around me, and shrugged puzzledly at his introduction.

    "Does that name supposed to remind me of something?" I asked, growing even more confused by the second.

    The muscr young man turned around and faced the silver-haired boy before speaking, "Jace, what are you doing?"

    The silver-haired boy named Jace responded, his eyes still ring at me, "Apolus! He''s that guy I told you about!"

    Apolus frowned. "What guy? We were here for that girl!"

    Ignoring the muscr young man, the guy named Jace turned to me and yelled once more, "I met you in Silveserine!"

    For a second, at the mention of Silveserine, I felt the chill creep up my spine.

    Why was everyone mentioning Silveserine today?! What was going on with people?!

    But in the next moment, I calmed myself down. With a cold re, I said, "I met a lot of people there."

    The silver-haired boy gritted his teeth. He stayed silent for a second before answering again, "You¡­ were at that one casino. You beat me in poker."

    "....." I didn''t even know what to say to that. Blinking a couple of times, I cleared my throat and said, "I beat a lot of people and visited a lot of casinos there."

    My response seemed to have finally struck a nerve, prompting Jace to snap. "This guy! I will kill this fucker!"

    As he said that, Jace started making his way toward me. But right then, the striking young woman in their group intervened.

    "Wait a second... Silver hair, red eyes, and that unmistakably charming face... Isn''t he Lucas?! Lucas Morningstar?!" She eximed.

    Their entire group frowned, even Jace ckwood, who had been cursing me until now, stopped abruptly.

    It took them this long to recognize me, which meant none of them were from the West ¡ª I mused inwardly.

    The muscr young man named Apolus muttered more to himself than to his friends, "So he''s Adel''s brother."

    Oh, they knew Adel too? It seemed my brother had acquired some newckeys after joining the Ethereal Academy.

    That also meant they were likely all from the Ethereal Academy. But why were they here?

    As soon as that question crossed my mind, Apolus pointed at Jace with his eyes and said, "Listen, we''re both nobles too. We''re ckwood brothers."

    He hesitated for a moment before gesturing toward Amelia with his chin. "Our business is with that girl. Leave her here and go to the second floor. You''ll find your brother there. I promise I won''t hurt you if you do that."

    Ignoring the imposing guy, I shifted my attention to Amelia and silently inquired, "Who is this clown?"

    Amelia shrugged. "He wanted a drink with me, I declined, and we got into a bar fight. It was fun."

    "He wanted a drink, huh?" I wiggled my eyebrow. "Someone is quite popr."

    Amelia grinned brightly but then frowned as if she''d remembered something very important.

    "By the way, I''ve been meaning to ask something. What about me gives off the impression that I''m not a noble?"

    I threw my head back and chuckled for a few seconds before stepping closer to her and asking, "Why the sudden question?"

    Amelia slightly pouted. "Just because."

    I smiled. "You look too innocent to be a noble."

    Amelia gasped. "Huh?! Excuse me? What does that mean? Do I look naive¡ª"

    Before we could continue our conversation, Apolus roared, "Hey! You two! Do you think we''re joking here?! How dare you ignore us?!"

    "Oh, right!" I sped my hands together and nodded, turning my head to him. "You guys were here."

    Apolus gritted his teeth and growled like an enraged bull, but before he could speak again, I chimed in.

    "Listen," I said, locking eyes with the imposing young man. "I''ll give you a friendly warning here, young Lord ckwood. Kindly step aside, let us leave this bar, and I promise not to break at least one of your hands."

    Apolus'' face reddened with anger, but he suddenly burst into heartyughter.

    After a few seconds, he stoppedughing and stared directly into my eyes.

    "You''re dead," he dered, throwing his arm at me to grab my shoulder.

    However, the moment his hand made contact with me, Apolus'' massive body was flipped upside down.

    Everyone, even the patrons quietly sipping their drinks, widened their eyes in sheer astonishment.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    Apolus'' hefty body crashed violently onto the hard wooden floor, causing it to splinter and crack.

    "Arghhh¡ª!"

    The muscr young man let out a beastly scream, but I silenced him by pressing my boot onto his face.

    "Shut up," I ordered, summoning my spear and bringing its crimson de down at his neck.

    I turned to his group and said, "You guys are his friends, right?"

    "Yes," the fetching young woman in the group quickly replied. "But in our defense, we only became his friends recently."

    I shifted my gaze to Jace and asked, "And aren''t you his brother?"

    Jace was sweating profusely at this point. He blinked a couple of times and staggered as he shrugged, "Yes, but I always had my doubts that he was adopted."

    I nced down at Apolus, my boot still covering his mouth, and said, "Tell Adel to stay out of my affairs, or he''ll end up in your position next."

 Chapter 322 Confrontation

    ?322  Confrontation

    Leaving the bar, Amelia and I made our way toward the Wolf''s Den.

    We remained mostly silent during the walk but as the Morningstar Manor grew closer, Amelia struggled to suppress her curiosity.

    Finally, with our destination just in sight, she couldn''t hold back any longer.

    "So, what''s your n now?" she inquired.

    I spared a brief nce in her direction before answering, "Obviously, I''m going to confront my mother."

    Amelia hesitated briefly, then ced a hand on my shoulder, saying, "Lucas, please try to talk to her calmly. There might be a reason behind what she did."

    I jerked her hand off my shoulder and turned around, retorting, "What reason could possibly justify her blocking my memories?! For all I know, she could also be the one who manipted me!"

    Amelia attempted to cool my temper. "That''s precisely my point. Speak to her calmly and ask for her reasons before jumping to any rash decisions."

    Listening to her advice, I managed to regain someposure and exhaled deeply.

    I nodded and said, "You''re right. I''ll try to stay calm."

    With that, I resumed walking.

    "Now,e along," I said to her.

    Suddenly, a confused frown crossed the ck-haired beauty''s face. "Eh? What do you mean, e along''?"

    I halted, turned around, and shot her a puzzled look. "Well, if I don''t like her answer then I might need your help to kill her."

    Amelia stared at me nkly for a moment before eximing, "Huh?! What happened to staying calm?"

    "I said I''d try!" I retorted with a shout.

    Exasperated, Amelia rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

    "You''re going to get us both killed, aren''t you?" She said before following me inside the manor.

    Walking inside, a fleeting thought crossed my mind. It was regrettable that I couldn''t use Enigma Sightstone on myself.

    But I could still use it on Amelia, right?

    Maybe I could use it to peer into her memories and gain insight into what Sofiana''s warning truly meant.

    However, unfortunately, as soon as that notion urred to me, another thought crossed my mind.

    If I were to use Enigma Sightstone on her, trapping her in an illusion to look into her memories, she would undoubtedly realize what I did when I''d free her.

    She would know that I had used a relic on her. How would I exin my actions then?

    No, I couldn''t afford to gamble with her trust on the slim chance that a vampire''s warning held truth.

    Coming to that conclusion, I let out a sigh and ironed my resolve. It''s fine. I''ll take one step at a time.

    First, I will confront Yennefer and demand answers for what she did to me. I''ll decide on my next course of action after that.

    ?

    Inside the mansion, in her office, Yennefer sat amidst a towering stack of paperwork spread across her desk.

    She had her silver hair tied up in a high bun. In front of her, a holographic tab and keyboard were being projected.

    She frequently nced between the paperwork and the virtual screen in front of her then tapping away on the virtual keyboard.

    The position of Lady of the West surely came with its advantages, but it left her no room for a moment''s rest.

    Right then, a faint knock echoed on the door of her office. Before Yennefer could respond, the door swung open.

    Almost instantly, a young man with shiny silver hair rushed in, bearing an uncanny resemnce to Yennefer.

    Behind him, an enchanting young woman with jet-ck hair and eyes as vibrant as a lush forest on a sunny day followed.

    Following behind the duo was a flustered butler, his face drenched in cold sweat as he said, "Young Master Lucas! You can''t just barge in here like this! Lady Yennefer is busy¡ª"

    Before the butler couldplete his sentence, Yennefer raised a hand, halting him in his tracks.

    "It''s fine," she said, motioning for the butler to leave the room.

    After the butler reluctantly exited her office, Yennefer turned her attention to Lucas.

    Her lips curled into a faint smile as she parted them to speak, "What brings you here, Lucas?"

    Lucas remained silent, his gaze fixed on Yennefer in a momentary silence, before he spoke up, "Why did you do it? Was it because you favored Adel? I suppose you always preferred him over me, didn''t you? You wanted him to be the heir, right?"

    A deep frown marred Yennefer''s ageless face, her bewitching eyes clouded with confusion.

    "What do you mean?" she questioned, uncertaintycing her voice. "I don''t understand¨C"

    Before Yennefer couldplete her sentence, Lucas strode up to her desk and mmed his hands down upon it.

    Thwaaam¨C!!

    "Do not feign ignorance!" He raged, prompting Amelia to ce a calming hand on his shoulder.

    "Calm down," the ck-haired archeress whispered to him in a hushed tone.

    Lucas rolled his eyes, took several deep breaths, and managed to quell his anger even for just a moment.

    He then dug his hands into his pockets, took a handful of crumpled paper slips, and threw them in front of Yennefer.

    The elven woman gave her son a quick nce, the frown on her captivating face deepening even more. "And what is this?"

    Lucas remained silent and kept staring at her with cold animosity. An uneasy feeling began to settle in Yennefer''s heart.

    With heavy hands, she picked up the paper receipts and glimpsed at their contents.

    For a moment, her eyes slightly widened, and her heart raced within her chest. But she did a good job concealing her panic.

    In the next instance, with an even tone, she turned her attention to Lucas and inquired, "Where did you get this?"

    Lucas still kept his silence, the look of cold hatred in his eyes faltered and gave way to one of anguish.

    His tone, however, still remained detached as he finally answered with a question of his own:

    "Does it matter?" He asked. "It was you, wasn''t it? You meddled with my mind and blocked my memories, didn''t you?!"

    Yennefer reclined back in her chair and undid her bun, letting her long silver hair flow down. She let out a weary sigh and nodded.

    "Yes," she confessed, her dull, unfocused icy eyes fixated on the ceiling. "Yes, it was me."

    After a brief moment of silence, Yennefer stood up from her plush chair and moved around the desk in front of her, eventually leaning against its edge and faxing Lucas.

    She locked eyes with her son and began to speak, "Yes, I blocked your memories. I influenced your mind using Arcane magic. I¡ª"

    "Why?!" Lucas erupted, interrupting her as tears of fury welled up in his eyes. "What did I ever do to you?! Why would you do this?!"

    "Lucas, there are things in this world that you can''t even begin toprehend as you are right now," Yennefer exined while barely holding back her voice from breaking.

    "And that justifies what you did to your son?" Amelia interjected, her voice carrying the same hostility as Lucas''. "You turned him into a viin in the eyes of the public. I despised him for what I thought he did, but it turns out he wasn''t to me. You were!"

    Yennefer inhaled a shaky breath and rubbed her face wearily. "Neither of you truly understands what we''re dealing with. You don''t know what''s at stake here. But believe me, I took the actions I did for a very good reason."

    "Oh, so it was for a good reason!" Lucas scoffed. "Well, that exins a lot! Thank you, Mother dearest! Now tell me, did Father know about this as well?"

    Yennefer stayed silent and avoided eye contact, which Lucas took as confirmation, prompting him to scoff again.

    "Of course, he did!" Lucas snapped. "He disowned me knowing it wasn''t my fault! Tell me, was it so Adel could be the heir?!"

    Yennefer vigorously shook her head. "I wish it were that simple and selfish, Lucas! Oh, how I wish there was another choice!"

    "There''s always a choice!" Lucas roared, his fists clenched. "And you made yours! But what I need to know now is why! Why did you make such a choice if it wasn''t to favor Adel?"

    Yennefer shook her head once more, stumbling as she did so. "I-I can''t... I can''t tell you. Not right now."

    Lucas frowned, regarding Yennefer with disbelief. "Are you kidding me right now? You blocked my memories, manipted me, and now you''re refusing to even tell me why?!"

    Before Yennefer could respond, a gentle yet authoritative voice resonated in the office.

    "I will tell you."

    All eyes in the room shifted towards the source of the voice, revealing a towering man with broad shoulders and a ripped physique standing by the door frame.

    It was General Reynold Morningstar.

    "But dear¡ª" Upon seeing him, Yennefer quickly voiced her concerns, but Reynold shook his head at her.

    "You were correct, Yen. It''s beginning," he said before looking at Lucas. "He should at least have some idea about the situation."

 Chapter 323 Brave Oath

    <h4>Chapter 323 Brave Oath</h4>

    323 Brave Oath

    I found myself standing in the midst of a vast underground chamber, its walls constructed from sturdy stone.

    Medieval-style torches were securely affixed to the walls, lit up with eerie blue mes that were casting a ghostly glow upon the underground sanctuary.

    At the far end of the stone chamber, I saw a colossal throne, seemingly sculpted from a single, giant b of an ivory rock.

    The white st of the ivory throne ended in the shape of a wolf''s maw, two fiery red rubies were embedded in ce of its eyes, radiating a bright crimson glow.

    In the ghostly glow being emitted by the eerie blue mes, I could vividly see moss and grass sporadically spread across the stone ground.

    Right before us, just a few meters away from the ivory throne, was arge marble basin pool. In the center of its calm waters, a giant wolf''s skull rested.

    The condition of this underground sanctuary led me to suspect that I was inside of an ancient structure.

    I turned to the only other person present here with me. It was, of course, Reynold. I gave him a puzzled look and said, "I didn''t know there was something like this below the mansion."

    "Yes, no one except your mother and I know about this ce," Reynold replied, his gaze fixed on the ivory throne in the distance. "My father brought me here a few days before you and Adel were born... before he died."

    Joseph Morningstar, Reynold''s father, died roughly three days before Adel and Lucas were born. I knew this because of Lucas'' memories.

    While I had heard a few things about Joseph Morningstar from my master, Leo Kurogami, I didn''t know much about the man.

    Perhaps thesest few months that I spent trying to solve a myriad of mysteries had enhanced my curiosity. That''s why, when Joseph''s name was mentioned, my ears instantly perked up.

    "Do you know about him? I mean, your grandfather," Reynold asked, giving me a quick nce before his eyes returned to the ivory throne again.

    "No," I shrugged. "You never told me about him. You never told me much about anything."

    "And yet you somehow know more than I do," Reynold allowed a soft chuckle to escape his lips.

    I frowned at his words, beforementing in an even tone, "Master do talk about him sometimes, though."

    Reynold raised an eyebrow and suddenly a faint smile crossed his lips. "Leo? He used to spend all his vacations here. Father liked him a lot. He used to say Leo would catch up to me one day if I didn''t work hard."

    The faint smile on his lips widened ever so slightly, and it was only now that I realized the smile he was wearing wasn''t one of joy but one of regret for a time long passed.

    "He stood corrected," Reynold shrugged. "Leo has indeed surpassed me. In fact, he might just be on the same level as Xavier Sinir, the Lord Commander of the Space Defence Force."

    I lingered for a short span of time before saying, "He told me about his duels with you. Especially about thest one."

    The smile on Reynold''s face faltered a little as he added, "Leo had his demons, but now he has drowned them. He''s a kind man. Do you know he''s also your godfather?"

    "He told me about it," I replied. "So you don''t resent him?"

    A deeply troubled expression washed away Reynold''s smile. He stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking, "I never resented him. He was like a brother to me. I just¡­ I felt betrayed when he challenged me for the Western seat of power."

    "You know he would never have taken your position as the Overlord of the West even if he''d won, right?" I frowned.

    "Of course I know that," Reynold gritted his teeth. "But that is beyond the point. If not him, then his father would''ve taken the position. I merely defeated Leo by a hair''s breadth. My failure back then could have been detrimental, not for just us but the entire world!"

    "The entire world, you say?" I raised an eyebrow, my interestpletely piqued. "Why?"

    Reynold took a deep breath and then let out a weary sigh. "Joseph Morningstar, my father, and your grandfather, was a seer."

    "A seer?!" I eximed in shock. "You mean he could see the future?"

    "Through his dreams, yes." Reynold nodded. "Whatever he said always came true. One of the things that he said to me on his dying bed, before bringing me here, was that a Morningstar should always be in control of the west."

    I turned to Reynold and gave him a long, silent look. The air hung heavy as I began to voice my next question:

    "One of the things? What else did he tell you?"

    Reynold turned to me, his bright crimson eyes looking dead into mine. "Everything that''s going to happen until the end of the world."

    "....." I was at a loss for words. It took me a very long time to form aprehensible sentence in my mind and voice it. "The end of the world?"

    Reynold nodded before turning his gaze away again, this time his eyes fixated on the giant skull of the wolf resting in the calm waters encased in the marble basin right before us.

    Without looking at me, he continued:

    "To prevent that future, it''s important for our family to rule the West and the Wright family to be in charge of the North. It does not matter who is in the position of power in the East, but the South should not be under the rule of the Netyoive family."

    "Wh-Why?" I staggered.

    Reynold shook his head. "I don''t know. But I do know that ignoring the words of a seer is a foolish decision, especially considering that all the other predictions he made have alreadye true, while the rest are in the process of unfolding."

    "How much do you truly know?" I inquired, a sense of unease creeping over me for some unknown reason.

    A wry smile stretched across Reynold''s lips as he turned to face me, our eyes locking once more.

    Hidden behind his facade of calmness, I could clearly discern a mixture of guilt, regret, anguish, anger, and countless other emotions.

    With slightly quivering lips, he repeated his earlier statement, "As I said, I know everything. I know how I will die. I know how our entire family will meet its end. I know that the Vampire Monarch will awaken and destroy the whole world if not stopped. I know that the only ones capable of stopping this cmity are the three promised heroes."

    "The promised heroes..." I mumbled to myself before turning my gaze back to Reynold. "If you know all of this, then why aren''t you taking action to change it?"

    If Reynold indeed knew all this, then why did he behave as he did in the novel?

    Reynold scoffed. "Not taking action to change it, you say? My son, I can''t. I can''t alter fate, no matter how hard I''ve tried. Once I became aware of the world''s fate, I made every effort to change it. But all my actions only seemed to contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecies. It was as if I had no free will... I, like any other mortal, am simply a pawn of space, time, and fate."

    "So you''re saying that the world is destined for doom no matter how hard we try to save it?" I pressed, not willing to ept that there was no way out.

    "Only the three prophesied heroes can break free from the chains of fate," Reynold sighed.

    I gulped, locking my gaze onto Reynold for a fleeting moment before voicing a hesitant question, "And who exactly are these three promised heroes?"

    Reynold wore an amused smile. "You already know the answer to that question, don''t you?"

    I drew several deep breaths before shaking my head emphatically, eximing, "But how does any of this rte to what Mother did to me?! To what you did to me?!"

    Reynold released a shaky breath. "I can''t tell you that."

    "Why?" I pressed, my voice rising in intensity.

    "I simply can''t tell you, Lucas!" Reynold retorted. There was not a trace of a smile on his face despite the fact that his lips were curled up.

    He clenched his jaw momentarily, then eased his furrowed brow as he continued, "You have to trust me... We had no choice but to block your memories. I would change my actions if I could... If only I had a choice..."

    Reynold''s voice began to falter into a hushed whisper as he went on, "I''m sorry, Lucas. A father''s duty is to shield his child from the world''s dangers and cruelties. But I failed you... at every step of your life. I couldn''t protect you... And I won''t be able to in the future either."

    Tears welled in his crimson eyes, tracing a path down his cheek as he turned to me, his glistening eyes reflecting my pale face back at me.

    "Your path ahead is dire and filled with challenges, Lucas. Yet, you must believe me when I say that only you can walk on it. Only you can stop the apocalypse."

    A tremulous breath escaped my quivering lips as I tried to calm my racing heart, biting down on my lower lip.

    After a brief silence, I shook my head. "I still need my memories back. If I am the only one who can stop the apocalypse, I must know more about it."

    Reynold subtly bobbed his head into a slow nod. He then pointed his gaze toward the marble basin pool in front of us and said, "Drink from it. It''s a diluted antidote for the potion that was used to suppress your memories. Just a sip will suffice."

    I continued to stare at Reynold for a moment before reluctantly shifting my focus to the marble pool and walking toward it.

    As I walked, Reynold continued his long exnation. "Your memories will return gradually. The process can''t be instant; otherwise, it could potentially break your mind."

    That seemed fair, I thought. If I indeed possessed memories from other timelines then recalling everything instantly could really shatter my mental state.

    With that consideration in mind, I knelt by the marble basin. Cupping my hands, I dipped them into the calm, crystal-clear water.

    Bringing a handful of water up to my mouth, I greedily drank from my cupped hands. But as I did so, my gaze fell upon the giant wolf skull resting in the center of the pool.

    Inside one of its empty eye sockets, I saw several lines of shimmering golden letters etched onto the back of the skull.

    I froze as my gaze swept across the golden letters, reading the content written there:

    Born in an age consumed by war, bloodshed, and darkness, three brave heroes pledged to return peace, serenity, and light to their strife-ridden world.

    The defiant echoes of their brave oath reached the King of Darkness, the Dragon God. The ebony Dragon descended from the skies to burn their hope in the devouring mes of his life-draining inferno.

    The Dragon God made sure to obliterate their names and faces, their very existence from the mortal realm. Yet, the spark of hope they had ignited in the hearts of both gods and mortals through their brave oath remained.

    From my bloodline shalle a prince, destined to bear the mantle of the Last Hope of Heavens. He is the final chance given to us by the gods ¨C a chance to end the era of eternal darkness.

    Suddenly, a bitter taste flooded my mouth, causing a wave of nausea to wash over me, making me retch. My gut churned and my toes curled as an unnerving feeling settled in my heart, making me feel like I might throw up.

    But I didn''t throw up. Instead, I forced myself to swallow the water of the pool, took a deep to steady breath, and turned to Reynold.

    "What is that?" I demanded, pointing at the giant skull of the wolf.

    Reynold shrugged. "That''s Fefnir. The first Wind Wolf tamed by your great-

    grandfather. It was his beastpanion¡ª"

    Before Reynold could go on, I cut him off. "No, what''s written inside it?"

    A knowing expression washed over Reynold''s face as he took a deep breath. "That is the memory of the oath taken by the three heroes long ago. The oath to dispel the darkness and restore light to the world."

    I shook my head in confusion. "Long ago? But the three heroes... No one has made an oath like that right now! And what about this Ebony Dragon? I thought the Vampire Monarch was the threat we needed to watch out for!"

    Reynold remained silent for a moment before turning around and walking away with slow steps. "You''ve taken the antidote. Your memories will begin to return soon. You''ll have the answers to these questions on your own, in some time."

 Chapter 324 Train Of Thought

    <h4>Chapter 324 Train Of Thought </h4>

    324 Train Of Thought

    Iy motionless on my bed, staring at the beautiful intricate patterns on the ceiling above.

    Amelia had already returned home by the time I came back from the underground chamber below the mansion.

    She left me a text, asking if I was okay and what Reynold told me. I had yet to reply to her¡­ Actually, I don''t even know how I should reply.

    Should I tell her the truth about the prophecy? No, nonsense. I can''t do that. As I said, I can''t trust her to not tell Nero about it.

    And if Nero really is one of the three promised heroes, then he should not be told about the foretellings ording to Kai''s Book Of Prophecy.

    But can I even trust that Book? I mean, its origin is pretty elusive. But then who and what can I trust?

    There are obviously bigger forces at y here and I can''t draw a conclusion without fullyprehending the situation.

    My only option left is to wait for my fractured memories to be restored so I can take a step back and look at the grand scheme of things.

    Fiddling with my fingers, I recalled the golden text written inside the skull of the giant Wind Wolf and muttered to myself:

    "From my blood shalle a prince¡­"

    I couldn''t deny it anymore. The prophecy was indeed about Lucas. He really is meant to be the Spearman.

    But then, why was his fate so different in the novel? He couldn''t even participate in the final struggle because he was locked up behind bars under the charges of treason.

    And where do I fit in all of this mess? Why did I transmigrate in Lucas'' body?

    I mean, even if I were to believe that my earlier deduction is indeed correct and I''m actually Lucas who reincarnated on 2021 Earth and then transmigrated back to this one, the question still remains ¨C Why was I reborn?

    "Kriek~!"

    Sera hopped up to me and gently pecked me on my cheek before rubbing her head against the base of my chin.

    I smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace as I patted her head. "I''m fine, Sera."

    While cuddling Sera, I began to think back to what I saw once again. My mind raced, considering all the possibilities until my head started to ache.

    With an exhausted sigh, I closed my eyes and muttered under my breath, "He is the final chance given to us by the gods."

    What does that even mean?

    If the prophecy is about Lucas, then does that mean he was a ''chance'' given to this world by the gods?

    But does that mean the gods gave more chances to this world prior to this? Was it in the past¡­ or perhaps other timelines?

    I''m leaning toward thetter.

    "Haaa," frowning, I let out an exasperated sigh. "Three heroes, huh?"

    After a bit of thought, I cursed, "Damn it! There are so many threads to this mystery that I could weave a burial shroud."

    I don''t know why Lucas'' fate was so different if he was destined to be one of the three saviors of this world, but I know one thing for sure now¡­

    I need to get stronger. I need to get much, much stronger than I currently am and I need to do it fast.

    If the prophecies are true, which I''m now starting to believe they are, then I am sure I would be at the center of all the death and destruction.

    I wanted to avoid the chaos at first but I don''t think I''m going to have much of a choice in the future now. It''s much better to expect the worst and prepare for it.

    That''s right, expecting a problem and creating a solution before it happens is my forte.

    Before I thought I would have Nero fight the Vampire Monarch. But now it''s clear that the threat I should be wary of is still unknown to me.

    If I really have memories from alternate timelines, then I will be able to devise a solution to save the world from whatever cmity is about to befall when I recover those memories.

    But until that happens, I will start considering the possibility of facing the Vampire Monarch myself one day.

    If Lucas¡­ If I really am thest chance given to this world, then I will make thisst shot worth it.

    Gods, I must be crazy.

    I still remember when I came to this world seven months ago. I thought all I would have to do was survive.

    But now, all this timeter, I''m actually considering the possibility of saving the world from its destruction and battling the final boss myself because, apparently, I''m one of the only three individuals who can do that.

    "Haa!" I let out a self-deprecatingugh and sat up straight on the bed. Sera looked at me with confusion as I shook my head and muttered to myself, "Fate really is a bitch."

    Knock, Knock, Knock¡ª!!!

    As I was in the middle of ridiculing the source of all my problems, I heard a loud banging from my door.

    Rolling my eyes, I waited until a butler twirled open the door and barged in with a frightened expression.

    It was the same butler whom I had scolded before for knocking loudly on my door. But clearly, the guy doesn''t understand.

    "What have I told you about not banging at my door?! You''ll take it off its hinges one day!" I yelled.

    The butler, once again, performed a deep bow in apology and said, "I''m really sorry, young master Lucas. Young master Adel is home and he''s calling for you downstairs."

    I raised an eyebrow. Was this about the guy I beat up in the bar?

    I thought for a moment and then dered in a frustrated tone, "If he wants to see me then ask him toe to me, not the other way around."

    The butler looked at me, startled. He then spoke in a low, reluctant tone: "The thing is, his lordship is also there, awaiting your arrival."

    "Tsk," I loudly clicked my tongue before answering in an exasperated tone, "Fine! Tell him I''ll be there in a minute."

 Chapter 325 False Protection

    <h4>Chapter 325 False Protection</h4>

    325 False Protection

    Leaving Sera cocooned in the warm embrace of my cozy bed sheets, I exited my room and walked down the spiral stairway leading to the ground floor.

    As I came closer to the end of the stairsteps, I heard the loud mor of voices belonging to the people I was very familiar with. From the sounds of it, they were all engaged in a heated argument.

    After taking thest turn of the spiral staircase, several individuals suddenly came into my line of sight.

    I exhaled a soft sigh and spared them all a few brief nces.

    Come to think of it¡­ I had been sighing a lot since I came to this world. Maybe I should start taking care of my mental health.

    Shaking my head, I stopped just before thest few steps of the stairs and slipped my hands into my pockets.

    I then swept a quick gaze across the hallway and looked down at the people standing before me.

    There stood Reynold and Adel, both dressed extravagantly in modern regal suits and adorned with opulent jewelry.

    Well, most of the finery belonged to Adel since Reynold''s attire was very in inparison to his second son.

    To my surprise, standing among them was also the Ice Princess herself, Yelena.

    She was wearing the Top-18 blue and white academy uniform, suggesting that she hade here directly from the academy.

    Since Yelena was a Council Member, she had to fulfill her Vice President duties even during the break.

    Seeing me, all of them grew silent and momentarily stopped their argument, whatever it was about.

    "Wouldn''t you look at that? The whole family is here!" I put on a wide smile and pped my hands, then frowned. "Oh, no, wait¡­ Mother dearest is not here."

    I confusedly tilted my head and looked at Reynold before posing a question, "Where is she on such a rare asion?"

    But instead of replying to my question, Reynold voiced a question of his own.

    "Lucas," he began, giving me a dubious look. "Did you visit the Last Call bar today and assault someone there?"

    Ahh, once again I stand corrected.

    Frowning, I shook my head. "I did no such thing."

    Adel, who was quietly giving me a seething re while gritting his teeth until now, quickly yelled out, his voice filled with usation.

    "Liar!" He said. "Father, he''s lying! There were many witnesses present, you can ask anyone! The security footage should also be avable! Lucas attacked Apolus!"

    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and regarded Adel with an amicable tone, my smile only widening.

    "My dear little brother, I''m refuting the usation of assaulting him. Regarding whether I attacked him¡­ Yes, I did, but solely in self-defense after he made the first move."

    Reynold palmed his face.

    Meanwhile, Adel vehemently shook his head and yelled out in rage one more time: "Lies! You''re lying again! Apolus only touched your shoulder!"

    I scoffed at his words as if Adel had told a joke. "Have you seen the size of that man?! My shoulder would''ve been crushed by the sheer weight of his hand. I only acted in self-defense!"

    Both Yelena and Adel looked at me with wide eyes and mouth agape, startled by my obvious shamelessness.

    They both knew I was lying. I had enough strength to flip the guy but not endure the weight of his hand on my shoulder? Yeah, right.

    Reynold finally uncovered his face and looked at me seriously, his expression stern.

    "The ckwoods are a noble family. You attacked a nobleman," he said.

    "In self-defense!" I hastily interjected. "And honestly, why is it such a big deal? The ckwoods are nobles of the Eastern Continent, right? They have no authority or purpose here in our¨C I mean, yournd."

    As if I had stepped on andmine, with palpable frustration present in her voice, Yelena suddenly erupted before Adel or Reynold could even have the chance to respond:

    "That''s precisely the problem! If they were Western nobility, Father would''ve cleaned your mess, like he usually does! But they''re from the East! Thanks to you, the Eastern Overlords now have one more excuse to avoid trading with us!"

    The frown on my face turned heavy as I slowly leaned to my side on the staircase railing.

    "What trade are you talking about?" I inquired.

    Yelena''s eyes twitched as she eximed, "You make me want to bash your stupid head somewhere! Do you have any idea what''s going on in politics these days?"

    I tilted my head and regarded Yelena with half-closed eyes. "Dear sister, I can''t even keep track of my own life, so I apologize if I haven''t been keeping up with political affairs."

    Yelena smacked her forehead in defeat as I desperately suppressed myugh. In truth, I knew all that was going on in the world.

    The Overlords of the North, the heroic Wright family, were still defending the borders and fighting the vampires.

    The Overlords of the West, the revered Morningstar family, were supporting the Wright family by supplying soldiers trained directly by them.

    The Overlords of the East, the exalted Vermi?r family, were also supporting the Wright family by supplying weapons and armor.

    The Overlords of the South¡­ Now this topic is interesting¡­ ording to some rumors, Southern Overlords are nning a coup against the Central Government.

    Some people even believe that they are aplices of the covert organization, the Spider.

    Because of that, even though the head of the Netyoive is a General-ranked soldier just like Reynold, unlike my father, she isn''t allowed to own a military unit under her.

    The Netyoive family, despite being a ruling house, holds little power even in their own territory because the Central Government does not trust them.

    Right now, a clear discord has been created between the Southern Overlords and the rest of the three Overlords because of this mistrust.

    The Central Government is vignt, closely monitoring not only the Netyoive family but also the other three ruling houses.

    They fear that if one ruling family were to turn against them, then the others might attempt to do the same in the future.

    This is precisely why the Central Government could not know of the ongoing trade between the Morningstar and the Vermi?r families.

    What is this trade, one might wonder?

    "We''re supplying soldiers to the Eastern Continent and receiving weaponry in exchange," Reynold exined. "This trade is something that the Central Government mustn''t learn of, as it could lead them to suspect both the Eastern and Western ruling families of treason."

    In reality, the entire world is well aware of the trade transpiring between the East and West, just not its real nature.

    To hide the true nature of this ndestine exchange from the observant eyes of the Central Government and the world, it has been shown as a trade of goods and relics between the East and West, instead of weapons and soldiers.

    I was aware of this because... Do I really need to exin? Heh. The novel.

    However, what I can''t understand is the why behind it. What is the objective of this secret trade?

    The Vermi?r house is not a military family. They are cksmiths, exceptionally skilled ones, to be precise.

    Since the situation at the Northern Border is showing signs of escting soon, it''s understandable why a ruling family with weak military prowess would require more soldiers.

    Since the Central Government is unwilling to provide them with more troops due to their own insecurities, the Vermi?rs have no choice but to engage in a trade for which they could be charged with treason.

    But what do the Morningstars gain from this? The Wolves of the West already have enough soldiers and weaponry... unless... unless they are preparing for a war.

    But a war against whom?

    I furrowed my brow, shaking my head, and shifted my gaze to Reynold. I could think about all thister.

    At this moment, I opened my mouth to speak. "You''ve already disowned me. If they show any reluctance for what I did, simply tell them that I acted on my own. You''re not liable for my actions."

    Even though I was talking to Reynold, it was Yelena who snapped at me the next moment.

    "Oh, you don''t say! Obviously, he''ll say that because it''s the truth! What else do you think happened..."

    However, her voice continued to echo in the background, failing to reach my ears as my mind fixated on what I had just said.

    Not liable for my actions¡­

    My thoughts immediately returned to the conversation I once had with the former Abyssal Vampire King, Reina.

    She had mentioned how vampire spies kept an eye on me, believing I was the Spearman mentioned in their prophecy.

    However, after observing me during my youth for several years, they lost interest.

    Could that be the reason why he disowned me?

    If Reynold truly knew what was going to happen, perhaps he allowed Yennefer to use Arcane magic to influence my mind so that I would do what I did and give him a reason to disown me.

    In this way, the Vampires would see no reason to continue spying on me, believing I had no talent,cked family support, and had no conviction.

    In their eyes, I would be nothing more than exactly what the world thought of me¡ªa prodigy who failed at a young age.

    A fallen genius.

    "Pathetic," I muttered under my breath, casting a furious re at Reynold, barely keeping killing intent from slipping out.

    "What did you just say?!" Yelena erupted, stopping whatever previous rant she was on about.

    "Do you have a problem, trash?!" Adel also chimed in angrily.

    A profound silence hung in the air for a while as Reynold''s gaze locked onto mine. After several tense minutes, he said with a blend of defeat and sternness present in his voice:

    "Lucas, go back to your room," he then turned to look at Adel. "You too, Adel. Neither of you is allowed to leave the mansion unless you''re leaving the city."

    Before Reynold had even finished speaking, I spun around and ascended the stairs, making my way toward my room.

    Adel''s voice argued with Reynold in the background, but I paid it no attention at all.

    My mind was consumed by something else entirely.

    What they had done to me, to Lucas¡ªit wasn''t protection. They never protected him! I don''t know what other choices they might have had, but I refused to believe this was protection.

    They had left him to suffer¡­ alone!

    "This is it," I seethed. "I''m leaving this damned city."

    After all, I had achieved my goal. There was no longer any reason to remain in this wretched ce.

    Gritting my teeth, I reached my room and forcefully kicked open the door with a resounding thud. "Come on, Sera! We''re getting out¡ª"

    But as soon as I stepped into my room, a blinding white light assaulted my eyes, prompting me to instinctively shut them.

    "What the¡ª?!" I eximed, taken aback before opening my eyelids in a squint.

    The light was blinding, yet it didn''t feel violent. It felt warm¡­ almost familiar?

    Looking around the room for its source, I noticed the intense glow was originating from where my bed should have been.

    To be precise, where Sera should''ve been¡­

    "...Huh?"

 Chapter 326 Status Screen

    Chapter 326 Status Screen

    It has been three days since¡­ well since Sera exploded into a sh of blinding light.

    During these past three days, Adel tried to get a hold of me, while Yelena continued to give me seething res.

    Naturally, I had been ignoring them both.

    As for Reynold and Yennefer, I had been ignoring them as well. They''d called me down for dinner a few times, but I tly refused. They tried to talk to me, but I did the same.

    I knew that they wouldn''t tell me their reasons, though I had a strong suspicion I''d guessed almost all of them on my own already... almost.

    Yes, they had given me the antidote for the arcane potion that Yennefer had brewed to influence my mind, but I won''t thank them for it.

    After all, firstly, they were the very reason I needed that antidote in the first ce. And secondly, I could''ve just used the Edit Pen and created an antidote myself.

    In short, they didn''t do me any favor for which I should be showing my gratitude to them. I''d rather die anyway.

    To be honest, I wanted nothing more to do with this family.

    All I wanted was to leave this city as quickly as possible and hopefully never return here again.

    After all, my original objective foring here had already been achieved. Now there was no reason to endure this torture any longer.

    At least, that was the case until three days ago, when something happened with Sera¡­ and with me.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Lucas Morningstar

    Race¡ú Human [Phoenix Gene]

    Strength¡ú 1050 [+500]

    Endurance¡ú 1030 [+500]

    Speed¡ú 1055 [+500]

    Stamina¡ú 1020 [+500]

    uracy¡ú 890 [+500]

    Charm¡ú 720 [+230]

    Intelligence¡ú 189 [+1]

    Mana Capacity¡ú 3500/3500

    Professions¡ú Spearman Lvl. 3 || Archer Lvl. 2

    ____

    Techniques¡ú

    ??Weapon Arts:

    ?Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike (Lvl. 1) {100%}

    ?6-Movement Lance Style: Blossom Shattering st (Lvl. 3) {100%}

    ?12 Movements Scarlet Demon Devouring Art (Lvl. 4) {86%}

    ??Combat Arts:

    ?Soul Smashing Killer Fist (Lvl. 2) {100%}

    ??Breathing Technique

    ?Breath Of Vitality

    ?Movement Art

    ?Mirage Walk {100%}

    ?Aura

    ?True Martial Aura

    ?Lightning Elemental Aura

    ?Fire Elemental Aura

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire ? Lightning || Light

    Spells¡ú Fireball ?Low? || Zap Touch ?Low? || Radiant sh ?Low? || Bolt Strike ?Mid? || Fire Lance ?High? || Hellfire Doom ?High?

    Blessing¡ú Mana Burst

    Possessions¡ú Phoenix''s Embrace ?Semi-Divine? || Editor''s Pen ?Divine? || The Bringer Of Lost mes ?Legendary? || Enigma Sightstone ?Divine?

    Edit Points: 8,690

    ===========

    Yeah, I ascended to Gold-1 rank. I broke in the middle rankings without any effort at all!

    In the novel, after Nero, William was the second character who reached his highest potential. Now I know how easy it was for him.

    He didn''t have to lift a finger! He didn''t have to do anything! His mana beast, his soul-bound ck cat named Rui, did all the work on his behalf. As Rui continued to grow stronger, so did he.

    And Sera did precisely the same for me. She effortlessly catapulted me from the lower echelons (Iron - Bronze - Silver) into the middle-tier ranks (Gold - tinum - Diamond).

    People often say that breaking through to a new tier is a grueling and intensely painful process for one''s body.

    But I didn''t feel anything. Well, I guess, except for the rush of mana and a surge of strength pleasantly invading my body.

    It was a euphoric feeling without the price of extreme pain tagging along it.

    Ahh, so easy. Life should be easy like this sometimes.

    Anyhow, there was one more thing. Sera was born in the Silver rank since her birth since her soul was linked with me, and that was my rank back then.

    It took her very little time to surpass me and start carrying me.

    In the novel, William''s cat, Rui, wasn''t this fast, or else he would have been the first to reach the highest rank, rather than Nero, among all the main characters.

    I assume it''s because Sera is a Phoenix, one of the wisest creatures known to us mortals, that her rate of growth is so rapid.

    I couldn''t even begin to fathom how powerful she might be when she reaches her peak.

    Lost in such thought, I exhaled a deep breath and closed my status window. I then focused on my soul link with Sera.

    Suddenly, a new status window appeared in my vision¡­ only this one didn''t belong to me.

    It was Sera''s status window.

    After reaching the Gold rank, our soul bond had grown significantly stronger, which in turn allowed me to ess her status screen.

    ===Status===

    Name¡ú Seraphina

    Race¡ú Phoenix [+Human Form]

    ____

    Strength¡ú 1050

    Endurance¡ú 1030

    Speed¡ú 1055

    Stamina¡ú 1020

    uracy¡ú 890

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Mythical

    ____

    Charm¡ú 720

    Intelligence¡ú 189

    Mana Capacity¡ú 3500/3500

    ____

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Gold 1 [¡ü Silver 3]

    Mana Core Potential¡ú Mythical

    ____

    Affinity¡ú Fire

    Spells¡ú mes Of Divinity ?High?

    Blessing¡ú Immortality

    ===========

    The novel didn''t offer many chapters from William''s POV ¨C perhaps around five or six at most ¨C but I could tell that this wasn''t normal.

    I had a strong suspicion that William never had ess to Rui''s status screen.

    So, once again, I could confidently dere that this was something that had never happened in the novel.

    Ha... I swear to the gods¡­ At this point, I think I should write my own novel. Maybe show Joe how a novel is actually written.

    Well, I suppose, once again, this happened because Sera is a Phoenix. If we look at the situation logically, it bes clear.

    Only intelligent beings with mana ¨C those possessing at least human-level or higher intelligence ¨C can ess their status window.

    Whatever the reason, it was undoubtedly a good thing.

    As I gazed at Sera''s status screen, I nodded in confirmation. Maybe Sera essed her status window, which then allowed me to see it too. I don''t know. This theory is still a work in progress.

    Whatever the reason, it was undoubtedly a good thing.

    As I gazed at Sera''s status screen, I nodded in confirmation. However, a slight frown soon creased my face.

    Sera''s status mirrored mine, or perhaps it was the other way around. Maybe it was my status that was the same as hers. It was strange.

    In the novel, there were significant differences between Rui''s and William''s stats. The most noticeable one was in their intelligence.

    Rui was intelligent but only slightly above the average for mana beasts. But here, Sera had the same intelligence stat as me.

    But I guess, it shouldn''te as much of a surprise, right?

    Ancient elves did say that creatures like Dragons and Phoenixes were nearly as intelligent as, if not more so than, themselves.

    But even if we set her intelligence aside, the rest of her status was still very eerily simr to mine.

    Hmm. Oh well, it''s also a good thing.

    As I thought all of this while spinning in my desk chair, I suddenly heard the sound of bed sheets rustling.

    It was only then that I realized I had been biting on my thumb. Startled, I pulled my head back and spun around to look at the bed.

    And there,ically wrapped in silky white bed sheets that matched the color of her cute pajamas, I saw a charming little girl.

    She appeared to be roughly around five or six years old, with a head full of silver hair that cascaded down to her shoulders, with some strands of red mixed in.

    Herrge red eyes were currently closed as she rubbed them with her petite hands and let out a sleepy yawn.

    After a few moments, she adorably smacked her lips, causing her chubby cheeks to jiggle. Then, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze upon me.

    I couldn''t quite put my finger on it, but there was¡­ something about this girl ¨C something very distinct.

    It felt as though she didn''t belong to this world. Even though she wasn''t actually glowing, there was this radiance about her that almost felt heavenly, if not for the absence of an actual halo people might mistake her for an actual angel.

    My daze was only broken when the girl blinked her big blood-red eyes a couple of times and excitedly spoke in an endearing tone, "Pa!"

 Chapter 327 Transformation

    Chapter 327 Transformation

    The little silver-haired girl rolled to the edge of the bed, hopped down, and ran up to me with her short, chubby legs.

    "Pa!" she chirped and wrapped her little arms around my leg. A soft smile tugged at my lips as I scooped her up and settled her on myp.

    She beamed with joy as I gently patted her head and ruffled her hair, my gaze fixated on the strands of red on her head.

    Yes, Sera had acquired a human form.

    I was confused at first, but after I talked to my Master and indirectly inquired about the matter, everything fell into ce.

    He exined that many of the ancient Phoenixes and Dragons possessed the ability to assume different forms ¨C they had a transformation ability.

    Sera must have unlocked this ability when she advanced into the middle-tier ranks.

    As for why she took a human form and not something else, it was clearly because her soul was linked to mine.

    Just as I had gained a Phoenix Gene, she had also acquired a human form as her transformation.

    It was a good thing, since in her base form, Sera had grown nearly up to my height after her breakthrough.

    Yes, her Phoenix form had be quiterge now. I could not even imagine how majestic she would be after hitting her peak.

    "Pa!" Sera chirped once more, tugging at my t-shirt to get my attention. I nced down at her, the gentle smile still present on my face.

    Meeting her gaze, I said, "No. No ''Pa.'' Call me big brother or uncle. Anything but Pa or Papa."

    Sera pouted and vigorously shook her head in adorable defiance. "Nuu! Pa is my Pa!"

    "Damn it, Sera! I''m too young and handsome to be a father!" I eximed, covering my face with my palm as Sera continued to shake her head like a child.

    Well, technically, she <nulli>was a child.

    Letting out a resigned sigh, I relented, "Okay, okay! You can call me whatever you want."

    It was only then that Sera shed a victorious grin and ceased her adorable head-shaking. "Heehee!"

    With a smile, I brought my smart bracelet up to my face and opened the messaging app. It was about time I left this city behind.

    I needed to notify my Master to eithere and pick me up or arrange a different meeting point since he was going to train me throughout the rest of the break.

    At first, I wanted to run away, but now I understood that I needed to cultivate every ounce of power I could for the treacherous path thaty ahead in my future.

    I sent Leo a short text message that read, "Master, my work here is done. I''m ready to leave. So, what''s the n?"

    Then, I powered off the bracelet and began thinking about other things.

    I still had to respond to Amelia, but I was uncertain about what to say. What should I tell her? Or perhaps more importantly, how much should I reveal to her?

    Then there was the matter of Nero and the other main characters with him. All of them should be in Shaolin by now.

    The Underground Auction should happen in a few weeks. They should be able to get the Petal of Ambrosia without any issues, right?

    "I mean, it''s a simple task. I swear to god, if they manage to fuck this up then I can just forget about leaving the fate of this world in their hands."

    I closed my eyes, feeling weary, and leaned back in my chair. Seeing this, Sera climbed up onto my chest and pecked my cheek.

    I couldn''t help but smile again as I opened my eyes and met her concerned gaze. She asked in a troubled tone, "Pa is worried?"

    "I''m fine, Sera," I reassured her before a thought crossed my mind. I looked at her and pondered out loud, "Hmm, I should get you some new clothes before we leave the city. I mean, just who knows where my deranged master will take us next for my training. A desert? A cier? Hell, even an ancient dungeon is also possible."

    Sera tilted her head, looking puzzled. "Can''t Pa make more dress?"

    I squinted my eyes in thought. "Well, I can, but it''s better to buy them with Credits instead of using my Edit Points."

    The thing is, I had created a pair of pajamas and a dress for her using my Edit Pen on different fabrics.

    But that was only because I was caught off guard when she suddenly transformed and took a human form.

    Now, I could simply purchase whatever she desired.

    Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I turned to Sera, asking, "Hey, could you transform into your Phoenix form for me real quick?"

    "Phoe... Wha?" Sera tilted her head in confusion, causing me to chuckle at her adorable response.

    "Your other form is known as a phoenix," I exined with a smile. Maybe I should tell her some folktales about Phoenixes during our free time.

    "Oh... oki!" Sera nodded enthusiastically, then jumped backward.

    She closed herrge blood-red eyes and concentrated. Not long after, a radiant silver glow began to emanate from her body, as if she were engulfed in heavenly mes.

    Before I knew it, thin strands of silver mes burst from her body, reducing her white pajamas to ashes in an instant as the mes enveloped her in their fervent embrace.

    For a brief moment, the silver mes formed a cocoon around her before they began to shift and expand into the shape of a magnificent bird.

    As she reached her full size, the silver mes surrounding Sera were instantly extinguished.

    And there she stood ¨C a majestic bird with red feathers and silver fur around her neck, along with a gleaming golden beak and talons that looked sharp enough to cut steel.

    Her red eyes locked onto mine, and she let out a cheerful chirp, "Kriek~!"

    I couldn''t help but smile, then nced down at the smoldering remnants of her white pajamas.

    While I could easily buy her new dresses, I think I should create something for her that could change its shape when she While I could easily buy her new dresses, I think I should create something for her that could change its shape when she transforms.

    With a nod, I said, "Alright, Sera. It''s time to go shopping!"

 Chapter 328 Shopping Spree

    ?328  Shopping Spree

    "Pa! Dis one, dis one, and dis too!" Sera dashed around the shop, her handsnding on every dress that caught her eye, most of them had something shiny.

    With a smile, I trailed behind her, picking up each dress that she touched. "Sera, you know you''ll grow soon, and then these won''t fit you anymore."

    Sera pouted. "But me want dem!"

    I tilted my head back slightly, chuckling at her adorable way of speaking, and nodded. "Alright, how about I buy the whole shop for you?"

    "Pa can do that?!" Sera spun around to look at me, stars sparkling in her eyes. I chuckled again and shook my head.

    "It was just a joke, silly. Anyway, let''s head back. I think we''ve done enough shopping for today."

    Before me, there was a shopping cart loaded with a tall mountain of dresses, all neatly packed in transparent boxes or sheets.

    Each package had a chip imnted, connected to the shop''s homework, which would trigger an alert if something suddenly disappeared.

    This meant I couldn''t simply slip anything into my smart bracelet and make it vanish, not that I had any intention to do so.

    The return on my investments could easily be more than enough to buy a property as big as this shop within this city.

    Although buying property in a more expensive city like Silveserine was still out of my reach.

    While Wolfshire was expensive, it didn''t quite reach the same heights of real estate pricing as Silveserine.

    Yeah, even nobles cry when they have to pay a fortune to buy the expensivend in the City Of Elves.

    I guess managing the economy of his territory was the one thing my father had been sessful at ¨C because he certainly failed at parenting for all his children.

    "Aww, so soon?" Sera pouted, shaking me out of my ridiculing thoughts.

    Seeing her disappointment, I smirked and patted her head, "You can have anything you want anytime, so don''t be too sad."

    "...Oki," Sera sighed, reluctantly nodding her pretty little head.

    With that, we left the kids'' clothing section and made our way to the checkout counter.

    Since the ce mostly catered to nobles and high-ranking upper ss citizens, we didn''t attract too much attention because of my identity ...emphasis on "too much."

    ¡ª"Oh, look! Is that Lucas Morningstar?"

    ¡ª"Nonsense, why would hee back here? And why would hee to this ce?"

    ¡ª"But he really looks like him!"

    ¡ª"No, he doesn''t! This guy... he looks¡­ more handsome! Also, take a look at the child he''s with. Morningstars don''t have a daughter this young."

    ¡ª"Ahh, I suppose you''re right? Maybe I got confused because of the silver hair. But wow, they''re both stunning! Especially the guy!"

    ¡ª"Absolutely! And I can already tell his little sister will grow up to be a beauty. And then there''s me and my ugly face... Ahh, life is so unfair! Tsk!"

    ¡ª"I feel you, girl... I feel you."

    ¡ª"Can you both please shut up and let me feast my eyes on that hottie in peace?"

    Shaking my head, I fastened my pace. Sera held onto my pinky finger, doing her best to follow me with her chubby little legs.

    That group ofdies back there thought Sera was my younger sister. Well, logically, she did look like my little sister since she held a striking resemnce to me.

    Aside from a few strands of red mixed in with her lush silver hair, she appeared to be a miniature, gender-swapped version of me.

    But what really caught my attention was how they discussed my appearance.

    After noticing a significant increase in my charm stat, I looked into the uselessly big silver-ted mirror in my room.

    Almost instantly, I found out that my appearance had indeed undergone a significant change.

    Nothing about my physical features had changed ¨C I still had crimson red eyes, silver hair, a perfectly symmetrical face, and a lean physique.

    However, something subtle, yet incredibly profound, had shifted in my appearance.

    My face held an otherworldly charm, akin to the temperament of a poet''s verse.

    My bright red eyes now had a great depth to them, like two crimson stars hidden in the depth of never-ending wells of scarlet desires.

    And my silver hair now cascaded with an ethereal luster, much like the shimmering trails left behind by falling stars.

    Heh, and just when I thought I couldn''t get any more perfect-looking than I already was.

    However, I didn''t think I should walk around in my true appearance. For more than one reason.

    When we arrived at this mallplex, it was the middle of the afternoon, and there weren''t many people around. Plus, I had so much on my mind that changing my appearance hadn''t even crossed my thoughts.

    But now, as the noon hour was about to end and more and more people flooded the streets and the mall, I felt like I should alter my appearance.

    With that in mind, I entered an elevator. There was no one inside apart from Sera and me, so I channeled mana throughout my body and activated my movement art.

    Instantly, the air around me wavered and distorted, as if I were standing in the midst of a scorching desert on a sunny day.

    Before the elevatornded and its doors parted, I had turned into a bronze-

    skinned young adult man with a head full of ck hair, and a pair of ocean-

    blue eyes gracing my angr face.

    Sera did not seem to mind my sudden shapeshifting and continued walking with me as if everything was perfectly normal.

    After settling the bill at the cashier''s checkpoint, I picked up the packages one by one and stored everything in the pocket space of my dimensional ring that I got from Reina.

    Everything I picked up turned into a rain of ethereal white sparks and flooded into my ring.

    The cashierdy gave me a surprised look. She was probably a mundane woman so seeing magic technology that was only avable to cadets must not be an everyday urence for her.

    Once I was done, Sera and I exited the mallplex and made our way toward the Wolf''s Den.

    While walking, I checked my smart bracelet to see that Master had still not replied to my message.

    I was not worried or anything, since I knew replyingte was normal for him. He also used a lot of emojis while texting for someone his age. Heh.

    Ohwell, I thought. I was nning to pack my things and leave the city today.

    The only reason I stayed three extra days in this damned ce was because of what suddenly happened with Sera.

    I was confused and needed to safely check everything. I also needed to understand what and why it happened.

    After all, I could not risk something even more bizzare happening during the journey where I wouldn''t even be able to hide it.

    All of my worries were out of the window now.

    "Maybe I''ll go back to the academy and see Leo personally¡ª" Just as I was musing to myself, I identally bumped into someone.

    Thud¡ª

    "Arghh! I''m so sorry! My focus was¡­"

    "No, no, it was my fault! I should¨C"

    "Wait, Amelia?" I quickly turned to look at the person I had collided with.

    To my surprise, it turned out to be the familiar ck-haired archeress. She was also looking at her smart bracelet, likely texting someone.

    But when I mentioned her name, she looked at me with confusion and then shifted her gaze to Sera. After a moment, she turned her attention back to me and tilted her head, clearly puzzled.

    Then, her eyes suddenly lit up with recognition, and she gasped in surprise. "Wait just a minute, Lucas?"

    I reluctantly nodded, causing her jaw to drop even more. She once again jiggled her gaze between Sera and me before speaking in a whisper, "Are you kidnapping a child alone?"

    My eyes suddenly widened as I lifted my free hand to wave in dismissal, "No, no¡­ wait, what do you mean by ''alone?'' Ahh, anyway, I can exin!"

 Chapter 329 Confronting The Past [1]

    <h4>Chapter 329 Confronting The Past [1]</h4>

    329 Confronting The Past [1]

    "Wait, really? She just transformed into a human child? Just like that? Is that even possible?" Amelia furrowed her brow and whispered in a surprised tone.

    I shrugged, sweeping my long ck hair back. "Apparently it is. I asked my Master, and he said that some mythical creatures possessed transformation abilities."

    Amelia fell into deep thought. "If that''s true, then I think I can understand why the Central Government eliminated all the Mythical-ranked creatures."

    Her gazended on Sera, who was clinging to my pinky finger as she shed a bright smile back at Amelia.

    I nodded, a smile forming on my face. "Yes, they were considered too great a threat to be left alive."

    Amelia''s eyes briefly darkened as she continued, "It''s still disgusting how they drove a species to extinction just because they might have been a threat."

    I tilted my head, a hint of a frown creasing my disguised face. "Well, not exactly. I can see their reasoning."

    "What?!" Amelia widened her eyes. "You can''t be serious. Do you truly think it was okay to kill so many creatures just because they were more powerful than us?"

    "It''s often wiser to deal with a potential threat before it bes a danger to us," I replied, my gaze fixed on the road ahead. "All those mythical creatures could have easily driven us to extinction if we hadn''t acted first. Luckily, their numbers were low and they were scattered across the world, preventing them from banding together against us."

    "But still¡­" Amelia seemed to want to continue arguing but she couldn''t find the words to do so.

    I shook my head at her naive idealism, and continued, "I know it wasn''t the morally right thing to do, so I won''t try to defend it. But I''d rather eliminate a potential enemy before it bes a threat."

    I took a deep breath and shrugged again. "I think the Central Government did what was necessary. Besides, throughout history, humanity has driven any species that was a threat to extinction. That''s how humans not only survived but also ascended to be the apex predators."

    As Amelia listened to my words, I went on, "Even in this new world, elves and dwarves fear humans, despite their magical talents and craftsmanship skills, because they are well aware of the twisted side of human nature. We might look greedy and foul from the outside, but humans know how to endure and prevail."

    Amelia sighed. "I suppose you''re right. If I didn''t know you any better, I might have mistaken you for a human supremacist."

    I chuckled. "Oh, no, not at all. I love other species. Mana beasts are fascinating and cool, especially my Sera here. Dwarves are endearingly short and cute. What''s not to like?"

    Sera''s ears perked up when I mentioned her name, but she soon returned to looking around at her surroundings.

    The bustling street was now filled with people. It was a novel experience for her to be among so many people in her human form. Naturally, she was fascinated by everything around her.

    Amelia, on the other hand, gave me a long look before inquiring, "Oh, and what about elves?"

    I took a moment to think of a response, then clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes.

    After some thought, I replied, "Well, I think elves are alright. I mean, one of my friends is an elf. But in general, they can be quite haughty, and I don''t particrly like people who are more arrogant than me."

    Amelia threw her head back and let out a heartyugh. "So, you admit you''re arrogant?"

    Grinning, I simply shrugged. "Rightfully so."

    Like that, our conversation then steered to our ns for the rest of the break. Amelia said that she was going to take a trip to the Eastern Continent to train at Shaolin.

    Naturally, it surprised me since Amelia did not do anything like that in the novel.

    In the story, she stayed in the Western Continent and trained by herself there until the end of the break.

    Curious, I asked her why she had chosen Shaolin, and Amelia exined that Nero and Anastasia were there.

    For a brief moment, my mood soured, but I quickly inquired, "But don''t they just focus on polearm weapons and hand-to-handbat in Shaolin?"

    "Yeah, but I''m thinking of diversifying my skill set. I mean, I can already handle closebat, but not as efficiently as I''d like."

    "Yeah, you''re meh in closebat."

    "Excuse me?! Have you seen my axe kick?"

    "That''s the only impressive move you know, and it''s effective mostly because you infuse your leg with wind magic!"

    "Huh?! What about the time I beat you in hand-to-handbat?! I flipped you over my shoulder and had you whimpering like a baby!"

    "Hah! I let you win! Otherwise, I was this close to winning!"

    "Close to winning, how? By trying to bite my leg off?!"

    Like that, we bickered back and forth for a while until Amelia frowned and asked in a confused tone, "Hold on, if you can change your appearance, why did you go with thatme disguise for the Hideout Cafe?"

    "It wasn''tme!" I retorted, irritated. "And besides, maintaining a disguise like this takes a lot of mana. I can''t sustain this state and fight at the same time."

    As we conversed, we stopped by an item shop along the way. It was a cozy, wooden establishment.

    Inside, the shop was impably clean, and countless enchanted items and relics were neatly disyed on wooden shelves.

    The aroma of burning incense sticks and the presence of only a few patrons added an ambiance to the shop''s atmosphere.

    Amelia had some items she needed to buy here. I also took a look around the shop with Sera, keeping her away from anything shiny, but didn''t find anything particrly eye-catching.

    As I strolled around the shop, an elderly man dressed in a neat linen shirt and ck pants came up to me and asked, "Are you searching for something, young man?"

    I turned to him, slightly puzzled. He met my gaze and offered a warm smile before introducing himself, "I''m the owner of this establishment."

    He then pointed toward the cashier''s counter where Amelia was standing, presumably done with her shopping.

    Behind the counter, there was an adult woman busily preparing a receipt for whatever items Amelia had purchased.

    "That woman is my daughter," the elderly man continued. "She insists that I no longer need toe to the shop, but I findfort in spending my time here."

    Listening to the old man''s gentle, paternal tone, my expression softened, and I couldn''t help but smile. "Your daughter is correct, you know. It''s time to rx and enjoy your golden years."

    The old man''s wrinkled face twisted as his lips curled up and he let out a heartyugh. "I suppose you''re right, young man. But there''s something about this ce that brings me peace."

    As I nodded with a warm smile, the old man continued, "So, what are you searching for? You see, I''m a diviner. Perhaps I can help you."

    My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You''re a diviner?"

    "Yes," the old man affirmed. "Don''t tell me you don''t believe in fortune-

    telling?"

    My mind immediately went back to the old elvendy I had met in Silveserine who had offered to reveal my future. I involuntarily swallowed and shook my head.

    "I used to be," I admitted with a shrug. "Buttely, I''m starting to believe in it."

    "I see," the old man said with a smile. "Would you like me to divine something for you? I won''t charge you."

    I paused for a moment before shaking my head again, "No, thanks. If fate is real, which I''m beginning to think it is, I''d rather not catch a glimpse of it again."

    The old man regarded me with a gentle gaze before nodding. "I understand. If fate is indeed real, as I know it to be, then may its threads always be in your favor."

    I smiled appreciatively.

    "Thank you," I said before spinning around. "Oh, but since you''re so nice I guess I can buy something. A mirror or a watch. I don''t know."

    "Oh, so you like mirrors?" he asked. "You know, in mysticism, mirrors are often associated with the unknown and harrowing dangers. However, in some long-forgotten cultures, the realm of reflection was also seen as a path to glimpse the divine deities."

    "Interesting," I remarked. "But all I see in my mirrors is a very handsome young man staring back at me."

    The old man and I locked eyes, staring at each other seriously, before bursting intoughter.

    "Good one! Good one, young man!"

    After Amelia settled her bill, I bid farewell to the old man and exited the shop.

    As we walked through a quiet street, I asked Sera to transform into her phoenix form and soar through the skies.

    I nned to call her into my roomter or meet up with her outside the mansion after I had packed my things.

    Sera did as I told her.

    She transformed into her Phoenix form. Her dress didn''t burn this time. Instead, it turned into a cor around her neck as she changed forms before soaring high into the clear blue sky.

    After that, Amelia and I continued on our way to the Wolf''s Den, engaged in casual conversation along the way.

    "So, where will you be heading?" asked Amelia.

    "First, I''ll go back to the academy and find out where the hell Master is," I replied. "Then, he''ll train me until I''m at death''s door."

    Amelia chuckled. "What''s it like having Leo Kurogami as your master, though?"

    "Well," I began, "unless he''s training me, it''s actually quite good. And besides¡ª"

    But before I could finish my sentence, a sharp, irritating voice interrupted me.

    "Finally, you''re here."

    "...." I instantly recognized that voice.

    Letting out a sigh, I looked ahead and noticed that we were right in front of the Wolf''s Den.

    I saw Adel and Yelena standing near the gates of the Morningstar mansion as if they were waiting for someone.

 Chapter 330 Confronting The Past [2]

    <h4>Chapter 330 Confronting The Past [2] </h4>

    330 Confronting The Past [2]

    Adel stood there in front of the guarded gates of the Morningstar mansion, wearing a light t-shirt and joggers.

    His silver jewelry like chains, piercings, and rings, perfectlyplemented his pale skin and golden locks.

    Beside him was Yelena, dressed in a simple yet elegant long embroidered regal tunic in shades of blue, paired with white leggings.

    She looked just as cold and stunningly beautiful as ever.

    Their crimson eyes locked with Lucas'' and the air grew heavy with palpable intensity.

    Amelia, who stood nearby Lucas, could almost swear she saw sparks in the air where their gazes met.

    Right then, a rush of evening wind swept by them, carrying the scent ofte summer and promising the imminent arrival of a beautiful autumn.

    The hem of Yelena''s tunic fluttered forward as Lucas''s neck-long silver hair was swept back by the breeze.

    Adel, with his eyes devoid of emotion, only expressed his frustration before asking in a vexed tone, "Where were you?"

    Yelena swiftly chipped in as she tucked a few strands of her silver hair behind her long ears, which did nothing to hide her half-elven heritage.

    "Father specifically instructed you to remain in your room and not venture out, didn''t he?" She asked with a hint of anger before she looked over Lucas'' shoulder and noticed Amelia.

    Adel''s attention also quickly shifted to the ck-haired beauty apanying Lucas, a sly smile crossing on his face.

    "Well, well, sister, look at this unexpected reunion. I never thought I''d see this duo together again."

    Of course, Yelena already knew that the falling out between Lucas and Amelia had been salvaged, so she wasn''t surprised.

    Her gaze once again jiggled between Amelia and Lucas as she appeared even more irritated now.

    She turned her gaze to Lucas and yelled:

    "I don''t care what you do at the academy, but I don''t want you seeing her in our city. Even after all these years, some people still remember the deed that a Morningstar did and went unpunished for it."

    Rolling his eyes, Lucas let out a low, self-deprecating chuckle.

    "Oh, for the love of God, dear sister! I''ve been punished enough. You have no idea! So, spare me this noble and honorable charade and make way. I''ll take my things and leave immediately so you won''t have to endure my presence, and I won''t have to look at your face for another minute."

    Yelena''s expression soured, but before she could form a reply, Adel interjected.

    "Leaving so soon?" he sneered mockingly. "But I can''t allow that, not before you kneel down, lower your nose to the ground before me, and apologize."

    Lucas arched an eyebrow. "Apologize for what? For not eating you in the womb and sparing the world from your existence? Or perhaps for stealing all the good gics and leaving you with that ugly thing you call face?"

    Even from that distance, Lucas clearly saw a vein popping on Adel''s forehead as his eyebrow quivered uncontrobly.

    "Apologize for what you did to my friend, for what you just said, and, in fact, for sharing the same birthdate as me!" Adel raged, letting his bloodlust ooze out.

    Oh? He must indeed be a proficient warrior if he can use already bloodlust. ¨C Lucas inwardly acknowledged.

    More than once, Lucas had entertained the idea of killing Adel.

    But he wasn''t a professional assassin, and Morningstars had several resources to trace the crime back to him.

    Besides, Lucas didn''t actually want to kill him. Despite Adel''s issues like his young master syndrome and unresolved inferiorityplex, he held the potential to be a great pawn in the final battle.

    Okay, I can''t kill him. But maybe I can still break an arm or two in an act ofplete self-defense. ¨C Lucas shrugged.

    "Alright, buddy... I won''t be apologizing for a single thing. Especially not for thatst part. Not just because you sound utterly stupid, but because, let''s face it, you''re quite ugly. I don''t talk to ugly people," Lucas cocked his head casually.

    Adel drew a deep breath to calm himself down and clenched his fists. After a while, he took one more breath and said, "Either you and the girl with you apologize to me right now, or I will draw my spear."

    Amelia widened her eyes in surprise and pressed a finger against her chest, pointing at herself. "Who, me? Oh, no. You better draw your spear because that''s not going to happen."

    Adel stood motionless for a second before bursting out in a burst of erraticughter. "Haaa! They are dead! I''ll kill them both! I''ll kill them!"

    However, before Adel could summon his spear, Yelena jumped in front of him and grabbed his arm. "Adel, calm down! Don''t draw your weapon. That''s what he wants you to do!"

    By this point, Yelena had a pretty good understanding of Lucas'' battle prowess.

    She had seen him in Mock War ¨C well, she hadn''t but she knew he somehow defeated Quinn ¨C and she also saw him during the King''s Tournament.

    Hell, Lucas was one of the cadets who not only survived the vampire ambush on the night of thest game in the Tournament, but he also killed a lot of vampires!

    Normal cadets aren''t usually that powerful and strong. Lucas proved himself on every asion, however.

    Adel knew about all that since Yelena always talked to him, but he was not there to see it all. He had never seen Lucas fight.

    In all honesty, Yelena knew that if they both were to fight, Adel would emerge victorious over Lucas, especially when she was present there to aid him.

    However, she just had this feeling that something was amiss¡­

    Aside from fighting against Nero in the King''s Tournament, Lucas never fought a losing battle.

    Would he truly lose here then? Yelena had a bad feeling. She knew the Young Wolf could have an ace up his sleeve.

    Adel, however, seemed to be having none of it. He continued to yell curses directed at both Lucas and Amelia, his face slowly reddening from rising blood pressure.

    "He''s triggered," Ameliamented in a whisper, positioning herself behind Lucas.

    "Totally," Lucas replied, stifling hisughter. "Just look at how red his face is. If only he could see himself in a mirror right now!"

    Amelia broke into a smile. "Aren''t you worried?"

    "I can handle him. It would purely be in self-defense, of course," Lucas chuckled. "I swear, between the two of us, he must have been blessed by the heavens, but¨C"

    Suddenly, Lucas fell silent. His expression froze as if something had just clicked in his head.

    "But?" Amelia prodded Lucas to continue, but he remained frozen in ce.

    At that moment, Yelena turned to them and shouted, "For the love of God, Lucas! Just apologize and get this over with already!"

    The silver-haired boy, however, continued to stand there frozen like a statue. It was as if he were a lifeless mannequin.

    Inside his mind, his thoughts were in disarray.

    Mirror¡­? God? Heavens¡­?

    Suddenly, the conversation he had with the old man back at the relic store echoed in his head.

    In some long-forgotten cultures, the realm of reflection was also seen as a path to glimpse the divine deities.

    "Haaa," Lucas finally exhaled, his shoulders trembling as he released a shaky, self-deprecating sigh. "I must be an idiot."

    Indeed, he should have realized this sooner. But since arriving in this city, Lucas had not been in the best state of mind.

    Most of the time, he struggled to make sense of things and didn''t know what to think. His head was in such a mess that even such an obvious thing had slipped his mind.

 Chapter 331 Heavenly Sight

    ?331  Heavenly Sight

    "Lucas! Are you listening?! Just¡­"

    Yelena''s voice faded into the background as my sudden realization struck. Instantly, I bit my lower lip and turned to face Amelia.

    "Lucas, what''s going¨C"

    I interrupted her before she could voice her concerns, saying, "I have to go inside. To my room. I want you to stall these two until Ie out."

    With that, I gestured toward Yelena and Adel. The silver-haired elf had her hand stretched out in front of the Golden Wolf.

    From the looks of it, Yelena didn''t want a fight to break out between us. A very good choice. At the very least, she still had some sense left in her.

    Adel was too arrogant to notice, but Yelena seemed to understand that if we were to fight right now, I would prevail.

    I shifted my attention back to Amelia and said, "Just trust me on this one."

    The ck-haired archeress was momentarily at a loss for words. However, in the end, she managed to bob her in a reluctant nod.

    Just as she agreed, I spun around and quickly strode toward the mansion gates.

    "Hey! How dare he?! Stop him!"

    "Lucas! We aren''t done talking to you!"

    Both Adel and Yelena shouted at me as I headed for the giant ck gates of the Wolf''s Den, but I didn''t stop.

    Seeing that, they rushed at me. It didn''t even take them a second to intercept my path as they came to stand right in front of me.

    Yelena reached for me, trying to grab my shoulder, while Adel began summoning his spear by channeling mana into his dimensional ring.

    But before either of them couldplete their actions, I locked my gaze with each of them one by one.

    As soon as our eyes met, a mesmerizing violet glint sparked in my left eye, and my pupil suddenly became intricatelyplex like an ethereal maze.

    In an instant, both Yelena and Adel froze in their tracks, as if their bodies had turned to lead.

    Both of them were instantly ensnared in a deliberately crafted illusion.

    I passed between their frozen bodies with Amelia closely following me behind.

    As we reached the gates, the guards exchanged confused with one another, their eyes darting between me and my two siblings, who stood in the middle of the street like two stone statues.

    I turned to one of the guards who was giving us a questioning look and asked, "Well? Are you going to open the gates?"

    The guard hesitantlyplied, moving to open the colossal ck gates and granting us entry into the Mansion.

    Meanwhile, several other guards quickly rushed to check up on Adel and Yelena.

    That went smoothly. I had thought I''d need to ensnare them all back there.

    As we crossed the main garden, Amelia couldn''t contain her curiosity for much longer and spoke up, "Did you use that relic you got from the cafe?"

    ncing at her over my shoulder, I slowly nodded without slowing down my pace. At that moment, I suddenly felt something warm trickle down my left eye.

    Instinctively, I touched my face with the back of my palm and examined my hand, only to see that it was stained with blood.

    Blood, huh?

    The relic was straining my eyes.

    "Are you okay?" Amelia asked with concern, noticing the blood. "Is it because of the relic?"

    Once again, I nodded, and she posed another question. "Howe the vampire at the cafe was able to trap so many people in her illusions then?"

    I took a deep breath, wiped the blood from my face, and replied, "That vampire not only had much more mana than me, but she also knew how to use the Sightstone better than me."

    After a brief pause, I added, "With enough mana and practice, in the future, I also will be able to ensnare more people. But¡­ for now, four to five would be my limit."

    "I see," Amelia nodded in understanding as we reached the entrance of the mansion.

    Right then, I turned around and locked eyes with Amelia. She didn''t shy away from my gaze.

    I couldn''t help but be surprised. If I were facing someone who could trap me in an illusion and peer into my memories by just locking eyes with me, I would have definitely averted my gaze.

    However, I didn''t have much time to think about all this. Quickly, I gave Amelia a stern look and stated, "I''m going to do something in my room. I will be in a vulnerable state, so whatever happens, don''t let those two near my room. Fend them off for at least ten minutes using whatever means necessary."

    Amelia frowned. "Aren''t they trapped in your illusion?"

    "They are for now," I nodded. "But they will be released once I can''t keep the relic active anymore. So, stall them."

    Amelia gritted her teeth. She was strong, but keeping the current Queen of the Global City at bay for ten minutes was a tall order, even for her.

    And that was especially the case when another warrior was present there to assist her, making it a two-against-one situation for Amelia.

    However, in the end, the ck-haired beauty only nodded in agreement. "Fine, but I''m charging you extra for this."

    "Sure¨C Wait¡­ what? You''re charging me?" I asked, dumbfounded.

    Amelia shrugged. "I had topensate for my fight in that bar. Then I paid Minerva. I may be well off, but I''m not filthy rich like you, Your Majesty."

    "....Fine!" At a loss for words, I shook my head and eximed before heading into the mansion.

    ?

    It took me a minute or two to reach my room. My gaze hurriedly swept across thevish chamber, pausing only when my eyesnded on the giant silver-

    ted mirror.

    Exhaling deeply, I approached the mirror and touched it, hoping to ess its Status Screen¡­ if it had one.

    And lo and behold! A blue holographic screen instantly appeared in my vision.

    "I was right!" I muttered to myself. Yes, once again, I stood corrected. The mirror was indeed a relic.

    ===

    Item: Mirror (Relic)

    Rank: Mythical

    Name: Heavenly Sight

    Description: When an offering of blood is made upon this mirror''s silver surface as a symbol of devotion and sacrifice, it grants a fleeting glimpse into the heavenly realm, allowing the user to catch a glimpse of the King Of Gods himself,pelling him to answer five of the user''s questions.

    This mirror''s ornate frame is adorned with celestial designs, making it a mesmerizing and enigmatic piece of art and mysticism.

    The mirror can only be used thrice.

    ===

    "Well, I''ll be damned!" I scoffed upon reading the description of the relic before me.

    So, to activate it, I needed to stter blood on the mirror''s surface.

    "I should''ve guessed this earlier," I said to myself while meticulously inspecting the surface of the silver-ted ornate mirror.

    Thest time I used this mirror was to look at myself when I was binding the Enigma Sightstone to myself.

    Naturally, when I stabbed my eye open, more than a few drops of blood spurted out onto the mirror''s surface.

    However, the next time I nced at the mirror, there was no blood smeared on it. I didn''t have maids or butlers cleaning my room, and I certainly didn''t bother to clean the mirror myself.

    So, who cleaned the blood off this mirror? The answer was clear ¨C no one did.

    The mirror must''ve absorbed the blood as part of the offering ritual and opened a pathway for me to see the King of Gods.

    Joe didn''t bring me there. He lied. I was the one who unknowingly entered Arcadia, the heavenly realm.

    He didn''t even kill me. If he had, my soul link to Sera would''ve been severed momentarily, and she would''ve shown concern. But she did no such thing.

    "Well yed, Joe."

    I would never have suspected a relic like this existed if I hadn''t met that old man. But even then, it was a long shot.

    For all I knew, I could''ve been wrong.

    "But when have I ever been wrong?" I mused to myself and took out a stiletto knife from the pocket space of my dimensional ring.

    I grabbed the de of the knife using my left hand and forcefully shed it out of my grip.

    A deep wound opened up in my left palm, blood gushing out of it. I jerked my hand in an arc in front of the mirror, sttering my blood on its surface.

    As soon as I did that, the blood started to vanish, gradually being absorbed by the mirror.

    "Haa," a smirk crossed my lips. I felt dizzy the more blood the mirror absorbed.

    Finally, after a few minutes, I was on the verge of passing out as I staggered back and fell back-first onto my bed, closing my eyes.

 Chapter 332 Ten Questions [1]

    Chapter 332 Ten Questions [1]

    When I opened my eyes, I was instantly assaulted by a brilliant burst of white light.

    It felt like the divine radiance of a graceful halo that could only be emitted from a celestial being.

    I had to squint in mild difort until my eyes adjusted to its brilliance.

    Before me was a towering throne, crafted out of a pristine white material untouched by the impurities of the mundane world.

    Well, it was obvious since I wasn''t present in the mundane world anymore.

    All around me were colossal racks that shelved thick books with leather covers of different colors.

    Everything, from the shelves to the ground I stood upon, looked as if it was made from the same immacte white material as the grand throne.

    Right in front of me was a pool, its tranquil waters mirroring the beautiful scenery above.

    The ceiling above was open, allowing me to look at the serene view of cotton-white clouds drifting through the vast, boundless expanse of the clear blue sky.

    I craned my neck upward and fixed my gaze upon the figure - or rather, the God - seated atop the high-rise throne. He wore regal white robes that matched perfectly with the color of the clouds in his backdrop.

    Once more, all my senses were suppressed the moment Iid my eyes on that celestial being.

    Once again, I was reminded that I was indeed in the presence of a heavenly being ¨C a true God.

    Once again, his presence defied all my beliefs in exnation, logic, and science.

    The God''s graceful silhouette was surrounded by divine radiance and unholy darkness. It was an aura that seemed to be a mixture of both the pure and the profane.

    His skin shimmered like the orange-brown halo of the twilight sun.

    His ck eyes, deep and enigmatic, held all kinds of cosmic secrets that a mortal like me would neverprehend.

    His long, snowy-white hair cascaded as if it possessed a life of its own.

    I gulped, instinctively taking a step back. In my heart, I felt both reverence and fear for the being before me. I wanted to speak, but my heart was stuck in my throat.

    But these feelings... I knew these feelings weren''t mine! They did not belong to me!

    Last time, I couldn''t see it¡­ couldn''t grasp it, but it was Joeveirian''s heavenly aura that ignited these feelings of worship and fear within me.

    The aura of a God.

    This time, I could discern it only thanks to the Enigma Sightstone. But it still did not matter. I was still powerless to do anything against his godly aura.

    Even if I closed my eyes, these feelings would remain. So just as I had done before, I steeled my resolve.

    Taking control of my scattered emotions, I gathered the courage and spoke, "Joe."

    Joeveirian''s eyes came into focus as if he had only just noticed my insignificant presence.

    He looked at me with a cold indifference that sent shivers down my spine, despite my best efforts to remain calm andposed.

    I resisted the urge to lower my eyes and drop my head as Joeveirian finally spoke again.

    Once again, his voice was a like paradox. It sounded both soothing and unsettling¡­

    Pleasing and revolting¡­

    Correct and wrong¡­

    Beautiful and terrifying¡­

    Pure and impure¡­

    Divine and unholy¡­

    "Lucas Morningstar..." Joe clicked his tongue after uttering my name. "So, you''ve finally found out about the Heavenly Sight."

    "You lied to me!" I raised my voice. "You didn''t bring me herest time! I came on my own on ident!"

    Joe''s lips curled into a smirk. "Yes, I lied. The Heavenly Sight only states that I must answer five of your questions. It does not say that I have to answer them truthfully, does it?"

    Right... The King of Gods was indeed obligated to answer five of the user''s questions.

    But wait a minute...

    I almost brought my hand up to stroke my chin as my mind began to race. I recalled the previous conversation I had with Joe here in this very throne room.

    Surprisingly, after a very long time, I didn''t have to strain my head to recall an event.

    I easily dug into my memories and reyed our conversation down to everyst vivid detail.

    It felt like I was rewatching a scene from a movie, but only within my mind. Ahh! Yes! Finally, my near-perfect memory was working as it should.

    It was a familiar sensation to remember everything so easily. I didn''t know if it was due to the antidote, but I wholeheartedly weed this pleasant change.

    After I was done recalling my conversation with the so-called true God of knowledge, wisdom, and fate, a smirk tugged at my lips.

    I shifted my gaze back to Joeveirian and stated, "You are right. But you did answer far more than just five questions. My guess is that you have to answer at least five of my questions truthfully."

    Joeveirian let out a condescending scoff, "I don''t have to do anything, you foolish little thing! I am a God! I could just simply kill you again and send you back, perhaps to your real world this time. Tell me, Noah, how would you like to wake up to your in, monotonous life again?"

    As Joeveirian mentioned this possibility¡­ or rather, issued a threat, my eyes widened. It was indeed a threat.

    In the early days of my transmigration, I often thought that I would wake in the real world if I slept, in my reality. I feared that thought. Joeveirian, of course, knew about this fear.

    After a brief pause, the King of Gods tilted his head, rested one arm on the throne''s armrest, and supported his chin.

    times. In the end, it will be up to you to decide which of my answers you''d want to trust."

    "The only reason I won''t do that is because I made a promise to the creator of that mirror. I gave her my word that I would answer the questions of any mortal who''d seek me out. And I do like to honor my promises."

    My lips twitched into a smirk once more, albeit looking a bit feeble this time. "What a coincidence! I don''t go back on my words either. So, I think you''re ready to answer my questions."

    I did my absolute best to avoid ending any of my sentences in questions. Out of all the people in the world, I knew better than most how words in a promise could be twisted.

    Joeveirian clearly noticed what I was doing, and the smirk on his face widened even more.

    He regarded me with an amused gaze and said, "I will answer ten questions. But you can only ask true or false questions. I will lie five times. In the end, it will be up to you to decide which of my answers you''d want to trust."

    A frown formed on my face as I narrowed my eyes at him. The damned bastard was toying with me! Of course, he was! This was his form of entertainment!

    Unfortunately, however, before I could decide to decline his offer, Joeveirian''s voice echoed within this heavenly library.

    "Before you reject my proposal, know this: I can keep you here for all eternity. Slowly but surely, you will start to lose your mind and choose to ept my terms in favor of your own sanity. It would be wiser to make that choice right now rather thanter."

    I remained silent as the frown on my face deepened into a resented scowl after hearing yet another threat from him.

    Grinding my teeth, I grunted out my reply, "Fine! Let''s y your foolish game."

    A pleasant grin graced Joe''s face, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

    After a few more calming breaths, I turned my gaze back to him and asked my first question.

 Chapter 333 Ten Questions [2]

    Chapter 333 Ten Questions [2]

    "The mirror in my room, I brought it there. True or false?"

    I had a brilliant strategy. By asking five absolute true or false questions initially, I could force Joeveirian to expend his lies or truths right away.

    This way, no matter how he answered myst five questions, I would be able to know if he was being honest or not.

    In simple words, here''s an example:

    I could just ask, "You are a man. True or false?"

    If he chose to lie and said "false," I would follow up with another absolute question like, "Earth is round. True or false?"

    This would force him to lie again or tell the truth. If he continued to lie and replied with "false," he would have used two of his five lies.

    Just like this, if he decided to be truthful and answered those questions as "true," I would know he had used up two of his five truths.

    Yes, I know that it would be a little challenging since I''d need to keep track of all his truths and lies, but I think I could lead him to a checkmate.

    But like every other strategy, there was a way out. What if he doesn''t straight up use five lies or five truths to answer my first five absolute questions?

    What if he lies and tells the truth alternately? If he does that, he could still deceive me when I ask him myst five questions.

    But that problem was still salvageable. I could bend my words in a way where he''d have no choice but to be transparent about his lies and truths.

    However, all of that would be the best-case scenario. In the worst case, my attempt to outsmart him could just anger him.

    In my childhood, I once read somewhere that gods don''t like to be tested. So I don''t think it would be wise to put his patience to the test when he could just kill me as easily with a swipe of his finger.

    Yeah, no, thank you. I''d rather stick to the rules than have my head severed from my body again.

    Noticing my honest approach, Joe couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow as the smirk on his face widened to the point where he was practically grinning.

    "Good choice," he said. "If you had tried to pull something, just know that it wouldn''t have ended well for you."

    I resisted the urge to click my tongue. God or not, this guy infuriates me to no end.

    After a moment of thought, Joeveirian finally responded, "True. It was indeed you who discovered the Heavenly Sight and brought it into your room."

    ¡­I believe he''s telling the truth. ¨C I thought internally, inspecting the God on the throne with my eyes.

    Taking a deep breath, I waited for a brief moment before posing another question.

    "I''ve always been Lucas. In one of the past timelines, I died and reincarnated on 2021 Earth. In that universe, you killed me and I transmigrated here. True or false?"

    Joeveirian closed his eyes as if he was not interested in my questions. "False. You are Noah. You insulted my creation. You will be punished for your sphemy until you entertain me. Stop searching for meaning in your pathetic existence."

    "Tsk," I clicked my tongue. Was he lying? I believed he was. But what if he wasn''t? No, I was convinced it had to be a lie.

    With a heavy sigh, I presented one more question.

    "Lucas knew that I would transmigrate into his body. He also knew of the future, as he somehow retained memories from other timelines. Is this true?"

    Joeveirian opened his eyes, a somber shock visible in his deep, dark eyes. "That is true. Lucas was aware of everything."

    "But how?!" I burst out. "How could he have known I was going to transmigrate when I hadn''t even been killed at that point?!"

    A delighted smirk crept onto Joeveirian''s lips. "Remember, only true or false questions."

    "....." I clenched my fists, teeth bared in frustration. I entertained the idea of casting my strongest spell upon him, but I knew it wouldn''t even scratch him.

    In the end, I could only ask another question, stating, "The vampire monarch is the only threat I need to watch out for, correct?"

    "False," Joeveirian shook his head slightly, his hand still propping up his chin while his enigmatic eyes locked with mine.

    I swallowed hard, an unsettling sensation gripping my heart. "The Ebony Dragon... is it the final threat? Must I defeat it to stop the apocalypse?"

    "False," Joeveirian sighed, not exining any further than that.

    My eyes quivered as I voiced another question. "There is a way to save this world. I will be able to save it, correct?"

    This time, Joeveirian didn''t reply immediately. He held onto the answer for a while before finally responding, "False."

    No... No! That had to be a lie! It must be a lie, right?! I was one of the prophesied heroes! I was! ...Wasn''t I?

    With trembling lips and a heavy heart, I asked, "I am one of the three promised heroes destined to save the world, am I not?"

    Joeveirian looked at me expressionlessly for several moments before throwing his head back and erupting into heartyughter, as though he''d just heard the most amusing joke of his life.

    After several long minutes, as I stood there in silence, observing the King of Gods with a startled expression, hisughter died down, and he gave me an amused smile.

    "You?" He scoffed sarcastically, his voice condescending. "You actually think you''re one of the three heroes? Have you perhaps forgotten that you''re not the protagonist of this world, Lucas?!"

    Joeveirian raised his voice until the traces of amusement in his tone were reced by something different¡­ a hint of sadness.

    I stood there, bewildered, as the King of Gods continued, "False! You are not the protagonist! Remember who you are, Lucas Morningstar! Remember that you are nothing!"

    Joeveirian rose from his heavenly throne, his voice thundering down upon me, "You are pitiful, feeble, and unstable! Your very existence is a continuous cycle of failure and downfall! You are a disgrace! So, no, Lucas! You are not destined to save this world!"

    I looked up at Joeveirian, a deep furrow forming on my brow, my jaw clenched, and my eyes distant. Strangely, I didn''t feel anger toward him.

    No, instead, I felt an overwhelming sense of pity for him. Yes, I was pitying a God - and not just any God, but the one who had killed me before.

    After a long silence, I posed my eighth question. "There is a way to reach a happy ending. True or false?"

    "False," Joeveirian instantly replied, as if he had been waiting for me to ask this question from the start.

    Drawing in a deep breath, I finally voiced the question I had been wanting to voice since the start too. "Are the prophecies all true?"

    "False," Joeveirian silently shook his head. "The prophecies are all false. Crafted by someone to deceive the entire world... past, present, and future."

    At this point, I was uncertain, unsure of what to believe. This could be a lie, or just as easily it could be the truth.

    A defeated sigh escaped my lips as I posed my tenth and final question.

    At first, I wanted to ask him about my future, but since I could only ask true and false questions, I settled for the next best option.

    I thought about all the future choices I would someday have to make and stated:

    "The way to reach the ending, whether it be happy or tragic, is as follows: I join the Space Defence Force after graduation, leaving the Vampires in the north for the Protagonists to handle. I eliminate the space threat before returning to Earth. I then participate in the War of Union and bring it to an end. Finally, I face the ultimate war, defeating the Vampire Monarch with the help of other heroes. After that, I''ll be prepared for any future threats. True or false?"

    Joeveirian once again closed his eyes, but this time, he nodded. He ced his hands behind his back and spoke, "There will be unforeseen obstacles but for the most part... true. That is one way to reach the ending."

    After a brief pause, Joeveirian sighed and extended an open palm in my direction. "Now, it''s time to send you back."

    Instead of resisting as I had done thest time, I nodded and took a moment before speaking again. "Oh, and before I forget, I will make you a promise now."

    Joeveirian''s lips curled into a slight grin as he inquired, "And what might that be?"

    I waited a few seconds before returning a bright smile. "One day, I will kill you."

    As soon as I said that, suddenly, red chains erupted from the ground and enveloped me, shackling me in ce.

    Thwoosh¡ª

    And with that, in the next moment, my head was once again severed from my body.

 Chapter 334 Peace

    ?334  Peace

    Opening his eyes, the first thing that Lucas saw was the intricately designed beautiful ceiling which he had grown familiar with over the span of the past few days.

    Involuntarily, a deep somber sigh escaped Lucas'' lips. He wanted to see the King of Gods to get answers to his questions, but all he got was a jumbled mess in return.

    Still, at least, Lucas was certain about one thing. It was that thest answer that Joe gave him was indeed true.

    He was willing to bet on it.

    "I guess it''s settled then," the silver-haired boy let out another sigh.

    He often wondered what he was going to do after graduating from the Academy. By then, the War of Union was going to start, but he was unwilling to participate in such a long war from the start.

    He had two options ¨C He could either join the Northern Defence Force or he could enlist in the Space Defence Force.

    After contemting over the matter for a very long time, Lucas came to the decision of joining the Space Defence Force.

    In the novel, Nero, other main characters, and the United Military were efficient in dealing with the Vampires¡­ well, at least until the Vampire Monarch woke up.

    Oh, how things went south after that.

    Anyway, the problem the United Military faced was in dealing with the Kalis. Right before the Vampire Monarch awakened, Kalis had begun their final invasion.

    Thest effort.

    It took the United Military somewhere around a year or so to thwart their final invasion and then another six to seven long months to exterminate the Kali race.

    A year and a half was too long of a time in that situation since the War of Union had just ended on Earth and Vampire Monarch was starting to wake up.

    It was a mess. A chaos.

    That was the very reason why Lucas was leaning toward joining the Space Defence Force. He would be able to, hopefully, help fasten the process of defeating the Kalis.

    After confirming with Joeveirian, the God of Fate himself, Lucas knew that this path was the most ideal.

    "Hmm," suddenly, Lucas touched his chin and sat in an upright position on his bed. "It read that I could use the mirror three times, right? Wonder what I should ask the next time I see Joe."

    Right then, as if fate itself was mocking him, Lucas heard the loud cracking sound of the breaking ss.

    Eyes widened, he shifted his focus toward the colossal silver-ted ornate mirror in the middle of his room.

    He froze when he saw that a of cracks had appeared on the mirror''s surface. In the next moment, the shards of broken pieces of ss fell down from its silver frame.

    The relic was broken.

    It was only then did Lucas realized that hisst use of the relic was the third and final one. Someone, perhaps he himself, had used the Heavenly Sight before him.

    His guy feeling was pointing at himself. It was possible that before being exiled out of his home, Lucas used the mirror.

    Yeah, it was definitely possible.

    "Interesting," Lucas muttered, stroking his chin.

    The piling mysteries did not even bother him anymore. He knew that one day or another, today or tomorrow, he would unearth them all.

    He knew he was close. He could physically feel all the answers creeping toward him.

    The certainty of knowing everything soon was the reason why he wasn''t worried now, if anything, he was kind of looking forward to it.

    "I can see why people like the mystery genre now," Lucas mused out loud to himself. "The anticipation of payoff is thrilling."

    As a smirk crossed his lips, a loud boom followed by a roar of a thunderous explosion reached his ears.

    THWOOOM¡ª!!

    Soon after, a shockwave rolled over his room as the whole mansion trembled, almost toppling him over his bed.

    "What the fuck¨C" As Lucas was about to curse out, he suddenly made a guess of what the cause of all this chaos could be.

    "Ah, I forgot about them." Lucas quickly jumped down his bed and took a quick nce at his watch.

    However, once again, he was frozen in ce as soon as Lucas looked at his watch. Barely four minutes had passed since he fell asleep.

    That''s also the same amount he spent thinking over things after he woke up. So, it meant¡­ no time had passed at all?

    "Wait¡­ Wait, what?"

    A frown wrinkled Lucas'' face as he realized the fact that maybe time flowed differently between heaven and earth.

    Maybe Arcadia was in a realm above the dimension of space and time, so it did not follow thew of general physics.

    "Interesting," Lucas mused again. A ce above the authority of time and space, huh?

    KABOOOM¡ª!!!

    Unfortunately, just as Lucas thought about delving deeper into the topic, once again a resounding explosion thundered across the world, its shockwaves rippling through the ground beneath his feet.

    "Ahh,e on!" Lucas let out a frustrated groan and rushed to exit his room, making his way toward the mansion''s first garden.

    After descending the spiral stairway and crossing the main hallway, Lucas neared the main door and opened it.

    The servants didn''t stop him since they themselves were in a state ofplete disarray and panic, running around everywhere inside the mansion to find a safe ce to cover their heads.

    As soon as the doors parted and opened outward, a murderously chilling cold breeze greeted Lucas'' face.

    Outside he saw a world frozen of ice. From the trees in the main garden to the water in the fountains, everything was frozen.

    Amidst this frozen world, Lucas spotted three figures engaged inbat.

    Nearest to him was a ck-haired girl. Her back was facing the main doors as if she was trying to let the other two not cross past her to get inside.

    In her hand was a ck wooden warbow and her lithe figure was d in lustrous metal armor with beautiful yetplex patterns of enchantments engraved on them.

    Facing her were two individuals, one a golden-haired young man and another a silver-haired young woman.

    Adel''s whole figure was engulfed in brilliantly glowing golden mes, making him look as if he was enveloped in a sun.

    Yelena, on the other hand, looked paler than ever. Her body was d in ice armor. In one hand she held a longsword and arge kite shield in the other.

    As soon as Lucas arrived on the scene, he saw Amelia stagger a few steps and fall to one knee.

    It was only now that he noticed the jagged cracks on her lustrous armor.

    Damn, I knew Yelena and Adel were strong¡­ but to think they would bring a main character down to her knees in only five minutes or so is insane! ¨C Lucas remarked inwardly.

    Well, that was to be expected from the reigning Queen of the Global Academy and the Golden Wolf chosen to be the next patriarch of the Morningstar family.

    As Adel and Yelena neared the kneeling archeress, Amelia grunted frustratingly and attempted to pull herself up.

    "Okay, enough!"

    But right then, noticing Lucas'' presence as his authoritative voice echoed through the frozen world, Yelena and Adel turned their eyes to him.

    The silver-haired boy took slow steps and walked in front of Amelia, saying, "Good job."

    But instead of thanking him, that girl had the audacity to reply with a shameless: "I had it under control."

    Lucas'' eyebrow twitched as he entertained the thought of turning around and leaving her to finish this fight, but he shook his head.

    Behind him, Amelia pulled herself up and turned around.

    Without even bothering to turn back around, she waved a hand and said while walking away, "Okay, I''ll be right over there by that tree spectating this with popcorn."

    She brought popcorn?! ¨C Lucas raised his eyebrows. I don''t know whether to be proud or not.

    Once again shaking his head, he gazed up at the front, locking his eyes with his siblings as he said:

    "Any chance we could settle all this over a cup of tea like the civilized people that we are? Or¡­ you know, we could just y any game, like chess! Remember how I used to beat you two all the time¨C"

    Before Lucas could stall them any further, Yelena spoke up.

    "What was that illusion?! How did you do it?! If it was a relic, then where did you get it? Tell me its name and I will confirm with the military police myself!"

    Obviously, she was angry. Lucas had shown him a life where she was the one being shunned by her family, after all.

    She was also curious since a relic that was capable of breaking through her mental fortitude and subduing her so easily could at the very least be of Legendary or Divine rank.

    But Lucas couldn''t just tell her the name of the relic. If she were to confirm it with the Military Police then they would know he got it by killing Sofiana in the Hideout cafe.

    Although the relic was now bound to him, he could still be punished and charged for stealing something that could''ve been Military Police''s property.

    Yeah, that definitely was not a favorable oue. So he had to refuse. "I can''t tell¡­ I won''t tell you anything."

    Hearing her reply, a nerve popped up on Yelena''s forehead. Right then, Adel quickly chipped in with a furious remark, "See that arrogance of his, Sister?! I had been telling you from the start to put him down in his ce!"

    Yelena let out a sigh and posed onest warning. "Final chance, tell me the name of the relic¡­ or else."

    Lucas rolled his eyes. Since Reynold and Yennefer were out, his initial goal was to just stall his siblings until their parents returned, but now it was impossible.

    Yelena, the smarter one among her and Adel, had seemed to lose her cool after not only being humiliated like that but also seeing that illusion.

    She was ready to escte this confrontation into a physical fight. It was clearly evident from the madness in her eyes.

    As for Adel, well, he had been ready to put some humbleness into Lucas since the moment he saw him back in the city.

    Lucas shook his head before shrugging slightly. Just right then, a brilliant burst of scarlet mes submerged his body.

    From the mes, a dazzling red and golden armor materialized over his clothes around the shape of his upper torso, enveloping the silver-haired boy in its protective embrace.

    Tilting his head, Lucas sighed. "I refuse."

 Chapter 335 Clash Of The Morningstars [1]

    ?335  sh Of The Morningstars [1]

    His words of defiance were akin to a deration of war, both for and against Yelena.

    She clenched her teeth and nced back at Lucas, who was now d in resplendent golden and red armor, shimmering brilliantly under the evening sun''s radiance.

    "So be it," she muttered and rushed toward Lucas. "If you won''t tell me willingly, I''ll just have to resort to force."

    Lucas remained unfazed by the approaching threat as he summoned his gleaming crimson spear.

    "Nice strategy," he remarked as he rushed toward the approaching silver-

    haired elf. "But I don''t think you''ll be able to force me."

    As soon as the silver-haired siblings entered striking range, they swung their weapons at each other.

    ng¡ª!!

    Lucas expertly blocked Yelena''s longsword which was enveloped in an azure glow, causing her to grit her teeth and say, "Your arrogance has grown too much! Remember that you are in the presence of a Queen!"

    Lucas twirled his spear around the de of Yelena''s sword and attempted a straight thrust.

    However, Yelena swiftly hopped back a few steps to safety in the nick of time.

    Lucas smirked and replied, "A Queen who needs to remind people of her regal presence is not a true Queen!"

    Before Yelena could retort, Adel, with his body still engulfed in radiant golden mes, jumped at Lucas from his left side, looking as if he were aze.

    Lucas'' left ribs were exposed and vulnerable. Adel thought about exploiting the opening in the silver-haired boy''s defense. But unfortunately, he had underestimated his twin brother a bit too much.

    Yes, it was a trap! The opening in Lucas'' defense was intentional.

    Lucas had cleverly lured Adel right where he wanted him to be. The moment Adel entered his striking range, Lucas swiftly brought down the butt of his spear, striking Adel''s skull with the rear end of his weapon.

    "Arghh!" The Golden Wolf let out a pained cry, stumbling back a few steps as he was rendered utterly disoriented.

    Without granting him a moment of respite, Lucas closed in on Adel, executing a sweeping kick with his left foot, striking the golden-haired boy on the side of his chin.

    The force of Lucas'' kick sent Adel flying several meters to the side, and he tumbled along the ground before finallying to a halt.

    "What the¨C?" However, as soon as his kick connected, Lucas'' left foot ignited in mes.

    Adel''s body was still enveloped in golden mes, which was likely an application of his Elemental Aura. Touching him right now would set anyone on fire.

    Closebat with Adel was difficult.

    Unfortunately for Adel, Lucas had the nigh-invincible protection of his Phoenix''s Embrace. Only a handful of things in the world could hurt him by breaching his defense.

    Without waiting for a heartbeat, Lucas jerked his left leg to extinguish the mes, which failed to leave even a single burn mark.

    But in the midst of this distraction, he nearly forgot about Yelena¡ªa mistake for which he instantly paid.

    The moment Lucas looked up, he saw a massive ice spike hurtling toward him at breakneck speed.

    By this point, he had no time to evade or destroy the ice spike. All he could do was cross his arms over his chest.

    The colossal crystal spike of clear ice struck him with the force of a speeding truck, throwing him back into the air.

    He remained airborne for several moments before gravity exerted its pull on him, bringing him back to the ground.

    Like a t stone skipping across water, Lucas'' body skidded along the ground a few times.

    Then, recovering his breath, Lucas performed a graceful backflip and regained his footing. He plunged his spear into the ground to kill the momentum pushing him back.

    By now, the wind would''ve been knocked out of Lucas'' lungs if not for his armor''s protective embrace.

    The massive ice spike plummeted and fell a short distance away from him, to his side. He stole a quick nce at it before shifting his gaze to focus back on Yelena.

    The silver-haired half-elf had already begun chanting another incantation under her breath. Five more enormous ice spikes materialized above her head, hovering in the air menacingly.

    With a mere mentalmand, Yelena sent the colossal ice spikes hurtling toward the silver-haired boy at the speed of a bullet, intending to squash him.

    "Is she trying to actually kill me?" Lucas widened his eyes, and in the next instant, he conjured five colossal javelins forged entirely from crimson mes.

    The fire javelins shot forward like devastating missiles locked onto their target, colliding fiercely with the cold ice spikes.

    Upon impact when the fire and ice shed, a detonation of mist and white smoke billowed forth, and tremors rippled through the ground.

    "Did I get him?" Yelena squinted her eyes, trying to notice any movement within the thick white mist.

    Lucas had been dangerously close to the explosion, so the impact must have been extremely forceful on him.

    Just as she thought of that, Yelena saw something move in the mist, stirring the white smoke.

    However, in the very next moment, her eyes widened as a crimson spear thrust through the white smoke and shot in her direction.

    Yelena lifted her huge kite shield in hopes of tanking the hit, but as the spear crashed against her shield, the force of the impact sent her reeling back a few steps.

    The spear fell to the ground with a tter, and Yelena lowered her shield. She looked at Adel, who hade to stand beside her and said, "Do not look into his eyes. I am not sure but I think that''s how he trapped us in that illusion."

    Adel nodded. He had also noticed the bright violet glint in Lucas'' eyes earlier. It was kind of scary to think he could just render them immobile with a single look.

    Even though their exchange was short and quick, it was more than enough time for Lucas to unleash his most destructive spell ¨C Hellfire Doom.

    The ground trembled, and the mist obstructing their view dispersed, allowing Yelena and Adel to see their silver-haired brother.

    Lucas was down on one knee, one of his fists striking the ground. Yelena quickly widened her eyes.

    She had seen Lucas use this spell before in the King''s Tournament. Unfortunately for her, this realization came way toote.

    Fissures formed, and cracks appeared on the ground all around them. The frozen ice broke as pirs of immting mes burst out of the cracks like geysers of fire from the depths of hell.

    One after another, these zing pirs surged forward, closing in on the two Morningstar siblings.

    Yelena acted quickly and pushed Adel away by running into him with her kite shield. By the time Adel was thrown back into the air, fire pirs erupted around Yelena, as if imprisoning her within a cage of mes.

    Yelena quickly deployed a barrier spell. A colossal ice orb materialized around her, cocooning her figure.

    At that very moment, from directly beneath her, an incinerating st of fire detonated

    KABOOOM¡ª!!

    Thick plumes of ck smoke rose from the epicenter of the massive explosion, and dust filled the air.

    Adel, who had just crashnded onto the ground, fixed his gaze on the heart of the rising pir of ck smoke, where his sister should have been.

    A strange, alien sensation invaded Adel''s heart and took root there. Cold sweat began to trickle down his forehead as a chill crept up his spine.

    Adel turned his head and shifted his gaze to Lucas, only to see him standing up. As their eyes locked, the Golden Wolf calmed himself down and prepared to sh with his brother.

    No, this was good. Adel was surprised by his brother''s newfound strength, but it was indeed an ideal situation.

    Ever since Adel had ascended to the position of the Morningstar family heir, he had been gued by self-doubt at every step of his life.

    Adel knew that Lucas was right. He knew he had obtained his position through sheer luck.

    He understood that everything he had now was originally meant for his twin brother. He was just a recement.

    Throughout his life, he had often thought about whether he was a better heir than his brother.

    Adel knew that he wasn''t smarter than Lucas. but he had always wondered which of them would be the stronger contender in a serious sh ¨C a battle to death.

    Lucas had been hailed as an angelic prodigy in his childhood. He excelled inbat as well as in intellect.

    However, by the time they grew up and sparred seriously, Lucas had ceased his training. Defeating him was too easy because he never tried.

    All he did was cry, whine, and throw tantrums like a brat.

    But now... Now they were finally facing off against each other earnestly.

    And now, Adel would settle this once and for all. He was going to defeat Lucas and im his rightful ce as the strongest Morningstar of their generation.

 Chapter 336 Clash Of The Morningstars [2]

    Finally deciding to get more serious, Adel extended his hand and summoned a silver spear into his grasp. Golden mes ignited and engulfed his weapon as he assumed his stance.

    Lucas let out a sigh and summoned his bow. Pulling the bowstring, he conjured a bright azure arrow made entirely of mana on the taut string.

    The Golden Wolf wasted no time, rushing towards Lucas with an incredible burst of speed. His speed made him look like a golden blur, impossible for a mundane human to track with the naked eye.

    But unfortunately for him, Lucas was far from a mundane human.

    He held the same rank as Adel at this moment.

    And thus, Lucas'' eyes easily matched Adel''s speed as he released his grip on the bowstring.

    The azure arrow shot forward, splitting into ten mana darts that rained down upon Adel.

    The Golden Wolf''s eyes widened, but he didn''t slow down. He continued to charge forward while skillfully evading the mana darts and leaving a trail of golden mes behind.

    Thwoosh, Thwoosh, Thwoosh-!

    None of Lucas'' arrows managed to hinder Adel as he closed in on the silver-haired boy. Lucas had no time to draw his bow again since Adel was nearly upon him.

    And as Adel stepped into striking range, he thrust his spear toward Lucas'' head, aiming to pierce his skull.

    Stunned by Adel''s killing intent, Lucas managed to raise his bow in time, using it as a shield to block his twin brother''s spear.

    Thwooma??!!

    Unfortunately, his bow didn''t survive the sh against Adel''s fiery spear and quickly exploded into smoldering splinters.

    However, it gave him more than enough time to evade Adel''s attack.

    Lucas hopped a few steps back to safety and moved his gaze on the remains of his shattered Yumi bow.

    With regret, he threw away the broken remnants of his bow and assumed an unarmedbat stance by raising his arms and clenching his fists, umting mana in them.

    In the blink of an eye, Adel was once again right in front of Lucas.

    He pushed the head of his spear at Lucas, this time targeting his ribs.

    Lucas swatted Adel''s spear away with his right hand and swiftly threw his left leg in an arc, executing a perfect roundhouse kick.

    Fwoosh-!!!

    But his kick swept right above Adel''s head as his twin brother dropped to his knees at thest possible moment.

    Why the fuck is he so fast?! a?? was what Adel thought as he barely evaded Lucas'' attack by crouching in the nick of time, feeling the violent wind sweeping above his head.

    But since his kick missed, Lucas was left off bnce. It was the perfect moment for Adel to strike. With that thought in mind, he lunged forward with his spear, aiming for Lucas'' chest this time.

    Yet, before the shimmering silver de of Adel''s spear could even touch Lucas, the silver-haired boy had already jumped back several meters.

    Once again, Adel found himself stunned by Lucas''s speed. He had little time to marvel at it, though, as he immediately rushed after his twin brother.

    Lucas, on the other hand, nodded in determination. He had decided that it was finally time to go on the offensive.

    "...Huh?!"

    But as soon as he tried to act on his thoughts, he realized that he couldn''t move! His legs felt anchored to the ground, making him unable to take even a single step!

    Quickly shifting his gaze downward, he immediately noticed spikes of crystal-clear ice protruding from the ground around his feet, effectively immobilizing him.

    Involuntarily, he shifted his attention to look for a certain silverhaired half-elf.

    He easily spotted Yelena weakly standing up on her feet on the exact spot where his Hellfire Doom spell had hit her.

    Thin wisps of ck smoke rose around her as she continued to cough violently with blood smearing her lips.

    From the looks of it, her ice barrier spell had protected her from the immting fire of the explosion, but the shockwave had still taken a clear toll on her.

    She struggled to remain standing, but her ability to cast spells was intact, as she had just used one to render Lucas immobile.

    "Now, Adel!" She cried out, giving her brother the signal.

    "Arghhh!" Adel wasted no time. He let out a loud, primal roar and jumped over Lucas before bringing his spear down in a swift sh as he descended toward him.

    Lucas clicked his tongue again, raising his hands to block the iing attack from above his head.

    Thwaaam-!!

    The impact of Adel''s attack sent Lucas crashing down to his knees.

    Lucas quickly recovered and tried to conjure the mences.

    "...What?" But to his surprise, as soon as his mana permeated the atmosphere to manifest his spell into reality, it was instantly absorbed by an invisible force.

    It was Adel! Realizing this, Lucas looked up just in time to see a foot approaching his face.

    Thwack-!!

    A solid kick squarelynded on Lucas'' face, throwing him several meters back as the ice spikes restraining his legs shattered under the tremendous force.

    Without granting him a moment to catch his breath, Adel rushed toward Lucas as soon as he crashed to the ground.

    Lucas, however, rolled and managed to pull himself up to his knees.

    As Adel closed in on him, he bellowed, "Mana Burst!"

    But at that precise moment, almost in synchrony, Adel triggered his Gift again by shouting, "Mana Drain!"

    And just like before, Lucas felt the mana he had used to empower his Gift being drained by an invisible force.

    This was Adel''s Gift a?? the ability to steal mana from spells and Gifts that required it to replenish his own mana core.

    He was the perfect example of an ideal soldier. He could keep fighting as long as his enemies kept using mana. His gift was almost as broken as Leo''s Symphony technique... almost.

    There was still a way to defeat Adel.

    Actually, there were two ways.

    One of the ways was to refrain from using any spells or techniques that needed one to flood their mana into the atmosphere.

    In simpler terms, employing Elemental Aura, Martial Aura, Artillery Spells, or AoE spells was entirely off the table.

    Lucas could only rely on using his Weapon Arts and internal mana channeling to fortify his body.

    The second way was to simply surpass the maximum amount of mana Adel could feasibly absorb.

    His Gift essentially turned him into a battery, and like any battery, he had its limits when it came to how much mana he could hold.

    That limit was his Gold-ranked mana.

    "Your spells won''t work on me!" Adel raged as rushed forward and he swung his spear at the kneeling figure of his twin brother once again.

    Thwaaam-!!

    But this time, Lucas didn''t even try to defend himself. He just let the silver spear struck him while getting up on his feet as if nothing had happened.

    "...What the hell?" Adel''s eyes widened as pulled back his spear and swung its shimmering silver de at Lucas'' shoulder.

    Thwaaam-!!

    Once again, his spear connected but failed to cut through Lucas''

    golden armor. Adel gulped and pulled back his spear once again with trembling hands.

    "Arghhh!" He let out a raging battle cry and unleashed a fury of spear thrusts at Lucas.

    This time, the silver-haired boy stepped in closer to Adel to get inside the reach of his spear. Adel tried to move back but his twin brother was just too fast.

    "Stay back, youa??" Adel was about to curse as a heavy kicknded on his chest and the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

    His spear jerked from his grip as he was thrown back from the force of the impact.

    But despite his inferiorityplex concerning Lucas, Adel had exceptionalbat skills. He ignored the pain and raised his hands, taking a barehandedbat stance.

    Lucas leaped in,unching an onught of attacks - kicks, punches, palm strikes - each seamlessly flowing into another.

    Adel was no slouch in hand-to-handbat. In fact, it was his forte. However, facing his twin brother in this moment, he found himself unable to do anything but take the abuse.

    Lucas was too swift, too precise, and simply wless. His defense revealed no openings, and there were no ws to his technique.

    Not to mention, he was strong! Exceptionally strong! Adel felt like he was being hit by a hurricane of adamantine sledgehammers, each hit making his bone tremble and groan in pain even when he managed to block them!

    What kind of monster am I fighting?! a?? Adel couldn''t help but think, his panic growing evident.

 Chapter 337 Clash Of The Morningstars [3]

    Not long after, Adel''s panic began to seep into his technique and hindered him. He started leaving openings and received damage in return.

    Lucas never missed an opportunity to capitalize on these mistakes and punish his twin brother.

    Usually, in closebat, Adel''s opponents had to always think twice before engaging him.

    They had to be wary of the danger posed by his fire elemental aura.

    After all, if they touch his golden mes, they could be set on fire instantly.

    However, this time, his opponent was not an ordinary cadet but Lucas, who, thanks to the protection of his armor, had no concern about taking damage.

    Actually, on second thought, even without the near-invincible protection of his armor, Lucas was insane enough to set himself aze if it meant harming his opponent.

    Adel clenched his teeth as blow after blow struck his vulnerable areas. He gasped, grunted, and cried out in pain, but Lucas, like a vengeful demon, showed no hint of mercy.

    And why should he show mercy? He had given them a chance to back down. He did not start this fight- they did. This wasn''t punishment... but a consequence.

    Thwack, Thwack, Thwack-!!

    By now, Adel had been reduced to a mere punching bag. He was unable to find any openings for a counterattack. All he could do now was just stand there and take the unbearable beating and humiliation.

    Fortunately, just as Lucas was about tond a blow on Adel''s sr plexus and cut off his mana supply, Yelena intervened. She jumped between the brothers and swung the de of her longsword at Lucas.

    As her de traced an azure arc in the air, Lucas stopped Yelena''s downward sh with his bare hands and grabbed the de of her sword.

    "Mana Burst!" He yelled, igniting an azure explosion in his grip.

    Thwooom-!!

    The silver sword in his tight grasp shattered as though it was made of ss, its sharp shards falling to the ground.

    Thwack-!!

    Before Yelena could evenprehend what had happened, Lucas mmed his head against hers, sending her staggering backward.

    Right at that moment, after finally catching his breath, Adel decided to exploit the momentary opening after Lucas headbutted Yelena and quickly lunged forward with a front kick.

    However, Lucas was obviously aware of the attack. He merely sidestepped and allowed Adel''s kick to meet nothing but air.

    From his side, Lucas lifted his leg and spun in Adel''s direction, ramming his knee into the Golden Wolf''s abdomen.

    "Khuuak!" Adel gasped and buckled, copsing to his knees, the golden mes that had once enveloped his body now extinguished just like his willpower to continue the fight.

    But right then, Yelena used that chance to rush Lucas. She leaped over his head and descended while spinning like a vortex before unleashing a tornado kick on her brother.

    Lucas grabbed Adel by the head and, as a disy of strength, hoisted him up to use him as a shield.

    Thwack-!!

    Yelena''s attacknded on the Golden Wolf''s back, drawing another grunt of pain, "Arghhh!"

    "You coward!" Yelena yelled as shended back on the ground a few steps away.

    Lucas tossed Adel aside as if he was nothing but a mere ragdoll and turned his gaze back to his sister.

    "You know, Yelena," Lucas began, a cold indifference present in his crimson eyes. "You''ve always infuriated me."

    Yelena clenched her teeth and nced at Adel, who was struggling to rise back to his knees.

    By now, she understood that her spells would not be able to break through Lucas'' armor, while his attacks would inevitably wear her down.

    Fighting Lucas felt like courting imminent and inevitable defeat. She was well aware that she would lose alone.

    So, she decided to stall Lucas until Adel recovered. She knew with Adel''s Gift and her devastating spells, they would emerge victorious even when Lucas'' defense was nigh-invincible.

    "Oh, yeah?" She asked. "And just why is that?"

    "How dare you act so high and mighty after what you did to me?"

    Lucas spat, a slight sense of anger evident in his tone. "Hearing you speak about nobility and honor sickens me to my core."

    A pang of pain tugged at Yelena''s heart, but she suppressed it.

    "Lucas, I am sorry for what I did... You know I am!"

    "Are you?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I can tell that you are. You are sorry for what you did. But you don''t feel bad for never trying to stop Adel or never sticking by my side, do you?"

    Yelena remained silent. Her silence, in a way, was her answer. She felt disgusted with herself. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she knew how shallow she had been.

    She had left Lucas because of how inferior she feltpared to him. Adel wasn''t the only one happy on the day when their father made Lucas step down from the position of his heir. No, she too had felt joy that day.

    And that feeling disgusted her.

    "You, or any of the Morningstar for that matter, don''t have any right to talk about honor and nobility," Lucas dered.

    "Keep our family out of this," Yelena gritted a whisper.

    "Oh, did I offend the Snow Wolf?" Lucas scoffed. "That''s what they call you, right? The Snow Wolf? You don''t deserve that name.

    Wolves don''t leave their kin behind!"

    "Oh, and you do, Young Wolf?" Yelena spat back. "What do you know about being a Morningstar anyway?! You weren''t even with us for the most part!"

    "And just who pushed me away!" Lucas erupted but quickly shook his head after calming himself down. "You know what, I don''t care, Yelena. It''s not your fault. You and Adel were just kids. All the attention I got made you both feel like you were always out of the spotlight."

    Yelena listened quietly, her fists tightened and her jaw clenched. As she was about to speak in an attempt to try and make peace with him, Lucas spoke up again.

    "And it''s not your fault that I''m about to prove to you that no matter how many years have passed, no matter how strong you both may have grown, you both will always be inferior to me."

    "....!!" Baring her teeth, Yelena extended her hand and pointed an open palm at Lucas.

    Behind Lucas, Adel had also stood up and pointed an open palm at him before he began to recite a chant.

    Unfazed, Lucas smirked mockingly. "So, do whatever is in your power to try to stop me... and watch as I demolish your pack."

    In an instant, the evening sky burst into brilliant light as several stars ignited above. As they drew nearer, it became apparent that they were massive spheres of golden mes hurtling toward the earth.

    Meanwhile, the ground beneath him trembled as sharp ice obelisks erupted from the earth''s surface.

    The fireballs collided with the ground like meteors, setting off a chain of explosive congrations, while crystalline ice spikes littered the terrain, tearing apart anything in their path.

    The whole garden of the Morningstar mansion was destroyed in an instant, even the guards outside the gates had to move away to protect themselves from the shockwaves that rippled in the aftermath.

    Yet none of the attacks managed tond on Lucas. He gracefully evaded them all and moved with blurring speed, his body looking like a crimson sh.

    Thwoom-!!

    And when an attack did finally connect with Lucas, his body rippled and wavered like a mirage. Noticing this, Yelena''s eyes widened once more.

    She had seen Lucas use this technique before. It was the Mirage Walk, a signature Movement Art used by the God of War, Leo Kurogami himself.

    "Tch! Damnit!" Yelena cursed and shifted her gaze to Adel. "It''s Mirage Walk! He can create illusions of himself, camouge his appearance, and even turn invisible, soa?? Aaargh!"

    Yelena''s warning was abruptly cut short as she let out a pained cry.

    She nced at her shoulder only to find a stiletto knife embedded there, blood gushing out her wound.

    Gripping the hilt of the stiletto knife was a silver-haired boy, his face twisting in a maniacal grin.

    "Eriha Vaan!" Yelena quickly chanted in high-elven, and immediately, a wall of ice erupted from beneath the ground, forcing Lucas to jump back.

    Yelena clutched her wounded shoulder and rushed to Adel''s side.

    Coming to stand beside him, she said:

    "Adel, activate your Fire Elemental Aura. I''m going to unleash Zero Point!"

    Adel''s eyes widened, but he didn''t protest. In fact, he knew that this was their only option. Their spells and attacks had proven futile against Lucas.

    Not even their most destructive spells left a scratch on him. His armor was simply too impervious.

    There was only one way to defeat Lucas, and that was for Yelena to unleash her strongest Area of Effect spell.

    Following the same line of thought, Yelena raised her hand, and a longsword made entirely of ice materialized in her grasp almost instantaneously.

    She whispered an incantation under her breath, causing the tip of her sword to glow with a brilliant azure hue, like a solitary star in the darkest night.

    As if waiting for that cue, the temperature of their surroundings plummeted dangerously, chilling the air in an instant.

    Suddenly, the world was encased in ice once more a?? frozen.

    But this time, it wasn''t just that. In the heart of the frozen world, a deadly snow blizzard billowed forth, engulfing everything in murderous cold within a fifty-meter radius.

    In the eye of the swirling snow tempest stood Yelena, her sword raised toward the sky, radiating a dull azure glow as he looked like a knightly princess from a fairytale.

    Beside her, Adel was enveloped in golden mes, making him appear like a pure, radiant deity who reincarnated into the mortal realm.

    Somewhere in the distance, away from the fantasy-like duo, the air rippled and Lucas'' figure gradually materialized, bing visible again.

    Adel couldn''t help but smirk as he noticed that.

    Yes, elemental damage alone couldn''t harm Lucas, especially since Yelena''s Zero Point spell was not nearly as strong as their mother''s.

    But it would still be exceptionally difficult for Lucas to breathe.

    Within minutes, his lungs would likely sumb to the cold and he would fall unconscious.

    If he were to use his Fire Elemental Aura or any fire-based spells, Adel would drain the mana from those spells, negating them and forcing Lucas to endure the murderous cold.

    The only downside to this n was that Yelena could not move for a few minutes, forcing Adel to confront Lucas on his own.

    But this time, Adel held the upper hand!

 Chapter 338 The God And The Wolf [1]

    Chapter 338 The God And The Wolf [1]

    The Morningstar mansion, which is usually seen as a symbol of peace, justice, and security, was now a scene of utter destruction.

    Its front walls were caved in multiple spots, while other spots were cracked beyond repair.

    The front garden, once a ce of lush beauty, bore deep craters, fissures, and unsightly cracks, marring thendscape.

    The once majestic trees had been reduced to charred or shattered remnants by fire and frost.

    Fountains and pools nowy shattered, their tranquil waters spilling and spurting out in disarray.

    Several wisps of smoke rose, but the most attention-grabbing was an enormous ck mushroom cloud which was a result of one of Lucas'' explosions.

    And, like a menacing vengeful demon, Lucas stood at the heart of a deep crater, firmly gripping a silver-haired half-elf by the throat.

    Beneath his right foot, Adel''s defeated bodyy sprawled, his once-gleaming golden hair now muddied and disheveled, his clothes reduced to tatters.

    Lucas himself stood topless, his lean upper body exposed to the world. At some point during the intense battle, he had shed his armor in favor of Embrace Discard.

    Despite the destruction around him, not a single scratch marred his wless skin.

    His unyielding grip on Yelena''s throat caused her to squirm and writhe in a desperate attempt to break free. But the more she struggled, the tighter his grip became.

    At one point, he lifted her off the ground as she wed at his arm, digging her nails into his skin and drawing blood in futile efforts.

    Yes, it was indeed futile. Fighting him was futile. No matter what they did ¨C every spell that they cast, every tactic that they employed, even their techniques were rendered useless in front of him.

    Fighting him felt like fighting an opponent who could look into the future. How could you ever defeat someone who knows what you''re going to do in advance?!

    Well, there was a way ¨C imposing strength.

    Yes, the only path to defeat such an opponent lies in overpowering them with sheer strength.

    That should''ve been easy since Adel was at the same rank as Lucas while Yelena was a rank above them both ¨C she was currently on Diamond 1.

    With both of their strengthsbined and with the aid of Adel''s Gift, they should''ve been able to suppress Lucas.

    But the moment the Young Wolf shed his armor, their hopes were crushed. They had no choice but to submit to his superior power and wless technique.

    Even Yelena''s Zero Point wasn''t able to slow down Lucas after he removed his armor.

    Adelsted exactly three minutes, and that was only because Lucas was sadistically toying with him, like a prey ying with his food.

    After her youngest brother was defeated, Yelena canceled her Zero Point spell and recited the Ice Golem magic chant.

    As soon as shepleted her incantation, several giant humanoid golems made of ice rose from under the frozen ground and attacked Lucas.

    Lucas, in response, spammed his me Lance spell and rained down countless fiery javelins on the Ice Golems like a barrage of destructive missiles.

    Using that chance, Yelena rushed in and tried to contest him in closebat again with her ice sword.

    Lucas, meanwhile, picked up Adel''s silver spear and utterly obliterated his elder sister. They exchanged precisely forty-five shes before she was defeated.

    The funny thing was that, by the end, Yelena tried to use Morningstar''s secret weapon art, the Dawnbreaker, to defeat Lucas.

    But before she could do that, Lucas ended her with Scarlet Demon Deveroing Art, shattering her sword again and bringing her down to her knees.

    "G¡­Get off!"

    Right now, Yelena was struggling to escape Lucas'' grip of death. She feared he would actually kill her.

    Looking up at her, Lucas spoke in a dangerously low voice, "You enjoy looking down on me, don''t you? How does it feel now? Are you enjoying the look from above?"

    Yelena paddled her feet, trying to touch the ground but her attempts to struggle grew weak with each passing second.

    Meanwhile, beneath his foot, Adel grunted and tried to rise up only to have his face bashed into the ground as Lucas stomped down on him one more time.

    "Stay down," he said, looking down at him before moving his eyes to gaze back into the deep crimson eyes belonging to Yelena.

    Usually, all he would find was arrogance and condensation there. But right now, hidden deep behind the facade of cold animosity in her eyes was primal, instinctive fear.

    <nullb><nulli>Kach¡ª!!

    "Eiik!" Yelena let out a shrill haul of agony as Lucas drove a thin stiletto knife into her uninjured shoulder.

    A twisted grin contorted his face as Lucas uttered, "Don''t heal the scar that''ll be left by this wound. Let it serve as a reminder of your inferiority to me, Snow Wolf."

    Tears welled up in Yelena''s eyes as she gazed down at Lucas. In an instant, a river of memories flooded her mind.

    She remembered the joy she felt on the day Lucas and Adel were born. Though her memories were blurred since she was only two at the time, the happiness of getting not one but two brothers remained vivid in her mind even until now.

    Adel was always slow, so Lucas was the first to learn to speak. She could still recall the giddy feeling she had when he called her "Big Sis" for the first time.

    She could remember how Lucas used to pluck lilies and roses from the mansion''s garden using his small hands and bring them to her.

    Almost every day, they yed together. They sharedughter and tears during storytime, and the fiercepetitiveness when she in her memory.

    taught him chess for the first time. All their warm moments echoed in her memory.

    But then, slowly but surely, everything changed. Lucas was hailed as an angelic prodigy who was destined to lead the West one day.

    His parents showered him with attention, relegating her and her youngest brother to the background. Even Lucas himself began to change slowly.

    He started growing distant. His focus was always elsewhere as if he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders.

    She understood the reasons behind it, of course. He was the heir, so he had to go through grueling training and deal with other matters as their father mentored him.

    But the growing disconnection in their conversations left Yelena and Adel feeling isted. He never had any time to talk to them, and it wasn''t like they had many things to talk to him about.

    Yelena was the big sister, but she always felt so little in front of him. She knew he did not mean it, but it felt like he was intentionally unting his golden child status, a constant reminder of his superiority, into their faces.

    It felt like¡­ He alone was the chosen one.

    As she remembered all of this, Yelena''s efforts to hold back her emotions crumbled. Tears fell and streamed down her flushed cheeks. She released her grip on Lucas'' arm, allowing her hands to fall freely.

    With a swirling mix of emotions ranging from sorrow, regret, resignation, contempt, and seething fury present in her eyes, she fixed her gaze upon her younger brother and uttered:

    "I may have abandoned you... but you left me first."

    The moment those words escaped her lips, Yelena dissolved into a mess of sobs, gasps, and hups, breaking down and letting go of her overwhelming emotions.

    As he witnessed her breakdown, the smirk that had adorned Lucas'' face slowly faded, reced by a somber expression.

    He took in a deep breath, loosening his grip on Yelena and allowing her to fall to the ground, her tears still flowing freely as she coughed and gasped violently.

    "That''s why I told you to settle this over a cup of tea... idiot," Lucas murmured, his gaze dark and his wordsced with irony, devoid of any humor.

    He then stepped away from Adel, eliciting another pained grunt from him.

    "Lucas," a pleasant, almost soothing voice called out to him from behind, jolting him from his daze.

    Finally snapping out of it, he turned to look at Amelia who hade to stand at his side, holding the crimson spear that he had thrown at Yelena earlier during the fight.

    But along with her, he also noticed the approaching guards. They rushed toward him and formed a circle, their weapons drawn from their sheaths as they quickly surrounded Lucas.

    "Get away from the Young Lord and Young Lady! This is your first and final warning!" one of the guards barked.

    Lucas couldn''t help but scoff inwardly. These guards were nowhere to be seen when he was on the receiving end of his siblings'' assault.

    They only decided to intervene after their Young Lord and Young Lady were defeated and in danger.

    He shook his head and was about toply with the guard''s warning. But just at that moment, a bright streak of crimson light shed in the air, forming a spiderweb-like pattern.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwaam, Bwaaam, ng¡ª!!

    In an instant, as if a vortex of invisible des had swept through the area, every weapon wielded by the guards ¨C whether it be a spear, sword, or shield ¨C was sliced into tiny shards, leaving them with only hilts and handles in their grasp.

    ¨C"What the¡­?!"

    ¨C"We''re under attack! We''re under attack!"

    ¨C"Nonsense! None of the security rms went off!"

    ¨C"What''s happening?!"

    Panic quickly spread among their ranks, but out of all the bewildered guards, a few appeared even paler than theirrades.

    They were the ones who knew what had just happened.

    And though Lucas himself knew it, he could hardly believe what he had just witnessed.

    That technique... it was unmistakably the work of his¨C

    "How dare you all direct your des at <nullb><nulli>my disciple? Do you not fear death?! Do you fear no god?! Do you not bleed?! If not, then prepare to now."

    His master.

 Chapter 339 The God And The Wolf [2]

    Chapter 339 The God And The Wolf [2]

    As soon as the overwhelming authoritative voice boomed throughout the mansion''s garden like a strike of thunder, an eerie silence enveloped the area.

    All eyes turned to search the source of thismanding voice as everyone craned their heads upward to the sky.

    Descending from above was a crimson blur that hurtled down andnded on the ground just a few steps before Lucas, carving yet another crater into the earth.

    A dull shockwave rolled through the surroundings before the rising dust finally settled and the figure of the man who had plummeted like a meteoroid became visible.

    He was a tall man with a lean build and broad shoulders. He wore a snug in ck t-shirt that did little to conceal the sculpted muscles rolling like steel wires beneath his skin, and ck jeans.

    A long red military trench coat, adorned with ck fur, was casually draped over his shoulders.

    And sped at his waist was a slender katana resting in its sheath, adding an aura of restrained lethality to the man.

    A mane of long crimson hair cascaded down to his neck and a pair of matching, deep scarlet eyes adorned his chiseled face, which looked as if it was sculpted by the gods themselves.

    A long scar was running down his left cheek ¨C a minor imperfection that, instead of hindering his appearance, only seemed to magnify his captivating charm.

    However, the most riveting and terrifying thing about this man was that he had sent some of the guards present here trembling uncontrobly just from a mere nce.

    But they weren''t just trembling out of fear. No, it was as if they had seen a deity in the flesh.

    Fear and reverence both were present in their eyes, as they looked at this man they believed they had no right toy their eyes upon.

    Even Yelena calmed herself and wiped her tears before she cast a confused gaze at the newly arrived guest.

    Only poor Adel remained unable to lift himself from the ground and look around.

    Right then, the first one to break the palpable silence was Lucas. "Master! You... cut your hair!"

    Leo''s lips twitched until a slight smile graced his face. He turned to face his silver-haired disciple and said, "You ruined the cool dialogue I was going to follow up with."

    "....." Lucas shook his head with a smile. "Yeah, my bad."

    Leo sighed. "Indeed, I''ve cut my hair. It was about time for a new look."

    "True, true," Lucas nodded in affirmation.

    But before they could exchange further banter, one of the ignorant guards present there drew a sword from his dimensional ring and barked, "Hey! Hands in the air where I can see them! You are trespassing into a private noble property! I don''t care if you are a soldier¨C"

    Before the foolish guard could finish his futile warning, Leo ced a hand on his katana''s hilt and released a crushing bloodlust that instantly suffocated everyone present.

    Only Lucas, Adel, and Yelena were spared.

    "Arghh!" An older guard quickly smacked the back of the head of the foolish guard who had spoken earlier and bowed deeply in front of Leo as if he were worshiping a god.

    Seeing this, Leo finally removed his hand from his katana and retracted the crushing bloodlust, allowing the older guard to speak.

    "Please forgive him, Sir! He''s a new young recruit and doesn''t know about you! I beg you, please don''t draw your katana and spare our lives!" The older guard spoke in an apologetic tone.

    The other guard who had spoken earlier scowled and looked at his superior. "What are you saying?! He''s an intruder, and we should not back down from our duty¨C"

    Once again, a pnded on the back of his head before he could finish speaking whatever nonsense he was about to spout.

    The older guard yelled at the youngster, "Are you an idiot?! How could you not recognize the God of War himself?! He''s Leo Kurogami!"

    The color instantly drained from the faces of the young guard and all the other guards who seemed clueless until now. Silence. Absolute silence filled the air until the young guard widened his eyes and began speaking in a whispering tone through his trembling lips.

    "I- I- I¡­ I didn''t¡­ I didn''t know¡­ I''ve only seen him in pictures¡­ I didn''t know he would look so different¡­" the guard quivered and staggered.

    The poor guard couldn''t be med. Leo often wore his traditional dress, a kimono, and tied his waist-long hair into a braid whenever he had to pose for a picture.

    Right now, in modern attire and with neck-length hair, Leo indeed looked very different from his usual appearance.

    If not for the fact that some of the guards here had once served under him when Leo worked with the Morningstars, even they would''ve had trouble recognizing him instantly.

    Leo, unaffected by the fearful and reverent looks he was receiving, turned his gaze to the older guard and said in a calm voice that held a dangerous undertone:

    "You all pointed your weapons at my disciple, whether knowingly or not, thus challenging my pride and reputation. How should I deal with you all?"

    "S-Sir Leo, we were merely carrying out our duties! Cadet Lucas appeared as if he was about to kill them!"

    Leo raised an eyebrow, an erratic grin crossing his lips.

    "Surely you''re not using my disciple of intending tomit a crime, are you? I''m at a loss for words here. Do you think the person I put my utmost trust in would ever do such a thing? Are you also challenging my trust?"

    The guard gulped and darted his eyes around as if begging someone to help him, on the verge of tears.

    He tried to mumble an answer, but his words soon became iprehensible under Leo''s fierce re. "I-I- No¡­ Yes¡­ I have a little wife and one daughter¡­ Little daughter and one wife¡­"

    Sweating profusely, the guard was just seconds away from falling to his knees and crying like a toddler, when a booming voice echoed through the area.

    "Leo!"

    Instantly, all moved toward the gates only to find a muscr man with golden hair and crimson eyes heading in their direction.

    Behind him followed an alluring woman of elven heritage with long flowing silver hair and eyes as cold and frigid as ice.

 Chapter 340 The God And The Wolf [3]

    <h4>Chapter 340 The God And The Wolf [3]</h4>

    It was a scene that looked as if it was taken right out of some kind of a movie.

    Lucas evenpared it to a scene in one of the web novels he had read in his past life where two protagonists met each other.

    Yeah, that description would fit best for what was happening right now. Two old protagonists finallying face to face with one another after a very long time.

    They have had their differences in the past and maybe they do even now after all these years. However, they had a long and hard journey and now they are changed men.

    The underdog is now one of the strongest men alive while the previous strongest one of the two is now a wise guardian of the mysteries.

    The air was palpable and tension was intense as the Wolf came face to face with the God.

    Everyone present there to witness this spectacle couldn''t hold their anticipation. Their mouths hung agape and their eyes widened.

    None of them dared to blink for even a second, afraid to miss something important that could very well go down in history.

    "Leo Kurogami," Reynold uttered, standing tall before arguably one of the strongest men to ever live. "I could never have imagined I would see you back here in the Western Continent ever again."

    Leo looked back at Reynold with distant eyes before casting an indifferent gaze at Yennefer, who stood right behind her husband.

    Meanwhile, following behind Yennefer inside the gates of the mansion were several toons of heavily armed and armored soldiers.

    Both Yennefer and Reynold were also d inbat attire, suggesting they had been on a military mission inside their territory.

    The mission must''ve been something big since it required the presence of not one but two general ranked soldiers.

    Yes, that''s right, Yennefer Morningstar also held the rank of General. It was part of the reason why Morningstars were given full freedom to deploy their troops as they see fit.

    Noticing this, he shifted his focus back to Reynold and spoke in an even tone, "And I could never have imagined the security of the mansion to be sox. I easily got past your mansion gates. Did things fall so low after I left?"

    Reynold''s lips curled up into a grin as he said with a scoff, "Don''t make meugh. I could present you with the best security defense system in the world, and you''d break past it like it''s nothing."

    "Yeah, and..." Leo was about to speak before a deep frown etched onto his face. "Wait, are you insulting me or apuding me?"

    The grin on Reynold''s face widened, but it soon faded into a somber look. "So, may I ask why you''re here, terrorizing my guards, instead of acting like a proper guest?"

    Reynold emphasized the word "guest" to assert Leo''s status and remind everyone who was actually in charge here. It was a power move.

    Leo half-closed his eyes, showingplete disinterest in power politics like always, as he replied:

    "I was here to fetch my dear disciple. But when I arrived, I saw that your guards were pointing their des at him. They''re lucky that I didn''t cut off their hands for that sphemy."

    Reynold furrowed his brow in confusion and cast a questioning gaze at his guards. He then looked at Lucas and everyone around him.

    Yelena was on her knees, her head dropped and her eyes reddened as if she had just stopped crying, blood stains visible on her tunic, and several wounds were present on her body.

    Adely spreadeagled face-t on the ground, asionally groaning and grunting in pain as he struggled to pull himself up. He had clearly broken a few bones.

    Lucas himself stood topless a few steps behind his master, flexing his mesmerizing lean body, but not a single wound marred his wless skin.

    Standing beside him was an alluring ck-haired girl who watched everything with great interest, holding a... packet of popcorn in her hand.

    All of this,bined with the current condition in which the mansion walls were in and the ruined surroundings, made it clear that the three siblings had just been in a brutal brawl.

    Since they were all mana users, this brawl must have involved artillery spells and, from the looks of it, area-of-effect spells, relics, and martial arts.

    It was truly a miracle that the entire mansion hadn''t copsed- THWAAAAM-!!

    Just as Reynold was lost in the midst of his thoughts, the front wall of the mansion, which was already littered with cracks and fissures, came crumbling down.

    ...Okay, still, at least the rest of the mansion was still intact.

    "....." Reynold waited a few minutes until nothing happened this time after he raised a g, and let out a sigh of relief.

    He then turned to Leo and said, "You can see why they needed to intervene, right? The children were fighting. Lucas won, and they thought he would harm them."

    "Fighting?" Leo scoffed. "I would call this ying, at best."

    Reynold looked at the imposing figure before him with a deadpan expression and shook his head. Yennefer tried to suppress a smile from appearing on her face.

    Thest time a fight had broken out here, thisvish mansion ended up inplete ruins.

    Obviously, it was Reynold and Leo who had fought. When Yelena confronted them, Leo had replied, "We were just ying."

    Truly, this guy had not changed at all.

    Reynold let out another somber sigh, reminiscing about the old times... the simple times, and said in a calmest possible tone, "Look, I will discipline my guards. You can drop the matter here."

    They locked eyes for a few long minutes inplete silence before Leo nodded. "The next time, if there ever will be a next time, I will kill them all myself."

    Normally, even for a high-ranking soldier, it would be a crime to take lives. And it would be considered treason to even discuss such matters, let alone issue a warning to the head of a ruling family like Leo just did.

    But who would punish him for such a petty crime? The government would have to deploy arge portion of the military and arm the troops with all kinds of high-end weapons and relics if they wished to eliminate Leo.

    And even then, so many lives would be wasted, since Leo was bound to resist. It was a very real possibility that he would wipe out the army sent to bring him in.

    The government would then have to dispatch another army. In short, it would be a monumental task to eliminate someone like him.

    And that''s why the government had willingly offered immunity to some of their strongest soldiers.

    Reynold let out a sigh and nodded. "You can do whatever you want.

    Who can stop you?"

    Leo gritted his teeth. This exact quote was something he had once said to Reynold when he was still chasing after him, trying to surpass him.

    Now, when he had finally surpassed him... when he had finally grown much, much stronger than him, the feeling of conquest did not taste as sweet as he had once thought it would.

    He walked past Reynold and Yennefer, heading toward the gates, and yelled, "Lucas, stop munching on popcorn and follow me!"

    Lucas, who had grabbed a handful of popcorn from Amelia''s bag, was startled as he quickly followed behind his master, leaving the Den Of The Wolves behind.

 Chapter 341 Parting Ways

    <h4>Chapter 341 Parting Ways</h4>

    "That was so intense!" Ameliamented. "And I don''t even mean thest part. Leo sensei and your father''s confrontation was thrilling, yeah, but your fight was even more exciting!"

    A smug smile crossed my lips as I nodded, "Haa! True. The dialogues, the dramatics, the action! Oh, everything was so perfect!"

    Amelia''s smile shrank a little as she gave me a silent look and said, "So, you weren''t the one who... you know... you weren''t to me for anything. You know you could go public with your findings, right?"

    I shook my head. "The public will lose faith in the Morningstars. Not to mention, there will be a thorough inspection of the whole family and everything rted to us."

    That also meant they would search the underground throne room. I didn''t know if it was the right move, letting the world be exposed to the prophecies.

    "So?" Amelia shrugged furiously. "Lucas, your parents almost ruined your life. They pushed you so far... What if you had gone off the deep end? Not only do they deserve punishment, but you deserve justice!"

    I stayed silent for a moment before shaking my head slowly one more time. I knew she was right, and I wanted to hurt them too.

    But if what Reynold showed me was true, if the vision my

    grandfather promised is about toe, if the three heroes are real, and I''m one of them, then his other warnings are bound to be true.

    The Morningstars must stay in a position of power in the Western Continent. I could not possibly take any risks to threaten their position.

    Seeing my dull and distant reaction, Amelia creased her forehead into a gentle frown and asked, "Is this because of the talk you had with your father?"

    Instead of denying her, I sighed and nodded my head slowly.

    Noticing myck of willingness, she didn''t pry further into the topic, only saying: "You can''t talk to me."

    Yeah, I don''t think I would, though. Especially not about anything rted to the prophecies or the fate of the world.

    Again, it wasn''t like I did not trust her. I just did not trust her enough to not tell Nero or Anastasia about it.

    Changing the topic, I looked around and asked, "So, you''ll be heading to Shaolin?"

    "Yes," Amelia nodded before adding, "In a few days. I talked to Nero and Anastasia, and apparently they are..."

    Amelia quickly looked to her left and then to her right. After ensuring that the street was rtively empty and no one was near us, she resumed:

    "And apparently they are going to raid that underground auction you told them about either tomorrow night or the one after."

    I looked at Amelia with a deadpan smile devoid of any humor and shook my head inwardly.

    Did they tell her about it? I specifically asked Nero not to tell anyone aside from the Shaolin sect''s officials about it!

    Well, I guess he needed help from Chase and Anastasia, so he had to tell them, but what use did he have telling Amelia about it?!

    That''s exactly the reason why I don''t want to tell Amelia about the prophecies. I just know in my gut she would let all the other main characters know about it.

    Gaah, these main characters and their precious bonds with each other.

    "Wait," Amelia blinked, realizing something. "Was Nero not supposed to tell me that?"

    "No, but it''s fine," I waved a hand dismissively. "I knew he would tell you, William, Elijah, Chase, and Anastasia. You guys have a great bond, and you all belong to the same group."

    In the novel, these people, along with Aster, whom I failed to mention, were known as Nero''s faction. They wereter officially dubbed as Peace Keepers for their great cooperation in the War of Union.

    "We are not a group..." Amelia frowned, prompting me to give her a look. She then hesitated for a few seconds before sighing, "Okay, I guess you can call it a group."

    But before I could speak up, she quickly added with a teasing smile, "But don''t be jealous, Lucas. I''m sure you can get a spot. Nero seems to have started to like you now."

    "Please," I rolled my eyes with a scoff.

    Not only was I part of a secret organization with its head member directly working with me, but I was also on the path to creating a covert task force.

    Yes, my group was better than theirs! So what if we didn''t have their close bonds and meaningful friendship?! We were much cooler!

    Amelia chuckled. "Anyway, so I''ll go there after five to six days.

    What about you? Where are you going to go?"

    I looked to my left and pointed at the building on the side of the street. It was a tall skyscraper, and a teleportation gate was situated on top of it.

    Leo was waiting for me on the roof, as he had given us time to bid goodbyes.

    "Master hasn''t told me yet," I sighed. "But wherever I''m going with him, I believe I''ll be experiencing hell."

    Amelia chortled again before I took a deep breath and added, "And that''s exactly why I wanted to ask you for a favor."

    The ck-haired beauty raised an eyebrow with a bright smile stered on her face, "Oh, another favor? You know it''ll be the third one."

    "You''re counting?!" I eximed before shaking my head. "Anyway, it''s just that I want you to take care of Sera."

    Amelia lingered for a few moments before nodding. Ultimately, she decided to voice her confusion, "But why haven''t you told your master about her yet?"

    I shrugged. "I trust him, but he''s a soldier, you know? I mean, he was part of the very force tasked with eradicating the mythical beasts."

    And he''s a member of Spider.

    Of course, I had my suspicions rted to Amelia as well, but that''s exactly why leaving Sera with her was a good idea.

    She could keep a close eye on Amelia andter report anything suspicious to me when we meet.

    Hearing my reasoning, Amelia nodded. "I guess you are right. Okay, don''t worry, I''ll take care of her."

    After talking about a few more things, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I had already informed Sera about my arrangement with Amelia, so she was going to follow her.

    As for me, I took an elevator and reached the terrace of the skyscraper. There, I saw my master and a dutiful security personnel guarding therge rectangr metal frame of the teleportation gate.

    "Ready?" Seeing me, Leo posed a question. "Believe me, you''ll love our new venue for training."

    I highly doubted that. a?? Impooned inwardly with a shake of my head but finally replied, "Yeah, let''s go."

 Chapter 342 The Arrival At Mount Hua

    <h4>Chapter 342 The Arrival At Mount Hua</h4>

    Struggling to catch my breath as I huffed and puffed, I used my weak knees to push me uphill, taking one slow and steady step at a time.

    The mountain path ahead of me was steep, twisted, narrow, and cloaked in a nket of knee-deep snow.

    A single misstep and I would fall into the deep, dark valley below, lost in the chasm forever.

    Chilly winds assailed, threatening to push climbers toward the precipice, but I held on to my dear life.

    I was wearing a thick, ck windbreaker to fight the cold and boots specialized for snow trekking.

    Yet, each step I took was a dangerous gamble between life and death since the possibility of slipping from here into a fatal descent was very real.

    ...Okay, maybe the situation wasn''t THAT dramatic. I knew my master would save me in the nick of time if I were to fall.

    But still!

    The narrow mountain path was undeniably scary especially since the snow had made it slippery.

    "Why?! Just why must we alwayse to these treacherous mountains for training, master?" I couldn''t help butin, my legs sinking deep into the snow with everyborious step.

    By this point, my legs were so cold that they had gone numb! I could hardly feel them!

    "Dear disciple, If I remember correctly, I once took you to a desert,"

    Leo countered with a casual shrug.

    Resisting the urge to shake my head, not out of disrespect but out of sheer concern that even a slight fluctuation in my focus might send me tumbling, I continued to trek uphill cautiously.

    "And besides, do you even know where we are right now?" Leo asked with an amused tone.

    Wait, was he enjoying my misery?! Well, of course he was.

    In fact, if I ever were to take in a disciple, which was highly unlikely, I too would likely relish in their misery.

    With a resigned sigh, I slowly shook my head. "I don''t know. So enlighten me, my wise master. Where in the world are we?"

    "We are in the Northern Continent," Leo revealed with a knowing smile.

    "....Huh?"

    Leo''s words echoed in my ears for a few moments, leaving me standing stunned in my position like a statue.

    Gradually, I roused myself from my daze, and my trembling lips barely managed to stammer out a few words:

    "N-North... North... what? Northern Continent? You mean the very continent that serves as the first line of defense against vampires?"

    Leo chuckled and extended a finger, pointing straight ahead. "Just a bit over 243,290 square kilometers from here lies the first operational line of the Northern Defense Force."

    His words drained the color from my face, making me shudder violently, not from the cold but from sheer panic.

    "Master, what the hell?!" I finally burst out. "Did you bring me here to throw me into the border war under the guise of training?"

    "You''dst less than five minutes there," Leo shook his head, a faint smile ying on his lips. "I brought you here to train in the best sect I''ve ever been a part of."

    "...."

    Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck!

    Suddenly, everything fell into ce.

    Something clicked in my head as I finally understood Leo''s motive for bringing me here. He wanted me to train in arguably the best martial arts sect.

    Nestled somewhere on this treacherous, snow-covered mountain range that guarded the nk of the Northern Continent stood one of the world''s three major sects.

    The Mount Hua sect.

    Honestly, Mount Hua had been the name of a martial arts sect that had appeared in countless cultivation web novels over the years.

    Yet, much like the Shaolin and Southern Edge de sects, Mount Hua was depicted quite differently in the novel "Legend of the Legendary Heroes."

    "How much do you know about sects?" Leo inquired as he

    continued to walk up with remarkable ease, as though he was walking on a in road.

    His voice snapped me out of my daze, and I resumed walking, trailing closely behind him.

    "After fulfilling their mandatory military service, some people follow their passions, changing professions as they see fit. Some remain as soldiers and pledge allegiance to one of the four ruling families or continue serving the United Military. Then there are those who join a sect to continue growing stronger. A sect is a ce for people who pursue strength."

    But that''s not all it is. In a sense, these sects are akin to private mercenary groups rather than martial art schools.

    They work with the ruling families of their respective continents and undertake covert missions that regr soldiers couldn''t a?? or shouldn''t a?? take.

    Of course, at their heart, they remained true to their core mission of imparting martial arts to those who sought their teachings.

    Everything did seem rather nice up until this point, didn''t it? Well, I wish life was that easy!

    After trudging for a few more minutes beneath the warm, orange glow of the setting sun, I noticed the narrow mountain path gradually broadening, forming a vast in.

    In the distance, my eyes fixed upon two colossal wooden gates adorned with some kind of strange, glowing symbols-likely highelven enchantments engraved into their surface.

    Above these gates, an arched signboard read, "Wee to Mount Hua," its letters inscribed in vivid crimson ink.

    Walking toward those giant wooden gates, Leo broke the silence and let out an affirmative sigh.

    "Yes, you are mostly right about things. But above all, a sect is a wellspring of resources... and resources equal power."

    I wanted to argue that power is simply equal to power, but I could see Leo''s perspective. I guess he wasn''t entirely wrong.

    A sect could provide me with a diverse array of martial arts manuals, weaponry, and invaluable connections.

    As we drew nearer to the colossal gates, amidst the cold gusts of icy wind, a gentle breeze wafted over me, carrying the scent of a fervent spring.

    More precisely, it was the scent of blooming plum blossoms.

    "You''re going to love it here," Leo beamed with excitement. But my own expression remained grim and devoid of any humor.

    Yes, under normal circumstances, I might have actually enjoyeding to a real-life martial arts sect even though I don''t like the murim genre...

    However, there was a problem.

    Inside this sect... inside Mount Hua... was someone who could be deemed the most wanted criminal in the history of the world.

 Chapter 343 Grandmaster

    <h4>Chapter 343 Grandmaster</h4>

    I could still make a run for it if I try. But how would I outrun my Master and where would I even go?

    Besides, and perhaps most importantly... I didn''t want to descend after climbing up so arduously.

    Kreeeee-!!

    Just as I was in the middle of thinking about non-existent escape ns, a sharp ear-piercing screech shattered the silence.

    My gaze snapped to the source of the sound, and I saw the massive wooden gates slowly creaking open before me.

    The delicate fragrance of blossoming spring intensified, washing over us until I felt as if I was standing amidst a vast field of a thousand plum blossoms.

    But before I couldpletely take in the scent of fervent spring in the midst of a snowy mountain a?? a spectacle in itself a?? the wooden gates in front of uspletely opened, revealing a figure emerging from within.

    The individual who came to stand before us was an elderly man who oozed off an otherworldly aura like that of a stern and noble warrior.

    His age could not hide the lethal presence he carried. In fact, if anything, it seemed to have only sharpened it to the razor''s edge over the years.

    He had a tall and robust stature and a head full of white hair that flowed down to his waist, perfectlyplementing the thin mustache adorning his lips.

    Draped over his shoulder was a red fur coat that contrasted sharply with the light red and ck robes he was wearing.

    Although his back was slightly hunching, his sharp, decisive movements clearly showed that he was still a deadly warrior.

    Coming face to face with us, the man looked at us with a piercing gaze, as if measuring us in his mind.

    I felt a chill run down the length of my spine as I stood there, stunned. His deep ck eyes had a maniacal glint to them. It felt like he was thinking of ways to kill us in the most efficient ways.

    After an unusually long moment of tense, spine-chilling silence, the old man finally broke into an amicable smile.

    "Leo, my boy! How have you been?"

    "Master! I''m well, and it seems you still haven''t kicked the bucket, eh?"

    "How dare you?! I won''t shuffle off this mortal coil until I''ve reached the ripe old age of two centuries. Just five more years to go."

    "Hahaha! Right, this year you''ll be 196!"

    "Indeed, indeed."

    Wait, what?! This old man was how old again?! 196?! What on Earth?! He barely appeared to be in his sixties,te fifties at most!

    My goodness!

    And what was that way of talking? "Shuffle off this mortal coil"? He sounded like one of those wise old men from Murim novels, the ones always ready to shout, "Courting death!"

    But then again, given where I was standing right now, maybe I shouldn''t have found it all that unusual, right?

    After exchanging greetings, the old man moved his deep ck eyes to look at me with a curious gaze.

    "And who might this seemingly delicate young man be,

    apanying you?"

    De-De... Delicate, what?! Not everyone aspires to be jacked like you, old man!

    Leo chuckled, his responseced with a touch of pride. "He is Lucas Morningstar, my disciple."

    The old man widened his eyes, scoffing, "Disciple? Haah! Has the sun moved from its ce or has the Earth plunged into the abyss?

    Is the apocalypse already upon us?"

    Leo visibly rolled his eyes. "Quit being so dramatic, master. Your face has begun to show some wrinkles."

    The old man gasped as if he had just heard the most sphemous statement in his entire life. "How dare you, disciple?! Do you no longer love your life?!"

    They exchanged nces, their expressions growing slightly serious before the both of them burst into heartfeltughter.

    Meanwhile, I kept standing there with a nk expression, thinking over every life choice I made that had led me to this point in time.

    After a while, theyposed themselves, and Leo smiled at the old man. "Anyway, I''d like Lucas to train at Mount Hua."

    "Fine," the old man shrugged.

    Leo frowned. "That''s it? That''s all it took? I thought you''d refuse, ask Lucas to prove his worth to even enter Mount Hua, and only ept him when he defeats your top student."

    ...Seriously, master? Have you been reading those third-rate Murim novels too? I won''t me you, they are addicting.

    The old man chuckled. "Who are we to deny a request from the God of War, Leo Kurogami? Besides, what''s stopping you from obliterating this entire sect if we refuse you?"

    After a brief pause, he continued, "And also, if he''s your disciple, I''m sure he''ll be exceptional... even if he does look a bit delicate."

    Oh,e on!

    Leo grinned in response to that statement and gave a nod. "Good, because I have one more favor to ask of you. I want you to personally train him. I''ll be here, of course, but I want you toy the foundation for his sword skills."

    The old man sighed as if faced with a troublesome request, but he didn''t object. "I don''t have an issue with that, but is your disciple prepared?"

    At that moment, both Leo and the old man turned their intense gazes on me.

    Their fierce res forced me to nod in agreement before I could fully understand what I was even agreeing to.

    "Excellent!" The old man pped his hands together. "Then brace yourself. The next five months of your life are going to be extremely hellish for you, little one."

    Suddenly, I froze, blinking a couple of times before stammering, "Five months?"

    The old man nodded firmly. "Five months."

    "....." I turned to Leo inplete panic. "I can''t stay here for five months, master! What about my sses? My assignments! I''ll fail this year!"

    Leo waved his hand dismissively. "Don''t worry. I''ll submit your leave of absence application. You''ll just have to catch up on your course when you return. You can easily catch up to five months'' worth of work in a single month, right?"

    "....Huh?" I was about to protest, but then a sudden realization struck me.

    I wanted to grow stronger, didn''t I? This was my chance, a golden opportunity that might nevere again.

    Besides, it wasn''t as if I had much of a choice at this point anyway. I had already agreed to this. Tsk.

    Letting out a long, resigned sigh, I nodded. "Fine, let me just inform my friends-"

    But before I could tap on the screen of my smart bracelet, the old man swiftly moved toward me, his palm shing at my wrist.

    Kach-!!

    And instantly, my smart bracelet shattered into a million shards, as if it had been struck by multiple des.

    My eyes widened in shock, and I couldn''t help but exim, "WhWhat have you done? That was assigned to me by the academy! You can''t just break someone else''s belongings at your whim like that!"

    The old manughed as if I had told him a joke. He turned away, heading inside the massive wooden gates, and said without turning back to me:

    "Will you be saying the same when I''m breaking your bones?"

    ...Huh?!

    I turned to my master with a sense of urgency. "He won''t actually do it, will he? He won''t really break my bones, right?!"

    Leo also chuckled before making his way through the gates. "All I can say is that he once broke my ribs just because I wasn''t paying attention during his lecture."

    As I watched both of them disappear inside, the thought of making a run for it crossed my mind once more.

    "...I''m definitely going to die, aren''t I?"

 Chapter 344 Ifa Zenith

    <h4>Chapter 344 Ifa Zenith</h4>

    "My name is Ifa Zenith. I was the former head of the Mount Hua sect. In the United Military, before my retirement, I held the rank of Deputy Commander. From this day forward, you shall address me only as Grandmaster."

    I nodded in solemn agreement with every word left from the old man''s mouth as if there were a spring attached to my neck.

    Master Leo had gone off to greet some of his old friends from this ce, leaving me in the kind care of my new Grandmaster.

    The sight around me was breathtaking. The surroundings seemed like they were plucked straight from a Chinese martial arts novel.

    Towering ancient trees, their branches stretching towards the sky, cast dappled shadows on the moss-covered ground.

    The air was crisp and carried a faint scent of pine, invigorating and pure.

    Ahead of me, the cobblestone-covered path going upward with intricately carved stonenterns by the side.

    As we ascended, the view only became more captivating. The mountain revealed its true beauty, with mist-covered peaks that seemed to touch the sky.

    Since the path wasn''t covered in snow and was made of

    cobblestone instead, climbing was easy.

    And as we climbed higher, the path slowly began to widen until it looked as if we had entered a bustling little city.

    Wooden housing structures surrounded us, a thickyer of snow piling on their roofs.

    The streetmps cast a soft, weing glow that pushed back the encroaching darkness of theing night as people filled up the street.

    Almost everyone was dressed in the distinctive red and ck robes of Mount Hua, and all of them carried a variety of weapons a?? mostly a jian or a tang dao.

    One thing I noticed was that wherever the old man went, people bowed their heads in reverence, a zealous spark appearing in their eyes as if they had seen their idol.

    As we walked deeper into the settlement, the old man informed me that we were entering what he called the Training District.

    There were training halls nestled among the mountain''s natural beauty here. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

    They were constructed from dark wood and adorned with intricate carvings that told stories of legendary battles and revered masters.

    The sound of swords shing and the hum of mana filling the air, as disciples honed their skills in the ancient arts was like a beautiful symphony.

    "Isn''t this ce just beautiful?" The old man put on a smug smile and gave me a proud look over his shoulder as if he were the one who made everything here.

    "It''s alright," I replied with a nonchnt shrug, trying to look as disinterested as possible.

    The old man chuckled. "You''lle to appreciate it during your stay here, little one."

    Little one?! I''m not little! a?? was what I wanted to retort with, but then I realized that this old man... was a giant.

    Even Leo had to crane his neck to meet the old man''s gaze, and I found myself doing the same. My master and I weren''t short, so this old man had to be around 6''10 - 6''11.

    Yeah, scratch that, to him, everyone in this world probably did seem like a "little one."

    With a resigned sigh, I followed the old man as he led us to a particr training hall.

    This one wasrger than the others in the vicinity, and there wasn''t a single person training in sight.

    Like the rest of the halls, this one was also crafted from dark wood, strengthened by elven magic runes to ensure that even the most formidable mana users couldn''t crack its floors or walls during practice.

    Also much like the rest of the halls, intricate carvings covered its walls on which a variety of weapons hung a?? from swords and spears to staffs and shields.

    "This is my private hall. Only my disciples are allowed to step foot in here," the old man told me.

    "It''s empty," I remarked.

    "Exactly," the old man affirmed with a nod. "You''ll be my first disciple in ten years, and also myst."

    For some inexplicable reason, a heavy feeling settled in my heart the moment the old man uttered those words.

    The old man removed the coat draped over his shoulder and hung it on a clothes hanger by the entrance as he continued: "A long time ago, I made a promise to train fifty disciples in my lifetime. So far, I''ve trained forty-nine, including your master, the God of War, Leo Kurogami."

    He paused briefly, taking a deep breath, then selected two sheathed swords from the wall and tossed one in my direction.

    As I caught it, the old man added:

    "Each of my disciples has left their mark on the pages of history." He pointed to the engravings on the wall and continued, "These are the tales of their heroic deeds. If you look closely, you''ll see your master''s name appears more often than any other. He was the most exceptional and driven of everyone I''ve taught... and I expect nothing less from you."

    Great, no pressure at all.

    "Now, take out your sword and attack me using Martial Aura. I believe your master taught you that?" the old man instructed.

    I nced at the tang dao gripped in my hand before turning my gaze back to the old man. "He did, but I''m not proficient with swords."

    "Then you''ve already disappointed me once," the old man grinned and enveloped his sword in a thickyer of azure mana.

    The mana coalesced around the de of his tang dao, enhancing its sharpness and strength. It was definitely True Martial Aura.

    Kwish, Swish-!!!

    My eyes widened, but before I could voice my hesitation, the old man disappeared into thin air and reappeared right in front of me the next moment.

    His sword was pulled back as if he was about to thrust it at me, but I didn''t give him an opportunity to attack.

    "What the-?!" I quickly unsheathed my sword and swung it towards the old man in one fluid motion, aiming for his neck without a moment''s hesitation.

    Thud-!!!

    "....Huh?"

    Thwaaam-!!!

    But before my sword could connect with the old man, my world turned upside-down in an instant.

    It took me a split second to realize that I had been flipped, and in the next second, I crashed violently onto the unforgiving ground,nding on my neck.

    "Arghhh!" I groaned as I rolled around, clutching my neck. It didn''t feel like I had broken a bone, but it was so painful!

    After a few moments, I understood what had happened. While my focus was on his sword, the old man had deftly used his leg to sweep me off my feet.

    Not only did he misdirect me, but his movements were so precise that I didn''t even realize what was happening until it was toote.

    And above all, the speed at which he moved! That speed reminded me of Leo...

    The old man looked at me with an amused smile. "Get up, little one.

    I''m going to enjoy this."

    ...Tch! It seemed that his speed wasn''t the only thing he shared with Leo. His sadistic streak was the same as well, huh?

 Chapter 345 The Devious One

    Chapter 345 The Devious One

    "You are good," the old man praised, wearing a satisfied smile.

    I was lying t on the ground, my face and body covered in ck and blue bruises as my chest heaved up and down in sheer exhaustion.

    My sword was a few meters away from my reach and agonizing jolts of excruciating pain were coursing through my body each time I tried to move.

    Just as I was mustering up my courage to brace the pain and move to stand back up, the old man''s voice reached my ears.

    "You almost had me this time."

    Liar! I never <nullb><nulli>almost had him! This <nullb><nulli>devious old man had seen through all my attacks from a mile away! Yes, I was calling him <nullb><nulli>devious now!

    Earlier, when I saw him, I had thought of him as a noble and stern warrior. Well, forget that! He was devious, through and through!

    You couldn''t trust a single thing he said or did. His technique might have been impable, but his true masteryy in deceit and misdirection!

    Haaa, no, to be honest¡­ His swordy was astonishing, utterly breathtaking. But it was almost as if I couldn''t trust his sword.

    If his sword seemed to being at me from the right, the attack would arrive from the left.

    And when I prepared to block a strike from the left, expecting an attack from the right, he''d surprise me by actually striking from the left!

    Then, when he swung his sword to the left, I was ready to block it and also braced myself for a hit from the right. But this time, he kicked me square in the chest!

    Inyman''s terms, what he was doing was called executing feint attacks.

    And normally, I could handle these kinds of feints.

    After all, staying on guard and anticipating the unexpected was the first thing Leo had ever taught me.

    However, something about the old man''s sword was different. Something felt eerily out of ce. It was as if his sword itself couldn''t be trusted.

    And to make matters worse, just like Leo, he could also read my moves. He almost always knew what I was about to do.

    It was almost like I was fighting against someone who could predict the future, damn it!

    ...Huh. Now I understood how my opponents must feel when I see through them. Poor souls.

    "Alright, get up," the old man instructed.

    I clenched my teeth and protested, "No! I''m not getting up!"

    "...Why not?" the old man asked with a hint of amusement.

    "What''s the point when you''re just going to knock me down again?" I whined. "I''d rather stay right here on the floor!"

    The old man silently looked at me for a few moments before bursting intoughter.

    "You''re just like your master," he remarked between chuckles. "Don''t worry, we won''t spar anymore. It''s gettingte, and you''ve had a long journey. It''s best if you turn in for the night."

    ".....?!" The old man walked up to me, grabbed my cor, and lifted me to my feet as if picking up a wooden stick from the ground.

    He then handed me a slip of paper and said, "This estate will be your residence for the next few months. You can choose any room you like, except for the one that''s locked."

    I took the slip from his hand and nced at it. Written on it was what appeared to be an address.

    Raising an eyebrow, I turned back to the old man and quipped, "What''s inside the locked room? Ghosts?"

    The old man chuckled. "Funny. It''s actually my great-granddaughter''s room. She''s quite the angel. Anyway, she hasn''t returned home yet. I expect her back in two or three days."

    "I see," I shrugged, cing the paper slip in my pocket. Letting out a sigh, I gave the old man a slight bow and headed for the exit of the training hall.

    As soon as I stepped out of the training hall, a familiar tall man with neck-long red hair came into view, approaching me.

    "Woah!" Leo chortled as he came to stand before me and looked at my condition. "He hasn''t even started the training, and you already look like a zombie!"

    I shot Leo a stare that was a mix of fury and helplessness. "I swear to god, if he kills me, I will haunt you for all eternity."

    Leo chuckled. "Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you. I''ll be heading to the Eastern Continent tomorrow or the day after and might only be back in a week or two."

    I sighed, nodding in response. "Alright, alright."

    Leo frowned. "Aren''t you going to ask where I''m going?"

    No, I already knew. He was going to the Eastern Continent because Spider had its eyes set on the Underground Auction that was about to take ce there.

    In the novel, by the time Spider arrived to heist the Underground Auction, the local authorities had already confiscated most of the items.

    The auction hosts tried to escape with the remaining relics, but Spider hunted them down and took whatever was left in their possessions.

    This time wouldn''t be any different. The Auction was set to run for three weeks, but ording to Amelia, Nero had already gathered allies.

    He nned to strike within the span of two nights. So when Spider was going to arrive there, they would find nothing but the aftermath.

    Hmmm, or perhaps, it was also possible that Nero''s group had to face-off with Master and his squad.

    Oh, man! That would be so epic!

    ¡­Haaa, but what did any of that have to do with me?

    Even if a showdown between Leo and Nero were to happen, I''d be stuck here... training.

    Tsk, sometimes being a side character was a drag.

    Shaking my head, I responded, "I guessed that since you didn''t tell me, it''s a personal matter."

    A faint smile graced Leo''s lips as he nodded, saying, "Yes, it''s somewhat personal. A few thieves stole some things from me and my friends. I''m going to take it all back."

    Hmm? What did that mean?

    Before I could ask for more details, the voice of the old man echoed from the training hall behind me.

    "You''re still here, little one? Want to spar some more?"

    A shiver ran down my spine as I nced at Leo and offered him a polite smile.

    "Alright, catch youter!" I said before disappearing from the scene as if I had never been there.

    ?

    As Leo and Ifa watched theical sight of Lucas running away, they both erupted into uncontrobleughter.

    "You really traumatized him on the very first day, master!" Leo eximed between fits ofughter, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

    "Remember, you acted the same!" Ifa chortled, holding his aching stomach as he continued to chuckle.

    After a while, theirughter subsided as Leo took a deep breath and asked, "So, how is he?"

    Ifa massaged his forehead, where faint wrinkles were barely visible. "You''ve done an excellent job refining his technique. I couldn''t spot a single mistake in his movements, even when he was using an unfamiliar weapon."

    Leo shrugged. "That''s nothing. You''ll be amazed by his ability to learn. He can absorb knowledge like a sponge soaking up water."

    "A rare quality in noble children," Ifa remarked.

    Leo nodded before furrowing his brow. "Huh? What do you mean? I was also a noble when I came to you!"

    "I stand by my point," Ifa replied with a nonchnt shrug.

    The master and disciple exchanged a serious nce before bursting intoughter once more.

    After theirughter subsided once more, Leo posed another question. "So, where is she? Where is Selena?"

    Ifa furrowed his brow, wearing a confused expression. "Don''t tell me you haven''t met her yet? She should be back at the mansion right now."

    But then his lips curled up into a knowing smile as he continued, "Haha! Thinking of finally proposing to her, are you?"

    Leo rolled his eyes and began walking toward the mansion. "Please, I''ve told you a thousand times that we''re just friends, master."

    Ifa followed him closely behind. "You might think that, but it''s quite clear that she has feelings for you. Have you seen the way she looks at you?!"

    you!" Ifa insisted.

    "Master!" Leo eximed in exasperation. "I think old age is finally "Arrogantly," Leo retorted. "Like she looks at everyone beneath her."

    "...Okay, fair point, but behind that facade of arrogance is love! For you!" Ifa insisted.

    "Master!" Leo eximed in exasperation. "I think old age is finally catching up to you. We''re just friends!"

    Leo wasn''t lying. He genuinely thought of Selena as a friend. Besides, he wasn''t going to the mansion to propose to her¡­ but to receive his orders.

    Ifa rolled his eyes and turned around as he began to walk away. "Okay, fine! Ignore the advice of this old man, just like everyone else does these days."

    Leo watched Ifa leave and shook his head.

    "He''s still ying matchmaker even at this age," he scoffed before proceeding toward the mansion.

 Chapter 346 Settling In Mount Hua

    Chapter 346 Settling In Mount Hua

    After running away from the training hall, I fished out the paper slip that the old man had given me from my pocket and began searching for the address written in it.

    Finding the address proved more challenging than I thought. No, I was kidding. With my sense of direction, I knew it would be difficult.

    As such, I started asking a few passersby for directions.

    One of the people I asked for directions was a very familiar-looking young man who appeared to be my age, perhaps a year older, with short silver hair and eyes of a matching dull hue.

    His porcin skin was as immacte as the finest of jade, and his entire demeanor exuded an air of haughtiness, as if he was some kind of a prince.

    At first, it looked as if he was about to ignore me and continue on his way, but when I showed him the paper slip, something clicked in his mind.

    He stopped and inspected the address written on the slip with a furrowed brow.

    After a long, ufortable silence, the young man shifted his dull silver gaze to meet mine and posed a question, "Why are you going to this ce?"

    I furrowed my brow in return, clearly confused. "The owner of this ce offered to let me stay there for a few months."

    The young man curled his upper lip in what could only be described as a look of distaste and voiced another query, "Wait, are you that Morningstar boy?"

    The frown creasing my forehead deepened as I responded with a question, "You know me?"

    "Hardly," the young man scoffed, muttering to himself as he passed by me, deliberately bumping his shoulder against mine.

    "That old fucker would teach that trash and an outsider but not me, huh? Fool!" I overheard him mutter under his breath as he walked away.

    Observing his retreating figure, I couldn''t help but voice my thoughts, "Now, what''s his problem¡ª"

    But suddenly, in the midst of speaking, a realization dawned upon me. I pped my hands together and eximed, "Oh, wait! That guy! It was Alfa Zenith!"

    Alfa Zenith! He was the one of the many participants of the King''s Tournament. So, what made him so different?

    Well, he won his Triple Threat match against Amelia and Alberto but lost to Nero in the Semi-finals! That was why I found his face lost¡­ more than three times¡­ before arriving at my destination.

    I had to ask directions from a couple of people even after running familiar!

    "Yes! I remember him now," I mumbled to myself. "He''s also the head of the Disciplinary Committee."

    If I remember correctly, he once scolded me for not wearing my uniform correctly. Judging by his reaction, it seemed like he knew me as well.

    "Oh, well," I shrugged again and resumed my search for the address.

    ?

    To my utter surprise, I managed to find my way without getting lost¡­ more than three times¡­ before arriving at my destination.

    I had to ask directions from a couple of people even after running into Alfa, but in the end, I did it!

    It took me around half an hour to reach an estate that could very well be described as a small manor.

    The manor, much like the other building and housing structures on Mount Hua, was constructed from dark wood.

    The manor itself was very luxurious. It had a sizable porch, three balconies facing different directions, two entrances ¨C one main and one at the back ¨C and a lush garden filled with blooming plum blossoms in the middle of this cold snowy mountain if it was spring right now.

    I walked up to the main doors after crossing the porch, and to my surprise, the door knob turned easily. The doors were unlocked.

    With a casual shrug, I swung open the main entrance and stepped inside the manor.

    The interior was filled with furniture crafted from the most expensive rosewood. I curiously wandered around, exploring the space. Theyout of the manor was elegant and in.

    A gallery extended from the entrance, leading into the main hall. To the right of the main hall, there was a kitchen, while on the left, two more galleries branched off into various rooms.

    At the end of each gallery was avish bathroom. And by the side of the main entrance, a staircase led to the floor above.

    The second floor also had ayout simr to the first floor, just not the kitchen and entrance.

    "Hmm, this ce is pretty good"

    Yes, the manor was indeed good, but theyer of dust covering surfaces of all the furniture and appliances told me that no one had been using it for the past six or seven months.

    The old man only said that his great-granddaughter lived here. But after looking at how big the manor was, I thought there were more people living here.

    It turned out I was wrong. "So she lives alone in such a big mansion? Doesn''t she get lonely?"

    Well, with modern entertainment options, living alone wasn''t necessarily boring, and some people even liked solitude, so I shouldn''t judge anyone.

    In fact, in my previous life, I myself liked to live alone. I didn''t even move in with my girl¡­ Damn¡­

    Suddenly, as I was remembering my past life, a wave of nostalgia struck me. Just how long has it been since I died?

    My parents, my siblings, my girlfriend, my friends¡­ they must be doing fine without me, right?

    Huh, normally I wasn''t the type of person to get all emotional but when it hit me that this was the first time I was remembering my parents, siblings, friends, and girlfriend in months, I couldn''t help but feel a little hollow inside.

    I forgot about all of them so easily. Only a few months had passed but at this point it felt like my old life was just a dream.

    Perhaps¡­ in a few years I will start thinking of it as just a dream.

    "Haaaa~"

    Letting out a sigh, I walked around, took an unlocked room, and immediately set to work. I was exhausted so I shouldn''t think of all this stuff right now.

    I had to clean, set-up my room, and rest.

    I brought my wrist to my face and looked at a ck band there. Yes, it was my smart bracelet but it''s screen was shattered.

    I could maybe fix it with my Edit Penter, but for now I needed to get my things.

    I inspected it and saw that all the magical enhancements engraved on the band were still intact.

    I could still use the dimensional storage function of my smart bracelet. Nodding, I willed mana into it and just like I thought, the engravings began to shine in a bright violet hue.

    A cascade of ethereal light sparks flowed into my hand and cossed there, instantly materializing into a set of clean clothes.

    "Okay, let''s get to work."

 Chapter 347 Bullying

    Chapter 347 Bullying

    It''s been two days since my arrival at Mount Hua. This ce, as the inte reviews said, is truly beautiful.

    The old man had yet to start my training. For now, he was educating me on martial arts and the history ofbat in general.

    However, at some point, he trailed off from the topic and started ranting about how swords were the greatest weapon of all.

    "Throughout the countless eons of human existence, can you name mankind''s most remarkable invention?"

    I furrowed my brow for a moment before replying with some reservations, "Fire?"

    "Wrong!" The old man dered. "Our most remarkable invention has been weaponry! What good is fire if you don''t live to see the night to use it?!"

    I found that statement wed on many fundamental levels, but I kept my mouth shut like I was instructed to do at the start of the lecture.

    Yes, I had been instructed to speak only when spoken to and pay close attention to whatever he says, or the consequences would be¡­ dire.

    "In the early stages of human history, blunt weapons were favored by our ancestors. But as our civilization evolved, we started leaning for sharp weapons. We started favoring technique over strength"

    I guess that''s true until the era of firearms. But in this current age, firearms had been on a decline and the era of cold weapons had returned,pleting the circle.

    "And do you know what the greatest, most magnificent, and exceptional weapon ever created is, little one?"

    I thought over the question for a few seconds before taking a guess, "The spear?"

    The old man gave me a pitiful look and shook his head in somber denial. "I find yourck of intelligence concerning, little one."

    Huh?! I''m sorry, myck of what?!

    "It''s not the spear. The spear reigns as the general of all weapons because of how easy and quick it is to master. It doesn''t require extensive expertise, making it suitable to be taught to arge number of people inexperienced inbat during wartime."

    I squinted my eyes at his statement. What did he mean? Spears were quick and easy to master, my foot!

    "I, myself, hadpletely mastered the art of spearmanship in under a year when I started learning it."

    ...Alright, fine! So the old man was a genius!

    I mean, sure, I could see his point. Teaching the use of a spear could indeed be quick. At its core, a basic spear only involved three movements ¨C thrust, block, and parry.

    However, achieving mastery in the spear was nearly as challenging as mastering any other weapon, maybe even more so! And no, I wasn''t being partial here!

    Right, of course. The old man was a sword supremacist. Who would''ve guessed? Not me.

    "Let me tell you the correct answer. The greatest weapon ever created is the sword! It''s hailed as the King Of All Weapons for several reasons. A sword can be employed in any position and offers a diverse range of attack options."

    Right, of course. The old man was a sword supremacist. Who would''ve guessed? Not me.

    "Why do you think your master, who is renowned as a master of all weapons throughout the entire world, chooses to wield a sword? Because the way of the sword reigns supreme above all else!"

    Rolling my eyes, I slipped my hand into my pocket and started staring out the window, ignoring the old man''s passionate speech about the king of weapons.

    "And that''s not all, little one! Mastering the way of the sword also allows you to be very proficient in every other weapon because, in my belief, sword techniques were the first weapon arts to arise before every other weapon arts¡­"

    Outside the window of the training hall, a group of young disciples dressed in red and ck robes of Mount Hua were passing through.

    Among them, a particr individual caught my attention. It was a young boy around the age of twelve or thirteen, with a head full of long ck hair that fell down to his shoulders.

    The boy wasn''t thin but he was extremely slender. He had a well-toned body with defined muscles but his stature was small.

    He looked like someone who had recently recovered from malnourishment. Although I didn''t get a glimpse of the boy''s face, it felt like I had seen him somewhere before.

    Hmm, strange.

    "Little one," at that moment, a voice called out to me from right in front of me.

    My eyes widened as I swiftly turned my head in that direction. The old man''s imposing figure came into view, but before I could even utter a word¡­

    <nullb><nulli>THWACK¡ª!!

    The old man thrust his palm into my ribs, and it felt as though I''d been struck by a speeding boulder.

    "Khuuuak!"

    The wind was knocked out of my lungs, causing me to buckle and crash down to my knees, mouth agape as I gasped in pain and shock.

    My thoughts were scattered, but amid the chaos, I managed to recall the old man''s two rules. Speak only when spoken to and payplete attention to whatever he was saying!

    The old man towered over me while I remained on my knees as he clicked his tongue in sheer disappointment. "What did I tell you? You shouldn''t put your hands in your pockets, little one."

    "..."

    Huh?! He hit me because my hands were in my pockets, not because I wasn''t paying attention to him?!

    "A warrior must always be ready to defend their bodies and strike back," the old man exined. "You couldn''t defend yourself right now because you were rxed and your hands were in your pockets."

    After taking some deep breaths and forcefully subsiding my pain, I shot a fierce re at the old man and yelled, "Yes, I wasn''t on guard because you were teaching me something¡ª!!"

    But before I could finish my sentence, the old man thrust his leg forward, mming his knee into my chest.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwack¡ª!!!

    "Thuuu!"

    The force of the impact sent me flying back several meters as my body unceremoniously rolled across the wooden floor beforeing to a stop.

    "Arghh!" Groaning in pain, I gritted my teeth and struggled to stand back up. My furious gaze shifted to the old man, who was smiling in amusement.

    "Remember the second rule? Don''t speak unless spoken to," he said with a bright smile, seemingly enjoying himself.

    "You <nullb>were speaking to me, old man!" I yelled and instantly summoned the Silver mes beneath my clothes to begin healing my injuries.

    Seeing my vigorous outburst and the faint silver glow under my ck hoodie, the old man furrowed his brows in slight confusion.

    "You know a self-healing spell? Nice," he grinned. "Come on, let''s spar. Show me what else you have. No holds barred. Go all out."

    "...." For a moment, I was taken aback, but after a few seconds, a crooked grin spread across my face as I responded, "Fine, don''t mind if I do."

    As I uttered those words, a silver spear materialized in my hand from my dimensional ring.

    <nulli>===

    <nulli>Item: Spear (Relic) <nulli>Rank: Diamond

    <nulli>Name: The Sun''s Grace

    <nulli>Description: A long time ago, a knight was torn between following his duties or doing what was right. The Sun guided him with its loving grace and showed him the right path.

    <nulli>The knight took the grace of the sun and requested his dwarven wife to craft a weapon using it.

    <nulli>This spear, containing the grace of the guiding sun, grants its users the power to summon fire and fuel the mes with their willpower alone.

    <nulli>The stronger the will of the wielder, the brighter and more immting the mes of the spear would be.

    <nulli>===

    In an instant, the silver spear in my hand ignited with bright golden mes. Seeing this, the old man smirked and raised his bare hands, prepared to sh.

    ?

    "Arghh! Aaaah! Aahahaaa!"

    My cries of pain agonizingly echoed within the wooden walls of the training hall. Iy sprawled, limbs askew on the ground, devoid of the strength to move.

    The old man continued to grin, standing a few steps away from me, seemingly quite pleased with himself.

    What kind of sadistic monster was he?!

    I had tried everything, I did! But I lost! The old man defeated me with his bare hands! Damn, it was so embarrassing!

    Yet, what pained me more than my wounded pride were my broken bones. I was sure that I had broken a few ribs and, at the very least, fractured an arm.

    Tears of pain streamed down my cheeks as the old man finally opened his mouth to speak, "You could''ve won if you''d used a sword."

    Shut up, shut up, shut up!

    "I don''t think weapons are the problem here!" I cried out. "Why are you so damn swift and agile for someone your age?!"

    The old man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by someone my age? I''m only a hundred and ny-six years old. I am still young."

    "....." I stared at the old man nkly before starting to cry again. "Arghaaa!"

    "Okay, okay, little one! Stop crying!" The old man walked up to me and handed me a small vial filled with light blue liquid. "It''s a high-grade healing potion. Drink it and get up."

    "I won''t get up!" I protested.

    "..." The old man sighed while suppressing a smile and said, "Don''t worry, I won''t bully¡ª uh, spar with you anymore."

    Wait, did he say <nullb>bully?!

    "I want you to apany me to the Teleportation Gate," he added. "We are going to pick up my great-granddaughter."

 Chapter 348 The North

    Chapter 348 The North

    The Northern Continent is enclosed by two mountain ranges at the left and the right, making nking the continent nearly impossible.

    The whole left mountain rangees under the Wright Family''s juridstriction and thus it''s their duty to guard it, while the right range is home to Mount Hua.

    Vampires, who reside beyond the Northern Continent, are left with no choice but to assail from the front because of this unique topography.

    Naturally, the front is shielded by an army force, known as the Northern Defence Force, or NDF for short.

    They are the most seasoned and formidable army unit within the United Military.

    For seven centuries, they had been guarding the North under themand of a Wright family member.

    Every Cadet serves a term there after their graduation from the Military Academies.

    In any case, the Northern Continent isposed of exactly fifty-five states and, at least, thousands of cities.

    The administrative capital of the Northern Continent is known as the Lion''s Keep.

    This city serves not only as the political center but it''s also the home to the House of Lions, the Wright family, and the seat of power for the Northern Continent.

    Right now, the old man and I were strolling through the bustling streets of the Lion''s Keep.

    What caught my attention was that the architectural style of this continent was strikingly different to that of the Western Continent.

    Instead of towering high-rises and skyscrapers, the buildings here were small andpact.

    In ce of traditional wood and concrete, metal was used in the construction of the building structures here, making the whole cityscape appear in somber shades of ck and gray.

    Tall watchtowers, mounted with energy turrets and bright spotlights, were dotted across the city. Since the buildings around them were small, each one of them were easy to spot.

    Soldiers patrolled the streets, carrying unsheathed weapons as if they were ready to channel mana and take fighting postion at any given moment.

    Robust tanks and heavy-duty vehicles, armed with even more energy turrets and mounted machine guns, moved through the city streets at a gazing speed.

    Actually, the whole city appeared more like a fortified fortress for soldiers than a weing ce for civilians.

    Scarcely any business establishments such as bars or cafes were visible. The few that did exist, subtly blended among the other buildings.

    However, vendors and street merchants were present almost everywhere, selling everyday items and an variety of goods.

    The city''s residential poption was a diverse mix of humans, elves, and dwarves, but humans appeared to be the majority.

    However, instead of lively sparks and cheerful glints, their eyes appeared dull and almost lifeless.

    Some seemed sleep-deprived, evident by the baggy ck circles beneath their eyes, while others disyed clear signs of stress and panic.

    I had been to this city just four days ago with my Master when we were en route to Mount Hua since the only Teleportation Gate avable was located in the capital.

    Last time during our travels, I couldn''t help but notice that this city indeed had a somewhat gloomy atmosphere.

    Of course, back then, I had no idea we were in the Northern Continent so I didn''t pay much mind to it.

    Observing the confused look on my face as I watched the pedestrians walk by, the old man gave a reassuring pat on my shoulder.

    In a solemn tone, he exined, "There was a vampire terrorist attack in this city two days ago."

    A frown creased my brow as I questioned, "An attack? I don''t understand. How did vampires manage to get past our border?"

    The old man simply shrugged. "It happens more often than you''d think. Sometimes due to mistakes made by lookout soldiers, and other times because of spies or those enthralled by vampires'' mind control."

    "But the news never reports any breaches in our defenses," I retorted before instantly realizing how naive I sounded.

    Propaganda.

    "Propaganda," the old man echoed, as if reading my thoughts. "The Government has to keep up appearances, even if half the world knows the truth."

    Running a hand through my now neck-length silver hair, I sighed, realizing I really should get a haircut one of these days, and then I posed another question.

    "How frequently does it happen? When I wasst here, people didn''t seem to be in any better shape."

    "As I mentioned, it happens quite often. On average, there are around five to six terrorist attacks every year."

    So that''s why the entire city looked like a battle-ready fortress.

    "But if the capital is in such a state then what about the other cities?" I asked.

    The old man sighed, "The closer you get to the border, the more intense and frequent the vampire attacks be. The cities at the far end of the continent''s border are rtively safe."

    "So, what you''re trying to tell me is that... it''s happening all across the continent?" I summarized.

    The old man shrugged, "Pretty much. People can''t even freely express their fears. They are not allowed to leave their cities without a letter of leave from one of the Wrights, and even then, they have to sign a non-disclosure agreement contract. I don''t have much inte presence, but I still know that whatever they say online about the situation is also shadow banned."

    Ahh, I see. No wonder they seemed so stressed out.

    The mere fact that their own Government and Overlords had stripped their freedom of speech must be terrifying.

    Not only could they not share their opinions and voice their fears, but they also had to worry about their safety each time they left their homes.

    Yeah, it must indeed be incredibly stressful.

    Of course, the military and government were aware of their problems but they all were already doing everything they could.

    "To be honest, the cities near the border are in an even worse state. Sometimes, the military conscripts children and the elderly from orphanages and nursing homes there for support roles."

    A look of utter disgust crossed the old man''s face as he spoke. I studied him for a moment before answering with a question:

    "But the military doesn''t force them, right? They dopensate them, I heard."

    "They dopensate them, and yes, they don''t conscript anyone without their own or their guardian''s consent. But it still doesn''t change how twisted it all is."

    To be honest, support duties aren''t all that dangerous. It involve rtively safer tasks like disassembling firearms and cleaning weapons and barracks.

    Mundanes, those who can''t sense mana and aren''t forced to serve in the military, are typically hired for these roles.

    But the thing is, no mundane person would willingly choose to go to the border, no matter how safe the job is.

    This is why the military covertly conscripts the elderly and children who have nowhere else to go, assigning them these duties so that the soldiers can focus on the missions assigned to them instead of menialbor.

    Quinn was one of those children thrust into the border by the military for support services. He was so young when he was forced to live at the border camps.

    And when the military discovered his power of perfect necromancy, they began using him as a tool in warfare strategies.

    Ultimately, he survived and even earned a reputation. <nullb><nulli>The Perfect Necromancer and <nullb><nulli>Cmity Bringer is what they now call him.

    But, as the old man said just now, nothing can excuse how messed up all of this is.

    Children forced to live at the border, terrorist attacks, propaganda to protect what little order is remained among the masses.

    Shaking my head, I trailed behind the old man.

    In my mind, I recalled the oath I had sworn to Quinn ¨C <nullb><nulli>I will bring peace to this messed-up world, no matter the cost. But the promise I made to myself echoed louder in my head¡­ <nullb><nulli>I will survive.

 Chapter 349 Meeting The Princess Of Mount Hua

    Chapter 349 Meeting The Princess Of Mount Hua

    As we walked through, I noticed some people casting a few distasteful res in our direction. Seeing that, the frown on my face deepened into a scowl.

    "What''s their problem?" I asked, genuinely curious.

    "Don''t mind them," said the old man putting his hands inside the sleeves of his robes. Damn, that looked cool.

    "Some people here don''t like our sect. A few months back, the Wright family and their knights were battling a vampire terrorist group that had infiltrated our defenses. It was a brutal fight. But since the Wright family and their knight order were outnumbered, they suffered a lot of casualties and many civilians lost their lives."

    "I see," I responded, somewhat puzzled. "But what does Mount Hua have to do with any of this?"

    The old man sighed. "Before going dark, the Knight order of the Wright family sent a distress call to us."

    "And?" I raised my brows.

    "...And we declined their call. Naturally, since that day, some civilian groups have started to resent us."

    "I see now," I nodded in understanding. "But why, though? Aren''t Sects and Ruling Families supposed to coborate?"

    "Under normal circumstances, yes," the old man affirmed. "But for reasons entirely unknown to me, Selena Zenith, the current leader of the sect, refused to answer their call for help."

    "...Is that so?" I exhaled deeply. That name... Selena Zenith... It was definitely her name.

    She wasn''t mentioned much in the story, but her name did appear quite a few times within the pages of the novel.

    It was her other persona that was more famous in the world of Legend Of The Legendary Heroes.

    "Whatever," I muttered softly to myself.

    Right now, I didn''t need to deal with her, and in truth, I hoped I''d never have to. But of course, even I knew that facing her someday was inevitable.

    "Hmm?" The old man perked up his ears and turned to me. "What did you say?"

    "Ah, nothing!" I shook my head, following him inside the building where the Gate was situated.

    Usually, Teleportation Gates were set on the terraces of hotels or hospitals, all run by the government.

    But this city''s Gate was located by the main train station to make travel quick in case of an emergency.

    Walking up to a giant rectangr metal frame barricaded by steel bars and an iron gate, a guard signaled for us to stop right where we stood.

    Hisrade approached us to check our IDs, and only then did they rx. But by that time, their supervisor had arrived.

    "Are you two idiots!" He scolded the two guards, as though berating misbehaving children. Then he turned to the old man and dropped his head.

    "I apologize, Sir Zenith," he said. "These two are new recruits."

    "Calm down," the old man chuckled. "They''re just doing their job, no need for theatrics."

    The supervisor released a relieved sigh and nodded. "By the way, why are you here thiste afternoon? Wait, don''t tell me, are you going to Silveserine for gambling again? What if your great-granddaughter catches you again?"

    The old man coughed loudly and shot the supervisor a fierce re, sending shivers down his spine.

    "...O-Oh, dear me! I just remembered that I had some urgent business that I needed to attend to!" The supervisor eximed and instantly vanished from our sight.

    The old man turned to me, twirling his thin mustache. "I don''t gamble. He was just spouting nonsense. In fact, I think that no one should gamble."

    I gave the old man a deadpan look before inquiring, "So, ckjack or poker, which one do you prefer?"

    "Poker," the old man blurted out instantly, then immediately realized that he had slipped.

    "...."

    "...."

    "Damn it!" He cursed before cing his huge hands on my shoulders. "Remember, little one, if you tell my sweet angel that I still gamble, rest assured I''ll take extra care of you throughout the rest of your stay here."

    A wicked grin curled up on my lips as I said, "Are you sure that threatening the person who knows your secret is the best way to avoid a ckmail situation?"

    "...."

    "...."

    "Damn it!" He cursed again before using his best card ¨C begging desperately.

    "Oh, little one, please! Please don''t tell her! I do not fear bloodsuckers! I do not fear aliens! But you know what I do fear? Her! My sweet little angel! I fear disappointing her!"

    I rolled my eyes. The old man had quite the talent for emotional maniption, huh? Who would''ve guessed?

    "Fine," I sighed. "I won''t tell anyone."

    And just right then, the Teleportation Gate lit up in an azure glow as the very fabric of space distorted inside its metal frame.

    A dull metallic hum was heard throughout the area, and in the next moment, a feminine silhouette walked out from the portal created within the metal frame of the Teleportation Gate.

    It was a young woman with a lithe yet athletic figure, so captivating to turn heads of anyone fortunate enough toy eyes on her.

    She had flowing silver hair that looked like molten strands of silver, cascading down to her slender waist.

    Her perfect doll-like face was adorned with a pair of dull silver eyes, an angr nose, and thin lips.

    She wore an off-the-shoulder top and jeans that left a portion of her waist exposed, showcasing her porcin, jade-like skin.

    While others were enchanted by her beauty, I was just confused. I knew this girl. It was Trish! Trish Zenith!

    How did I not make this connection sooner?!

    Zenith was a prominent n name, so it wasmon for people, even outsiders, to share the same family name who belonged to Mount Hua.

    The old man was Ifa Zenith, once the head of Mount Hua. Selena Zenith was one of his granddaughters. Trish Zenith, Selena''s niece, was often referred to as the Princess of Mount Hua.

    I should''ve realized this earlier. They were rted!

    Rolling my eyes at my oversight, I inwardly apuded my genius-level intellect and sighed in resignation.

    Meanwhile, as Trish walked up to us, a surprised expression formed on her doll-like face.

    "...Uh, L-Lucas Morningstar?" She uttered in a soft, surprised tone, then turned to her grandfather, who was grinning like a fool, seeking an exnation.

    "Oh, you two know each other?" The old man chimed in through his grin, obviously feigning ignorance.

    "..¡­" This damned old man! He was definitely acting! He knew! He must have seen the King''s Tournament!

    But if he knew that we had met each other before then why hadn''t he said anything to me?! What was this guy up to?

    I narrowed my eyes at the old man as his grin grew wider before he turned to his sweet little angel.

    "Anyway, it''s good that you two know each other. Trish, Lucas is my fiftieth and final disciple."

    "...Huh?" Just as Trish was processing that information with a dumbstruck look, the old man dropped another bombshell.

    "Oh, and he''s your roommate! Well... perhaps housemate is a more fitting term? Yes, housemate it is."

 Chapter 350 Spar With The Princess [1]

    <h4>Chapter 350 Spar With The Princess [1]</h4>

    The journey back to Mount Hua was, for theck of better words, he awkward and mostly silent.

    Well, as silent as it could be.

    While we rode the train to go back to the right mountain range, the grandfather and granddaughter duo engaged in hushed

    conversations.

    Since they both were sitting right beside me a?? the old man to my left and Trish by his side a?? it was hard to ignore the content of their conversation.

    "Grandpa, what are you doing?!" Trish nearly whimpered.

    The old man suppressed a chuckle. "What do you mean, angel?"

    Trish clenched her fists. "You know what! What do you mean he''s going to be my housemate? And you knew about him since I told you after the tournament, so don''t pretend you didn''t know!"

    Ifa Zenith grinned teasingly. "Alright, fine. I wanted to surprise you."

    "What do you mean ''surprise''?" Trish began to frantically tap her foot on the train''s metal floor.

    The old man shrugged, his grin growing widened by the second.

    "Well, since you spoke about him so passionately, I thought you''d like to befriend him."

    Upon hearing that, the silver-haired girl''s face flushed, and her eyes widened in panic. "I-I-I was talking about his technique! Not him specifically!"

    Once again, the old man wore a teasing smile and chimed in, "Of course, I''m talking about the same thing. You can learn from him, and he can learn from you too. What else were you thinking?"

    "....." Trish remained silent for a moment, giving her greatgrandfather a deadpan stare before letting out a resigned sigh.

    "You''re the worst."

    "Heh, that I am," the old man responded with a snug sense of satisfaction. "But you know, if you have an issue letting him stay with you, I could simply ce him in one of the boarding houses."

    Trish''s eyes widened momentarily before she coughed dryly. "I-I...

    Um, I suppose it''s fine. Since you''re insisting so much."

    The old man silently relished his victory with a grin, clearly amused that whatever shenanigan he was pulling had already begun to show results.

    Meanwhile, I kept my gaze narrowed on him. I didn''t know precisely what he was up to, but I didn''t trust him for a second.

    Indeed, he was a devious old man.

    a?

    Yesterday, after returning to Mount Hua, the old man left us with a sly grin etched on his barely wrinkled face.

    Trish and I made our way to the manor in silence. On our way back, Trish seemed to want to say something as she opened and closed her mouth several times but chose to remain quiet in the end.

    I had told myself not to judge people too quickly before, but she came across as shy to me a?? a far cry from the girl I had fought in the King''s Tournament.

    I couldn''t help but wonder what was the matter with her.

    Anyway, when we reached the manor, we exchanged a few words and went inside our respective rooms.

    Since the kitchen was shared, I saw her again only in the morning when I went there to make my breakfast.

    It wasn''t until the afternoon that I saw her once more as we made our way to the old man''s training hall.

    Currently, we stood at the center of the training hall, with Ifa Zenith fixing us with a stern gaze.

    Today was the official start of my sword training under him.

    To be honest, I wasn''t entirely sure why I needed to learn swordsmanship, but Leo had mentioned that the path of the sword was a gateway to mastering other weapon arts as well.

    Coincidentally a?? or nota?? the old man had also said a simr thing to me a few days ago, which made me think they might be telling the truth.

    I mean, the old man had a point. Even Leo Kurogami, who was renowned as a master of all weapons, had to have a reason to opt for the sword as his main weapon.

    But enough about swords, let''s get back to the present.

    Ifa nodded his head satisfactorily and walked over to a weapon rack, picking up two sheathed tang daos before tossing them in our direction.

    As we caught the swords, he turned to me, his usual yful humor now reced by a serious expression as he began to speak.

    "Before we start your training in sword arts, it''s important for you to first refine your sword-handling skills. Of course, the easiest and safest way to do that is through sparring," Ifa exined.

    Oh, I can see where this is heading a?? I thought to myself.

    Meanwhile, Trish''s eyes suddenly lit up in sparkles as if she was a child who had just received her most wanted Christmas gift.

    I couldn''t help but frown. One moment, she was timid and reserved, and the next, she was brimming with excitement. To be honest, I don''t get her at all.

    In the meantime, the old man continued without pause, "So, let''s start this session with a light sparring match. I''ll give you both guidance and corrections wherever you make a mistake. Soon, we will move onto learning the sword arts."

    With that, we assumedbat positions. Trish circled a few steps away and came to stand a few meters from me, her gaze resolute.

    Suddenly, her whole demeanor shifted, and her aura turned cold and razor-sharp. The girl from a few moments ago was nowhere to be seen now. It was as if she had been possessed.

    Right, that''s the Trish Zenith I knew.

    "You can use mana to fortify yourself and your weapon, but casting any kind of spell is NOT allowed. Martial Aura is also NOT allowed.

    Killing each other is... well, NOT allowed," the old man stated the obvious. "Now...mence!"

    A lovely smile bloomed on Trish''s doll-like face as she spoke in a soft tone that now sounded a little dangerous, "Get ready, Morningstar."

    I smiled back in reply, unsheathing my single-edged sword as a metallic ring hummed through the air. "There''s really no need to announce your attack, Miss Zenith-?!"

    Unfortunately, I didn''t get to finish my sentence.

    Suddenly, the silver-haired swordswoman was beside me, her sword falling down on me like the de of a guillotine.

 Chapter 351 Spar With The Princess [2]

    Chapter 351 Spar With The Princess [2]

    One moment she was calmly standing a dozen meters away from me, the next she was already there, her sword moving in a blur as her de neared my temple.

    Yes, Trish moved fast¡­ but not nearly fast enough. Compared to Leo and Nero, she was a turtle.

    My eyes were easily able to track her as she delivered her downward cut. Not only had I expected such a disy of speed, but I was also prepared for this attack.

    Quickly sidestepping, I raised my tang dao to intercept Trish''s de.

    Our des shed and bit into each other, connected into a bind as both of us refused to back down¡­ or so I thought.

    Apparently, Trish had led me into a trap ¨C something that was hard for me to believe.

    Instead of trying to push her way through my de with brute force, Trish twirled her sword and delivered a sh over my de!

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    "Fuck!" I cursed as I hopped a step back to safety, barely avoiding Trish''s sh that was about to cut down my eye.

    But I didn''t just y on the defensive.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    While jumping back, I shot my leg forward and thrashed my foot into Trish''s abdomen with force, causing her to stagger back in sudden pain.

    And with this, the momentum of this spar was now on my side. I rushed forward and rammed her with my shoulder.

    Trish was thrown back before her back from the impact before she crashed on the hard wooden floor and rolled a couple of times, finallying to a stop.

    Without wasting any time at all, she pulled herself to her knees and raised her sword in an attempt to block whatever attack I was going to throw at her.

    However, my de never came for her¡­ at least, not from the direction she was looking in.

    I had used the moment while she was off bnce to swiftly circle around her, positioning myself to her side.

    "....?!" Trish finally turned her head to look at me as she noticed my presence, but now it was far toote.

    My victory was already secured!

    From her side, I stomped my foot on the ground to acquire proper footing and then threw my de forward in an arc, aiming for her throat.

    "...Heh!"

    But right at that moment, the startled expression that had been on her face from earlier dissipated into a triumphant grin, giving off a snug sense of victory. It was almost as if she felt that she had already won.

    And it was only then that I realized I had been led into yet another trap.

    Before my de could make contact with her throat, Trish, who was still on her knees, rolled forward in my direction.

    Like a bowling ball striking a pin, she collided with me, sweeping me off my feet.

    My loss of bnce sent me sprawling face-first onto the unforgiving wooden floor, while Trish effortlessly rolled to her knees behind me.

    It was a bad position. She was already on her knees, whereas I was lying on the floor, belly-down. Even if I somehow managed to get up quickly, my back would be turned to her, leaving me wide open.

    No matter how I looked at it, it was indeed a checkmate for me¡­ or was it?

    Trish swiftly rose to her feet and charged forward as I was in the middle of pulling myself up onto my knees.

    Before I could even spin around to face her or do anything against her follow-up attacks, Trish brought down the cold, metallic edge of her sword to my neck.

    Usually, in a sparring match with real swords, cing the de''s edge against your opponent''s vital organ would result in a technical victory.

    That was why, with her sword''s edge resting at my throat, it was clear she had won. Both of us stopped our movements, awaiting the official deration of the oue.

    As if awaiting that cue, the old man loudly cleared his throat as if wanting to gain our attention and proimed, "The match has ended in¡­ a draw!"

    suddenly furrowed her brows in shock and cast a questioning gaze toward her great-grandfather.

    Trish, who had a bright smile on her pretty face up until now, suddenly furrowed her brows in shock and cast a questioning gaze toward her great-grandfather.

    "...Huh?" She eximed. "No, it''s clearly my victory!"

    The old man stayed silent and only gestured for his great-granddaughter to nce downward.

    Perplexed, Trish followed his gaze and looked down to see a sight that made her widen her eyes.

    I knelt on the ground, my back turned to her, with her sword resting at my throat. But at the same time, I held my sword in a reverse grip as it was thrust backward.

    Right now, my de was mere inches away from piercing her liver. Trish took in this scene with her mouth agape, her dull silver eyes quivering with astonishment.

    "But... when?" She asked through trembling lips.

    I withdrew my de and rose to my feet as she did the same. "Right before you were about to end the match. The best moment to y a final gambit is when your opponent is sure of their victory."

    Trish listened to me attentively, her eyes wide. As I turned to face her, she took a deep breath andposed herself.

    "I don''t like gambling," she said in a soft tone, returning to her reserved and timid self.

    I shrugged. I wanted to mention that a gambit wasn''t only used in gambling. It was also a strategic tactic used in logical games like chess to secure positional advantage, but in the end, I chose to remain silent instead.

    "Alright, let''s continue this discussion outside, where we can also go over what both of you could have done differently," said the old man.

    Trish nodded and took the lead, exiting the training hall first, leaving the old man and me to follow behind her.

    However, before the old man could even take a single step, I reached out and grabbed his arm, causing him to turn toward me and give me an inquiring look.

    "What''s on your mind, little one?" He asked with a smile.

    Taking a deep breath, I posed my question, "Tell me the true reason you agreed to teach me, and I don''t want any of that nonsense about doing it for my master."

 Chapter 352 Selena Zenith

    Chapter 352 Selena Zenith

    The old man waspletely stumped for a fleeting moment¡­ but only for a moment.

    Almost instantly, he gave me a reassuring smile and responded, "What do you mean, little one?"

    I shook my head slightly, not buying his act.

    "Don''t feign ignorance," I retorted. "I met the one they call the Prince of Mount Hua, Alfa Zenith."

    The old man''s expression soured for a split second, but he quickly managed to regain hisposure and wear a smile back on his nearly unwrinkled face.

    "He said some interesting words when he met me," I continued.

    Trying to stifle a chuckle, the old man quipped, "Let me take a guess. He said something like ¨C<nulli> That old fucker is ready to teach that trash and an outsider but not me."

    ...Woah, he nailed it word for word.

    Not knowing how to respond, I simply nodded and admitted, "Yeah."

    The smile on the old man''s face widened into a grin before he burst out in a heartyughter.

    He palmed his face before regaining hisposure. Once he did, he looked at me, the humor in his eyes fading slightly.

    After a brief silence, he added, "Everything he does is to earn his father''s recognition. He yearns for his father''s validation andcks a "Well," he began in a solemn tone, "what can I say about that boy? Hecks drive. He wants training but not to be the strongest. He desires to fight but not to win. He views the entire world as his enemy but he has none."

    After a brief silence, he added, "Everything he does is to earn his father''s recognition. He yearns for his father''s validation andcks a will of his own."

    The old man sighed in a somewhat dejected manner, his tone filled with disappointment.

    "I have no interest in training a disciple who doesn''t aspire to im the title of the world''s strongest. He may have talent, but you, little one, have drive¡­ and talent."

    I waited for a brief moment before narrowing my eyes at him. "I sense an <nullb><nulli>anding."

    "And¡­" he added with a wry grin.

    I rolled my eyes and muttered with a hint of self-deprecation, "There it is¡­"

    In an almost inaudible tone, the old man continued, "I may or may not have wanted a sparring partner for my little angel¡­ but that was only secondary!"

    My brow furrowed in confusion. "Trish? She doesn''t have a sparring partner? Why not?"

    Trish was undoubtedly one of the most skilled fighters I had ever fought. And I was saying that after facing opponents like Quinn, Nero, and Kai.

    While Trish''s attack potency might not be superior to theirs, her technique was just impable.

    So, it was confusing to hear that she didn''t have a sparring partner. With her skills, I thought she''d be pretty famous.

    The old manmented over something he thought and sighed once more, this time with a touch of pity visible in his eyes.

    "During Trish''s birth, her mother, who was then the leader of Mount Hua and known as the Star of Fortune, passed away."

    A myriad of emotions flickered in the old man''s eyes, ranging from sorrow to regret, but he continued on with his story.

    "The Zenith n had always considered Trish''s birth to be an ill omen. Her own father abandoned her at birth after the love of his life died, and as the years passed, even her brother began to share the same feelings. Soon, Mount Hua''s members shunned her like a gue. The so-called wise elders said that because she extinguished the Star of Fortune at her birth, it was a sign that she would bring destruction to Mount Hua."

    The frown on my face deepened into a scowl. I wanted to retort, voice my opinion and tell him how much of a nonsense it was.

    It wasn''t her fault that her mother died while birthing her. But of course, just the fact that he was telling me this meant that he knew that.

    I let out a sigh, and suddenly an sudden part of the story shed in my mind. In the novel, Mount Hua was indeed destroyed.

    At the start of the final war, when Nero and Quinn were fighting for the final time, the vampires also began their final invasion.

    To stop them, the government first deployed all the military power in the Northern Continent. That meant, the Mount Hua members were also sent as the first line of defence.

    Even though they killed several Abyssal Kings, in the end, the whole Mount Hua was demolished along with the Northern Defence Force.

    The whole North Continent fell.

    I wonder, was Trish a participant in that battle? If yes, then was she really the cause of all that destruction like the elders of the sect said?

    No, that''s nonsense. The cause were those vicious bloodsuckers, not Trish.

    As I was stroking my chin, in the middle of such thoughts, the old man spoke up again and shook me out of my stupor.

    The old man paused, and then his face softened with a touch of nostalgia. "The reason I agreed to teach you is because I can see the same potential in you that I once saw in Leo. But it''s also because I believe you can have a positive influence on Trish."

    I could see his point. Thest time I faced Trish in the tournament, herck of experience was painfully evident.

    That''s why my traps worked so easily on her. However, in just a few weeks after the tournament, she adapted and went on the aggressive when we spared today, luring me into the traps instead.

    Her rapid learning speed was almost scary. I could only imagine what she would be with more experience.

    At that moment, a furrow formed on my brow as a question suddenly crossed my mind.

    "Wait, why can''t you spar with her? You''re already training her, aren''t you?" I inquired.

    "Well, yes," the old man hesitated. "But I can''t go against her father. No one in the n can, except Selena. It''s already a miracle that he''s letting me teach her the weapon arts."

    The tension in my expression eased as I calmly asked, "Who is her father?"

    After a brief pause, the old man responded, "The Crimson Tyrant, John Zenith."

    Ahh, the Crimson Tyrant. I was obviously familiar with that name. It belonged to one of the greatest soldiers of the world.

    John Zenith, Xavier Sinir, Selena Zenith, Leo Kurogami, and Sasha Netyoive ¨C these were the five people who stood at the top of the world currently.

    Each one of them were capable of wiping out cities from the face of the earth with a mere swipe of their fingers.

    It was also the exact reason why the Central Government was having trouble discing the Netyoive family as the head Overlords of the South since the head of their family, Sasha Netyoive, was one of the greatest name in today''s history.

    And for the same reason, I understood why the old man couldn''t go against John Zenith.

    "I see," I said. I had no problem going along with the old man''s n. Bing Trish''s sparring partner was a good thing.

    After all, it meant we would get to be close and in the end I would emerge with one more ally under my rule.

    I nodded. "Thank you for being honest, Grandmaster."

    The old man smiled. "No problem, little¨C"

    Before the old man could finish speaking, Trish stormed inside the training hall and eximed, "How long will it take for you two toe outside!"

    ?

    "Huaaa~"

    Yesterday was incredibly exhausting. After discussing the mistakes we made while our duel, the old man made us spar with each other five more times.

    I lost once, won thrice, while thest one ended in a draw once again.

    Trish was obviously thrilled, for she finally had a chance to hone her already wless technique.

    But I, on the other hand, couldn''t have been more tired by the end of it all. After returning to the manor, I fell asleep almost instantly.

    I slept soundly until the old man summoned both Trish and me for our morning training.

    He led us to the gates of Mount Hua and instructed us to run up and down the entire mountain five times!

    <nullb><nulli>Five rounds of trekking! Is he serious? ¨C was what I thought. And, apparently, he was indeed dead serious.

    Currently, I was wearily trudging uphill, my snow-covered boots weighing me down as I used everyst ounce of strength I had in me.

    Trish had long sincepleted her fiveps while I was still struggling to finish my final one.

    It was only around [4:57 am], and I was both fatigued from the training and extremely lethargic.

    If that wasn''t enough already, the old man told us that we would have to do this every day!

    He said that I looked too delicate and needed to appear more masculine, bulk up some muscles! The sphemy!

    Delicate-looking? I had flipped a guy twice my size like a ragdoll! What did he know? Hmph!

    "Are you¡­ Lucas Morningstar?"

    While I was jogging past a training hall to get to the one that belonged to the old man, a crisp voice called out to me.

    The sudden mention of my name caused me toe to a stop, and I turned to look at the source of the voice.

    There, standing a few meters away from me, leaning against the doorframe of a training hall, stood a tall and captivating woman.

    She was, by far, the most beautiful person I had everid eyes upon, whether male or female.

    Her face was what one would call near perfect with high cheekbones, a straight nose, full lips, and captivating silver eyes that entuated her enthralling beauty.

    Draped in a luxurious robe of red and ck that only emphasized her arresting svelte figure, she carried herself with grace.

    The silken strands of her silver hair fell down like trails of radiant light, reaching her waist, with a few locks resting gently on her shoulders, looking slightly curl.

    She was like a celestial beauty, unsullied and untainted by the impurities of the mundane world.

    She exuded an air of haughty superiority, as though she believed that the entire world existed beneath her foot.

    I needed no introduction to know who she was¡­

    "I''m Selena Zenith."

 Chapter 353 Queen Of Webs

    ?353  Queen Of Webs

    I stood there in surprised silence for a few seconds before finallying to my senses and nodding quickly.

    "Yes," I said, frowning. "I''m indeed Lucas Morningstar. How do you know me?"

    A bright smile bloomed on the beautiful silver-haired woman''s face but the touch of arrogance never left her eyes.

    She put her hands inside the sleeves of her red and ck robe and walked toward me with slow steps.

    Under her watchful gaze and enthralling beauty, I stood motionless, scared to even take a breath.

    I had met plenty of beautiful people aftering to this world, in fact, I was in the body of one myself!

    However, never in my two lives had I ever seen someone so¡­ wless¡­ so perfect¡­ so¡­ so bewitching.

    It was almost hard to imagine that someone like her was actually the worst criminal in the history of this world.

    Yeah, it was her¡­

    Selena Zenith didn''t appear much in the novel. It was always known that she was one of the strongest individuals on the.

    However, neither was she active in the military nor did she have much of a presence in the media.

    The world knew her name, but she wasn''t as famous as other strongest warriors of her generation.

    It was actually her other persona that became more famous by the second half of the novel. Yes, she had a secret identity.

    Selena Zenith was also known to the world as the Queen Of Webs.

    She was inmand of an extremelyrgework of worker cells and spies, all part of a covert elite society.

    The people even believed that she had ears and eyes in every corner of the world since the sleeper cells of her organization were said to be everywhere.

    It could be anyone working under her ¨C the guy you sat beside on the train, the guy you passed by a few seconds ago, or even your weapon arts instructor.

    That description sounded familiar? Well, of course, it did. It was because she was the leader of Spider and the perpetrator behind the start of the War Of Union.

    "I''m a close friend of your master. Leo Kurogami told me about you," Selena said as she came to stand before me.

    She oozed off a faint, intoxicating scent of blooming plum blossoms as if she was carrying the spring with her everywhere she went even in this cold winter mountain.

    "Really?" I asked as my eyebrows shot up, feigning surprise. "Master never talked about you, though."

    I could almost swear I saw Selena''s brow twitch when I made that statement but in the end, she maintained her graceful and slightly arrogant expression.

    "Well, people make mistakes," she said and then added in an almost inaudible whisper, "And your master is especially clumsy, is he not?"

    Before I could even affirm or refute that statement ¨C most probably affirm ¨C Selena spoke up again.

    "Well, the point is, I''ve heard many things about you," she said. "I must say, he wasn''t exaggerating when he said you''re talented. And you are such a pretty package too."

    ¡­Huh?! Sorry, I''m what now? Is this what people call harassment?!

    Deciding to ignore thatst part, I asked a question instead, "You can already tell I''m talented? I thought this was the first time we met."

    Selena scoffed. "If you weren''t, that old geezer would never have agreed to train you even if the request hade from Leo himself. And no matter how much I dislike that guy, he''s a good teacher. You''ll do very well under him."

    I put my hands in my pockets, but then abruptly took them out. By this point, the old man had literally bashed into me the need to stay alert and ready for a fight at any given moment.

    "You don''t like the old man? Isn''t he your father?" I asked, genuinely curious.

    Selena visibly suppressed an urge to roll her eyes. "It''s not that I don''t like him, but he''s way too much of a romantic."

    "What''s wrong with being a romantic," I asked, frowning.

    Selena sighed lightly before offering a smile. "Walk with me."

    She turned around and started walking away. I had to return to the old man''s ss, but I couldn''t just deny the sect leader now, could I?

    Shrugging, I took a few quick steps and caught up to her before walking beside her.

    We strolled in silence for a few minutes before Selena struck up the conversation, resuming from where she had left off.

    "Do you know why the soldiers whoplete service time go on to stay in the military or join a sect to pursue the path of strength?"

    I cocked my head slightly, confused where this was going. "Most of those who stay in the military have no viable career option avable to them, right? All they''ve known in their life is fighting."

    "Yes, but I''m talking about those who do have a way out but still decide to stay in that hell."

    I squinted my eyes in thought but even after a few minutes, I couldn''te up with a proper answer, prompting me to shrug. "I don''t know."

    Selena''s smile grew a little at my clueless expression. "Power, Lucas. It''s because they all desire power. The founders of the four ruling families rose to their positions because they yearned for power. They stayed in the military, became the pirs of the world, and achieved power."

    Selena took a brief pause as if to add to the dramatics then continued:

    "Those who stay in the military do that to climb through the ranks and gain power. Those who join the martial sects do that because they want to grow stronger, and what does strength give you? Power. In this world, everything is about power, whether it be personal, influential, political, sexual, mary, or any other kind. It''s all one big game and only one can win."

    I let out a sigh and nodded. Of course, what else was I expecting from the leader of a secret organization if not a long and edgy monologue?

    After a short moment of silence, Selena posed a question, "Do you know why your master lost to your father during the Battle For The West?"

    I furrowed my brow, stumped for a split second before instantly presenting an answer.

    "I suppose because my father used the most destructive polearm weapon art, Dawnbreaker."

    Selena gave me a sidelong look and loudly snickered as if she had heard a funny joke in ce of my honest answer.

    "Do you really think that the God Of War lost a head-on battle because your father deployed Dawnbreaker? No, Lucas, there is not a weapon art in existence that could have stopped Leo fucking Kurogami in the peak of his prime!"

    The frown on my face turned deeper as I inquired, "Then why did he lose?"

    "Why else?" Selena shrugged. "Because he was in love. He held back because he felt guilty. Your father knew that and used it against him to win."

    Selena heaved a deep breath as she carried on, "And to be honest, I can''t me him. I would have done the same if I was facing Leo. No one in this world, not even the Vampire Kings, can hope to fight Leo head-on and emerge victorious. He only had one weakness, and it was love."

    Right as she said that Selena stepped in front of me, blocking my way. I stopped and looked back at her.

    "Leo lost because he wasn''t focused and his mind was clouded," Selena said as she put a finger on my chest. "Achieve rity and protect your heart. Always be ready to make the necessary choices because those are the hardest ones to make. Do that and you''ll always win."

 Chapter 354 Rowan

    <h4>Chapter 354 Rowan</h4>

    354 Rowan

    After our conversation, Selena and I split up. She had some disciples to train while I had to return to the old man''s training hall and hope that he wouldn''t break too many of my bones for beingte.

    My mind, however, was elsewhere. I was still thinking about the talk I had with the Queen of Webs.

    I felt like when I hade to this world, I was more indifferent than I thought. I was ready to make tough decisions for the sake of winning.

    Even after all the time I had spent in this world, I was the same. My track record was enough to prove my callous mental state.

    The choices I made in Silveserine and then what I did to Liz Snyder during the King''s Tournament.

    Up until this point in time, I had been able to achieve whatever was necessary for the sake of a future where my survival was ensured.

    But¡­ would I be able to continue doing so in the future too?

    Lately, I had been thinking about what that bloodsucker said in the Hideout cafe. She said that I shouldn''t trust Amelia.

    Obviously, I thought about why I should trust her. However, on the off chance that she was right, what was I going to do?

    Would I be able to kill her?

    Although, my gut says that I shouldn''t be concerned about Amelia. I could tell that she wasn''t the kind of person to betray a friend.

    So, yeah. I could be at ease around her because my gut is usually right and if not then at least I knew I could trust my own logical judgment of her.

    However, it was not just about her. I knew how twisted this strife-ridden world was. I did not have many friends and allies now, but what if in the future I would have to fight one?

    Would I then be able to make the right call?

    And what about in the future, when I achieve my goal of reaching amanding position in the military?

    If I be a strategist or amander, I would have to send the people I know into hopeless situations. Many units would go dark under mymand.

    Would I break?

    "No, I won''t!" I eximed with a shake of my head as if telling myself that. "I won''t break."

    Of course. It wasn''t like I had a choice in the matter anyway. If I break, it will be over.

    I''m the chosen one. I''m one of the three prophesied heroes. I will save the world and fulfill my destiny.

    No matter what I had to do¡­

    "...I will do it¨C"

    Right before I could finish my resolute deration, I crashed into someone. The person I collided with reeled back and fell to the ground because of my speed.

    "Ah, my bad!" I immediately shouted an apology. "Sorry, I didn''t see you there¡­ Wait, have I seen you somewhere?"

    "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" The individual on the ground was actually a boy around the age of twelve to thirteen.

    He had neck-long ck hair and eyes of matching shade that were narrowed right now because of pain.

    The boy looked as if he was extremely malnourished until now and had just started to get in shape.

    His thin, slender frame was draped in the distinctive red and ck robes belonging to Mount Hua and currently, he was running his back.

    After a moment of groaning, the boy heard my voice and a look of recognition crossed his face. He instantly whipped his head up and cast a scrutinizing nce at me.

    Almost instantly, his eyes widened and sparkled as if he had met his god. "Sir Lucas! It''s you!"

    "You know me?" I inquired with a frown on my puzzled face, still trying to recall where I had seen this boy.

    The boy in question jumped back to his feet and patted his chest vigorously. "It''s me, Sir Lucas! Rowan! I''m Rowan! I''m the boy you met¨C"

    Before he could even finish his sentence, something clicked in my head and a smile flickered on my lips as I interjected.

    "Ahh, yes! I remember! You''re the weak, pitiful, scrawny, and pathetic boy I met in the slums of Silveserine! Rohan!"

    Rowan looked at me with a deadpan expression stered on his slightly skinny face before correcting me, "Rowan!"

    He let out a sigh of resignation and then added. "Also, I wouldn''t exactly describe myself as you did, but fine¡­ whatever helps you remember me, I guess."

    "Ahh," I threw my head back a little as a guilty smile tugged at my lips. I took a long breath before slowly raising my voice with each word until I was practically yelling:

    "Sorry, I tend to forget people who don''t FUCKING REPLY TO MY TEXTS!"

    Yes, Rowan and I had been texting after I came back from Silveserine. It was mostly him giving me updates on his life.

    But one day, he suddenly went offline and stopped texting me. Since I was worried, I sent him several messages but he replied to none.

    After returning to the academy, I was going to start searching for him using Kai''s resources.

    "I''m sorry!" Rowan instantly started whimpering with apologies. "As you said, I joined a sect! But only after I joined did they tell me that I can''t use phones here! They even broke the new phone I bought!"

    I furrowed my brow. "Yeah, what''s up with them breaking phones and smart bracelets of their disciples?"

    Rowan rolled his eyes. "Ah, it''s their whole thing. They think getting away from all the technology makes us closer to nature."

    "That''s¡­" I was about to retort but then I recalled how much time I had been spending on my smart bracelettely before I came here.

    Sinceing here, not only have I been more focused on my training but my mind has been at ease for the most part too.

    I had even been sighing less!

    In the end, I had no choice but to shrug and say: "Okay, I guess that''s true."

    I then turned to Rowan and asked, "Shall we catch up, then?"

 Chapter 355 The Underground Auction

    <h4>Chapter 355 The Underground Auction</h4>

    355 The Underground Auction

    After catching up with Rowan, I came to know that he had been doing well.

    The sect actually did charge him a fee after the elders listened to his story. Of course, he didn''t tell them everything.

    Basically, he only told them how a rich young noble took pity on him and decided to fund his enrollment in one of the best military academies in the world.

    He said he wanted to grow stronger and needed a ce to live somewhere until then and the sect elders happily allotted him their robes.

    Though, as it turns out, his talent in martial arts is barely average. It''s fine, however. In the end, I don''t intend to use him for fights.

    The boy is a genius, and geniuses belong behind the scenes, not on the stage.

    Oh, that reminds me, I wonder what happened to Spider and the underground auction. I hope Nero was able to secure the Petal of Ambrosia.

    Since I had no way of contacting any of them, I could only hope. I mean, I could try and fix my smart bracelet using my Edit Pen, but Rowan told me that this ce was full ofwork jammers.

    So even if I was able to get my smart bracelet up and going, I could still not contact anyone on the outside since I could not ess the inte.

    "Haa, it''s fine. Let''s just focus on the training and wait for Master to return."

    ?

    Meanwhile, the same night¡­

    In the heart of the bustling capital of the Eastern Continent, the Iron Hand City, an upscale shopping mall was situated by a busy street. Inside, it had the most luxurious brands and boutiques.

    Below this mall was a hidden and opulent underground chamber essible only to a select few.

    Nobles and high-society individuals would discreetly enter the underground chamber through disguised doors set in high-end fashion boutiques or exclusive jewelry stores.

    This entrance was equipped with biometric scanners and secret passcodes to ensure only the invited guests could gain ess.

    The underground chamber itself was designed withvish decor, filled with antique furnishings, priceless artworks, and ornate chandeliers.

    It looked like a sophisticated ballroom, with arge staircase leading down from the mall above in the middle of it.

    Security was tight, with discreet guards dressed as employees, blending in with the shopping mall''s atmosphere.

    High-tech surveince systems were also in ce to ensure the safety of both guests and valuable items up for auction.

    Nobles and wealthy customers would bid on rare artifacts, exquisite jewelry, fine art, and other unique treasures.

    But the main event of the show would be ves ¨C humans, elves, dwarves, even some vampires!

    All these "items" would be disyed on rotating tforms or behind armored ss cases.

    To maintain the guise of a high-end shopping experience, there could be live music, gourmet dining, and champagne bars.

    Guests would be expected to not talk about the underground auction to any living soul.

    One could only be invited to the event through word of mouth and very exclusive invitations sent by the esteemed hosts to ensure the event''s secrecy.

    However, none of that mattered anymore.

    The secrecy of the event was now shattered, the security systems in ce had failed, and even the guests attending the event were in handcuffs.

    The insides of the auction hall, which should''ve beenvish and opulent, were now in ruins.

    Even the whole shopping mall was in full lockdown initiated by the military police authorities.

    The tables and seats were toppled, the food and drinks were spilled, the ss bottles shattered, and the auction stage at the end of the room was splintered and destroyed.

    Shaolin Sect''s officialbat unit and the military police''s special task force were on the scene, arresting the nobles and some of the hosts of the auction that they had managed to capture.

    Most of the nobles in the spotlight were simply shouting and wailing like immature brats, threatening their arresters with their family names.

    Others, meanwhile, just tried to bribe the authorities with a hefty sum of credits.

    Obviously, no matter how tempting or irritating their offerings and threats were, the police authorities and Shaolin officials were ignoring it.

    Nero, Anastasia, and Chase were also at the scene, dressed in ck and white robes of the esteemed Shaolin sect.

    Nero was conversing with a ck-uniformed officer, his arms crossed, and a friendly smile ying at the corners of his lips.

    The officer, dressed in a sleek ck uniform, also wore a simr expression while his hands rested on the utility belt around his waist.

    His name was Raymond and he had short, dark brown, curly hair. He also had a pair of light blue eyes adorning his slightly chubby face, giving him a youthful appearance.

    He appeared to be only six or seven years older than Nero and the others ¨C around twenty-four or twenty-five ¨C and he had a sparkle of yful kindness to his eyes.

    Nero had known this man since arriving in the Eastern Continent, and it was actually quite funny how they met.

    On their way to the Shaolin sect, Nero, Chase, and Anastasia had decided to make a pit stop at a cafe.

    In today''s day and age, Shaolin was no longer within a temple or monastery due to the Central Government''s disapproval.

    Instead, the Shaolin sect was now a veryrgeplex.

    While they still had monks, much like the Shaolin sect of the old world, their focus had shifted.

    The monks now focused on concentration, sought mental rity, and walked the path of righteousness rather than a spiritual one.

    In a way, much like Mount Hua, their core principles hadn''t changed much.

    However, their focus on martial arts was now more secr andbat-

    oriented, which was to be expected from a martial arts sect in this war-filled world.

    Anyway, while they were idly chatting in the cafe, Anastasia witnessed a kidnapping right outside the window.

    A man on a bike had snatched a little boy who was strolling with his butler and sped away.

    She immediately alerted Nero and Chase, and the trio dashed out of the cafe in an attempt to save the kid.

    Since they couldn''t use magic in the streets, it turned into a long and tiring chase before the trio finally caught up to the biker and wrested the kid from his grasp.

    In a twist, the biker turned out to be a mana user, so the trio did end up casting spells in self-defense when he tried to fight them.

    But ultimately, the three of them subdued him with rtive ease.

    Poor guy had no idea that he was just a side character in a side quest of the main characters.

    So the child was saved by the heroes. The kid''s rich parents generously showered the trio with money as a token of gratitude and the whole city read a published news article about their noble deed.

    Or at least, that''s what would''ve happened.

    In reality, shortly after they rescued the child, the police arrived at the scene. Nero and the rest assumed the police hade for the kid because someone must have made a kidnapping report.

    However, to their surprise, the police were there for them!

    The thing was, in their rush to save the child, they had forgotten to settle their bill at the cafe.

    The cafe owner quickly contactedw enforcement and almost got the heroes arrested.

    It was only thanks to Raymond, the sharp-witted police officer on the scene, who quickly understood the situation.

    Only because he didn''t make apse in judgment, the trio was saved from ending up behind bars that day.

    In the end, only the biker was arrested, the police didn''t make an error, the cafe owner got his money... and the heroes were showered with rewards.

    If Lucas had heard about this, he was sure to curse the protagonists and their damned luck.

 Chapter 356 Premonition [1]

    <h4>Chapter 356 Premonition [1] </h4>

    356 Premonition [1]

    "That''s actually a pretty cool badge!" Nero excitedly remarked, pointing at Raymond''s chest.

    On his chest gleamed a shiny emblem, its design was as elegant as it was simple ¨C an upside-down sword in the shape of a cross embedded in a circle.

    "Right?!" Raymond beamed proudly before gloating a little. "This is actually my badge of valor."

    "How''d you earn it?" Nero inquired, his curiosity clear in his tone.

    Raymond''s eyes grew a little distant at that question, but he soon replied with a subtle smile ying on his lips.

    "During my service, I led a charge against three hundred vampire troops. We had no backuping to assist us, and we found ourselves trapped behind enemy lines. Our only path to survival was to break through those vicious bloodsuckers. No one had the courage to lead from the front, but I did. And miraculously, I survived. I brought my soldiers to safety¡­ most of them."

    "Wow," Anastasia chimed in, gasping in awe. "You must be incredibly strong."

    "I''m¡­ alright," Raymond replied modestly, his cheeks tinged with a slight blush.

    It wasn''t really the poor guy''s fault for blushing. Anastasia looked quite stunning, like a heaven-born graceful beauty, in the ck and white robes of Shaolin.

    Noticing this, Chase squinted his eyes and said, "Yeah, well, I was also awarded a badge."

    Well, to be precise, he was never really awarded his badge, since he wasn''t in the condition to leave his bed during the Award Ceremony.

    His badge was unceremoniously delivered to him in his hospital room.

    ¡­But dumb Raymond didn''t need to know that!

    The ck-uniformed officer raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned to Nero, looking for confirmation. "Is that true?"

    Chase squinted his eyes even further. Why was Raymond double-checking with Nero? Was he not believable enough?!

    Nero nodded and told Raymond about how he and the cadets from his ss handled the dire situation at Silveserine.

    "Oh," Raymond eximed, pping his hands together. "I heard about that! So it was you all! What badges and medals did you receive?"

    "Well," Nero exined, "Anastasia and I were awarded medals, the Golden Cross medal to be exact. Chase received the Courageous Heart badge."

    "Impressive," Raymond grinned. "And what about the mary reward? How many Credits did you receive?"

    "Not much," Nero chuckled in response.

    Raymondughed along, then reassured them, "Don''t worry. Once this is all over, the military police will generously reward you all for your efforts. Perhaps you''ll each receive another badge for your invaluable intel and cooperation."

    Nero brightly smiled but didn''t respond immediately.

    He didn''t need more rewards. What he wished for was already safely stored in the dimensional storage of his smart bracelet.

    Nero had sessfully secured two Petals of Ambrosia during the mayhem and chaos when the official authorities raised this ce.

    Nero wasn''t really sure what Lucas'' intentions were regarding the second Petal of Ambrosia, but he was deeply grateful to him.

    After all, without his help, he had no idea how he should''ve helped his Master. As he pondered this, another thought crossed his mind.

    "No," he said, shaking his head. "This wouldn''t have been possible without your help."

    Raymond politely smiled. "That''s not true."

    It was partially true.

    Right after joining the Shaolin sect, Nero had gathered allies and convinced them all to raid this ce, but they simply did not have enough manpower because most of their officials were on another mission.

    He went to Raymond and exined the situation to him. He said he had inside information about the auction, but he couldn''t expose his source.

    No police officer would''ve believed such a vague and untrustworthy intel source but Raymond, for some reason, trusted Nero''s words.

    However, as fate would have it, the other mission on which Shaolin''s officials were ultimately led them straight to the very location of this underground auction.

    So, in reality, Nero didn''t need to request Military Police aid. In fact, Nero didn''t have any need to be involved in all this mess at all.

    The world would''ve followed the novel''s plot, and Shaolin would''ve raided the ce in a few days.

    His involvement only fastened the events.

    Nero swept his gaze around, his eyes momentarily stopping on the armored ss cages containing trapped ves, before letting out a sigh.

    Among the ves ¨C humans, dwarves, elves ¨C there were even vampires. All of them were malnourished, shackled to the ground, and had thick steel cors around their necks.

    "How did they even manage to get their hands on vampires?" Nero wondered aloud with a frown on his rather handsome face.

    "Some soldiers must''ve supplied them from the border," Raymond replied after some thought. "It looks like a trafficking chain. I''ll have my full squad thoroughly investigate this case."

    "But why would soldiers be involved in such a despicable trade?" Nero inquired, a hint of disgust clearly present in his voice.

    "Money," Anastasia chimed in. "Money is always a driving factor."

    "She''s right," Raymond sighed. "Everyone attending this auction was a noble, which means they had a lot of money to spare."

    Nero shook his head, gently massaging his forehead. "I don''t understand why they''d need to purchase... ves."

    Raymond shrugged, this time sharing Nero''s disgust. "Who knows? I can never understand nobles. They''re all twisted, in my opinion."

    Anastasia frowned upon hearing that.

    The image of a particr silver-haired boy shed through her mind as she spoke in a low tone, "Not all nobles."

    Funnily enough, Nero also thought about the same person and nodded. "Yeah, some nobles work on themselves and improve in life."

    Raymond chuckled. "Well, I''d like to meet the nobles you both are talking about."

    Nero tilted his head before Raymond changed the subject.

    "Anyway, I don''t care. I''m just d that I''m getting a bonus from this case. I''ll get a vacation package and surprise my mom," he said.

    "You live with your mom?" Anastasia asked with a warm smile, seemingly happy for some reason.

    Raymond nodded. "My father passed away when I was young and she never married again, so she only has me."

    "You''re a good person," Anastasiaplimented, causing the uniformed officer to blush once again.

    "Anyway," he said, clearing his throat. "Let me go and check if everyone has been arrested. I''m dying to go home."

    With that said, Raymond turned around and headed off to check on his fellow officers.

    Nero turned to Anastasia and asked, "We were talking about the same noble, right?"

    Anastasia chuckled. "I had no idea you and Lucas had be such close friends."

    Nero raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes. "I told you, he was the one who gave me the information about this auction. But I never imagined the underground auction would actually be held underground."

    Anastasia ced a hand over her mouth and continued to gracefully chuckle as Nero added, "What I''m trying to say is, he''s a good guy. I''m genuinely sorry for what I said to him."

    "Yeah," Anastasia agreed. "You do have a bit of an anger issue."

    Nero gave her a long look before erupting, "Oh, you don''t say?! For real?!"

    Anastasia yfully pointed a finger at him and quipped, "Look, you''re getting angry right now!"

    Nero gasped. "I¡ªNo! ...And just so you know, I''m attending therapy at Shaolin. Yes, before you ask, Lucas suggested it."

    Anastasiaughed again before adding, "He''s a good guy, Lucas, I mean. But he seems very desperate for something."

    Nero frowned. "How do you know?"

    Anastasia shrugged. "I just do."

    In truth, Anastasia had seen Lucas''s Spiritual Aura with her own eyes. Spiritual Aura was essentially a reflection of a person''s true self.

    One couldpletely mask their true nature with a well-crafted persona and clever lies. Despite the fa?ade, no one could ever hide their Spiritual Aura.

    The radiant brilliance of Lucas''s Spiritual Aura was so blinding that when she looked at him, she felt like she was staring into the heart of a star.

    He was one of the purest souls she had ever seen. Yet, his light was shrouded in a profane darkness so vile that it was almost sickening.

    It almost felt like he would devour all that was good in this universe, leaving behind only foreboding darkness.

    Lucas was a walking contradiction.

    He embodied purity and foulness, kindness and vileness, and he was at ease yet constantly suffering.

    But she knew he was putting on an act. For some reason, he was concealing his true self ¨C no, he had to hide his true self.

    He seemed desperate for something. He was fighting, yet a part of him had already resigned. Yeah, he was indeed a walking contradiction.

    Initially, Anastasia thought that he had a split personality. It checked all the blocks and would exin the sudden shift in his personality.

    That was why she was slightly interested in him when she first saw him. But after observing him closely, she realized he was mentally stable.

    But then, why was his Spiritual Aura in such a paradoxical state? She couldn''t fathom it.

 Chapter 357 Premonition [2]

    <h4>Chapter 357 Premonition [2]</h4>

    357 Premonition [2]

    While his friends were idly conversing, Chase darted his eyes around. Since the start of it all, he had a bad feeling ¨C like a premonition of disaster.

    Fortunately, their raid was sessful and nothing had yet gone wrong. However, the feeling he had been experiencing since the start was still there.

    It was rather unsettling.

    Chase looked around and saw nothing but police taking the arrested nobles out of the mall into their cars.

    The ves were yet to be freed from their shackles, and the relics and artifacts were also yet to be confiscated by the authorities.

    He looked out for any possible noble trying to resist or break free from the handcuffs and attack them.

    He also looked out for any ve vampire trying to break the armored ss.

    If that wasn''t all, he was also looking out for any explosives or security failsafe that might go off at any moment now.

    His worry and anxiety were only skyrocketing with each passing minute.

    He wanted to rx and tell himself that everything was all right, but he knew it wasn''t.

    ".....?!"

    Right then, he felt two pairs of eyes looking at him. Suddenly cold sweat drenched his back as he flicked his head in the direction from where he had felt the gaze.

    Turns out, it was only Anastasia and Nero who had been looking at him. Normally, he would take a moment or two to appreciate Anastasia''s crystal-

    like golden eyes but now was not the time.

    "What?" He asked, still startled.

    "Nothing," Nero replied. "Just that¡­ you didn''t add anything to the convo."

    Chase frowned. "What convo?"

    "You know," Anastasia shrugged. "Any time we talk about Lucas, you always have ament or two to add."

    "Ah, right," Chase rolled his eyes but did not add anything else and went back to scanning his surroundings.

    Noticing this, both Anastasia and Nero shared a look before the protagonist finally asked, "Chase, are you okay?"

    Without turning his gaze back to them, Chase replied, "I don''t feel so good."

    The anxiety he had been feeling earlier was now slowly turning into an ominous feeling. He felt as if this whole ce was enveloped in a burial shroud.

    It felt as if he alone was alive among a bunch of already dead walking corpses.

    "Under the weather?" Anastasia asked with a frown.

    "No," Chase shook his head. "I just have a strong feeling something bad is about to happen¨C"

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    As if waiting for that cue, before Chase could evenplete his sentence, the door to the underground chamber entrance exploded in a burst of splinters.

    Without wasting a breath, several men and women entered the underground auction hall.

    These people were dressed in ck mantles and cloaks, their heads covered by hoods or cowls, while their faces were hidden under full-face metal masks.

    In an instant, around twenty or so cloaked individuals appeared, carrying unsheathed weapons.

    Walking in front and leading them all was a man holding twobat axes in his hands. It was Leo Kurogami.

    Since he had to keep his identity secret for this mission, much like all his other Spider missions, he had decided to use something other than a sword as his main weapon.

    As soon as he entered the scene, Leo swiftly surveyed his surroundings with a single, sweeping gaze.

    His eyes settled on some familiar faces ¨C Nero, Anastasia, and Chase, to be precise.

    He didn''t know why these Cadets were even here, but his main focus remained onpleting the mission given to him.

    "Try to avoid casualties," he quietly instructed his squad. "Retrieve the relics, subdue the police, and get the hell out of here immediately."

    His squad members nodded in silence. Leo was a man of few words, especially during missions, and their objectives were crystal clear here anyway.

    However, not everyone in the hall was as calm as they were. Upon seeing several masked individuals barge in there just like that, the Military Police and Shaolin officials drew their weapons, pointing them at the intruders.

    "Military police, freeze!"

    A policeman stepped forward, disying his badge while aiming his sword at the cloaked figure before him.

    "Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully," he warned. "Do so, or we will¡­"

    Unfortunately, the individual that the policeman was pointing his sword at was none other than the God of War himself.

    Before the ck-uniformed officer couldplete his warning, Leo swiftly closed the distance.

    The poor guy didn''t even get a chance to react before the de of Leo''s axe fell down on him, severing the hand he was using to hold his sword within an instant.

    Kach¡ª!!

    "ARGHHHAAA!!"

    The officer''s agonizing scream filled the air as he crumpled to the ground, writhing and convulsing in pain while a pool of his own blood puddled under him.

    Leo indifferently walked past him, leaving the police and officials to engage the rest of his squad in a fierce melee.

    As that happened, Nero and the others thought about joining the fray. But before they could act, Raymond from before approached them in a rush.

    "You three!" he shouted as he hurried over. "Go, get out of here!"

    "We can assist!" Nero yelled back, his voice barely audible amid the chaos and shing of steel.

    Raymond quickly shook his head. "Whoever these people are, we outnumber them two to one! We can handle it here. I want all of you to find safety!"

    Nero was on the verge of arguing when Anastasia firmly grasped his arm and yelled into his ear, ensuring her voice was heard amid the bem of screams and battle cries.

    "I think he''s right! We should get out of here, Nero!" She urged, tugging on his arm.

    Reluctantly, Nero nodded in agreement.

    However, before they could even move from their spots, a jarring sound of metal cracking echoed throughout the entire underground auction hall.

    Instantly after, the whole venue fell into an eerie silence and all eyes turned toward the source of the noise.

    In the center of the hall, a police officery dead, a slender rapier de biting into his chest and sticking out through his back.

    Before dying to his killer''s fatal thrust, the officer managed to fire an enchanted bullet from his handgun.

    Although the bullet failed to im the life of his killer, it did seed in breaking his mask. The bullet struck the metal mask and shattered it into several fragments.

    The individual who had killed the officer was a man in histe thirties with short ck hair and piercing light blue eyes.

    Seeing what had happened, Leo''s face under his mask contorted in dismay. This was bad.

    Now, every witness in the hall had seen the man''s face. If they were to survive, they would testify to everything that happened here, potentially identifying him.

    If that happened, the police would link the man back to Spider and the existence of their covert organization would not be a secret anymore.

    "Damn it," Leo cursed under his breath.

    This was indeed a bad situation. Now... he had no choice but to kill everyone here.

 Chapter 358 Death Incarnate [1]

    ?358  Death Incarnate [1]

    Leo closed his eyes and silently cursed in his mind once again. Yes, the situation was bad but he had to act.

    He would kill everyone present here and get out of this ce with his squad. For a split second, he contemted using his strongest technique.

    After all, the sooner he was to deal with everyone here, the faster they would be able to leave this ce.

    However, he couldn''t allow himself to use Symphony for two distinct reasons.

    Firstly, what if the Military Police possessed a Gifted individual who could see the past ¨C psychometric perception, or some simr ability?

    Leo had, more than once in his life,e across such troublesome Gifts. So, he had to be careful when it came down to how much of his real strength he could disy.

    Even if one of the members of his squad was alreadypromised¡­

    Even if Spider''s existence was at risk of being pulled into light¡­

    He could never let the world and the Government catch wind of his affiliation with an insurgent organization.

    No, that would surely mess up all their future ns. That notion alone was more than enough for his second reason.

    Sighing once again, Leo decided to massacre everyone here in old-fashioned style ¨C with his own two hands.

    ¡­And the twin axes in his grasp.

    The whole underground auction hall was still for a few seconds. No one knew what was going to happen but by this point, all of them felt the foreboding feeling rippling in the air.

    The tension in the atmosphere was so palpable that one could choke on it if they tried.

    The man whose mask had shattered earlier was the first to move in this unsettling silence. He summoned another mask from his dimensional ring as if it wasn''t already toote for it.

    Regardless, he covered his face with the new metal mask, and, almost as if on cue, everyone stirred and started moving, swiftly attacking their enemies.

    A cacophony of des shing against des deafened all the other sounds in the world as sparks flew and blood was spilled.

    The cloaked individuals were severely outnumbered ¨C two to one.

    They could hold back their assants but they were not going to win against the task force of Shaolin and the Military Police officers.

    Even after their initial sh, the ngor of metal hitting metal continued to fill up the air. No bodies fell, but death was imminent now that the Spider squad had changed the mission from extraction to annihtion.

    However, it was them who were going to be annihted. Yes, they were in a fragile equilibrium right now but it was about to break.

    Spider''s squad could not hope to get out of this gruesome battle alive given theirrge number disadvantage.

    In a head-on battle, they would lose.

    And in a battle of attrition, they would definitely lose.

    A smart general would make the call of retreat right now. It was the best strategic choice.

    All the relics they needed were already secured and their escape path was stillpletely open.

    However, Leo was not just a smart strategist, he was also a strong soldier.

    Yes, their annihtion was definitely set in stone¡­ If the God Of War himself wasn''t there to grace the puny mortals with his great presence.

    After all, how could they hope to defeat him in war¡­ when he himself was war?

    Gripping his twin axes tightly, Leo moved forward with resolute determination. Yes, he knew it wasn''t fair but no one would be spared mercy from his de now.

    Cling, ng¡ª!!

    Kach¡ª!!!

    Striding forth as he was taking a leisure stroll in a park, Leo deflected the de of a Shaolin official, who was about to cut down one of his squadmates, using the axe in his right hand.

    He then brought his left axe to the Shaolin official''s throat and slit it with unnatural ease.

    Using the now-dead body of the official, he blocked an arrow from a police officer before throwing the axe in his hand at him.

    Thaak¡ª!!

    The axe spun in the air, emitting a metallic hum. The police officer deftly raised his bow up and managed to awkwardly block the iing attack at the cost of his weapon.

    The bow was split in half but the axe lost its momentum and fell down along with the broken splinters of the ck wooden bow.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Unfortunately for the ck-uniformed officer, it was all a distraction. Before the axe even touched the ground, before the police officer could even have a chance to react, another axe descended on him and cracked his skull open.

    Blood spurted everywhere as if a crimson fountain was turned on as the spark of life in the guard''s eyes extinguished.

    Leo let the first axe fall to the ground and dislodged his second axe from the officer''s skull. He then used his free hand to grab the dead body by its throat and hoisted it up.

    Behind him, several Shaolin sect officials and Military Police officers rushed at him in hopes of catching him off-guard.

    Even though they weren''t aware of his identity and they couldn''t feel much mana emanating pressure from him, most of the experienced warriors could already tell that he was a threat.

    Obviously, the thumb of the rule in any battle was to take out the threat first and deal with the weaklingster.

    It''s a good rule to keep in mind, given that you have enough strength to take on the strongest.

    As soon as they witnessed Leo lifting the corpse, all of them knew what was about to happen. So they did what they could do ¨C they readied themselves for an attack.

    Leo spun on his heel and threw the dead body at the rushing attackers as if he had pitched a baseball.

    Thergest member of the Shaolin officials ¨C a tall and robust bald man with praying beads around his neck and a giant ded mace in his hands ¨C stepped forward.

    He raised his ded mace and batted away the speeding corpse of the fallen officer in one continuous motion while apologizing for disrespecting the dead like that in his heart.

    Leo, who had once again used this set-up as a distraction, lunged forward. He kept his body needlessly close to the ground and pulled both his axes back.

    He was targeting the bald man now, who was huge. In Leo''s vast battle experience, the best and most efficient way to deal with imposinglyrge enemies is to use speed.

    Since massive opponents couldn''t move fast due to theirrge bodies, it was better to just rain down a barrage of attacks on them.

    Eventually, usually under a few seconds, an attack or two would get past their defenses and end them in one fatal strike.

    From his low position, Leo could either go for the bald man''s knees or spring up and target his abdomen¡­ or he could do both.

    Rushing forward, Leo unnaturally twisted his upper torso as if he was made of rubber and unleashed two separate shes at his opponent''s knees and sr plexus.

    However, Leo forgot that there were always exceptions. Yes, not all massive enemies could move fast, but the emphasis was on "not all."

    The bald man hopped lightly in his ce, the ground under him cracking from the applied pressure of his jump, and bent his knees.

    Leo''s first sh was missed. As for the second, the bald man brought his ded mace up to swiftly intercept the second axe in time.

    But instead of stopping his charge from the rebound, he channeled mana into his legs and pressed forward in a burst of speed instead.

    So what if he failed? The second rule of battle was to never kill your momentum if you''re in control, no matter what.

    So he darted straight up ahead and once again pulled back his axes.

    The people who were behind the bald man had their vision restricted by his extremely huge body, so they were taken by sudden surprise when theirrade jumped and Leo galloped from under him.

    That split-second surprise dyed their reaction speed and that was all the time Leo needed to send a head or two flying.

    In just under a few short seconds since the moment he joined the crucible of this utter bloodbath, Leo alone managed to take out five enemies.

    It was as if he was moving with the knowledge of the future in mind. He seemed to know what move his opponents were going to make.

    It also felt as if he had eyes on his back. He literally had zero openings and no blind spots!

    He saw everyone and knew everything!

    Everywhere he went, his axe whispered a silent song of carnage which in turn made the river of crimson flow.

    He reaped lives as if he was death incarnate, descended on this mortal ne to punish these mundanes for their sins.

    He was unstoppable. He vanquished the lives of those who could trouble him first and evaded the rest.

    All everyone could do was just sit back and wait until he''de to im their life.

 Chapter 359 Death Incarnate [2]

    ?359  Death Incarnate [2]

    Yes, Leo was like a walking hurricane of death and destruction. But there was one way to stop him.

    Raymond had been watching the cloaked man ruthlessly butchering his fellow police officers with considerable ease.

    His heart was stirring, struggling to barely keep the tumultuous rage within him from exploding.

    He couldn''t let himself get blinded by the maddening fury, no matter how much he wanted to tear that man''s throat apart.

    He motionlessly stood there on the sidelines, not allowing himself to blink as he saw his friends get mercilessly ughtered by the axeman.

    Seeing his dying friends screaming out in agony, getting sacrificed one after another, he wanted to join the bloody fray and help them.

    But he couldn''t. All he could do at the moment was contain the mournful tears of seething rage.

    He wasn''t frozen in ce out of fear. No, in fact, he wasn''t frozen at all. He was just observing the battlefield and his opponent.

    Raymond was painfully aware of all his strengths and weaknesses. He knew that his best aspect was observing the situation with a calm mind and thinking of a rapid solution.

    He had always been good at analyzing things ¨C whether it be the battlefield or living people.

    And right now, he was doing just that. His opponent was a master martial artist, and from the looks of it, not just an ordinary master either. He couldn''t be defeated in hand-to-hand or meleebat.

    Raymond didn''t miss how the axeman was barely deploying any mana at all ¨C strictly using it right before unleashing an attack to either empower his body or reinforce his weapons.

    That could only mean one of the two things ¨C his mana core was either not veryrge or he had exhausted most of his reserves before arriving here.

    Raymond also noticed how this man only started killing when one of his men was mistakenly unmasked.

    That meant this wasn''t a professional group of thieves but an organization that would rather keep its identity hidden.

    Okay, it was fine. The situation, no matter how morbid, was still salvageable.

    If they could just thwart this cloaked man''s dance of death, then subduing hisrades wouldn''t be very difficult.

    And if Raymond was right ¨C he prayed to the gods that he was ¨C then defeating this cloaked figure was easy.

    They merely had to rain down a salvo of mid to high-grade artillery spells on him. Either that, or they could simply unleash one super-destructive AoE spell.

    Since the man seemed to possess a small mana core, he would not be able to shield himself against a barrage of obliterating spells.

    The problem was that none of those solutions were applicable since they were inside a verypact space right now.

    Also, not to mention, they were under a freaking building. If they were to mess up and misfire, the whole thing could crumble down and crush them to death.

    "Ray¡­!"

    No, to be honest, even if none of them mess up, the rain of artillery spells would surely be destructive enough to pulverize this whole underground chamber.

    "...mond!"

    Yeah, employing either of those two options was just courting death. But then, what other choice did they have?

    "Raymond!"

    "...?!" His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as a couple of voices called out his name, pulling him out of his daze.

    It was only then did Raymond noticed Nero and Anastasia had been constantly shouting his name all this time.

    As a semnce of focus slowly returned to his gaze, Nero summoned his sword and yelled at the ck-uniformed officer.

    "Raymond, we can help!"

    Anastasia, who was initially hesitant to interfere withw enforcement matters, now nodded vigorously in agreement.

    They all understood the gravity of the situation. If they did nothing, all of them would die.

    Raymond gritted his teeth and reluctantly epted the three cadets'' offer to help. They were closer to him than his fellow officers, making it easier to discuss his n with them.

    And besides, Raymond had a n that could hopefully keep them out of harm''s way.

    "Listen," he began, pointing to the distant figure of Leo, who was leaving a trail of death and chaos in his wake. "Our priority is that man."

    Nero concurred, "Yeah, the bnce was tipped to their favor as soon as that man joined the battle."

    Raymond nodded and continued, "Dealing with him is rtively simple. If we can lure him outside, we can ambush him with a barrage of artillery spells."

    Chase voiced his concerns, "That won''t be easy."

    Raymond rified, "I never said easy, I said simple."

    With cold sweat drenching his forehead, he asked, "How many Area of Effect and artillery spells do you all know?"

    "I know two," Chase replied. "One of them is an imprisonment spell."

    "I know five," Nero stated. "All of them are destructive."

    "I can use a bow," Anastasia concluded.

    Raymond sighed in relief, "Okay, that should be more than enough."

    Nero inquired, "So, do you have a n?"

    Raymond nodded, casting a quick nce around to scan their entire surroundings with eyes that held back panic and fear.

    All around them, people were still fighting.

    Shaolin officials and Raymond''s fellow uniformed officers shed in a gruesome struggle against the cloaked figures.

    Meanwhile, only one man remained standing alone against Leo. It was the same tall, robust bald individual with prayer beads around his neck and a ded mace in his hands from earlier.

    Out of the ten men who had bravely decided to confront the God of War, he was the only one left alive.

    ¡­But not for long.

    His colossal ded mace was dented and caved inward in several ces, while his massive body had numerouscerations.

    Blood was seeping out of the countless cuts and wounds littering his body, but he refused to back down.

    However, his weapon didn''t look as resilient as him.

    Soon, his mace would break and that would be the end of him. He only survived until now because of his unnatural agility and recklessly swinging his colossal mace.

    Unfortunately ¨C or perhaps fortunately ¨C Raymond didn''t have enough time to witness the bald man''s impending death.

    Instead, his attention was elsewhere as he scanned his surroundings, looking for something in particr.

    Raymond''s eyes locked onto a cloaked figure, and he urgently pointed in its direction, alerting the three cadets around him.

    "There, look at that man. He was the one who collected the relics earlier."

    A spark of understanding lit up in Nero''s dark eyes. "So if we take his dimensional ring and make a run for it, their leader will have no choice but to follow us outside the building."

    Raymond nodded. "So, who among you is the fastest?"

    ?

    Without letting anything distract him, neither the cowardly cries of his victims nor the distant ngor of the battle between his squad and the rest of the authorities, Leo continued to crack open one skull after another.

    In the end, only the huge man who looked more like a monk than a warrior was left standing before him.

    Leo was sure he was a kind guy. In fact, everyone in Shaolin was kind. He really didn''t want to kill him or the others, but he had no choice.

    So he took a deep breath and pressed on.

    He unloaded a relentless fury of shes on the bald man, his arms moving in a blur. It was as if Leo was attacking from several different directions at once.

    If that wasn''t bad enough, each one of his strikes seemed to contain the weight of a small hill.

    The bald man desperately tried to block the unending assault, using his giant mace to shield his massive body from the chaotic hurricane of axe shes.

    But in the end, his reliable weapon gave out. The sturdy shaft of his mace finally sumbed to the assault and shattered.

    The bald man was obviously ready for such an oue. So as soon as his ded mace broke, he went back on the offensive.

    He couldn''t y defense anymore. He was all out of options. If he was going to die, he would rather go in a ze of glory while fighting.

    He took a step forward and raised his right arm, enveloping it in a thickyer of mana. Then, as if his arm itself was a sword, he brought it down on Leo.

    Kach¡ª!!

    But as if his limb was made of paper, Leo swung his axe up and cleaved off the bald man''s arm.

    Instead of panicking or trying to run away, the bald man closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate, his lips quietly moving to produce a silent whisper.

    "Why did I lose?" He asked.

    Leo swung his second axe at the bald man''s neck and responded in a low tone before cutting off his head, "You cared too much about yourrades."

    Kach¡ª!!

    The severed head flew and blood gushed from the decapitated body of the bald man.

    For the first time in a long while, Leo found himself disgusted by the repulsive sight of his kill.

    However, he sternly focused his mind and¨C

    Kawaarrr¡ª!!

    Leo''s next thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a deafening st that resounded from somewhere inside the underground chamber.

    Startled by the ear-piercing noise, Leo scanned his surroundings, his thoughts racing.

    ''These fools! Did they really cast magic in such a tight space?! Are they really idiots?!''

    But Leo couldn''t entirely me them either. They were facing certain deaths. Perhaps they had considered making the entire building copse, taking their killers down with them.

    However, innocent ves and countless nobles were still inside the building.

    Surely, the military police and Shaolin officials wouldn''t condemn the innocent to their doom alongside the criminals, would they?!

    And as it turned out, Leo was correct. They didn''t take such an extreme measure. Instead, it was someone quite familiar who had caused the explosive noise.

    Ethereal sparks enveloped Nero''s body, revealing that he had not cast magic but had unleashed his Elemental Aura.

    He was holding a sword in his hand, its de glowing in an azure hue. That sharp sound earlier was probably him breaking the sound barrier with his sword sh.

    However, still, it was far too dangerous to use such a destructive aspect of his Aura in a tight space like this! Did that damned Liz Snyder teach him nothing?!

    In front of Neroy a dead figure of one of his squadmates. It was the same man who had been assigned the duty of collecting the relics.

    In Nero''s hands was a dimensional that belonged to his fallen squadmate. Inside of it most likely were the relics they were here to secure.

    Nero looked up, his gaze meeting Leo''s¨C or so he felt. The cloaked individual in front of him had his face covered with a mask.

    However, as soon as Nero felt it, he turned around and moved toward the exit in a blur of sh, leaving behind a faint azure trail of light.

    "Tsk," Leo clicked his tongue under the mask. "It''s probably a trap, isn''t it?"

    With a shake of his head, he headed toward the underground auction hall''s exit. He followed Nero''s trail and left the shopping mall.

    And as soon as he stepped outside¡­

    All hell broke loose on him.

 Chapter 360 The Protagonist...

    ?360  The Protagonist...

    FWOOSH¡ª!!!

    The moment Leo stepped out of the shopping mall and into the street, a javelin made of turbulent wind shot toward him from his right.

    Clicking his tongue in frustration, Leo swiftly thwarted the wind javelin with a downward sh of his axe.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed faintly glowing sparkles of light at the street''s turn.

    Since this was a business district, the street was brilliantly illuminated by sidemps and neon signs.

    But despite all that, the light sparks shone just brightly enough to be noticeable amidst the dazzling cityscape.

    Yeah, the fact that this was an ambush became painfully clear. However, instead of retreating, Leo boldly rushed toward the glowing sparks.

    Taking the right turn upon reaching the street''s end, he spotted Nero standing a few feet away, fearlessly facing him.

    Nero swiftly raised both of his hands, curling his fingers into the shape of guns, and aimed them at Leo.

    In the blink of an eye, a river of ethereal white sparks of radiant light began to converge into two blinding orbs right in front of his "gun barrels."

    At the same time, the hard concrete road under Leo''s feet quickly turned malleable. The ground shifted and rose, grabbing his legs and immobilizing him.

    Also at the same time, Leo sensed a vast amount of mana stirring in the atmosphere behind him like arge whirlpool in an ocean.

    Since this street was in a ''T'' shape, Leo had taken the right turn without checking the left.

    Far behind him right now, Anastasia stood atop a street pole, her long, slender fingers pulling on a taut bowstring.

    A cascade of radiant mana particles was flowing toward her and umted on her bowstring, quickly materializing into an incandescent arrow.

    Chase was also hidden behind the same pole and hadpleted his mission by binding Leo in ce.

    As for Raymond, he hadmunicated with all the nearby police precincts using his radio and evacuated the entire area beforehand.

    He was also the one whounched the wind javelin at Leo earlier, helping lure him to this exact spot.

    Right now, he was airborne several meters above the ground, right over Leo''s head. It was an application of one of his spells that granted him the ability to fly.

    While floating up there, he had both his hands stretched out. The wind was howling all around him, flowing toward his palms andpressing into the shape of two long javelins.

    As Leo sensed that, he couldn''t help but be impressed. It was actually a near-

    perfect death trap.

    Chase had immobilized him, Anastasia and Nero wereunching two separate attacks from two opposite directions, and atst, Raymond was targeting him from above.

    Truly, even the most dangerous masters of martial arts, no matter how extraordinary they might be, would not get out of this one alive.

    ¡­Unfortunately for Nero and the group, however, they weren''t facing a dangerous master. They were facing a God.

    They thought they were doing something original, and they sort of were doing that by forcing him into a four versus one situation.

    However, Leo had been fighting while being outnumbered and overpowered all his life.

    At the border, the enemy would always try to iste the fight with him, lead him into a trap, or force him into an unfavourable situation.

    Even before he went to the border, he was always alone¡­ fighting. All his life he had been fighting.

    They thought they could win just by luring him into a death trap? Well, news sh for them¡­ he is death.

    He is victory.

    He is¡­ war.

    Gritting his teeth, Leo bent his knees and crouched slightly while pulling back both of his axes.

    As if waiting for that cue, Anastasia let her incandescent arrow loose.

    Nero followed suit byunching his own spell at the exact same moment, the light orbs in front of him erupting in radiant white beams.

    However, Raymond, who had chanted his spell only a split secondter, had to wait a moment longer before he pitched both of his wind javelins down at Leo.

    Right there! There was a small disharmony in their coordination. That slight dy in Raymond''s spellcasting was a mistake.

    And even the tiniest mistake was all Leo needed at that critical moment. He almost smirked under his mask.

    Infusing mana into both axes, Leo swiftly extended his arms and sliced through the air, unleashing one of the hundreds of weapon arts in his arsenal.

    Two crescent arcs of azure energy shot forth from his des at breakneck speed, leaving behind a luminous blue trail.

    But he didn''t stop there.

    Leo continued the motion of his arms, with his left axe sweeping behind his back. Meanwhile, he changed the direction of his right arm, raising the right axe above his head.

    As soon as that happened, he released his grip on the axes, sending them hurtling forward.

    The axes spun and sliced through the air with a sharp whistle, following the precise trajectory on which Leo had thrown them.

    The crescent energy shes he had sent forward intercepted Nero''s light cannon spell and a blinding explosion of light erupted.

    One of the two axes he had thrown hit Anastasia''s arrow, while the other shed against one of Raymond''s wind javelins.

    His axes instantly shattered, but they had achieved their objectives of thwarting all of the enemies'' artillery spells¡­ except one.

    One of the two Raymond''s turbulent wind javelin was still set on its trajectory, about to make contact with Leo in the blink of an eye.

    ¡­And it was all ording to Leo''s n.

    Once again, as though his body was made of nothing but rubber, Leo unnaturally twisted his upper torso in a way that allowed the wind javelin to harmlessly brush past him and hit the ground.

    To be precise, it hit the exact same spot on the ground where his legs were ensnared.

    Kwaaash¡ª!!!

    The part of the road instantly shattered upon impact, chunks of concrete flew in an explosive outburst and Leo was free to move his legs again.

    As soon as the God of War was capable of moving again, he lunged forward in Nero''s direction.

    Nero was young and inexperienced, but not even for a second did Leo dare to underestimate the young cadet.

    In fact, he recognized that Liz Snyder''s disciple was the only real threat on this battlefield.

    Obviously, he moved with the intention of rooting out this threat. But Nero was more than prepared for it.

    Yes, much like his friends, Nero was startled when the cloaked figure in front of them not only stopped their attacks but he also used their own spells against them to free himself.

    However, Nero knew better than to let the shock paralyze him in the middle of a life-or-death battle.

    As soon as their attempt at ambush failed, he summoned out his bastard sword.

    While rushing toward him, Leo also took out a halberd and a short spear from his dimensional ring.

    A split secondter, the protagonist and the strongest character engaged in a murderous sh of des.

 Chapter 361 ...And The Strongest Character

    <h4>Chapter 361 ...And The Strongest Character </h4>

    361 ...And The Strongest Character

    KLANG¡ª!!!

    Steel bit into steel and sparks flew. Nero was pushed back as soon as the de of his bastard sword shed against Leo''s halberd.

    Reeling back from the impact, he quickly regained his bnce and lifted his sword to block an iing attack.

    KLANG¡ª!!!

    Once again, Nero was pushed back more than a couple of meters from the forceful exchange of des.

    Instantly, doubt crept into his mind.

    ''Am¡­ Am I really being overpowered?!'' Nero thought, clearly bewildered.

    His block earlier was wless and he had used a substantial amount of mana to enforce his body.

    By all means, he should have stood there unhinged, as firm as an immovable wall of steel. So why was he being thrust back so easily?!

    The answer became clear to Nero as he shed des with the cloaked figure for the third time and used the relic in his eye ¨C the Seer Of Unknown.

    KLAAANG¡ª!!

    This time, Nero was thrown even farther backward, his feet skidding against the road despite the resistance from the rough concrete.

    Nero struck his sword in the ground to kill the momentum propelling him back and came to an abrupt halt.

    He understood what was happening. The cloaked figure wasn''t stronger than him in terms of raw power.

    No, actually, the masked man was simply striking at his sword''s weak points. It was not him who was being overpowered but his weapon!

    Every weapon had at least one or more of these weak points depending on the user''s handling and mastery over it.

    However, these weak points were not fixed on exact spots on a weapon.

    No, even a slight shift in the weapon''s bnce or the manner in which it was wielded could alter their positions.

    In fairly simple terms¡­ These said weak points were nothing but openings in one''s weapon technique.

    It wasn''t anything new. Nero knew about it all. He knew that no technique was ever perfect, and thus one would possess these exploitable vulnerabilities.

    Yes, the moreplex a technique is, the easier it is to mask these openings. And a master could even fake weak points on their weapons.

    However, what did startle Nero was the sheer fact that the masked man dismantled his technique before even exchanging the first blow.

    Even Lucas, who really impressed Nero when he impably countered his weapon arts during the King''s Tournament, matched this level of proficiency!

    For the love of god, even his own Master couldn''t discern an enemy''s technique before even crossing des with them first!

    This was simply madness!

    However, Nero didn''t let this fact get to his mind and hinder his movements.

    Instead, he lunged forward with the same intensity from which he was thrown back, unleashing a torrent of sword shes upon the masked man before him in rapid session.

    This time, he changed his technique.

    Each attack smoothly flowed forward and seamlessly transitioned into the next, executed with nothing but a lethal intent that effortlessly connected one move to the one following after.

    What could have been a chaotic frenzy of utter destruction instead looked more like a captivating dance of death as Nero used his mesmerizing swordy to press forth.

    However, Nero''s attempts to cut down the cloaked man were just rendered futile with disheartening ease.

    Leo parried each one of his sword shes and thrusts, even the feints, with nothing but utmost mastery.

    His halberd kept Nero at a safe distance most of the time but if once in a blue moon, an attack managed to slip by, it was either blocked or countered by his short spear.

    Nero had never seen a man wield dual weapons with such wless ease. There were zero openings in his defense and all his attacks were unblockable!

    Even after analyzing everything with the Seer Of Unknown, Nero couldn''t detect any weaknesses in Leo''s technique.

    It was as if his technique was specially tailored to his unique, unconventional, and unpredictable battle style.

    By now, Nero knew that he couldn''t defeat this man! At least not with a sword and not alone! Thankfully¡­ he wasn''t alone!

    ng¡ª!!

    Leo batted away Nero''s bastard sword with one hand and was about to nt his short spear in his chest when suddenly a man plummeted from above.

    It was Raymond. He descended to the ground like a meteor and lunged at Leo from the side with a long dagger in hand.

    But before he could even step into the striking range of his weapon, Leo acted first and brought down the de of his halberd on Raymond.

    The uniformed officer had no choice but to block the fatal attack using his dagger, the impact sending him crashing down on his knee.

    Instead of retracting his weapon after a sessful blow, Leo continued to apply pressure with his halberd and pressed Raymond down in ce.

    Using this chance when his focus was elsewhere, Nero pounced on the cloaked man from the right side with his sword pulled back.

    As soon as he stepped closer, particles of radiant white light began to envelop the de of his sword, lighting it up in an azure hue.

    He was about to unleash a horizontal sh at the speed of a light sh on the cloaked man when he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

    "...Khuak!" Nero''s eyes widened as he coughed a mouthful of blood before swiftly moving his gaze down to scan his body.

    There, right where his heart should''ve been, a short spear made of some ck metal was sticking out from his chest.

    ''Wh-When?'' Nero thought in his mind as he staggered back in pain, blood dripping down from the side of his quivering lips. ''When did he attack me?''

    It was a genuine question. When did Leo attack him? After all, his focus was on Raymond.

    The answer was simple.

    His focus was never on anyone else aside from Nero. He simply used Raymond as bait to lure Nero closer to him in the range of his short spear.

    Once he was there, Leo just had to discreetly aim at his heart and finish him off with a single thrust of his spear.

    "...Heh," Nero''s lips curled up into a wide smirk as he ignored the pain and stepped forward.

    "....?!" Leo''s eyes widened in astonishment but before he could understand what was happening, a blinding sh of light illuminated the area.

    Nero''s sword moved like a strike of lighting, tracing an arc as it made its way toward Leo''s throat.

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    Kach¡ª!!

    "...Huh?!" But much to Nero''s surprise, Leo was barely quick enough to awkwardly tilt his neck in time and avoid getting his throat slit.

    His sword did manage to leave a shallow wound on the side of the cloaked figure''s neck, but that was all!

    Now that his horizontal sh had missed, Nero was wide open for a split second. He knew that was all the time in the world the cloaked man needed to punish him.

    Fortunately, while Leo was about to do precisely that, Raymond pushed away the halberd pressing him down and leaped forward.

    But Leo simply moved out of the way by sidestepping and delivering a ruthless kick to Nero''s chest in one fluid motion.

    The forceful kick sent him flying back a couple of meters but Nero managed tond on his feet.

    He then swayed a little and fell to one knee before breaking the shaft of the lusterless short spear sticking out from his chest.

    Thankfully, Nero was born with a rare condition in which his heart was on the right instead. Had he been born normal, Leo would''ve killed him today.

    No one in this world, aside from histe mother, knew about it.

    Well, she and Lucas¡­ but Nero didn''t need to know that.

    A painful tremor coursed through Nero''s body as he broke the spear but didn''t dare to dislodge itpletely as it would leave a gaping hole in his chest.

    Thest thing he wanted was blood loss right now.

    Even though his heart was spared, it was still painful having his lungs pierced. He wished he had brought a healing potion along with him today.

    Meanwhile, Raymond was left alone to confront Leo. Anastasia was helping him from time to time by shooting an arrow or two, but it was hard to take a clear shot when the twobatants were so dangerously close to each other.

    Raymond was no match for Leo. In just a few seconds after Nero was thrown out of the confrontation, he received severalcerations throughout his body.

    His ck vest was in rags now, exposing his bloodied and battered skin underneath his uniform.

    However, regardless of the agonizing wounds and organ-rending pain, Raymond refused to give up.

    The wind twirled around his dagger and each time he moved it was as if a tiny yet powerful hurricane had rolled over the area.

    Despite the raging gales, Leo was easily evading any life-threatening attacks while countering with a barrage of his own.

    Slowly but surely, he was wearing down Raymond.

    Just as another one of Leo''s attacks was about to connect with him, Raymond took a swift sidestep and thrust his leg forward.

    Leo raised his halberd in an attempt to effortlessly block the kick, but right then the ground under his feet turned soft.

    Suddenly, Leo lost his footing and when the kick connected with his halberd, it was much more staggering than it should''ve been.

    Thwaaack¡ª!!

    The powerful front kick hurtled Leo backward, causing him to soar through the air until he collided with a nearby cafe.

    The impact of his crash shattered the cafe''s wall, and Leo tumbled through to the other side.

 Chapter 362 God Of War [1]

    ?362  God Of War [1]

    The nearby cafe''s wall shattered in an explosive burst, sending huge chunks of broken bricks, dust, and concrete flying everywhere as the masked man crashed through it.

    Raymond, shocked to see his attack connect, turned his head to face Chase. He raised his thumb and said, "Nice work! Try not to give him any footing!"

    For a martial artist, proper footing was crucial unless they possessed a movement art to bypass that requirement.

    Without proper footing, they couldn''t properly execute their attacks since the foundation of most weapon arts relied on precise movements.

    Chase, still taking cover behind the pole, nodded.

    Anastasia, perched atop that very same pole, gracefully hopped down. She shot a quick nce at Chase afternding  and dered, "I''m going in."

    Chase nodded.

    Although he hoped that Raymond''s attack and the crash into the cafe wall had broken the man''s spine, rendering him incapable of continuing the fight¡­ he knew better than to hope for wishful fantasies.

    The unsettling feeling from before still gripped his heart. He could almost sense the cold grip of death tightening around his throat.

    He could feel that this fight wasn''t going to end well. But why were they having so much, damnit! It was a four versus one!

    He stared seriously at Anastasia and said, "Be careful out there. I will do my best to support all of you before joining the fight myself. I... I have a bad feeling about this."

    Anastasia nodded at the intensity of Chase''s words before she could even grasp what he had said. She had never seen him so¡­ serious and focused before.

    "Okay, I will¨C"

    However, before Anastasia could finish her sentence, the tide of the battle took a turn for the worse.

    Through therge cavity in the cafe''s shattered wall, something stirred within the cloud of dust right in front of Raymond.

    Before the ck-uniformed officer could react, a halberd shot through the dust toward him like a bullet.

    "....?!" Raymond barely had enough time to raise his dagger and awkwardly deflect the iing attack while trying to avoid its trajectory.

    ng¡ª!!!

    Sparks ignited as Raymond''s long dagger shed against the hurtling halberd, but he couldn''t swat it away.

    The halberd brushed past Raymond''s face, leaving behind a thin red line in its wake just below his right eye as drops of blood fell from the wound.

    If the halberd''s de had been a few inches higher, it could have gouged out Raymond''s right eye.

    He staggered back from the sudden attack, and before he could regain his footing, Raymond saw the cloaked man bursting out of the cloud of dust, lunging at him.

    He noticed that the man had lost both his short spear and the halberd.

    ''Good, at least he doesn''t have any weapons now!'' Raymond thought with a hint of joy.

    He swiftly stomped his foot on the ground, regaining his bnce, and bravely swung his dagger at the cloaked man, who was just inches away from him.

    But Leo simply pped away Raymond''s dagger arm with his left hand while thrusting his palm into the ck-uniformed officer''s vulnerable abdomen.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    "Khuuuak!"

    As soon as Leo''s palm made contact, the wind was forced out from Raymond''s lungs as he felt some of his ribs break before being hurled back like a ragdoll.

    His body crashed against the unforgiving concrete, skidding along the length of the road like a t pebble on the water surface beforeing to a halt.

    Coughing up more blood, Raymond struggled to rise to his knees, but the poor guy wasn''t even given a moment to catch his breath.

    As he got up to his knees, he saw that the masked man had already closed in on him from the corner of his eyes. Once again, he was just inches away.

    Leo had used this the chance to unleash a dreadful roundhouse kick on the kneeling officer.

    Raymond clicked his tongue, pushing aside the concussion he received from the crash. His dagger had been wrenched from his grip during the fall, so he raised his left arm to block the iing kick.

    Kach¡ª!!

    But Leo''s shin cut through Raymond''s skin, tore through his muscles, ripped his tendons, and shattered his bone, severing his arm like a hot knife through butter.

    "....Ah¡­ Argh¡­. ARGHHHAAAAA!!!"

    It took a second or two for Raymond''s mind to register his missing arm. His lips quivered and his trembling eyes widened in panic as blood spurted from the stump where his hand should''ve been.

    An organ-rending pain seeped into his bones as he opened his mouth to let out a shrilling wail of agony.

    Convulsing, he hunched over as blood gushed from the severed nerves on his chopped arm like a crimson fountain, forming a pool around him.

    It was only now that a dreadful thought wed its way into his mind, igniting a primal¡­ almost animalistic sense of¡­ fear.

    This man... He didn''t need a weapon... His entire body was a weapon!

    Without wasting any time, Leo dashed forward once again. He straightened his palm like a de and thrust it directly at Raymond.

    ng¡ª!!!

    Fortunately, before the masked man could cleave Raymond''s head from his body with his arm, Nero intervened.

    The protagonist used his long sword to block the cloaked man''s arm, shielding Raymond, but only for a moment.

    Leo raised his leg and drove it squarely into Nero''s chest, right where the tip of his short spear was still lodged.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    "Arghh!" Nero gritted as pain erupted from his wound but summoned enough strength to push away Leo''s arm.

    Coming to their rescue at that very moment, Anastasia threw herself into the battle headfirst. She charged at the cloaked man and unleashed a flurry of punches, her fists enveloped in gauntlets made of pure azure mana.

    Leo took a single step back and engaged Anastasia in close-quarters hand-to-

    handbat.

    Anastasia was impressive.

    Even against Leo, she managed to hold her ground. She was quick on her feet and she delivered punches with blurring speed.

    After watching what happened to Raymond, she deftly avoided Leo''s arms and legs, almost always staying just a little out of his reach.

    She dodged the attacks that she could evade and tried to minimize the damage from the blows she couldn''t escape.

    Meanwhile, Nero''s face twisted in pain, but he ignored it and turned to Raymond, who was still on his knees.

    Raymond was tightly clutching his chopped arm just above the stump to put pressure on his veins and the blood flow.

    "Raymond, are you alright?" Nero asked.

    It was a stupid question. The man had just lost his arm and was barely holding back cries of agony.

    Of course, he wasn''t alright!

    Raymond, however, bit his lower lip and nodded. He took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. "I¡­ Augh! I am fine."

    With the help of mana, he flexed all the muscles above the stump on his severed arm to stop the blood flow.

    It was a little trick he had learned during his military service but wished he''d never have to use. Well, so much for that wish.

    After staunching the blood flow, Raymond, along with Nero, joined Anastasia in the battle against the cloaked man.

    Fighting with one arm and a broken short spear plunged in the chest was not exactly easy, but they were managing somehow.

    Soon, Anastasia also began to umte wounds and injuries. None were fatal, she made sure of that, but they were piling up.

    From a distance, Chase continued to control the battlefield, often turning the ground under Leo''s feet malleable or shooting earthen spikes at him.

    However, none of his party tricks worked on Leo anymore after the first one.

    Now, their battle was not about victory but survival.

    All of them, except Chase, were heavily wounded.

    They didn''t mind that anymore because their focus had shifted from remaining unscathed toing out of this battle a little less broken than the enemy.

    Which... wasn''t going well. Until now, the cloaked man had not received a single wound.

    He effortlessly blocked Anastasia''s powerful strikes, skillfully deflected Nero''s sharp sword with his bare hands, and deftly countered all of Raymond''s attacks.

    They had been cautious until now, but one more mistake and one of them would pay with their life. Defeat was imminent.

    And just at that moment, one of them made a mistake¡­

    Leo deftly redirected one of Nero''s shes by gently pushing his de aside and quickly lunged at Anastasia,unching a low kick aimed at her knee.

    Instead of backing down, Anastasia stepped forward.

    Her n was to lift her leg at thest possible moment and strike the masked man with a brutal front kick.

    Unfortunately, her n failed before it even started.

    Just as Anastasia was about to act, Leo unnaturally twisted his leg, changing his low kick into a high roundhouse.

    "....?!" Anastasia''s eyes widened.

    Blocking the kick at this point was impossible, but if she did nothing, her head would fly off in the next second.

    Fortunately, at that very moment, Chase jumped in front of Anastasia, raising his shield gauntlets in defense.

    ng¡ª!! Thrack¡ª!!!

    The kick harshly collided with Chase''s shields, shattering them into a burst of metal shards almost instantly.

    The kick continued its trajectory, tearing off a small chunk of Chase''s jaw. The pain and impact from the sharp kick sent him sprawling to the side.

    "Chase!" Anastasia rushed to check on her injured friend.

    But at the same time, Nero used this opportunity and pounced on the cloaked man.

    After Leo carried out his kick, his side was exposed and vulnerable.

    Though it was just for a split second, it was all the time Nero needed to execute a fatal horizontal sh.

    "Nero, stop!" Raymond shouted at that very moment.

    Nero frowned, but it was toote to stop his attack now. Just then, he noticed the cloaked man had twisted his upper torso.

    In an instant, the cloaked man unleashed a swift reverse roundhouse kick, whipping his leg backward at Nero.

    Nero''s eyes widened in shock, but he managed to block what could have been his death by swiftly raising his sword.

    ng¡ª!!

    Even though it was a near-perfect block, the force of the impact sent Nero reeling to the side.

    Now it was him who was wide open from the sides! It was the same position the cloaked man had been in just seconds earlier!

    After sessfully throwing Nero off bnce, Leo once again thrust his palm forward like a sword.

    This time, his palm was going for the right side of Nero''s chest¡­ It was going straight for his heart!

    ''No, no, no, no!'' Nero frantically thought in that one fleeting second. ''I... I can''t die... Not without avenging my mother first!''

    In that passing second, he prayed to the heavens to save his life, no matter the cost.

    He couldn''t meet his end like this, not here, and certainly not before making his father pay for his sins! For what he did to him and his mother!

    ¡­Thankfully, the heavens answered his call.

    The night sky darkened even further as thunderclouds appeared to veil the moon''s fervent glow. Howling winds blew and carried the scent ofing rain.

    And right at that moment, Nero felt himself being pushed aside by an unseen force.

    He barely had time to catch a glimpse of a shiny Medal of Valor from the corner of his eye.

    Leo''s palm pierced the chest of the valiant ck-uniformed officer who pushed away Nero.

    Kach¡ª!!

    While Nero staggered to the side, not yet understanding what happened, Raymond violently coughed out blood as Leo''s palm impaled his chest.

    He slowly turned to Nero and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Te... Tell my mother... I was brave..."

    The cloaked man withdrew his hand from Raymond''s chest and extracted his heart, which was still beating.

    Without any support, Raymond copsed. As he finally realized what had just gone down, Nero''s pupils constricted.

    Shakily, he rose to his feet and watched his friend breathe hisst, vitality draining from his body faster than the blood gushing out from the gaping hole in his chest.

    As the spark of life faded from Raymond''s eyes, Leo crushed the chunk of flesh in his hand and threw it away like trash.

 Chapter 363 God Of War [2]

    ?363  God Of War [2]

    Tumultuous winds raged ¨C a clear sign of the brewing storm. Soon, a single drop of water fell from the gray clouds shrouding the night sky above.

    Following that, one after another, more drops of water cascaded down, and the city was immediately engulfed in a deluge of storming rain.

    In the drenching rainstorm, it became difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. Thankfully the darkness was illuminated by the thunderous lightning shes in the sky from time to time.

    Nero silently looked at the police officer lying lifeless at his feet with a hollow gaze ¨C his pale face devoid of any discernible emotions.

    His ck eyes resembled two pools of utter darkness, as deep as an abyss and just as empty.

    Crimson blood gushed from the gaping wound in Raymond''s chest, washed away by the pouring rain.

    Nero stood there silently for a moment, gazing deep into Raymond''s ssy eyes, now empty of life.

    This man... he had known Nero for only a couple of days. Yet, he had sacrificed his life for him.

    Didn''t he have an elderly mother? Who would break this news to her? Who would take care of her?

    "...No," finally, something stirred in Nero''s hollow eyes as a surge of emotion erupted in his gaze, ranging from desperation and regret to agony and hopelessness. He let out an audible gasp, "...Please, no!"

    But his pleas were in vain. Raymond was already gone. He was dead because he had saved Nero.

    Soon, his tangled mess of emotions transformed into a violent rage. Nero flicked his head around, casting a hostile gaze on the cloaked man.

    Leo exhaled softly beneath his mask.

    Two down, two to go.

    Honestly, he couldn''t believe how long Nero and Anastasia had managed to survive against him. Even though he wasn''t using even a fraction of his true strength, he was going for the kill.

    He was actually trying to kill them with no hesitation.

    No first-year cadet should have been able to endure for so long against him, not even while he was holding back as he was now.

    ''Absurd... This is absurd.''

    Perhaps this was what true heaven-defying talent looked like.

    Observing Anastasia and Nero, he couldn''t help but feel a twinge of envy.

    If he had even a fraction of the talent that both of them had in his childhood, how much stronger would he be today?

    Heaven and Earth truly were unfair. Ah well, he had always known that fact.

    He genuinely felt a sense of pity as he prepared to snuff out the lives of such extraordinary cadets, but he had to do what he had to do.

    Besides, he needed to retrieve that ring from Nero. Not only did it contain the relics he was sent to recover, but the ring also served as a direct link to their organization.

    He couldn''t leave such valuable evidence behind.

    Unbeknownst to Leo''s thoughts, all Nero could think about at that moment was tearing out the heart of the man who had killed his friend.

    Tightening his grip on his bastard sword, Nero growled in a dangerously low tone, "Anastasia... Go all out."

    Anastasia was kneeling by Chase''s side. She heard her friend call out to her and rose with clenched fists, a simr violent rage as Nero''s stirring within her eyes.

    This was because of Chase''s condition ¨C he had a chunk of his lower jaw ripped out by the cloaked man''s kick.

    Currently, he was unconscious from the pain. Had Chase not intervened when he did, Anastasia''s head would have been severed.

    He was in this state because of her, so naturally, she was seething with fury toward the man responsible.

    Nero didn''t need to tell her to go all out¡­ She was already nning on it!

    Amidst the torrent of rainfall blocking the visibility like a thick curtain, Leo noticed a pair of bright golden eyes to his right.

    It was Anastasia. Her crystal-like golden eyes were gleaming brilliantly, almost resembling a pair of illuminating suns adorning her visage.

    Azure mana swirled around her fists, gradually turning golden, as if she held the radiance of the sun within her hands.

    Meanwhile, to his left, Leo saw a cascade of radiant light particles encircling Nero like a dazzling white ribbon.

    The light particles spun around the length of his sword, trapping it in a radiant glow akin to a solitary star in the darkest of nights.

    As Anastasia raised her hands and Nero drew back his sword, an inexplicable sensation washed over Leo.

    What kind of martial arts were these?

    Leo knew hundreds of weapons andbat arts. Most of the martial arts were built on the same foundation so all of them resembled one or the other to some extent.

    However, he had never seen anything like the techniques Anastasia and Nero were using right now.

    For some unknown reason, he couldn''t help but suddenly remember that strange Morningstar''s secret weapon art.

    But he had no more time to dwell on his thoughts as a streak of incandescent lightning arced across the darkened sky, illuminating everything beneath it.

    A resounding thunderp drowned out the world soon after, and as if on cue, both Nero and Anastasia charged forward toward their enemy.

    Nero was the first to close in on Leo.

    As soon as he stepped within the striking range, he initiated his attack without any hesitation, pulling out all breaks.

    [16-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [Second Form: Tracing Horizon]

    Swoosh¡ª!!

    A brilliant white light shed in the surroundings as Nero''s sword moved at a speed that far surpassed normal human capabilities.

    But Leo was already on the move. He had crouched just in time, letting the glowing de slice through the air above him.

    Nero''s eyes widened in astonishment.

    That sh was executed nearly at the speed of light itself! It was the fastest attack he or any other human could deliver!

    How did this cloaked man dodge it?

    There was no time for Nero to continue thinking about it as Leo thrust his palm toward his sr plexus, aiming to shatter his mana core.

    Sensing the danger, Nero sidestepped in a swift motion and raised his sword over his head.

    [16-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [Third Form: Splitting Horizon]

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Once again, a dazzling sh of light washed over the area as Nero''s radiant de descended toward Leo''s neck, intent on severing his head like a vegetable on a chopping board.

    Yet, once more, Nero''s fervent de met nothing but air. Leo had already stopped his forward momentum and rolled to the side.

    This time, Nero managed to see it!

    The cloaked man had moved a fraction of a second before Nero had even initiated his downward sh ¨C before Nero had even attacked!

    No matter how fast Nero''s strikes were, the cloaked man was reacting just a split second faster!

    ...But it was fine.

    Because at this moment, the cloaked man was exactly where Nero had wanted him to be ¨C his eyes focused on him and his back facing Anastasia!

    Obviously, Leo was also aware of this.

    No matter how strong he was, Leo was only human. He only had two eyes and two arms. He simply couldn''t defend himself from two opposing directions.

    ...Or could he?

    As soon as Leo rolled away from Nero and sprang to his feet in a single fluid motion, Anastasia pounced at him from behind.

    [13-Steps Sun-Moon Martial Priest: Eclipse Bringer]

    [First Form: Moon Shattering Fist]

    She channeled all her momentum into her arm,unching a straight punch toward the cloaked man.

    Sensing the iing attack, Leo swiftly spun around and tilted his upper torso sideways.

    THWOOOM¡ª!!!

    Even beneath his cloak and mask, Leo could feel the wind whip past him as Anastasia''s glowing fist surged forward, leaving behind a golden sh.

    In fact, her punch broke the sound barrier, resulting in an annihting shockwave emanating from her strike.

    Leo''s eyes widened behind his mask. If he had been struck by that, he would have surely broken more than just a few bones.

    What monstrous strength this slender girl possessed! Just what kind of a freak was she?!

    From the side, Leo thrust his palm toward Anastasia, aiming to strike at her exposed ribs. However, the golden-eyed beauty was quick to react.

    She dropped to her knees into a crouching position andshed her leg forward in a sweeping motion.

    Leo hopped in the air, evading the low sweep. Yet in that moment, he sensed someone behind him.

    It was Nero.

    He was waiting for this very moment! His sword was enveloped in a blinding light as he prepared to unleash a deadly horizontal sh at the cloaked man, aiming to take his head off.

    Leo was currently in mid-air. He had no foothold so he couldn''t move to evade the attack, and to make matters worse, his back was turned to the swordsman.

    It was a very dreadful position to be in a life-or-death fight. Knowing this, Nero did not waste any time to carry out his swift horizontal sh.

    However, Leo had faced situations like this countless times before.

    He quickly twisted his body mid-air and thrust his right leg forward, immediately stopping Nero''s attack by kicking his sword arm''s elbow.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    Using the momentum, Leo twisted his body once more, extending out his other leg and delivering a forceful blow across Nero''s face beforending a single step away from him.

    Nero staggered sideways and slightly swayed, eyes widened as he kept struggling to maintain his bnce.

    But before Leo could capitalize on this opening, Anastasia lunged at him from behind. This time, Leo was prepared.

    Quickly spinning around, he seized Anastasia''s arm, deftly utilizing her own momentum against her, and flung her forward ¨C straight in Nero''s direction.

    "....?!" Anastasia nimblynded on the ground, rolling like a cat before facing Leo with a look of shock.

    Things had just gone from bad to worse.

    Now, both Nero and Anastasia were facing the cloaked man from the same direction.

    They had lost their advantage as Leo no longer needed to worry about his back. His full attention was focused solely on them.

    But before Leo could attack, Anastasiaunched toward him with dizzying speed, a of cracks appearing on the ground wherever she stepped.

    Leo''s eyes widened at her disy of speed as Anastasia appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

    Wasting no time, she threw a punch at Leo, her fist looking like a golden sh of light. The God of War was forced to take a step back, narrowly evading a direct hit.

    THWOOM¡ª!!!

    But once again, Anastasia''s punch shattered the sound barrier.

    The wind raged from the force of her attack, conjuring a storm that seemed to push back the deluge of rainfall in front of her, momentarily clearing the storm.

    A crushing shockwave rolled forth, hitting Leo and sending him flying several meters backward with no resistance.

    After crashing into the concrete road, Leo skidded for a few seconds beforeing to a halt and jumping to his feet instantly.

    ''What the hell?!'' Leo''s thoughts raced.

    He wasn''t even hit directly, yet the mere echo of Anastasia''s attack had sent him flying?!

    What sort of martial technique was this? What kind of formidable power was she using?

    Leo didn''t have time to think about this any further as he saw a radiant beam of light stretching toward the heavens in the distance.

    It was, once again, Nero.

    He was holding his sword over his head, a pir of brilliant white light erupting forth from it, stretching toward the thunderous clouds in the sky like an extension of his de.

    [16-Movement Sword Saint Style: Longsword Of Light]

    [Fourth Form: Heaven Piercing Sword]

    It looked like a single, radiant pir trying to hold up the heavens ¨C or a cruel obelisk ruthlessly trying to pierce them  ¨C burning with the ferocity of vaporizing the falling raindrops.

    Leo grumbled, "Ah, fuck it."

    He half-closed his eyes in sheer frustration as Nero brought down his sword, and the radiant column of light began to descend toward him.

    As the pir plummeted in a sweeping curve, for a moment it looked as if Nero''s de was cutting the raging storm in half.

    Exasperated, Leo crossed his arms over his head, bracing himself for the iing blow.

    KABOOOM¡ª!!

    The pir of white light crashed down on the road, instantly pulverizing everything it fell on.

 Chapter 364 God Of War [3]

    ?364  God Of War [3]

    The pir of light plummeted down, leaving sheer devastation in its wake ¨C reverberating tremors shook the ground, chunks of concrete were hurled in all directions, buildings were destroyed, parked vehicles obliterated, and clouds of dust and smoke surged forward.

    The drenching rainstorm had already obscured the visibility, but now, it was practically impossible to see anything on this street.

    It wasn''t until a few minutester when the howling storm winds cleared out the smoke and dust, the shes of lightning lit up this scene of utter destruction.

    Everything was in ruins, and amidst the deluge of heavy rainfall, something stirred a few steps away from Nero and Anastasia.

    It was the cloaked man. He was standing. His robes had jagged and burnt patches, but overall, he seemed unharmed.

    Nero''s face paled as he saw that. He had just unleashed a monumental pir of light capable of splitting a mountain in half on that man!

    Why was he still standing? His body should have been a mangled and charred mass of burned flesh at the very least!

    Unbeknownst to his thoughts, Leo had indeed taken some damage. He exhaled deeply and looked at his spasming hands.

    Tanking that attack had taken a toll on Leo.

    Although he hadn''t used Symphony or any of his other main weapon arts, Leo''s mana core was still at the tinum rank.

    Logically speaking, both his defense and offense should be above that of Anastasia and Nero.

    Yet somehow, they had managed to momentarily push him back.

    And both of them were disying a degree of mana output that should have been impossible for someone with their mana core ranks.

    Thest attack Nero had unleashed and the devastating force behind Anastasia''s punches were sheer madness!

    No one at the Silver or even Gold mana core ranks should have been capable of delivering such a level of offensive power.

    And to top it all off, the synergy between their strange techniques was just perfect. It was as if these two were designed to work with each other.

    While Nero was destructive and swift, it was Anastasia who impressed Leo the most. Not only was she precise, but she was also more agile and ruthless than her friend.

    Leo was genuinely amazed by her. He always knew she was hiding something, but he had never imagined she wielded this much power.

    For a brief moment, Leo was tempted to just use Symphony to quickly kill them both with a mere flicker of his finger.

    The street waspletely deserted, and all security cameras were also destroyed. Even if a few remained operational, Leo doubted they could capture him clearly amidst the violent rainstorm.

    A smirk formed on Leo''s face.

    However, this was now starting to get fun.

    Shaking his head, Leo dismissed the idea of using Symphony.

    While their techniques were wless and worked perfectly with one another, Leo was confident about winning without going for the overkill.

    The powerhouse in this duo was the golden-eyed girl. She was stalling Leo and diverting his attention, allowing Nero to swiftly jump in for the finishing blow.

    Their strategy was good but it had a single fault. They didn''t have a defender for Anastasia.

    Despite this being Leo''s first time seeing them fight together, he sensed Nero and Anastasia needed a third member to truly push their limits.

    His n was simple: iste his opponents, prioritize killing Anastasia, and force Nero into a direct fight. Once in close range, Leo would quickly kill him after a few shes.

    However, there was a small problem.

    To execute his strategy, Leo needed a weapon. Without a weapon, this fight was bound to be dragged on for much longer.

    Anastasia only survived close-quarterbat against Leo because he didn''t have a weapon on him, and Nero''sst attack also managed to hit him for the same reason.

    In the military, there was a saying ¨C As long as Leo Kurogami had a de in his hand, not even the Gods could defeat him.

    So what was the problem? Well, Leo did not see any of this happening so he only brought four sets of weapons with him.

    Now, threey were destroyed, and his halberd was god knows where.

    Scanning the surroundings in search of his halberd, Leo''s gaze suddenly caught sight of a glimmering silver de.

    The de wasn''t part of his halberd. In fact, it wasn''t his weapon at all. It was Raymond''s long dagger¡ªa bowie, to be precise.

    All he had to do was get to it and¡ª!!

    Before Leo could finish his thought, a sudden burst of golden brilliance engulfed the area.

    Leo furrowed his brow and craned his neck to look upward.

    There in the sky, a pair of radiant orbs of light zed, illuminating the stormy night and vaporizing the raindrops like a pair of golden suns.

    The glow intensified by the second as Leo realized the two suns were closing in on him.

    Leo''s eyes widened as he moved away from the descending orbs of golden light.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!!

    Anastasianded on the spot Leo was standing a few seconds earlier, shattering the ground as a massive shockwave rippled through the area.

    The windows of the surrounding buildings were shattered while Leo used the surging shockwave to propel himself forward.

    He lunged in the direction of the dagger andnded on a roll before grabbing the bowie by its hilt.

    Behind him, Anastasia had already begun moving toward him. In a burst of blurring speed, she caught up to him within the blink of an eye.

    Without wasting any time, she stomped her foot on the ground, cracking the road under her feet as crevices appeared on the concrete from her mana pressure.

    After securing her footing, she clenched her right fist as it shone with even more golden brilliance, and whipped her right arm forward, throwing a right hook with all her might.

    It looked as if her fist was encased inside an incandescent sun. Leo could physically feel the scorching heat and the turbulent wind around her fist as it closed in on him from his left like a golden orb of light.

    Leo ducked by bending his knees at thest possible moment. The mere swing of Anastasia''s arm broke the sound barrier once again and created a sonic boom.

    Once more, a crushing shockwave surged forth and it looked like the rainstorm itself was momentarily cleared.

    Even though Leo wasn''t hit by either her punch or the shockwave that followed, he could feel the tremors in the air.

    Anastasia acted quickly and retracted her right arm before swiftly bringing her left fist down on Leo.

    "Tsk," Leo clicked his tongue and quickly sidestepped in an attempt to avoid the attack.

    Anastasia''s punch connected with nothing but air, creating another sonic boom. This time, Leo took the lead and went on the offensive.

    He stepped closer to the golden-eyed beauty and thrust his dagger at her face, intent on splitting open her skull.

    Anastasia''s eyes widened as she reacted in time to tilt her head and avoid the cloaked man''s silver de. However¡­ the attack never came!

    Leo abruptly halted his thrust, releasing the dagger from his grasp, only to catch it again with his other hand positioned at his waist level.

    Before Anastasia could react, Leo shot his hand forward and plunged the silver de of his dagger into her upper torso, piercing her lungs.

    "Khuaaa!" Anastasia''s pupils constricted and an agonizing yelp escaped her lips as an organ-rending pain assaulted her body.

    Nero shouted her name in the background and recklessly rushed at them, wanting to get Leo away from her.

    But it was already toote and the damage was done. Leo twisted the dagger and then dislodged it from her body.

    Anastasia gasped once again before she lost the strength in her knees. She buckled to the ground and fell face-first on the hard concrete.

    Suddenly, she felt cold, unbearably so. It was chilly¡­ the warmth was draining out from the stab wound on her upper torso.

    It was getting hard for her to breathe¡­ Had she already stopped breathing? It was getting dark.

    The pouring rain was painful. Each drop of water that fell on her from the sky felt like small pebbles hitting her at top speed.

    Tak¡­ Tak¡­ Tak¡­

    The sound of rain itself was also painful, it felt as if her eardrums were about to burst open.

    Thankfully, before lightning shed and thunder followed, the darkness got to get¡­ And oh, it was so warm andforting.

    The blinding light around her fists faded as Anastasia loosened her clenched palms, simultaneously, the bright golden glow in her eyes also dulled and the spark of life in them slowly started to extinguish.

    Leo indifferently looked at the fallen girl, the crimson blood seeping out from her wound and mixing in with the rain.

    He then turned his attention to Nero, who had used this time to dash in on him and was now just a few inches away from him.

    There was a glint of uncontroble and downright maniacal anger in Nero''s eyes¡­ It was almost as if he was on the verge of losing his sanity from wild, rabid rage.

    Leo casually turned sideways to face him in a head-on sh as Nero swung his sword at him.

    The world, at that moment, turned static.

    Everything stopped.

    The raindrops froze in the air and the arc of thunderous lightning shing in the air also stopped.

    Only the de of Nero''s sword, which was enveloped in a bright azure glow, moved at a speed almostparable to a sh of light.

    His de cut through the drops of water frozen in the air and made an arc in the air, nearing Leo''s neck.

    ng¡ª!!

    But before Nero''s sword could cut off Leo''s head, the God of War moved and parried the attack with his dagger.

    Nero couldn''t help but gasp in surprise. A of cracks appeared on his azure de and in the next moment¡­

    Thak¡ª!!

    It snapped.

    His sword broke.

    "....?!" Nero staggered sideways, carried by his momentum.

    But before he could do anything, Leo brought his dagger up in one fluid motion and thrust it toward Nero''s chest.

    Nero blocked the attack in time by letting the de pierce his left arm. Leo clicked his tongue again and thrust his free palm into Nero''s abdomen.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    Nero reeled back by the force of that palm thrust, it felt as if he was hit by a speeding truck.

    Before he couldpose himself, Leo stepped in and whipped his right leg up, performing a wless front snap kick.

    Nero once again reacted at the speed of lightning and crossed his arms below his chin to block Leo''s kick.

    Thwack¡ª!!!

    Although he managed to block the attack once again, Nero was thrown into the air by the force that Leo''s kick carried.

    "Khuu!" Nero winced in pain as his whole world flipped, right now he was facing the ck clouded sky while falling down.

    Gritting his teeth, a grimace appeared on his face. In mid-air, Nero mustered all his remaining strength and performed a backflip.

    Getting into a straight position, he extended out his uninjured left hand and unleashed his Gift.

    This was it. He didn''t want to do this but he had no choice left. He was going to kill this guy no matter what!

    Whips of mes ignited around Nero''s stretched hand and suddenly a crimson-red sword appeared in his grip.

    He gracefullynded on the ground as the whips of mes around his arm started to stir up and churn.

    The once red mes around his arm and sword turned purple then changed to blue before finally turning white. Finally, the white mes began to crackle and turned into sparks of electricity.

    "You''re dead," Nero growled at the cloaked man and gripped his sword harder.

    In the next moment, Nero''s whole body was lit up with sparks of electricity as he slightly bent his knees and rushed at Leo at the speed of lightning, swinging his sword at him.

    Leo deflected the blow and pushed Nero back. Nero, on the other hand, once again moved at the speed of lightning, leaving trails of electricity behind.

    Leo once again parried the attack and pushed Nero back before he attacked from another angle, then again, then again.

    If one were to look from the sidelines, it almost appeared as if strikes of lightning were hitting Leo from all directions while he was swatting them away with just his dagger.

    For the final time, Nero let the charge build-up around him and dashed at Leo at a speed iprehensible to the human eye.

    But once again, Leo reacted just in time. He parried Nero''s attack with an upward swing and sent him flying skyward.

    Thwooom¡ª!!

    Nero gritted his teeth as he was thrown up in the air. But that was fine. He could use this!

    In the sky, amidst thunderous roars, several bolts of lightning shed¡­ before unusually converging toward Nero, or more precisely, toward his sword.

    After converging around him, the bolts of lightning twisted and turned, taking the shape of a giant winged creature.

    It looked as if a colossal dragon made of lightning was appearing from behind the dark, stormy clouds.

    Leo''s lips curled up into a smirk. God damn! What was this power?!

    This boy was just a first-year, but he was using the kind of magic that even the most experienced soldiers would have trouble pulling off.

    The majestic lightning dragon opened its giant maw and let out a thunderous roar capable of shaking the heavens.

    It stretched out its wings before turning its head down at the mortal standing on the ground, facing the majestic creature of lightning without a speck of fear on his confident face.

    After all, what reason would a God have to be scared of a mere dragon?

    The lightning dragon once again opened its maw and descended on Leo, intending to devour him.

    At the edge of its maw, enveloped by its lightning, was Nero. He had his sword pulled back, ready to unleash one final strike.

    Leo''s smirk widened into a grin and he gripped his dagger tighter¡­ and thrust it up at the lightning dagger as soon as it entered his weapon''s reach.

    ?

    As soon as the dragon hit the ground, an apocalyptic lightning explosion spawned almost instantly, followed by a loud and world-ending thunderstorm.

    At the eye of the thunderstorm, a man whose face was covered with a metal mask stood proudly.

    The cloak draped around his body before was now in burnt rags, leaving his toned muscles exposed to the world.

    His red hair was also flowing down to his shoulders, fluttering with the raging storm around them.

    He was using his right hand to grab a ck-haired young man by his neck and had him lifted in the air.

    Meanwhile, his left hand was grabbing the hilt of a silver dagger that was plunged into the young man''s chest, piercing his aorta.

    Nero was on the brink of losing consciousness. His eyes were already closing and his vision was also darkened.

    Leo pulled out his knife, removed his hand from Nero''s neck, and let him fall to the ground with a thud.

    He then let out a deep breath. This was fun.

    Though, he should confirm his kill. As he thought that, Leo moved to pierce Nero''s skull.

    However, before he could do that, he felt his earpiece buzzing. Sighting, Leo tapped on it and spoke, "Selena, I''m a bit busy here."

    [Yes, I know] ¨C the reply came from the other side of the call. [Stop ying with kids, I need you to get our squad out of there.]

    Leo frowned. "Kids?! Excuse me? I want you toe here and try fighting them! These hellspawns might as well just apply for the military right now because they surely don''t need training."

    [Leo!] ¨C Selena yelled from the other side, redirecting Leo''s attention back to the matters at hand. [I have info. Police are going to be at your location in a few minutes. Get! Out! Of! There! Now!]

    Leo sighed again. "Fine, let me recover the relics, I''ll get the squad out. Also, one of our guys¨C"

    [Yes, I know. We are exposed. You did good by trying to silence the crowd, but a noble still managed to escape. Our cover is blown.]

    "Fuck," Leo cursed. So one of the nobles did manage to escape in the end, huh?

    That meant all of those deaths were for nothing¡­

    [Leo, I know what''s going on in your mind, but for now, focus on the mission! Okay?! I just¡­ juste back to me, okay?]

    Taking a deep breath, Leo nodded and tapped on his earpiece to disconnect the call before saying, "Okay."

    He sighed once again and cast a look at the young man lying at his feet.

    He then looked at others with a somber gaze before turning around and leaving the scene like a passing breeze that was never there.

    He didn''t need to kill them now that the Spider was already going to be pulled out of the shadows, but he didn''t know whether these kids would survive either.

 Chapter 365 Broken Dream [1]

    Chapter 365 Broken Dream [1]

    ?365  Broken Dream [1]

    Pain.

    Pain.

    He was in so much pain.

    The world was dark, and while he couldn''t see or even feel his surroundings, he was in searing agony.

    It felt as if someone had thrown his heart, if he had one, into a grinder judging by the organ-rending pain wrenching his chest.

    His whole body was cold and felt heavy as if he was lying under a thousand corpses¡­ corpses of friends he couldn''t save.

    Suddenly, he fluttered open his eyes.

    He saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Only after looking around did he notice that he was in a hospital room.

    He was dressed in a bleak blue patient robe and several medical machines were monitoring his vitals.

    He saw people sitting around him, their faces lighting up with relieved and joyous smiles upon seeing him wake up.

    They opened their mouths to greet him but he couldn''tprehend their words.

    These people seemed familiar but¡­ he had no recollection of ever meeting them.

    Thest thing he remembered was¡­ war.

    He was fighting a war against invaders¡­ against the Dragon God.

    His friends and everyone in his world thought that his would be the de that would finally sever the Dragon God''s head.

    They thought he would be the hero who would free them from the Dragon God''s tyranny.

    But¡­ in the end, he couldn''t save anyone.

    Not his lovers, not his friends, not his master, not even the innocent whom he has sworn to protect¡­

    In the end, he failed.

    He fell to his knees in the middle of the battlefield and wept for a long time. All around him, hisradesy dead.

    After a long time, he picked up a de from the dead body of one of the soldiers under hismand, and slit his throat.

    But then, why was he still alive?! Was this¡­ Did he go back in time¨C

    "Arghh!"

    Before he could strain his mind any further, a searing pain tore through his skull.

    It felt as if his head was ced on an anvil, and a passionate cksmith was pounding it mercilessly for over an hour.

    A cry of agony escaped his mouth, causing the faces of his friends to contort with worry.

    Then, a soothing voice, akin to that of an angel, reached him.

    "Nero, are you alright?" It was Anastasia, her gentle hand resting on his shoulder, her concern evident.

    A deep frown of absolute confusion wrinkled Nero''s forehead as he looked around, puzzled and slightly disoriented.

    "That dream¡­" he managed to utter in a trembling voice. "Was it a dream?"

    Anastasia also frowned, mirroring Nero''s confusion. "I don''t understand what you''re talking about, Nero. What was a dream?"

    "I¡­" Nero''s hand went to the side of his head, clutching a few strands of his hair. "I don''t¡­ I can''t remember."

    What did he see? Something about the Dragon God? He couldn''t recall for the life of him. Everything just¡­ vanished in a sh.

    While lost in thought, he noticed that a swathe of white bandages were covering Anastasia''s injuries under her patient robes.

    Suddenly, his mind shifted to more urgent matters.

    "Are you okay?" Nero asked, the pulsating ache in his heart surging once more.

    Grimacing, he grunted and nced down at his own body, only to discover it in a state simr, if not worse, than Anastasia''s.

    Trying to sit up straight, he let out a sharp cry, toppling back onto the bed as his head sank into the soft pillow.

    "I''m fine," Anastasia offered a worried smile. "But you should be worrying about yourself. You were unconscious for seven days. You have no idea how close to death you were."

    Just then, Chase approached Nero''s bed from the opposite side. He shot a re at Anastasia standing opposite to him and said, "You are one to talk."

    His voice was hoarse and slightly uneven.

    Judging by therge patch of bandage across most of his lower jaw, he was still not fully recovered.

    Despite the slight stinging pain, Chase continued ring at Anastasia and said, "You were dead for a few seconds straight! The doctors and healers had given up on you!"

    Anastasia nonchntly shrugged. "I''m a tough girl."

    Chase''s outburst was immediate. "Idiot is what you are!"

    Anastasia blinked, taken aback a little. She had never seen Chase so aggressive, not at least toward her.

    And sure enough, in the next moment, Chase lowered his head like a puppy, his tone turning apologetic. "S-Sorry."

    Without raising his gaze, he added, "I just think both of you should''ve run."

    "It would''ve been futile," Nero shook his head. "That cloaked man¡­ He was just too strong. He would''ve killed us the moment we had turned our backs to him."

    "I think my attacks could have hurt him if even one of them hadnded," Anastasia chimed in. "But he was simply too fast."

    "It wasn''t just about speed¡­ It was about battle experience," Nero swiftly retorted. "When I shed des with him, I had the exact same feeling I have while sparring with my master."

    The hospital room seemed to grow heavier as Nero took a brief pause.

    "...The feeling of utter helplessness," he finally added. "Not only that, I could also tell that he was holding back."

    "Oh,e on!" Chase interjected. "I get it, he was strong, but there''s no way he was holding back!"

    "No," Anastasia chimed in, shaking her head. "Nero''s right. I could see it... all his movements... all his weapon arts... It felt like he was restraining himself to way less than his usual fighting."

    "What does that mean?" Chase questioned.

    Nero let out a sigh. "We don''t know. I''m even surprised we survived. No, actually, we did not. I''m pretty sure he spared us for God knows what reason."

    "...I-I think I know," Chase jumped in.

    He was the first to wake uppared to Anastasia, who woke up ereyesterday, and Nero, who just regained consciousness a few minutes ago.

    Naturally, he was the first among them to catch up with the news.

    "The word is, those people belonged to a covert organization known as Spider," Chase said.

    Anastasia frowned. "Spider? Is it real? I thought it was just a rumor. What''s that word... oh, a conspiracy!"

    Nero shared in on her confusion. "Yeah, how are you so sure, Chase?"

    Chase swept back his long brown bangs and replied, "It''s all over the news. The Military Police captured one of those guys, and he spilled everything after a bit of torture."

    "They managed to capture one?" Nero asked, sounding doubtful.

    "Yeah," Chase nodded. "Well, more like he was abandoned by hisrades on the spot for blowing off their cover."

    "I see," Nero nodded slowly in understanding. "So we were spared because killing us would''ve meant nothing."

    Once again, the room was plunged into a heavy silence.

    Right then, Anastasia decided to change the topic. "Well, whatever the case may be, I think we should be thankful to Quinn and Grace. We would''ve bled to death if not for them."

    What followed after was total silence once again.

    Nero slowly twirled his head toward Anastasia, giving her a questioning look as a deep frown appeared on his face.

    "Uh, what?" He asked.

    Anastasia blinked a couple of times and then pped her hands together as if she had just remembered something she forgot to mention.

    "Right!" She said, slightly turning to the side and pointing at the sofa at the end of the room.

    There, blending perfectly in the shadows, a young man with deep ck eyes and raven ck hair sat cross-legged, as if he owned the room and everyone in it.

    The shadows grew lighter as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, revealing his perfectly tanned face.

    "You nerds done talking?" Quinn said, his eyes half-closed as if he had no interest in anything around him.

    "H-How long has he been sitting there?!" Nero asked, startled.

    "Since the start, dipshit," Quinn rolled his eyes and stood up. He ced his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walked toward the bed. "I''ve been here for seven fucking days."

 Chapter 366 Unexpected Visitors

    Chapter 366 Unexpected Visitors

    ?366  Unexpected Visitors

    "Uh, what?! Seven days?!" Nero widened his eyes, unsure of how to react.

    "Yes," Quinn sighed. As he walked into the light, the baggy dark circles under his eyes became visible. "I haven''t slept a wink!"

    "Wh-Why?" Nero asked.

    "I was told to keep a close eye on you and protect you in case something unexpected were to happen," Quinn responded in an even tone.

    "Told by who?!" Chase was the one who asked this question, his tone filled with frustration. "I''ve been hearing this since day one! But you still refuse to tell us who was the one who asked you for this!"

    "Oh, no," Quinn shook his head. "I don''t have a problem telling anyone else. But I refuse to answer someone like you."

    "S-Some¡­ Huh?! What do you mean someone like me!" Chase erupted, his face turning red.

    Not minding him or the ruckus he was creating, Nero left Anastasia to handle him and asked Quinn a question, "Who?"

    "Lucas," Quinn shrugged. "He sent me¨C I mean, us¡­ He sent us here. He also asked us to bring along a healer when we visit you above the auction hall."

    Anastasia chipped in. "It''s because we were given immediate treatment by the healer they brought along that we barely survived long enough to reach the hospital in time."

    Chase calmed down when he was reminded of that. Indeed, all three of them were only alive because of Quinn and Grace¡­ and Lucas?

    Wait a minute¡­

    Wait just a damn minute¡­

    "Wait, why did Lucas ask you both to bring along a healer? Did he know what would happen?!" Chase eximed.

    Quinn clicked his tongue in annoyance. He shot a quick nce at Chase and answered in an exasperated tone, "Just how would I know that?! I was asked to save you all if you were dying and keep an eye on Nero and Anastasia."

    The side of Chase''s eye twitched. So he wasn''t on the priority list?! Wow! Shaking his head, he used, "I know, I think he is secretly working for Spider! We should go report him to the police!"

    Everyone in the room except Nero turned to look at him with a deadpan expression before Quinn spoke up:

    "Are you dumb? If he was working for Spider as you say, then why would he ask me to save you all."

    "...." Chase remained silent for a while before coughing awkwardly.

    Meanwhile, Nero was in deep thought.

    Yes, even he was intrigued to know how Lucas knew about what was going to happen.

    He said he would send him people to take the Petal Of Ambrosia from Nero since it would be needed to brew a potion that could cure his master.

    So these were his people? He never knew Lucas was friends with Quinn and Grace¡­ Wait, was he even friends with them?

    None of them seemed like the people he would keep in his hangout group. Wait, did he even have anyone in his hangout group aside from Kent?!

    Shaking his head, Nero pulled himself out of his trail of thoughts and regarded Quinn with a cautious look.

    He had met Quinn a few times in the academy, but after the Mock War, both of them never really interacted much.

    There was no need and he always felt a twinge of hostility from Quinn. Well, to be honest, he was a little feral. He was hostile toward everyone!

    How did Lucas manage to befriend someone like him, if he even did?

    "So, I guess you are here for the Petals?" Nero asked.

    "Yes," Quinn immediately replied. "Thank god, I didn''t need to exin all that to you. Now, hand me over the petals so I can get the fuck out of here. Do you even know how nd hospital food is?!"

    Nero blinked a couple of times. "I¡­ No, I just woke up."

    "....." Quinn stared at Nero in silence for a few seconds before rolling his eyes with a deep sigh. "It was obviously a rhetorical question."

    Right then, the door to the room twirled open with a squeak, and a stunning blonde stormed in.

    It was Grace Goodwill. Despite the in clothes she was wearing ¨C a ck capri and a pink crop top ¨C to blend in with the crowd, she looked absolutely arresting.

    She carried a regal air with her, effortlessly conveying her high status without needing any introduction.

    Her long blonde hair flowed down to her slender waist, ending in curls, swaying with every step she took. In her hands, she carried arge tray filled with food.

    Upon entering the room, her eyes darted toward the patient''s bed. Seeing that Nero had woken up, her eyebrow shot up in surprise.

    "The king is awake," shemented.

    "I''m¡­ not¡­ yet," Nero squinted his eyes. He couldn''t put a finger on it, but for some reason, Grace seemed different.

    Previously, it felt like she was wearing a mask to hide her true self. But now, even though they hadn''t spoken, he could sense that she had changed somehow.

    Quinn, meanwhile, frowned upon seeing the food te and asked, "How could you even eat all that?"

    Grace turned to Quinn, her face nk. She shrugged nonchntly and replied, "Well, it''s food."

    The frown on Quinn''s face deepened into a scowl upon hearing that dumb answer.

    "Huh?! Aren''t you supposed to be an elite? A noble? Shouldn''t your pte be... more... I don''t know, fancy? How can you eat that garbage!"

    Grace continued to stare at Quinn, her expression still nk, before repeating herself as if it were a sufficient answer. "It''s food!"

    Quinn held Grace''s gaze. He didn''t know if she was truly a noble, since her manner of speaking was that of a slum rat discovering edible food for the first time.

    And people call him the weird one.

    He then shook his head and turned to Nero, extending his hand as if demanding something to be handed over.

    "Anyway," he said. "Give us the Petals. I''m getting out of here."

 Chapter 367 Birthday [1]

    Chapter 367 Birthday [1]

    It''s been a month since the ''incident.''

    Spider is now officially recognized as a threat since the Central Government has acknowledged its presence in front of the media.

    After all, the deaths of several police officers couldn''t be overlooked. Besides, the authorities had concrete proof of Spider''s existence.

    One of their own members confessed after enduring three days of continuous torture.

    I was also briefed about the sh between the main characters and my master by my trusted allies, Quinn and Grace.

    I repaired my Smart Bracelet by using my Edit Pen and went out of the Sect for a day to ess the inte and chat with them.

    I knew something like that could happen long before I even left the academy. So on the day I gave Quinn and Grace the task of retrieving the Petals of Ambrosia from Nero, I also asked them to take a healer along with them when they go.

    Of course, I wasn''t concerned about Nero and Anastasia. Both of them were main characters, after all. Even Chase was an important character.

    All three of them had insane amounts of plot armor.

    And once again, I was proven right. This time, their plot armor happened to be none other than me.

    Quinn informed me how the three of them were at death''s door. Anastasia even died for a few seconds.

    Had I not told Quinn and Grace to bring a healer with them on their way to meet the trio, all three of them would''ve died there.

    If I''m beingpletely honest here, I didn''t expect their battle to conclude like that at all.

    I know Leo is one of the strongest warriors to ever walk the face of Earth, but when he returned to Mount Hua, I couldn''t spot a single wound on his body.

    I, at the very least, expected Nero to deal one rtively fatal strike to Leo.

    Since Leo was there as a member of Spider, I knew he couldn''t have used either of his strongest techniques, Symphony, or even his array of powerful relics.

    Without his insanely broken techniques, secret art, and weapons, Leo is essentially just a man with a tinum rank mana core.

    I''m also certain that Anastasia and Nero must have gone all out.

    Anastasia would have employed Eclipse Bringer, and Nero should have unleashed the Longsword of Light.

    No, actually, considering Nero''s personality and the severity of their defeat, I believe he would have also resorted to unleashing his Gift.

    There was a report of a thunder explosion in the heart of Iron Hand City that day. It was also raining there that day. I guess he used the Fire Heavenly sword to use the Lightning element.

    So, even after using nature to give himself a strategic advantage, he still failed to even scratch Leo? He still lost so severely?

    I can''t decide who''s more broken.

    Is it Leo, who easily thwarted all the attacks that could have very effortlessly crushed any tinum or even Diamond rank warrior?

    Or maybe it''s Nero, who survived against such a monstrous opponent for as long as he did.

    ...You know what? Maybe it''s both of them.

    Yeah, both of them areplete monsters.

    Anyway, aftering back to the Sect, Leo started training me alongside Ifa.

    From early morning tillte noon, I train with my master. Then he would hand me over to Grandmaster, and I would train once again untilte evening.

    Life has be a literal hell. I don''t even get as many breaks as I used to during the start of training.

    Dark circles have once again appeared under my eyes. It''s difficult to even stay awake and walk straight these days.

    On the bright side, I can see the progress.

    My swordsmanship has improved, and Ifa is finally about to start teaching me some sword art.

    My physique has also been developing to Ifa''s satisfaction.

    ording to him, I''m appearing more ''manly'' these days, although still too delicate¡­ whatever that means.

    On a side note, my master came to me one random day and asked me to show him the Dawnbreaker.

    I tried telling him that I only knew the first form of the Dawnbreaker, and even that was iplete. Despite that, he asked me to show it to him regardless.

    After I finally did, a sharp glint of understanding flickered in his eyes as he nodded and left.

    It was strange, but I suppose that was the end of it.

    Right now, the evening had settled in.

    The radiant sun hung low on the distant horizon, blurring the line between the sky and earth.

    The sky itself was painted in myriad shades of orange as the evening sunlight filtered through the ss window of the training hall.

    Inside the hall, I was engrossed in training with Trish.

    Ifa was observing by the sidelines, a bright smile tugging on his face. I couldn''t even begin to fathom what was going on in his deranged mind.

    Trish and I had been sparring for weeks now, and it was clear that both of us were making rapid progress.

    She loathed losing, and I detested not winning. She enjoyed fighting, and I had to admit, I did too.

    In a strange way, we both worked well together.

    To outdo one another, both of us had to put in a considerable amount of effort in honing our techniques.

    Today seemed to be one of those days where Trish was pushing me back. Good for her. She had been constantly losing for the past three days.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    I knelt to the ground, dodging a swift sh by allowing her wooden de to pass harmlessly over my head.

    Quickly rising from my crouched position, I lunged forward, thrusting my de.

    But Trish deftly whipped her leg up, striking the end of my de. The training sword jerked from my grasp and spiraled into the air.

    Before it could even fall and touch the ground, Trish''s wooden de found its way to my neck.

    "Nice try, Morningstar," Trish remarked, a dangerously beautiful smile adorning her cheerful face.

    A simr bright smile spread across my face. "You know I let you win, right?"

    Trish chuckled, pulling back her de from my neck. "No, but I know you''re a sore loser."

    I gasped yfully. "How dare you, Lady Zenith? I only ever cried once after losing to you."

    Trish erupted into another fit ofughter, picking up my sword and putting it away with hers.

    Meanwhile, the smile on the old man''s face turned into a grin as he listened in on our casual banter.

    After a while, he walked up to us and dered, "Okay, you two, enough training for today. Dismiss."

    As soon as he said that, it seemed he remembered something and added, "Oh, and Lucas, your master and I have some Sect business to attend. We apologize and promise to throw you a party tomorrow."

    "Hmm?" A frown etched itself onto my face as I asked, "What party?"

    Trish quickly interjected, "Grandpa! It was supposed to be a surprise party!"

    "Yes," the old man nodded. "And we''ll give him a surprise tomorrow."

    "....."

    "....."

    Trish appeared dumbfounded, and so did I, albeit for entirely different reasons.

    "Wait," I chipped in. "I don''t understand. Why? What''s happening?"

    Trish sighed and turned to me, a mix of helpless and guilty expressions on her face.

    "Your... bir... Your birthday party," she said meekly.

    I blinked in confusion before my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Right, today was the twenty-eighth of November! It was my birthday!

    Since my smart bracelet was broken and I don''t use a physical calendar, Ipletely forgot about my birthday!

    "So that''s why Master Leo was grinning so much today!" I pped my hands together as if suddenly understanding something. "I knew he was up to something!"

    "Yes," Ifa nodded. "He was really looking forward to surprising you. But now he''s bummed since he can''t do that."

    A! Poor him.

    "Anyway," the old man said, turning around and making his way out of the training hall. "I should get going. Close the training hall after me."

    He then nced over his shoulder and gave us both a mischievous grin. "Oh, and no funny business, you two."

    I frowned. "Huh?!"

    "Grandpa!" Trish eximed, her face turning red.

    As Ifa exited the training hall with a heartyugh, Trish let out a sigh and turned to face me once again.

    Fidgeting with her fingers, she said, "So... Do you want to celebrate your birthday with just me? If¡­ If it''s fine with you!"

    Honestly, I wanted to sleep.

    But even I wasn''t heartless enough to turn down such a prettydy when she herself asked to celebrate my birthday.

    Probably she just felt bad and didn''t want me to be alone on my neenth birthday. So thoughtful.

    I shrugged. "Sure."

 Chapter 368 Birthday [2]\

    Chapter 368 Birthday [2]

    After locking away the Training Hall, I let myself be led by Trish. She took me to the edge of the Sect.

    From there, we swiftly jumped over the Sect walls and snuck out of Mount Hua without anyone noticing.

    After escaping into the cold expanse of the snowy mountains and leaving the scent of spring back at Mount Hua, we trekked for a while.

    After around an hour or so of continuous yet enjoyable trekking, we arrived at the crest of a tall hill.

    Since this hill was part of another big mountain, at the top, we could see a long fissure running along the slope of the bigger mountain.

    It was a cave.

    And outside that cave was¡­ camping material ¨C cots, electric grill, camp lights, a folding table, and a lot of other simr stuff.

    A surprise smile blossomed on my face as I asked, "What¡­ is this ce?"

    Trish smiled before answering with a slight shrug, "My hideout."

    She then took out a number of raw food ingredients ¨C cheese, veggies, hams, and buns ¨C before cing it all on the folding table and starting the grill.

    Under the fervent glow of the moonlight, we chit-chatted and made hamburgers.

    Nothing fancy, but they were more delicious than any other meal I ever had in this world, maybe it felt like that because I was really hungry.

    Also, it felt strangely good to have a smoky hot meal in the midst of biting cold with suchfort.

    By the time we finished grilling and eating, it was midnight.

    We fell back on the cots and continued to talk for a while more, gazing at the radiant stars lighting up the dark canvas of the night sky.

    It was a memorable neenth birthday.

    I remember myst neenth birthday as Noah. It was a disaster. Compared to that, this one was much better.

    "So," Trish fidgeted with her fingers and turned to me, her silver hair falling down on the snow from the edge of the cot. "Will you be going back to the Academy in March?"

    I nodded. "Right around the time for the final exam. I swear to god if I fail this year, I will cry."

    Trishughed, turning back to look at the stars above. "You''ll be just fine. Actually, the written exam won''t be that difficult."

    "I know," I nodded. "It will be the practical one that''s going to pose a challenge."

    Trish nodded back before a smug smile formed on her face. "I passed my practical in only two days."

    I half-lidded my eyes, suppressing an urge to roll them. "Yes, yes, you are great, Lady Zenith."

    Trish brought a hand to cover her mouth and chortled again. "But jokes aside, just be careful. As long as you''re cautious, you should be able to pass the test."

    I nodded. "I will, but shouldn''t you be worrying about yourself? After all, the second-year final exam is much more difficult."

    For the first-year practicals, the academy would throw every first-year cadet on an ind owned by them.

    The cadets would then have to work with their Units toplete the task given to them.

    What could the task be? Well,plete elimination of opponents, of course.

    Basically, it would be like a Battle Royale but on a much, much bigger scale since all the first-year cadets would be involved.

    Though it would be dangerous, at least the academy was going to closely supervise the cadets and monitor their activities.

    Yes, everyone was going to fight but the environment was made as possibly safe as it could be.

    However, the final exam given to the second-year cadets would be much more dire.

    Their task would be an official military matter based on the major they had chosen at the start of the year.

    It could be resolving a conflict, salvaging a problematic situation, or even downright political or private assassination.

    Yes, even killing other people was on the table. Of course, if killing was in the cards then getting killed was also a possibility.

    But all that was still manageable to some extent. The worst task a second-year could get was in any way rted to the border.

    Yes, even before graduating, the academy could send you to the border¡­ only for the duration of their exam, of course.

    Upon finishing whatever task they assign, you can return to the academy. However, it still is dangerous.

    Usually, border tasks are given to the model cadets ¨C the best of the best in their respective batches.

    "I''ll be fine," Trish shrugged.

    I turned my head to nce at her for a moment before looking back away at the starry sky.

    Wey there in silence for a moment before changing the topic and talking about different things ¨C how fucked up both our families were, for instance.

    That was a fun conversation. A real bonding moment. Also, I most definitely enjoyed bitching about my family on my birthday.

    Heh.

    ?

    It''s been a week since my birthday.

    Nothing particrly noteworthy happened during this time. Master threw me a party¡­ though he was still disappointed it wasn''t a surprise anymore.

    sses had resumed in the academy.

    I, of course, wouldn''t be returning until the very end of the semester.

    However, Leo had to shuttle back and forth between the academy and Mount Hua since he was still an instructor there.

    He said it wasn''t very tiring because of the Teleportation Gate, but it was still somewhat of a chore.

    By the way, Quinn and Grace paid me a visit. Since Quinn is in the Disciplinary Committee, he could use the Teleportation Gate.

    So once the academy resumed, they were able toe and see me.

    They handed me the Petals of Ambrosia, which I then used to craft a health potion with the help of my Edit Pen.

    Since I already had the key ingredient, I didn''t need to spend too many Edit Points. I used one to create the potion and kept the other Petal for myself.

    Afterward, I handed the potion to Quinn and Grace and asked them to securely deliver it to Nero.

    My task wasplete. I had kept my promise to him, and Nero had done the same.

    Now, I could give the other Petal of Ambrosia to E and gain her favor in the future whenever I feel like it.

    But I could also give it to Grace, who would then give it to E. By doing so, I could fix their friendship and earn Grace''s trust.

    Haa, there were too many ways to go about it.

    I was also almost tempted to keep the Petal for myself.

    The Petal of the Ambrosia flower was roughly the size of a regr rose petal.

    It emitted a gentle, pinkish glow.

    By merely holding it in my hands, I could easily sense the essence of robust vitality trapped within it.

    After all, it was the Petal of a flower that took five hundred springs to bloom. The sheer amount of mana and life essence that was trapped within it was outrageous.

    It was an item that even nobles found hard to acquire despite gatekeeping it from the general public.

    However, unfortunately or fortunately, I had no use for it.

 Chapter 369 Prince Vs. Prince

    Chapter 369 Prince Vs. Prince

    <nullb><nulli>Fwoosh¡ª!!

    Lucas evaded a dangerously fast sword sh by sidestepping. He then rolled on the ground and quickly sprang to his feet.

    It was enough time for his opponent to lunge at him from behind. His opponent was a young man with ashen hair and silken gray skin.

    He had a tall and robust figure with firm muscles rolling under his red and ck robes like boulders made of steel.

    He wielded a longsword that he deftly swung at Lucas''s right shoulder, aiming to chop his hand off.

    Lucas reacted with the speed of lightning and spun around on his feet, swirling his jian in a wide arc.

    Lucas'' sword intercepted the long de of his opponent, changing its trajectory just in time.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwaam¡ª!!

    His opponent''s longsword struck the spot on the ground beside Lucas, instantly cracking the concrete.

    With his hands and longsword out of the way, Lucas'' opponent had his entire front side left wide open, making him vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

    Of course, Lucas didn''t let go of this sweet opportunity. He quickly raised his leg and ruthlessly thrust it forward.

    The forceful front kicknded sharply on the robust young man''s sternum, causing him to slide backward. He then drove his sword into the concrete ground to kill the inertia ande to a stop.

    It had been six months since Lucas arrived at Mount Hua with Leo.

    Under Ifa Zenith''s harsh training, he had grown significantly.

    Lucas'' height had notably increased, and his physique had be more defined. In simpler words, he looked taller and more shredded.

    He still retained his slender yet toned figure, but his muscr build was now impossible to ignore even from under the red and ck robes of Mount Hua.

    Even his silver hair had grown so much, now falling down to his shoulder des.

    But despite his growth, Lucas'' opponent was still at least a whole foot taller than him, and unnaturally more muscr.

    Regardless of that, however, Lucas'' kick still managed to push him back, as if his massive frame and bulging muscles were just for show.

    The luminous sun hung in the center of the cloudless blue sky, illuminating the entire colosseum below.

    A gentle breeze, carrying the scent of spring, lifted Lucas'' shoulder-length silver hair forward, while the lower edge of his opponent''s robes fluttered backward.

    The robust young man clenched his teeth in a blinding rage. He red furiously at the silver-haired boy in front of him and spat, "I''ll kill you, Morningstar!"

    Lucas chuckled as if he had heard a joke after a long time.

    Raising his jian and pointing it at his opponent, he retorted to the threat, "At this point, you guys are just embarrassing yourselves. I''ll be generous and offer you a way out, Arnold. Grovel before me now, beg for mercy, and I will at least not break both your arms."

    The young man named Arnold widened his eyes, which were bloodshot-red from clear anger, and yelled, "Break my arms?! Now I will definitely kill you, brat!"

    As soon as those words left his lips, Arnold dislodged his sword from the ground and charged forward like a raging bull about to go on a murderous rampage.

    Right now, Lucas and Arnold were fighting a battle to submission in a dueling coliseum owned by Mount Hua.

    The whole audience stand was brimming with spectators. In fact, the entire venue was so crowded that people were short of seats and were standing around to look at the match.

    This was to be expected.

    After all, this match had been in the making for two months. Yes, for two long months, the people of Mount Hua had been eagerly anticipating this fight.

    No matter who they were - instructors or disciples - everyone was hyped for the face-off between Lucas and Alfa.

    Morningstar versus Zenith.

    Prince versus Prince.

    The backstory to this fight was rather simple and straightforward.

    In short, around the end ofst year, Alfa began causing trouble for Lucas. It started off as typical bullying and stuff.

    The reason was simple - he didn''t like the fact that Lucas was training with Trish.

    Now naturally, bullying someone as proud and narcissistic as Lucas was sure to yield consequences.

    Within a matter of days, Lucas began biting his poor bullies back and their n to subdue him backfired.

    Usually, anyone bold enough to challenge Alfa''s authority would have met with an <nullb><nulli>''unfortunate ident.''

    However, Lucas not only hailed from one of the four ruling houses but was also the direct disciple of Leo Kurogami and Ifa Zenith.

    To top it all off, the guy was ridiculously strong. His status and strength made it challenging to crush him.

    And as if that wasn''t enough, he had an unyielding spirit, so the so-called bullying and pathetic attempts at threats were not very effective against him.

    But Alfa Zenith was not one to back down either. After all, he was also very prideful like the certain silver-haired boy.

    Soon enough, fights started breaking out.

    On one side was Lucas while on the other side was Alfa and his whole gang.

    It was evident that Mount Hua wasn''t big enough for two princes, and a deadly sh was inevitable.

    In an attempt to defuse the situation before it escted into a full-blown bloodbath, the officials of Mount Hua cleverly suggested a way to settle the matter peacefully.

    Or¡­ at least as peacefully as a matter like this could be settled.

    They suggested a formal showdown in the dueling arena, before thousands of spectators.

    More than half of Mount Hua would be present there ¨C instructors, disciples, even some of the high-ranking officials and the Sect Leader, Selena Zenith.

    The loser would have to apologize to the victor, and they would vow to put this matter to rest in front of the Sect Leader.

    Naturally, Alfa, with his fox-like mind, added a condition to the match.

    He said that before fighting him, Lucas must first fight his subordinates.

    In his words, "Why should a Prince deign to fight an unworthy peasant?"

    So basically, by first fighting his group, Lucas was simply<nullb><nulli> ''proving his worth'' to ultimately face him.

    Lucas, of course, had no objections.

    Why would he?

    He would have the chance to publicly humiliate the bugs who dared to pester him and bask in the glory of conquering a weak opponent!

    The cheers and apuse he would get from the crowd¡­ Oh, it was everything he could have wished for~!

    Right now, Lucas had already defeated twelve out of thirteen of Alfa Zenith''sckeys.

    Once he defeated Arnold, he would have the right to beat the everliving fuck out of the Prince of Mount Hua himself!

 Chapter 370 Repercussions Of Power

    Chapter 370 Repercussions Of Power

    The coliseum was an oval-shaped structure.

    It was vast in size, rivaling that of mammoth sports stadiums, if not evenrger than them.

    In its center was the oval-shaped dueling ground of hard concrete floor, encircled by a multitude of seats that were brimming with the eager audience.

    Rows upon rows of seating were stacked on top of each other in the audience stands.

    The whole coliseum was overflowing with the electrifying crowd, cheerfully watching the ongoing fight on the dueling ground.

    Perched above the topmost row was a balcony that had seating arrangements for the esteemed VIP members.

    Basically, only Sect Officials and honored guests of the Sect could enter the VIP stand.

    Thankfully, because of that restriction, the VIP stand was not crowded at all. Right now, only two figures were visible there.

    One of them was a tall, lean man with neck-length crimson hair. A long scar was tracing its path down his cheek, but even this blemish couldn''t diminish his striking beauty.

    He was wearing a sleek ck silk shirt embellished with golden buttons and cufflinks, paired with matching pants, he exuded an air of refined elegance.

    Standing beside him was a woman of otherworldly beauty, her long silver hair flowing down to her slender waist like a shimmering cascade.

    Her wlessly pale face was adorned by a pair of mesmerizing eyes, capable of enchanting any who dared meet her gaze.

    She wore a delicate red and ck robe of Mount Hua that entuated her svelte figure and added an air of allure to her already arresting presence.

    Casually leaning against the boundary of the VIP stand, the woman intently stared down at the fight unfolding on the dueling ground below.

    After confirming something, Selena turned her gaze to Leo and said, "You know, your disciple is truly amazing."

    Leo chuckled in response. "Don''t say that to him, it''ll only fuel his already towering narcissism."

    Selena smiled while yfully rolling her eyes. "I think you should appreciate him more. It''s hard to get a good disciple, you know?"

    She then pointed toward the challengers Lucas defeated all on his own until now and said, "Just look at them. All of those trash dare to call themselves my disciple and they can''t even take down a single man."

    Alfa Zenith and his group were all disciples of the Sect Head, Selena Zenith. Apart from Arnold and Alfa, all of them were defeated now.

    Currently, they were standing back with either their heads dropped in shame or teeth gritted in pain.

    "Okay, firstly, I do appreciate him," Leo chuckled, countering herment. "And secondly, you never seriously teach any of your disciples."

    Selena shook her head and lifted a finger to emphasize her point. "Not true. I only teach those who are worthy. Take Alfa, for example."

    Leo doubtfully arched an eyebrow. "And you think he''s worthy?"

    "Don''t be so skeptical. Alfa has his ws and he may not be a good person, but trust me, the boy has enough talent to surpass me someday," Selena asserted.

    Leo shrugged casually. "If you say so. I still think Lucas can defeat him."

    Selena shook her head slowly. "No he can''t¡­ Not yet, at least."

    "He can, but he''ll have to use his armor relic," Leo argued.

    Selena quickly countered, "And that would not be considered a fair win."

    "Obviously," Leo conceded with another shrug. "But even I have to admit, some of these kids these days are just straight-up monsters."

    Selena''s expression turned solemn. "Is this about those two cadets from your academy that you fought a few months ago?"

    Leo nodded, a serious look in his eyes. "Yes, they''re both incredibly strong. And from here on out, they will only continue to grow. I still think we should try to recruit them."

    "Leo¡­ We''ve discussed this topic before," Selena said, reaching out to gently grab his arm. "These youngsters... They won''t understand our cause. No one ever will."

    Leo lowered his gaze, staring at the ground as he let out an audible sigh. "I see your point, but wouldn''t it be better to have strong allies on our side for once?"

    "We already have strong allies," Selena quickly countered.

    "Yes, I know, but I meant someone who could be a trump card. Someone whose mere presence could tip the scales of war," Leo rified.

    Selena slightly tilted her head and spoke up in a confused tone, "But we do have a trump card. It''s you. You are my trump card."

    Leo raised his gaze to meet Selena''s concerned eyes before sighing and turning away.

    Selena frowned as she brought her hands to his face and made him look back at her.

    "Leo," she murmured softly. "Talk to me. What''s going on with you?"

    Leo inhaled deeply. It seemed as if he was struggling with something.

    After a brief moment of hesitation, he finally decided to voice his mind.

    "I... my body... it''s deteriorating," he spoke with a heavy tone.

    A flicker of shock crossed Selena''s face. "What do you mean?"

    "...It''s the after-effect of using the imperfect Symphony," Leo rified. "The consequences of using a wed technique for so long are finally catching up to me. My mana core has begun to degrade. I can feel it¡­ I''m getting slower and my senses are slowly dulling. I''m not even moving like I used to unless I''m using the Symphony."

    Selena took a long breath, steeling herself.

    She always knew this would happen. In fact, she was actually surprised that it hadn''t happened sooner.

    In his younger days, Leo was consumed by the relentless pursuit of power.

    To ovee his arch-rival, Reynold Morningstar, Leo did everything he could.

    He learned forbidden arts, mastered hundreds of techniques, tailored his own unique battle style, and even studied the very existence of mana in depth.

    After countless years, Leo crafted a technique that granted him mastery over the ambient mana in the surroundings.

    It also allowed him to transcend the limits of his low-ranked mana core and be one with nature itself.

    Leo called it a mystical technique since it was in a ss of its own. It made him one of the strongest beings to have ever walked on this.

    But there was a price for this kind of power. In the early stages of its creation, the Symphony was wed. It was an imperfect technique.

    Every time Leo used the Symphony, it took a heavy toll on his body and soul. It felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside.

    It felt as if he was losing his soul a little bit each time he used it.

    With time and a lot of effort, Leo refined and perfected the Symphony. It didn''t take a toll on his body and soul when he used it anymore.

    However, by now the damage was already done.

    Selena always knew that the cost of using a broken technique would catch up with Leo in time. And now, the time was on him.

    "Haa," Leo sighed once again. "At best, I can only fight for five more years. Maybe even less if I continue to spam Symphony."

    Even though it didn''t take a toll on him, Leo''s mana core was still slowly bing incapable of maintaining the synchronized state of the Symphony.

    In time, his mana core will break. When that happens, he wouldn''t be able to sense the mana around him and activate the Symphony.

    Selena let out a deep exhale, her grip tightening on Leo''s hand as he spoke.

    "I don''t want to be the reason for your failure. I refuse to be your burden. Our cover is already blown. The Government finally has a lead on us after all this time. They''ll soon catch up to us, and an all-out war is impossible to avoid after that."

    Selena''s gaze was fixed on the intense fight happening down on the dueling ground as she shook her head and said:

    "Don''t worry about such stupid things. You''ll never be the reason for my failure. You''ll always be my pride. And five years is more than enough time. We will fasten our ns and take the fight to the Government rather than waiting for them toe to us."

    She paused briefly, locking eyes with Leo.

    For the first time, instead of arrogance and superiority in her eyes, Leo found¡­ a slight hint of vulnerability.

    "We will win. We have to for the sake of our world. I only ask one thing, Leo... stay by my side. If you''re with me, I know I won''t be defeated."

    The desperation in Selena''s voice made Leo nod long before he could even fully understand what he was agreeing to.

    Well, not that he would have declined her plea anyway.

    Back when he had no one to rely on, Selena was there for him.

    While at first their rtionship was only mutually beneficial and both of them were using each other, over time, he genuinely started caring for her.

    She may oftene off as prideful and arrogant, but behind that facade, Leo saw the real side of Selena ¨C a side that she hid from the world.

    She was clumsy and a bit of an airhead. She hated losing, whether it be in games or in real life. She disliked sour food down to her very being. She also liked to watch horror shows even though she could never handle the jumpscares.

    But above all, she was just a girl who had to make a lot of hard choices.

    In an instant, Leo replied, "Obviously. If you think you can win without me then you''re just delusional."

 Chapter 371 Turning Down The Challenge

    Chapter 371 Turning Down The Challenge

    <nullb><nulli>Thwoom¡ª!!

    Lucas dodged another strike from Arnold as his longsword hit the ground, shattering the concrete.

    The robust young man flexed his incredibly huge muscles and instantly lifted up his sword.

    In one fluid motion, Arnold took a firm step forward and unleashed a perfect downward sh.

    <nullb><nulli>Swoosh¡ª!!

    However, the de of his sword managed to cut nothing but air as Lucas slithered under his arm and circled around him.

    Before Arnold could even understand what had happened, Lucas had used his blurring speed to position himself behind the robust young man.

    Not giving Arnold a chance to catch a breath or turn around, Lucas swung his jian at the back of his knee.

    <nullb><nulli>Thann¡ª!!

    However, suddenly, Arnold''s body was enveloped in a thickyer of shimmering azure mana.

    As soon as Lucas'' de hit the back of Arnold''s knee, it rebounded and a loud metallic humm rang through the air.

    A jolt of pain coursed down Lucas'' arms as he felt like his de had struck a wall of steel instead of a man of flesh.

    Naturally, Lucas staggered back in shock before Arnold turned around and kicked him in the chest.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwack¡ª!!

    The force of the kick from that monstrous man sent Lucas sliding back a few meters before he came to a stop, swayed a little, and fell The force of the kick from that monstrous man sent Lucas sliding back a few meters before he came to a stop, swayed a little, and fell to one knee.

    "What the fuck?!" Lucas widened his eyes in utter shock. That attack of his should be strong enough to pulverize a boulder! Yet it couldn''t cut through Arnold''s flesh?!

    Lucas looked up and saw Arnold walking toward him with a wide grin on his face, his body still emitting a bright azure hue.

    "I''ve been honing my martial aura since I was fifteen, you fucker! You really think you can break through my defense with your pathetic attacks?!"

    Upon reaching in front of Lucas, Arnold lifted his longsword over his head.

    Instantly, ethereal plum blossoms emitting a bright pinkish glow bloomed on the edge of his sword.

    Pink petals swirled around his de as Arnold brought his sword down on the silver-haired boy in front of him.

    Lucas, still kneeling, hoisted his de up and intercepted the downward sh that aimed to split his skull open.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwaaam¡ª!!

    Lucas did manage to block the attack, but crevices on the concrete ground appeared beneath him from the crushing intensity of that attack.

    Pressing down on Lucas with his de, Arnold grinned and yelled: "This is where you belong, Morningstar! On your knees!"

    The strength he possessed was overwhelming. In all his experience, Lucas had onlye against one opponent who was as strong as Arnold.

    And that was Kai.

    Yes, this robust young man matched Kai in raw strength.

    But that was all. He neither had Kai''s cunning nor his sharp battle intellect. All he had going for him was his explosive strength.

    And force without guidance falls under its own weight.

    Gritting his teeth, Lucas slightly tilted his sword and pushed away Arnold''s de by using his own pressure against him.

    Without any dy, Lucas sprang up to his legs and hopped back a couple of meters to safety.

    However, Arnold had no intention of giving him a moment of respite. Within a heartbeat, he shot forward at Lucas like an arrow.

    He had his sword pulled back behind him, poised for a perfect horizontal sh, his de leaving behind a trail of faint pink light.

    Lucas took a deep breath and quickly raised his sword skyward. He activated one of his sword arts as azure mana began to swirl around the de of his jian.

    In the blink of an eye, the azure light enveloping Lucas'' jian began to change, now emitting a gentle pink radiance.

    Anticipation was palpable in the air as the very world itself seemed to have frozen in time.

    The people in the crowd held their breath in rapt excitement, their gazes glued to the unfolding spectacle in the dueling ground before them.

    Both swordsmen had fully deployed their respective weapon arts. Both of them were all set to unleash their techniques with surgical precision.

    Lucas was prepared to unleash a devastating downward sh, while Arnold was charging at him to carry out a decisive horizontal strike.

    One warrior firmly held his ground while the other rushed toward his opponent to carry out his final attack.

    The warrior whose timing, technique, and execution proved to be a little more perfect would emerge victorious from this sh.

    ¡­And that''s exactly why Arnold was destined to lose this confrontation.

    There were only a handful of people in their generation who could truly rival Lucas''s pure mastery of technique.

    Now, after enduring six relentless months of grueling training under Ifa Zenith, even the God of War himself couldn''t help but be impressed by Lucas''s unparalleled skills in weapon usage.

    <nullb><nulli>Kwush¡ª!!

    As soon as they stepped into the striking range, both Lucas and Arnold unleashed their attacks at lightning speed.

    A whirlwind of plum blossom petals appeared around Arnold''s longsword as he swung it forward in an arc.

    Meanwhile, Lucas whipped his sword down as a crimson line descended from the sky toward the ground. It felt as if he had sliced the world in half.

    The crimson line shed against the whirlwind of plum blossom petals and immediately dispersed it.

    Lucas'' jian collided against Arnold''s longsword and instantly shattered it, inflicting a deep wound on the robust young man''s right shoulder after shattering his Martial Aura like a sledgehammer to a piece of ss.

    <nullb><nulli>Thwoom¡ª!!

    Lucas brought his de all the way down until it hit the concrete ground, instantly pulverizing it and sending a shockwave rolling forward.

    The shockwave hit Arnold and sent him flying back like a marite with broken strings.

    As Arnold''s body ungracefully crashed on the concrete ground and came to an abrupt stop after rolling a few times, the crimson line splitting the world manifested into a colossal plum blossom tree that connected heaven and earth.

    [24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Art: Unending Spring]

    The tree seemed to have been made from ethereal mana, emitting a bright pink hue as flower petals withered from its branches and flowed in the air, filling the entirety of the coliseum.

    The whole crowd was mesmerized by the wless technique of such a beautiful and enchanting technique.

    Gradually, the glow extinguished and the ethereal plum blossom tree disseminated into a sea of crimson mana particles.

    The referee, standing at the far end of the oval-shaped arena, was the first to snap out of the reverie and regainposure.

    He cleared his throat with a dry cough and brought the microphone to his lips to dere the official oue.

    "Arnold Zenith is unable to continue the battle! Lucas Morningstar is the victor!"

    Despite the fact that everyone here belonged to Mount Hua and thus served under the Zenith n, the crowd erupted into a resounding chorus of cheers and apuse.

    After all, before being members of ns and sects, everyone here was a martial artist at heart. They liked seeing thrilling battles and strong champions above all else.

    Finally, the referee made another announcement.

    "Next up to fight is¨C"

    However, before the official could finish speaking, a crisp and authoritative voice cut through the air.

    "I refuse."

    Every eye present there turned to the young man who had just spoken.

    It was a tall figure with gunmetal silver hair and matching eyes, standing at the entrance gate leading to the dueling ground.

    Alfa Zenith.

    It was the Prince of Mount Hua.

    Even Lucas couldn''t help but hide his surprise. He couldn''t understand. Refuse? Refuse to what?

    Surely this guy wasn''t having cold feet now after talking shit to him for the past half year or so, right?!

    "What do you mean?!" Lucas yelled.

    The Prince of Mount Hua shrugged, a look of pure uninterest fixed on his pale face. "I refuse to fight you."

    "Huh?!" Lucas arched his eyebrows. "The fuck do you mean?!"

    "Exactly what I said," Alfa lightly sighed. "Look at yourself. You''re exhausted. Thatst attack alone took a lot from you, didn''t it? Even if I were to defeat you now, it just wouldn''t mean anything since you''re not in your best state."

    ¡­Is this guy for real?! He was the one who suggested this insane thirteen-against-one fight!

    Now that Lucas had defeated all thirteen of hisckeys, he refused to fight!

    What kind of bullfuckery is this?!

    Sure, he wasn''t wrong about Lucas'' current state. His robe was burnt and torn at several ces, several wounds could be seen on his body, and his chest was hurting from getting kicked by Arnold earlier.

    His mana core was also almost depleted and his bones were hurting. However, he still had enough strength left in him to defeat the Prince of Mount Hua!

    ¡­Maybe.

    The end of Lucas'' eyebrows twitched ufortably as he clenched his fist and yelled, "Just say that you''re scared to face me! Why make excuses? If you''re not, then juste down here and fight me! I swear to god, I won''t beat you like yourp dogs here!"

    However, instead of answering Lucas'' beckoning provocations, Alfa Zenith calmly turned around and left.

 Chapter 372 Going Back Home

    Chapter 372 Going Back Home

    Seething in fury, I scurried toward the VIP stand, asionally grunting and groaning in response to the jolting pain arousing through my chest and lower back.

    God, that was a difficult fight.

    While epting the challenge at first, I didn''t think much of it.

    Thirteen side characters against me? Sure. I can handle that.

    However, they were strong. Each and every one of them was ridiculously powerful. As expected from Mount Hua, I guess.

    But the reason my mood was so sour was because of that damned brat, Alfa Zenith.

    First, he provoked me, then he stepped down from the challenge?! I would''ve lost just because I wasn''t in my top state?! Hmph, sure!

    Coward.

    I''ll get him next time.

    Clicking my tongue in frustration, I soon arrived in front of the entrance of the VIP stand. Yes, I was in a hurry.

    Why wouldn''t I be?

    The promised six months of my stay here in Mount Hua had finallye to an end, and I could s go back to the academy.

    I remember that at the start of my training, I said I was happy about the prospect of growing stronger and training in one of the four great sects in the world.

    However, after enduring six grueling months of arduous training, all I wanted was to go back home, lie down on my bed, and rx a little. Perhaps, sleep in untilte noon and read a short novel or two.

    I didn''t know. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

    Part of the reason for it was that my fractured memories had begun to slowly heal, falling into ce like pieces of a puzzle.

    Yeah¡­

    I could finally remember details from my past¨C from Lucas''s past¨C that I couldn''t recall before.

    Though I still couldn''t ess the memories of any other timelines if they truly are in my head, I know I will be able to do that soon.

    So, I guess the antidote is working, then?

    However, the thing is...

    Remembering so much so soon is straining my mind. And if that wasn''t enough, I also have the future to think about.

    The Third Arc was about to begin soon after the first-year final exams.

    And after the third arc¡­

    "Arghh," a shiver ran down my spine, and my knees felt weak from just thinking of it.

    It was going to be chaotic.

    Actually, now that Spider''s existence hase to light much earlier than it did in the novel, the situation would be even more troublesome.

    Slowly but surely, the future was deviating from the original plot of the novel¡­ from other timelines.

    I just don''t know if it''s a good thing or not.

    Thest time I talked to Joe, he mentioned how I couldn''t truly change the course of Fate.

    The Mock War ended as it did in the novel.

    The Massacre of Silveserine was also carried out exactly as it happened in the novel.

    In fact, Liz also suffered the same injury as she did in the novel.

    If anything, each of these events was only hastened or spiraled out of control because of my involvement somehow.

    So, was I truly changing Fate? Yeah, I don''t think so. Until now, everything was fine, but slowly and surely things will start to get grim.

    The stakes won''t be as low anymore once the third arc begins. One misstep... Just one miscalction and my very life could be in danger.

    And if I''m really one of the three chosen ones, then once my death would mean the end of this fucking world.

    Yeah, I won''t let that happen. Not only because I don''t want the world to end, but more importantly¡­ I don''t want to die.

    Ahem.

    It''s fine. I''ll figure it out, as always. Adapting, persevering, and conquering challenges, that''s my forte.

    Shaking my head, I swung open the door to the VIP stand and stepped inside.

    While the stand was spacious enough to easily amodate numerous spectators, I only saw two people inside right now.

    One was my master, Leo, while the other, to no one''s surprise, was Selena Zenith.

    The novel barely touched on it, so I never knew untiling to Mount Hua that Leo and Selena were intimately close.

    In fact, at times they seemed almost like a couple.

    I hate to sound like old man Ifa, but it''s painfully obvious that they have feelings for each other.

    The problem is that both of them are way too prideful to admit such a thing and be the first one to confess.

    Haaa.

    ...It''s not a good situation for me, though.

    I''m still clueless as to why Leo is with Spider, but it doesn''t seem like he is with them unwillingly. He won''t on his own.

    Before I hoped to convince him to switch sides in the future, but I don''t think that option is possible anymore.

    Haa, I just hope I won''t have to fight him, not now or ever. After all, what folly would it be to wage a war against the God of War?

    "Why are you just standing there like that, Lucas?" Leo turned his head to look at me as I came in and pointed to the empty spot on thevish sofa he shared with Selena. "Come, sit with us."

    I nodded and walked over, taking a seat on Leo''s empty left.

    "Whoa, you look really rough," Selena was the one whomented that.

    She was right. My robe was torn and stained, bruises adorned my skin, and there were various wounds scattered across my body.

    I definitely wasn''t in my best condition.

    Selena shed a smile capable of captivating the hearts of countless men in an instant and stood up.

    She circled the sofa,ing to a stop behind me.

    "Your hair has grown quite a bit," she remarked, summoning an ornateb from her dimensional ring.

    Gently grasping a handful of my disheveled silver locks, she began to run theb through them.

    "Let me help you tidy up," she said. "You''re looking quite girly."

    "Please don''t the old man hear you say that or he''ll start crying," I quipped, eliciting augh from both Leo and Selena.

    "You performed excellently," Leo praised, patting my shoulder.

    "Indeed," Selena added, still brushing my hair. "It''s been ages since I witnessed such wless sword skills. Are you sure you''re a spearman and not a swordsman?"

    "Yes," I scoffed. "I prefer not to get close and personal with my opponents. Using a spear lets me attack from a safe distance."

    "Fair point," Selena nodded. "Hey, how about you ditch Leo ande be my disciple?"

    "Oh, really! Trying to poach my one and only disciple right in front of me!" Leo said while teasingly ring at the alluring woman.

    Selena chuckled. "Haha! I''m just kidding!"

    Haaa, and this is yet another thing that I don''t like.

    Selena... she''s not as terrible as the novel portrayed her to be.

    At first, when I came here, I was cautious and a bit scared to be around her.

    But after spending some time with her, I saw that she wasn''t as evil as it was shown in the novel.

    No, that''s not quite right. I should rephrase. The novel only showed her evil side.

    She maye across as arrogant and tough, but beneath it all, she''s also gentle, kind, and soft.

    Haa, I truly hope I won''t have to fight her in the future either.

    Why... Just why did she have to be the leader of Spider? Why did they start the War of Union?

    If only I could find that out, maybe... just maybe... I can stop it. Maybe I can stop the Civil War.

    In the next moment, Selena''s voice broke through my train of thought, pulling me back to the present.

    "How do you wanna wear your hair?"

    "Ah, just make a high pony."

    As she began to band my hair, Selena inquired, "So, Lucas, what major will you be taking in your second year?"

    I sighed. "I''m thinking of joining the Space Defence Force. So, I''ll take space war tactics and sses rted to that."

    "I see," Selena nodded and I could almost swear I saw a relieved expression on her face. "Good, it''s better to stay away from Earth for a few iing years."

    Huh, of course, it is. Unfortunately, I have a gut feeling that I won''t be as lucky.

    In the next moment, Leo spoke up. "By the way, I have a present for you, Lucas."

    He took out a dimensional ring from his pocket and handed it to me. I examined it with a puzzled expression and asked, "What''s in it?"

    "Do you remember the bike we were working on?" he asked.

    A bright gleam flickered in my eyes. "Wait! Did you manage to fix it?"

    "Well... no," Leo said, looking away in embarrassment. "I tried to fix it, but I only ended up breaking it even more. As it was meant to be my birthday gift for you, I had no choice but to give you something else. So I got you this instead."

    I nced at the dimensional ring in my palm and then back at my master before asking again, "Okay, and what is this?"

    "A cutting-edge, top-of-the-line military-grade hoverbike. Four cylinders, eight propellers, AI-assisted autopilot,nd and even underwater capabilities. That, my dear disciple, is the future."

    ?

    "I have failed you! Forgive me, my grand disciple! I have failed you!"

    "Oh please, old man! You''re making a scene! You''re embarrassing me!"

    "Indeed, I have embarrassed you! For I have failed in my duty as your master!"

    Outside the gates of the great Mount Hua Sect, a monstrously tall elderly man wept his eyes out, clinging to the hands of his grand disciple.

    Yes, it was Ifa, and he was breaking down into a sobbing mess, holding onto my hands tightly to the point where my arms had begun to hurt.

    He was crying because, in his words, he failed to make me more <nullb><nulli>manly under his training.

    "Instead of growing more masculine, you''ve be a girl! Look at those long hair and small frame!" Hemented through sniffles and sobs.

    Small frame?! Small?! Just because you''re huge doesn''t mean I''m small, damn it!

    I rolled my eyes. "Grandmaster, perhaps my body and bone structure aren''t inclined to develop more muscle mass. Maybe this is my natural limit. Don''t cry, I still made considerable progress, right?"

    The old man stopped crying, scanning me with his eyes for a second before furrowing his brows and nodding.

    "You''re right."

    "Of course I am. But don''t worry, I''m still strong enough to¨C"

    Before I could finish my sentence, the old man interjected.

    "You''re right, it''s not me. It''s you. You''re the problem."

    "What... What?"

    "Failure... You''re a failure! A disgrace! A disappointment! I will never give my dear angel''s hand to you for marriage!"

    "What?!" I furrowed my brow in confusion. "I''m not asking for it either!"

    The old man blinked, then frowned like a puzzled puppy. "But¡­ But why?! Isn''t she beautiful?! Think of the beautiful babies the two of you could make!"

    "Oh my god! I''m leaving now, old man!" I yelled with a shake of my head and turned to walk away.

    As I walked away, the old man continued to shout at my back, "If you think she won''t agree to marry someone like you, then you''re wrong! Just get her pregnant, and she''ll have to marry you!"

    "Oh my god!" I yelled back as passersby started giving us strange looks. "You''re a terrible adult, old man!"

    With that, I ran as fast as I could, eager to get away from this maniac and also return home.

    Trish was already back at the academy. She was on the Disciplinary Committee, so she was allowed to take leave as long as she wished.

    However, even she had to perform her duties from time to time andplete some missions that the academy could only entrust to its top cadets.

    As for Leo, he had to go visit the Northern Border.

    He was only on leave from the military for one year. Now that the year wasing to an end, he would have toplete the retransfer procedure.

    The procedure included filling out forms, interviews with the general, a deep psych evaluation, and things like that.

    So since I had to go back alone, I decided to first visit NWO''s hideout and meet Kai.

    "Okay," I nodded. "Let''s do this."

 Chapter 373 Tale Of The Sun Maiden

    Chapter 373 Tale Of The Sun Maiden

    ?373  Tale Of The Sun Maiden

    I safelynded my hoverbike on the sidewalk of a busy street, dismounted, and ced it on the stand before taking a few steps back to admire my mechanical beauty.

    The sleek ck hoverbike had a single robust tire at the front. It was there in case the propellers ever malfunctioned and I''d have to travel onnd.

    And yes, it was equipped with eight propellers which were all powered by the user''s mana output.

    Using those propellers, it could take to the skies as long as I supplied it with mana.

    Unlike regr hoverbikes, this one could endure altitudes even high above the clouds.

    It could even convert the user''s mana into energy and shootser bullets from the sters installed on both sides of its huge tire at the front.

    When supplied with enough mana, it could also generate an energy bubble and take a deep dive under sea waters.

    It had a streamlined and futuristic design that was built for top speed. It is the first of its kind in the world right now, giving unparalleled versatility and style.

    It was made as a prototype for the real thing by the Military.

    Leo managed to get his hands on it through his connections and gifted it to me. Ah~ Truly, what a generous master I have.

    As a satisfied smile bloomed on my face, I stored my hoverbike in the dimensional ring Leo had given me.

    Yes, he also gifted me this dimensional ring. Now I have two of them ¨C the other one is the ring I got from Reina.

    I couldn''t show Reina''s ring to anyone, though. It has vampiric runes all over it. One detailed look and anyone would tell that it''s a vampire''s ring.

    Obviously, I don''t want that.

    Sighing, I turned around and walked into a church building situated at the end of the street I was on.

    Taking in the gentle aroma of burning incense, I made my way to one of the vacant pews and took a seat.

    The evening sunlight came filtering through the stained ss windows, casting a soft, multicolored glow inside the sanctuary.

    A Preacher draped in vivid red and white robes was reading religious scriptures out loud to the devout crowd of people present here.

    As always, I could mostly only see Elves sitting here. There were also dwarves and humans, but not as many in the number.

    To be honest, I just wanted to head underground.

    But the thing is¡­ to get through the doors of the hideout below, I needed an entrance que. Kai gave me one but unfortunately, I left it in my apartment back in Global City.

    At this point, all I could do was wait for either Hugh or Kai to arrive before I lost my mind from sheer boredom.

    "Lucas?"

    As I was on the brink of dozing off, a crisp voice called my name, causing me to frown and turn my head in its direction.

    To my right stood a ck-haired girl, her deep, intricate golden eyes fixed upon me.

    My frown deepened, but I easily kept myposure. "Anastasia?"

    "It is you," she remarked with a gentle p and took a seat beside me. "I saw you from over there and thought it must be Lucas. You look really different with long hair now!"

    I smiled and nodded, but before I could speak, she continued speaking. "So youe here often too? I never knew you were a follower of the Sun God."

    Obviously not. Didn''t you see me almost nodding off to sleep?

    Shaking my head slightly, I lied:

    "Yeah, my mother and sister are elves, as you may know. Throughout my childhood, I saw them worship the Sun God and I sort of picked it up myself."

    "Is that so," Anastasia said, nodding in response.

    "I didn''t know you frequented this church either," I remarked.

    "Well, yes. I''m a devotee of the Sun religion," Anastasia replied. "And since the orphanage is nearby, I oftene here whenever I visit."

    "Is that so," I nodded back in response. "By the way, I heard about what happened to you guys. How is Nero doing?"

    Anastasia''s face paled at the mention of that incident. It must''ve been a harrowing experience for her.

    Taking a deep breath, she answered, "He''s doing good. He''s training more than ever. I worry about him sometimes. But he''ll be fine."

    "I see. I''m d that all of you are fine."

    "Thank you," Anastasia said with a smile. "So, will you be returning to the academy? I heard you were training at Mount Hua."

    "Yes, I''ll be back tomorrow. Just in time before the final exams."

    "That''s good."

    With nothing more to talk about anymore, both of us directed our attention back to the Preacher at the altar.

    The silence wasn''t awkward since we were supposed to stay quiet at the church.

    But it struck me only now that Anastasia Bigod was the only main character I hadn''t interacted with much until now. Well, she and Aster.

    In the novel, out of all the main characters, Anastasia was shrouded in mystery the most.

    For arge part of the story, we knew nothing about her. It wasn''t until the third arc that we found out about her origins.

    Anastasia was an orphan. She grew up in the Bigod orphanage and her goal was to provide a good life for her siblings there.

    What a noble goal, isn''t it?

    But that wasn''t theplete story.

    In the next instant, Anastasia called out to me once more. "By the way, do you know about the Tale of the Sun Maiden, Lucas?"

    A frown appeared on my face again as I shook my head. "I''m afraid I do not."

    Anastasia leaned back on the pew and drew a deep breath.

    "Long ago, in the Elven world, there was a girl named Lyra, born as a Sun Maiden. She was said to possess an ethereal beauty that rivaled the dawn itself."

    "What is a Sun Maiden?" I asked, interrupting her story.

    Anastasia paused to think a little before responding, "Sun Maidens were elven girls born with the mark of the Sun. They had the power to use mana in its purest form ¨C the Golden Mana."

    "Oh? What did the mark of the Sun look like?" I asked again.

    Anastasia shrugged. "It manifested in the eyes of girls, turning them golden. Elves used to refer to them as¡­ God''s Eyes."

    After a short moment of heavy silence, she resumed her story.

    "Lyra''s tale began long ago when she lost her family to a gue that killed her family and vige when she was twelve. Alone and terrified, she sought refuge in the church of the Moon God. It became her sanctuary. She found sce and purpose within the divine glow of the night. The Church became her family."

    Anastasia took a deep breath as if the story ahead was not very pleasant.

    "But she was a Sun Maiden. She wasn''t meant to worship the Moon God. When the Church of the Sun came to im her when she came of age, she refused to abandon her family. She refused to forsake her faith. Her piety angered the ruling council, who dismissed the worship of the Moon God as heresy in favor of the Sun God."

    "What happened next?" I inquired, my curiosity piqued.

    "The Church of the Moon also refused to surrender Lyra. The situation escted, sparking a war between the two churches. While the Empire''s ruling council favored the Church of the Sun, the devotees of the Moon proved to be too strong. The war was locked in a deadly stalemate."

    Anastasia''s gaze turned distant and somber, as if she was recalling something that went down before her eyes.

    "The elvenmunity was thrown into chaos and disarray because of the war between the two great religions. Neighbor turned against neighbor, and kin killed their kindred as the followers of the Sun and the Moon began to murder each other. Lyra couldn''t withstand that horrid sight. She implored her Church elders to hand her over to the Church of the Sun and put an end to the senseless bloodshed. But her pleas were ignored by the Church of the Moon."

    "Why?" I asked, confused. "Why didn''t they want to stop the bloodshed?"

    Anastasia let out another weary sigh.

    "Lyra also had that very same question. After pressing for answers, she found out that there was a legend proiming the birth of a Sun Maiden who would worship the moon. Bybining her radiance with the teachings of the night, she would be the Bringer of Eclipse. Her existence would ensure that only one religion would remain in the world."

    I gasped and widened my eyes. "So Lyra... she was fated to be the Bringer of Eclipse?"

    Anastasia nodded solemnly.

    "Yes. When she found out that the Church of the Moon was not protecting her for her own sake, but because they wanted to wipe out the Church of the Sun, she felt utterly heartbroken. All this time... they knew about her destiny. All this time they were using her. The only people she thought were her family betrayed her."

    "What did she do then?" I inquired.

    "What could she do? She saw the state the world was in. The mad war between the two religions was tearing her world apart. Streets were painted red with blood, towns and viges were burned to ashes, and people were ruthlessly ughtering each other in the name of faith."

    "The war was showing no signs of ending. Lyra knew that by the time the war would end, the world would be in ruins. It was all happening because of her. If only she had died along with her vige and family back when she was a kid, none of this would''ve happened. Why was her fate so cruel?"

    Anastasia crossed her legs and rested her head on the bench. Letting out a deep breath, she continued.

    "In the end, Lyra made a tough choice. She knew that the war, which was killing countless innocents, would go on until one of the two Churches was annihted. And so, that''s precisely what she did."

    My head dropped as I realized how this story was going to end. Seeing the pale look on my face, Anastasia smiled.

    "One night, she went to the head cathedral of the Moon God for dinner and poisoned everyone there. She butchered those whom she couldn''t poison. She was the Sun Maiden, after all. She was strong."

    Anastasia took a brief pause before closing her eyes.

    "To save the world, she killed the people who were the closest thing to a family for her. Many powerful popes, nuns, and saints died that night ¨C a feat that was sure to shift the bnce of the war in favor of the Sun God''s Church."

    "And what happened to Lyra?" I asked.

    "Lyra was captured by the Sun''s followers. She was bathed in the blood of her victims when they dragged her out, her golden hair trailing behind her like a silken shroud. She didn''t fight back. She had no will to live anymore. Spurred by zealotry, they brought her to the town square where a pyre was waiting for her. With hollow eyes, she looked at the people who were cheering when she was set on fire and whispered ast prayer with her dying breath."

    "What did she pray for?" I inquired.

    "...Another life. A peaceful life. A life she could live happily. A life where she could make friends and have a family. A life where she wouldn''t have to kill the ones she loved."

    Anastasia exhaled softly and turned to face me, and in that moment, I couldn''t help but stare deep into her jewel-like golden eyes.

    "It''s a tale that reminds us we can''t escape our fate. Lyra''s fate was that her life would bring an end to one of the two great religions. And now, the Moon''s Church is dead."

    I shook my head. "Nah, I don''t buy it."

    Anastasia''s expression clouded. "What do you mean?"

    "Lyra''s destiny was indeed cruel, I agree. But her story, tragic as it is, doesn''t show us that fate wins in the end. It tells us that sometimes, valiant sacrifices are necessary. When the whole world is too blinded to set apart good and evil, one must do what''s righteous, even at the cost of everything one holds dear."

    Anastasia gave me a puzzled look. "But what''s the point? The world would never remember her."

    "She didn''t do it for fame, did she?" I retorted. "Lyra surrendered to her fate, sacrificed the people she loved, and fulfilled her destiny because she wanted to do what was right in a world gone mad. Frankly, I admire her for that because I could never do what she did."

    Anastasia''s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?"

    "Yeah," I affirmed with a nod. "I would let the world burn down before sacrificing the people I hold dear."

    A faint smile graced Anastasia''s lips as she nodded. "I see."

    Just then, I saw Hugh entering the altar room. He spotted me and he waved in my direction, gesturing for me toe over.

    Finally.

    Letting out a sigh, I rose to my feet. "Well, I should be going now. It was nice to talk with you, Anastasia."

    The golden-eyed beauty nodded. "Sure, see you back at the academy."

    I returned the nod and turned around. But before I could walk away, I remembered something and looked back at Anastasia.

    "By the way, do you think Lyra is at peace now?"

    Anastasia''s smile widened as she shrugged.

    "I don''t know. But I bet if she was reborn, she''d be living a good life, making a lot of friends and enjoying every moment."

    "I see," I replied, spinning away and walking off. "I''d be d if she found happiness in her new life."

    Because her life won''t be peaceful for long.

    [End of Volume: Den Of The Wolves]

 Chapter 374 Reunion

    Chapter 374 Reunion

    ?374  Reunion

    Yawning tiredly, I strolled through the streets of Global City, making my way toward the academy.

    I''d been away for half a year, but the city didn''t seem to have changed at all.

    Cheerful faces of cadets, towering buildings, the vibrant glow of holographic neon billboards, worker robots diligently cleaning the streets, and asional flying cars and hoverbikes racing through the sky.

    Looking at the city and finding it exactly like how I remembered brought sce to my anxious heart.

    The truth is, I''ve been feeling a little scared these past few days. At first, I didn''t want to admit it, but it''s the truth.

    Chaos and carnage loomed on the horizon, drawing closer with each passing day.

    Once the final exams are over, the third arc will begin. Am I even ready for it? For the death and destruction that will happen in the third arc?

    "It''s alright," I whispered to myself. "I''ve done everything in my power to prepare."

    And I truly did.

    I had trained to hone my skills, secured powerful relics, and made influential allies to prevent the doom of the world.

    I also made sure to push other characters to grow stronger to the best of my abilities.

    I''d say I did a great job.

    "Yes, I''ll be alright."

    Of course, I would be. After all, I was one of the chosen ones.

    "Huaaa~"

    Yawning once again, I halted in front of a quaint caf¨¦.

    The reason I was more sleep-deprived than usual was the lengthy chat I had with Kentst night.

    Since I was at Mount Hua, I couldn''t have responded to his texts and calls because I had no ess to the inte orwork most of the time.

    Although I asked Quinn and Grace to anonymously spread the word that I was training at Mount Hua for a few months, Kent still bombarded me with hundreds of texts and calls.

    So, when I finally replied to one of his textsst night, he immediately called me, and we ended up talking for the entire night.

    I couldn''t manage to get even a wink of sleep. Anyhow, right now, I was waiting for him at our designated meetup spot.

    As I was about to yawn one more time, someone suddenly pounced on me from behind, wrapping their arm around my shoulder.

    Of course, I saw iting from a mile away, but I made no effort to dodge it.

    "Broooooo! I missed you! Oh, boy! You''ve grown your hair, huh? Arghh! It''s been so long! Aghh! Don''t ever leave me like that, you meanie!"

    "Okay, okay! Calm down, Kent!"

    A smile crept onto my face as I nudged his arm aside and pulled him around in front of me.

    Kent... had changed quite a bit¡­ but at the same time, he didn''t change at all.

    He seemed a bit taller, and there was a lot more depth in his ocean-blue eyes.

    His porcin skin, as smooth as the finest of silk, remained the same. He styled his short blue hair in spikes that resembled undting ocean waves.

    I think he looked more handsome - but that wasn''t surprising, considering he was an elf, and they only grew more beautiful with age. But his gaze still held that same twinkle of gentle humor.

    However, what grasped my attention the most was the fact that his presence was a lot more imposing than I remember.

    This guy... had grown stronger.

    He was not at the level of Anastasia and Nero, or even close to Amelia and Quinn, but I could tell he had grown a lot stronger than before.

    "Kent, just how much have you grown?" I asked in pleasant shock.

    "Oh, you can tell?" Kent raised an eyebrow in surprise before letting out a sigh. "But that means I''m still weaker than you. Well, I''m at ?Silver 3? rank right now."

    "Damn," I eximed in disbelief. "You''re on the verge of breaking into the middle ranks."

    I myself was at ?Gold 3?. I ascended once again justst week. Originally, the rank I am currently on was supposed to be Lucas'' potential limit.

    The closer one gets to their potential cap, the harder it gets for them to climb to the next rank.

    The original Lucas would have taken at least two or more years to reach where I am right now.

    And in terms ofbat prowess, he would have still been far behind me. Not to brag again, but I really think I did a great job.

    "My potential cap is ?tinum 3?," Kent sighed once more. "So it''ll only get tougher for me to advance once I break into the middle ranks."

    "Mmm, that''s true," I nodded.

    Talking about things like that, Kent and I started walking again.

    We arrived at the academy and spent a few minutes crossing the campus before entering our ssroom building.

    But the second we stepped inside the ssroom, it felt as though every eye in the room swiveled toward us ¨C specifically, toward me.

    "What''s this?" I murmured under my breath.

    Kent smiled and shrugged, whispering an answer barely loud enough for me to hear.

    "Ahh, after the King''s Tournament and your participation in stopping the vampire attack, your poprity has sky-rocketed."

    Yeah, I expected as much. But after six months, I thought they would have lost interest.

    Under the watchful gazes of the cadets present in the ss, both of us settled into our seats.

    Everyone murmured for a while, gossiping while covertly staring at us. I didn''t mind, and Kent certainly liked the attention.

    Since we arrived a little early, we had nothing else to do but watch cadets enter the ss one after another as we chatted.

    Not long after, I saw Amelia and Anastasia stepping through the door.

    When Amelia noticed me, her eyes widened. She stopped talking to Anastasia about whatever topic they were discussing and waved at me.

    As I waved back, both of them approached us.

    "You''re back!" Amelia said, getting near our seats. "It''s been six months, and you didn''t even return any texts."

    "Yeah," I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck. "Mount Hua doesn''t havework connectivity. Believe me, six months felt so long without the inte."

    "I think we all should take some time off the inte and social media to embrace nature," Anastasiamented, walking behind Amelia.

    That caused both Amelia and I to stare at her. Flustered, Anastasia stammered, "Wh- What? Did I say something wrong?"

    Amelia blinked a couple of times. "You sometimes sound like an old woman."

    Anastasia gasped. "That''s so rude!"

    I shook my head. "Do you understand how much pop culture I''ve missed in the past six months?"

    Amelia dismissively waved her hand. "You don''t have to worry. Nothing happened in all this time. There was this movie that came out, and that actress¨C"

    "Wait, pop culture is about movies and actors?" Anastasia blinked in confusion.

    "...It''s about celebrities and trends¡­ Why? What did you think it was about?" I asked.

    "I thought it was some real culture!" Anastasia eximed.

    "....."

    "....."

    Both Amelia and I were bbergasted.

    "Argh! It''s so embarrassing!" Anastasia covered her beet-red face with her hands.

    After a few seconds, I coughed and shook my head. "It''s fine. It happens. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I get Kent must have even embarrassing stories to tell, right buddy?"

    "....." When I got no response, I asked again. "Right buddy?"

    Again, no response. Frowning, I turned to Kent and found out that he was spacing out while staring at something in the distance.

    Frowning deeper, I followed his line of gaze and saw that he was looking at Aster and William, who were sitting a few seats away from us. Both of them were ying with William''s ck cat, Rui.

    Tilting my head, I returned my attention to Kent before looking at Amelia.

    "What''s up with him?" I whispered.

    Amelia barred her teeth and hesitated for a few seconds before whispering back. "He was rejected."

    "...."

    Kent? Rejected?

    Wait, rejected by whom? Aster?!

    I blinked in confusion. Noticing this, Amelia sighed and said, "Well, he wasn''t rejected directly. It''s just that¡­ before he could confess, Aster and William made it official."

    Wait, what?

    Aster and William?

    When did this happen? And why?

    William was supposed to be E''s future fiance. And Aster was supposed to be in a polygamous rtionship with Nero!

    The frown on my face morphed into a scowl.

    Wait, I remember now. Aster, William, and Kent went to train in Southern de Edge together.

    Did it happen there?

    Seeing the puzzled look on my face, Anastasia chuckled. "Kids fall in love all the time, Lucas. Why do you look so confused?"

    "Again, you''re talking like an olddy, Sia!" Amelia smacked the back of her friend''s head.

    But I wasn''t paying attention to their banter. My mind was upied elsewhere.

    This was¡­ not a favorable development.

    I don''t care who Aster is in a rtionship with, but William had to be with E. Both of them were supposed to unify the might of families ¨C Brights and Sinoaths.

    And that''s just one of the many things they were supposed to do together!

    Biting on my thumbnail, I couldn''t help but curse inwardly. It wasn''t a big deal. I could still handle the situation.

    Why did I not see iting? I should have predicted something like this!

    If I am actively changing the fates of characters, their rtionship with each other would also change!

    I should''ve calcted this. Damn it, I''m such an idiot!

    Just as I was in the midst of self-reproach, a gentle voice interjected, pulling me back from my thoughts.

    "Lucas," Amelia''s hand lightly tapped on my shoulder. "What are you thinking so hard about on your first day back?"

    Meeting the emerald of her eyes, I paused briefly, letting out a sigh before shaking my head once more.

    "Nothing," I replied.

    I couldn''t do anything about the matters beyond my control.

    All I could do was ept the unexpected developments and deal with whatever challenges that maye my way.

    Before Amelia could respond, the ssroom door swung open.

    Instantly, a crushing pressure flooded in that hit me by surprise. My eyes widened as I looked at the door and saw Nero stepping into the room.

    He looked... battered and worn.

    His uniform was impable but his hair was tousled, and baggy dark circles were visible under his abyss-like eyes.

    He was hunching and walking with a slight limp but his presence was sharper than ever, reminiscent of a newly forged sword.

    I turned to Amelia and Anastasia. "What in the world happened to him?"

    "He... has been pushing himself intensely during his training," Anastasia answered.

    Well, of course! It was evident! He must have reached the tinum rank by now! As if he wasn''t already enough of a monster!

    Sensing my gaze on him, Nero furrowed his brow and swiftly turned to meet my stare.

    His eyes widened as soon as he caught sight of me.

    However, before he could greet me or walk over, the ssroom door swung open once more, and a familiar figure entered this time.

    It was Liz Snyder.

 Chapter 375 Enemy Or Not?

    Chapter 375 Enemy Or Not?

    ?375  Enemy Or Not?

    "As you all know, tomorrow will mark the beginning of your final exam. The written exams will span two weeks, followed by a five-week period for the practical exam."

    Liz appeared to be in good shape.

    It was almost as if she was never mortally wounded. Her bright violet eyes still held that fierce spark and she still exuded that air of superiority and grace.

    The Potion of Vitality had indeed worked its magic and brought her back from the brink of death.

    ording to Amelia and Anastasia, it had been around five months since she woke up from hera-like state.

    It was around the time I gave the Potion of Vitality, made from the Petal of Ambrosia, to Quinn and Grace.

    They passed it on to Nero, who in turn gave it to his master.

    I had specifically asked Nero to take all the credit and not mention my name to Liz.

    It''s not like I didn''t want the credit.

    I just didn''t want to reveal how I brewed the Potion of Vitality and how I knew the location of the Petal of Ambrosia.

    "The written exams will be fairly easy and straightforward. It''s actually the practical exam you all should be worrying about. It will have you locked in a battle royale with your fellow first-year cadets. Even though you will be participating alongside your Unit, the better you perform individually, the better¡­"

    Well, it''s good that she''s well and alive. Not only is she an important character in the final war, but she also still needs to give me a relic for losing a bet with Master.

    Heh.

    ?

    Since it was thest day before the final exams, sses were short, allowing cadets to head back home early.

    Well, it was not like there were many cadets in the ssroom today anyway. The attendance was very weak.

    Most people were holed up in their rooms, their noses buried in between books and notes, cramming for their exams.

    Meanwhile, others were hitting the gyms and training hall, preparing themselves for the practical as if they had already passed the written exams.

    And then there were those like Kent, who seemed utterly carefree, hitting bars and clubs to enjoy thest day of the academic year.

    Surviving one year of cadet training was a cause for celebration ¨C or at least that''s what they all said.

    Kent practically begged me to apany him but I was too sleepy to oblige.

    So I respectfully declined and ran away until he stopped chasing me with a scythe in hand and gave up.

    Finally returning home, I slumped on my bed and fell into a sweet slumber without even bothering to change my clothes or appreciate my beauty while checking myself out in a mirror.

    No, no, today I was too tired for even my narcissism.

    It wasn''t around midnight when my sleep was disturbed by the continuous ringing of the doorbell.

    "Arghh!"

    With a low grunt, I got up and opened the main door to confront the person who was incessantly ringing my doorbell.

    "Who is¨C"

    But to my surprise, it was Amelia.

    Before I could even greet her or demandpensation for disrupting my royal nap, my attention shifted to the small girl she was holding by the finger.

    My eyes widened as the girl lunged at me, enveloping my legs in a tight hug.

    "Pa! Pa is back!"

    A broad smile spread across my face as I crouched down, lifting the girl into my arms and embracing her.

    "Sera! Agh, it''s been so long since I saw you!"

    Ruffling her neck-length silver hair, I nted a tender kiss on her chubby, baby-fat cheek.

    Sera beamed and kissed me back.

    "Aww~ You guys really are like father and daughter," Amelia said, blushing. "Kyaa~! So cute~!"

    "Huh?!" I frowned. "Shut up, I''m way too young to be a father!"

    "Aww~! You''re in denial~!" Amelia covered her mouth and giggled.

    "..."

    "..."

    ¡­This girl.

    "Ahem!" Coughing dryly, Amelia regained herposure. "Anyway, I asked her to wait until tomorrow to meet you but she said she wanted to see you immediately. She said she could sense you nearby, whatever that meant."

    I nodded. "Thank you for bringing her here and also for taking care of her for the past six months, Amelia. You did me a big favor."

    Smiling, Amelia shook her head. "Oh, no. It''s no big deal. I actually enjoyed spending time with her."

    After pausing for a brief moment, she frowned. "By the way, Lucas, I want to ask you something."

    "Yes?" I cocked my head slightly.

    Amelia hesitated for a moment or two before asking, "The attack that happened on Nero, Chase, and Anastasia¡­ Did you know it would happen that day?"

    A frown cracked on my face. "What made you say so? Surely you''re not implying that I''m working for a ndestine terrorist organization now, are you?"

    Amelia stammered while quickly waving her hands in denial. "No, of course not! I¡­ I don''t know¡­ It''s just that you seem to know everything, so I asked¡­ Forget it. It was a stupid question."

    "It''s fine." I dismissively waved my hand. "Would you like toe in for a beverage?"

    "No, I''m good." Amelia shook her head. "Actually, I have to study for exams, so I''ll get going."

    "Okay, see you tomorrow."

    Watching her receding back, I shut the door and turned to Sera. "Do you think she is being controlled by a vampire?"

    Sera, who was in my arms ying with my long hair, suddenly turned to me with a frown on her cute face.

    "Why do you think so, pa?"

    Her vocabry is getting better, I see.

    "You know why. That vampire you killed warned me to be careful around her."

    Sera shrugged her little shoulders. "Pa is worrying needlessly."

    "Why do you say so?"

    "She cares about pa."

    "You think so?"

    Sera cutely bobbed her head up and down in a nod.

    "Besides, she is puwetty."

    "....."

    "Sera is joking."

    "Oh, you can joke now too?"

    Well, I really want Sera to be right about Amelia.

    Among the list of people that I don''t want to kill, Amelia is in third ce, right after Leo and Selena.

 Chapter 376 Genius

    Chapter 376 Genius

    ?376  Genius

    "Argh, this paper is a nightmare!"

    "Ma''am, this is way out of sybus! We were not taught about Mana Equilibrium and itsws!"

    "What does this thing even mean? How am I supposed to prove the existence of mana recoil?! It just happens when one exhausts their mana core to the limit! Wait¡­ maybe that''s the answer¡­ Gosh, I''m a genius!"

    "Hey, can you show me the answer to number three?"

    "Huh? Why would I? When I asked you for a date the other day, you called me a fat pig and a disgusting nerd!"

    "...Fine, I''ll go out with you. Just show me the answer."

    "Oh? For real? Okay, here!"

    "Thank you¡­ piggy."

    "Hey now!"

    Liz''s eyebrow twitched uncontrobly as she listened to the ss. Eventually, her patience reached its breaking point.

    A wave of crushing mana pressure flooded the entire ss, almost suffocating all the cadets present here.

    Only a few main characters were spared from the ruthless assault since they swiftly deployed their own mana pressure to shield themselves.

    Consequently, the cadets caught in the middle of these opposing pressures nearly cked out.

    "Nothing is out of sybus. Stop yelling your answers. And you two, I swear to god I''ll throw you both out if you continue to cheat so openly and disturb the ss!" Liz yelled, withdrawing her mana pressure.

    The cadets shuddered and broke into fearful murmurs before returning to their work, hastily scribbling answers on their sheets.

    I didn''t bother with themotion, though. After all, I had only three more questions left to answer.

    Since today was thest written exam, my goal was to finish the paper early and hit the training gym.

    It had been a few days since I could train properly. Kent was holding study sessions with a newly formed study group that he himself had created.

    Naturally, he invited me to be a part of it.

    And I had no choice but to ept. I mean, I tried declining, but he dragged me into it anyway.

    To my surprise, it wasn''t a cadet retreat group but a genuine study group. To be honest, I had no need to study.

    Why? Because I am a genius.

    But despite it all, since I was a part of the group, I had no choice but to study along with them.

    And precisely because of that, I wasn''t able to properly train in thest few days.

    It felt really weird and somehow wrong not to be able to train for some time since it had now be my habit.

    Gods, what did that old man do to myzy self?

    Anyway, as soon as I was done answering myst question, I breathed a sigh of relief and mmed my hands on the desk while standing up.

    Noticing me rising from my seat, Liz raised an eyebrow and inquired, "What is it, Mr. Morningstar?"

    "I''m done with my paper," I replied.

    The whole ss fell silent, diverting their attention from their answer sheets to look at me with bewildered gazes.

    Even Liz couldn''t help but stutter in surprise. "I-It''s only been an hour. Are you sure you answered all the questions carefully?"

    Instead of replying instantly, I strode down the steps and walked up to Liz. I handed her my filled-out paper and nodded.

    "Yes, I even revised it. Can I leave now?"

    A series of surprised gasps erupted from the nearby cadets who managed to overhear my statement.

    Liz''s eyebrows shot up in astonishment as well as she took the paper from my hand and ced it on her desk.

    "Yes, you''re free to leave now," she granted.

    I nodded and headed outside. However, before I could step out of the door, Liz called out to me.

    "Oh, and, Mr. Morningstar,e see me in my office before themencement of the first-year practical exam," she added.

    I nced at her over my shoulder and nodded before exiting the ssroom.

    Walking out, I looked at the pen in my hand and gleamed in excitement. It was an ordinary ink pen that I had used to write my exam.

    ¡­Only, it wasn''t so ordinary.

    Heh!

    ===

    Item: Ordinary Pen (Relic)

    Status: Modified

    Ability: Subconscious Answer

    Description: This pen possesses the ability to draw out the answers from the user''s subconscious.

    Rank: Gold

    Edit(Active): Allow me to write answers that I should know already.

    ===

    Right? Right?! I really am a genius, right?!

    I tried to create a pen that could answer every question there is, but the cost of making such a relic was obviously beyond my Edit Point bnce.

    Therefore, I settled for a pen that could make me write things I already know.

    For instance, if I had even nced at something for a second, I could recall it using this pen. It could basically said to be a recement for my near-perfect memory.

    But that''s not all.

    The Edit I made for this pen was that it should allow me to write answers that I "should" already know.

    The emphasis is on "should."

    This means, as long as I have the data stored in my mind, I can draw conclusions and formte answers that I don''t know yet but "should" know.

    Ahh, I truly am a genius~!

    With this pen, I didn''t have to study even a bit.

    I just nced at every page of my sybus notes and vo! I could answer every question rted to the topics I studied.

    With the help of this pen, I passed all my exams effortlessly.

    Usually, I wouldn''t leave the exam hall immediately to avoid raising suspicion of cheating, but today was the final written exam, so I decided to hit the gym early and train.

    Also, I needed to create an outline for a winning strategy for the practical exam that''ll start from tomorrow.

    Haa, I had a lot of work to do even after that. I needed to start seriously thinking about what I should do in the second year.

    "Fuuu~"

    cing the pen in my dimensional ring, I sighed and stretched my hands a little.

    "Okay, let''s go."

 Chapter 377 Reward

    Chapter 377 Reward

    "Huaaa~"

    Yawning wearily, I made my way to the staff area. I had spent the entire previous day doing nothing but training, so I was reasonably exhausted.

    Stopping before a private office cabin, I checked the title te and lightly knocked on its door a few times.

    "Come in."

    A clear voice came from inside, inviting me to enter. Swinging the door open, I stepped into the room.

    "Come, Mr. Morningstar."

    Liz sat behind her desk, her feet crossed and resting on top of it. She yed with a pen in her grasp.

    As her sharp gaze fixed on me, I couldn''t help but look away from her deep amethyst eyes.

    Being alone with her for the first time, I felt it¡­

    Her presence was as sharp as a sword, as if daring me to approach. It almost felt as if I would be cut down if I even tried stepping closer to her.

    I''ve noticed that exalted and formidable warriors always seemed to have a distinct presence.

    Leo exuded a domineering aura, while Selena always seemed to be enveloped in an air of grace.

    Reynold had the presence of a predator, while Yennefer always oozed off a chilly aura.

    This unintentional presence was almost like a controlled version of violent bloodlust.

    "Come, sit."

    Liz took a deep breath and pointed at the seat before her, gesturing for me to sit down. Iplied.

    After I settled down, Liz brought down her legs and interlocked her fingers while facing me.

    "I heard you started training in swords recently. How good are you?"

    "...My profession is at level three, and I know two sword arts. Why are you asking, Miss Snyder?"

    Liz raised an eyebrow in slight surprise before leaning forward on the desk.

    "Why else? I still owe you a reward since you won the bet I made with your master."

    Heh, finally. I was almost afraid she forgot.

    "But before I present you with your reward, I need to ask you something."

    "Hmm?"

    Frowning, I gave Liz a puzzled look.

    Noticing my expression, she extended her hand and spoke in an even tone:

    "It''s a simple and straightforward question, but I need an honest answer. Will you be truthful?"

    As my frown deepened, I nodded firmly. "Of course, I will."

    "Good," Liz smiled. "Because if you don''t, the consequences will be dire."

    Huh?! Was this a threat? Did she just threaten me?

    Almost as if she could read my thoughts, Liz intervened. "And no, it isn''t a threat. Just a suggestion. So just be honest."

    A small smile yed on my lips as I nodded again. "You can ask me anything, Miss Snyder. I''m prepared to tell you the truth as long as you''re willing to hear it.."

    Liz furrowed her brow. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

    "Nothing," I replied with a warm smile. "Just means I''ll be honest."

    Liz reluctantly nodded before closing her eyes. When she reopened them, her pupils emitted a dark purplish glow.

    Damn, whatever she wanted to know must be very important if she was staring into my soul.

    Yes, Liz had activated a spell called [Soul Gaze]. She was now peering deep into my soul.

    If she detected any major fluctuations in my soul energy, she would know I was lying. Or something like that.

    Truthfully, I never bothered to read how [Soul Gaze] worked.

    I knew it was a passive spell that consumed a lot of mana. But in return, it granted her vision across the spectrum and the ability to identify weak spots in her enemy''s soul, among many other things.

    I also knew that trying to deceive her now would be futile... unless I was as skilled in the art of deceit as I am.

    Yes, I called it an art because it is!

    "Lucas Morningstar, why did you try to save me during the vampire attack?"

    "..."

    Huh?! That''s the big question?!

    I already thought it would be rted to the vampire attack, but not something so simple as this!

    Noticing my silence, Liz narrowed her gaze, making me suddenly feel very ufortable.

    "Answer me, right now."

    Under normal circumstances, it could have been troublesome if she had asked about my involvement in the resistance against the vampire attack.

    For example, she might have inquired how I deactivated Bloodpolis. That would have been a problematic situation, but not insurmountable.

    I still would''ve been able to lie my way out of it somehow, I know it.

    However, the way she phrased her current question made it easy for me to respond. I just needed to be smart about it and bend the truth in a way that would not make me look suspicious.

    Inhaling deeply, I leaned back in the chair and shrugged.

    "It was a strategic choice. You and E''s father were the only two adults on the field at that time. Also, you both are powerful and experienced in dealing with vampires and their dark spells."

    I scratched the back of my neck and continued, "The vampires were clearly after Nero. As long as you were alive, they couldn''t get to him. So my focus was on keeping you alive. When I saw you in a perilous situation, I tried to divert their attention to me, if only for a moment."

    Pausing for a brief moment, I added, "I also knew you must have called for backup before diving into the fight. Therefore, we just needed to buy some time."

    "...." Liz stared at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, as though she was looking at a madman.

    "You''re an idiot!" She finally burst out.

    "...." I shook my head. "My intelligence stat would beg to differ."

    "Y-You¡­" Liz''s eyebrow twitched at my response, but she calmed herself down by clenching her fists. "You could have died if your master arrived a littlete! It was such a risky n!"

    Shaking my head once more, I replied, "No, I think I would have been fine. My armor relic grants me near invincibility. At worst, I could have held them off until backup arrived and taken a few injuries."

    Liz facepalmed. "You''re a fool. Vampires, especially high-vampires, have more than one means of attack. They can deploy soul or even mental attacks. I doubt your armor protects you against those, am I right?"

    "...So you''re going to reward me with a mental and soul protection relic?" I asked shamelessly.

    "...No!" Liz yelled, flustered by my audacity. "I''m telling you that you''re an idiot! You risked your life for a¨C"

    Before the alluring beauty could continue speaking, I interjected.

    "Miss Snyder," I began. "With all due respect, I believe what I did was right. You know the situation in the North is worsening, don''t you?"

    Liz''s eyes widened. "No, it''s not¡­"

    I rolled my eyes. "Ie from a ruling house. Leo Kurogami is my master, and I trained at Mount Hua for six months. Do you truly think I wouldn''t be aware of the North''s condition?"

    Liz bared her teeth before heaving a soft sigh. I shrugged again.

    "The vampires are bing increasingly aggressive each day. We don''t know what the future holds. In the impending times of uncertainty, we will need strong warriors like Nero. You know how strong his Gift is, don''t you? He could be akin to a God! But for him to live up to his potential and help us in winning the war, he must stay alive first."

    Stunned by my abrupt assertion, Liz''s eyes widened in a mix of shock and amazement.

    "Win the war, you said?" she asked, half disbelieving and half astonished.

    I shrugged. "Of course. Isn''t that the goal of every soldier, to let us win the war and finally end this madness?"

    "Ha¡­ Haha¡­ Hahaha!" Liz gazed at me in disbelief for a moment before erupting into a series of erratic chuckles.

    I sat there quietly, my fist balled up as I rested my chin upon it. After a while, Liz finallyposed herself and regarded me with a wide grin.

    "So you want to win the war? The seven-century-old war that many tried to end but failed? They paid for their failures with death¡­ or even worse. What makes you think that you''ll be any different?"

    A faint smirk yed on my lips. I tried to keep myself from bursting intoughter as I cocked my head to the side.

    "What makes me believe I''ll be any different, you ask, Miss Snyder? It''s the question of sheer survival. If we want to survive, we''ll have no choice but to bring an end to the war. We''ll have no choice but to win it."

    A scowl formed on Liz''s face. "I''m afraid that I... don''t understand."

    "It''s all right," I sighed, rising from the chair. "I didn''t expect you to understand it either."

    At least not yet.

    Extending my hand, I continued, "Anyway, it''s about time for the practical exam to start. I would appreciate receiving my reward if you don''t mind."

 Chapter 378 Big Four

    Chapter 378 Big Four

    ?378  Big Four

    "Lucas, Nero and Anastasia are calling for you down in Kent''s room."

    Amelia entered the gym, which was rtively empty aside from a few others and me.

    Pow, Pow, Pow¡ª!!

    Taking a deep breath, I stopped punching the sandbag and stepped back.

    Grabbing a towel from a nearby bench, I summoned a water bottle from my smart bracelet and took a few swigs.

    Afterward, I dabbed my face with the soft fabric and faced Amelia, throwing away the drenched towel.

    I nodded at the ck-haired archeress while unwrapping my hand wraps before throwing them away too.

    "Let''s go."

    Since I was only wearing a gym vest and it was freezing here, I summoned a hoodie from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and draped it over my shoulder.

    Using the Gate, all the first-years were teleported onto an armada of warships.

    But instead of traditional warships, these ships resembled luxurious cruises, with all kinds of weapons of mass destruction installed on them, of course.

    And when I say luxury, I truly mean it.

    The ship we were on had various gyms, hotel-like rooms, lounges, bars, room services, clubs, and a wide variety of seafood.

    The armada was moving toward a chain of deste inds, navigating the great oceans in a crane formation.

    It had been two days since we started our journey. ording to the ship captain, we would arrive at our destination today.

    Naturally, now was the time to strategize and n.

    "Lucas, you''re here."

    Nero was the first to greet me as we entered the room. Anastasia was sitting beside him, while Kent was slouching on an L-shaped couch in front of them.

    He was massaging his throbbing head. The hangover was clearly a result of the excessive drinking he didst night.

    I waved to Nero before hopping onto the couch next to Kent, hollering in his ear, "How was the partyst night?!"

    "Geez, bro!" Kent flinched, instinctively jumping to the side. "My head is killing me. Don''t shout."

    "Then maybe it''s time to stop drinking so much every night," I shrugged, grinning in satisfaction.

    "Leave him be, Lucas. Poor guy is dealing with a genuine heartbreak," Anastasia remarked with a teasing grin.

    "It''s not a heartbreak," Kent retorted, opening his bloodshot eyes and raising an index finger. "I wasn''t rejected."

    "Yeah, I don''t think being rejected is the only definition of heartbreak," Ameliamented, patting the blue-haired elf''s shoulder before taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

    Kent quickly retorted again, "I don''t care about the definition of heartbreak because I''m not heartbroken!"

    Summoning a water bottle from his smart bracelet, he continued after taking a few gulps.

    "Heartbreaks are forme people, and I''m cool. I drink away my feelings and be the life of the parties when I''m feeling low. Yes, that''s what I do. Whenever I feel sad, I stop feeling sad and just be cool instead. If a girl rejects me, I move on to her friends! That''s how cool I am!"

    "Oh, my. It''s worse than I thought," I eximed, shaking my head in sympathy. "Kent, just to cheer you up, I''ll apany you to a bar and we''ll party the whole night after we ace this test."

    Kent gazed at me, dumbfounded. "No, I don''t want pity! Although... I''ll hold you to that promise."

    He shook his head in the next moment and shouted, "And besides,st night I wasn''t just partying and sleeping around. I was on a mission!"

    "Oh, god," Amelia groaned. "If this is about another one of your one-night conquests, then spare us the details."

    "No!" Kent smacked his face. "I met with some cadets from ss 1-G-17. The girls there are hot, by the way. Anyway, back to the point, I got them drunk and made them spill their strategy."

    "How hot?"

    "What is their strategy?"

    "Can we rely on this intel?"

    "Go on, share."

    Amelia, Anastasia, Nero, and I all chimed in instantly at his statement.

    However, in the next moment, everyone turned to me, giving me a nk stare.

    "Wh-What... Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

    Nero sighed, Anastasia shook her head, while Amelia gave me a questioning look.

    "What do you mean, how hot?! We have other priorities here!" she remarked.

    Frowning, I quickly raised my palms to take a defensive stance. "What do you mean?! He brought it up!"

    "Well, he''s struggling with heartbreak, so we can''t me him!" Amelia shrugged.

    My face contorted in bewilderment. "What kind of reasoning is that?"

    "I''m not heartbroken!" Kent protested once again. "Also, let''s just focus on the matter at hand!"

    Tapping his smart bracelet, he projected a holographic map of the chain of inds we were heading toward into the air before us.

    The blue-haired elf massaged the bridge of his nose before pointing a finger at the northernmost inds in the chain.

    "They''ll makendfall around here and send two reconnaissance teams, one to the west and another to the east."

    Shaking my head, I interjected, "We still don''t know the objective of the exam. It could be anything, prompting them to change their strategy."

    Nero and Anastasia nodded in agreement with my point. But in the very next second, my brow furrowed into a deep frown.

    "Wait," I scratched the back of my head. "You said they''ll send two teams. How many reconnaissance experts does their unit have?"

    Kent smiled after hearing my question. "Thirty-one."

    "....." Nero blinked a couple of times. "I think you''re still drunk, Kent. Or high, I don''t know. A unit only consists of five cadets!"

    "Unless¡­" I grinned. "Their entire ss is coborating."

    "Yes," Kent quickly nodded. "That''s what I''ve been trying to tell you. And it''s not just them! Several other sses have also formed alliances to join forces."

    Anastasia opened and closed her mouth in confusion a few times. "But... Why? What is their endgame?"

    "To take down the big four," Amelia answered with a sigh.

    "Big four?" I frowned questioningly.

    "It''s a nickname the first years have given to the four most powerful first-

    year cadets before the practical exam started," Kent rified.

    "Let me guess," I raised my eyebrows. "The big four are Nero, Kai, Quinn, and me?"

    "Quite self-assured to mention yourself," Kent chuckled, "But yes. You and Kai, the strategic geniuses. Nero and Quinn, the offensive powerhouses. That''s how they refer to all of you."

    "And the first-years have banded together to eliminate these four cadets first?" Amelia asked.

    Instead of answering verbally, Kent simply nodded.

    "This is going to be a drag," Nero sighed.

    "Actually... No," I disagreed, shaking my head. "This will make everything much easier."

    Amelia looked at me as if I was a madman. "All the first-years will being at us from every direction the moment wend."

    "Good," I grinned. "I would have done the same if I was up against myself."

 Chapter 379 Practical Exam Begins

    Chapter 379 Practical Exam Begins

    After a few minutes we began our strategic discussion, all the speakers throughout the ship emitted a shrill metallic ring.

    In the next second, an announcement was made by the ship captain.

    ¨C"We will be arriving at our destination in thirty minutes. All the cadets on board are requested to gather in the main hall within the next five minutes."

    Stopping our discussion, we checked our smart bracelet''s dimensional storage to see if we had packed everything.

    After making sure we were all clear, our group proceeded toward the main hall downstairs.

    In the main hall, all the other first-year cadets who boarded the same ship as us were present.

    There, all of us were given our objective for the final practical exam. As expected, like every year, it was a battle royale.

    But this year, our objective was to take control of a clock tower situated at the center of the chain of isles.

    The first unit to take control of the tower and write their names on the white g present on top of it would win.

    Of course, the losers won''t automatically fail. Everyone would be evaluated based on their participation and efforts.

    In fact, there was no way to fail the practical exam.

    Even if someone is eliminated right off the start, they would still pass. Obviously, their score would suffer.

    However, those who perform well in the exam will receive a series of rewards in the next academic year.

    Whereas, those who win will receive a ce in the Top 16 next year, i.e. either the Disciplinary Committee or the Cadet Council.

    To be honest, after the King''s Tournament, I should already have been in the Top 16, but since I was on leave for six months, my ranking plummeted.

    Right now I should be somewhere in the Top 30. Well, it''s fine. After winning this exam, I would cement my ce in the Top 16 for next year.

    Being in the Disciplinary Committee or Cadet Council is actually really beneficial since its members could go on leave for as long as they want, provided they keep up with their duties and take on missions that the academy assigns them.

    Anyway, after giving us our objective, the ship captain told us all about how we will makendfall.

    The ship was going to circle the chain of inds twice. The ship would be sailing as close as it could get to the coast.

    Those who knew how to fly could do that to get to the inds while others would be jumping in the water and swimming to the shore.

    The rules were simple.

    Lethal attacks weren''t allowed.

    All kinds of relics, enchanted items, and mana techs were allowed.

    A cadet will be eliminated if their smart bracelet is damaged.

    First to mark their names on the white g on top of the clock tower would win.

    Cadets could start attacking each other as soon as they leave the ship.

    After exining the rules, the cadets were provided with enchanted armor vests that could negate one-fourth of the damage targeted at its user.

    That way, a misfired stray spell or anything like that wouldn''t identally kill a cadet.

    Though, if something like that could kill them then they have already failed as a model cadet.

    Anyway, the cadets were allowed to refuse the enchanted item if they had a better alternative.

    After the ordeal was done, the practical exam officially began. The ship started circling around the chain of isles.

    Some cadets rushed to the deck while others took their sweet time and decided to wait and watch for a while.

    Our unit was among the ones who decided to move to the deck. As soon as we stepped into the open space, everyone present there shifted their attention to us.

    Their gazes were scrutinizing as if they were scanning potential threats, and they weren''t even trying to hide it.

    Naturally, Nero and I were attracting most of the attention but the rest of our unit was still being regarded cautiously.

    Leaning against the railing, watching the inds in front of us with bloodshot eyes, Kent yawned, still massaging his forehead.

    "Will you be alright?" I asked. "You still look pretty beaten. Just how severe is your hangover?"

    "I don''t know, bro," Kent groaned. "I can''t even remember what I tookst night."

    "And that''s why drugs are bad, kids," Anastasia remarked yfully.

    "Sure, Grandma," Kent chuckled. "But I will be alright."

    "Like hell you''ll be," Nero scoffed while walking up to us. In his hand, he carried a ss full of some yellow liquid. "Here, take this. You''ll feel better."

    "What is it? Are you poisoning me because you think I''ll be a dead weight for you all?" Kent blinked.

    "....." Nero sighed, shaking his head.

    "It was a joke!" Kent shouted.

    "It''s a hangover remedy," Nero rified, puffing his chest as a small smile tugged on his lips. "Created by yours truly."

    "Careful, Kent! There might very well be poison in it!" Iughed. "But no, seriously, why do you have a hangover remedy?"

    Nero shrugged, handing the ss over to the blue-haired elf. "My master drinks a lot. One of the first things she told me was how to deal with a hangover. She says it''s a remedy passed down to her by her master."

    "So it''s not created by you?" I asked, grinning.

    "It¡­ Well, I modified it!" Nero retorted.

    Anastasia frowned. "Should she be teaching her disciple how to deal with hangovers rather than instructing him to not drink? Sounds like a bad influence."

    "Please," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "That''s very tamepared to all the advice my Grandmaster benevolently graced upon me."

    "Okay, okay, guys!"

    Right then, Amelia pped her hands to have our attention.

    "Now that we know the objective," Amelia said while turning to face me. At the same time, everyone else also turned to me. "Tell us what''s your strategy."

    "What do you guys think I am?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "It''s not even been a full ten minutes since the announcement. How do you think I coulde up with a winning n this fast?"

    "So you don''t have a n?" Nero raised an eyebrow dubiously.

    "...Of course, I have a n."

    Letting out a soft sigh, I willed mana to one of the two dimensional rings on my fingers.

    Instantly, a whirlwind of ethereal sparks shed before me before materializing into my hoverbike.

    The cadets around in our immediate surroundings, even the members of my own unit, were forced to take a few steps back.

    A chain of murmurs and whispers broke out amongst the cadets upon seeing what I had summoned.

    Without minding the fuss, I quickly mounted my hoverbike and pressed the ignition switch.

    The engine roared as it was jerked to life, igniting the eight propellers installed on this mechanical beauty.

    I looked at the members of my unit and saw their mouths agape with eyes widened.

    Before any one of them could even speak, I uttered a single sentence.

    "This is the n: take control of the clock tower and don''t get eliminated. Also¡­ thest one to get there will have to do the assignments of the other four for the whole academic year."

    Before anyone could retort, refute, agree, or evenprehend my words, I took to the skies like a rocket.

 Chapter 380 Aerial Battle

    Chapter 380 Aerial Battle

    After reaching a considerable altitude, I came to a slow halt and started hovering in ce. From this vantage point, nothing was out of my sight.

    The fleet of ships was already almost done circling around the chain of inds for the first time and was about to do it once more.

    The cadets were going to start jumping off the ships soon. I needed to get a head start and move toward the center.

    The duration for the practical exams was five weeks. However, I had no intention of ying this silly game for that long.

    No, no. I was going to ace this test within the next two days.

    But to do that, I needed to spot the clock tower. Taking a deep breath, I willed mana into my eyes and instantly my sight was enhanced.

    It was a neat trick Leo taught me. It wasn''t a spell but a technique ¨C an application of mana, to be more precise.

    Right now, my eyesight was magnified to the point it felt as if I was looking through a pair of binocrs.

    Nodding to myself, I began sweeping my gaze over the ind middle in the middle in search of a high-rise clock tower.

    "Come on," I muttered to myself, growing slightly impatient. "I don''t have all day to myself."

    The wind was sharp and biting this high in the sky. In the ruthlessly raging gale, my long silver hair fluttered wildly.

    Squinting my eyes, I brushed back my hair and focused on looking for the clock tower.

    Unfortunately, however, I sensed an attacking in my direction from below me right at that moment.

    "....!"

    My eyes widened in swift surprise as I instantly cocked my entire weight to the side. The hoverbike titled in mid-air before a fireball passed right through the spot where I was just a split second ago.

    -"Guys, my attack missed!"

    -"You don''t say, Sherlock! It''s fine! We will overpower him!"

    -"Good idea! Let''s surround him!"

    I cast a quick gaze down and saw five cadets flying toward me with blurring speed. Two were on hoverbikes while the other three had used wind spells to take flight.

    The fireball from earlier was shot by one of the two cadets on the hoverbikes since the ones flying shouldn''t be able to cast any other spells.

    Yes, since no person could ever dual cast, flight spells were not preferred by a lot of freshmen. They couldn''t be med.

    Flight spells are very hard to master on their own already. But being unable to cast artillery spells while in mid-air is just too much.

    Not to mention, you can''t even fight properly while flying. There is no ground to step on, so your attacks depend on your raw strength rather than movement and techniques.

    In fact, it''s hard to even properly draw a bow in mid-air.

    That''s the reason why only experienced martial artists learn flight spells. After all, they can use true Martial Aura to perform both offense and defense. They don''t need wless techniques or precise movements to deal damage to their enemies.

    However, that doesn''t mean absolutely no freshmen ever learn flight spells. Some are suited well to fight in the skies because of their unique gifts while others just learn to fly to look cool.

    There are all kinds of people.

    Then there are cadets with hoverbikes like me. They are also well equipped to fight in the skies because they can freely cast spells while riding theirpact aircraft.

    "So annoying," I clicked my tongue and pulled the head of my bike up toward the sky before pulling on the throttle.

    The engine of my mechanical beast let out a deafening roar before blue mes burst out from the propellers.

    The speed at which I began soaring up into the sky in the next moment was frightening.

    The windshield in front of me tried to protect me from the resisting gale but the raging wind still made me squint. It was at that moment I thought I should''ve brought riding goggles.

    -"He''s going up!"

    -"Shut up, Captain Obvious!"

    -"Don''t fight. His speed is great but we can still catch him!"

    The cadets behind me were still hot on my trail. By the looks of it, they appeared to be experienced in flying.

    Obviously.

    That''s why, despite the difference in our speed, they were having no trouble catching up to me.

    -"Open fire!"

    Before I knew it, a barrage of artillery spells started raining on me from behind. Fireballs, wind des, even lighting chains.

    Gritting my teeth, I veered off my trajectory and started ascending in a wide spiral.

    At the same time, I activated the barrier bubble that was meant to be used while diving in deep seas.

    The wind stopped howling in my ears as it was blocked by the mana barrier. A fireball hit the barrier behind me in the next instant and exploded.

    However, the barrier held on. In fact, the fiery explosion only hurtled me upward in the sky even faster.

    This mana barrier was meant to withstand the crushing pressure of the deep ocean. I was certain that it could endure a couple of low-grade spells.

    Besides, it was also shielding me from the biting wind.

    But that was not enough. The cadets were still right behind me. Once they manage to surround me, it will be all over.

    -"Stop, you bastard!"

    Right then, a cadet suddenly appeared in front of me. He had a sword in hand and was flying toward me from above.

    Since he wasn''t on a hoverbike, he must be using a flight spell. That means if I deploy a long-range attack, he wouldn''t be able to block.

    Following that line of thinking, I pressed a red button on the left side of the handlebar and felt mana being drained from my core.

    The energy sters installed in front of my bike lit up, azure particles of mana swiftly clustering at the mouth of their barrels.

    In the blink of an eye, a flurry of high-density energy bullets shot forward at the guy in front of me.

    "What the¨C?!"

    The cadet''s eyes widened in shock but he quickly whipped his palm forward and chanted a spell under his breath.

    In the next moment, a round wall of water appeared in front of the boy, protecting him from the onught of my energy bullets.

    Ah! So he wasn''t using a spell. That means he must have a Gift rted to flight.

    "Fine then," I smirked.

    Removing this guy was a priority since not only was he fast enough to encircle me and block my path from the front, but he could also cast spells mid-air.

    Coming to that conclusion, I fastened my speed instead of slowing down.

    "Let''s do this!"

 Chapter 381 So I cant fly, so what?

    Chapter 381 So I can''t fly, so what?

    ?381  So I can''t fly, so what?

    "Hey! Hey! Hey! You bastard, why aren''t you slowing down!"

    The smirk on my face widened. "Let''s see what''s sturdier, my bike or your barrier spell?!"

    "Th-This insane fucker! He''s insane!"

    The cadet floating in the air before me panicked. His eyes darted frantically as he tried to think of a solution, but time was slipping away.

    I was on the verge of ramming the front of my bike into his water shield any moment now. If his barrier shattered from the force of the collision, his ribs would break as well.

    However, that wasn''t the scary part.

    If his barrier held, the speed at which my bike was about to sh with him would throw us both off bnce, and we''d fall down to our deaths.

    ...Well, we wouldn''t technically die, since there was nothing but ocean directly below us.

    But, plummeting uncontrobly from this height was still terrifying.

    Besides, if we were tond on the water surface incorrectly from this height, we could still break just more than a few bones.

    "You crazy, reckless lunatic!"

    The cadet in front of me dismissed his mana barrier and barely moved out of my way to evade being rammed.

    I continued ascending toward the clouds for a couple of more meters before pulling back on the handlebar, executing a mid-air somersault with my hoverbike.

    Now, instead of flying up, I was diving downward at an iprehensible speed. But as if that alone wasn''t enough madness, I jumped...

    I jumped from my hoverbike.

    The cadet who was cursing at me just a few seconds ago was too astounded to understand my crazy actions.

    If only his reaction time had been a little faster, he might have noticed me hurtling toward him in time.

    "...Huh?! Wait- What?!"

    However, by the time he registered what was happening, I was already upon him. Yes, I had jumped toward him.

    The cadet snapped out of his daze and attempted to intone a spell.

    However, as soon as I closed in on him, I grabbed his hand ¨C the one on which he wore his smart bracelet ¨C and summoned tendrils of crimson mes to enshroud my body.

    In the next moment, I let out a soft breath and uttered a single whisper, "Mana Burst!"

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    An immting fiery explosion bloomed in the midst of the sky, looking as if a second sun had spawned.

    The mes dissipated almost instantly, leaving behind only arge sphere of ck smoke.

    Something stirred within the smoke before a cadet was throwing out from it, hurtling downward, crashing.

    Right then, an announcement rang from my smart bracelet.

    [You eliminated Cadet #1798, Jack Morton]

    Almost at the same time, another dazzling explosion erupted within the billowing smoke.

    This time, I was propelled outward at tremendous speed.

    I had my arms and legs extended wide, trying to control my descent as much as I could.

    Skydiving has always been an item on my bucket list. Now I could check it off.

    Heh.

    Smirking, I employed mana bursts a few more times, triggering small explosions from the palms of my hands and the base of my foot to hasten my descent and adjust my course of fall.

    The remaining four cadets flying toward me looked at me as if I were some kind of lunatic.

    So what if I couldn''t fly? I could certainly fall with style.

    Haaa!

    Directing my descent, I caught up to my hoverbike and remounted it mid-air. I was still plummeting downward, while the other four cadets soared toward me.

    We were about to sh.

    I smirked and activated the front energy sters without hesitation. Once again, vibrant particles of azure mana coalesced in front of the sters'' barrels.

    -"Watch out! He can fire energy beams!"

    -"Oh, really? Thanks for informing us of what we can clearly see!"

    -"Dude, what''s your problem with me?!"

    -"You kissed my mom!"

    -"Both of you, stop your bickering and pay attention!"

    Without waiting for their banter to end, I started showering them with energy bullets.

    The two cadets on the hoverbikes surged forward and thrust their palms outward.

    Mumbling an incantation under their breath, they conjured twin bs of rock in front of them to shield them from my attack.

    Huh, an earth barrier spell?

    Earth barrier spells are a good option when battling on solid ground since they are much sturdierpared to water barrier spells.

    However, in aerial battles, they''re not the wisest choice since they obstruct too much vision.

    What''s the problem, one may ask?

    On the ground, attacks can onlye from four directions, whereas in the air, there are eight potential attack vectors!

    And that''s why¨C

    "...Huh?!"

    Just as I was thinking about my next move, the stone shot forward, blocking my mana bullets while hurtling to crash into me.

    Ah, I see now.

    They weren''t using those rock bs as stationary shields but as projectiles ¨C a moving cover, to be more precise.

    The expression of astonishment on my face swiftly transformed into a broad grin. "Oh, you poor souls."

    Unfortunately for my enemies, even this tactic was futile.

    I summoned the Bringer of Lost mes from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet.

    At the same time, I also summoned a bow in my other hand, leaving my grip on the handlebarpletely.

    cing my weight on the foot pedals, I pulled my spear arm back. I took a deep breath and the crimson spear in my grasp suddenly was engulfed in scorching mes.

    Without hesitation, I whipped my arm and threw my spear forward.

    The fiery projectile surged like a missile and collided with the rock shields, instantly exploding them into hundreds of shards.

    -"Huh?!"

    -"...What?!"

    -"Damn it! Damn it! Fuck!"

    The cadets, who had been sheltered behind the rock shields, were still in the middle of casting spells and nocking arrows.

    They never expected their barrier spells to shatter so easily.

    They looked ahead with shaky eyes. In front of them, I drew back on my bowstring, a malevolent smirk on my face.

    Before they could do anything, I released the bowstring, and the mana arrow that was materialized on it shot forward, splintering into ten darts mid-air.

    [Thousand Falling Lightning Needle Strike]

    The mana darts rained down on the cadets, striking everyone''s smart bracelet with surgical precision, shattering them.

    The cadets could only widen their eyes and drop their jaws as I blurred past them in the next moment, catching my spear and stowing away my bow.

    "Good game, well yed, everyone. Until next time."

    [You eliminated¡­]

    [You eliminated¡­]

    [You eliminated¡­]

    [You eliminated¡­]

 Chapter 382 Genius Idea

    Chapter 382 Genius Idea

    ?382  Genius Idea

    Diving down until the base of my hoverbike was on the verge of touching the ocean, I pulled on the handlebar and started flying forward, just inches above the water.

    It looked as though I was riding on top of the water itself.

    Slicing through the undting waves of the ocean at a dizzying pace, my hoverbike left a trail of white foam in its wake on the ocean''s surface.

    In just a few minutes, I reached the shore of an ind within my line of sight, and the front tire of my hoverbike made contact with the ground.

    After reaching the coastline, I came to a slow halt and dismounted from my bike. I let out a soft breath and began stretching my arms a bit.

    In front of me was a thick forest.

    I wouldn''t be able to navigate the jungle with my bike, so I''d have to walk on foot from this point onward.

    Right then, a sharp feminine voice cut through the air, seeminglying from the woods ahead of me.

    "That''s a nice bike you''ve got there, Lucas."

    I smiled, shifting my gaze toward the source of the voice. "Isn''t it? I really should give it a name."

    At that moment, another deep voice sounded from behind the cover of the woods.

    "You should," it said. "It''s a beauty."

    "I know," I chuckled, stowing my hoverbike away in one of my dimensional rings. "I never understood the appeal of bikes until I got this one."

    Suddenly, two silhouettes emerged from behind the nearest tree in front of me.

    One was a tall, tawny-skinned youth with eyes as dark as two wells of darkness and a head full of jet-ck hair.

    The other was a slightly shorter girl with long, golden locks thatplemented her fairplexion, fashioned into a high braid, her pinkish-

    golden eyes fixed upon me.

    The young woman had a confident smile on her captivating face, while the young man wore an expression akin to that of a man being forced into something against his will.

    "We''ve been waiting," Grace gave me an amicable smile. "It''s been quite some time since we met face-to-face."

    "Yeah," I shrugged. "I''ve been a bit upied recently. So, how''s life, you two?"

    "Life was fine until a few days ago when Grace here had a genius idea," Quinn heaved a deep sigh.

    I smiled and turned to Grace. "Oh, do tell, Grace. What was your genius idea?"

    The grin on Grace''s face broadened as a cascade of ethereal white sparks coalesced around her hand, turning into a slender rapier.

    At the same time, Quinn released another sigh, and the shadows all around us swiftly deepened, getting a lot darker.

    "The idea was to get a little payback on you, of course~!" Grace beamed with pure excitement.

    "By eliminating me?" I inquired.

    Grace nodded in affirmation, while Quinn rolled his eyes.

    "That''s too bad," Imented, the bright smile never leaving my face. "Here I was thinking you both would help me win this thing."

    "Oh, what a pity. However, since this isn''t one of your entric missions, we aren''t obligated toply with your wishes, are we?" Grace inquired, the radiant grin on her face only entuating her charm.

    I sighed and shrugged once more. "That''s true. This isn''t a mission, so I won''t ask you toply."

    Before I had even finished speaking, a golden spear materialized in my hand.

    Grace couldn''t contain her giggle of pure exhration. I couldn''t me the poor girl.

    Given how I treated her before she joined me, it''s a wonder she doesn''t want to just kill me¡­ Or does she?

    Well, the bottom line of the matter is that it was clear she would take any chance to get back at me, even if only in a yful manner.

    "However," the smile on my face contorted into a slightly twisted grin. "What makes you think the two of you can stand before me?"

    "Oh, under normal circumstances, we wouldn''t dare think so," Grace shook her head, the smile on her face fading. "But the training regimen you put us through has elevated our synergy to an ungodly level."

    Yes, since I knew they would be spending so much time together on their missions, I instructed Quinn and Grace to start a training routine together.

    This is good. I would have the chance to see their progress with my own eyes now.

    "And I also noticed that you weren''t able to train properly aftering back to the academy," Quinn remarked. "So we have our doubts about whether you''re in your best shape."

    "I''m always in my best shape," I refuted with a scoff. "Also, were you spying on me?"

    "My shadows were trailing you," Quinn confirmed with a nod.

    "Bullshit," I frowned. "I would have known if your shadows were tailing me."

    Quinn smirked. "People spend nearly their entire lives with their shadows. One might assume recognizing their own shadows would be simple, right?"

    The frown on my face deepened into a scowl. In the next instant, Quinn pointed down at my feet and whispered in a low, ominous tone:

    "So, Lucas, can you tell which shadow is yours?"

    Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine. I jerked my head down and looked at my feet, only to witness a sight that made my eyes widen in shock.

    On the ground, I wasn''t casting one, two, or even three shadows¡­ but a fucking total of seven shadows.

    "What the¨C?!"

    I flinched, and all seven shadows mimicked my sudden movement with uncanny precision.

    The sun!

    My actual shadow should be in the opposite direction of the light source!

    Realizing this, I nced up and noticed the sun directly above my head¡­

    Damn it!

    That meant my real shadow should be directly under my feet, and all seven of these were Quinn''s¨C

    Before I couldplete my thoughts, I sensed the shadows beneath my feet stirring.

    Whipping my head around to locate Quinn, I found he had disappeared in thin air. Even Grace was nowhere to be seen.

    Those wily bastards! They used theatrics to distract me andunch an attack!

    In that instant, Quinn leaped out from the shadow just behind me, thrusting a long dagger toward me.

    His intention was to strike my smart bracelet and shatter it in one swift motion.

    Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I swiftly spun around and used my spear to intercept the obsidian de of his dagger.

    He was quick, and since he could teleport through shadows, he was also unpredictable!

    "Well done on blocking that," Quinn grinned, disying his pearly white teeth. Any previous hesitation had vanished from his face.

    He directed his gaze upwards, signaling for me to look overhead as he continued, "But how will you handle that?"

 Chapter 383 Strategic Retreat

    Chapter 383 Strategic Retreat

    ?383  Strategic Retreat

    My pupils constricted as every hair on my body stood on end. I felt a threat looming over my head.

    An attack from above!

    I looked up and saw Grace, the rapier in her grasp pulled back and poised to strike, descending on me.

    Oh, damn! They really have gotten good at working together.

    Unfortunately for them, I have also be much strongerpared to thest time I fought them.

    Willing mana into my knees and arms, I pushed Quinn back a single step before hoisting my leg up and ruthlessly thrusting it at him.

    Thwack¡ª!!

    The forceful front kicknded squarely on Quinn''s chest, pushing him back a couple of meters, his feet leaving behind deep grooves on the muddy ground.

    Without wasting any movements, I stomped my foot on the ground to gain a proper footing and lifted my spear over my head.

    The raging wind swirled around Grace as she fell and pushed her rapier down on me.

    Sparks flew as the shaft of my spear shed against the tip of her slender sword, yet instead of backing away, the wind around Grace grew even more violent as she continued to press me down in ce.

    I grit my teeth, struggling to keep standing under the crushing pressure. It felt as if a mountain had fallen on me.

    Grace also raised her eyebrows in shock. She clearly didn''t expect me to still remain standing.

    "So you can withstand this?" Grace squinted her gaze at me and quickly molded a hand sign with her free hand.

    In the blink of an eye, a javelin made of turbulent wind materialized in her hand.

    At the same time, dark obsidian spikes shot up from the shadows on the ground under me, piercing the flesh in my feet and pinning me in ce as a sharp grunt of pain escaped my lips.

    So one made sure that I couldn''t move while the other decided to attack me head-on. I must admit, it was a damn good strategy.

    But Grace shouldn''t have tried to contest me in close quarters.

    A smirk cracked on my lips as the blonde girl whipped her arm forward, intending to hit me with the wind javelin.

    But her attack could connect, I conjured tendrils of mes around me and uttered a silent whisper:

    "Mana Burst."

    A huge fiery explosion erupted on the seashore, making it look as if a second sun had appeared on the ground if not for a huge mushroom billowing up from it.

    Quinn raised his arm to cover his eyes from the rising wind and dust until the plumes of smoke disappeared.

    When the dust settled, the sand on the ground under my feet was burnt and turned into obsidian brittle shards of ss. On top of it, Grace was kneeling.

    Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were a mess of burnt rags, revealing her smooth jaded skin in several spots.

    [You eliminated #000536¡­]

    Grace''s smart bracelet was shattered and her rapiery broken beside her on the ground.

    The shadow spikes piercing my legs were also obliterated and the wounds of my legs were enshrouded by silver mes, healing them.

    "Nice try, Grace¨C" I said with a smile.

    But before I could continue speaking, Quinn lunged at me from the side.

    Simultaneously, several creatures rose from the shadows all around us and rushed at me with a burst of speed.

    This bastard! He was already using necromancy, huh?!

    Fine, so be it!

    Mana swirled around the length of my spear, churning uncontrobly and turning crimson.

    I moved forward and met the assault of the Perfect Necromancer head-on, raining a flurry of spear thrusts and shes at him.

    Quinn held one of his daggers in reverse grip that he used to block my attacks while using the other one to execute his own counterstrikes.

    Steel bit into steel and the ngor of de shing against de filled the world in a violent cacophony.

    Quinn''s shadow ves also joined the fray, assisting their master by pouncing at me whenever I was about to push him back.

    Quinn''s technique was refined and honed by his battle experience. His movements were sharp while his attacks were silent like that of an assassin.

    I couldn''t see it thest two times I fought him since I wasn''t very experienced in battle myself, but now I could see¡­

    Despite Quinn''s swift and nimble offense, he was like a barbarian. His battle style revolved around dominating his enemy through sheer strength.

    He was theplete opposite of Nero in that regard.

    There were more than a few ws to his technique that I could see ¨C vulnerabilities that I could exploit.

    The first one was rather simple. Since he relied on overpowering his opponents, I just had to do the same with him.

    That''s how I defeated him thest two times.

    Well, that and I also relied on traps.

    It made sense, though. Quinn preferred to end his enemies with one clear strike. Even when he had to fight, he usually sent in his trusted shadow ves.

    He was not as good as Nero or Anastasia in head-on fights. But that didn''t mean he wasn''t a force to be reckoned with.

    Even in head-on battles, he could hold his own against strong opponents.

    How? By using his legion of shadow minions, that''s how.

    Even though I could see openings in his attack patterns, I couldn''t do anything about it since his shadow creatures were covering for him.

    More than that, there were all kinds of shadow creatures ¨C a huge ck wolf, a dark knight, a shadow mantis, and many more.

    Their attacks were frantic and didn''t have any pattern to them. I couldn''t read the situation at all.

    Slowly but surely, Quinn''s dagger started breaking past my defenses. I gradually started umting wounds all over my body.

    Come on,e on! Just one mistake! All I needed was for him to make a single mistake!

    And soon he did.

    I thrust my spear forward. Quinn used his dagger to squat away my spear and stepped in, thrusting another dagger at my smart bracelet.

    This was it! I could grab his hand instead and use Mana Burst one more time to get an easy win!

    ¡­But something was off.

    Quinn wouldn''t make a mistake like this, especially after this was exactly how I defeated Grace.

    No, something was off.

    I darted around my eyes and suddenly my gaze stopped on Grace. She was still on her knees, watching our battle.

    ¡­There was a victorious smirk on her face. It was the face of someone who had already won.

    Suddenly, I noticed that there were no shadow creatures blocking my left side. It was almost as if they were leaving my left open for¡­

    For a projectile!

    It was a sniper! They were giving clear vision to a sniper! I was about to be sniped!

    "Tsk!"

    Clicking my tongue, I jumped a single step back and muttered, "Phoenix Embrace!"

    Right at that moment, I heard a loud bang from somewhere inside the forest, and a golden beam of light shot at me, leaving behind a faint glowing trail.

    The golden armor materialized over my body in a shroud of mes just in time to protect me from a golden bullet that hit my left calf.

    Thann¡ª!!

    Unable to pierce my armor, the golden bullet ricocheted off as the mes around me dispersed.

    Both Quinn and Grace couldn''t help but widen their eyes.

    "How- How did he know?!" Grace yelled.

    "I¡­ Huh?!" Quinn was unable to put together aprehensive response.

    Meanwhile, a smirk bloomed on my face as sparks of electricity lit up and started dancing around me.

    I had activated my lightning aura.

    Since nothing was blocking my left side, this was my best chance to retreat. After all, near-invincible protection or not, it''s never a wise option to fight After all, near-invincible protection or not, it''s never a wise option to fight under the eye of a sniper.

    Quinn was quick to understand my n. But before he couldmand his shadow ves to block my left, a sh of bright light shed in the air, blinding everyone present.

    When the light died down, I had vanished from my spot. No, I didn''t run. It was a strategic retreat.

 Chapter 384 Eliminating Trouble

    Chapter 384 Eliminating Trouble

    ?384  Eliminating Trouble

    Some meters away from the ongoing battle between Quinn, Grace, and Lucas, a rather fine-looking young man with brown hair and ruby-red eyes was standing on top of the crown of a really tall tree.

    He was looking through a scope on a sniper rifle, aiming at his target. He kept looking for a long time, waiting for a perfect position.

    His breathing was sturdy and his index finger was putting just enough pressure on the trigger to not fire the shot yet still be ready to shoot at any given moment.

    After an unnervingly long amount of time, he smirked and pulled the trigger.

    A sharp sound of a loud gunshot erupted as a golden bullet wasunched from the barrel of his sniper.

    It was an enchanted bullet capable of throwing the mana core of the victim it hit into disarray, rendering them unable to cast magic or use mana arts for a brief period of time.

    Plus, it would also function as a real bullet and obviously hurt getting shot.

    Basically, it was a Magic Negation bullet that Hugh got after begging Kai for weeks, since not only was it very costly but also just as rare.

    Unfortunately, his bullet went to aplete waste. His target ¨C Lucas ¨C activated a relic just in time.

    It was an armor relic that Hugh''s bullet couldn''t pierce.

    Seeing that, the brown-haired sniper''s eyes widened through his scope.

    "What the actual fuck?!" He cursed, not able to believe what just happened.

    Not only did Hugh make sure to mask his presence, but he was also a considerable distance away from the fight.

    How did Lucas know he was going to get sniped?! Just how?!

    "Damn, he''s scary!" Hugh chuckled to himself.

    His precious bullet was not only wasted, but he had also revealed his location to everyone in the near vicinity after failing to neutralize his target.

    Yeah, this wasn''t a favorable situation for a sniper. Hugh had to move and he had to do it fast.

    He plummeted down the tree andnded gracefully on the ground. However, right then, he felt a strong wind blowing past him.

    In the next moment, he felt someone''s hand pressing on his back apanied by a sweet voice that reached his ears.

    "Be the smart boy I know you are and don''t move," the voice said.

    "Or what?" Hugh asked, trying to think of a solution to get out of this situation.

    "Or a strong tempest will hit you point nk and break at least more than a few bones. Now, raise your hands."

    Hugh closed his eyes and nodded with a resigned smile on his face. He began to slowly raise his hands as he said:

    "Didn''t know you were so ruthless, Miss ck."

    Amelia smirked behind him, her green eyes shining with a victorious glint as she grabbed his left wrist and chanted a spell.

    Wind coalesced around her palm, giving her enough strength to easily shatter the smart bracelet on Hugh''s wrist.

    A notification popped up in her earpiece.

    [You eliminated¡­]

    Without bothering to listen to the full notification, Amelia intoned another chant as once again the wind started swirling around her.

    "See you back in ss," Amelia said before another strong gust of wind blew and she disappeared from her spot like a passing spring breeze.

    ?

    I was leaning against a tree. I had long since dismissed the Phoenix Embrace.

    I also made sure that Quinn''s shadows did not follow me here by casting light shes from time to time and looking out for any unnatural shadow.

    It had been fifteen minutes since I came here, our arranged meeting spot. Just where was¨C

    Before I couldplete my thoughts, I heard faint sounds of footstepsing from the bushes in front of me.

    Soon, a tall girl stepped out from the cover of the woods. She had leaves sticking out in her long ck hair which was tied in a high pony.

    Instantly, her emerald eyes fixed upon me and a bright smile bloomed on her alluring face.

    "Been waiting long?"

    "Yes," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Do you know how dangerous it is to stay on one stop for so long right now?"

    Amelia chuckled. "I doubt anyone can pose a threat to you, anyway."

    "Maybe not individually," I nodded. "But if they band together like just a few seconds ago, then yes, they can."

    The enchanting smile on Amelia''s lips. "But wasn''t that all just a part of your n?"

    Hearing her rhetorical question, I couldn''t help but smile a little myself. "Of course, it was."

    "How did you do it, anyway? I mean, how did you know they were going to attack you?" Amelia asked, genuinely interested.

    I shrugged, the smile on my face turning into a grin. "Because I was the one who gave them the idea."

    Amelia raised her eyebrows in slight shock. "How? And when?"

    Thest time I met them, I made sure to talk about the practical exam in front of Grace. I also subtly indicated that they wouldn''t have to follow me during the exam.

    I knew Grace wouldn''t let go of a chance to get back at me. And just as I thought, she took the opportunity.

    Grace thought she was the one who thought about attacking me during the exam, but in reality, it was I who suggested that idea to her.

    The poor girl was just too short-sighted to see.

    But I didn''t know she would bring Quinn in on her n. That was a surprise even to me.

    I did, however, know that she was going to use a trap to finish me off. After all, Grace couldn''t beat me and she knew that.

    However, I thought her trap was going to a cadet capable of casting imprisonment or artillery spells.

    So it came off as another surprise when she used a sniper instead. I did not know Hugh was helping her too.

    Truly, Grace Goodwill is a girl full of surprises. If not for my Phoenix Embrace, I might''ve actually been in a little trouble back there.

    Anyway, after I incepted the idea in her head, I began to strategize a countern.

    The n was simple. I would go ahead, eliminate a few Cadets, attract Grace''s attention to me, and have her attack me.

    Meanwhile, Nero, Anastasia, Amelia, and Kent would search for her wild card, and eliminate whoever they would be.

    Whoever eliminates the wild card would then send me a text, giving me their live coordinates.

    That''s what Amelia did. She eliminated Hugh and texted me her live location. I then asked her to meet me here.

    I made this n right after I left the deck.

    The reason I didn''t speak of this n on the deck was because there were too many Cadets there. Any one of them could easily have been Grace''s spy.

    Now, one of the few people who could have given me trouble is now eliminated.

    Heh, what a genius I am.

    ¡­No, I''m getting overconfident again. If anything, I should be ashamed that I didn''t expect Quinn and Grace to work together.

    Shaking my head, I took a breath and began walking.

    "He-Hey! Where are you going? Tell me, how did you do it?!"

    "Long story. Not in the mood to tell."

    "H-Huh?! What does that mean?! Lucas!"

 Chapter 385 We Will Prevail

    Chapter 385 We Will Prevail

    Lucas and Amelia were walking through the thick forest, navigating through the uneven grounds of the jungle.

    They were headed to meet the other members of their unit.

    But as they walked, a pair of ethereal cyan eyes of a reptile followed them.

    The reptile itself was hidden underground, its bodypletely out of view, leaving only its vertical pupils exposed.

    At the same time, thousands of miles away, a council was held inside the Government House situated in the heart of the Central Continent.

    In the spacious meeting hall adorned with all kinds ofvish items, twelve men and women were sitting around a huge round table.

    ced in the center of the round table was a device that was protecting a holographic image of¡­ What was it exactly?

    "What is this exactly?" One of the women sitting there asked. She was dressed in a pantsuit and exuded an aura of power and authority.

    That was to be expected since she was someone who had been in a position of power all their life, after all.

    Everyone else sitting at this table was the same.

    Each one of them carried an air around them suggesting that they believed the entire worldy beneath their feet.

    ¡­Which wouldn''t be entirely false.

    Everyone sitting at this round table was a member of the Central Government. The entire world did indeedy beneath them.

    Another woman seated at the table rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "How can you not know what this is? A file was sent to every single one of our homes. At least have the professionalism to read crucial documents sent to you before attending the meeting that could very well decide the fate of the fucking world!"

    "I didn''t have much time this weekend," the first woman replied. "Actually, I haven''t had much time for the past six months. I''ve been covering for all of you, trying to handle this Spider situation on my own as best as I could! So forgive me if I couldn''t spare a moment to read a fucking file!"

    Everyone fell silent after those words were spoken. They knew what she said was all true.

    Ever since Spider''s existence came to light six months ago, Donna has been the only one controlling the public, answering the press, and suppressing the media.

    On top of it all, she was also the one who had been keeping the word of the North''s situation out of the general public''s ears.

    The situation in the North was worsening and if people got word of it, a full-blown mass panic would break out.

    There wasn''t a threat¡­ yet¡­ but the people won''t listen to reason. Reason is the first victim of panic, after all.

    Essentially, it wouldn''t be wrong to say that Donna was the only person here trying to keep the world together.

    ¡­But that didn''t mean the others weren''t doing anything.

    "Donna," the man sitting across from her whispered, uttering her name to calm her. "Calm the fuck down. You''re doing your part of the job, and so are we. Let''s not make a scene."

    The man''s words were curt and his tone cold, bordering on indifference. If it was anyone else, he would have been dead already for speaking to her in such a manner.

    However, this man was Count Dekrauf himself.

    Donna had no choice but to shrink back and nod submissively.

    Count shifted his gaze to the second woman. "Cassy, try to understand the situation as well."

    "But she''s never prepared for a meeting!" Cassy retorted. "Why does someone always have topensate for her? How difficult can it be to manage public affairs?!"

    "Handling the masses may seem simple, but manipting them is not!" Donna shot back. "And you don''t get to talk about easy jobs when you spend all day on yourputer!"

    "Oh, you think cyber affairs are easy, huh?! Try taking my ce for a day! Just try it for one day¨C"

    Before they could continue, however, Count Dekrauf mmed his hands on the table, silencing both women.

    Others in the room also involuntarily shuddered for a moment. Count had a tendency to snap, and no one was eager to provoke his anger.

    "Enough, both of you!" Count shouted but swiftlyposed himself. "What we''re discussing here could potentially alter the fate of the world."

    All eyes turned to him in solemn silence as he continued.

    "So, please, for once in your pathetic lives, set aside your differences and try to work together."

    A hushed silence enveloped the room for a long time before Donna spoke up once more.

    "I apologize," she said in a sincere tone. "Now, can someone please exin what I''m looking at?"

    Her gaze fixated on the hologram disying what appeared to be¡­ space?

    A vast expanse of nothing but a dark void with numerous small orbs of light scattered throughout.

    Stars? Gxies? What was this?

    "I swear if this has anything to do with the prophecies¡­" Donna sighed.

    "No, it doesn''t," Cassy was the one who responded, shaking her head. "This is... It''s... They are universes. Each one of those star-like glowing orbs are¡­ universes."

    When that bombshell was dropped, silence once again filled the room.

    Donna''s eyes widened, her jaw dropping as she looked at her surroundings.

    Ah, now she understood why everyone was looking so down today.

    After a prolonged silence, she mustered the courage to speak up again. "Okay, so we were right. The multiversal theory is real. How did we obtain this, exactly?"

    Cassy took a deep breath. "Remember our little prisoner? That snake girl? Well, she finally spoke. Even revealed her name."

    Donna arched her eyebrows, disying further surprise. "Wh-What is it?"

    "Kiara," Cassy replied.

    "So our torture worked on her finally?" Donna inquired.

    "Hell no," Cassy chortled. "She generously gave us some information. She confirmed a few of our spections and shared other, more terrifying details."

    Donna slumped back in her chair. "Were we right about her being the Dragon God''s general?"

    "Yes," Count Dekrauf affirmed with a nod. "He... ising for us next."

    Donna couldn''t help but shudder. A primal sense of fear seized her at the mere mention of those words.

    "What do our Diviners say? Anyone who can foresee the future?" Donna questioned.

    Cassy shook her head. "They confirmed the information. He is indeeding for us next."

    "So we are all dead," Donna chuckled hysterically. "How can mortals ever hope to stop a God?"

    "Please, Donna, calm down," Count intervened. "We still have time. Several years, at least. We can put an end to this. The war, the impending apocalypse, everything!"

    Everyone once again turned to Count, their eyes glimmering with intense emotions.

    The situation seemed grim... but with this man leading them, perhaps they could... survive... even win!

    Count took a deep breath and nodded resolutely.

    "First, we will eliminate Kalis and exterminate the Vampires. Then, we will begin preparations for the Dragon God''s arrival. We... will... prevail."

 Chapter 386 Victory [1]

    Chapter 386 Victory [1]

    After walking for a few hours, Amelia and I reached the appointed meeting spot. We came across a few cadets while on our way here, but Amelia quickly eliminated them.

    She didn''t even need to draw her weapon and instead just shot a couple of wind bullet spells.

    Her uracy must''ve increased. She could actually be our markswoman. Good, that''ll help me in my ns from here on out.

    The sun was looming near the horizon, painting the sky in a million shades of red, orange, pink, and purple as if announcing dusk''s arrival.

    Before long, we spotted our Unit members.

    Nero was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, looking as if he was deeply meditating.

    Anastasia was on the lookout, her jewel-like, intricate golden eyes shining with a luminescence that seemed to rival the radiance of the setting sun.

    Kent was¡­ what the fuck was he doing?

    The blue-haired elf was hanging down from the branch of a really tall tree like a bat.

    Everyone wore a ck vest and tacticalbat trousers, each equipped with multiple utility pockets provided by the academy.

    The fact that none of them had epted the enchanted armored vest offered to the Cadets only meant that everyone possessed a better armor relic.

    "What in the world is Kent doing?" Amelia inquired, walking ahead.

    Anastasia simply shrugged. "Everyone copes with heartbreak differently."

    "Oh my god! I''m not heartbroken! Shut up, you guys!" Kent snapped from above. "But, to answer your question, I''m just hanging upside down to let the blood rush to my head."

    "And what''s that going to aplish, buddy?" I asked, an amused smirk ying on my lips.

    "I''m trying to shake off this hangover!" Kent replied. "If you''ve got a better idea, do share, please!"

    "So, I suppose Nero''s remedy didn''t do the trick?" I asked, eyeing the ck-haired swordsman.

    Nero snapped open his eyes.

    Initially, he tried to defend his remedy, but then quickly gave up. "Hey, I¨C Okay, yeah. It didn''t work. I guess I need to perfect it even more."

    Suppressing a chuckle, I nced back at Kent. "Alright, buddy,e down. Let''s discuss the n."

    Kent sighed before sitting up straight on the tree branch he was hanging from and then jumped down.

    Landing with a low thud in front of us, he stepped closer, and all of us huddled up, except for Anastasia, who remained on the lookout.

    "I tried to look for it from the sky, but I still couldn''t see the Clock Tower. Maybe it''s hidden somewhere deep in the woods," I told them.

    Nero tapped on his smart bracelet, projecting a map of the chain of inds in front of us.

    He pointed at a particr spot and remarked, "The forest is dense around this area, so it should be here."

    "Seems usible," I shrugged. "Here''s the n-"

    "But you said you didn''t have a n," Kent interjected with a confused look.

    "Clearly, I was lying," I shook my head. "Now listen, here''s the n-"

    Kent interrupted me again. "Why were you lying?"

    "Shut up, Kent!" I snapped. "Now, listen, this is the n: Amelia and I will draw the attention of every Unit out there. So, when everyone converges at our location, you three will make your way to the Clock Tower. You''ll then share your live location with us, and we''ll find an opportunity to make a run for it. While everyone is busy fighting among themselves, we''ll lift the g and win this thing and make a record of clearing the practical exam in just two days."

    "Wait, why me?" Amelia frowned.

    "What if they don''t fall for your trick?" Nero inquired.

    "Does the bet still hold? Whoever reaches the Clock Towerst will have to do the other four''s assignments for the whole year?" Anastasia questioned.

    "You don''t win by lifting the g, though. We have to write our names on it," Kent pointed out.

    Listening to them, I suddenly felt a migraineing on. Why did I get such dimwit Unit members?

    My eyebrow twitched as I replied:

    "Amelia, it''s because your uracy has improved. With wind magic, you can even sense others'' locations and snipe them. Yes, Nero, I''m sure they''ll fall for my trick. Yes, Anastasia, the bet still holds, though now only Amelia and I could lose. Yes, I know what we need to do to win, Kent! I said lift because you lift a trophy after winning apetition! Anyone else?!"

    Everyone looked at me in silence. It looked like they still wanted to ask me something but ultimately decided to let it go.

    In the end, when everyone nodded, I smiled. "Good, now let''s win this thing."

    ?

    We set up camp for the night, and at the break of dawn, we quickly put our n into action.

    Amelia and I secured a vantage position by climbing atop the crowns of two of the tallest trees we could find.

    Nero, Anastasia, and Kent ran toward the spot where we thought the Clock Tower could be.

    After settling in our bird nest, I signaled Amelia.

    Once she was given the signal, she began to unleash a barrage of wind bullets at cadets she sensed nearby with the help of her wind magic.

    At the same time, I also summoned my bow and started shooting arrows blindly, purposefully revealing our position.

    Even if other cadets knew this was a trap, they had no option but to check it out for themselves. After all, we were shooting at them.

    At least the strong ones woulde.

    As for the weaker ones, well, they weren''t a threat to us anyway.

    Before long, just as I thought, several Units started converging on our location. I turned to Amelia and asked, "How many did you take out?"

    "Eight," Amelia responded, throwing a quick nce in my direction.

    I frowned. "Just eight? I thought you''ve gotten better."

    "Hey," Amelia gave me a hurt re. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to snipe people you can''t even see?!"

    Yeah, well, it was a hard task.

    Since Amelia can bend wind bullets, she can snipe Cadets even when they''re out of her sight.

    But to know their location, she has to cast another wind spell. This particr spell allows her to sense the unnatural disturbances in the air''s movements and locate the enemy''s position.

    After locating them, she has to dismiss the spell, remember the location, andunch wind bullets to eliminate them from afar.

    The problem is that most adept Cadets would immediately know when their location ispromised.

    Most of the time, they''d sense the bloodlust directed at them when Amelia takes the shot, causing them to quickly change positions.

    Not only that but they''d also be able to pinpoint our location because all the shots would being from a single spot. But that''s what we were counting on anyway.

    Basically, what I mean is that hitting a live target you can''t even see is actually really difficult.

    I shrugged. "You''re right, eight is fine. Now, let''s get down and fight them in close quarters."

    Amelia nodded and leaped down. I alsonded a few paces beside her and quickly added:

    "Remember, we don''t need to take them all down. We just have to keep their focus entirely on us. When they start fighting among themselves, we''ll make our exit."

    Amelia nodded again and materialized a gleaming spear in her hand. Seeing this, I couldn''t help but raise my eyebrows.

    "Wait, what? Why the spear?" I asked, bewildered.

    "Why not?" Amelia grinned. "I''ve started dual-wielding after training in Shaolin."

    ...Huh?! Wait, why?

    Unfortunately, before I could wrap my head around her words, the oing Cadets began bombarding all kinds of artillery spells on us.

    I called forth Phoenix''s Embrace while Amelia activated an armor relic as well.

    She was wearing a heart-shaped locket around her neck that started glowing, eventually turning into a cascade of ethereal sparks that enveloped her slender body.

    After the light faded, she was d in a lustrous armor of silver steel with dimly glowing intricate patterns inscribed on it. A ne of triangr emerald stonesplementing the bright silver steel also manifested around her neck.

    Despite the protection of our armor, rather than standing there and taking the barrage of artillery spells, we started running around.

    Amelia took on the horde of Cadets at the front, while I handled the nk and rear.

    Tendrils of electricity crackled around me, enhancing my speed to an ungodly level.

    Bolts of white lightning carried me as I easily evaded the attacks and approached the Cadets with rming speed.

    In my hands, I summoned a jian sword, its de still hidden within its sheath.

    This was the reward given to me by Liz.

    The Jian was a little bigger than my arm, its de always emitting a ghostly white glow, while its hilt was forged from a polished jaded wood.

    ===

    Item: Sword (Relic)

    Name: King''s de

    Rank: Legendary

    Condition: Excellent

    Description: A long time ago, a King fell in love with amoner. Despite being unable to marry her, he loved her and even had a son with her. However, the world''s cruelty shattered their love story ¨C their tale ending with him taking her life.

    This de stands as a testament to the King''s eternal love and the valiant sacrifice he made for his people.

    As long as the wielder of this sword remains noble and heroic, they will receive a significant boost in all their stats.

    Additionally, the sword amplifies the light elemental spells cast by the wielder.

    ===

    ¨C"Watch out! He''sing!"

    ¨C"He''s Lucas Morningstar! Surround him. Don''t not to take him on by yourself¡ª"

    A bolt of lightning struck the ground before a few Cadets, and there I stood in front of them, with sparks of electricity crackling around me.

    I bent my knees slightly as the two Cadets before me staggered back in surprise.

    However, they could only widen their eyes as I drew the ghostly white de of my jian and shed both of their smart bracelets in a sh of blinding light.

    Thack, Thack¡ª!!

    [You eliminated¡­]

    [You eliminated¡­]

    Soon, the entire area around us was drowned with the mor of steel shing against steel and the thunderous sound of artillery spells exploding.

    At first, the cadets only focused on Amelia and me. But after a only few minutes, they began to fight each other.

    By now, the rest of our Unit had reached the Clock Tower. They had also shared their live location with us.

    Once we made sure their attention was not on us, Amelia and I slipped away from the Cadets engaged in a fierce fight, and headed toward the Clock Tower.

    ...However, all this time, a sense of dread was welling up inside my chest.

    At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but now I was certain... something was watching me.

    ...Maybe it was just Quinn and his shadows. If that''s the case, then so be it... I''m ready for a rematch.

 Chapter 387 Victory [2]

    Chapter 387 Victory [2]

    Amelia was using wind magic to enhance her speed while I shrouded myself in a crackling lightning aura.

    She moved like a fleeting gust, while bolts of electricity carried me forward akin to a sh of light.

    In a mere fifteen minutes, I reached the location that Nero and the others had shared with us.

    Amelia quickly caught up,ing to an abrupt stop beside me after seeing me standing there.

    In front of us was a dpidated Clock Tower. Its ruined walls looked weathered and cracked, with patches of moss visible here and there.

    Its clock itself was broken, the minute hand dangling down while the hour hand pointed upwards ¨C forever frozen in time.

    The peculiar sight of a Clock Tower hidden amidst the thick forest was just weird.

    Why was it built?

    What was the reason for its existence?

    "Lucas, why are you just standing there?" Amelia''s voice snapped me out of my daze. "Let''s go inside. Unless... you want to lose so I won''t have to do the assignments. Aw, how thoughtful."

    I turned to face Amelia, holding back a scoff. "No chance."

    "...What?"

    "No chance!" I repeated. "You''re the one who''s going to lose. I don''t want to do those assignments."

    "Huh?!" Amelia furrowed her brows. "So you want to fight?! Fine. Because I''m not doing those assignments either!"

    Stepping back, Amelia summoned her bow and notched an arrow, swiftly aiming it at me.

    "Too bad," I shrugged, a smile ying on my lips. "Because you''ve already lost."

    The frown on Amelia''s face deepened, but before she could grasp what had happened, my body wavered and vanished into thin air before her eyes like a distant mirage that was never truly there.

    "...What the hell?!"

    ?

    "Oh, Lucas. You''re here."

    Nero was the first to know my presence as soon as I arrived on the topmost floor of the Clock Tower.

    I nodded back at him and quickly moved forward. There was a metal pole plunged into the ground in the middle of the floor.

    ring on that pole was a white cloth with Kent, Anastasia, and Nero''s names written on it with a ck marker.

    All I had to do was write my name on it. Then Amelia would do the same and we would win.

    We were going to win without a single member of our Unit eliminated. This was a perfect victory.

    But there was a problem. I could still feel someone''s gaze on me. Tch, Quinn. He was still spying on me.

    I wonder when he''ll show up.

    "Bro, why do you look so panicked?"

    I turned my gaze at Kent then shifted my attention back to Nero. "Quick! Give me the marker. I think Quinn''s shadows are watching me."

    Nero frowned and held out his hand, extending me the marker. I grabbed it from him and moved toward the g.

    "Where is Amelia?" Anastasia asked. "I saw you bothing here."

    "She''sing," I said while scribbling on the white cloth with the marker. "And she lost since I came here before."

    Right as we were talking about her, Amelia entered the floor, cursing. "What the hell, Lucas?! That was cheating!"

    I grinned, finishing writing my name on the g. "Your fault for not realizing it was a mirage."

    Amelia angrily strode up to me and snatched the marker off my hands, giving me a narrow re.

    "You''re heartless," she pouted and started writing her name on the g.

    "Well, this was an easy victory," Anastasia shrugged. "Once again, you crafted a nice strategy, Lucas."

    "No," I shook my head with a smile. "It was an easy game."

    Nero chuckled. "It wasn''t. Anastasia is right. Without your insight, we could never have guessed the Clock Tower''s location. And without your n, we would''ve had to fight several Units on our way here¨C"

    Suddenly, Nero stopped. His eyebrows scrunched up in a deep scowl as his face contorted with a confused expression.

    Suddenly seeing him stop talking, I tilted my head. "What''s wrong, Nero?"

    "Did you say Quinn''s shadows were following you?" Nero turned to me and asked.

    "Yes," I nodded. But suddenly, an unsettling feeling welled up in my heart. "I¡­ can still feel someone''s gaze on me."

    "What?" Kent frowned in confusion. "Why is he still looking? I don''t know very much about him or shadow magic, but I at least know that Quinn can use his shadows to attack."

    "Yeah," Anastasia nodded. "So why isn''t he attacking? Why is he letting us win?"

    Nero''s eyes widened. "Because it''s not Quinn!"

    Everyone present here ufortably shifted their gazes to the ck-haired swordsman.

    The atmosphere in the Clock Tower turned palpable with anticipation and dread as Nero spoke his next words.

    "On my way here, I saw Quinn and Kai locked in a fight! Both of them eliminated each other! Since eliminated Cadets can''t participate, it must be someone else who''s been keeping an eye on you!"

    My pupils constricted as a chill raced down my spine. If it wasn''t Quinn, then who had been following me all this time?

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    As if waiting for that signal, the ground beneath us cracked and crumbled before we could react.

    In an instant, enormous jaws burst through the disintegrating ground from both sides, closing in on us.

    But before the colossal jaws could eat us, we acted swiftly. I activated my Lightning Aura, enveloping myself in a crackling shroud of electricity.

    Nero deployed his Light Aura, his body emitting a blinding burst of light.

    Meanwhile, Amelia cast her wind magic, letting tumultuous gale surround her lithe figure.

    Together, we dashed towards the nearest window, with Nero and I each grabbing Kent and Anastasia.

    Bwaaaan¡ª!!!

    Before the massive jaws could close shut, we had shattered the weathered ss of the window and leaped out of the Clock Tower.

    The Clock Tower was as high as a standard six-story building, so the fall was not going to kill or even cause severe injury since all of us were either using Martial Aura or high-ranked magic.

    And just as I thought, we allnded gracefully on the ground. Letting go of Anastasia, I turned to look at the tower, just like everyone else.

    The tower walls trembled and copsed, revealing a colossal creature within.

    It was a titanic snake, adorned with shimmering cyan scales, eachrger and thicker than modern military tanks, and a massive serpentine head adorned with a pair of cyan eyes.

    Large tusk-like fangs jutted out from beneath both its jaws, and a wild, primal fury was visible in its vertical reptilian pupils.

    But the most terrifying thing about this creature was that more than half of its body was still underground.

    The serpent shifted, perhaps realizing it didn''t kill its prey, and then turned its sharp, primordial gaze on us.

 Chapter 388 Divine Mana Beast

    Chapter 388 Divine Mana Beast

    Gazing at the cyan serpent, I couldn''t help but feel my body shudder. "Wh-What the fuck is that?!"

    "...A-A mana beast?" Amelia stammered, her wide eyes fixed on the monstrosity before us.

    "...No, nonsense!" Nero shook his head. "If that is a mana beast, then it''s easily above the Diamond rank!"

    "A-A¡­ Divine mana beast?" Anastasia gulped.

    "But then the academy should know about it!" Kent objected.

    Unfortunately, before any of us could continue the talk, the serpent lunged at us, pulverizing the trunks of all the trees that dared to block its path.

    Without a word, all of us scattered by darting in different directions.

    The serpent hit nothing but the uneven forest ground where we had been standing just a few seconds ago, sending a localized earthquake.

    The tremor almost threw me off but I managed to keep my bnce and stay on foot. I felt the ground shaking again as the serpent began to move. It was going to chase us.

    With its size, I doubt we would be able to outrun it for long.

    Without stopping my run or turning back to look at the monstrosity, I tapped on my smart bracelet and shouted, "Athena, send a distress signal to the instructors and alert other cadets on the inds!"

    [Already done, Sir! You are advised to follow the standard Code Red procedure and retreat back to the Exam Supervisors!]

    "Yes, I know I need to run, Athena! Thank you very much for telling me what I need to do in fucking Code Red!" I yelled back at the AI "Yes, I know I need to run, Athena! Thank you very much for telling me what I need to do in fucking Code Red!" I yelled back at the AI assistant.

    The academy equipped us with various levels of emergency scenarios and practical strategies to counter them.

    Code White was the least dangerous situation because it meant that only one individual''s life was in jeopardy.

    Whereas Code ck meant the potential for more than a million casualties.

    Following Code ck, Code Red was the second most dangerous scenario, where the lives of thousands were at stake.

    If this mana beast really was of the Divine rank, then it meant the lives of everyone on this chain of isles were at risk.

    The problem was the fact that it was only the second day of the exam today.

    The ships weren''t scheduled to pick us up today, so they were sailing a few miles away from the inds.

    Even if our Unit had justpleted the exam, the ships would still need at least another half an hour to reach the coast.

    All the eliminated Cadets would be there at the shore, along with other Cadets who had received the panic signal.

    If this mana beast reached the shore, it would be akin to leading a rabid wolf into a herd of sheep¡­ it would be a horrific ughter.

    But what could we do?! All of us are on the Silver or Gold ranks. We have no business trying to fight a Divine-ranked mana beast.

    The top three mana core rankings ¨C Divine, Immortal, and Mythical ¨C arergely different from the lower and middle ranks.

    Upon reaching the Divine rank, whether it be a person or a beast, they not only gain an iparablyrge mana pool but also acquire a sort of enlightenment.

    This enlightenment helps them in their mastery of mana in every possible way. They essentially be one with it.

    At the Immortal rank, they achieved a state of undying existence. Unless their mana core is destroyed, they couldn''t be killed, and even then, some could survive.

    After reaching the Mythical rank ¨C which no one had aplished yet except Leo, who could mimic the Mythical rank using Symphony ¨C they be forces of nature.

    Just like Leo, upon reaching the Mythical rank, they could manipte mana and bend thews of nature to their will.

    My point is that all three of the top ranks are far beyond what we could currently handle. We are not yet prepared to fight something of this level.

    That''s why it was shocking to hear a resolute voice yelling at us from up ahead.

    "You all, keep going, and don''t look back! I''ll hold this creature off here!"

    I nced upward to see Nero standing on a high tree branch, staring down at us.

    The colossal serpent was close on our heels. It was merely a few meters away.

    Nero''s gaze shifted from us to the cyan snake, which was toppling the forest''s trees standing between us and it.

    "Are you out of your mind!" I roared, stopping in my tracks. "It''s a Divine mana beast! It''ll tear you apart!"

    Nero maintained a calm demeanor as he looked down at me. "If we lure it back to the shore, everyone there will die. Our best bet is to keep it here in the forest."

    "Do you think I haven''t thought of that?!" I snapped. "But we can''t take on a fucking Divine-ranked creature, Nero!"

    "That''s why I''m telling you to run!" Nero''s voice echoed back at me. "Get to the shore, wait for the ships, and signal me!"

    "What''s the point when you''ll be dead?!" I retorted, turning to face Amelia, Kent, and Anastasia, who had also stopped their retreat. "And what the hell are all of you doing?!"

    "Nero is right," Anastasia gritted her teeth, her hands clenched into tight fists as her eyes began to radiate a brilliant golden glow.

    Her eyes seemed to transform into twin orbs of zing mes. Azure mana started to swirl around her fists, gradually growing golden like her eyes.

    "We cannot lead the mana beast back to the shore," she stated intensely, her eyes glowing at me like a pair of suns.

    Amelia summoned a lusterless ck spear and nodded. We''ll have a good chance of stopping it here if all of us fight. So, I''ll join."

    "Same here," Kent added, summoning a long scythe into his hands.

    "Have you all gone fucking insane?! If the Cadets die, then let them! Save yourselves first!" I shouted but quickly felt the ground tremble.

    The forest behind us shook, and a couple of trees toppled over.

    I pointed back at the forest and yelled, "That thing will ughter you all within minutes! Fucking minutes! You''ll die!"

    "Then we''ll die together," Nero dered, extending his hands.

    In an instant, a sword materialized in his grip, its de shimmering crimson with a burst of mes. He had already unleashed his Gift.

    "Damn it!" I cursed aloud, then spun around. "That''s why I hate fucking heroes!"

    As thest few trees between us and the beast copsed, I whispered under my breath, "Phoenix Embrace."

 Chapter 389 The Perfect Necromancer Joins The Fray

    Chapter 389 The Perfect Necromancer Joins The Fray

    ?389  The Perfect Necromancer Joins The Fray

    The trees ahead exploded into thousands of wooden splinters as the head of the giant cyan serpent lunged at us.

    Its speed was staggering, but we were faster.

    Anastasia darted forward, with Nero closely following behind her. I couldn''t help but clench my fists.

    It''s almost as if they don''t even feel fear.

    Shaking my head, I summoned the Bringer of Lost mes in my left hand, letting the immting mes engulf the crimson spear.

    Thwaam¡ª!!

    Up ahead, Anastasia swung her fists, which were enveloped in glowing golden gauntlets made of pure mana, at the colossal serpent.

    Her punches shattered the sound barrier, sending a disorienting shockwave rippling through the area.

    Her blows connected with the serpent, but instead of recoiling, the colossal monster charged into her like a speeding train.

    Anastasia was flung backward from the force of the impact, hurtling through the air until she collided with a nearby tree, gouging a crater in its trunk.

    Nero quickly stepped in to take her ce. He swung his zing crimson sword in a horizontal arc, aiming for the side of the colossal serpent.

    But even Nero''s Heavenly Sword failed to cut through the cyan serpent''s armor-like scales and inflict a wound.

    The serpent writhed its body like a whip, striking Nero and sending him flying back as if he were a marite with broken strings.

    Using the opportunity, I rushed at the serpent from the other side and jumped over its head.

    Cutting through its scales was impossible for us at our level without the help of any Legendary, Divine, or Mythical-ranked offensive relic.

    Our best bet was to target the areas that were not covered by its scales, such as its mouth or eyes.

    And I certainly wasn''t going anywhere near its mouth, so I decided to go for its eyes.

    High above the colossal serpent''s head in mid-air, I pulled back my spear arm and locked my target on one of its reptilian eyes.

    The incinerating mes twirled around the length of my spear as I whipped my arm forward, throwing it down like a fiery projectile.

    "....?!"

    However, before my attack could reach the giant mana beast, the cyan serpent slightly shifted its majestic head, narrowly evading the iing spear, and fixed its piercing gaze on me.

    I was suspended mid-air with nowhere to go. If it came at me now, I would die. Even the nigh-invincible protection of my armor wouldn''t be enough to save me.

    The serpent opened its gaping jaws wide, moving in my direction with the intent of swallowing me whole alive.

    However, thankfully, before it could gobble me up for its lunch, a ck blur shed and collided with the massive serpent, halting its movements for a few precious seconds.

    It gave me enough time to escape the face of imminent death. I fell onto the uneven ground,nding with a roll.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, I scanned my surroundings to have a look at my savior who saved me from falling into the serpent''s mouth.

    It turned out to be a towering humanoid rhinoceros, standing on its front legs and wrestling with the colossal serpent using its two human-like arms. It was made of pure darkness.

    In the next moment, a young man with tanned skin and hair as ck as a raven''s feathers stepped out from my shadow.

    The young man shifted his gaze at me, his eyes resembling two unending pools of darkness.

    "Quinn," I greeted. "I''ve never been happier to see you."

    Before I could say any more words to him, the colossal serpent in front of us brought its maw down on the humanoid rhinoceros and tore it asunder.

    "Arghh," Quinn winced beside me. "That damn fucker... it can destroy my shadows!"

    Frowning, I inquired, "What does that mean?"

    "It means we shouldn''t be fighting it!" Quinn snapped.

    Meanwhile, Anastasia and Nero once again charged at the serpent before us, breaking sound barriers and unleashing attacks at the speed of light.

    "Yeah, I couldn''t agree more!" I nodded, summoning a golden spear in my grip. "But we have no other choice."

    I don''t care about any other Cadet on this chain of inds aside from a few, but I will not let Nero or Anastasia die here.

    If either of them were to die here right now, it would be impossible to stop the Vampire Monarch in the future.

    "Can you help?" I asked.

    Ahead of us, Kent and Amelia finally decided to join the fray.

    The blue-haired elf swung his scythe, while the archeress-turned-

    spearwoman valiantly thrust her spear at the harrowing monstrosity.

    Quinn sighed. "Fine, let''s do it."

    Shadows began to stir and swirl around us as soon as Quinn said that.

    In the very next second, several creatures of darkness emerged from the shadows all around us, surrounding and filling the whole forest.

    There were giant wolves, bipedal rhinos, winged panthers, and various other mana beasts that Quinn had in and enved, now a part of his shadow legion.

    The Perfect Necromancer flicked his finger, causing most of his shadow ves to charge at the serpent, baring their ws and jaws.

    At the same time, the remaining shadow creatures came at Quinn and fused with his body. They spiraled around him, slowly disintegrating in ck sparks that formed an armor ofplete darkness on him.

    This was Shadow Fusion. At first, Quinn could only use this Spell with his strongest shadow ve ¨C Shiya.

    But as time passed, Quinn sessfully achieved shadow fusion with his other shadow creatures as well.

    Shadow Fusion granted him all the abilities of the creature he had in and turned into his shadow using necromancy.

    For instance, if he had in a creature with regenerative ability and added it into his shadow legion using necromancy, then fusing with that shadow could grant him the same regenerative powers.

    The best part is, he could fuse with as many shadows as he may like as long as they are part of his legion.

    This was his strongest spell. This was the reason why Quinn was able to fight Nero in a head-on battle, despite thetter''s broken Gift.

    A smile broke across my face. "Yeah, let''s do this!"

 Chapter 390 Combined Assualt

    Chapter 390 Combined Assualt

    Tendrils of azure lightning crackled around my body as I rushed forward with an explosive burst of speed.

    Quinn was on my left, keeping up with my speed even as I was using the Lightning Aura.

    I drew back my spear while Quinn summoned a pair of daggers. No words were exchanged between us, yet we knew exactly what to do.

    As soon as we entered the striking range, we split up ¨C Quinn encircled the colossal serpent from the left, while I covered its right.

    Numerous shadow creatures, along with Nero, Anastasia, Kent, and Amelia, were already engaging the serpent, providing us clear openings to get close and unleash our attack.

    Our n was clear and simple.

    Quinn and I were aiming to pierce both of the cyan serpent''s eyes, blinding it, and then make a swift escape.

    Yes, there was a chance it could still track us even after it lost its eyes, but we should have bought enough time for the ships to arrive.

    Since there were individual Teleportation Gates on every ship, some instructors from the academy might also be able toe to our aid.

    But for either of those to happen, we needed time. Blinding the monster would buy us the time we needed, thus that was our n.

    Bolts of lightning crackled beneath my feet, propelling me upward into the air. At the same time, Quinn also shot up in the air like a rocket.

    Down on the ground, the cyan serpent endured the onught from the shadow creatures and the unified assault of the Cadets.

    Nero noticed our positions and understood what we were trying to do. He stepped in and executed a horizontal sh on its side, his sword engulfed in searing mes.

    From the opposite direction, Anastasia threw her glowing fist forward in a blur of golden light. Her punch connected with the serpent''s scales and the golden mana around her fist surged forth in a rippling shockwave.

    Thwaam¡ª!!

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    However, even theirbined attacks failed to inflict any fatal wounds on the serpent. But they did sessfully manage to restrict its movements even if only for a moment.

    Up ahead the ongoing fray, Kent and Amelia charged at the serpent at the same time Quinn and I began to fall down it.

    If the serpent decided to focus on Kent and Amelia, it would be exposed to our attacks.

    If it fixed its attention on us then Amelia and Kent would be able tond their blows.

    Our coordination was wless! There was no way for the serpent to escape or even dodge our attacks.

    Though we couldn''t kill it, we could achieve our objective of blinding it no matter what¡ª

    "Huh?!"

    Right as I was in the middle of my thoughts, my eyes fell on the cyan serpent.

    I saw something ancient¡­ something primal flickering in its eyes for a split second.

    Fwooosh¡ª!!

    In the next instant, a tumultuous gale burst forth from the serpent''s body. It was like a powerful tornado, sending those in its near proximity flying backward.

    I was also flung away, soaring through the air until I collided with a tree.

    The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs, leaving me disoriented as I fell to the hard ground below.

    "What in the..." I managed to draw in a gasp, my vision shaking with a mix of confusion and uncertainty.

    Coughing several times, I raised my gaze to meet the cyan serpent''s stare. It was... looking at me!

    In a blur of speed, the serpent lunged at me the moment our eyes met each other''s.

    Why the hell is it targeting me specifically? Come to think of it, I was the only one who felt its gaze earlier¡­ So was it only stalking me all this time? But why?

    My thoughts were cut short as the cyan serpent drew closer. Gritting my teeth, I intoned the Fire Lance spell.

    Suddenly, several javelins forged from swirling, incinerating mes conjured into existence around me and shot forward at the serpent like a salvo of missiles.

    Kabooom¡ª!!

    The mences struck the cyan serpent''s snout, triggering an immting explosion that sent forth a sonic boom, shaking the ground beneath me.

    But I knew this wasn''t nearly enough to vanquish a Divine-ranked mana beast. So I mustered strength in my legs and rose to my feet.

    Tightening my grip on the silver spear in my left hand, I chanted another spell under my breath ¨C Hellfire Doom.

    I felt the mana surging into my right palm as I clenched it into a tight fist and struck the ground beneath me.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    As my fist hit the ground, multiple fissures appeared on the surface, all creeping their way toward the cyan serpent who was still hidden behind a shroud of thick plumes of smoke that had risen after the earlier explosion.

    Behind the veil of thick ck smoke, I felt the serpent''s presence. It was still looking at me. It was still unhurt.

    However, before it couldunch itself at me once again, the creeping fissures reached the ground beneath the plumes of rising smoke, causing the terrain to crumble.

    Several fountains of demolishing mes surged forth from the cracks in the earth, encircling the cyan serpent as though imprisoning it behind bars of fire.

    "Everyone, get the fuck back!" I yelled at myrades, and they heeded my warning.

    Amelia and Kent retreated to the left, Anastasia and Quinn leaped to safety on the right, while Nero ran in my direction.

    In the very next second, a brilliant explosion blossomed before us, the engulfing mes devouring the entire area where the cyan serpent had been, quickly reducing the lush forest greenery to ash and gouging out a deep crater in the ground.

    Before the mes of the explosion could even subside, Nero reached me and inquired, "Was that everything?"

    What the heck did he mean by everything?! I had hit that monster with two of my most potent artillery spells in rapid session! That''s what I wanted to retort.

    However, instead of taking offense and sparking an argument, I simply nodded. "Yeah. If that didn''t kill it, then there''s nothing in my arsenal that could."

    "Well, it''s not dead," Nero noted.

    I nced at him and shrugged. "Your turn, I suppose."

    Nero let out a sigh. "I guess."

    Taking in a deep breath, Nero lifted his gleaming crimson sword and aimed it at the heavens.

    Suddenly, the light of the day dimmed as pitch-ck thunderclouds shrouded the entire sky.

    Sparks of electricity crackled around Nero''s sword causing bolts of lightning to streak across the dark gray expanse of the sky.

    Gritting his teeth, Nero brought down his sword. In response, the azure lightning bolts in the sky converged into a single point, taking the form of a winged creature ¨C a dragon!

    The lightning dragon roared thunderously in the sky before unfurling its wings and descending to the ground at the precise spot where the cyan serpent was hidden behind the shroud of thick ck smoke and rising dust.

    "What the fuck?!" I widened my eyes and crossed my arms over my head. The scale of that spell would decimate the entire vicinity!

    And indeed, it did.

    The lightning dragon crashed onto the ground, unleashing fierce winds, a deluge of rain, and a thunderous explosion, utterly obliterating everything in a two-hundred-meter radius.

 Chapter 391 Titanic Serpent [1]

    Chapter 391 Titanic Serpent [1]

    The destructive thunderstorm continued to rage on, swirling like a tornado in the midst of the forest.

    A deluge of rain poured from the gray clouds above, fierce winds blew, smoke and dust filled the air, and residual lightning crackled in the atmosphere.

    It was as if a natural cmity had abruptly descended upon the ind.

    In the eye of the swirling thunderstorm, Nero and I stood shoulder to shoulder.

    I shielded my eyes from the drenching rain and strong gales, while Nero, seemingly unaffected, stood tall with his hair fluttering in the stormy wind.

    A few meters in front of us, behind the rising dust, was the cyan serpent, struck by the lightning dragon that Nero had conjured.

    Nero turned to me, hesitating for a split second before asking me for my opinion. "Do you think that was enough to take it out?"

    I knew it would have been enough to take me out, even with my armor. But was it truly enough to kill a Divine-ranked mana beast?

    "I don''t think so," I replied, shaking my head.

    Nero sighed. "Then we''re in big trouble."

    "Was that your best attack?" I inquired.

    Nero nodded. "I''m afraid so."

    At that moment, something stirred in the storm ahead and a pair of reptilian pupils glowing in an ominous cyan hue shed through the torrential rainfall.

    Yeah. As we suspected, it was alive.

    In the next instant, the cyan serpent rose in the air like a tower stretching toward the heavens, and let out a beastly hiss.

    I gritted my teeth as an inescapable feeling of dread crept into my heart. It felt as if my body was made of lead and my feet were anchored to the ground.

    The sound frequency of the cyan serpent''s hiss had paralysis-inducing effects, making our ears ring and bones tremble.

    Taking advantage of our momentary disorientation, the serpent lunged at us with its jaws wide open, brandishing its long tusk-like fangs.

    "Damn it," I cursed before activating the Fire Lance spell once again. Several long javelins made of swirling crimson mes materialized around me.

    With a mentalmand, the javelins shot forward, raining down on the serpent and triggering a series of explosions upon impact.

    Thick ck smoke and dust filled the stormy wind once again, but in the very next second, the titanic serpent burst through the ck veil, wisps of smoke rising from its snout.

    Even one of my strongest spells couldn''t slow down the Divine-ranked beast.

    The colossal serpent continued its path, now with its jaws closed. Nero and I clicked our tongues in frustration and raised our weapons.

    It was toote for us to try and get out of the way. We didn''t even have enough time to chant a spell.

    Unable to evade or attack back, we did the next best thing.

    We braced ourselves resolutely, preparing to endure the full force of the impending collision with the titanic serpent.

    And endure it we did.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    The colossal serpent mmed into us with its snout. For an instant, I caught a whiff of its putrid breath as it collided with my spear and Nero''s sword.

    Even though both of us had strengthened our bodies and weapons with our Martial Auraa, my spear broke, and the cyan serpent crashed into me like a speeding train.

    Naturally, I was tossed back in the air like a weightless doll made of nothing but cardboard and paper.

    Nero''s Heavenly Sword held, but he didn''t. He was also flung back in the air just like me.

    The wind was knocked out of my lungs and I felt some of my ribs creak. I was hurt even after my armor negated most of the damage.

    I cked out for a second and only came to my senses when I crashed into a tree and stopped flying back.

    "Khuaaak!" Coughing violently, I once again fell t on the ground.

    My heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn''t feel most of my left side. This was bad. I was more hurt than I thought.

    My vision was blurred for a moment but I forced myself to look around. I could see Nero, albeit barely.

    He had crashed into a boulder a few meters to my left. The boulder fractured from the impact and Nero was squirming on the ground in pain. He had also broken at least a few bones.

    I looked down and saw blood dripping from my mouth, mixing in with pouring rainwater.

    Internal bleeding.

    Fuck.

    Cursing inwardly, I summoned Silver mes and began healing my body.

    As soon as the luminous Silver mes conjured and engulfed my entire body, an alien yetfortable sensation of warmth gripped my very being.

    I felt alive. I feltplete. I physically felt my bones joining back together and my torn muscles repairing themselves.

    My vision cleared up and the organ-rending pain in my chest and left side subsided. Taking a deep breath, I got up onto all fours.

    Only now did I realize that I was still holding the silver spear in my hands. It was snapped in half.

    A regretful sigh escaped my lips. "It wasn''t even mine."

    It was Adel''s. I stole¨C I took it after beating the crap out of him. But I had to admit, it was a good weapon.

    Gritting my teeth, I rose to my feet and threw away the broken halves of the spear before summoning a ghostly glowing jian in my hand.

    I looked up and saw the cyan serpent lunging at me once again.

    "Fine, asshole!" I didn''t know why it was only targeting me, but now we were going to have a problem. "Embrace Discard!"

    My armor disintegrated in a burst of crimson and golden mes. In return for discarding its protection, I felt a surge of strength welling up in my veins.

    My mana core, which was depleted to more than half of its full capacity already, once again started brimming with mana. In fact, I had more mana at my disposal now than ever.

    ===

    Strength¡ú 6050 [+4500]

    Endurance¡ú 6030 [+4500]

    Speed¡ú 6055 [+4500]

    Stamina¡ú 6020 [+4500]

    Mana Capacity¡ú 7500/7500 [+3000]

    Mana Core Rank¡ú Diamond 2 [¡ü Gold 2]

    ===

 Chapter 392 Titanic Serpent [2]

    Chapter 392 Titanic Serpent [2]

    I smirked as my stats shed before me.

    While I was still not as strong as to kill a Divine-ranked mana beast, I was confident in my ability to inflict fatal damage to the cyan serpent.

    Yes, I said fatal damage.

    I wasn''t aiming to just hurt it and run away now. Oh, no. I was aiming to bring it down. I was going to kill that reptilian bastard!

    Baring my teeth, I drew my sword back. The colossal serpent shot at me like an arrow, trying to ram me for the second time.

    But this time, I was quick to counter it.

    I swung my sword to meet its assault head-on. Sparks flew as the de of my jian collided with the serpent''s snout.

    Even though the serpent pushed me back, I managed to stand firm this time. At that moment, a flicker of confusion seemed to appear in the serpent''s reptilian eyes.

    But before I could act on its momentary confusion, the serpent disengaged, rising above me like a towering omen of death.

    It opened its jaws wide and descended with its fangs aimed at me. Quickly using the Lightning Aura, I swiftly evaded the attack by jumping back a few meters.

    The serpent''s fangs struck the ground where I was standing a split second ago, its fangs tearing through thend as if it was made of cardboard.

    By the time Inded safely, the serpent raised its monstrous head to once again focus its attention back to me.

    The serpent opened its jaws wide, but instead of lunging forward at me again, it remained motionless.

    Suddenly, turbulent winds from the rainstorm swirled in front of its gaping mouth.

    In an instant, the raging winds in front of its jaws quickly coalesced into a colossal orb,pressing and transforming into searing hot sma.

    "A long-range attack, huh?" I drew back my sword, adopting a sharp stance for a forward thrust. My jian''s white de was instantly engulfed in immting crimson mes. "Come then!"

    As if it was answering my challenge, the serpent hissed.

    Thepressed sma orb in front of its jaws erupted into a catastrophic beam, hurtling toward me with deadly uracy, melting the ground beneath it in its wake.

    At the same time, the mes on my de transformed into a storm of plum blossom petals.

    The ethereal petals swirled around me, spiraling like a fiery whirlpool before I pushed my de forward in a destructive thrust.

    Following my movement, the fiery petals surged forward in a spiral like a drill and collided with the iing sma beam.

    Each pinkish petal striking the beam erupted in an obliterating explosion, causing the ground to quake.

    Following the sh, for a few seconds, it looked as if the cyan serpent and I were evenly matched.

    However, the sma beam gradually gained ground against my petal storm and started pushing my attack back.

    "Tsk!" I clicked my tongue in frustration and infused a huge amount of mana into my attack.

    The petal storm raged more fiercely, momentarily holding back the sma beam. But not for long.

    Slowly but surely, the sma beam crept toward me, reaching me within seconds.

    My face was just a few inches away from the vtile sma beam. I could feel the scorching heating from it. It was way more intense than my explosions.

    A wind attack was more destructive and intense than my fire magic. So this was the strength of a Divine-ranked mana beast?

    Just as I prepared myself for getting torched alive, an arrow, veiled in a galing whirlwind, struck the left side of the serpent''s jaw.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    The impact redirected the serpent''s jaw, altering the trajectory of the sma beam. With a deep breath, I called off my attack as the sma beam whipped past me and tore through everything in its path.

    Turning to the side, I saw Amelia with a bow, her strike did not only save me but also momentarily disoriented the serpent.

    Seizing this opportunity, Anastasia and Kent charged at the serpent, unleashing their most powerful attacks.

    Unfortunately, even though the cyan-scaled serpent was stunned, it quickly invoked wind magic again.

    A whirlwind of thousands of wind des shot forward.

    Reacting swiftly, Kent swung his scythe, and Anastasia raised her glowing golden fists, blocking or deflecting most of the wind des. However...

    Kach¡ª!!

    Thack¡ª!!

    "Arghhhaaaa!!" Kent crumpled to the ground when his right arm was cleanly severed by one of the wind des.

    Anastasia stepped forward to shield him, but another wind de altered its course, striking her ribs from the left.

    "Anghh!" She staggered back a single step in agony but kept her guard up against the sharp onught of invisible des despite the rending pain in her ribs.

    A few wind des slipped past Anastasia, hurtling toward me, all of which I skillfully blocked with my jian.

    Suddenly, a strange coldness filled the air. I shivered and instinctively whipped my head to look at Nero struggling to stand upright.

    My eyes widened in shock as I saw what he was trying to do.

    ¡­He was summoning another Heavenly Sword! The Water Sword!

    Maybe he was trying to manipte the weather and freeze the rain tounch an ice attack. But the troubling fact was that he was keeping the Fire Sword summoned!

    Oh, gods! Don''t tell me¡­ Was that maniac trying to dual cast?!

    In this world, no one could cast two spells at the same time. That was the basic logic. But Nero Dekrauf shattered that logic in the novel.

    At the age of twenty, Nero Dekrauf made history by bing the first person to simultaneously cast two magic spells.

    But that shouldn''t be happening now. There were still two years before Nero could achieve such a feat!

    Was fate fastening the destined events once again?

    Shaking my head, I forcibly snapped out of my daze. This wasn''t the time for thoughts like these. No, now was the time to fight!

    I was not sure if Nero could pull off dual casting at this point in time, but I had to count on it!

    After all, he was the protagonist.

    With a resolute nod, I rushed forward at the cyan-scaled serpent in hopes of buying time ¨C time that Nero could use.

    Gritting my teeth, I stepped into the flurry of invisible wind des and fiercely began swinging my sword.

    Though the des were nearly invisible in this raging rainstorm, I could vividly sense any threatening attack directed at me. It was kind of like a sixth sense that I had developed.

    Relying solely on instinct, I navigated the whirlwind of wind des while skillfully blocking any attack directed at me

    The cyan serpent had recovered from its disorientation by now. Shaking its massive head, it fixed its gaze upon me.

    When our eyes met, a glimmer of perverse madness clouded behind the veil of primal fury flickered in its reptilian eyes.

    "Yes, asshole! Here I am!" I shouted. "Now,e at me!"

    The serpent bared its fangs and lunged at me.

    At the same time, I pulled back my sword and rushed forward.

    Crimson electricity crackled around the length of my de while the cyan serpent emitted a paralysis-inducing hiss.

    This time, however, I bit a small chunk of my tongue. The sharp pain kept me from getting petrified and I continued my charge.

    As the cyan serpent opened its jaws just a few meters away, trying to eat me alive, I unleashed a perfect horizontal sh, channeling every ounce of strength into the attack.

    Thwaaack¡ª!!

    My sword struck one of the serpent''s tusk-like fangs, cracking and severing it.

    However, I was a split second toote to retract my right arm from the serpent''s jaws.

    Kach¡ª!!!

    The jaws snapped close, severing my arm, which the serpent quickly swallowed.

    Undeterred by pain, I leaped a few meters to the side and used Silver mes to regenerate my lost arm.

    The serpent veered off, making a u-turn to lunge at me again. One fang was missing from its mouth but the primal fury burned fiercer in its eyes.

    However, it was toote for the serpent.

    A smirk cracked up my face as bolts of lightning shed in the cloudy gray skies above.

    The bolts of lightning converged in a single point, forming a gigantic lightning dragon.

    This time, it wasn''t alone.

    Raindrops clustered together,pressing into crystal ice, shaping another winged creature ¨C an Ice Dragon.

    At that moment, Nero, with both his swords pointed skyward, shouted at me, "Lucas, get ready!"

    And then, all hell broke loose.

 Chapter 393 Elemental Hydra

    Chapter 393 Elemental Hydra

    The Lightning Dragon and the Ice Dragon let out an earth-shaking roar, dominating the sky as though they were its sovereigns.

    Before the cyan-scaled serpent in front of me could react, the Ice Dragon unfurled its wings and descended.

    I crossed my hands over my head once again as the Ice Dragon plummeted onto the cyan serpent.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    Biting cold winds howled and a murderous snowstorm surged forth, veiling the entire area. Slowly uncovering my eyes, I lowered my hands to assess the situation.

    At the heart of the icy snowstorm, where the Ice Dragon had descended head-first, a giant crystalline iceberg had formed.

    Trapped within that crystalline ice mountain was the towering cyan serpent, frozen in ce.

    But it was still not dead. Its frozen eyes were flickering with minute movements as it tried to break free from the ice.

    Without giving it an opportunity to free itself, the Lightning Dragon descended onto the ice mountain next.

    Thwaaam¡ª!!

    It crashed down on the crystalline ice mountain like a destructive lightning bolt, triggering an obliterating thunderstorm explosion.

    Instead of retreating back to safety, I rushed forward, charging head-on into the thunderstorm.

    Residual tendrils of electricity crackled in the air all around me, and a huge tornado of swirling gray thunderclouds unleashed its fury.

    The lethal cold winds of the biting snowstorm mixed with the sharp gales of the raining thunderstorm, nearly sweeping me off my feet multiple times.

    However, I slightly bent my knees, took a low stance, and pressed onward while barely keeping my eyes open.

    By now, my lost hand had alsopletely regenerated so I dismissed the luminous Silver mes surrounding it.

    Finally, soaked to the bones by the rain and disheveled by the raging winds of the storm ¨C or two storms rather ¨C I reached the eye of the spiraling tornado.

    There, at the center, I saw it. The titanic serpent. Its shimmering cyan scales were as beautiful and imprable as ever.

    However, it was wounded. Nero was able to hurt it!

    The cyan serpent was on the ground, squirming very weakly. A deep, hideousceration was present right on top of its head, its scales cracked, broken, and some outright missing on that spot.

    Streams of crimson blood were flowing out of its wound, some mixing in with the pouring rain and some being blown away by the raging storm.

    I was reluctant to admit it, but Nero was truly a battle genius. Since he knew normal attacks weren''t going to cut it, he trapped the cyan serpent in ice, freezing it. Then, he rained down the single most destructive bolt of lightning right on top of its head.

    The sudden shift in the temperature from chilling coldness to immting heat made the serpent''s scales crack. Since its affinity was toward the wind, it had no resistance to cold and heat.

    Truly, genius. He used nature to his advantage and unleashed the full potential of his Gift without depending too much on it either.

    A smirk graced my lips, but it quickly faded as a sudden realization hit me ¨C the cyan serpent wasn''t dead.

    And to top it all off, the streams of blood flowing from its head were slowly thinning.

    Even Nero''s two consecutive attacks ¨C both of which were more than capable enough to reduce an entire city block to a heap of rubble ¨C failed to kill the serpent.

    Just how resilient was this snake bastard?!

    And the fact that the blood flow was slowing down meant only one thing. The serpent had the ability to regenerate.

    "Great," I scoffed. In the next moment, I raised my hand overhead, my open palm facing the sky. "Unfortunately, I can''t let youe back to life again. So let''s see if you regenerate after I st your fucking head to oblivion."

    Directly above the titanic serpent''s head, a majestce of turbulent crimson mes manifested in the air, dangerously raising the temperature of the surroundings.

    The smirk on my face widened into a grin as I brought down my hand. At the same time, the crimsonnce descended onto the cyan serpent.

    Kach¡ª!!

    It struck the precise spot where Nero''s attack had wounded it. The incinerating mes of thence seared the serpent''s flesh, causing its blood to evaporate in sizzling steam.

    A pained hiss escaped the serpent''s mouth as the zing rednce continued to burn through its flesh, widening the wound on its head.

    "This is going to hurt," I sighed exasperatedly, closing my palm into a tight fist.

    Thwoooom¡ª!!

    Instantaneously, the mingnce detonated into an incendiary explosion akin to a truckload of TNT going off.

    A reverberating shockwave boomed from the blooming explosion and effortlessly threw me back in the air.

    And that''s all I remember.

    ?

    "Arghh¡­"

    A skull-splitting headache greeted me the very moment I regained consciousness. At the same time, jolts of organ-rending pain coursed through every fiber of my being.

    I brought my hand to the back of my head and began massaging it slowly.

    ¨C"He''s awake!"

    ¨C"See, I told you he wouldn''t die."

    ¨C"Please, Nero. I saw you panic just a few seconds ago."

    "Shut up¡­" I groaned as the resounding voices around me only intensified my headache.

    Slowly, I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry for a few seconds before returning to normal.

    A few inches from my face, a clear pair of emerald eyes belonging to Amelia met mine. I flinched back, prompting her to do the same.

    "Woah, are you okay?!" she asked. "Didn''t mean to scare you."

    "...I''m fine," I replied in a hoarse voice, looking around. Anastasia and Nero stood a few steps away, both wearing worried expressions on their faces.

    None of them looked in good shape.

    Nero''s body was filled with ck and blue bruises, and a gaping wound marred the left side of Anastasia''s midsection. Amelia also had broken a few bones.

    From the looks of it, I was on the ground, my back resting against the wide trunk of a tree. I touched my head on a couple of spots and inspected my hand. There were no signs of blood.

    Scanning my arms and looking down, I checked if my entire body was intact and in one piece. And surely, it was.

    There were some minor scratches and burns, but it was nothing I couldn''t shrug off.

    Summoning the Silver mes, I let its soft glow cover my wounds and embraced its familiar warmth.

    A flood of memories suddenly shed in my mind, and I widened my eyes. As I tried to get up, Amelia''s hand pressed on my shoulder.

    "It''s fine," she said, pointing behind her with her thumb.

    A few paces behind her, a gigantic crater was visible ¨C a clearing in the forest that wasn''t there before.

    It looked as if a meteor, big enough to shadow an entire stadium, had crashed on the surface.

    The cyan serpent, or at least what remained of it,y in the middle of the crater. Its head was missing and the rest of its body was a disgusting mess of scorched flesh and broken scales.

    A relieved sigh escaped my lips.

    By now, my wounds were also healed. I grabbed Amelia''s hand as she pulled me to my feet.

    "Where is Kent? How is his hand?" I asked, remembering my elven best friend.

    "He''s at the shore along with Quinn. The ships have returned, so they must be boarding. We waited here for you to regain consciousness," Anastasia quickly briefed me. "You were out for a few minutes. We dragged you out of the crater but debated whether to carry you to the ships, considering you might''ve sustained internal injuries and we didn''t want to trigger or fasten the internal bleeding. After all, that explosion was¡­ big, to say the least."

    Of course, it was.

    Aside from pouring every bit of mana I had into it, the Bringer of Lost mes was also reinforcing it since it was a fire-type spell.

    Heck, it was so destructive that even its caster, me, wasn''t safe from its point-nk detonation.

    Drawing a deep breath, I nodded. "I see. I am good. I broke a few ribs but now I''m fine."

    Nero nodded back. "Good job. You really killed a Divine-ranked mana beast."

    I shook my head with a chuckle. "That one right there is all you. Without you injuring it first, I couldn''t possibly have finished it off."

    "Woah," Amelia widened her eyes at me. "Take the win, Nero. Lucas being humble is a rare sight."

    I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

    My exasperated response triggered soft chuckles from my Unit members as we began traversing the forest to return to the shore.

    We received a mass message on our smart bracelets, instructing all Cadets in hiding to retreat to the shore. Instructors from the Academy were on their way.

    Reading the content of that text, I couldn''t help but sigh. Everything was already over. The serpent was dead.

    What were they going to do now bying here? They should''ve arrived when I was on the verge of being devoured.

    "By the way, Lucas," Amelia, walking beside me while Nero and Anastasia paced ahead, turned to me. "Your healing mes are really cool. I mean, you regenerated your lost arm in mere moments."

    "Yeah, they are effective as long as I have mana," I nodded. "Unfortunately, I can''t heal others with it. I tried it on an injured bird once when I was in Mount Hua¡­ it only made it worse."

    "Understandable," Amelia nodded. "It would''ve been way too broken otherwise. After all, anything rted to regeneration or self-heal is already broken enough."

    "Yeah," I nodded before turning to point at the serpent behind us. "That serpent also had a regenerative factor¨C"

    Suddenly, I stopped talking and halted in my tracks. A deep frown appeared on my face. Something¡­ was not right.

 Chapter 394 Kiara

    Chapter 394 Kiara

    "Lucas? What is it?"

    Amelia also came to an abrupt stop beside me, while Nero and Anastasia continued forward.

    They were conversing about something among themselves, paying us no attention. Meanwhile, a frown wrinkled Amelia''s doll-like face.

    "Lucas, is something wrong?" she asked, sounding a bit more concerned this time.

    However, I didn''t reply.

    My mind was elsewhere, making it difficult for me to give her a clear answer. Instead, I vaguely pointed in the direction of the serpent and said:

    "It wasn''t his whole body."

    Amelia couldn''t understand my words. She slightly tilted her head in confusion as the frown on her face deepened. "What?"

    Without responding, I took a few steps toward the deep crater and squinted my eyes to inspect the cyan serpent''s carcass.

    Yeah, just as I suspected.

    I didn''t notice this detail amidst the raging storm, but now that the dust had settled and the sharp gales had subsided, I could clearly see it. The tail of the cyan serpent was buried deep underground.

    No, in fact, considering its body proportions, it was right to say that at least half of its body was still deep underground.

    Perhaps more than half? I don''t know.

    What puzzled me was the question of why it didn''tpletelye to the surface to hunt us down.

    Its size was one of its biggest advantages. Even small movements of 08:35

    its body were more than enough to send most of us flying.

    I could only imagine the scale of destruction it would''ve caused if it had fully emerged on the surface.

    Come to think of it, how did such a huge mana beast mask its presence not only from the other cadets on this ind but also from the academy?

    The academy must''ve scouted this ce long before themencement of our practical exam.

    The fact that the academy still sent us here meant only one of two things:

    Either this attack was nned and the scouts werepromised, or this serpent hid its presence well enough from the scouts.

    But how? It was a wind serpent. Its affinity for wind shouldn''t grant it that level of concealment skill.

    To my knowledge, only creatures with an affinity toward darkness could hide themselves so well.

    In the next second, a soft touch on my shoulder shook me out of my thoughts. A gentle voice reached my ears, calming down my worries.

    "Lucas, you''re worrying me now. Did you hit your head or something? Should we call a medic here?"

    I turned to look at Amelia and offered her a reassuring smile after a bit of pause. "I''m sorry. I was just thinking about something. By the way, Amelia, you have an affinity for darkness, right?"

    Amelia frowned and lingered for a split second. "Yes, that''s right. Though, I don''t know many spells."

    "It''s fine. Just tell me this one thing. Can someone with an affinity for darkness hide their presence underground?"

    The ck-haired beauty shrugged. "Sure. I mean, the underground would all be full of darkness and shadows, which would be their element."

    Hmm. Is it possible that the cyan serpent had not one but two affinities? But then¡­ Why did it not use dark magic against us?

    Something was clearly amiss.

    At that moment, Amelia grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the shore. "Stop standing here. Think whatever you are thinking about once we get back."

    I blinked a couple of times then looked at the way her small hand was holding mine. For some reason, seeing her grabbing my hand stirred an inexplicable feeling inside my heart.

    I¡­ almost felt¡­ emotional? Huh¡­ why?

    Maybe that was why I was a split second toote to notice a primal bloodlust aimed at us. Something was watching us again.

    Only this time, it wasn''t just one but six pairs of eyes locked on us!

    I shivered, and even Amelia frowned. She sensed it too. And it was only then that it struck me!

    Maybe it wasn''t the cyan serpent who had an affinity for darkness but some other creature - another serpent!

    Maybe that other serpent was joined with the body of the cyan serpent ¨C acting as a part of its body!

    Yes, instead of different creatures, it could be one single colossal organism with many different heads! All with different affinities!

    Maybe that''s why most of its body was underground! Maybe¡­ maybe.. maybe it wasn''t a serpent at all¡­ but a hydra!

    As if waiting for that realization to dawn upon me, a pair of deep scarlet reptilian eyes rose from under the ground a few meters away from us.

    As those scarlet eyes shed with a murderous glint, my pupils constricted. I was right! God, when will the daye when I''m proven wrong about these things?!

    Before I could continue to ridicule myself in my head, the scarlet eyes shimmered brightly, and a giant, crimson-scaled serpent shot out from under the ground, lunging in our direction.

    Amelia could only gasp as the crimson serpent reached us, opening its gaping jaws in hopes of eating us up and finishing what its cyan head had started.

    Fuck!

    My body moved before I could even understand what I did myself. I activated Enigma Sightstone and looked into the serpent''s eyes, ensnaring it in an illusion.

    I managed to slow it down, but only for a split second. After all, I didn''t have enough time to cast an intricate illusion. A split second was already good enough.

    Using that slim moment of opportunity, I kicked Amelia, pushing her aside, and sacrificing myself.

    The jaws of the crimson serpent snapped shut. All I could remember was being cut in half, and the colossal serpent devouring my upper body before darkness imed me.

    I was dead.

    ?

    Or was I?

    When I came to my senses, I found myself standing in the middle of a metal chamber.

    Aside from a small circle of light in the middle, most of the room was engulfed in darkness, making it impossible to even see the walls.

    The only way I knew it was a metal chamber and that it even had walls was because when I tapped my foot on the ground, I sensed the ground was made of reinforced metal. And when I looked around, I saw that the ceiling was made of the same stuff.

    If there was a ceiling, there were bound to be walls. Now the question was, where was I?

    "So, you are Lucas Morningstar."

    At that instance, a feminine voice resounded from the darkness in front of me, making me flinch and instinctively take a step back.

    That voice¡­ It was weird. It was chillingly perfect, devoid of any w, making it all the more eerie and the most unsettling sound I had ever heard.

    "Wh-Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

    There was silence for a while before an answer came from the darkness. This time, two eyes with vertical pupils like that of a snake, emitting a faint aqua glow, appeared in front of me.

    "I''m Kiara."

 Chapter 395 Dragon God Of Life, Death, And Destruction

    Chapter 395 Dragon God Of Life, Death, And Destruction

    My brows knit tightly into a deep frown as I took a few steps back from the spot I was standing on.

    For some entirely unfathomable reason, my body involuntarily reacted, moving away from the eerily perfect voice long before the rational part of my mind could even grasp the situation.

    Kiara¡­ that name sounded familiar. But for the life of me, I couldn''t recall where I had heard it before.

    A soft giggle echoed in the dimly-lit steel chamber following my instinctive retreat.

    In the next surreal moment, a silhouette gracefully stepped out of the shadows in front of me.

    "...What the¨C?!"

    As she entered the small circle of light, revealing her face, I couldn''t help but widen my eyes.

    My breath seemed trapped in my lungs, and my words remained stuck in my throat as I could feel my heart thumping wildly on an erratic beat, skipping a few in the process.

    The young woman in front of me was the most angelic being I had everid my eyes on.

    Her long, flowing silver hair fell down to her slim waist, and her alluring eyes softly glowed in the subtle hues of aquatic and cyan, depending on the light reflecting off of them.

    Her small, triangr face with soft features made her look like a heavenly angel, still untouched by the impurities of the mundane world.

    Draped in thin, flowing white robes with delicately embroidered edges cascading off her shoulders, she enticingly revealed her silk-like jaded skin ¨C a dress befitting her ethereal appearance, entuating her enthralling figure.

    Yes, she was undeniably beautiful. Maybe the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

    However, there was something unnerving about her. I feltpelled toward her but my mind was screaming at me to just run away.

    When our eyes met, I felt something pull in me, as if I could just get lost in her gaze. Quickly, I turned my eyes away from her and looked down.

    Seeing my reaction, the young woman giggled softly.

    After a brief pause, she said in a gentle, reassuring tone, "There''s no reason for you to be afraid, Lucas Morningstar. I won''t hurt you."

    Afraid? Me? No, I was not afraid of her. I was downright terrified. Her appearance alone was enchanting enough to shake my mental fortitude. But what truly staggered me was the aura of undeniable strength emanating from her.

    She was unfairly strong. Far stronger than any mortal had the right to be.

    Looking at her felt like staring at some kind of a deity ¨C and that was somethinging from me since I really had stared at a God before.

    "Where am I? Am I dead?" I inquired, scanning my surroundings and not daring to look at her no matter how tempting her beauty was. "And how do you know who I am? Are we acquainted?"

    "You''re not dead," Kiara shook her head and replied in an amused tone. "Moments before the Hydra devoured you, you used some sort of magic on it. It allowed you to see its memories. Right now, you''re simply revisiting the past through its memories."

    Magic? Memories? Wait a second, I remember using the Enigma Sightstone on the Hydra to trap it in an illusion for a split second.

    Did I unintentionally get into its head back then? Yeah, it could be possible. However, something was still not right.

    A frown creased my face. "If I''m reliving the past through its memories, why are you here? You''re not that Hydra. And how can you talk to me?"

    Kiara smiled. "One of my many Abilities allows me to recreate andbine all the mythical serpentine creatures. So, in a way, that Hydra was a part of me. That''s why by seeing its memories, you''re seeing mine."

    "...Abilities?" I questioned.

    "Right, your world calls them Gifts," Kiara corrected herself.

    Your world? Is she from another world? An alien? I didn''t see long ears, so she''s not an elf. A vampire? No, I should know about a vampire as powerful as her.

    Shaking my head, I refocused on the present and decided to ask a few more questions before jumping to conclusions.

    "You still didn''t tell me how you''re talking to me. You shouldn''t even be able to see me," I pointed out.

    Kiara ced her hands behind her back and started circling me. I tried not to look at her directly, fearing the consequence.

    "One of my other Gifts is to see the future. I have seen myself talking to you, so I can talk to you. Although, right now I''m just talking to air." Kiara giggled again for some reason.

    Meanwhile, I shook my head. "One of your Gifts? That''s not possible. One person can only have one Gift. Two at most, but even that''s unheard of in decades."

    "Normally, yes," Kiara nodded. "But I was granted these Gifts by a generous God that I serve."

    "A God you serve?" I asked dubiously.

    "Yes," Kiara nodded and jumped in front of me. My eyes widened as I quickly turned my gaze away from her once again.

    Kiaraughed, as if ying with my mind was amusing for her. "You asked me if you and I were acquainted. Well, we are not¡­ yet. But I believe we will be soon."

    "What does that mean?" I asked, narrowing my gaze and staring at her at the side of my eyes.

    "The God that I serve has taken an interest in you. He sent me here to visit you," she said.

    "Visit me or try to kill me? Because your Hydra wasn''t as calm as you," I spat.

    Kiara chuckled. "Lucas, if my Hydra wanted to kill you, you''d be dead. It just wanted to have your attention. But you started attacking it."

    She shrugged. "In the end, it lost control. But good job. You managed to kill off one of its heads. You are strong."

    I waved my hand, not interested in hearing more praises from her, and came back to the main topic. "Tell me about this God of yours. What is he the God of?"

    Kiara smiled, lingering for a while before answering, "He is the Dragon God of life, death, and destruction. He''s the Ruler Of Countless Universes and the Prince of Heaven''s Fall. He''s the man destined to kill all the True Gods to free this mortal realm from their absolute rule. He is¡­ Samael Gracefell."

 Chapter 396 Entwined Fate

    Chapter 396 Entwined Fate

    Samael Gracefell¡­

    My breath quickened as my heart violently pounded against my rib cage. I felt the strength in my knees depleting.

    A panic attack? Just from a name?! But this name¡­ I knew it! I don''t know how or why, but I do!

    "Your soul remembers that name, huh? Just how deeply had he traumatized you for you to remember him even after going through the cycle of life and death." Kiara mused out loud, but I wasn''t paying her any attention at all.

    After forcefully calming down my erratic heartbeat and evening my rough breathing, I looked directly at the silver-haired young woman, unafraid of the consequences.

    Kiara seemed a little taken aback as I asked, "Whose name is that? And why do I know it but can''t remember it?"

    The silver-headed young woman slightly cocked her head, staring at me with her deep, snake-like aquatic eyes.

    After a bit of thought, she answered in a serious tone, all hints of amusement lost from her voice. "He is someone with whom your fate is entwined with. Why? We don''t know. He believes it has something to do with the God of Fate."

    God of Fate? Joe? What does he have to do with anything? Before I could continue my train of thought, Kiara resumed speaking.

    "On one end of the string of fate is you and on the other is he. When either one of you pulls the string, the other feels the effect of that pull."

    A deep look of contemtion stered on my face. "Is that effect in any way rted to memories?"

    "Of course," Kiara nodded. "When one of you remembers the other, the other also remembers."

    But that would be a paradox? Is that what happened that day all those months ago when I killed that vampire assassin?

    "This God of yours¡­ Samael Gracefell¡­ Is he the obsidian dragon?" I asked, slightly hesitating as I remembered my strange dreams.

    Kiara raised an eyebrow. "Yes. That is his Draconic transformation. So, you at least remember that much."

    "He¡­" I gritted my teeth. "He destroyed this in previous timelines! Why?!"

    Kiara shrugged. "I don''t know. But if he did that, then that must mean the people on this must''ve refused to submit to him and chosen death."

    "Submit to him?" I frowned.

    "Yeah," Kiara nodded. "After all, how could you defy the will of God and expect to live?"

    "That''s no God," I shook my head. "From what I''ve seen, that thing is a monster!"

    "Careful," Kiara''s eyes turned sharp. "You can''t be sphemous toward the God and expect to live either."

    I clenched my fists as a piercing bloodlust was aimed at me. Yet, I refused to yield. "I don''t think you answered my question. Tell me, what does he want?"

    "The unification of the multiverse and all living creatures under his rule," Kiara said. "But what he wants from you is something different. He offers you his protection. In return, support his rule and his im to the Throne of Gods. In simple words, he wants you to join him."

    The frown on my face softened, and my clenched fist loosened. I stared at the silver-haired young woman for a while.

    Finally, I asked, "What if I refuse?"

    A faint smile sparked on Kiara''s face. "I told you what happens when you defy the will of God. You, along with everything you hold dear, will be erased from the ne of existence."

    "Of course," I scoffed and stood there motionlessly.

    Seeing the conflicted look on my face, Kiara spoke up again. "There is no need for you to think that hard, Lucas. You do not have anything to lose. ept the offer and help Samael ascend to the heavens. In return, you will not only be allowed to live but also serve him. In fact, no one else on your had to die¡­ aside from the three Chosen Ones by Akashic Records."

    "...What? What did you say?" I asked her to repeat herself, my voice shaking a bit.

    "Oh, well, Akashic Records are the manifestation of the Universe. It''s like a failsafe system created by the Gods to run the Universe in their stead. It chooses its champions, all of whom are destined to neutralize the threat that might endanger one or several universes. Samael is that threat this time." Kiara exined.

    As she spoke, however, my mind was elsewhere. I calmed myself down, trying my best to not show my emotions on my face.

    So, she didn''t know. She had no idea that I myself was one of the three chosen ones.

    It means two things: She is not omnipotent, and her power to see the future is limited.

    Okay, good. I can make this work.

    "Lucas, don''t think so hard. ept the offer, and I will grant you anything that you desire."

    I looked at Kiara in slight shock. "Anything?"

    "Yes," Kiara nodded. "Power, fame, your own throne, women, or anything else in the world that you desire."

    Is she offering me rewards? Rewards for what, though?

    ¡­Wait, is it possible that she needs me for something? That''s good. It means she''s not all-powerful either.

    "If I agree to the offer, can you help me remember the other timelines?" I asked.

    I knew that I had the memories of other timelines locked away somewhere in my head. But I couldn''t recall any of them. I didn''t even know if I could remember them normally.

    Besides, remembering them could provide me with some hard data that I could use to form a practical judgment and think of what I need to do in the future.

    "Sure, I can. In fact, if you agree, I will show you a snippet of your past memories. It will be random, so I don''t know if it''ll be useful to you," Kiara answered, the faint smile on her face widening.

    She quickly added, "But to remember everything, you would need toplete a task for me."

    "That''s perfectly fine," I said. "What is the task?"

    "You will need to free me from here," Kiara answered, pointing all around us. "You see this steel chamber? This is a prison under the Government House. Free me from here, and I shall make you remember. I will also grant you unmatched strength."

    "A prison?" I frowned. "But if you''re so powerful, why don''t you break out of it yourself?"

    Kiara sighed. "You think I haven''t tried? Years of being a god-like entity made me forget how resourceful humans can be. I was trapped by your government, you see. Although they couldn''t harm me in any way, they managed to seal me here inside this steel chamber using a strong anchor. Take that anchor and free me."

    "Is that so," I touched my chin, deep in thought. "I see. I will ept your offer."

    Kiara''s lips curled into a smirk. "Good job. I knew you were smart."

    She then stepped in front of me and stared straight into my eyes. Looking directly at her vertical pupils, I felt something stir inside my soul.

    "Now then, it''s time for you to return. As promised, I showed you a chunk of your memories." Kiara said and turned around.

    Slowly, my vision faded¡­ and shrouded in darkness.

 Chapter 397 No Other Way [1]

    Chapter 397 No Other Way [1]

    The world was in a chaotic state.

    The Wright family was wiped out, leaving the North undefended. The Vampire Lord had awakened from his deep slumber a few hours ago. The heroes tried to stop his awakening, but they failed.

    In the end, they had to retreat from the North.

    The news of their failure had spread through the entire world. Masses were in disarray. How could they not?

    With their true Monarch''s return, the ever-so-powerful creatures of the night were unstoppable now.

    The only thing that kept the civilians from descending into a full-blown panic was another piece of fortunate news: The Kalis were neutralized.

    So now Earthians didn''t have to at least worry about the threat from outer space.

    It also meant that they could focus all of their military might on the North, at the vampires.

    Thus, back at the military base right at the borders of the Northern Continent, all the important figures of the army were having a round table meeting.

    Albeit, most of the seats around the round table were empty. Those belonged to the dead. There were none to rece them yet.

    There was a hushed silence present in the room as they waited for the arrival of their Lord Commander.

    Soon, their wait was over.

    A tall man with short hair as ck as the feathers of a raven and skin as pale as the untouched snow walked into the room.

    His lean frame was draped in a ck-furred military coat with a ck tactical vest under it, barely hiding his toned muscles.

    The man cast a gaze around the room, his eyes as cold and deep as two endless pools of boundless darkness, before walking up to the far end of the room and taking a seat there at the head of the table.

    "Nero," a half-dwarf half-human greeted him with a forced smile. Elijah could only imagine how much of a burden his friend must be carrying on his shoulders right now.

    However, as his Lord Commander''s second-best strategist, he had to voice his opinions and concerns.

    "The vampire forces will break through our defenses in a few hours. We will die if we try to hold them here. We will have to give them the North."

    Nero shot a re at Elijah. "Do you know how many people have died so as not to make what you''re suggesting a reality?"

    "But this is the reality now, Lord Commander!" Chase, who was sitting beside Elijah, pressed in a firm tone. "Our men are tired. We can''t fight like this. We have to retreat to the Central Continent and recuperate¨C"

    Before Chase could continue to speak, a ck-haired woman mmed her hands on the round table.

    As everyone turned their gazes to her, the woman reclined in her chair and crossed her slender legs, tucking her hands in the pockets of her military coat.

    She looked at everyone one by one through her emerald eyes and scoffed, "You guys have lost it, haven''t you?"

    "What do you mean, Amelia?" Elijah asked.

    Amelia shook her head in ridicule before replying, "It means that if we give them the North, they could attack us from three sides. East, West, and the Center. We would crumble."

    "But if they dilute their forces that much, their frontlines would grow thin. If that happens, our troops would easily be able to break through their forces," Chase pointed out.

    "It would''ve been true if this was before. But now, the Vampire Monarch has woken up. With his return, the bloodsuckers had grown more morbid. More powerful. In fact, they could even turn us into one of them more easily now. That is what''s more dangerous."

    "Yes but¡­"

    The discussion, which was supposed to be held for a strategic counter, turned into an argument that led on for an hour.

    In the end, the Special Force decided to hold the fort and stop the vampire forces'' advance right there until the rest of the military arrived to help them.

    One by one, the members of the round table exited the strategy room. Only three people were left inside the four walls of therge chamber.

    One was Nero, the other was Amelia.

    There was also another ck-haired woman sitting there. Her perfect doll-like face was adorned with a pair of jewel-like, intricate golden eyes that seemed to have a shine of their own.

    A hideous long scar traced down from the left side of her cheek to her neck, but it did nothing to hinder her beauty. She sat there in silence, lost in thought until Amelia called her out.

    "Anastasia," she said. "You''ve been silent throughout the meeting. What''s up?"

    Anastasia looked at Amelia and lingered for a while before asking, "Can we really do it? Can we really kill that¡­ thing?"

    Before Amelia could answer, Nero clenched his fists and answered. "The Vampire Monarch is strong, but he is not undefeatable. He is not a God. We havee close to killing him thousands of times. We will do it this time. We will not lose¡­ again."

    Amelia silently nodded and turned to look at Nero. "If you can use all your Heavenly Swords at the same time, you should be able to wrap reality with all the elements at your disposal. An attack of that caliber will kill the Monarch."

    "I know," Nero nodded. "I have tried doing it before. It''s difficult, but I know I can use all the swords. I know I can do it. If I can just get close to the Monarch."

    Anastasia sighed. "Fine then. Here is the n. Amelia and I will clear your path and get you to the Monarch. You will unleash all your swords and kill him once and for all."

    Nero shook his head. "It wouldn''t work. There is Quinn. He would never let me get past him."

    Amelia clicked her tongue. "You let us worry about him. I have been itching to kill that bastard myself anyway."

    Nero stared at Amelia for a few seconds before erupting in a chuckle. "Fine. Let''s do this. Let''s kill that monstrosity this time and end all of this."

    Nero, Anastasia, and Amelia stood up and resolutely smiled at each other. They didn''t need to say anything else. It was as if they knew they would win this time.

    Of course, they would. After all, they were fated to save the world. This was theirst stand at the world''s¡­

    "No¡­ You won''t be able to do any of that."

    Suddenly, a solemn voice resounded from somewhere around the entrance. All three of them flinched and shifted their gazes to the source of the voice.

    There was someone here? But how? They didn''t sense anyoneing! No one could sneak on them. However, someone clearly did.

    Standing there at the door of the chamber was a slender silhouette.

    It was a man. He had long silver hair tied into a bun and clear silken skin. He had a chiseled face that looked like it had been sculpted by the gods themselves. His sharp features were entuated by a pair of deep crimson eyes which were clouded in the mist of a myriad of feelings ¨C ranging from sorrow to fury.

    With a mixture of wistful and angered look on his face, he sighed and walked toward the trio. "You won''t be able to save anyone."

 Chapter 398 No Other Way [2]

    Chapter 398 No Other Way [2]

    "Who are you?!" Anastasia narrowed her eyes at the neer, not minding his mumbling.

    Over a long time, they had seen countless people me them for not being able to save their loved ones.

    This man was dressed in the trench coat provided by the military to their troops. Maybe he was a soldier who fought under them and med them for the deaths of hisrades or something.

    Nero summoned his sword. "State your name and rank, soldier! You should not be here. I will not punish you since you seem to be out of it. But get back to your post immediately!"

    However, right then, Amelia stepped forward and extended an arm in front of Nero, stopping him.

    "Wait!" She said, "He''s Lucas Morningstar of the 37th Crane squad. He reports to me. He was also in the same ss in the academy as us."

    Nero and Anastasia frowned in confusion. Obviously, they couldn''t remember him, but if Amelia says so, she must be right.

    Meanwhile, Amelia turned to the uninvited guest. "Mr. Morningstar, why are you here? You could''vee to me if there was something troubling you."

    Lucas stifled a hysterical chuckle and raised his head to look Amelia straight into her emerald eyes. His gaze held an unimaginable amount of suffering.

    It was as if he was all alone in the world, with no one to rely on and no one to turn to.

    He slowly shook his head. "You couldn''t help me. None of you could. This is not the first time you''ve made your little oath to end it all. But you never seeded, did you?"

    Nero''s eyes widened as Anastasia and Amelia frowned, looking at each other, clearly perplexed.

    Was this guy talking about Time Reversal? But how did he know about that Gift? No, it couldn''t be that.

    Amelia calmed herself down and spoke in a measured, amicable tone, "Lucas, I don''t know what you''re talking about, but we can help you."

    "I wish that was the case," Lucas tiredly smiled at the beautiful woman in front of him. "But it''s all this and all that until I''m left alone to fight. Every single time. I tried everything I could¡­ but there is no other way, guys¡­ I wish there was! I wish! I wish I didn''t have to kill you all!"

    Before the trio could even understand what the man before them had said, Lucas lunged forward with a burst of blurring speed.

    However, he was trying to kill three of the strongest people in the world. It was not going to be easy.

    Nero reacted quickly. He already had his sword summoned so he went forward first, swinging down his sword at Lucas.

    Even if he was a troop under Amelia''smand, no one was going to live after attempting to assassinate them.

    They were the world''sst hope. Trying to kill them meant trying to kill countless innocent people they were going to save.

    ng¡ª!!

    Sparks flew as Nero''s de shed against Lucas'' spear. However, to his surprise, the silver-haired noble wasn''t pushed back.

    Someone¡­ matched him in strength head-on? Impossible!

    Right at that moment, Anastasiashed out at the silver-haired spearman from the side. Lucas pushed back Nero and quickly sidestepped to evade Anastasia''s attack.

    He then kicked the side of Anastasia''s leg, bringing her crashing down to her knees. Before she could do anything, Lucas was about to plunge his spear deep into her back and pierce her heart.

    But before he could do that, a swift arrow whistled through the air and struck his spear, deflecting it away from Anastasia, which in turn gave her enough time to jump to her feet and hop back to safety.

    Lucas turned to give Amelia a sorrowful look. "Don''t make this any harder than it needs to be. Please, I beg you¡­"

    "Stay sharp! He''s strong!" Nero yelled and activated his Gift ¨C his right arm was quickly enveloped in the blinding radiance of the purifying light while malevolent darkness swirled around his left arm.

    Soon, two swords ¨C one''s de pristine white and the other''s vile ck ¨C manifested in his hands.

    At the same time, Anastasia''s fists started glowing golden, looking as if she held a pair of suns inside each of her closed hands.

    Simultaneously, raging wind whirled around the arrow that Amelia had knocked long ago on her bow, her aim locked at Lucas.

    "Now!" Nero yelled, prompting Amelia to loosen her grip on her bowstring.

    The arrow shot forward, surrounded by turbulent winds, destructive enough to rip the concrete floor below asunder in its wake.

    In response, however, Lucas lowered his spear and summoned a beautiful quill with a gleaming crimson tip.

    He pointed it at the iing storm arrow and waved it in the air, almost as if writing something on an invisible canvas.

    Fwoosh¡ª!!

    When he stopped, the turbulent wind died down and the arrow fell to the ground in front of its feet.

    Amelia could only widen her eyes in surprise upon seeing this. Her spell¡­ was dismissed? How?!

    But she was forced to pull herself out of her gaze when she saw Lucas pointing his quill at her next.

    That quill! It was a relic!

    Amelia''s pupils constricted as she tried to move away from Lucas'' line of sight, but it was already toote. Her clothes turned malleable and erupted into sharp, thorny spikes that easily skewered her down to her bones.

    "Arghh!" Letting out an agonizing grunt, she fell to the ground, blood pouring out of her wounds.

    She wasn''t going to die, but it hurt like hell!

    Nero gritted his teeth and rushed at Lucas. Anastasia also followed suit, attacking the silver-haired man from the opposite direction.

    However, Lucas didn''t lose his cool even when he was facing two of the strongest individuals in the world.

    He moved with the speed of lightning and dodged Anastasia''s blows. He then pointed his quill at her hands and waved it in the air again.

    Suddenly, the golden mana clustering around Anastasia''s clenched fists dispersed, leaving her shocked.

    Before she could react, a sharp kick squarelynded on her sr plexus, making her buckle down and crumble to her knees, coughing violently.

    Lucas then turned around and ducked to avoid his head getting cleaved off by Nero''s sword of light.

    He jumped back a few meters and pointed his quill at Nero next. But before he could wave it in the air again, Nero shed both his swords together.

 Chapter 399 No Other Way [3]

    Chapter 399 No Other Way [3]

    Light and darkness collided, creating an invisible crescent arc of the void that surged forth at Lucas, utterly obliterating anything that stood in its path.

    However, as that arc of void reached Lucas, it started swirling, folding on itself and turning into an orb the size of a grain of rice ¨C a miniature ck hole.

    The miniature ckhole stopped right in front of Lucas and then shot backward at Nero in a disy of an iprehensible speed, slowly growing big.

    Kach¡ª!!

    Nero tried, but he couldn''t move out of the way ¨C at least notpletely. The ck hole pierced his shoulder like a bullet and devoured a huge chunk of his arm before disappearing.

    What was left of Nero''s arm fell to the ground with a revolting thud, still holding the light sword in its grasp.

    Meanwhile, he himself staggered back in pain and let out a gut-wrenching scream before falling to his knees.

    In just under a minute, Lucas Morningstar had brought three of the strongest people on this to their knees.

    However, instead of being overjoyed as one would expect, he was heartbroken. A dark look washed over his face as he sighed.

    "Eight billion people on this. I will kill my love along with two of my closest friends in the world¡­ and save the world."

    With that, he walked up to Amelia and raised his spear over her head.

    Amelia shifted her head to look up at him, but before she could do that, Lucas thrust his spear down on her, bursting open her skull.

    He retracted his spear as Amelia''s lifeless body fell to the ground, causing both Nero and Anastasia to widen their eyes.

    They screamed and cried, cursing Lucas while trying to get up and kill him in the most painful way imaginable, but he didn''t pay any attention to them.

    For him, this ordeal was already way more painful than anything the universe could subject him through.

    As soon as he reached Anastasia, Lucas once again brought down his spear on her, splitting open her head.

    The light in her eyes faded as her body turned limp, falling to the ground much like her friend''s.

    Lucas sighed, steeling his resolve for one final push. But just right then, he felt a massive mana disruption in the atmosphere.

    Frowning slightly, he turned around, only to see Nero weakly pulling himself back to his feet, clutching his right shoulder.

    Several swords were hovering in the air all around him.

    Those were all six of the Heavenly Swords, each one a manifestation of an element of the universe ¨C Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness.

    He cursed at Lucas and extended his one good arm, causing all six of the swords to merge into one ¨C a sword with a de that shone into a myriad of shades.

    It was the seventh Heavenly Sword ¨C the Sword Of Existence. Nero reached forward and grabbed its hilt. As soon as he did that, crackling energy erupted from him and started reshaping anything it touched down to the quantum level.

    Nero''s severed arm floated up in the air and joined back with his shoulder, stopping the flowing blood and regrowing the destroyed parts.

    His feet lifted off the ground as he began levitating. He pointed his sword at Lucas, who was still looking at Nero with dark, gloomy eyes even after witnessing him perform a godly feat.

    "Die!" Nero yelled as a pulse of energy threatened to erupt at Lucas. However, the silver-haired boy simply raised his quill and aimed it at Nero''s sword.

    In the next moment¡­

    Thack¡ª!!

    Thud¡ª!!

    A of cracks appeared on Nero''s sword as it broke into thousands of shards.

    Nero fell to the ground with a thud, feeling a crippling weakness assault over his already exhausted body.

    "Wha¡­ What the¡­"

    He couldn''t even musterprehensive sentences as Lucas walked over and gave him a final look.

    There was only unfathomable sorrow in his eyes.

    "I''m sorry," he said as he lodged his spear deep in the middle of his skull, killing hisst friend.

    The room fell silent, filled only by the echoes of Lucas'' heavy breath. The once formidable heroesy lifeless at his feet.

    Thest hopes of the world¡­ were dead.

    In the somber silence, Lucas couldn''t escape the weight of his actions. The sacrifices he made for the greater good seemed hollow and cold.

    No one among the three of them even came close to seriously hurting Lucas. He killed the three heroes in a matter of minutes.

    Lucas stood in silence before the lifeless bodies of his friends, bravely holding back tears welling up in his eyes.

    He wiped the blood of his fallen friends from his face with a trembling hand, leaving a few red smudges on his pale skin.

    "There was no other way¡­ There was no other way!"

    With a quivering voice, he repeated a single sentence, as if convincing himself that there truly was¡­ no other way.

    And indeed, there wasn''t. He had really tried everything he could. In the end, this was the only conclusion.

    "The lives of three against the billions," Lucas muttered under a shaky breath. "There was no other way."

    Even if they had vanquished the Vampire Monarch, they would have ultimately been killed by the Dragon God.

    That ruthless demon would have ughtered the entire in order to get to them.

    Lucas had witnessed this happen before ¨C the destruction wrought by the Dragon God, and his friends taking futilest stands against him before being instantly killed off.

    No one could stop the Dragon God ¨C neither them nor him nor the countless other champions that came before them.

    Lucas himself had proven it. If he could kill them in under a few minutes, then the Dragon God would erase their existence with just a snap of his fingers.

    Tears streamed down Lucas'' face. He couldn''t stave off the breakdown any longer. He fell to his knees and started crying his heart out.

    He was tired. He was hurt. And most importantly, he wanted all of this to just end.

    "If only you had been stronger¡­ just a little stronger," he gasped amid sniffs and sobs, casting a furious gaze at Nero. "Why did they choose you?! Why didn''t the heavens choose me?"

    If the heavens had chosen him¡­ if he was fated to banish the darkness instead of his friends¡­ he would''ve done it by now!

    If he was the chosen one, he would''ve ended it all!

 Chapter 400 Trapped In A Giant Groundhog Day

    Chapter 400 Trapped In A Giant Groundhog Day

    "Gaa-ah!"

    My eyes fluttered open as I woke up to the unfamiliar sight of a white-marbled ceiling above me.

    Inhaling deeply, a ragged gasp escaped my lips, and my chest heaved up and down with the sudden rush of awareness.

    Frantically, my pupils darted around as I tried to assess my surroundings. I seemed to be in a hospital room on a sickbed.

    Wires and nodes clung to my arms, chest, and the sides of my forehead, monitoring my vital signs and injecting supplements.

    The memories of what happened earlier flooded into my mind, almost to the point of overwhelming me.

    The Hydra, that enigmatic woman, and the dream that I saw after I agreed to take her up on her offer and help her.

    Was that dream¡­ a fragment of my own past locked somewhere deep in my mind? The unsettling realization gnawed at me.

    Did I truly do all that? Did I kill them? How could I¡­ How could I kill them in cold blood like that?

    As that question reverberated through my thoughts, I felt my chest tightening. In the next moment, a sharp wrenching pain erupted somewhere around my heart.

    Beep, Beep, Beep, Beeeep, Beeeeep¡ª!!!

    The machine''s insistent beeping intensified with the rapid rise of my heart rate.

    As the pain in my chest started growing, bing almost unbearable, I shook my head and diverted my focus to taking deep breaths.

    Finally, after a few long breaths, the welling pain in my chest subsided and my thoughts cleared up.

    "Calm down," I said to myself, my voice raspy and hoarse as a result of my parched throat. It felt as if I hadn''t had even a single drop of water for days. "Think rationally."

    That''s right. I prided myself on being a smart, calctive thinker who dissected situations with a calm, logical mindset.

    So that''s what I needed to do right now. Think calmly and logically. With each deep inhale and soft exhale, I cooled my head down.

    "That''s right," I reassured myself. "I will analyze everything I know systematically, one piece at a time."

    First, let''s think about the Dragon God. By now, I know that he''s some kind of an evil, malevolent entity somewhere out there in the endless expanse of the universe.

    From what I know, the Dragon God seemed to have some kind of vendetta against our world¡­ or maybe against some people in our world.

    In the dream that I saw, I killed Nero, Anastasia¡­ and Amelia. I don''t know why I did that. But while killing them, I said that I was doing it to save the world.

    But how would killing them equate to saving the world? Wait, among the three of them, two were the chosen champions of the Heavens.

    I still don''t know what being chosen by the Cosmic Womb entails, but I know enough to deduce that the prophesied heroes are fated to save the world.

    That snake woman said that Akashic Records are the physical manifestation of the universe. It is sort of a failsafe system that protects and runs the universe in the ce of gods.

    It chooses its champions who are destined to neutralize the threat that endangers the existence of one or several universes.

    But who could be that? I mean, surely, the Vampire Lord is strong but not as strong as to threaten the entire ne of existence.

    No, Kiara said that the threat this time is the Dragon God¡­ Samael Gracefell.

    Maybe¡­ and just maybe¡­ I killed them first so the Dragon God would not destroy our world in an attempt to vanquish them.

    After all, as long as they were alive, our world would never have surrendered in front of the Dragon God.

    ¡­And how could one hope to live after defying the will of a God?

    The heroes would''ve fought till theirst breath, leading to the destruction of the world.

    To prevent that inevitable oue, I stepped up and killed the heroes, allowing the viin to win and indirectly sparing the lives of countless innocent people.

    "Pathetic," I scoffed, an inexplicable feeling stirring up in my heart. What was I feeling? Rage? Sorrow? Regret? No¡­ this was pure, unadulterated self-hate.

    "Killing your own people¡­ that''s the best oue you could reach?" I sneered at my own past self. "How pathetic."

    However, there are still two things that I couldn''t really understand.

    First, why was Amelia present there? She was not supposed to be one of the three chosen heroes.

    Could it be possible that she was among the chosen ones in the past, but then as the timelines progressed, Lucas was put up to the task in her stead?

    No, that''s not possible. These timelines should be identical to one another. After all, aside from a certain few, no one should even know that we all are trapped in some sort of a giant Groundhog Day.

    What I basically mean to say is, that the prophecies, which describe Lucas as one of the three heroes, should be the same throughout all the timelines.

    So no matter what timeline it is, only Lucas was supposed to be the third chosen hero.

    "Wait, maybe since Lucas never stepped up to his role as a hero, the universe chose someone else in his ce instead. Maybe it chose Amelia."

    That''s¡­ Wow, that''s actually possible.

    But then wee to the second point. Why didn''t it all end? Why are these timelines still going on?

    If I killed the heroes, allowing the Dragon God to win by default, then why are we all still in this loop?

    Wait, is it even a loop? Or are the timelines just resetting? But why are they resetting?!

    Did the universe not like that ending? No, it couldn''t be that. Because if the Dragon God won, then the entire existence should be under his rule.

    It must be something else. Perhaps¡­ it didn''t work out. In the end, something happened and we were all killed anyway.

    "That''s¡­ even more pathetic."

    So¡­ my killing them didn''t even matter in the end? Huh.

    Shaking my head, I smacked both my hands on my cheeks and pulled me out of my daze. This wasn''t the time to dwell on such thoughts.

    However, before I could continue thinking any further, the door to the room''s door swung open.

 Chapter 401 Back To The Land Of The Living

    Chapter 401 Back To The Land Of The Living

    As the door twirled open, a tall woman in a white and pink nurse uniform stepped into the room.

    She was carefully reading through the stack of paper that she held in her hands. Suddenly, she froze as she lifted her gaze to look at the patient ¨C me.

    "Haa!" The papers dropped to the floor as she covered her mouth, failing to stifle a shocked gasp.

    But she quickly regained herposure and addressed me, "Cadet Lucas, you''re awake! Please wait here. I need to alert others!"

    With that, before I could even ask who these "others" were, she hurriedly left the room in a panic, leaving me bewildered.

    "Oh-kay," I frowned, genuinely perplexed by the nurse''s erratic behavior. "That was very strange."

    Shrugging slightly, I took a hand out from under the nket and tried to summon a water bottle from my smart bracelet.

    But to my dismay, nothing happened ¨C no ethereal sparks appeared, no object manifested, no bottle conjured.

    "What the fuck?"

    My frown deepened as I scanned my hand only to realize that I was not wearing my smart bracelet.

    A wave of panic crashed into my mind. I pulled my other hand from the nket and quickly scrutinized it.

    And just as I had thought, there weren''t any dimensional rings on my fingers.

    "This is bad! This is so fucking bad!"

    That''s when it clicked for me ¨C the crimson head of the Hydra had devoured my upper body, swallowing my rings and bracelet.

    But the thing was, I wasn''t worried about my smart bracelet or the dimensional rings.

    Since I lost my smart bracelet due to an error made by the academy, I could easily put in a request for them to issue me a new one.

    As for the dimensional rings, expensive as they were, I could always get my hands on more.

    But what truly worried me were the things inside my smart bracelet and dimensional rings ¨C the potions and relics that I crafted using my Edit Pen, daggers that I found in the vampiric dimensional ring that I took from Reina''s corpse, and that ring itself! It had vampiric runes inscribed all over it!

    Assuming the academy had killed off the Hydra after my death, they would likely be dissecting it for enchanted items and relics right now.

    If they were to find that vampiric ring inside it, the academy could hold me for questioning under the suspicion that I''m affiliated with the vampires.

    I rolled my eyes, letting out some frustrated curses. "Fuck my luck. But with my merits and feats, they won''t execute me on the spot, thinking I''m a vampire spy. So I killed a Vampire King and took its loot. It isn''t a crime, right?"

    As I was in the middle of such thoughts, the door swung open once again. Thinking it was the nurse who hade back, I was about to ask her to exin herself.

    However, to my surprise, it wasn''t the nurse but three individuals ¨C a young man and two young women ¨C who had entered with pale faces and clear concern in their eyes.

    They visibly sighed in relief as soon as they saw me awake and rushed over, pulling me in a tight embrace before I could even react.

    "Lucas!" Nero eximed, hands wrapped around my shoulders, while Amelia hugged my waist. "You''re alive!"

    "I was really worried," Amelia added, tightening her arms around me.

    Grunting, I tapped them on their backs and shoulders. "I can''t breathe, guys!"

    "We really thought you were dead for a few minutes," Anastasia sighed.

    She was standing a few steps away from the bed, thankfully not reacting like the other two kids and clinging to me.

    "Your severed body was burst into mes. It burned down... all of you, or at least what was left of you. When everything finally settled down in the end, we found you in the ashes... alive. You were breathing, but you never opened your eyes until today. It''s been six days."

    "Ahh, that exins why I''m feeling so thirsty," I nodded slightly.

    Nero was the first to let go of me, followed by Amelia. She was a little hesitant to step back as if she thought I would vanish if she let me go.

    As she stepped back, however, I saw her swollen eyes. It was painfully clear that she had been crying.

    Well, I was killed while saving her. It would be natural if she had been ming herself for what happened to me all this time.

    I remember when I tried to orchestrate a simr scenario at the start of the year to make her and the other main characters trust me.

    But funnily enough, this time, I didn''t want her to feel that guilt.

    My body had moved instinctively to protect her as if some primal force had taken over my mind. I wanted to save her at any cost. It was a reflex.

    But what surprised me was the fact that now that I think about it, I had likely done the same for Anastasia or Nero if it was them in her ce.

    And here I thought I only cared for my own survival.

    No, this protective instinct was most definitely strange. It felt¡­ foreign, yet oddly familiar.

    I was sure of it. This feeling wasn''t mine.

    ¡­Or maybe it was. Perhaps protecting them at all costs was an instinct I had honed across past timelines.

    I mean, it wouldn''t be the first time that feelings from the distant past had affected my emotions in this timeline.

    Yes, it wouldn''t be the first time I was affected by these strange echoes. I cried when that old elfdy told me about my lives, I felt anxious when Reina narrated the prophecy, and I even experienced guilt when I first met Amelia.

    Yeah, it was a very real possibility.

    Considering what I saw in my dream, I seemed to share a close bond with these three in that timeline¡­ or the one before that. I don''t know. But what I knew was that killing them in that dream had left me heartbroken.

    "Lucas?"

    Anastasia''s calm voice pulled me from my thoughts. I shifted my gaze to look at her, finding a puzzled expression stered on her face.

    "Are you okay?" she inquired.

    "I''m fine," I assured.

    "You don''t look fine," Amelia voiced her concerns, stepping closer to me. She gently touched the side of my face with her cold hand and whispered, "You seem to have a fever."

    "No, it''s just a shock reaction," I exined. "Dying, getting revived, and waking up from a six-daya can be¡­ well, tiresome for the body."

    "Hey," Nero called out to me calmly. "You can speak freely here. What''s wrong?"

    Well, there are multiple timelines and I killed you all in one of them. Oh, and there is also an evil god-like entity out there in the universe, trying to kill us. If that''s not enough, then I think we are all trapped in a giant Groundhog Day.

    ¡­Haa. Clearly, I couldn''t tell him all that.

    I sighed, shook my head, and decided to change the topic. "I''m fine, Nero. Just tell me what happened after I passed out."

    The trio exchanged hesitant nces among themselves before Nero took a deep breath and decided to brief me.

    But before he could even utter a word, the door mmed open and five armed men, their heads hidden behind helmets, rushed in, positioning themselves around the bed in front of me.

    One of them stepped forward. He was tall and held an energy rifle. He looked at me from behind the glowing blue visor of his helmet and said:

    "Cadet Lucas Morningstar, you''ve been summoned."

 Chapter 402 Trial [1]

    Chapter 402 Trial [1]

    "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This is bad!" I ranted, grabbing my head and pulling on my hair. "They''re going to put me in prison, right? I won''t ever see the sunlight again, will I?"

    "Calm down, Lucas," Nero tried to reassure me, gently patting my back.

    "Yeah, take a few deep breaths and think of a solution. You can get out of this. You are the smartest person I know," Anastasia suggested.

    But their words failed to pacify me, and I continued to panic. "Think of a solution, how?! There''s not awyer in the world who can defend me now! This is bad!"

    Amelia sighed while walking beside me and shrugged nonchntly. "I mean, it''s not that bad."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    A long silence followed.

    All of us stared at Amelia as if she had said the most stupid thing one could say in the world. Even the guards were stupefied!

    Amelia shifted ufortably under our gazes as one of the guards from earlier ¨C the one with the energy rifle ¨C spoke up, "Your friend is right. It is bad."

    Nero turned to him, clearly annoyed by his presence. "I''m sorry, but we never asked for your opinion."

    The guard tilted his head. "Hey, don''t hate me, kid. I''m just following the orders given to me. I listened to your request and didn''t handcuff your friend, did I?"

    "Oh, you''re right. You listened to my ''request'' after I threatened to sever your hands if you dared to touch him!" Nero snapped.

    The guard raised both hands defensively. "Gods, you kids are too aggressive. I''ve served on the border, seen horrors you can''t imagine. Have you faced death, kid? I have! You should respect soldiers that came before you cadets¡­"

    As the guard continued to yapp nonsense, Nero carried on arguing with him, but my mind was elsewhere, gued with more pressing concerns.

    Why was I in such dismay, one might wonder?

    Well, after leaving the room, Nero briefed me on what happened after I died.

    Just a few seconds after my death, the instructors arrived at the scene and engaged with the Hydra in a deadly fray. Other cadets rushed to aid them from the sidelines.

    However, they weren''t the only ones who came to fight the Hydra. From the skies, a giant bird of prey with tumultuous mes in ce of wings and zing fury in its eyes dove down.

    It ripped one of the Hydra''s heads apart with its destructive beak, while the instructors dealt with the rest.

    When the grueling battle was finally over, they were about to attack the Phoenix that had appeared from the skies.

    However, before they could, the fiery bird transformed into a human ¨C a little girl, to be exact ¨C and rushed to the spot where my body was burnt to ashes.

    She cleared the smoldering ashes with her bare hands, as if fire didn''t bother her, and hugged my newly restored body while continuously wailing, "Papa!"

    Needless to say, everyone present was too stunned to understand what was even going on.

    The instructors were the first ones to shake off their daze.

    They apprehended Sera and decided not to make any decisions until questioning me about her. And now, I was on my way to being questioned.

    Haaa.

    I said earlier that killing a Vampire King and taking its loot isn''t a crime. But then fostering and hiding the possession of a mythical mana beast is most definitely a crime.

    I could actually be put into prison for that since I defied thews issued directly by the Central Government.

    Using my thumb and fingers, I massaged my forehead to smoothen the wrinkles that appeared there due to exasperation.

    I could physically feel myself getting old. This was too much for me. I just died and got revived. The Gods should cut me some ck!

    But before I could continue my pity party, we arrived in front of an assembly hall in the second building.

    "We''re here," the leader of the guards spoke, pointing at the closed gates of the hall. "Go in, Cadet Lucas. Rest of you, stay here."

    I couldn''t help but let out a deep, resigned sigh. "Well, I think I enjoyed this life while itsted."

    "Okay, seriously, stop it!" Nero eximed. "You will be fine. Just think of something like you always do."

    Wow, he''s so bad at pet talk. Am I really sure he''s the protagonist? Shouldn''t he be good at boosting morale?

    "What''s the worst they could do? Put you in a prison? Don''t worry. We''ll visit you¡­ um, whenever we have time." Amelia gave a reassuring smile.

    "...." I stared at her with a nk expression. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

    "Amelia is only trying to lift your mood, Lucas," Anastasia chipped in. "I mean, if we consider your feats, the government would be reluctant to let go of a future strong soldier like you. Make use of their reluctance."

    "Indeed," Amelia nodded, her tone deprived of humor now. "I''m not worried about you. I know you''ll be fine. Who I''m actually worried about is Sera."

    "Sera?" Nero frowned with a confused look. "Is that her name? The phoenix?"

    I nodded in affirmation. Amelia sighed then gave me a serious look. "I know this is asking a lot, but try to save her. I really like her."

    "Obviously," I rolled my eyes and turned around, heading for the hall gates. "I was going to do that anyway."

    The gates swung open inwardly as soon as I stepped closer, allowing me to enter before closing behind me.

    A gust of cool, air-conditioned wind brushed against my face as soon as I stepped inside the assembly hall, making me shiver.

    Phoenix''s Embrace never protected me from the cold, but without it now, I had been feeling a little¡­ exposed. As if I was walking naked without any protection.

    The spot on my chest where the crimson ruby used to be embedded had also been feeling empty. And my ears felt lighter than usual since I didn''t have those spiky earrings now.

    Shaking my head to stopmenting the loss of my trusted armor, I looked up. In front of me, a semi-circr table was set.

    Sitting behind that table were seven individuals, their gazes locked on me the moment I appeared in the hall.

    Some faces were familiar to me, some I did not recognize. However, they seemed to be staring at me as if they knew everything about me.

    "Cadet Lucas Morningstar, wee to your trial."

 Chapter 403 Trial [2]

    Chapter 403 Trial [2]

    I scanned the array of faces before me.

    Among them were a few instructors ¨C Liz Snyder, Raven von Matterhorn, and others ¨C dressed in formal instructor uniforms ¨C navy-furred coats with ck shirts beneath, their cors adorned with several stars ¨C that we rarely see them in.

    Then there were figures from the academy city council, the actual owners of this entire city.

    Finally, my anxiety spiked as my gazended on two government officials. Direct emissaries from the esteemed Central Government, their formal suits embellished with a cross badge on their chests.

    If I hadn''t been nervous before, I certainly was now.

    "Do you know why you''re standing in this trial, Cadet?" queried an instructor whose face I had only seen in passing.

    I shrugged, hands behind my back, standing at attention. "I suppose for concealing possession of a mythical mana beast, Sir!"

    "Well, your supposition is urate," affirmed a stern, bald man ¨C who I guessed was one of the city''s officials.

    Raven von Matterhorn, ourbat art instructor, chimed in. "I''m sure you''re well aware that possessing a mythical beast is an egregious transgression."

    One of the two Central Government members took out a dimensional ring with vampiric runes engraved all over it, emitting a dull red glow.

    The government member looked at me and spoke, "And this is a vampiric dimensional ring, which we retrieved from inside the Hydra after it¡­ well, swallowed you. We believe that this belonged to you."

    "Do you want to deny these acquisitions, Cadet?" Liz was the one who asked that question.

    I looked away, staring at the far end of the room, behind the semi-circr table and the people sitting behind it.

    There, in the shadows, stood a slender silhouette. It was a woman. The darkness veiled her face, only leaving her brightly glowing silver eyes visible.

    That must be a member of the Justice Society. Usually, in these types of court-martial, the Central Government deploys a person with a Gift akin to the truth serum.

    Basically, in their presence, you can''t lie. This meant that as long as I was standing in this assembly hall, I had to answer all the questions with utmost honesty.

    Thus, I calmly shook my head. "No, ma''am. Everything said until now is true. I hid possession of a mythical-ranked mana beast, and that vampiric ring belonged to me."

    A wave of shock washed over the individuals sitting before me. Some raised their eyebrows, some frowned, and some were merely disappointed.

    However, before any of them could jump to any conclusion and issue a death sentence or something like that, I spoke up again.

    "But I''m not, in any way, affiliated with the vampires. In fact, I''m the farthest thing from a spy or a traitor. I take every step that I take with one and only one purpose in mind ¨C win the war. My loyalty lies with the world, the Central Government, and the United Military."

    A hush silence descended upon the assembly hall. Everyone looked perplexed, not knowing how to react to my statement, which was more of a deration than anything.

    One of the two government members massaged eyebrows and sighed. She then looked up and stared straight into my eyes.

    "No one is suspecting your loyalty, Cadet. Well, at least most of us aren''t. We heard about your contribution in stopping the massacre of Silveserine and then thwarting the Bloodpolis here in this very academy."

    She lingered for a while as if hesitant to proceed further. She then pointed at the ring sitting on the table in front of her and said:

    "But then, we also want answers. So, let''s start with the most pressing question: how did you get your hands on this ring here?"

    I couldn''t help but exhale a soft sigh. I knew this question wasing. But what choice did I have but to answer, and truthfully at that?

    Of course, being honest was not going to stop me from lying.

    "In Silveserine, I stumbled upon a kid named Rowan. He told me about a strangedy recently moving into their slum. Her behaviour was concerning. I believed she was a vampire. And just as I had thought, upon further investigation, I found she was indeed a bloodsucker."

    I took a deep breath before continuing in a low, wistful voice:

    "I had reasons to believe she was holding little kids hostage, so I had to act fast. I did not have time to alert the others even if I wanted to. Who knew what was happening to those kids? So, I acted. I confronted the vampire and killed her. But¡­ I was toote."

    The government officer ¨C the same woman who had spoken earlier ¨C frowned slightly as if concerned.

    "What happened next?" She asked.

    I met her gaze, staggering, "T-The kids had already turned¡­ I had to neutralise them."

    Everyone winced or flinched as soon as thosest words left my lips. I acted as if recalling all this was really hurting me as I continued:

    "I didn''t report this incident since the threat was already negated. The vampires¡­ all of them¡­ were dead. Also, I didn''t want to talk about it. So¡­ I told no one. I acted as if everything was fine and returned to the hotel."

    "That still didn''t exin why you had this ring on you," the other government member spoke up.

    I shrugged. "I took it in case there was something in it that was¡­ well, concerning or dangerous."

    "And you decided by yourself that there wasn''t?"

    I nodded. The government member sighed. He rubbed his face with both his palms before sighing again.

    "You didn''t have the right toe to such a conclusion yourself! You should''ve gone to the higher-ups, upperssmen, instructors or anyone sensible!"

    "Calm down, Reynard!" The woman sitting beside him, the other government official, snapped at him. "He''s just a kid. That was such a nightmarish ordeal. No surprise he didn''t want to talk to anyone about it."

    "Yes, but Cassy-" before he could speak up again, the woman shook her head.

    "No, you can''t expect a kid to act any more maturely than he did already. He came across a threat, assessed the situation, and neutralised it. That''s a trained soldier-level decision-making right there. Not only that, but he even vanquished a vampire with just a few months into his first year."

    The man kept staring at the woman for a while and rolled his eyes in exasperation. He slowly shook his head before saying:

    "Fine, but what about the mythical mana beast?"

    Scratching the back of my head, I prepared an answer. "Sir, I also found a beast egg in the vampire''s possession. I took it with me, not knowing what kind of beast''s egg it was. Even I was surprised when a Phoenix hatched from it."

    "...I see," the man named Reynard nodded. "And you didn''t report this to the academy because?"

    "I¡­ felt a connection with the Phoenix as soon as she hatched."

    The man raised his eyebrows, stunned. "I am so sorry. I must''ve misheard you. Did you say that you felt a¡­ connection to the Phoenix?"

    "Yes, Sir!" I nodded. "It''s hard to exin, but I knew at that moment that she would follow me. So, I hid her."

    "Okay, firstly, stop referring to an animal as she or her. It''s weird. Secondly, that''s just bullshit! You felt¡­ a connection?! Do you think this is some kind of a joke?! Do you think you won''t be punished just because your name has Morningstar to it?! Let me clear up one thing here: you may hail from the family of heroes, but even you are not above us ¨C the government. So, if you think your family will save you¨C"

    Before the man could continue speaking, I cut him off. "I do not think so, Sir. In fact, I acknowledge the severity of my offence and the charges put on me. I am ready to face any punishment you may decree on me."

    The man stopped speaking and started looking at me with a calm, unchanging expression.

    "You''re quite the picture of pride, Cadet. You''re incredibly condescending. I take it you''re confident that your contributions and merit will protect you from any harsh punishments. Reluctant as I am to admit it, you are right. Despite the fact that I don''t like you very much, even I have to begrudgingly acknowledge your potential value in future wars. One day, you''ll be a great help to us. However, even that won''t exempt you from thew now. You are not allowed to keep your mythical beast. Your phoenix is scheduled for execution tonight, just before sunrise. Wouldn''t that be poetic?"

    Haaa. Just as I expected. This could''ve only gone down in two ways ¨C they could either have sentenced me to imprisonment or issued a decree for the immediate execution of Sera.

    So, I thought of two possible solutions to escape this predicament: ensnare them all in an intricate illusion using Enigma Sightstone, or...

    A smile yed on my lips as, in the next moment, the assembly hall''s gates swung wide open, revealing a tall man with cascading shoulder-length crimson-red hair barging in as if he owned the world.

 Chapter 404 Unfair Demand

    Chapter 404 Unfair Demand

    The male government emissary jumped up from his seat and mmed his hands on the table.

    He pointed a finger at the man who had just barged in and started shouting, "Leo Kurogami! You can''t walk in here just like¨C Gurgh!"

    However, amidst shouting, he choked on his words. Suddenly, his face grew blue, and he grabbed his throat, his mouth agape as he tried to breathe, but it looked like he was suffocating.

    Probably because he was indeed suffocating. As soon as he entered the hall, Leo had unleashed the full force of his crushing bloodlust on this man named Reynard.

    The man scratched his throat in agony until drawing blood, barely utteringprehensive squeals. "L-Leo¡­ St-op¡­ please¡­ I¡­ can''t¡­ breathe!"

    He crumpled forward, his head copsing on the table as his body convulsed, begging for air.

    The other government official named Cassy rose from her seat, her eyes widened.

    "Leo, stop! You''ll kill him! Do you really want to be charged for murdering a government member?!" she screamed.

    The other instructors also stood up in their seats, addressing Leo in hopes of calming him down.

    ¨C"Kurogami, stop! They''re our guests in the Global City!"

    ¨C"Leo, back down!"

    ¨C"Security! Call the security!"

    ¨C"And what? Anger him even more?!"

    But finally, the God of War controlled his bloodlust and released the government officer from his suffocating grasp.

    Reynard fell to his knees, greedily inhaling deep breaths. The rest of the individuals had a mix of horrified and shocked expressions on their faces.

    The first person who finally turned to Leo and spoke up to him without a hint of fear was Liz.

    "Are you insane?!" she snapped at him. "Do you even know who he is?!"

    "Reynard Grimwere," Leo replied calmly, crossing his arms and putting his hands in the sleeves of his haori. "A few years ago, I submitted a backup spearhead unit request to the Central Government that this man rejected. Because of that, one of my missions waspromised. I''ve wanted to kill this bastard ever since."

    "Yo¡­You motherfucker¡­ I''ll kill you!" Reynard barked, still on his knees.

    Not paying any attention to him as if he was merely a pebble on the ground, Leo looked at the other people present in the hall one by one.

    "So, would anyone like to tell me for what reason my sole disciple and godson on a trail that I wasn''t invited to oversee?" he asked, his voice domineering.

    Everyone exchanged nces in silence, not knowing how to react at all. Liz sighed and lingered for a while before finally deciding to answer:

    "You sole disciple and godson had a fucking Phoenix in his possession. A mythical mana beast, Leo!" she said.

    Leo shrugged. "So? What right do any of you have to put him on trial?"

    Liz''s face contorted, a deep frown forming on her forehead and her lip curling up.

    "Huh?!" she cried out in confusion. "What do you mean?! He broke thew! This is a court martial! As for why we didn''t invite you, we thought you were in the Northern Continent!"

    Leo nodded. "I was. But that doesn''t matter. What I meant was that you all can''t judge him unless you offer him a defence attorney. This court martial was against thew."

    "This started as a questioning session," Cassy replied. "The defendant here acknowledged all the acquisitions ced on him truthfully before a Justice Society member."

    Leo shook his head. "My point still stands. He was still not given a proper chance to defend himself."

    "What does that matter, you fucker!" Reynard stood up and bared his teeth like a rabid dog. "He admitted to his crime! We gave him the punishment! This court was against thew, you say?! We ¨C the Central Government ¨C are thew, you fool! And for what you did, you should be put on death row!"

    Leo stayed silent for a few seconds, staring Reynard dead into his eyes. He took a deep breath and finally started speaking:

    "Indeed, I should be put on death row. Yet, have you thought about this: who will stand sentinel against the encroaching darkness of the North if I''m dead? Picture it in your puny little mind if you could ¨C the North sumbing to the relentless advance of the vampiric forces, the United Military falling, and the world ending¡­ all because I hurt your ego. You are right, Reynard. You ¨C the government ¨C are thew. But what significance does thew have in the presence of a fucking God? Thus, I''m generously giving this one final chance now. Sit the fuck down, lower your head in deference, and shut up."

    Reynard''s eyes widened in disbelief as he desperately tried to articte the words faltering on his lips. His mouth moved, opening and closing a few times as he struggled to express his thoughts.

    But in the end, he fell silent, his eyes zing with an unrestrained, frenzied fury.

    In his ce, Cassy spoke up. "D-Despite his bluntness, Reynard his right. The order of his punishment is already issued. But it isn''t a severe punishment. We are merely executing his Phoenix, which is the bare minimum. It is a mythical mana beast, after all."

    "Negative," Leo shook his head. "I will punish my disciple myself. Take back your decree. His Phoenix will also not be executed."

    "What?! Are you batshit crazy, you fucking bastard!" Reynard yelled. He wasn''t even angry right now. He was merely stumped in the face of Leo''s atrocious demand.

    "Leo?!" even Liz couldn''t help but utter in surprise.

    "...Mr. Kurogami, that''s impossible. We can''t allow a mythical mana beast to roam free, let alone in the care of a kid! And that mana beast can already assume its human form. There''s no saying how powerful it''ll be in the future if left unchecked," Cassy, who was also taken aback, calmly denied Leo''s proposition.

    However, the God of War was not going to back down. He shrugged and said, "That was not a request."

    "Mr. Kurogami, no matter what you say, we can''t let a kid be in possession of a beast which will have nuclear-level power in a few years," Cassy shook her head.

    Leo smiled. "He''ll have that kind of power one day, anyway. But once again, as I said, it wasn''t a request. It was a threat. Either you let him keep your Phoenix and let me decide his punishment, or I will resign from my military duties."

    Suddenly, the whole room was hushed into an abrupt silence. No one¡­ and I mean no one, expected Leo to say this.

    Leo had fulfilled his mandatory military service long ago. Not even the Central Government could force him to remain on the frontlines.

    Yet, releasing him wasn''t an option either. The alternative would involve trying to retain him on the frontlines through illegal means, essentially dering a covert war against him. And only a fool would entertain the notion of waging war against the God of War.

    So¡­ what choice did these poor souls have but toply with his unfair demands?

 Chapter 405 Illusion Of Choice [1]

    Chapter 405 Illusion Of Choice [1]

    After my master''s respectful request, the judicial authorities reluctantly admitted to rescinding my punishment. As if they ever had a choice in the matter.

    Anywa, now Sera can remain with me, albeit with a condition ¨C I must earn the right to keep her with me and keep her alive.

    Basically, starting next semester, I am obliged to ept and engage in missions regarding continental security level threats.

    While I wasn''t an expert on the topic, I knew that the military categorized their missions into several different threat levels: mundane, abnormal, state security, continental security, special forces, and extinction-level threats.

    It''s not unheard for a Cadet to be deployd in the midst of their training, but it only happens to the best of the best ¨C the top 10 Cadets, to be precise. And even then it is rare.

    The top 25 are usually deployed on official missions too, but not for matters concerning continental security, which deals with terrorist organizations and the like.

    Haa! It''s so ironic that just until a year ago, I thought that I would be living a safe life, leaving Nero to handle all the perilous tasks.

    But it''s fine. Yes, it''s eptable. Even with the inherent danger, this conclusion is far better than Sera''s immediate execution or my imprisonment.

    Or, at least, that was my mindset until a few minutes ago. Right now, I''m inclined to think that being imprisoned could''ve been better as I would''ve got some peace of mind that way.

    "Waaah! Paaaaa! Don''t leave Sera like this ever!"

    "Brooo! I cried for you! I thought you were dead!"

    Shaking my head, an exasperated sigh escaping my lips. I tried to disentangle the blue-haired elf clinging onto me.

    Then, I tried to free myself from the young girl gripping my legs as if her life depended on it.

    "What is wrong with all of you," I rolled my eyes, my voice still a bit raspy. Leaning back on my sickbed, I tiredly closed my eyes. "Why is everyone hugging me as soon as they see me."

    "Because Sera thought pa died!"

    "Because Kent thought bro died!"

    "Oh god!" Barely resisting the urge to pull out a handful of my hair, I dered, "Okay, you two, leave me this instance or I''ll Mana Burst both of you."

    "Ahem," Kent cleared his throat and calmly scooched away from the bed. Sera also followed suit, leaving my legs and stepping away as if nothing happened.

    "So, can they even do that? I mean, force you to serve in the field like that?" Amelia, seated by the side table, peeling apples and carving them into bunny shapes, asked curiously.

    Before I could answer, Anastasia, cradling a cup of warm tea in her hands while sitting cross-legged on the couch, chimed in.

    "I mean, of course, they can. Besides, Lucas isn''t exactly in the position to deny their¡­ um¡­ let''s call it a request."

    "It''s not a request," Nero snapped, standing by the window, gazing out at the awe-inspiring cityscape. He turned around, facing me, "This should clearly be illegal. It''s as if they want him to die."

    "Okay," I scoffed. "I''m not going to die. I''ll be working with ssically trained professionals. I''ll be providing support at most. And I''ll only be taking a few missions in a year. We had to take missions after reaching the top twenty-five anyway."

    "Yes, but not continental level threats!" Nero retorted. "State security, or abnormal threats, at most!"

    "It''s fine," I waved my hand dismissively. "I''m strong. I can handle it, Nero."

    Nero rolled his eyes and spun around, staring back at the vista outside the ss window. "I know better than anyone else how strong you are. I guess, you''re right. We shouldn''t be worried about you."

    No, no. I meant you shouldn''t worry about me. Let these two beautiful girls worry about me as much as they want.

    Shrugging with a smile, I looked around, my gaze falling on Kent''s metal arm. Aside from not being made of flesh, this arm was functioning exactly like a natural one.

    "Does it hurt?" I asked, glimpsing at Kent.

    He silently shook his head in response. I lingered for a while, before asking in a whispering tone, "Can you cast hand signs using that?"

    Kent stayed silent for a while before shaking his head again. "It''s a special alloy metal that conducts mana, but not like our flesh does ¨C not that intricately. So¡­ I can''t cast any hand signs that require two hands. But this is still good. I can wield my scythe and use martial aura¡­ once I learn it¡­ as naturally as others."

    I nodded, before a yful smile cracked on my lips. "So, your hand can''t shoot energy beams?"

    Kent rolled his eyes, his patience running thin. "For thest time, Lucas! I can''t shoot god damn energy beams from my hands! Do you think I wouldn''t have wanted that?!"

    I couldn''t help but burst intoughter after finally getting the reaction from him that I was trying for so long.

    Kent shook his head before he also startedughing with the others.

    This was fun. I never knew how fun bantering together with friends could be until I found these guys.

    In front of these people, I could be the version of myself that I actually liked. I was still lying, putting on a mask, but I was bing this person that I actually wanted to be. The uncaring narcissistic young master who is not a douche but actually a pretty good-hearted guy.

    But¡­ At the end of the day, this persona of mine was a lie. I knew that. I knew who I really was ¨C just a scared little boy, trapped in a convoluted mess of fate and Gods, too powerless to do anything and stop the ensuing chaos.

    I knew what I needed to do. I needed to get stronger. Far stronger than I currently was to even hope of standing a chance against whatever cmity that was about to befall on the world.

    Amelia was done peeling the apples. She got up and brought me a te full of bunny-shaped slices. "Here."

    I nodded, taking a few in between my fingers.

    I will not do it. I don''t know what happened that pushed me to take their lives in the past timeline¡­ but I won''t do it again. I won''t achieve peace by sacrificing these kids. I refuse to do that.

    I will get stronger. I will end the war. I will deal with the God of Fate. Then, atst, I will see what I can do about the Dragon God.

 Chapter 406 Illusion Of Choice [2]

    ?406 Illusion Of Choice [2]

    After those guys went away, Leo came to check up on me. Naturally, he asked me several questions, like why I didn''t tell him about Sera.

    He said he had some suspicions when I was asking him about Phoenixes, but he never expected I would have one in my possession.

    I thought about telling him Soul Link but ultimately decided not to. After all, even with everything said and done, Leo was still loyal to Spider at the end of the day.

    I couldn''t risk him getting even stronger than he already was if there was even the slightest chance that I''d ever be facing him as an enemy.

    Though, I hope that won''t happen. I don''t know how yet, but I would find a way to separate Leo from Spider. I was ready to kill Selena if I had to. But once again, I hoped I wouldn''t have to do that.

    Anyway, after that, I introduced Leo to Sera. He didn''t show it on his face, but I knew he absolutely adored her human form.

    It was only after he left that I got to thinking about everything about the recent developments.

    One question that was pressing me the most was how Kiara was able to show me my past timeline''s memories?

    Earlier, when I tried looking at her, I felt a maic pull. It felt as if something deep in my soul was drawn to her. But now that I think about it, I only felt that way when I looked into her eyes.

    She also said that she could see the future.

    If my guess is correct, then her eyes are unique. It could affect one''s soul and see the future. So that meant only one thing ¨C the memories of past timelines weren''t locked in my head but in my soul.

    I don''t know how long it will be until I recover all my memories. But what I know for sure is that I can get all my answers from Kiara.

    But I can''t free her until I''m sure I''m strong enough to kill her at a moment''s notice.

    "No, no, involving myself with her is too dangerous. I''ll find another way."

    I have to. I didn''t have any other choice. I didn''t know what her objective was, but considering her master is an entity who conquers and destroys worlds as effortlessly as taking a stroll, it''s not a good idea to free her.

    Shaking my head, I looked around. Sera was sleeping with her head on myp. I gently lifted her neck and ced her head on a pillow before leaving the bed and walking away.action

    Coming to stand in front of the window, I gazed out at the city, taking in the beautiful evening view of the concrete jungle.

    My eyes burned as I stared at the orange sun setting behind the horizon, but I didn''t look away¡­ until the sound of my room''s door unlocking resounded from behind me.

    Someone entered with light steps. I didn''t need to turn around to tell who it was. I could sense the temperature dropping slightly as soon as the door opened.

    "Long time, dear sister." I greeted without turning around. After Yelena didn''t reply for a while, I tossed a nce at her over my shoulder.

    She was standing there a few paces behind me with her hands crossed over her chest. She was in her top 25 blue and white academy uniform. Her gaze dropped for a second as soon as our eyes locked before she quickly looked back up.

    The usual sense of detachment and indifference in her eyes was nowhere to be seen. She seemed almost¡­ tame?

    "I¡­ came after hearing you woke up," Yelena said, barely resisting the urge to avert her gaze. I helped her by averting mine and started staring back out of the window. "They said you''re alright."

    "Why do you care?" I scoffed. "Especially after thest time I met with you and Adel."

    I audibly heard Yelena sighing before she said, "This was myst day in the academy. I only came here after hearing about your condition, but if you don''t want me here, I understand."

    She turned around and headed out of the room. But before she could leave the door, I called her out, "Sister."

    Yelena stopped. With both our backs turned to each other, she asked, "What?"

    "Don''t die on the frontlines," I said. "You''ll be useful in the future. So don''t throw your life away now."

    "...What does that even mean?" She asked.

    I sighed, shaking my head. "Never mind."

    Yelena lingered for a while before stealing a nce at the bed, where Sera was peacefully sleeping. But she didn''t say anything and left after hesitating for a couple of seconds.

    "...Well, let''s get to some training."

    ?

    "Lucas, run! Run, I said run!"

    "The hell do you think I''m doing, Steelforged?!"

    Two young men raced through a dense forest with blistering speed, skillfully navigating obstacles that dared to block their paths or forcefully ploughing through them in a show of exceptional strength and resilience.

    What were they running from? A murder of crows that were chasing them, but not the average ones. These ravens were nine to ten times the size of regr crows, with wings made of some kind of glistening metal and beaks capable of obliterating entire buildings.

    Dealing with just a few of these colossal winged creatures wouldn''t pose a challenge, but a whole pack of them? That was dangerous.

    While sprinting, Elijah pointed an index finger into the distance, where a rectangr frame hid behind the lush woods.

    "There! I found the Teleportation Gate!"

    Lucas scowled, fixing an intense re on Elijah. "What the fuck do you mean you found it, Steelforged? I was the one who said we should take the turn we took!"

    "Bullshit!" The half-dwarf shot back immediately, wearing a mix of confusion and a ridiculing frown on his face. "You almost got us lost!"

    "The emphasis is on almost¨C"

    Before Lucas could continue the pointless argument, Elijah shouted, "Look up ahead!"

    Ahead of them, a small group of colossal crows had separated from the main pack and was closing in on them.

    "Tch!" Lucas clicked his tongue. "I''ll stop them right here, Elijah! When I do that, you make it to the Gate."

    "No!" Elijah shook his head. "It''s too dangerous! Professor Matterhorn will kill me if I let my forging partner get murdered by crows! Hehe¡­ get it? Murdered by crows¡­ because¨C"

    "Yes, I get it!" Lucas snapped and elerated, resembling a blue and white blur. "Now, get to the Gate!"

    Without waiting for confirmation, Lucas charged headfirst into the oing pack of crows.

    Surrounded by the metal-winged creatures ready to tear him apart, he whispered, "Mana Burst."

    Thwooooom¡ª!!!

    In the midst of the swirling crows, an incinerating explosion bloomed, obliterating those too close and scorching those far away from his range.

    Elijah smoothly circled around the explosion, reaching the Gate just a step shy of the pulsating tear in the fabric of space. ncing back at where Lucas was, he shouted, "Come, Morningstar!"

    Lucas gritted his teeth. Crimson mes were devouring the lush greenery around him.

    Despite some crows daring the fire, slicing through with metal wings like bullets, Lucas swung his jian''s ghostly glowing white de at shing speed, targeting their skulls and underbellies.

    Knowing his sword couldn''t pierce their sturdy beaks or metal wings, Lucas swiftly dispatched those that got past his defences.

    He didn''t fight for too long. After making quick work of the crows in his immediate surroundings, he rushed toward the Gate before he and Elijah vanished, not letting the main pack of crows reach them.

    Lucas emerged on the other side of the gate first before Elijah was thrown out, too, and he collided with him, both crumpling to the ground like a house of cards.

    "Arghh!" Lucas groaned. "Get off me, you fucker."

    Elijah also grunted in pain, then stood with a struggle.

    "I still think killing them was a better option," Lucas said, rising up to his feet.

    Elijah shook his head. "Their wings are too precious. Killing them all would waste the harvest."

    Lucas rolled his eyes. "You''re always doing things by the book, aren''t you?"

    "What''s the problem with that?" Elijah shrugged, turning to walk off into the distance.

    Lucas sighed, patting his blue and white top 25 academy uniform, which was different from Elijah''s ck shirt with red linings, and followed.

    They were on the outskirts of Global City, where the Teleportation Gate was situated. Now, they had three hours to return to the academy and pass their forging exam.

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