《Arcana Mob》


 Chapter 1 Ch 1 : Cade North

    A nted bank with lushly grown grass¡­.


    When he came to it, there was only the sound of grass scraping against one another and the scent of ntation gathering around him.


    Lying down at such a ce as his hand was reaching to the sun, the little boy was attacked by a violent throbbing.


    Under the violent throbbing, the boy was sweating a lot.


    However, he wasn''t'' sweating because of the sun''s warmth. It was a cold sweat that wouldn''t'' stop.


    ""Uhkkk¡­""


    There was a pulsing pain in his body, but fortunately, the pain didn''tst that long. Just like how it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the pain also suddenly go away without any warning, leaving the poor boy alone and confused.


    He just has a very bizarre dream. A dream where he is not him, and he seemed to live in a very different world from what he knew here. There, the world was peaceful, but somehow the boy always felt the world was boring, and there was not much entertainment for him.


    The dream ended when he was hit by something like a giant wagon, and when he woke up, he had only realized that it was just a dream.


    ""W, what was that just now?""


    He sat up in a panic, trying to find some clue about what had just happened. But because he sat up in a panic, some of the grass that got caught on his clothes fell onto the ground. As the wind blew, the des of grass drifted away.


    As he thought it was only a strong wind, a giant shadow passed through above him, blocking the sun with itsrge body.


    The boy was clearly shocked. He had never seen anything like this.


    Under the shadow which blocked the sun, the boy could clearly see the thing that was flying above him.


    This flying thing was revealed to be something like a bird. ??It was like a mix of a phoenix and a peacock. Its feathers are predominantly gold and white, with wings that spanned dozens of meters.


    For some reason, the boy who usually looks at everything nonchntly now couldn''t'' hide his eyes wide open in astonishment.


    It feels as if he was seeing something from the legend.


    Clutching his chest, his heart was still pounding fiercely. He didn''t'' know why, but the excitement was currently brewing inside him.


    "What the heck is this feeling¡­"


    . . . . . . .


    Yearster -


    "Everyone gives way; the School''s number one is about to pass through. You don''t'' really want to get on the bad side of the School''s number one, right? "A boy shouted down the hallway.


    However, everyone who heard him didn''t'' give way like what the boy shouted. Instead, they were snickering with a face full of mockery.


    A boy with ck hair and dead-fish eyes carried on walking down the school corridor.


    His name is Cade, Harassment had be a daily urrence for him, and things like this were just like breakfast to him.


    All he wanted was to quickly leave this ce and return back home, where no one would harass him anymore.


    Ten years have passed since that day.


    The boy who was previously still a little kid has now grown into a teenager.


    He had moved from elementary School into High School. However, when he reached high School, everything changed for him.


    Cade was a transmigrator from our earth but different from other transmigrators; his fate could be said as pretty depressing.


    In the beginning, he thought that he could live a new fulfilling life on his second try, but everything changed a few years ago. His parents suddenly went missing, leaving him only with a five years old sister and money that was barely enough for them to survive for three years.


    It was said that his parents went missing because theirpany went on bankrupt, but Cade knew that things weren''t that simple. There must be someone pulling the string behind all of this, but he had no strength nor the power to find and execute the truth.


    And to make things worse, during the awakening process in which people age fifteen would awaken their Arcane Card, the boy had awakened a Rank (I) Arcane Card, the weakest among its peers.


    If there was something that kept him sane enough, it was the existence of a countdown timer that had been apanying him since he came to this world.


    The countdown timer itself was a very mysterious existence, but Cade''s hunch told him that there must be something good hidden beneath it, and it would be one that helped him turn his life around.


    But just when Cade thought things would finally get better, fate seemed to y around with him.


    A few months ago, after reaching the 00.00.00, the countdown stopped working, and there has yet no change toe.


    [ 0 Hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds left.]


    ''Not today huh¡­...''


    Yet another day where the countdown timer reached zero, but there was nothing significant happened. Cade could only shake his head helplessly at this realization.


    Cade was just about to leave the school gate, but he was suddenly stopped by a group of boys with delinquent clothes.


    ''*Sigh* another bad day¡­''


    Looking at the group of delinquents, Cade already knew what was on the mind of the delinquents. Still, it''s'' not like he could do anything about it.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hey, bastard. Do you think you could get away safely after not paying the monthly fees? I''ll let you know what happens if you disobey me. Summon Arcane Card!!"


    "Ugh¡­."


    Seeing this scene, Cade didn''t'' have any unusual expression. This had be such a habit that he just let the bullies do anything they wanted. Either way, trying to resist was futile. It would only make the delinquent happy, and his beating would be even more severe.


    He had been through this countless times, and there''s no harm in going it another time. He just closed his eyes and hoped that everything would be over soon.


    And immediately, a shocking scene happened.


    One of the delinquent''s bodies glowed, and a Humongous Tiger was summoned right next to him.


    ROARRR!!!!!


    Sounds of beating resounded in front of the school gates.


    But strangely, even after witnessing these kinds of scenes, there was no one who stepped up to help. The students look at this as if this was amon urrence, while the teacher turned their head away as if they didn''t see anything.


    Only Cade, who has been beaten up, could curse everyone secretly in his heart, vowing that he would get his revengeter.


    About half an hourter, Cade was left with very tattered clothes and body, and the delinquents spitted at him before leaving.


    "This is yourst chance, boy! Remember to pay the next month''s fees on time!"


    "¡­.. "


    After the delinquent left, no one was bothered to y with the boy anymore. Cade had be like this, and it was useless to y with such a broken toy.


    Dragging his tattered body, Cade slowly and steadily limped out of the alleyway like a dog running between his tail. If other transmigrators were to know his fate, then they would definitelyugh at him.


    "Ouch¡­ they are really merciless, aren''t'' they¡­"


    The boy started walking back to his house, not even bothering to take another look at the School where he was currently supposed to be studying.


    This School, this society¡­.


    Everything felt like a prison to him, only confining him or dragging him down.


    The boy dragged his bruised body all the way to his small and cramped apartment, which was about a few blocks away from the School. Though it hurt like hell, the moment he entered the apartment blocks, the boy forced himself to smile.


    As he opened the apartment door, a familiar figure peeked her head out.


    "Brother, you arete!"


    "Sorry I''m''te. There was some ident on the road."


    His words came out with a wide smile on his face as he patted his little sister, who had a pouting face.


    There was only one reason that he kept smiling until now, and that was to not make his little sister worried. Even if the world was to be ruined, as long as he and his sister could stay alive and well, everything didn''t'' really matter to him.


    Cade might be a transmigrator, but it didn''t'' mean he didn''t'' love his new family. Rather, he who had been transmigrated to this world had earned the true meaning of family and cherished his little happiness more than anything.


    After his parents left them, the two little siblings only had each other. Therefore, thest thing the boy wanted to do was to make his sister be worried.


    The boy then realized that even if he tried to hide it, the bruises on his body were too evident.


    He told her little sister to go back inside first while he would be taking a bath as he felt a bit dirty aftering up from School. But of course, it was just an excuse.


    The boy then went to the bathroom and closed the dull, rusted door behind him. It was only him in the bathroom, and he could stop pretending now.


    The smile that he had on his face disappeared, and a tired look re-emerged on Cade''s face.


    "Damn!!! Why me¡­.."


    "Those bastards¡­ One day.. Just wait for me!"


    Cries of despair and hatred were let out from the boy''s mouth.


    Outside, he always pretended that he didn''t'' care. But no matter what, he was still a human. All the beatings and insults, he might act like he gave no shit about them, but the boy was actually hiding all the scars that slowly umted inside of him.


    Under the cold shower, the boy let out all of his rages.


    He knew life was unfair, but to be this far, just what did he do in his previous life to deserve this?


    One full minuteter, Cade had just finished letting out his frustration.


    He was about to finish his shower when he suddenly heard a voiceing from the side.


    "Kyuu?"


    Turning his head around, the boy saw A blue figure that looked like a collection of ectosm. With a small wizard hat on its head and shining red eyes. Normal people from earth would definitely be terrified when they saw this. However, Cade seemed to be unsurprised by the sudden appearance of this strange thing.


    "No, Spectre, it is not your fault. It is my fault to be this weak."

 Chapter 2 Ch 2 : Rank (I) Arcane Card

    A few centuries ago, a spatial rift suddenly appeared on this continent called Pangaea. The spatial rift had created a lot of disasters and had cut down a huge proportion of humanities. But when humans thought it couldn''t be worse, the second Spatial rift came.


    A few years after the First Spatial Rift, when humanity had just tried to rise from the rubbles, the second spatial rift appeared.


    Huge portals started appearing everywhere and spawned a dungeon that was inhabited by unknown speciester identified as monsters and other races. They spread chaos everywhere, and humanity had almost gone extinct because of them.


    Their strength was far behind their opponent, and even their technologies didn''t differ that much. It was pretty reasonable that humanities would lose this war and be pushed back by the monsters.


    But soon, humans began to find their trace of hope in this seemingly hopeless situation.


    Not long after, the third Spatial rift appeared and gave birth to hope for humanity, by giving them something called Arcane Card. The Arcane Card itself didn''t only take the form of humans. They could be deities, past heroes, or even monsters that could do things humans could''ve only dreamt of doing in the past, like summoning fireballs or cutting through mountains.


    Counting from the first day when the spatial rift appeared, three hundred years have passed like a sh.


    After years of fighting, humanity finally was able to reim 40% of theirnd, while the rest still belonged to the monsters.


    A big federation, Ultima federation, now stood as humanity''s seed of hope. With the supreme threat of extinction, humanities finally disregard all their difference and join hand together to create a big federation as a safe haven for humans, as well as their base in retaking back their earth against the monsters.


    ==========


    User ID: Cade North


    Age: 17


    Picture : (Holographic image of a boy)


    Program: Card fighter Year 3


    School Rank: 2000/2000


    Arcane Card: Spectre


    Potential : (I)/(III)


    Current upation: Luminous academy year three student.


    ==========


    Looking at the status card in his hand, Cade could only give an awry smile.


    Rank (I) Arcane, No matter where he went, this title always followed him around.


    As a person with Rank (I) Arcane Card, Cade''s overall strength was almost the same as a regr human being. Furthermore, his Arcane Card, Spectre, almost didn''t have anybat capability and could only do some support work like reconnaissance or lighting the dark ce, something that waspletely receable by technologies.


    With the exception of being a bit stronger and his wounds healing slightly faster, Cade was about the same as regr people in every other aspect.


    Every time the school was holding a practical ss, Cade was always either rankedst or injured badly that he couldn''t enter the ranking and needed to stay at home for the next several days.


    He had always gotten injured that some small bruises were like an old friend to him now.


    Of course, it wasn''t as if Cade was a masochist and liked to be injured.


    However, it is not like Cade had any other choice. Finishing high school is a must, and without finishing high school, Cade''s life would even be more miserable.


    He would not be able to ess the job market and could only live by begging for the mercy of others. Therefore, even though it was very painful to him, Cade could only grit his teeth and hope that he could finish high school as soon as possible.


    After Cade finished his shower and entered his room, he immediately pulled his drawer open, which contained a nk card inside. It was a piece of card that looked like a tarot card, but for some reason, the front part of it was empty.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This card was thest gift from his father before his father went missing.


    " Bastard Father, when will you return? Don''t you know me and Elsa are living a very hard life right now?." Cade said as he took the empty card into his hand.


    Cade carefully examined the card, hoping to see there were some changes in the card. However, the card remained the same as always.


    Every day after waking up and before school, Cade had always observed the card. People might think that this was just an empty dysfunctional card. However, his father''s words at that time clearly made Cade think the other way.


    " Cade, remember. If there''s a time when I''m gone without any trace, remember to keep this card safe. This card would be the only hope for our family to survive!"


    It was thest time Cade remembered he had talked to his father. The very next day, his father had already dered missing by the federation.


    " Just what are you... And why did father put such an important degree to you... *Sigh* Forget it. That bastard father must have his own reason.."


    As there was still no clue about the card, Cade then put the card back in his drawer and went to the dining room as he saw his little sister, Elsa, was already quietly waiting for him at the dining table.


    " Sorry that it took some time, Elsa. I was lost in thought when I showered."


    " It''s okay, brother. After all, Elsa is a good girl and will always wait for her brother."


    The little girl, Elsa smiled sweetly, which made Cade''s heart warm. In this world where the strong reign and the weak could only kneel before them, the only thing that continuously pushed him forward was Elsa''s smile.


    Cade rubbed Elsa''s head, much to her displeasure as it also ruined her hair, with a chuckle, he went to the fridge to prepare for dinner.


    " By, the way, what do you want to eat, Elsa?"


    " Egg fried rice!!"


    " *Sigh* Egg fried rice again? Your body also needs some nutrients, okay?"


    " Hehe, Elsa doesn''t care. Elsa likes big brother''s egg-fried rice so much!"


    Looking at the little girl''s smile, Cade shook his head helplessly.


    This little girl.. she knew that the condition of her family was pretty bad, so she didn''t really want to burden his brother by asking for something extra.


    Cade could only put this thought deep inside his heart and promised that he would do his best to make Elsa happy in the future.


    However, there was a slight problem here. When Cade checked the fridge, he had just noticed that they were out of eggs.


    " Hm.. it seems we are out of eggs. Wait a minute here, Elsa. Brother will be back with some eggs!"


    Cade closed the fridge, and he then threw on a pair of clean pants and a shirt.


    "Brother, are you heading out? It won''t bete now? Elsa watched the TV, and it seemed that recently there had been some cases of people disappearance in the neighborhood. It''s okay. Elsa also likes fried rice without egg!" Elsa worriedly asked.


    Still, Cade had already made up his mind. Even though his body still hurt a bit from all the beating from before, he just couldn''t let his little sister eat worse than what she usually had.


    He patted the little Elsa''s head, and with a reassuring smile, he said:


    "It''s okay. Your brother is strong. Just wait for a bit here. By the way, don''t forget to lock the door and only open it when you hear meing!"


    "Eh? Ehhhhh? Wait.. brother!!!" Elsa stood at the doorstep in a daze, watching her brother''s disappearing figure.

 Chapter 3 Ch 3 : Special Event

    With his hands in his pant pockets, Cade casually strolled into the Supermarket at the corner of the street.


    If it was the usual case, Cade would definitely try to avoid supermarkets and went to the traditional market early in the morning as Supermarket''s price was somewhat higher than the normal traditional market.


    However, it was already prettyte, and Cade didn''t want to waste any more time.


    " Brother, can you give me some eggs?"


    " Huh? Sure, wait a minute." The store clerk looked up.


    The store clerk left to pick up some eggs while Cade was left alone waiting for the shop clerk. While waiting, Cade decided to pick up his phone and check up on some news.


    " Let''s see, what the news is up to? Hmm.. it seemed that what Elsa said previously was true. A disappearance case, huh? I think it is a good idea to quickly go home after getting the egg."


    As Cade was busy checking the news about the disappearance case, unexpectedly a few familiar voices came from his side.


    "Eh? Isn''t this Mr. School''s number one?"


    " !!!! "


    Hearing the few familiar voices from the side, Cade''s expression instantly turned pale as he grabbed all his belonging and moved back a few paces as fast as he could. He didn''t have to look up to know who was talking.


    He already knew who it was. After years of bullying, he was not a stranger to that voice, but to run into them here just at this time?


    He quickly looked around and saw that there was still some distance between him and the bullies.


    No longer caring about the eggs, Cade immediately run as fast as possible from his current ce. Meeting them here was the worst scenario possible.


    In the school, they might have some reservations, but who knows what they would do when no one was watching like now.


    Leaving the Supermarket in a rush, Cade noticed a small alley to his right, just beside the Supermarket.


    *Huff-Huff*


    " Bastards.. why now? Can''t they give me any rest?"


    He forgot everything as he ran over there. Of course, there was a burst of loudughter, and the group of young men followed him in excitement.


    For a few minutes, the two groups were caught in a hide and seek. Cade runs with all his best, while the group of delinquents continuously chase after him with a burst of mockingughter.


    Unfortunately for Cade, a short few minutester, he eventually found himself trapped as he hit a dead-end, and right behind him was the group of delinquents.


    "Hehe. Why are you running away? Aren''t we close friends?."


    The shortest one who stood at the very front dropped his water bottle on the floor and kicked it, aiming for Cade''s head.


    BANG!!!!


    Cade was a bitte to dodge, and the bottle hit Cade right at his head, causing some bleeding. Cade, who was impacted by the kick fell down to the floor and looked at the guy with despair in his eyes.


    Just why? He had never done anything to them, so why did they always go after him?


    Still, no matter what he could only ept the beating and hoped that the group of delinquents wouldn''t go too far today.


    He had once tried to fight back, but it only resulted in a more merciless beating. From that day onward, Cade realized that all he could do was just wait for the other party to be satisfied and leave him alone.


    " Hey, hey, why do you look so dead? We haven''t even yed with you yet?"


    . . . . . . .


    About half an hourter, Cade was left with bruises all over his body, a few broken bones, and fallen teeth. It was so miserable, but well, at least he was still able to keep his life.


    After a full half an hour of beating, Cade thought that the Delinquent already had enough. He was about to watch the scene of the delinquents leave, but then something happened.


    As the delinquents were about to leave, Cade suddenly heard a prompting up on his mind.


    [ 0 hours 0 minute 0 seconds left.]


    [ DING!!! The countdown timer has psed, and a special event will soon happen near the host.]


    [ DING!!! The special transmigration bonus has been implemented. The countdown timer would disappear now.]


    '' ????''


    Obviously, Cade was perplexed by this sudden appearance of the mechanical voice.


    Special event? What does it really mean¡­


    And what the heck? Transmigration bonus?<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cade really wanted tough. A special transmigration bonus ten years after transmigrating and years of bullying. Was he supposed to be the weaktostrong trope protagonist?


    But before Cade could think any further, a rough, hoarse voice came from the side. Surprising both Cade and the delinquents.


    " Well, well¡­ What do I see here? A group of people ganking up on a guy?"


    ''This.. Is this the special event¡­''


    Cade''s mood turned strange as he tried to predict what might happen after this.


    There''s no description of what the event was, and he could only hope that it would at least benefit him to get out of this predicament.


    In the passerby''s view, the appearance of this voice might help Cade. But Cade clearly thought the opposite. It would only make the delinquent stay longer by his side, and there was a chance that the situation would escte even further.


    And just right, the moment the voice fell, the atmosphere suddenly turned a bit tense.


    If it was just Cade, then they might be able to turn the table by saying Cade was ndering them. However, it was an entirely different case if there were eyewitnesses here.


    Nheless, Cade was not the only one who felt annoyed with the sudden arrival of the voice.


    The other delinquent member looked worriedly at their leader, the one with spiky red hair that gave an imposing aura.


    " Boss, what should we do-"


    " Humph, it''s okay. It is just a guy who wanted to y hero!"


    After calming his worried underling, the Delinquent leader shifted his re to the direction where the voice came.


    " You.. stop hiding in the dark! If you are a man,e out and talk to us directly!"


    It was a very imposing roar. But unfortunately for him, the other party didn''t seem like he wanted to respond.


    A few minutes passed with no response, and the Delinquent leader slowly became impatient.


    Someone was interfering when they yed with their favorite toy, it was impossible for him not to get annoyed.


    However, when he was about to go in the direction of the voice, the delinquent leader saw a huge stone door blocking the passage.


    Along with the leader, the other delinquents immediately surrounded this door.


    "What is this? Why is there a door here? I don''t think I had seen this door when we got here before."


    "Hey, have we encountered something like this before?"


    "This is definitely the first time, I''m sure of it."


    "This¡­ Doesn''t this feel strangely dangerous?"


    The delinquents began to express their doubts and fears one at a time.


    Since this was a very bizarre situation, they had to be cautious and meticulous.


    However, the other party had clearly grasped the personality of the delinquent boss.


    The moment the delinquents showed some hesitation, another voice came from inside the door.


    " Humph? What is it? So you guys are just chicken, huh? Come here and see me by yourself¡­ But that''s if you are a man. Hahahahahahahaha!"


    It was very clear that it was an intentional provocation and inside might be full of traps. But the Delinquent Boss was just too annoyed and fell for it.


    He heard those provocations and his temper had gotten into his head. Anyway, he didn''t believe that there would be something dangerous inside the city.


    " You guys, we will be entering the gate. Follow me, we will teach that guy a lesson for not messing with us!"


    " !!!! "


    Just as a dumbfounded expression formed on the delinquents'' faces, the delinquent leader pushed the dungeon''s door and it creaked open.


    m!


    Now that the door was wide open, the huge open interior revealed itself. The interior was very dark, and it was clear that it would be full of danger, but the Delinquent had made up his mind.


    The Delinquent leader was just about to enter, but then an evil smile appeared on his face as he remembered something.


    " By the way, bring that trash too. Maybe he can help to check the trap for us!"

 Chapter 4 Ch 4 : Prison (?)

    As soon as the delinquents set foot inside, mes erupted on the numerous torches packed tightly on the walls, all at the same time. It was a very eery scene, but thanks to that, the interior brightened up considerably.


    "This.. this must be a trick, right?"


    "Can we go home now?"


    "Something''s¡­. different about this ce."


    Some of the delinquents began to think that it was a mistake to set their food here. However, the delinquent leader cautiously studied their surroundings. The overall atmosphere of the ce was simr to that of an old prison.


    Iron bars or a solid metal front wall with a sliding door.


    Cement walls.


    Things written or carved into the walls and Bars with the paint worn off from hands gripping them.


    For the delinquents who had visited the prison a few times, this was not a unique sight for them. However, Cade, who is supposed to be a kind and ordinary person, somehow found this ce very familiar to him.


    '' Why do I feel like I have seen this ce before? Wait.. don''t tell me¡­''


    A headache appeared out of nowhere and struck Cade''s head. For some reason, Cade felt like he had just gotten through a big epiphany.


    Cade, no matter how normal he looked actually hide the identity of a transmigrator. He was a person from our earth who after an unjust death under the hand of some people found himself transmigrated in the body of this Cade North.


    Nheless, being a transmigrator didn''t give Cade a lot of advantages before. The world had changed way too much from what he knew, rendering most of his knowledge useless.


    But here, Cade suddenly found a realization. The more he looked at it, the more he found this ce simr to what he remembered in his memory.


    The question is.. why was this ce here? Unless¡­.


    Cade now got a really bad feeling. This kind of realization, he would have hoped that he had realized this sooner.


    Walking deeper into the prison, several more delinquents shrunk back and shuddered slightly.


    "it''s a bit creepy in here, isn''t it?"


    "Why does it feel like we are being watched?"


    " Humph, cowards¡­"


    The Delinquents leader looks at his cowering subordinate with a sneer. In his mind, he had decided that he would kick them out of the group after this, as now was not the right time to create an internal conflict.


    Leaving behind the scared delinquents, the delinquent leader alongside three other members, went in deeper.


    "Faster, the faster we solve that guy, the faster we would be able to leave this ce."


    "Yeah.. let''s end this quickly and go home."


    The more they walked inside, the more they realized that the interior was nonsensically huge.


    But then, the delinquent leader saw Cade, and a sneer grew on his face.


    "By the way, Mr. School Number one, why don''t you use your Arcane card to lit up this ce. Isn''t it the right time for you to show your power?"


    " Pftt¡­ boss, aren''t you too cruel? His Arcane Card is just too weak. And let''s not mention illuminating this whole ce. It was way too dim to even be used as a nighmp."


    Along with that words, waves ofughter full of mocking filled the space as theyughed at Cade. The delinquent leader was able to sessfully light up the tension a bit by using Cade.


    And as for Cade, he didn''t really care.


    They could sneer and mock all they wanted. As long as they didn''t beat him up, he was pretty much fine.


    His focus was now on this prison-like space. If he was not wrong, this ce might be the key to turning his life around.


    In the deepest part of the prison, there was a chamber shaped like a giant dome. It was about asrge as a stadium that Barcelona used to hold its home match.


    However, one couldn''t help but shudder when they reached the chamber.


    The reason for that was rather apparent.


    "What the heck is that¡­."


    "N-no freaking way that thing is real, right?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    In the middle of the dome, two huge things so logic-defyingly humongous stood tall in front of everyone''s eyes.


    Everyone was in a panic as they saw that huge thing.


    But among the group, Cade somehow was able to keep hisposure. There was this strange feeling that he got since he entered this ce. And now, after seeing this thing, he was more certain with his conjecture.


    " Guillotine¡­"


    The murmur escaped from Cade''s mouth. The voice was so small that it shouldn''t be heard even by the delinquent that stood closest to Cade.


    But for some reason, it seemed that it had been heard by a certain somebody.


    " Oho? There is still someone who recognizes this thing, huh?"


    " !!!!!! "


    Everyone was certainly shocked by the sudden appearance of this voice. Everything that happened here was just way too strange, at it was inevitable that they felt scared.


    But the scariest thing was the pressure that was emitted by that voice. It felt like a chill had gone through their spines.


    All the delinquents who were scared shitless one by one began to summon their Arcane Card.


    Glows surrounded their body, and a wide variety of different creatures appeared.


    From Crocodile, Iron Pig, An Old man with a stick, or even a rabbit.


    Among all the delinquents here, the one that took the most attention was the Arcane Card of the Delinquent leader which was a Bengal White Tiger with Rank (III).


    The Bengal White Tiger gave an imposing roar as it stood confidently in front of the Delinquent leader. Just like its owner, it had a very high pride.


    However, the imposing roar immediately turned into a whimper when the voice revealed itself.


    " Little cat, how about you stay quiet a bit?"


    Hearing the sound, it seemed the Tiger was meeting an even bigger predator; the Tiger''s head stayed lowered, and he assumed the position of kneeling and begging for mercy. Its entire body trembled even harder.


    ''What the heck is this...''


    The delinquent leader was obviously confused with what was happening to his arcane card as it was his first time seeing the White Bengal Tiger being like this.


    And it was not only the delinquent leader. Even Cade picked up on this strange but ominous sensation now. After the words where he asked everyone to stay silent, the world was eerily quiet. So much so that it felt just too bizarre.


    ''No sounds¡­.?''


    Even the sounds of the mes burning on the torches could not be heard anymore.


    - Wee to your prison cell. You were asked to love. You were asked to remain meek. You were asked to protect the weak and be chivalrous. What you did was a hunt with the glee of a demon pack. So, take a look around you. If you can''t see the walls closing in, you soon will. -


    "Well, good day, everyone. My name is Grigory, and I wee you to my humble abode."


    Along with the voice, a figure revealed itself from the dark.


    He has the appearance of a tall man with a mask with a question mark pattern on his face. On his body was a ck suit, white gloves, ck socks, and ck shoes.


    No one really pointed it out, but he looked like a weirdo from a horror movie.


    But the quiet atmosphere didn''t stay for that long.


    It was because, after the appearance of the man that called himself Grigory, something happened.


    One of the delinquents tried to run, but it was then..


    *Ssh!*


    The area above the delinquent''s neck suddenly vanished. The headless body powerlessly copsed to the ground.


    Everyone''s eyes widened in horror, but even in this situation, only the chuckles of Grigory could be heard.


    " Ah.. sorry, I slipped. But everyone please, in this ce, there is only one rule. And that is¡­.."


    " I am the rule!"

 Chapter 5 Ch 5 : A Game?

    " Hisss¡­."


    Everyone took a deep breath.


    Just what kind of a mess they had just gotten into?


    Looking at the headless corpse of their friend, and knowing the fact that they could be next, some of the delinquents couldn''t even hold their calm anymore and fell to their knees as they peed themself.


    Grigory who had just killed one of the delinquents returned to his original calm face as if nothing important had happened. His calm expression was as if saying that they were nothing more than an ant in his eyes.


    As everyone stayed silent and the atmosphere turned into a very quiet one, Grigory gave a satisfied nod.


    " Well, that''s good. Even though you guys are the guest, guest also should mind their manner in front of the homeowner."


    " Well, since everybody was here, how about we yed some games? It''s just a simple game called question and answers. Of course, there is no reward in answering the questions right, but if in the case that you answer them wrong¡­.."


    Grigory then burst into a wave of eeryughter as everyone were having a pale face.


    Everyone was trying their best to hold their breath as they didn''t want to annoy Grigory.


    But here, Cade had a different response. From the beginning, his focus had never been ced on the words that Grigory said.


    In fact, the moment Grigory appeared, his eyes had been glimmered with lights.


    Obviously, he was astonished. But nheless, he just couldn''t deny the fact that this might be the event that the countdown had been talking about.


    Right now, Cade couldn''t be more familiar with the one that looked like a maniac in front of him.


    Grigory Euclid, one of the most mysterious characters in a game that he had yed before.


    To be honest, if not for the pretty iconic ce and Grigory''s appearance, even Cade might have not noticed this. After all, it had been such a long time since he yed that game, and he wasn''t some kind of no-life bastard who yed a single game for more than 1000 hours, trying toplete all the routes and easter eggs.


    <<Arcana Heart>>


    It was the name of the game. The game itself was a galge game which the main protagonist, which wouldter enter one of the most prestigious universities on the whole continent to save the world from the threats of monsters.


    But of course, along the way, the protagonist would meet a lot of possible heroines, and make all of them fall in love with him ording to the routes he took. There were also some bad endings, but maybe because the game''s focus was split into two for the RPG theme of battling with arcana and romance, the romance part wasn''t necessarily that hard, and the protagonist could get the capture''s target heart easily even with the simplest thing like returning a lost wallet.


    Now that he thought about it, Cade really wanted to give a smack to whoever had transported him to this world. Not only did he need to face the bullying in his everyday life, but he was also thrown into a monstrosity of a galge game?<novelnext></novelnext>


    Nheless, it is not like he had any capability toin. He could only me himself for not having enough power to resist his fate.


    Back to the main point, Grigory is a unique character.


    He was neither a protagonist nor an antagonist and not in both capm either. Rather, his appearance in the cannon was almost as close to none. However, Grigory was one of the most essential characters for the yers.


    It was because Grigory only appeared after the yers paid some currency to unlock the special room, and there Grigory would appear with his Guillotines and some special functions.


    Of course, there were some questions regarding why Grigory was there and what''s his goal. Nheless, Cade couldn''t give any more shit about those.


    Because Grigory was now walking in his direction. And behind him were the headless corpses of the few delinquents underlings.


    Just now, Grigory asked some simple questions to them like "The more of this there is, the less you see". But because they were too nervous, almost none of the delinquents here could answer Grigory''s questions.


    Cade was caught right in the middle, where behind him was the trembling delinquents'' leader, and the one in front of him was the terrifying Grigory.


    " Kid, I see you didn''t tremble like the others. It seems you have some nerve here."


    Grigory chuckled. He didn''t actually care whether Cade was scared or not. After all, from the beginning, he had never intended to let any of the people that came here left.


    The only reason that the protagonist could leave Grigory''s ce safely was because of the intervention of the will of the world, but now Cade also believed that he had something that could save him from getting a stupid death in this ce.


    One by One, the delinquents were killed by Grigory. He didn''t care whether the question was answered or not, the moment the delinquent hesitate, Grigory didn''t waste any time to kill them. Looking at the way he killed them, it was a bit questionable whether Grigory really saw them as human beings.


    Time passed, and it was finally Cade''s turn.


    He was still racking his brain hard about how to escape this ce safely. And all of a sudden, a sound resounded within his mind.


    [ DING!!! Singrity detected: Grigory.]


    [ Proceed with the binding of Grigory to the host.]


    [ DING!!! The transmigration gift has exhausted all of its energy for binding Grigory. Initiating sleep mode.]


    The sound was simple yet unclear. Nheless, to Cade it was like a saving Grace.

 Chapter 6 Ch 6 : Hospital

    It was the next day that Cade opened his eyes.


    He saw a white ceiling, and his nose stung from the odor of disinfectants. He also felt the sensation of a hard mattress against his back.


    It didn''t take that long for Cade to recognize where he was.


    ''The hospital?''


    Ever since his parents went missing, Cade had forgone all the thoughts of entering a hospital. His body might be pained, hurt, or even bruised hard, but the cost of entering a Hospital was not something that their little household, which only consisted of him and Elsa, could take.


    It pained Cade a bit as he imagined the huge amount of money that he would need to pay to the hospital. Nheless, things had been done, and he could only ept the reality. At least he was able to get back with his life intact, he thought.


    Cade raised his upper torso up. He then ced his hand on his chest and felt the vibrationsing from there. His heart was beating without a problem.


    Just as Cade was stuck in a daze, a heavy voice came from the side.


    " You have woken up, huh?"


    Cade was surprised by the weighty voiceing from the corner of the hospital room and hurriedly turned his head to look.


    "I apologize if we took you by surprise."


    "Unfortunately, we are a bit pressed in time. Last night, there was another report of a disappearance case. Bit different from before, there was a survivor this time."


    Two men with the Luminous City Police badge on their chest approached Cade''s bed. Cade tilted his head as he was still pretty much confused about the situation.


    " Well, sorry for thete introduction. We are from the Luminous City Police station. And we are here to investigate the disappearance case. I know this might be a bit too rushed as you also have just woken up from yourma. However, please realize our situation too."


    One of the guys, one with a much more approachable look, presents his identity card, which much to Cade''s relief.


    Cad looked at the identity card and read what was written on it.


    ''Jalen Stark, member of Luminous City special Police guard?''


    The Special Police Guard, just like its name suggested is pretty much different from regr police. They were a department in the police with many strong arcane, specialized in managing and controlling all the Arcane Card user in Luminous city. And now two of its member was dispatched here. It seemed the Luminous City major had indeed taken this case seriously.


    "What does the Special Police Guard want from me?"


    Jalen Stark smiled as he heard these questions. He instructed the one who looked like his subordinate to stay back a bit as he dragged a chair closer to the bed and sat down.


    The other man had a pretty intimidating face, and Cade felt relieved when he knew Jalen was the one that came to talk to him.


    As Jalen took a seat, he began to convey their meaning to Cade. The story he conveyed was rather surprising, though.


    "I am the only survivor of the disappearance case?!"


    " Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case. By any chance, do you remember what happened before you cked out?"


    "Yes¡­."


    Cade looked a bit uncertain as he answered Jalen''s question. Still, after some persuasion, he decided to tell the story to Jalen.


    "Please tell us everything you can remember."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cade told them everything truthfully, but it was only up to the point where Grigory appeared. After that, he just said that he all of a sudden lost consciousness, and when he woke up, he had already arrived at the hospital.


    "And that''s when you lost your consciousness¡­ Is that all?"


    "Yes. I open my eyes next, and I''m in a hospital."


    Jalen and hisckey exchanged meaningful nces. It was clear that they didn''t fully believe Cade''s story, and thought there might be something deeper than this.


    Nheless, they couldn''t do anything as all their moves needed to follow the regtion.


    As Cade saw the situation was going the wrong way, he tried to change the direction of the topic.


    "Just how did I get to this hospital? Did you guys catch the culprit?"


    "Well, actually¡­."


    Jalen awkwardly opened his mouth.


    "By the time we arrived, we didn''t see anything other than the unconscious you. Therefore, we are a bit sorry, but we also don''t know about the condition of the culprit¡­."


    The two continued to chat about the disappearance case, but as time passed, Jalen soon noticed that Cade didn''t really have the intention to answer his questions.


    Jalen rapidly realized that being here was a waste of time, so he got up from his seat.


    "Well, that''s enough for now. Mr. Cade, thank you for your cooperation. Let''s go."


    "Yes, sir."


    Jalen and hisckey quickly packed up to leave.


    As if they had lost their interest in Cade, two men-in-Ploce Uniform left the room as soon as they put away the device.


    The hospital room that felt rather small suddenly became quiet and lonely.


    "¡­"


    Cade could scratch his cheek.


    ''I guess I am still pretty suspicious, aren''t I.''


    Well, if he thought about it, there''s every reason for the guys to get suspicious.


    There was a lot of disappearance case, but he was the only survivor. Adding to the fact that he looked as if he tried to hide something, only idiots would believe that he didn''t know anything at all about this disappearance case.


    It could not be med on him, though. He was just a normal civilians before, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he was still a novice in the eyes of professionals.


    Nheless, Cade could only care less about this. After all, he lived in a world where the rule was pretty strict, and there''s almost little to no chance that they would ambush him in the dark.


    Cade continued toy on the bed. But if you look closely, Cade who previously didn''t like any ornament on his body now had a pendant hanging on his neck.

 Chapter 7 Ch 7 : Grigory Euclid

    ''You are a bad liar, kid... those guys, they didn''t even believe half of your stories.''


    As Cade was lying on the bed, from the pendant, a teasing voice sounded. But Cade seemed to be not surprised by the sudden appearance of this voice. Rather, he seemed to know about it.


    "*Sigh* Please.. you don''t need to make it any more obvious. Either way, they have no other choice but to believe me.... And stop with that bad liar.. or I will begin to sing."


    "...."


    Cade rolled his eyes as he was toozy to answer. After some moments, he then asked a question.


    "Rather than that, how about you? Are youfortable staying at that form?"


    "Me? Well, rather than being ufortable, I just felt like this was something new.. After all, you don''t see the great lord Grigory sealed in a pendant every day, Hahahahahahah.''


    Once again, that eeryughter that brought countless nightmares to the dome resounded.


    Obviously, it was none other than Grigory. For some reason, he was in Cade''s pendant and now was helping Cade.


    However, there was a very strange phenomenon this time.


    Other than Cade, none of the people here seemed to be able to hear this eeryughter.


    Cade proceeded to ignore Grigory. If he was to chat with this freak all day long, he would be influenced by his weirdness. Rather than that, Cade was more interested in the gain he got from the dome.


    He closed his eyes as he summoned his Arcane Card.


    His body glowed a bit, and soon, a card appeared in his hand.


    But different than usual, the image in the Arcane card was no longer the blue specter. Instead, it was a headless knight.


    [ Spectre Duhan ]


    [ Rank: (III)/(III) ]


    [ Duhans are headless, and wherever one stops, a mortal''s death soon follows. A duhan will stop its snorting horse before the door of a house and shout the name of the person about to die, drawing forth the soul at the call. He may also stop at the very spot where a person will die. ]


    [ Special Skill: Erosion me, Sword Thrust.]


    Spectre Duhan, the new Arcane Card of Cade.


    No matter how many times he saw this, the normally calm andposed Cade became excited when he saw this Arcane Card. The more he observed the card, the more he felt like it was a dreame true.


    . . . . . .


    -shback to the moments right after Grigory used the system bound Grigory to Cade.-


    Back to the creepy and dark dome where Cade first met Grigory, Cade was currently coughing as he had just been flung away by Grigory.


    Even though the system had tried its best before exhausting its energy, it was far from enough to fully bend Grigory''s will. Yet, it was sessful in attracting Grigory''s attention as he tried to use his ability to see what was actually going on.


    "Hey, what the h-"


    "Fascinating... to see that there is such a person.. You are clearly fascinating me.."


    Here, Grigory was acting all mysterious, but Cade seemed to have a hunch on what was currently happening.


    Obviously. Grigory had realized his identity, and it had picked his interest.


    "It seems that you are not that clueless about what''s happening. Then let me reintroduce myself. My name is Grigory, and it''s a pleasure to meet you, Cade North, or to be exact, Cade North, the transmigrator!"


    Grigory greeted Cade, who had just been recovered from his daze, but it didn''t make him happy at any least. From the side, he could see the dumbfounded look of the delinquents.


    There were too many eyewitnesses here, and revealing his identity as a transmigrator would do him no good.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But just in one look and Grigory seems to understand the dilemma in Cade''s mind.


    He chuckled a bit, and as he snapped his fingers, the body of the delinquents fell one by one, leaving only Cade alone to be seen.


    "Satisfied now?"


    Grigory asked with a smirk.


    It was like a simple matter for Grigory, but Cade was just a normal human. Looking at the headless corpses in his surrounding, there''s no way he would feel fine.


    Even the delinquents that had always bullied him nowy on the ground motionless. If not for the baptism of the cruelty of this world, Cade surely would have puked all his guts out.


    Nheless, after a few minutes, Cade was barely able to contain himself. After all, this was a dog-eat-dog world, and he needed to have a strong mentality to survive.


    Trying his best to maintain hisposure, the paled-face Cade invites augh from Grigory.


    "Good, at least you are not that weak to faint just from that. Not bad... you are weak but pretend to be strong.. Hahahaha, I like something like you the most. Yet.. you know that the current you is not enough to survive the future predicament, right?"


    Cade knew what Grigory meant by that. In fact, he also had the same thing in his mind.


    After realizing that he was in the "Arcana Heart", Cade tried his best to find the name Cade North. Strangely, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t remember there was any mention of that name in the story. And the only exnation for that was that Cade North was just a no named mob in the game.


    All he could remember was the scene of a little girl begging the protagonist party to save his older brother, who had been trapped in the dungeon, only to find that the elder brother had long been dead when the protagonist party arrived at the scene.


    The more he looked into it, the more Cade found that the little girl was very simr to Elsa, and if he was not wrong, the dead older brother would soon be him.


    Knowing what fate he would get if he didn''t try to change, Cade''s mood instantly turned gloomy, and he didn''t have the mood to answer Grigory.


    Although Cade didn''t answer him, Grigory didn''t get annoyed at all. He just chuckled a bit before bowing down to Cade.


    For some reason, after Grigory recognized that Cade was actually a transmigrator, his attitude to Cade immediately changed a lot.


    It felt like Grigory had found his favorite toy in Cade.


    "Don''t be that mad. Do you know what they say? An ant is an ant after all. No matter how hard it tried, it would not be able to be a lion."


    Cade''s mouth twitched. He knew that Grigory was just teasing him, and as he pushed down his annoyance, he said: "I still couldn''t understand. To think that all my life was just a story written by someone else, is a little bit hard to ept, isn''t it? All these bullyings, so it is all for nothing..."


    "But with these years of humiliations, you''ve matured, right? Let''s just say that you have struck gold under your misery. If not, maybe you would have long been dead by my hands Hahahahahahah."


    Cade furrowed his brows, but his emotions started to calm down.


    After the initial shock, only a hint of helplessness was left in Cade.


    "*Sigh* should I say thank you? Still, that didn''t change the fact that I was fated to be a mob. With my talent, even if I tried my best, all I could aspire to be is just a second-grade mob..."


    In a lot of transmigration into a novel story, the transmigrated person would take the chance of the actual protagonist. But it was an entirely different case here.


    Thinking about all the danger he must go through to get the chances, Cade thought that before he could even get to the treasure room, he would have long been killed by the monsters. And as for a cheat plotholes item, there was none that he could remember from the story.


    Some things, after they disappear, would make one start appreciating their value! After losing and regaining it, one treasures it more!


    Now Cade could only hope that Grigory would take the bait. If it is this room, then miracles might really happen here, and there might be a chance for Cade to survive the predicament.


    Lightly twisting his wrist, Cade pretended to let out a long breath and said: "I don''t know why you didn''t kill me yet, but if you think you could get anything from me as I was a transmigrator, you are dead wrong. I know from the start that you never intend to let someone leave here, and as for me, I''m just lucky to be alive until now because I have piqued your curiosity..."


    "Hehe, don''t make the conclusion too early, kid." Grigory smiled: "Since we have met here, Do you think I couldn''t see what''s on your mind? You are as clear as a book to this Lord Grigory. Nheless, you seem to be pretty interesting, so I have decided to help you.."


    As Grigory snapped his fingers, the two big guillotines behind them began to shine.


    "You should have known the function of the guillotines, right? Then, let''s get to the main point. I want to see.. See what change you might bring to this boring world."

 Chapter 8 Ch 8 : Spectre Dullahan

    -Present day-


    Cade closed his eyes and opened them again.


    [Spectre Duhan]


    The picture of the headless knight remained there without a single change. Signifying that it was all not a dream.


    Looking back at it, Cade really couldn''t imagine that yesterday was real.


    His current world was just a game world that he had yed in his previous life, and to make it worse, a galge game which was only created to satisfy the lust of some teenagers.


    Still, now that he had the power to turn back his fate, Cade believed that he would at least not be as powerless as before.


    To hell with the game settings. As long as he and Elsa could survive, then it was all good for him.


    '' Hahahahaha, and for that, you must thank me, no?''


    Grigory''s voice came out of nowhere.


    It was true though, the Guillotines were the turning point of his life.


    ? Back then, the delinquents thought the Guillotines were just to intimidate the guest.


    However, who would have thought that the Guillotines could possess a secret function, and that is to merge arcane cards.


    Using the Cards given by Grigory, Cade was able to fuse his Arcane Card, Spectre, and evolved it into the Rank (III) Duhan that he holds in his hand right now.


    '' Hahaha, don''t be that surprised, okay. In fact, what you have used is just the very crust of the usefulness of the Guillotines. Later, I will tell you some more interesting info.''


    The eery sounds of Grigory woke cade up from his daze. Now, he could see a transparent figure of Grigory floating above him.


    Hearing thosest words, Cade grew a self-mocking smile.


    For sure, he was a transmigrator, and he fully knew about the usefulness of the Guillotines.


    When fusing the Arcane Cards using the Guillotines, Grigory actually revealed some interesting facts.


    First, the fusion couldn''t be done by any normal people. Arcane Card was directly linked to a person''s soul, so fusing an arcane card would mean harm to the person''s soul.


    Second, for anything, there was always an exception. And as for the fusion, the exception is the ghost-type arcane card. When you fused a Ghost-type arcane card and an inanimate object card, rather than fusion, it would get into a special case called possession, and it wouldn''t pose any harm at all to the person''s soul.


    Last but not least, possession was essentially different than fusion. You could cancel the possession any time, while it was not the case with fusion.


    Other than the protagonist, who for some reason could use the guillotines like a toy and possessed more than one Arcane Card, it could be said as a miracle that Cade was able to fulfill those criteria.


    Using those three facts, Cade was able to use his arcane card, spectre to possess an armor card given by Grigory, and the result was this Duhan card.


    Eerilyughing, Grigory ignored Cade''s feeling and said: "Don''t be happy soon, though. You are still far from our goal."


    Of course, Cade was very clear about this. Even with Grigory''s help, he would still need to put in an extra effort if he wanted to survive in this world. After all, there''s no guarantee that he wouldn''t get the same fate as his counterpart in the novel: "I know, I have lived two lives until now. It is way too early to getcent now.."


    Grigory, with a satisfied face nodded as he said: "Good. I like that spirit. For now, our next target is to ace the university exam. The protagonist and his group would soon enter the best university in the country, and to make us closer to our goal, you will need to enter that university too!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    . . . . . .


    The next morning, Cade ate some breakfast and went to school.


    His sister, Elsa had already calmed down. Last night when Cade returned home, Elsa cried and admonished him hard. She cried as she said she didn''t want any egg-fried rice anymore, and just wanted Cade to return home safely. For this, Cade could only try to soothe Elsa, and only until almost midnight that Elsa stops crying and fall asleep.


    This made Cade feel at ease.


    Luminous City, Luminous High school, year 3, ss 2.


    It was the college entrance examination season again. Every year at this time, all the high schools would be busy preparing for it.


    But there was something a bit different than usual here.


    Cade, who from the beginning of the first year had always been bullied wherever he go, now was left alone, and it seemed people were afraid to make eye contact with him.


    " Look at him, he is the sole survivor of that strange incident, and now hees back like there''s no problem at all. I don''t believe if he isn''t rted at all to the disappearance case."


    " Psst... shut your mouth. Either way, this has nothing to do with us. Let''s just keep our distance away from him. After all, we don''t want to get implicated in this matter."


    A lot of murmurs came as there were a lot of rumors regarding Cade. From he was rted to the disappearance case to something like he was the mastermind behind it.


    Obviously, the one at the center of the storm, Cade didn''t put any thought into this. All he wanted to do now was to do his best in the following university exam.


    He ignored every rumor regarding him, and just focused on the lecture of the teacher in front of him.


    "Two months, there are still two months left. The remaining students should work harder and raise the magical beasts properly."


    "At the very least, you should have raised your Arcane Card to rank (II) And not dilly dally yourself with some weird rumors.."


    The homeroom teacher, Ms. Delphine mmed, looked very stern, her emotions slightly agitated. As she spoke, she intentionally shifted his gaze to Cade.


    For her, Cade was the worst kind of student that she would ever meet. He is weak, not talented, and surrounds himself with some weird rumors.


    If not for the fact that she is a teacher and he is her student. Ms. Delphine definitely would have thrown Cade away from her lecture.


    Cade met the gaze of the homeroom teacher, and a hint of helplessness appeared on his face.


    It seemed the teacher was thinking bad of him once again. Still, who could me her? After all, even Cade previously thought that he had no hope.


    In the entire ss, he was the only one who was not able to raise his Arcane Card to rank (II), and to make it worse, his Arcane Card didn''t have any usefulness in either support orbat.


    Now was different, though, Cade had Grigory to back him up, and he believed it wouldn''t be long until he began to rose. Of course, his identity as a transmigrator who knows the story also helped here. With both Grigory and the knowledge of the future at his disposal, there''s no reason for Cade not to seed.


    However, just like one says, Obstruction coulde from anywhere.


    Just after Cade finished the lesson and was about to get back home, a group of delinquents came and surround him.


    " You bastard!! Tell me where is my brother!!!"

 Chapter 9 Ch 9 : First Battle

    Dark empty room, with two Big Guillotines in the center.


    A ce full of obscurity and fear, but for Cade, this was nothing more than his yground.


    When all the delinquents'' brothers gathered on the scene, they couldn''t help but shudder.


    Because in front of them, the one they thought was a weakling and trash, Cade was currently shing with their leaders. And from the look of it, Cade was currently upying the upper ground in this confrontation.


    When the Arcane card in the Delinquent leader''s hand lit up, an earthen yellow light shot into the sky.


    "Roar!"


    A big earth spike emerged behind the Duhan, which it was currently battling.


    However, there seemed to be no trace of panic in Cade''s eyes.


    The Duhan turned its body around and straightened its stance. The sword in his hand was raised high, and the blue burning mes in the sword looked very lethal.


    " Sword sh!"


    Immediately, the earth spike, and the sword shes.


    The sword confronted the earth spike directly, but other than the first time, which looked surprised by the power of the earth spike, the Duhan didn''t seem to have any trouble handling the earth spikes.


    *Swoosh*


    He put more power into the sword in his hand, and instantly the earth spikes crumbled.


    " Is this all?"


    Cade turned toward the delinquent''s leader. His eyes were full of mocking.


    After all these years of being bullied, he finally was able to stand up with his own feet.


    At first, Cade was still a bit worried. But when the delinquent''s leader Arcane card was blocked by the Duhan in front of Cade, his heart calmed down. After all, he was no longer the old him.


    In this world, only with strength would you gain your honor.


    "Cut the crap!"


    The delinquent leader was angered, and at the same time, he sent his Arcane Card, an earth Lizard, to sh with the Duhan.


    "Attack him, earth Lizard!"


    When Cade saw this, he just smiled. Right now, the disparity of strength between them was pretty obvious, and Spectre Duhan should pretty much be able to handle this battle with ease.


    Without any instruction, he just nodded at the specter Duhan, and the Spectre DUhan had already gone and shed with the earth lizard.


    CLANGG!!!!


    Watching from the side, Grigory nodded as he saw this battle.


    In fact, it was not the way Cade battled but rather the way he had handled this situation.


    In his sense, Cade had handled this matter perfectly.


    All went back to the time when Cade went back home with a tattered body after being abused by the delinquents once again.


    Grigory at first questioned Cade''s decision. Was he going back to his past weak self that would even tolerate bullying?


    But it seems that he was wrong. The Cade now was a monster. He was the one that would let his enemy dance while thinking they were in control before slowly dragging them to the deepest of hell.


    '' Ahh... Cade North.. it seems that I really wasn''t wrong to choose you..''


    Back to Cade, Duhan Spectre had just been bullying the Earth Lizard like there was no tomorrow.


    The Earth Lizard''s body was now full of wounds, and it was only because of Duhan Spectre''s inexperience in a battle that the Earth Lizard was able to survive until now.


    " You... Guys, attack him together! What are you waiting for?"


    The delinquent leader saw the stats of his Arcane Card andmanded his delinquent.<novelnext></novelnext>


    However, their reaction was far from what he expected.


    Maybe because of the shock of suddenly being brought to this creepy ce, or because they have witnessed Cade''s new strength, they didn''t react to their leader''smand.


    " You guys... Fuck you! Remember this. I would not let you guys alive!"


    Once again, the delinquent leader roared. But no matter what he said, the other delinquents were just too scared to move.


    Cade also noticed the delinquents'' sluggishness, and a mocking smile immediately emerged on his face. Never once did he ever expect that thing would be this easy.


    Those few years of bullying, everything seemed like a joke to the current him.


    "Let''s end this. Sword sh!!"


    Cade''s hand glowed, and suddenly, a sonic boom rang out!!


    The Spectre Duhan no longer holds back. It seemed to form a straight line that flew directly towards Earth Lizard''s neck!


    The delinquent boss''s attention was still on the underling that had denied hismand. So how could hebe mindful of a deadly attack currently flying towards his Arcane Card?!!


    "Pu!!!"


    The extremely urate sh stroke the Earth Lizard''s yellow neck, nearly passing right through it. The moment the head was severed from its body, captivating red-colored blood immediately blossomed!


    The delinquent leader still maintained the annoyed face as he had just witnessed his underlings disobey him, but his body suddenly stiffened before heavily falling onto the ground when he saw what happened with his Arcane Card. Fresh blood sprayed all over his Earth Lizard!


    Killed on the spot!!!


    In this instant, the entire room went silent!


    It wasmon knowledge that no matter how hurt they were, Arcane Card would recover after a few days. But killing them was apletely different matter, and this was also why killing was normally banned in a match.


    Now suddenly witnessing the death of his Arcane Card, the delinquent leader felt like he was dreaming.


    " No.. no way.. this must be a dream.."


    The delinquent leader held his head, trying to convince him this was all a dream. Soon, he would face reality and me Cade for the death of his Arcane Card.


    However, Cade had long seen this predicament.


    Before the Delinquent leader would recover, He had left the ce as if he was no longer interested as he gave a final look at the delinquent leader before turning at Grigory.


    This battle with the delinquent leader was like thest test for Cade.


    It was his first battle, yet it was also his chance to prove himself. To prove himself that he was no longer the old him and he had the right to survive in this world.


    In this cruel world, where the strong eat the weak, Cade needed to have a suitable mentality to survive, and there''s where the delinquent''s role came into y.


    He must not be a cold-blooded killer, but if Cade could not even handle the thought of killing his enemy, then he was sure that he would not live long in this world. After all, this was not a game, and everything was not as shiny and bright as depicted in the game.


    He was a mob, and he had his own way of surviving.


    " How is it? Is it going ording to what you wanted?."


    Cade left hisst word for Grigory. It was certain that his face was pale, and he didn''t look that good. Nheless, he still tried to maintain hisposure which made Grigory smile full of satisfaction.


    In the end, the feeling of dancing in Grigory''s n still bothered Cade. But it is not like he had any other choice right now.


    " Hahahahaha, so cold-hearted!! But I like that from you. In this world, only by being cold-hearted would you survive. Don''t worry Cade, I will take care of the rest."


    Grigory smiled like a maniac. One look, and Cade could see that nothing good would happen to the delinquent leaders and his underlings. Nheless, it was not Cade''s problem.


    He had learned from his previous life and all the bullying before to remove the problem from its roots.


    " Then, I leave it to you, Grigory. I believe that you would not leave any crucial details there."


    Cade no longer gave any shit about the delinquents as he proceeded to leave the room.

 Chapter 10 Ch 10 : University Entrance Exam

    Days passed, and without them noticing, the University entrance exam had finallye.


    These past few days, nothing much had happened. After all, Cade had put all his attention into the University exam.


    The bullies also had been taken care of, so there''s no one that was stupid enough to mess around with Cade.


    Cade previously didn''t have any intention to go to University. Therefore, it could be said that his knowledge was behind his peers. And because of that, he had no other choice but to spend almost all his time cramming about the University entrance exam material.


    And as for his Arcane Card and rank-up strategy, Cade decided to put them behind.


    Anyway, he felt that the current him should barely be able to enter one of the top five universities and after he got into the top University, Cade believed that the resources and training there would be worth his time.


    " Hahahaha, so even you struggled with the exam!!!"


    "...."


    Out of nowhere, Grigory''s sound appeared. It seems that he really enjoyed Cade''s suffering.


    Still, Cade didn''t put any mind to Grigory''s words.


    He just pretended that he didn''t hear anything as he was way too nervous for the university entrance exam, and now his focus was also put on something else.


    The university entrance exam would not be held in the school but rather have a public examination ce.


    And in front of Cade, being surrounded by a lot of admirers, was one face that Cade was pretty familiar with.


    Beautiful would have been an understatement for her. Standing right in the middle of the crowd was a young girl with short blonde hair. She had crystal blue eyes, a small but not too small nose, and a well-proportioned face. And even though her face looked very delicate, she had a well-developed body, where everything that should''ve developed was developed well, adding her charm to another level.


    Currently, she was trying her best to look elegant and smile in front of all the crowds, but Cade knew that inside she was actually bothered by all the attention given to her.


    One of the main heroines of the game, as well as a capture target. Luna Forewater, daughter of Luminous city''s mayor who was also one of the most powerful figures among humanity, and a rank (VII) Arcane.


    And as for why Cade could see she was secretly annoyed, it was none than because when he yed the game, Luna was one of the routes that he had finished.


    The game developer had made Luna''s demeanor calm and collected outside, while on the inside she actually had a fiery personality. She wanted to break free from the chain that her father''s name brought her and wanted to prove herself.


    It was also the reason why rather than going through the rmendation, she woulde here and do the entrance test personally.


    Under the urging of the impatient examiners, the examinees took a deep breath and stepped into the "Examination Chamber" tagged with their student numbers. The chamber door sealed shut, and the entire room became deathly silent.


    Here, their future would be decided. Of course, not being epted into a good university didn''t mean that your career would instantly be over, but you would undoubtedly trail behind those graduating from a good university.


    "I have given my all for this. There should be nothing I should fear." Cade clenched his fist resolutely as he tried to convince himself.


    *BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*


    On an inner face of the examination, chamber appeared a hologram, upon which a number ticked. At the moment, it was counting down. Upon hitting zero, an emotionless, mechanical voice sounded out.<novelnext></novelnext>


    <<The examination has begun. Prepare yourself, student!>>


    In response, at the desks where the examinees were currently sitting, thousands of questions appeared simultaneously.


    It was the first part of the entrance exam, which was the writing test.


    To those who have rank (IV) or higher Arcane Card, they might directly skip this step. But even after fusing his Arcane Card, Cade''s was still a rank (III) and he had no other option but to go through this test.


    A transparent screen that had a space for him to fill in the answer appeared in front of Cade.


    Then, one by one he started to solve the questions in front of him.


    Q1. Please write the name of this monster.


    ? On Cade''s desk, a dark red ancient Griffin appeared. Using the hologram features, students could now observe the feature of the monsters more clearly before writing their observations in the answer section.


    Cade sighed in relief as he seemed to know the name of the monster. He then wrote on the screen ''Red Obsidian Griffin''.


    Q2. Please fill in the features...."


    Cade wrote down the features of the ''Red Obsidian Griffin.''


    Q3. Please identify its weakness..."


    Cade then the weakness of the Red Obsidian Griffin that he had learned from the book.


    Q4. Please....."


    A lot of questions like this appeared in the one thousand questions that Cade was required to answer. To be honest, this was one of the simplest questions and also the most monster identification.


    In order to survive the battlefield, you must know about your enemy, and this is also why the university entrance exam ces a great point on the theoretical test.


    Inside the examiners'' room, a huge screen about the size of a theater''s screen gradually appeared within their sight.


    Here, the screen would disy the result of the examination to the public. Of course, the huge screen only shows the top 100 students among all the students participating here.


    After all, only those 100 people were worth fighting for.


    Just like how the students were struggling to find the best University for them, the universities were also finding the best students to recruit.


    With the results being updated all the time due to several rounds of different examination segments when the final list is confirmed at the end of the exam, that will naturally be the name list of the students that they should pay more attention to.


    And among them, there''s a name that every one of the examinees here closely paid attention to.


    Rank 1: Luna Forewater.

 Chapter 11 Ch 11 : Theoritical Exam

    Below the huge screen, some examiners with an excited look were anticipating the performance of the entrance exam examinees.


    Luna Forewater was a definite, but they were also expecting to find some rough gems to be polished among the list of candidates here.


    After all, in the university, there was a system called mentorship, and they might be able to get some good gems to be monitored here.


    A pretty young examiner named Isabel expressed her excitement. "*She said something*."


    An older examiner next to her replied with disdain. "Humph, but to think that even someone as young as you would be appointed as an examiner, it seems that the rumor is true. *Orion University* will soon fall from the rank of five great universities."


    "Pu..." The other examiners around her also leaked augh. It seems just like the older examiner A, they all have the same thought.


    "Pfttt.. don''t be like that. She is just nervous because it is her first time here, right? But well, it might also be herst time."


    This time, a burst ofughter filled the room.


    The young examiner silently looked at the other examiners, whoughed at her. Her face was blushing hard.


    Because of her, the already bad reputation of *Orion university* bes ridiculed in the eyes of others.


    The *Orion university* was indeed one of the top five universities before, but because of recent failure in guarding the northeast territory of Ultima federation and some other minor problems, they started losing their edge and fell to the bottom of the top five universities.


    Even now, the university head was trying her best to recruit more students so that their stature won''t fall any longer.


    "You guys, do you think because I''m not here, you can bully my junior?"


    A voice suddenly interrupted theughter of the other examiners. They then turned their head over and saw a mature woman with devilish charm and red hair.


    With a contemptuous look, she stared at the other examiners, "If you have something to say about my university, then why don''t you say it to my face?"


    "...."


    This time, the result was different than the previous one. Under the pressure of the devilish mature woman, the crowd was silenced, and no one was daring enough to say anything.


    Then, she turned toward Isabel.


    "You too, Isabel!" The devilish woman looked at the girl in front of her.


    " Even though we have started to fall in stature, we are not something that some trash university like them can insult. Stand tall. On your shoulder is the weight of our university."


    What the devilish woman said was true; even if they were to fall, the *Orion university* is still on a higher level than those trashy universities. It''s just Isabel''s character was too weak and easy to be bullied.


    Nheless, Although Isabel''s character isn''t good, at least her talent is considered very good, and it was also the reason why the university head sent her here. To polish Isabel a bit and make her warier toward the outside world.


    "Well, no need to be so nervous, though. There is still about one hour left before the time up for the theoretical exam." The devilish woman looked at the time, "Let''s sit down ad¡­."


    "Ding!" x2


    Two loud notifications sound from the screen interrupted the devilish woman.


    Everyone looked up at the screen, and almost everyone was in an uproar. Theoretical exam, even though it could be said only as a formality, to finish it with one hour left was something that was very rare.


    A case like this has happened before, but most of it was because the examinees had given up early and decided to leave the ssroom.


    But today seems to be different.


    When the first name appeared on the screen, everyone''s eyes widened in shock.


    Cade North 1000/1000<novelnext></novelnext>


    Luna Forewater 998/1000


    "...."


    The second one was already terrifying as only missing two questions out of one thousand was already unheard of. But getting a perfect score?


    This was terrifying.


    That man is definitely a monster.


    Who is Cade North? Everyone had the same thought.


    No matter what, they must quickly find information about him and, if possible, recruit him.


    But this was just the beginning.


    In the next forty-five minutes, names began to appear one by one on the screen.


    There was that could reach as high as 900 points, but none of them were even a threat to Cade''s score.


    However, when everyone was thinking that Cade was a one in a thousand-year genius for acing the test, the actual situation was actually far from that.


    shback -


    one hour left in the timer, and while everyone else was having their youth answering all the questions in the test, our main character for today was actually struggling with the test.


    It has been a few minutes, but his hand had not moved at all as he seemed to fall into depression.


    Q 299. In the hundreds of years of history of the Ultima federation, list all four great dangers that the Ultima federation had gone through.


    "....."


    It was another historical topic. And like one says, a few weeks of study were not enough to cram all the topics into your mind.


    And it''s not like Cade could skip this question too. Counting these questions, Cade had already skipped about 100 questions, and his future would look bleak if things went this way.


    " Hahahahahaha¡­. haven''t I said it before? It is useless. I have seen your previous memory, and you even have a hard time passing the university exam back on your earth, so why do you think you could easily pass this one with just a few weeks of study?"


    Once again, Grigory''s voice appeared and brought some damage to Cade.


    It was true. Looking at how things going on, the future seemed to be bleak for him.


    But it''s not like he could give up now.


    He had told Elsa to believe in his older brother, and his older brother would definitely pass the university exam of the five great universities.


    Now that it has be like this, it seems like he had no other choice.


    Just believe in luck and pray to God.


    Anyway, it was also the reason that he was able to pass the university exam back on his earth.


    But just before he could start answering everything randomly, Cade suddenly felt his body stiffen as Grigory''s voice whispered in his ear.


    " *Sigh* I know I should have done this sooner. Just stay there and leave it to this Lord Grigory!"

 Chapter 12 Ch 12 : Eye Of The Storm

    " Cade North?"


    As soon as the examinees went out of the examination hall, they would be greeted with a huge screen that disyed the top 100 names of the people who took the theoretical test.


    "Cade North, supposed to be waste from the Luminous High School. Both his theoretical aspect and Arcane Card is at the bottom of his piers and should not have joined the university entrance exam. It''s just¡­. "


    " It''s just what?"


    Outside the examination hall, Luna was currently discussing Cade with her closest attendant.


    It was true that she came here because she didn''t want to use the connection of her family. But Luna, who had always been a genius since childhood, couldn''t ept the fact that an unknown guy suddenly came out of nowhere and beat her in the theoretical exam.


    " It''s just¡­" The attendant seemed to have a hard time trying to arrange the most suitable words. Still, she, in the end decided to tell Luna what she had heard from his observation.


    " It''s just that some rumor said that he recently had changed. A few weeks ago, a disappearance case came and shocked the luminous city, and Cade North was one of the victims of that case. It''s just that he was the sole survivor of the disappearance case, and it seems that he had changed since then."


    Listening to the attendant''s exnation, Luna''s face turned from shock to frown before in the end smiling excitedly.


    " Hmmm¡­ pretty interesting¡­ Cade North, huh.. I''ll remember this name."


    On the examiner''s side, the initial shock because of the perfect score had slowly died down.


    It was none other than because they have gotten in touch with Cade''s personal detail, and they assessed him to be unworthy to put any attention on,


    Except for one.


    " So¡­ you say that we should recruit this guy?"


    In the examiner''s room, the red-haired devilish woman was looking at Isabel with a frown.


    In the eyes of the red-haired devilish woman, Isabel was like a meek hamster.


    But for some reason, she was pretty stubborn this time.


    Even some re from her was not enough to discourage Isabel.


    " Yes¡­ my Arcane Card gave me the feeling that this Cade North is something special."


    Isabel meekly said. However, her stubbornness was evident here that even the devilish woman could only shake her head helplessly.


    " Are you sure about this?"


    " Yes! This is my Arcane Card that we are talking about!"


    "...."


    Since Isabel had be like this, it seems that they really don''t have any other choice.


    " *Sigh* Then, let''s trust your Arcane Card this one time. But remember, I won''t tolerate anything like this anymore."


    " Sure ^_^!"


    Replied Isabel with glows in her eyes, which made the devilish woman sigh once more.


    While the others were busy discussing his sudden emergence. In the eye of the storm, Cade actually had a headache right now.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The reason was pretty apparent.


    He just wanted to be a top 100 guy, but why the fuck did Grigory go overboard and ce him in the top 1 with a perfect score?


    " Hahahahah, there''s no use crying over spilled milk, isn''t it?"


    From his pendant, Grigory''s voice resounded through Cade''s mind.


    The eery voice of Grigory now became really annoying to Cade, and if he could, he really wanted to smack some sense into him.


    '' You know that it is bad to gather attention, right?"


    Cade asked which a frown. For him, the best course of action was to stay low and silently enter the university that the main protagonist would go into, but now it seems that kind of hope would not be possible for him.


    " Hahahaha, don''t get too big-headed, kid! You just finished your first session. There are still other sessions before you enter the top university. And nevertheless, if your other result was bad, this theoretical test would be rendered useless."


    Cade was silenced as he heard Grigory''s response. Indeed, there''s no use for crying over spilled milk.


    Rather than agonizing over the test result, it would be better if he prepared for the next test.


    Still, the higher you climb, the stronger the wind that would befall you.


    Looking at the excited expression on Cade''s face after finishing the theoretical test, some acquaintances from Luminous highschool felt dissatisfied.


    They had tried their best, but why must it be this bastard that took the top spot?


    "That useless boy." One of the Luminous high school students finally voiced out. "Without a doubt, his other results are so bad. It seems that he is trying to attract attention by doing this. Doesn''t he know that it is all useless in the end?"


    Another student also came and went along with him.


    "Too bad! No matter how strong, it''s still only a theoretical foundation." the student disdainfully said before being followed by theughter from the other students.


    But no matter what they said, Cade had decided to ignore them.


    Let the dog bark. Anyway, he was different from them. His goal was the five great universities, and he definitely wouldn''t go anywhere trying to fight everyone who mocked him.


    Next to them, Cade just stood motionlessly. In his mind, he was doing his best to imagine the best and worst scenario for the following tests for him.


    "What is the next exam?" Grigory''s voice came at Cade.


    Cade replied, "Strength test."


    " Strength test, huh? Not the most optimal for you. How''s your preparation?"


    " Not bad, top ten is impossible, but I should barely be able to reach the top 100. But there''s a problem. It seems that I have attracted the attention of a certain someone."


    Cade didn''t move, but his eyes clearly pointed at a specific person that was watching him far from the corner.


    " Luna Forewater? Hahahahaha, it is getting interesting. Kid, I have high hopes for you!"


    And just like that, the curtain of the theoretical test was closed, and next would be Strength test.

 Chapter 13 Ch 13 : Strength Test

    Too many things have happened in the theoretical exam, and it discouraged a lot of examinees. Nheless, there were also a lot who did not get discouraged and felt that their time had finallye.


    After the theoretical exam, there was a half an hour break. The following exam was none other than the strength test.


    One by one, entering the hall for the strength test, a lot of students were now gathering at the central square of the building. Almost every student had that nervousness on their face, and only a select few felt confident even in the face of this humongous crowd.


    The half an hour of rest passed by in the blink of an eye. And after some small briefing about what they needed to do in this test, the examinees were soon separated into separate groups and were sent to their respective testing grounds.


    This time, a group consisted of about twenty to thirty people.


    Cade followed the other and walked into his testing area.


    Here, other than the strange Machine in the middle, the rest waspletely empty.


    No table or chair. Only empty tiles which looked like they had a very strong durability. If this was the ce where the strength test was held every year, then the materials of these tiles should be very strong.


    " Examinees Id 99137, please go and take the first turn."


    The voice of the examiners broke the silence.


    And along with that voice, one of the examinees with a pretty strong looking body came upfront.


    He took his position about one meter away from the strange Machine as the examinees proceeded to exin the rules once more time.


    " So before we proceed, I will exin the rules one more time so as for you to not make any mistakes during the test process. But listen carefully because I will only exin one more time, and any mistake would deduct your points afterward!"


    " In front of you, here is the test machine. Each and every examinee were given a chance to use their Arcane Card to attack the Machine. Of course, not all Arcane Card would excel in attacking, as there was also support type and defense type. Therefore, the points you received in the test would be scaled based on the type of your Arcane Card."


    "Now, to make it easier. I will disy a way of attacking the Machine."


    As the examiner finished saying those words, his right hand glowed, and an Arcane card appeared.


    " Summon Arcane Card!"


    The Arcane Card shed, and now a silver wolf emerged before everyone''s eyes. And while everyone was still in a daze admiring the silver wolf, the examiner hadmanded the silver wolf to attack the Machine.


    The silver wold eyes turned red in a sh. Its ng glowed, and its whole body swelled with muscle.


    Sharp ws stretched out from the ten fingers on both hands, glimmering coolly with a dazzling gleam. And without wasting any more time, it dashed toward the Machine in the middle, striking it with its w and getting a number of [900] from the Machine.


    The examiner''s face was still calm after all of this, but slightly, Cade could see that he actually had a smug smile.


    " Well, that''s pretty much it. Now, the examinees that the number I called, pleasee forward and do the same thing that I have showed you just now!"


    After that, one by one, the examinees'' numbers were called, and they finished the test without much problem.


    Standing on the corner, Cade actually observed the examinees one by one. He might not have the sharpest memory, but he could still somehow remember the names of some important figures in the game. It''s just that until now, no one had yet caught his attention.<novelnext></novelnext>


    When the test had progressed to about halfway, it was atst Cade''s turn.


    Upon seeing that it was finally Cade''s turn, everyone in the hall looked at Cade with either curious or suspicious eyes.


    For most of them, they were curious about the one that had ranked first in the theoretical exam, while the others were Cade''s acquaintances from Luminous Highschool that couldn''t help to see Cade fail.


    Cade slowly walked in the direction of the Machine, ignoring all the gazes and contempt from the other examinees. Nheless, all the stares from all around made him feel like he was a monkey in the zoo, causing him to shake his head in resignation.


    With a light sigh and a passive face, Cade finally arrived in front of the test machine. This time, even the examiners were looking forward to the result of this test.


    Under the eyes of everyone, Cade began summoning his Arcane Card. He had decided to not hold back anymore. Anyway, Grigory had made such a mess in the theoretical part, so it''s no use trying to look ordinary now.


    It would just be better if he came with a boom and increased his chance of being recruited by the five great universities.


    " Summon Arcane card!"


    His hand glows, and Spectre Duhanes out before everyone''s eyes.


    " What is that... Isn''t his arcane card some useless specter??"


    " I don''t know, but I never remember that his Arcane Card having that pressure surrounding it."


    Lots of discussion like this was heard in the exam hall.


    Obviously. the one that had previously known about Cade and Spectre was surprised. Now Spectre Duhan being a rank (III) Arcane Card, emits a horrendous aura, and it makes them feel a bit of fear.


    But Cade paid no heeds to them. Ignoring the burning gazes around him, he raised his hand slowly as Spectre Duhan mes grew brighter.


    While watching the calm Cade, the examiner''s eyes grew curiosity. From the rumor, he had heard that Cade''s Arcane Card should be a rank (I) Arcane Card.


    ''Did this kid really get to rank (III) in just a few weeks?''


    The shock of Cade''s performance had impacted everyone here. But it was not the end yet.


    Taking a deep breath, Cade eventuallyunched his move.


    " Sword Thrust!"


    *Swoosh!!!*


    The sound of a sonic boom enveloped the whole area. Spectre Duhan''s body shed, and when it was seen once again, it was already very close to the test machine, thrusting his sword, which glowed with blue mes.


    BOOMMM!!!!

 Chapter 14 Ch 14 : Invitation

    Watching the move that Cade''s spectre Duhan had disyed before hitting the test machine, everyone had the same thought: "Did he really get to rank (III)?"


    Because Cade was never really the type to brag about his strength, no one was able to see that he had now different from before and thus was still suspicious about his achievements.


    But they knew one thing. And that the result of the testing machine was undeniable.


    The moment the score was disyed, it would be the moment where the truth was revealed.


    In the middle of the test hall, the test machine shined brightly as a few numbers emerged on it:


    "750!"


    Silent, everyone was silent!


    All eyes were nkly focused on the numbers reflected on the testing machine.


    On the side of Cade''s high school acquaintances, their faces all had that dumbfounded look, disbelief spread across their faces.


    They at first thought Cade was either cheating or just all bark and no bites. However, what they had just seen not only confirmed that his score in the previous part was not a fluke but hadpletely surpassed their expectations.


    750?? It was just 150 short of the examiner!


    They knew that the examiner didn''t go all the way, and could easily reach 1500 or higher if he wanted. Nheless, it was still an amazing result as most of the other examinees were stuck at 500.


    "Was he hiding his strength all this time¡­" Everyone watching Cade''s test couldn''t help but mutter under their breath? It seems thatter they must try and mend their rtionship with Cade.


    Even the examiner was looking at the number disyed on the test machine with his eyes slightly sour.


    It was a genius, and furthermore, a genius that hasn''t been known by the other universities yet. There''s only one thing that was going on his mind and that was he must try to recruit Cade as soon as possible before this news reach the other examinees.


    '' My god.. I must quickly call the university head. There must be no ident so that he could be recruited to our university.''


    . . . . . . .


    A few hourster -


    Sitting outside the test hall, Cade opened his mouth with a stiff face.


    Just now, he had finished all the test procedures for the university entrance examination, and all that was left was the practicalbat test. He stared at the huge stack of paper in his hand and sighed heavily.


    ''*Sigh* to think that I would create such amotion¡­''


    " Hahahaha, yet there''s no one from the five great universities thate to scout you.. Isn''t it such a pity?"


    Cade opened his mouth a couple of times before he mumbled annoyingly, "It''s not my fault. The five Great Universities, they are on a whole different level."


    Right now, Cade was conversing with Grigory in his mind. What Cade said was right. Even if his test result had created a huge uproar and got a lot of scouting from normal a lot of universities, it was not up to the level which five great universities woulde personally to him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Nheless, there was always an exception to everything.


    As Cade was happily chatting with Grigory, standing in front of Cade now was two beautiful women, one with a pure look like an angel while the other with a devilish charm like a devil.


    Thisbo of angel and devil certainly gained the attention of every other passerby, but Cade was too focused on his chat with Grigory that he didn''t notice the two person in front of him.


    "*Cough* Are you Cade North?"


    The angelic beauty Isabel tried to gain Cade''s attention. Next to her was the devilish woman that was ready to explode at any time.


    After being ignored for some time, it was not weird that the devilish woman started to feel annoyed.


    "Oh, eh, sorry, I''m in a bit of a daze just now¡­" Cade snapped out of his confusion after hearing Isabel''s voice. He med Grigory for not telling him that there was a person waiting for him.


    But as his eyes were still drifting here and there. Cade was obviously in a state of shock.


    These two guys.. don''t tell me..


    Cade''s eyes grew wider as if he was in a deep realization. The two beautiful women was not unfamiliar to him, and if he was not wrong, the two shoulde here to¡­


    " Well, since you should have a guess on what''s going on, then this would be a lot easier."


    The devilish woman said with a smirk. The change in Cade''s expression didn''t escape her observation.


    "Ahem..." Cade let out a cough. He was caught by the devilish woman and obviously was a bit embarrassed.


    But it seems that the devilish woman didn''t put that much of a thought into it.


    " The first few tests have beenpleted, and I could say that your result is pretty fascinating. Now, I will not waste your time and get to the main topic. Cade North, under the name of Elizabeth Cameron, Ie here to invite you to join the *Orion university*."


    Direct invitation to Five Great universities? As the passersby witnessed this scene, they couldn''t help but be surprised.


    *Orion University* might be in decline right now, but for them to issue a direct invitation to Cade, Cade must be something special.


    The audience remained quite still. Everyone was still absorbed in shock. But Elizabeth, the devilish woman was not finished yet.


    " But don''t be happy too fast. The invitation would only be issued after we assessed your next performance from the practicalbat test. Failing or disappointing us would render your invitation to be nulled."


    Elizabeth''s eyes were then focused on Cade as she applied a pressure that could make normal examinees shudder. But when she saw Cade was still standing there unaffected, Elizabeth grew a smile on her face.


    " We are expecting more from you, Cade North. And for your further information, you are not the only one we scouted from this ce."


    After saying that, she didn''t wait for a response from Cade and went straight back to the examiners'' room with a big smile, followed by Isabel.

 Chapter 15 Ch 15 : Last Test

    Time passed by in the blink of an eye.


    After the first few test results were out, almost 50% of the examinees have been deemed to fail the test and the number of Examinees has been cut down a lot from the beginning of the examination.


    Everyone once again was directed to enter the examination hall in groups.


    But as Cade had already gotten some scouting from the universities, he was directed into a special room where most of the talented candidates would hold their final tests.


    This time was a wholly enclosedbat room: where hisbat ability would be assessed.


    Cade walked into his room. It waspletely empty.


    No table or chair. What was inside the room was only the cold wooden floor.


    But just when he thought he would be doing thest test alone, the door was opened once again, and another familiar figure popped out.


    '' Luna Forewater¡­''


    It was none other than Luna. But just like how Cade was able to recognize her, the other party seemed to also recognize Cade.


    To be honest, even though Cade''s previous performance could be considered good in the eyes of others, it was just barely passable in the standard of Five Great Universities and Luna. And it was only his [erfect score in the first test that managed to attract the attention of Luna.


    The two exchanged a gaze with one another, but before they could say anything, the surroundingndscape changed.


    " Well, it seems that they wouldn''t give us a chance to chat and get to know each other."


    Luna chuckled.


    Normally she would be a pretty cold individual, but once someone managed to get her attention, she would try her best to get to know the person.


    It was also the same case with the original protagonist. It''s just this time; her target of attention was Cade.


    But Cade was in no mood to chat with Luna.


    Different than Luna, his fate would be depended on his test, and he could not let his guard down.


    Furthermore, being too close with the protagonist group would do him no good, he thought.


    A familiar 3D virtual environment appeared. His surroundings then turned into a grasnd savannah.


    Before he went to do the test, Cade had read some records about this test. And in this test, the group would go and battle a horde of hologram monsters.


    Usually this wouldn''t be too hard as the group would consist of more than twenty people, but now, they only had two people against the group of monsters.


    [ The first wave would be spawned in another thirty seconds.]


    [ It is reminded for the examinees to prepare yourself.]


    As the mechanical voice sounded throughout the room, Cade and Luna no longer had the mood to y around.


    Their hand glowed, and a card appeared on their hand.


    " Summon Arcane Card!"


    Immediately, the card in their hand shone, and a change happened.


    For Cade, as usual, Spectre Duhan emerged in front of him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The menaced-looking knight with no head and fire all over its body while holding a sword was ready to decapitate its enemy.


    But the focus here was not on Cade''s Spectre''s Duhan but rather on Luna''s.


    Luna''s Arcane Card didn''t summon something like Cade, but rather it merged on her body.


    In fact, there were two types of Arcane cards, summon and possession. Most people had Summon type like Cade, while only a select few had possession type as it was far stronger and rarer.


    It was also the reason why Cade was not able to connect the dots when he came into this world. All the main characters had the possession type Arcane Card, so when he saw his Arcane Card actually summon something, he didn''t link his world to the game he had once yed before.


    Luna''s body now had almost every part of her body covered by white holy looking armor. The upper part of this armor only consists of a small, revealing breastte that extends along her hips,posed of feather-shaped tes pointing upwards with arge metal flower on the front, leaving the tops of her breasts exposed, as well as her stomach. Her biceps are covered by white straps, and her veryrge ted gauntlets sport feather-shaped tes at the edges.


    Two big white wings grew on her back, and in her current appearance, Luna really looked like an angel descended from heaven.


    '' Luna''s Arcane Card, the White-winged angel, huh¡­''


    Cade mumbled in his mind. To be honest, he was very familiar with this Arcane Card, and he also thought that this was one of the strongest Arcane Card around as it started with rank (III) and it had its limit at rank (VIII)


    As the two finished summoning their Arcane Cards, thirty seconds also had passed.


    The room shook for a moment, and monsters began appearing in their direction.


    A body figure covered with an old ragged cloak, equipped with a stick-like weapon, appeared in front of him.


    The cloak was so ragged that it didn''t even cover its head, so Cade and Luna could easily see its appearance.


    Its height was about 1.2 meters. A lot shorter than them. One of them might give them no pressure, but when more than twenty were spawned simultaneously, it ced tremendous pressure upon the two.


    Rank (II) monster, Sneaky Goblin!


    The assessment has now begun, and the two would need to fight against the virtual monsters.


    Normally, the two would be given some chance to discuss strategy, but things were different here.


    "Bang!"


    Noticing that Cade didn''t attack after such a long time, Luna no longer waited to wait.


    Her eyes shined. She went directly into the middle of the Goblin horde and tried to take them on directly.


    *Khwak!!!*


    One of Luna''s shes was enough to kill a few goblins, but it also left her back wide open.


    But before the Goblins could take advantage of the situation and attack Luna, a headless knight had alreadye and covered her from behind.


    " You know.. you are a bit too reckless.."


    Cade sighed; if he had notmanded the Spectre Duhan in time, then the Goblin''s attack might have hit Luna. But contrary to his expectations, Luna just smiled when he heard Cade''s words.


    " Hah.. I''m not. I just know that you are going to cover me. Let''s stop talking; the enemy ising!"


    Turning his head around, Cade also noticed that what Luna said was correct. Not long after the first few Goblins were killed, the virtual test room began to spawn another Goblin. It was now time for round two.

 Chapter 16 Ch 16 : A Boss

    Inside the examiner''s room, Isabel and Elizabeth looked at the monitors with lots of focus.


    " It seems that in the regr batch, there was no one worthy of our attention¡­"


    Elizabeth sighed. The moment she saw the performance of those guys in the regr batch, she knew that they would only be cannon-fodder in actual battle.


    " Yes.. but luckily, the special batch was a lot better. It seemed that it wasn''t a waste for us toe here, Ms. Elizabeth!" The angel Isabel tried to stay positive.


    As usual, Elizabeth was very stern with her judgment, while Isabel was trying to brighten the mood a little bit.


    They were in dire need of talents, and they could only hope that they would get some rough diamonds to be polished here.


    Listening to Isabel''s positivity, even the stern Elizabeth couldn''t help but get affected.


    Her eyes shifted to the monitor where Cade and Luna were disyed.


    " Indeed, these two seemed to be not bad. Luna Forewater is one thing. But this Cade, even though he seemed to at least satisfy the standard of entering our university, I couldn''t see why you are so interested in him¡­."


    " Hehe, I also don''t really get it. But my Arcane Card just told me that there is something special in that kid."


    " ¡­.. "


    Looking at the harmless smiling Isabel, Elizabeth really didn''t know what to do.


    At the end of the day, she could only shake her head helplessly as she proceeded to watch the test with Isabel, hoping to see what made this Cade be so special in Isabel''s eyes.


    Back to Cade and Luna, currently, Cade and Luna are doing a pretty okay job regarding the test.


    Luna was having a good time, charging through the Monsters, shing each and every monster in front of her.


    As for Cade, he was stuck in a weirder position than Luna.


    He was a summoner, so he must keep his distance far enough to avoid the enemy attack while also close enough to not give a dyedmand to Spectre Ghost and also manage the battlefield.


    Time passed, and the difficulties in the test also changed. At first, it was just some simple Goblins, but then it changed into something akin to a wold monster and now some Orcs.


    As of now, there was only one remaining Orc left, and Cade and Luna were trying their best to kill it as quickly as possible.


    The Orc was strong, but the enemy was far too nimble for him.


    When Luna''s sword hit the Orc right at the neck, thest Orc was finally decapitated.


    Because it was just a virtual monster, the decapitated Orc didn''t turn into a puddle of blood but just disappeared after it was killed.


    " Ha¡­ that was intense¡­"


    " Speak to yourself. You are charging at them relentlessly¡­"


    " Haha¡­."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cade spoke his mind as if trying to reprimand Luna, but Luna justughed it off like nothing happened.


    Thest Orc has been killed, and the two thought they could finally get some rest. However, soon they realized they were wrong.


    The moment thest Orc disappeared, the sun rose high in the azure sky, and a clear mechanical sound finally resounded in the room.


    [ All waves have been cleared, proceeding to move to thest battle. Boss battle!]


    When they heard the mechanical voice, the two suddenly felt a chill.


    It was so sudden, but they immediately realized that the thing that they would face right now was far from what they had faced before.


    Cade''s gaze moved to the ces where the feeling of chill erupted, causing him to look over.


    He saw that now standing in front of them was a group of five monsters that looked pretty much like humans but have a strange color tone and menacing fangs.


    '' A Goblin lord..''


    Cade thought in his mind as he quickly recognized the name of this monster, and from the look of it, Luna was also able to reach the same conclusion.


    Behind the Goblin Lord was a group of four Hobgoblin whose strengths were clearly not weak. With the exception of the Goblin Lord, whose strength should be at peak rank (III), the other four should be at the beginning of rank (III).


    "ROARRR!!!."


    The Goblin Lord''s hand shook slightly, and a long, bloodred spear appeared. As he held this long spear, he began to issue instructions to the four Hobgoblins.


    Upon hearing their lord''s order, the four Hobgoblin behind him immediately began spreading out, going to corner the two that were left on this battlefield.


    "Ms. Forewater, Spectre prepare for collision." Cade tilted his head, frowned, and shouted upon seeing that the four Hobgoblins had spread out like a fan as they headed over.


    "No need to remind me, I know." Luna said, but she still nodded slightly. She was truly mesmerizing as the holy white aura from her Arcane card shrouded her body.


    At this moment in the examiner''s room, the sharp shouting and cheering from the examiners filled the room. They could not wait to see whether the rumored prodigy would be able to defeat the Goblin Lord.


    " Ms. Elizabeth, do you think they will be able to pass this hurdle?"


    Isabel tilted her head to the side, looking a bit worried.


    " I don''t know. That Luna Forewater had the firepower to deal with the Goblins if it was just based on strength alone. But the current her was a bit too reckless. Maybe you are right. The key of defeating the boss would lie in the hand of that Cade North."


    Elizabeth smiled as she spoke and threw her gaze back to the chaotic battle.


    There would be frequent head-on battles between humanity and monster, and all they needed was abat force that was not only strong but also able toprehend the situation.


    Maybe because she had grown as a sheltered flower, as of now Luna Forewater still didn''t possessed the second criteria that they needed, so Elizabeth was also curious about the performance of the two in this final test.

 Chapter 17 Ch 17 : Killing Hobgoblins

    Arcana mob Ch 19


    Cade slowly exhaled a breath of air as he eyed the Hobgoblins, whose getting nearer and nearer.


    It was the final part of the test, and no mistakes should be tolerated here.


    As he raised his hand to transfer themand into Spectre Duhan, within the interior of the spectre Duhan''s body, the bluish me was getting bigger than ever.


    Threads of surging, bluish me came out and circted. Finally, it surged out of his body, and suddenly the strength of spectre Duhan increased several times.


    In the examiner room, Isabel and Elizabeth watch this scene with eyes full of interest.


    So it seems that until now, Cade has not yet shown his full power.


    The sword that was held by the spectre Duhan was now covered by the bluish me. This powerful me caused the surrounding air to distort a bit, and even Luna was caught by surprise.


    " So you are hiding your ability, huh?"


    " I''m not hiding my ability.... I''m just not doing it because I don''t think it was necessary. After all, I still don''t think that I could match you even now."


    " Heh, what a glib tongue.." Luna chuckled as she heard Cade''s answer.


    Luna was a bit amused by Cade''s answer.


    It was true, though. Cade, even after putting all his skill to the table, would at most be in the middle of Rank (III) while Luna was at the peak of Rank (III) or even Rank (IV).


    Cade raised his head while calcting the distance between the four hobgoblins and Spectre Duhan. He tilted his head toward Luna and said faintly, "Let''s stop wasting any more time. We must finish them before the big boss move."


    "Sure, cover me." Luna nodded slightly. Golden-colored Daura surged out from her body. An eye-piercing golden glow caused her to be as radiant as the sun, appearing extremely conspicuous.


    In her current state, Luna perfectly looked like the main heroine of the game.


    Cade nodded his head as he sensed the fierce aura erupting explosively from Luna.


    With Cade''smand, Spectre Duhan lifted his foot slightly and immediately stomped it on the ground. The sound of energy exploding appeared from the bottom of his foot as he immediately turned into a ck-colored gale that shot fiercely toward one of the Hobgoblins.


    "Roarrr!"


    The intense pressure of Spectre Duhan blew against the Hobgoblin. The Hobgoblin, however, held no fear.


    With an eeryugh, the de on its hand moved like a snake that shot toward the Spectre Duhan''s body in an extremely ruthless manner.


    "ng!"


    The two attacks shed with each other as the Hobgoblin''s de fell on Spectre Duhan''s sword. The force contained in the attack was so strong that it caused the hand that Spectre Duhan used to hold the sword to tremble slightly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But it was not the end. The Hobgoblin was not yet ready to let go. His hand suddenly shook and moved at a speed that was very hard to see with bare eyes. Finally, it turned into a fiendish attack that strangely moved around the sword and pierced Spectre Duhan''s head from behind.


    But here, the Hobgoblin had made a mistake.


    Against anyone else, the attack might pose a significant danger, but he forgot the fact that Spectre Duhan was at the essence a Duhan, and it didn''t possess a head.


    The attack shed without hitting anything, and instead it had made the Hobgoblin be open against Spectre Duhan''s attack.


    The Hobgoblin''s attack that had a silver glow passed through the air.


    Cade had already sensed that the attack would not hit anything, so he wasn''t panicking.


    Therefore, he just stood there watching the battle unfold, and only after the attack missed and the Hobgoblin was open that he give his instruction.


    " Spectre Duhan, Sword sh!"


    Immediately, Spectre Duhan''s body had a change. A powerful, bluish color me surged out fiercely. In an instant, it agglomerated into a blue colour sword-like aura that tightly wrapped around his sword.


    The sword swiftly hit the Hobgoblin''s body, and the next moment it knew, the Hobgoblin''s torso had severed from its leg, and it could only let out a shrieked cry before it vanished as the Hobgoblin was killed under Cade and Spectre Duhan''s hand.


    But Cade was a bit careless here. The battle was not one on one. Rather, it was one against many.


    Just when the first Hobgoblin was killed, the second appeared below Spectre Duhan, ready to give a killing blow.


    Fortunately, Cade was fast enough to respond. He controlled some of the fire to block the Hobgoblin''s attack, and the attack only left some tiny marks on the surface of Spectre Duhan''s breastte armor.


    The first grave danger was avoided, and Spectre Duhan abruptly took a step forward.


    The fire surrounding his body had almost instantly disappeared. He swung the sword in his hand horizontally and an enormous force, which carried the sharp sound of air being cut violently, smashed toward the Hobgoblin''s head.


    *Swoosh*


    The attack barely missed the Hobgoblin''s head, but the terrifying force created by the swinging of the sword caused the Hobgoblin to take a step back.


    Those monsters generated here were programmed to be fearless, but the attack just now could easily kill him if he didn''t avoid it.


    Yet, now was the time for the Hobgoblin to be careless.


    A golden-colored glow suddenly came out from behind. With a ''chi'' sound, a blinding light shed and the Hobgoblin''s head was severed from its body. Nheless, the speed of this attack was so fast that it left people somewhat speechless.


    Standing on the top of the disappearing Hobgoblin corpse was Luna. Her face clearly shown some traces of fatigue after killing the Hobgoblin. Yet, her eyes shone brighter than ever, and now she was ready for thest Goblin boss.

 Chapter 18 Ch 18 : Against The Goblin Lord

    The intense, strong pressure came up from the Goblin Lord that made Cade''s eyes narrow. He sensed the powerful energy that was agglomerating in the long sword within the Goblin lord''s hands.


    That was a kind of energy that contained an extremely wild aura, certainly one that came out from a strong monster.


    "The Goblin Lord is going to move now¡­"


    Cade narrowed his eyes and slightly knit his brows together as the Goblin Lord had finally going to enter the battle.


    He was about to remind Luna to be focused, but when he saw Luna''s determined look, it seemed his words were no longer necessary.


    As Cade and the Spectre Duhan made eye contact, the Spectre Duhan''s palm moved slightly, and the bluish me once again emerged surrounding his body.


    The continuous battle had begun to take a toll on his strength and stamina, but he knew that right now was not the moment to hold back.


    "ROARR!!!!"


    There was the vague sound of an eery, dark, cold shriek from the Goblin lord.


    Quickly following this, the sound of a sonic boom enveloped the whole room.


    The Goblin Lord had used that chance to close off their distance, andpletely different from their expectation, now his target was Cade.


    Cade had used some countermeasures to erase his scent and should not be easily tracked by the enemy monster, but it seems this Goblin Lord was an exception.


    Cade nced over, only to realize that the long silver sword was only a few meters away from his neck.


    Compared to other normal people, he could be considered stronger. But against such a monster, Cade didn''t have the right to dy things.


    Without wasting any more time, he had retracted Spectre Duhan back to his Arcane Card form and resummoned it in front of him, just enough to block the Goblin Lord''s attack.


    BANGGGG!!!!!!!


    The sword on the hand of the Goblin Lord appeared to have turned entirely into a blood-colored eery-looking sword. Bloodlust shed from the body of the de, and with just one look and Cade could see the power packed onto it.


    When the sword hit Spectre Duhan''s body, it left a gruesome sound.


    There was even a big dent on the breastte part, and if not for the fire that enveloped Spectre Duhan to block most of the attack, it would still be a question whether Spectre DUhan would be able to receive this attack.


    Chi Chi suddenly rang out from the collision of the two.


    Under a countless number of shocked gazes from the examiner room, just after the first attack was blocked, a blood-red color aura that was at least a few meters long was immediately channeled out from the Goblin Lord''s sword.


    The Blood red aura was like slithering snakes. Its speed was so fast that it could make people unable to react in time.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But fortunately for Cade, just before the second attack wasunched, Luna hade to back him up.


    With golden light that dazzled everyone, Cade could see golden light shing through his own eyes, and immediately a deep gully was formed while emitting a *Boom* sound.


    The appearance was like a field that was plowed by a bull. After this, he heard a deafening explosion. His gazes hurriedly followed the sound to take a look, only to see that the spot where the explosion urred was actually in the direction where the Spectre Duhan and the Goblin Lord were previously standing.


    Dust slowly rose and pervaded the spot where the explosion urred. The figure of Spectre Duhan was revealed, and even though he was hurt, he was still able to survive the predicament that he was thrown into, while the figure of the Goblin Lord was nowhere to be seen.


    " Thank you¡­" Cade said as he looked at Luna with a grateful expression.


    Just now, the situation was way too dangerous for him.


    " Don''t sweat it. I just do what I need to do to finish this exam. Nheless, never let your guard down. The exam was far from finished."


    " I know, I''m sorry."


    As Cade and Luna exchanged a small conversation, the dust in front of them slowly became thinner. A huge, blood-red sword inserted into the hard ground was first to appear in front of everyone.


    The Goblin Lord might have avoided Luna''s attack, but he didn''t escape unscathed. A big wound opened from his chest to his right leg, and blood came down from it, giving a very bloody looking look.


    But what''s strange here was the blood didn''t fall to the ground but rather was absorbed by the blood-red sword in his hand, making the sword be bigger and ever.


    A wild wind suddenly blew, and the dustpletely disappeared.


    The Goblin Lord, which now seemed like to have entered its second phase, moved once again, but this time Cade and Luna were fully prepared.


    Cade''s gaze immediately solidified.


    "Do you think we would let you do anything you wanted?" The bluish me around Spectre Duhan danced slightly. A faint voice was emitted before Spectre Duhan rushed to collide with the Goblin lord.


    The sword carried a blue-colored me. Although it had yet toe in contact with his body, The Goblin Lord could still sense a burning pain.


    The Goblin Lord though, who was in a frenzy could only care less about the pain on his body. Bloody red light once again surged and appeared on his body. With a sway of his body, it was certain that the Goblin Lord was going to engage Spectre Duhan with even stronger momentum.


    However, just as Spectre Duhan was about to enter the Goblin Lord''s attacking range, Luna made her move.


    The golden figure shed again before the Goblin Lord had the time to react to surround it from both sides with the Spectre Duhan.


    Luna''s indifferent face once again appeared in front of the Goblin Lord.


    Both Luna and Cade took the chance and attacked frenzily. More than ten sword shes were ruthlessly hammered toward various part of the Goblin Lord. Almost every shes hit the Goblin Lord while some of them were blocked. For a perios of time, only the sound of the Goblin Lord''s misery repeatedly sounded within the room.

 Chapter 19 Ch 19 : A Way

    "ROARR!!!!!"


    Even though the Goblin Lord had entered into such a berserk state that the level of pain had been toned down a lot, the continuous attack from Cade and Luna still caused the anger on the Goblin Lord''s heart to surge.


    Their attacks were all unleashed at close range. This kind of distance did not allow him to fully use his greatsword.


    Although he could try to forcefully break free and allow him to pull some distance away, Cade, who was the support in this battle, always positioned himself that he would always be able to intercept the Goblin Lord''s every movement.


    It was nothing to be proud of, but because he had been beaten too much, Cade was very receptive toward where Goblin Lord could retaliate, and he always cut his way before the Goblin Lord could truly break free. Therefore, it was utterly futile no matter how the Goblin Lord tried to create some distance between them.


    The Goblin Lord, who had lost the space to use his move, was undoubtedly a great tragedy when engaging in closebat with both Luna and Cade.


    Nheless, Cade''s Spectre Duhan was not terrifying. What was frightening was Luna''s attacking power, and without the firepower that Luna has, the two would not be able to gain this upper hand.


    Inside the Examiner''s room, Isabel and Elizabeth were watching this scene with the other examiners.


    Most of the examiners here praised Luna for her strength, but Elizabeth actually had a different thought.


    " Hmm, what is it, Ms. Elizabeth?"


    Isabel, who was on her side, noticed this strangeness and asked. The other might not notice it, but Isabel could clearly see Elizabeth''s mood.


    " *Sigh* Nothing. It''s just, I think that if this was all he could do, then he might not pass the requirement to enter our university. And... they might lose soon."


    The shock from Elizabeth''s words was clear in Isabel''s voice. Until now, the two had done a pretty good job managing the Goblin Lord, so why would Elizabeth say things like this? But before Isabel could ask any further, something happened on the screen.


    Inside, the Goblin Lord suddenly broke through the encircling of Cade and Luna, and it burst out with power that was very close to Rank (IV).


    " What happen!?"


    " I don''t know. Is this a bug? Why haven''t I been informed about this!?"


    " Wait, there''s no use bickering here. Shouldn''t we rescue them first?"


    There was a lot ofmotion in the Examiner''s room. Most of them didn''t know what was happening.


    Indeed, for thest part of the exam, the Goblin Lord, only a select few universities knew about it, and coincidentally the Orion university as one of the five great universities, was among them.


    The situation which was previously on Cade and Luna''s side was reversed, and now Elizabeth couldn''t help but get curious about what the two might do in this kind of situation.


    . . . . . . . .<novelnext></novelnext>


    Inside the examination room, Cade and Luna currently had a gloomy expressions.


    They thought they would finally pass the exam, only to face a sudden turn-around from the Goblin Lord.


    But it was not the worst thing. When the Goblin Lord suddenly burst just now, Luna was injured as she was caught off-guard, and the two now were at the very end of their stamina.


    The most they could do was another one or two minutes, and after that, they would be no longer able to maintain the Arcane Card summoning.


    Just as Cade thought there was no way to turn the situation and was hesitating to give up, a sound came from his pendant.


    " Hahahahaha, what is this? Struggling against a weak opponent, I see?"


    After the whole time he didn''t show up, Grigory''s voice once again resounded in Cade''s mind, but this time it was full of mocking.


    Yet, Cade didn''t feel offended at all by this mocking. Rather, he suddenly had an idea when Grigory''s voice resounded. One thing about Grigory was he had lived long enough to almost know about any things.


    Eyeing this situation, Cade helplessly sighed. Heughed bitterly in his heart, "Well, it couldn''t be helped, isn''t it? By the way, does Lord Grigory have any way to get me out of this situation?"


    "Ke ke, it is indeed not difficult." Maybe because he was called Lord Grigory by Cade, Grigory was in a pretty good mood.


    "After all, every monster had its own weakness. This Goblin Lord''s weakness might be a bit hiddenpared to the other Goblin, but it doesn''t mean it doesn''t have any weakness." Grigory''s voice sounded in Cade''s heart.


    Cade listened to Grigory''s words and nodded. He who had yed the game naturally knew that every monster indeed has its own weakness. It''s just he didn''t know before what the Goblin Lord''s weakness was.


    This time, Grigory''s voice was bringing a strand of hope to Cade.


    After some moments of useless bickering, Grigory eventually gets to the main point.


    " This time, the Goblin Lord''s weakness is sound."


    " Sound?"


    Regarding this, Cade was caught dumbfounded. What was this cliche turn around? Should he scream at the ear of the Goblin Lord just like a loud-shounen protagonist?


    Fortunately, Grigory was very quick to rify things.


    " Well, even though I said his weakness was sound, it isn''t just any voice. You need to use the sound of certain Db to be able to hit this weakness. But don''t worry though, isn''t this where your phonees to use?"

 Chapter 20 Ch 20 : A Way (2)

    Under a countless number of gazes, Luna was currently trying her best to fend off the Goblin Lord''s attack.


    "Holy st!"


    Luna''s pretty face became cold. The golden glow within her body surged, and her strength was increased to a certain extent. Her long hair, which extended down her back to her waist, moved automatically without wind. She swung the sword in her arm with all her might, but it only barely scratched the Goblin Lord.


    One could see that Luna was giving her all. But in these circumstances, a certain someone was actually dazing off in the middle of battle, letting Luna take all the burden by herself.


    '' Bastard.. why is he dazing off. Has he given up¡­''


    At first, Luna still tried to think positively. But as of now, she couldn''t help but begin to feel skeptical about Cade.


    The more she thought about it, the more she began to feel angry. And as she could not hold back her anger anymore, she decided to leash out.


    " Hey, a little help here wouldn''t hurt, would ya!"


    Luna''s sound filled the whole room. Even the examiners who were witnessing this battle from the screen were shaking their heads.


    Bad performance was one thing, but giving up in the middle of a battle and letting your partner do all the job was something that they couldn''t tolerate at all.


    The examiners were all ready to write off Cade''s name. But here, something happened.


    Contrary to their and Luna''s expectations, Cade, who had woken up from his daydream, was actually having a pretty confident face.


    " Sorry, I''m a bit out of my mind just now. But don''t worry, I have everything under control."


    "????"


    Luna wanted to scream and asked what he meant by having everything under control. But then, something that hadpletely exceeded her wildest dream happened.


    All of a sudden, the Goblin Lord who previously had never stopped attacking suddenly felt had been slowed down a lot, and taking advantage of that moment, the Spectre Duhan came and dealt a fatal blow. Knocking him a few meters away.


    '' Just.. what had just happened.''


    It was obvious that Luna was surprised. In fact, it was not only Luna.


    Even most of the examiners were watching this with their mouths agape, and only Elizabeth had a smirk on her mouth.


    This time, her eyes which she used to look at Cade, were filled with glimmers. It was as if she had finally discovered a rough diamond that was worth being polished.


    " You¡­ what have you done?"


    Luna looked at Cade full of surprise. But Cade didn''t have the time to exin. While they were talking, the Goblin Lord had once again stood up, and looking at the rate at which their stamina was depleted, Cade needed to get things done as soon as possible.


    " I will exin thingster. For now, just follow my instruction. I have a n about how to deal with him, but I don''t have enough strength to finish him in one big attack."


    There were a lot of questions on Luna''s mind right now. Regardless, she knew what Cade said was indeed correct.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Since she also did not have any way to break through this situation, then why not try to bet on Cade''s way.


    Once again, the Goblin Lord stood up as he charged at the two.


    Cade''s Spectre Duhan proceeded to block him under Cade''s instruction.


    Within less than a few seconds, Spectre Duhan was already in a bitch of a pinch against the Goblin Lord''s offensive.


    Some of the Goblin Lord''s blows actually hit Spectre Duhan, but the Spectre Duhanwas strong enough to avoid being hit at a vital spot.


    After the first exchange, everyone had a rough outline of Spectre Duhan''s strength against the Goblin Lord and how Spectre Duhan was at a disadvantage against the Goblin Lord.


    Luna actually wanted to help, but Cade shook his head.


    The way they are now, they could not miss the chance, and Luna needed to preserve her strength for a big blow that would end the Goblin Lord''s life.


    The next few seconds passed like forever. As of now, the Spectre Duhan''s condition was far from okay.


    The armor head had lots of scratches and dent, and its arm had almost split off from its body.


    It was okay, though. As long as an Arcane card didn''t die, it would eventually recover after some time.


    The scene was very hard to see as Spectre Duhan was continuously tortured by the Goblin Lord.


    It was up to the point where at one of the attacks, the Goblin Lord''s sword sessfully pierced right through the Spectre Duhan''s body.


    But this was actually the time that Cade had waiting for.


    Just when they thought the Spectre Duhan had fallen, the left and right arms of Spectre Duhan suddenly moved, and he clung hard to the Goblin Lord.


    " Now! Luna, finish him off!"


    Immediately as Cade shouted, Luna knew it was finally her time to shine.


    Without wasting even one second, as she could see that Spectre DUhan was already at the end of his gas, Luna quickly poured everything she got into her sword.


    No chance to fail.


    This was what Luna was currently thinking. They only have this one chance, and she surely could not fail.


    " Golden Winged Strike!"


    The aura within her began to surge simultaneously. Immediately, sheunched their fiercest attacks on the Goblin Lord.


    One could only see Luna''s golden shing as they heard the loud noises erupting from the collision of the aura and watched energy ripples from within the examination room.

 Chapter 21 Ch 21 : End Of The Examination

    " Did we seed.."


    The suddenbination between Cade and Luna in the examination room was beyond anyone''s expectations.


    Moreover, Cade''s determination to use Spectre Duhan to hold the Goblin lord and Luna''s attack waspleted in a mere instant.


    Hence, even a lot of examiners in the examiner room could only see a golden light shing within the arena.


    Few of them, of course. like Elizabeth could clearly see what was happening, and only a smile could be seen in her face.


    Back to the examination room.


    Luna had just finished her move.


    The dazzling golden light had now slowly disappeared, and Luna slumped to the ground. The consumption of energy was no joke, and it could be said that her determination was so high that she could still hold on until this moment.


    Behind her, the Goblin Lord now had a deep wound on its chest. Luna''s attack just now wasn''t able topletely behead it, and it still showed some life left.


    Nheless, it was also at the very end of its light.


    The examiners, Cade and Luna, all watched the Goblin Lord, who was heavily wounded, struggling futilely as they made attempts with great difficulty to get up. The entire examination room was quiet.


    Cade and Luna both closed their eyes, praying to God that they didn''t know even existed that the Goblin Lord would not go back to his feet. The two no longer have any energy to continue this exam, and whether they would fail or not would be decided at this moment.


    Numerous gazes that were almost dull, stared at Goblin Lord in the examination room. At this moment, there was a chill that seeped out from the hearts of a countless number of people.


    In the Examiner''s room, Isabel was watching, full of worries.


    She kept looking forward and backward to the Goblin Lord and Cade, and it had made Elizabeth on the side notice it andugh.


    " *Pu..* Don''t worry, Isabel."


    " Eh? I''m not worried..."


    Isabel who was caught offhanded by Elizabeth, got her face red. She tried to hide it, but Elizabeth was onlyughing while cing her hand to pat Isabel''s head.


    " That kid, he might be a bit below standard in terms of raw strength. But the one that turned around this battle was him, and we needed to give him credits for that. Furthermore, they have won."


    " Win? Did they really.."


    " Yes, they did."


    Isabel was momentarily stunned.


    It has long been known that this test was almost unclearable, and only the very few creams of the crops could clear this test.


    To think that she would see the test being cleared, and by one that she had rmended to Elizabeth, Isabel''s face was full of disbelief.


    Yet it was not the time to be stunned.


    Elizabeth saw Isabel dazing around and sighed.


    " Isabel, let''s go. We don''t have the time to y around anymore. Let''s quickly finish the procedure to recruit them, as we don''t want them to be stolen by other universities."<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Ah yess!"


    Isabel stumbled a bit as she was about to bite her tongue there. But she quickly recovered and followed Elizabeth to leave the room. As of now, their priority is to recruit Cade and Luna.


    Cade exhaled a long breath of air in the examination room. He ignored everything and turned his head to allow his gaze to meet that of the Luna, which was breathing roughly right behind the Goblin Lord.


    Just now, Grigory had confirmed that the Goblin Lord had been defeated, so he could finally sigh relief.


    A warm smile was drawn on his face. Moving his body, Cade walked slowly in the direction of Luna. He extended his hand as he helped Luna to stand up. "Are you alright?"


    " Cade, what are you doing? The Goblin Lord.."


    Luna was a bit panicked. She saw the Goblin Lord was still struggling to stand, so when she saw Cade was actually walking in her direction without even an inch of care toward his surrounding, she felt both warm and conflicted.


    Yet even after hearing Luna''s words, Cade only shook his head as he smiled softly.


    " Don''t worry Luna, we have won."


    " Win... Did we really win?"


    Luna was dumbfounded. The Goblin Lord was still there breathing, so why was Cade so confident.


    But for some reason, when Cade said it like this, she couldn''t help but believe it.


    Cade shook his head helplessly when he saw Luna''s reaction. It seemed that her credibility wasn''t high enough, wasn''t it?. He patted Luna''s shoulder as if trying to calm her from her agitation before throwing his gaze toward the CCTV on the edge of the examination room.


    Then, he asked with a clear voice, "May I inquire if the final round of the examination can be considered over now? The Goblin Lord, he is only counting his demise."


    After Cade asked the question, the room was filled with silence for a while, before eventually, a mechanical voice came as if to confirm the situation.


    [ Congrattions, the final examination has been over. Examinee Cade and Luna, please proceed to leave the Examination room via the front door. Your score has been added to our system, and the result will be sent immediately.]


    " See, there''s nothing to worry about!"


    " Umm.. you are right."


    Few people from the medical team hurriedly came as the door was opened. Even though it was just an exam, the injury and exhaustion on Luna''s body were still real.


    The degree of power and determination they had shown in this battle was enough, and the two were quickly escorted to the special medical room.


    Of course, Luna''s background also yed a part here. Her background was obviously not ordinary. Should something happen, quite a lot of trouble would brew forth.


    Not long after, a piece of big news was announced.


    "The University entrance examination this year is over." After a lot of intense fighting, the long arduous entrance exam was finally over.


    Once this voice sounded, overwhelming cheers suddenly rang out from the entire ce. Some were d that they had done well, and some were crying because they thought they haven''t done well enough.


    A countless number of people had their own thoughts about this exam, but as for Cade, he had apletely different thought.


    The entrance examination was over, but his journey had not even begun yet. After this would be the university arc, and he would finally met the main characters of the game which he used to y.

 Chapter 22 Ch 22 : Orion University

    A few dayster -


    Ultima Federation''s royal capital was ced at the center of the continent.


    That location held an already conquered dungeon since the olden days, causing monsters to gush forth.


    Yet, at the same time, that dungeon is a goldmine of resources and experiences for Arcane Card wielder.


    It''s be one of the sources of ie and materials for the Federation and is the primary factor for why humans could rise quickly in the past hundred years to fight the monsters.


    The scale of the royal capital is veryrge.


    Cade believes that the poption of the urban district alone reaches a million people.


    It was a super modern town that looked like it appeared in sci-fi movies. Heck, even something like Stark''s technology seemed to be prettymon here.


    But today, Cade''s destination was not the Royal Capital.


    But Rather, the giant floating ind next to it.


    Such a ce is where he would attend the university.


    A few days ago, he had received the invitation directly from Isabel. In the invitation, it was said that Cade was admitted into the university.


    As for Elsa, because she was still underage, Isabel had offered for Elsa to stay with her.


    At first, Cade hesitated whether to ept Isabel''s offer or not, but once Elsa heard the story, she quickly admonished Cade to take the offer. This chance to study at *Orion university* was one of a lifetime for Cade, and Elsa didn''t want to hold Cade back.


    A small floating ind located slightly away from the urban district became a harbor for airships and is where iing airships anchor.


    Cade was currently on the airship, going to board that harbor.


    It was thetest model of airship have a deckid out at the top. If it was up to Cade, he definitely wouldn''t spend so much money purchasing tickets for such an expensive airship, but this time, it was Isabel who handled the ticket for him, and he had no other choice.


    Next to him was Elsa who was looking at the window with glimmering eyes.


    " Brother, look at that! That is the ce where you will be going to studyter, so cool!"


    Elsa''s expression was so bright that Cade was starting to believe that she would say "waku-waku" soon. Still, as a good brother, he didn''t want to spoil Elsa''s mood. He stayed next to her as he nodded and listened to each and every Elsa''s words.


    "*Pftt* I never thought you would also have a side like this."


    From the side, Isabel was actually watching this scene full of smiles. With the warm interaction between Cade and Elsa, thinking about all the hardships the two had suffered so far, Isabel could not help but be happy for them.


    " Well, it''s all thanks to you."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cade turned to Isabel and replied.


    " Hehe, don''t sweat it too much. It was all because of your effort. Rather, I''m the one that should be thankful. Because of you, I felt like my mood had gotten a lot better."


    Cade didn''t reply and just nodded.


    As a transmigrator, he knew at this point in time, the condition of *Orion university* was not that good.


    There was a lot of pressure from above, and that was also why Cade could get the ticket to enter this university.


    However, looking at Isabel''s worried face, Cade really wanted to tell her that there was nothing she should be worried about.


    With the protagonist and his harem here, the university would be saved, and rather it would be one of the best periods for the university.


    After the airship boarded, guided by Isabel, Both Cade and Elsa moved to the terminal of the regr air service and confirmed that there were many other students heading to the universities.


    Most of the people were the same as them. They took the public airships with only a select few using their private ones. Normally, thetter would consist of the son or daughter of high-ranking individuals or rich merchants.


    Cade, Isabel, and Elsa followed the procedure and waited in line for their identity verification.


    In terms of our earth, it was like going under immigration after arriving in a foreign country. The university agents would check the identity of each and every people here, ensuring that there would be no trespasser that might harm the students.


    And just like any other student, Cade has to wait in his line.


    But just as the line was moving forward, and only a few more people were standing in front of Cade, a suddenmotion happened.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Cade asked Isabel, but Isabel didn''t answer directly and just pointed at the crowd of people.


    "They''re from the Holzberg family."


    Upon looking, a grand group of people cutting in line caught Cade''s attention.


    They were groups of male in ck suits, and in the very middle was a beautifuldy.


    But different from Luna who even though gave the impression of being cold outside, but actually was warm inside, this beautifuldy actually give the impression of an Ice Queen.


    Isabel made an unpleasant expression.


    " She was the only heir of Holzberg Family, Elicia Holzberz. I knew that she is from a big family and was hailed as a prodigy, but this kind of treatment isn''t it a bit too much."


    With a soft and low voice, Isabel disyed her frustration. To someone like Isabel who would treat her student fairly, this kind of using family power was indeed a bit too much.

 Chapter 23 Ch 23 : Orion Univeristy (2)

    Elicia Holzberg¡­


    To anyone else, this name might only be the name of the next heir of the Holzberg superfamily in the Ultima federation and one to be respected.


    But for Cade, this name carried a deeper meaning.


    This Elicia Holzberg woule be one of the major antahonist in the game.


    Facing the unwanted engagement arranged by his father and the temptation of running away, it was apparent which one Elicia would choose.


    Later, the Patriarch, Elicia''s Father, sent a lot of people to try and find Elicia, and the protagonists'' group was one of them.


    The Protagonist Group found Elicia and brought him to his father, even with Elicia''s resistance. They, at the beginning thought that it was because Elicia was in that rebel state, butter, they knew that they were fully wrong.


    And to be honest, while ying the game, this was one of Cade''s biggest regret. If there was an option to let Elicia go, he would rather face Elicia''s father by himself.


    After Elicia was found and brought back to the family, she was quickly married to the youngest son of the federation president.


    But the son was never a good guy. Under his hand, Elicia suffered every day, and she was tortured as the son was dissatisfied with the fact that Elicia had tried to run away from him.


    Things got to their peak when the son was drunk, and he decided to set Elicia on fire.


    The house was also burnt, but afterward, Elicia was never seen any more, onlyter to be revealed that she had transformed into a monster and became one of the major antagonists.


    The process of transformation into a monster was still unknown until now, yet it was not the time to think about that.


    When Cade''s eyes were looking at Elicia, the other party also noticed Cade''s gaze.


    But different from others'' gazes, which had admiration or fear in their eyes, Cade''s gaze somehow was full of pity, and it made Elicia frown.


    She was the next heir of a super family, so why would someone look at her with a look full of pity? Yet it also made her have a slight interest in Cade.


    She left her entourage and walked in Cade''s direction.


    " Do I know you?"


    Elicia said as her distance from Cade was only a few meters away.


    " ???? "


    Obviously, Cade was taken by surprise.


    He had never thought Elicia woulde directly to himself. But before he could say anything, Elicia, who saw Cade didn''t have any intention to talk, sighed.


    " Sorry, it is my mistake."


    And just like that, Elicia left Cade and went back to her entourage, followed by the dumbfounded look of everyone here.


    . . . . . . . .


    The University was on a floating ind next to the royal capital.


    It was able to reserve arge plot ofnd in a ce with arge poption density, making the school buildingsrge and the scale of the student dormitories vast as well.


    Elsa had said her goodbye to Cade as she followed Isabel to the teacher''s housing ce, while Cade headed towards the dorm where he would be staying.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''¡­I''m feeling weird. That Elicia¡­ just what the heck did she mean by that?''


    Thinking back to the event in the registration today, Cade could only shake his head. The more he tried to make a usible reason, the more he felt stupid.


    '' Unless.. Elicia was attracted by my charm?''


    '' Hahahahaha, if anyone would be attracted by your charm, they might as well marry a horse!"''


    But as usual, Grigory''s voice came out of nowhere, and he hade to tease Cade.


    "....."


    '' Can you be a bit kinder to me?''


    '' Me? I''m so kind to you. I even let you use the guillotines. But as someone says, reality might be cruel.''


    Cade rolled his eyes as he heard Grigory''s response. He felt like the more he talked with Grigory, the more he felt stupid. Therefore, as always, he just pretended that Grigory didn''t exist, and continued to observe his surrounding.


    The student dorms were unthinkably extravagant. The entrance was pretty much like a hotel lobby.


    There''s even someone at a reception desk, and the people working here are pretty much like hotel employees. They wore uniforms, were thoroughly trained, and were operating briskly.


    "It clearly is extravagant, worthy of being the dorm of the five great universities."


    In the game, Cade had seen this dormitory multiple times, But seeing it with his own eyes clearly had a different impact.


    It''s a gorgeous student dormitory. That''s the impression that came out of it. Even some four-star hotels in Cade''s old world would be shypared to this dormitory.


    But as Cade was deep in his own thought, a staff member came at him while bringing an ess card.


    "Mr. North, sorry for making you wait. Your room will be over here."


    The staff member handed a map of the dorms and an ess card to Cade.


    "Be sure to look over the rules inside of your dorm. Afterward, if you have any questions, then voice out to one of the people in charge."


    Cade nodded, and after that, he headed towards the corridor of his dorm.


    .


    Without long, he arrived at the dorm he was going to use for the next four years.


    It was a single room, but it was pretty wide.


    The room had been cleaned, and his luggage had been sent and ced here already.


    Cade opened the window and looked outside. There, he could see the scene of new studentsing in while being helped by the staff.


    But the thing that got his attention the most was the beautiful scenery that he could see from here. The University was built on a floating ind, so it could be said that the scenery here was one of the best in the royal capital.


    "So this is where I''m residing for the next four years¡­"

 Chapter 24 Ch 24 : Orion University (3)

    [Cygnus-1]


    It was the name of the ss that Cade would attend.


    Even though it was called university, the system was pretty much the same as high school.


    People were separated into homerooms, and from there, they could choose which major and minor they wanted to attend.


    Looking at the name of the ss, Cade really wanted to sigh.


    There was a reason for this sigh.


    This ss, he couldn''t be more familiar with it.


    This was the ss of the protagonists and his harem and also the ss with the most trouble in the school years.


    Of course, when Cade chose to join this school, he had already thought of this possibility. Yet, thinking about it and facing it directly were two different things.


    The best scenario for him was to enter Orion University yet go into a different ss from the Protagonist, but now it didn''t seem to be the case anymore.


    Not wanting to waste any more time, Cade chose to sit in the back corner seat of ss so that he didn''t stand out.


    Normally, this seat would be one called the protagonist seat, but here Cade knew that it wasn''t the case.


    The Protagonist was a smart and ambitious boy, so he chose to sit in the very front of the ss.


    Anyway, in this ss full of the heir of an important person, there seemed to be no one who would care to make a conversation with him, a nerd with a gloomy appearance.


    One thing that Cade had learned after transmigrating was standing out too much was not a good thing. It would make him easier to be targetted by someone unwanted.


    After waiting for a while, one by one, the students came in.


    The Son of the Federation Minister, Lucas, also came with his entourage. As expected, the Minister''s son. Even his entourage was filled with lots of important children.


    Now that Cade thought about it. In this ss, there would not only be the protagonists and their group.


    Some of the minor antagonists like Lucas would also be here.


    " *Sigh* I really wanted to change ss¡­"


    All of them are releasing a terrible handsome aura. If the one who transmigrated here was not Cade but some random girl, she would have gone squeaky in this ce.


    Nheless, Cade''s focus was not on Lucas.


    Lucas might be a minor antagonist, but that was only because he was a bit jealous to the Protagonist. And eventer in the game, Lucas could be recruited into the party by the Protagonist.


    Other than the Protagonist, there should be two more important people in this ss.


    One is Luna Forewater, and the other was¡­


    " Kyaaa¡­ it''s her."


    " Eva-sama.. she''s like a princess from a fairytale."


    A lot ofmotion happened in the ss. And just by hearing those words, Cade could quickly guess the identity of the person that had just entered the ss.


    Following the scene of Aurum and the others, one girl then came along. She had followers surrounding her. It soon became apparent that she was also one of high social status.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This person was the daughter of the southern territory governor " Eva Adide."


    Looking at her, Cade couldn''t help but be charmed for a sec.


    '' As expected of the heroines that lots of people said to be the most beautiful..''


    Cade murmured secretly in his heart.


    He was actually confident that he would never be charmed by girls his age as his type was a mature woman, but this time was clearly an exception.


    Eva is a very beautiful, petite, slim pale-skinned young woman with thigh-length tinum hair that has long bangs hanging to the right side and a beautiful pair of azure eyes.


    Her Azure eyes gave off a strong impression and would make someone soon realize that there was something different about her from the others. And it gives even more impact when you realized her high social standing. It seemed that she and the Protagonist were both people that naturally had something called natural charisma about them.


    Regardless, after looking for a few seconds, Cade quickly shifted his gaze away from Eva.


    He knew his standing, and there was no good thing about getting too close with the protagonist group.


    Later, Luna also came to the ss. When she arrived, she seemed to be tilting her head left and right, looking for someone.


    It was a good thing that Cade had decided to change his appearance a bit and used sses.


    After some time, Luna eventually gave up and sat right next to Eva, her original seat in the game.


    After Luna, there was nobody important that came to the ss.


    Looking at the clock, there should be about 30 minutes left until the ss began, and maybe because Last night Cade was too excited thinking about today, he had a hard time sleeping.


    His eyes began to feel heavy, and without him noticing, his head had beenid on the table, sleeping soundly.


    . . . . . .


    "Attention!"


    As Cade was soundly sleeping on the desk, a loud voice echoed across the ssroom, waking him up.


    He opened his eyes only to find the instructor standing behind the podium as she looked at the ss.


    "Red hair and Devilish figure¡­."


    As one expected, it was none other than Elizabeth.


    In the game, Elizabeth is one of the important characters. He taught the Protagonist a lot, and even though she looked arrogant and uncaring on the outside, she actually was very caring toward the Protagonist.


    Heck, even some fans demanded a route with Elizabeth as the main heroines.


    However, it was all for the Protagonist. For a mob like Cade, it was obvious that Elizabeth would only be a teacher and nothing else.


    "Today is your first day, so there won''t be anything special nned, but I sure hope you haven''t cked off during the short interval where you were epted here. How do you expect to graduate from this ce if you can''t be diligent?"


    -Bam!


    pping her hand on the table, a small shockwave spread across the ssroom.


    "There will be no cking off in my ssroom!"

 Chapter 25 Ch 25 : Aurum Griffyndor

    Looking at the panicked face of everyone, a smile crept on Elizabeth''s face.


    It was her method of education. First pushed them into despair before slowly being an angel to them.


    Elizabeth was just about to say something. But then, something happened that took everyone''s attention away from Elizabeth.


    " Sorry, I''mte!"


    A figure walked out, and immediately the whole room''s attention was on him.


    Looking at this figure, a peal of smallughter couldn''t help but let out from Cade''s mouth.


    '' What a way to make an impression..''


    Short Golden hair, deep blue eyes, muscr jawline, and well-built body. His entire presence carried something that made people feel warm when looking at him, and his overall aura felt like a Sun.


    His looks, which could be said as among the top in the whole Orion University, instantly drew the attention of most of the girls in the ss.


    "Well, I''m sorry. I was too excitedst night that I wasn''t able to wake up in time."


    The boy said as he meekly scratched his cheek.


    Looking at this, even Elizabeth couldn''t be angry at him.


    The whole ss was full of silence, with only Cade trying his best to hold hisughter.


    This scene, it was way too familiar.


    He still remembered clearly the first time he yed the game where the protagonist waste for his first ss.


    Obviously, if it was anyone else, he would immediately get a severe warning. But since it was the protagonist, he was let go with just a sigh.


    " Well, since it is the very first day, I will pretend that I didn''t see you. However¡­te once more and.."


    " Y-yes, I know. Thank you very much!"


    Taking a small bow, looked relieved. From what he had heard, it seems that he would not be punished on his first day.


    ''Interesting. It seems that even though I have been transmigrated for almost ten years because my inference was almost minimal, there was no change in the storyline.''


    Letting out a slight grin, Cade nodded. He was a bit afraid that the story would go in an unfamiliar way since it had been about ten years since he transmigrated. Yet, it seems that it still went toward the direction that he knew.


    "Very well, find a spot and sit down."


    "Thank you"


    Nodding his head, the boy made his way towards the first row on the right side of the ssroom and sat down.


    "Huuu"


    Letting out a long sigh, Cade tried to remember all the information that he could about the boy.


    Aurum Gryffindor.


    That''s the protagonist of the game.<novelnext></novelnext>


    If Cade was not wrong, in the very early phase of the game, it was stated that Aurum was actually an orphan.


    He waster adopted by the Gryffindor family because his face was a close call to thete son of the Gryffindor family.


    But soon, Aurum awoke a Rank (III) Arcane Card and was judged as a waste, making him the ck sheep of the Gryffindor family.


    It could be said that his entering Orion University was thest grace of the Gryffindor family.


    Yet, it would also be Aurum''s turning point. Later, it would be known that Aurum, for some reason, could change Arcane Card, and at thete stage of the game be known of the hope of Humanity against the monsters.


    Of course, at the beginning of the game, Aurum started at Rank (I). Butpared to Cade, he somehow had that aura that made people keen to help him.


    '' *Sigh* The aura of the protagonist is too strong in this one..''


    '' Haha, like you have the right to say that. You have me here, so isn''t it better than the protagonist?''


    The voice of Grigory came out of nowhere, but for some reason, it didn''t make Cade frown but rather had a piece of smile on his face.


    . . . . . . . .


    Several weeks have passed since that day.


    There weren''t any noteworthy events or anything of that sort, and Cade was slowly getting used to this unfamiliar life at the university.


    On the weekday, he attended the ss university like any other student, and at the weekend, he took Elsa to the Royal Capital for a refresh.


    Maybe because Elsa was no longer staying with Cade, Cade could see Elsa had matured a lot faster than a kid her age should be. It was a good thing to see, but Cade sometimes also felt sad.


    Elsa''s maturity was proof that he couldn''t provide a suitable life for Elsa.


    Back to university life, in Cade''s term. This is around the time when the protagonist would finish meeting with all the female capture targets.


    Now that he''s finished raising the gs in rapid session, after this would be the period where he gets familiar with the capture targets.


    Even Luna, at first Cade could see that she was still looking for his existence. But after two or three days without result, Luna eventually gave up and decided to join the protagonist group.


    Thinking about a university life surrounded by beauties¡­ It was obviously the dream of every boy.


    And because this was a galge game and not an otome game, obviously there was no viin that would show up and say something like "know your position or moner!". Well, there might be some bullying as the protagonist was close to lots of influential children, but it was not Cade''s problem.


    Today was not a weekend, but it was a free study session.


    Looking at the people in front of him who had no intention to study and just y around, Cade could only sigh.


    '' *Isn''t it fun to be the children of influential people? They could do anything and would still find their life not missing anything¡­''


    Yet, after a few thoughts, Cade knew it was not the time for this.


    He did not have the time to spend thinking about useless things. So not going to waste any more time, Cade eventually contacted Grigory.


    '' Grigory, do you have a way to enhance my Arcane Card?''

 Chapter 26 Ch 26 : School Dungeon

    '' Bahahahaha, finally you had think about this! I thought that once you got to the university, you had forgotten all your goals and decided to ck around.''


    Grigory''s voice came from the pendant and made Cade blush.


    Indeed, the past few days, he always had the chance to ask Grigory about this, and he didn''t. But it was not because Cade had forgotten about his goal.


    Rather, it was because he had decided to study. After the first few sses, Cade got to realize that his knowledge was far from sufficient from attending this university, and he couldn''t rely on Grigory for each theoretical test, right?


    '' Well, it is not like I could me you. After all, there are not many means for you to upgrade your Arcane Card.''


    It was known that the strength of a person was directly rted to the Arcane Card, so the advancement of the Arcane Card usually would be the focus of every student here.


    Yet, Cade was different. His way of enhancing Arcane Card was not via absorbing the mana on the air or umting experiences by fighting monsters in the Dungeon, but rather by using the guillotines in the special room of Grigory.


    '' So¡­ there is really no way for me to enhance my strength?'' Cade frowned.


    At this Orion university, it could be said that his starting point was already low enough. If it was added to his inability to quickly strengthen himself, then he would be far left behind by his peers.


    After all, there was a room here in the university which it had three or four times more mana density than normal and helped the students to absorb mana.


    '' Hyahahahaha, who said that you couldn''t? I just said that it is a bit difficult. However, it seems that the chance hase for you soon?''


    '' ????''


    '' Have you forgotten? Tomorrow would be the time for you to go into the School Dungeon. And if nothing goes wrong, you might get something special there.''


    That''s it!!


    Maybe because he was way too focused on his study the past few days, Cade had forgotten that tomorrow would be the School dungeon incident.


    During the whole school period, there would be more than one Dungeon exploration.


    The first one would be this school dungeon, and there should be no problem in this Dungeon. But Cade, as a transmigrator who had yed this game to its end, definitely knew that there was something more in this School Dungeon.


    Listening to Grigory''s words, lots of ideas came into Cade''s mind as he quickly prepared for the events that woulde tomorrow.


    . . . . . . . .


    In the Ultima federation, even the wealthiest and strongest family could be traced back to the Dungeons.


    Most of the families here rise after the Third Spatial rupture and start to make their name after they sessfully conquer a few smalls Dungeon.


    For that reason, the act of exploring Dungeons had been pretty popr, and lots of wealthy family children tried to make a name from exploring a few Dungeons.


    There''s no difference between men and women; for each and every wealthy family child, it has almost been a custom to finish their first Dungeon exploration in university.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Of course, there was also a lot more from it.


    In today''s era, most of the materials were taken directly from the Dungeon or Monsters, and that was also the reason why exploring Dungeon might get them a plenty amount of money.


    In the game itself, Cade could say that exploring the Dungeon was one of the best parts of the game.


    Taking multiple routes, researching, or even looking for walkthroughs from the inte. It was one that made the game feel alive.


    Today, after a long periods of study in the ssroom, the students of Orion University finally came into their first Dungeon Exploration.


    '' *Sigh* it really looked the same as in the game.''


    As usual, our protagonist Cade was currently standing alone.


    During the past few weeks of study, he had slowly gotten the title of a loner, and no person woulde to him to make friends.


    It worked to Cade''s advantage, though. In his current situation, friends were a luxury, and he didn''t want his goal to be obstructed by his so-called friends.


    For today, Cade basically wore leather armor on top of thick clothing. Iron armor covered portions like the arms, chest, and lower legs.


    It''s equipment that would make one wonder what exactly is fantasy-like, or rather, stylish about it.


    Yet, most of the students here also wore the same kind of armor. They knew that even though this Dungeon had been conquered before and was under Orion''s university management, Dungeon was still full of danger.


    There was no ssy-looking equipment, and the like all focused on appearances, except for one.


    " Hey, what are you hoping to do with that kind of equipment? Do you think we are going to a party?"


    There was amotion from the sides, and in the very middle of thatmotion was none other than the protagonist Aurum.


    Now that Cade looked back at it, this event was pretty much familiar.


    At the very beginning of the ythrough of the game, the protagonist, who doesn''t know, that he was scammed, decides to buy all kinds of good-looking armor.


    But of course, even though they were good-looking and very much suited the looks of the protagonists, it had a pretty trashy effect, and it was also the reason why he was a hot topic among the other students.


    However, Cade''s focus was not entirely on the protagonist.


    The protagonist Aurum might be in a bit of trouble, but with the help of the capture targets on his side, there should be nothing that he should be worried about.


    Rather, Cade was more troubled with the one that was looking at him intently.


    '' Elicia Holzberg, what does she wants with me¡­''

 Chapter 27 Ch 27 : School Dungeon (2)

    " Excuse me, do you have something to say to me?"


    Facing the continuous ring of Elicia, Cade eventually gave up and decided to open his mouth first.


    It was clear that the other party wanted to talk with him. But maybe because she wasn''t used to making a conversation with another guy, Elicia was a bit awkward at this.


    Heck, she even was startled when Cade started talking with her, with eyes that were as if she had just seen a miracle.


    " You? Are you talking to me?"


    " Hmm? Who else? But if you think I am taking the wrong people, then let me excuse myself."


    Cade was just about to leave when he said those words. To him, getting too acquainted with the protagonist group would not be good, and now the viin was about to ask him something. It would be good if he could pretend that nothing had ever happened between them.


    Yet, before Cade could even move one step.


    Elicia''s hand was faster, and she caught Cade when he was off-guard.


    " Wait! I don''t say that I don''t want to talk with you!"


    "....."


    Certainly, Cade was not pleased with this. But when he saw Elicia''s glimmering look, he eventually did not have the heart to reject her.


    " *Sigh* I''m all ears now. Can you make it fast?"


    Cade was pretty rude with his words. But for some reason, he couldn''t see Elicia was getting offended by his words. Rather, she seemed to be pretty much pleased by it.


    " *Murmur* Hmm.. to think there would be someone who wouldn''t care about social standings when talking to me.. Waku-waku.."


    " ???? "


    " Ah, sorry! I was getting too full of myself!"


    Then, after a cough. Elicia tried to get back herposure.


    " Well excuse me, my name is Elicia Holzberg, and can I have the chance to be your partner in this Dungeon Exploration?"


    Nani!????


    Cade looked left and right, trying to find if he had just heard things wrong.


    But after some time, he realized that it wasn''t a dream.


    " Umm.. it is a bit troubling to me. You know that I have my own group waiting for me. Therefore, I don''t think that I could.."


    " Hmm.. but from what I''ve heard, you seemed to be a loner and don''t seem to be in a group yet? Unless that my information was wrong.."


    Elicia''s gesture was so cute. She pointed at her cheek as if thinking, but her words had directly jabbed at Cade''s words.


    After all, it was true that he was a loner with no friends. It''s just all this time he had convinced himself that friends were not necessary.


    Cade was still trying to think of a reason so that he could escape this monstrosity, but in the end, it was all toote.


    Elicia had already made up her mind, and Cade could only me himself for not having any other friends to make a group with.


    " Hehe, nice to meet you. Hope we could get along Cade!"


    " *Sigh* Me too. I''m in your care Eli-"


    Cade was just about to finish his words. But soon, he realized something was wrong. If he didn''t remember wrong, he hasn''t introduced himself yet, so how?<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Wait, I haven''t told you my name yet.. So how could you?"


    " Ah, it was Isabel-Sensei."


    " ¡­.. "


    '' Hyahahahaha, you are really under the palm of that woman! It was so funny to see you like this, Cade!''


    ? At the end, only Grigory''s voice could be heard in Cade''s mind as he lept, mocking Cade for being under the thumb of Isabel.


    . . . . . .


    . . . . . .


    It was Cade''s first time exploring a Dungeon in real life, and if he was, to be honest. It felt a lot like an abandoned mine.


    Wooden pirs and beams were ced at equal distances apart within the wide passage.


    asionally, there were ores that seemed to protrude from the walls, but those were the dungeon''s treasures. There also seems to be a treasure chest left somewhere unnoticed, but its source hasn''t been investigated.


    Of course, all of those were also avable in the games, but because it was just a game, Cade had never put that much thought into it.


    Only when he was transported to this world that he began to realize that the treasure chesting out from empty air seemed to be a bit wrong.


    As of now, the Dungeon exploration had begun for almost twenty minutes, and Cade''s team was only consisting of him and Elicia.


    There might be lots of questions about why Elicia was stuck with Cade and only Cade, but the reason was none other than because as the next heir, she must not rely on her family connection in her first dungeon exploration.


    A bit weird for Cade, or maybe it was just the author''sziness to make a reason.


    Cade was taking the ores that were buried in the wall.


    To Elicia, this might be something that was not worthed any money. But for Cade, they would be the money that helped him survive through the month.


    "Fiuh, that''s another one."


    Cade looked pretty delighted. After all, the money he currently has is limited. And if he wanted to enhance his strength or continue his life, this would be one of his main sources.


    "Congrats. That''s about $1000."


    Elicia was also delighted for Cade. And even though Elicia was the heir of a big family, she was pretty knowledgeable about dungeon ores.


    Maybe because her family also managed the dungeon ores business, Cade felt like with Elicia here, his harvest today would not be small.


    " Then, let''s continue our dungeon exploration!"


    " Sure!"


    Elicia nodded and followed Cade from behind. Even though Elicia was stronger, she after all has never been in a real dungeon exploration before. Compared to Cade, who had the guide of Grigory, it was pretty obvious for Cade to lead the exploration.


    Led by Cade, the two continued to hunt and collect Dungeon Ores.


    Grigory''s help made them almost impossible to be ambushed, and they could always take the best route, making Cade sure they should be able to score not badly in this first Dungeon Exploration.


    But just when the two had some thought about delving deeper in their first Dungeon exploration, the ground suddenly shooked hard, followed by Elicia trembling from behind.


    " Cade¡­ that.. that should be a monster parade!"

 Chapter 28 Ch 28 : Monster Parade

    A monster parade.


    It was a piece ofmon knowledge in this world. When too many monsters were killed in a dungeon, a horde of monsters woulde and create chaos inside the Dungeon.


    Anyone else hearing this word would have the same expression as Elicia.


    Yet Cade didn''t have that much change of an expression on his face.


    The reason was none other than because he had long known about this event, and he had asked Grigory to avoid the route that the monster parade would take.


    If nothing goes wrong, Cade and Elicia will be able to safely avoid the monster parade and inform the teacher about the monster parade.


    But as always, sometimes what you wanted was not what you get.


    No matter how hard you tried to n things through, there was always a chance that your ns go south.


    Just when Cade and Elicia were about to be able to safely escape, a few students out of nowhere came with the monster parade and ran in the direction of Elicia and Cade.


    They have equally sorry expressions, but what could they do. To be able to live, they would not cade if it was to sacrifice other people''s life.


    And now they had made their choice, which was to sacrifice Cade and Elicia for them to escape.


    " Damn.. Elicia, prepare for battle!"


    Cade no longer hesitated and summoned his Spectre Duhan.


    He felt pretty stupid. Now that he thinks about it, there was indeed this scene in the game. But because it was only in the backstory, Cade had almost forgotten about this.


    In the first Dungeon Exploration, Elicia was ndered to have led a group of monsters parade against other students, dropping her reputation to the bottom of the school.


    But now that Cade saw it directly, it seems that there was more to this story than what one could see.


    A big tusked boar had appeared. It was a boar that spanned about a few meters in length.


    Well, it couldn''t be said to be a very big deal as Cade had dealt with monsters like this all over the Dungeon.


    However, things will turn grave if one gets stabbed by its giant tusk, and this time, the thing was not alone.


    Once it came out, several more appeared within the Dungeon.


    It was the characteristic of a monster parade, and even though only a small part of the monster parade was eld here, it could still bring huge trouble to Cade.


    '' Damn.. those little guys, I will really fuck them over after this dungeon exploration was over.''


    Cade murmured silently in his heart, yet he still kept his focus on the hordes of boars.


    The giant tusked boar noticed us and headed in our direction, one after the other.


    As of now, there are five of them.


    " Spectre Duhan, finish them one by one!"


    Following themand of Cade, Spectre Duhan shed the neck of the nearest boar.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was a perfect surprise attack that the first boar did not expect. Yet, things would get harder for the next four.


    One of the Tusked Boar tried to aim at Spectre Duhan.


    Spectre Duhan was faster, though. It moved around, swung its sword down, and aimed at its neck.


    The power behind the sword sh was no joke. Once it hit the neck of the Tusked Boar, the head of the Tusked Boar separated from its body like there was no resistance.


    Once its neck separated, ck smoke appeared from the giant Tusked Board as it vanished, Just like in the examination room. Once a monster died in the Dungeon, it would leave nothing but dropped items and ashes.


    The tusk was a big nuisance, but since they could only move straight, Cade could still somehow manage to handle the horde of five Tusked Boar.


    "Alright, that''s two! Now for the third!"


    Cade turned around. What was left in the original five tusked boars was only three.


    Cade''s mind began to brew some ideas about how to deal with them without many casualties.


    Being careful about their strong tusk, Cademanded the Spectre Duhan to take a roundabout path while continuing to swing down its de.


    Yet, sometimes, luck was also a deterrent factor in battle. This time, the hide of the boar was too tough for the swing to instakill, and even though the boar was injured, it was still pretty lively.


    " Shit.. Spectre Duhan, dodge!"


    Cade gave hismand immediately in response. And fortunately, it was in time.


    With just a few scratches, Spectre Duhan was able to escape the tusk of the tusked boar.


    *Trample!*


    The Tusked Boar''s attack hit nothing, but it still left a deep crack on the ground.


    If it was to hit Spectre Duhan, Cade could see Spectre Duhan note unscathed from this attack.


    In the game, turn-basedbat meant that one would have to receive the enemy''s attacks, but in reality, even the smallest injury would be fatal.


    It''s not like Spectre Duhan could not manage to even receive the smallest injuries. Nheless, even a small injury could be dangerous if it was left for too long, and that was also the reason why Cade was very careful.


    "It''s really hard to deal with them when one is surrounded.."


    Cade clicked his tongue in annoyance.


    As of him right now, he did not have ess to a big-scale attack. And even though it seemed to be slight, it was hard for him to manage a group battle.


    Yet when Cade thought that he would still struggle a bit against the Tusked Boars, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly froze a bit as Cade suddenly felt a chill from his back.


    " Millenium Freeze!"


    A voice resounded from behind, followed by the narrow path which now was filled with ice and the tusked boars were frozen still without any hope of doing anything.

 Chapter 29 Ch 29 : Monster Parade (2)

    " Millenium Freeze!"


    The name might sound like it came out from a Chuuni high schooler. Yet, Cade was still dumbfounded watching the scene in front of him.


    In front of him, almost the whole passage was filled with ice with the three giant Tusked boars now frozen to death.


    He turned his head around only to see Elicia was already in her possession mode.


    Just like the main characters, Elicia also got the possession Arcane Card, and this Arcane Card of her was the Ice Empress or after she became a viinter would be known as the Ice Witch.


    Now that he thinks about it, Cade felt pretty stupid.


    He rushed alone and tried to protect Elicia. Now he felt like the situation was reversed, with whom protecting whom.


    '' *Sigh* Let''s just forget it and continue the Dungeon exploration. Now that I could think about it wasn''t in the game she also did all of this alone¡­ I felt regret trying to act on my own.. she''s one of the major viins, and I''m just a mob.'' Cade tried to shake his head from those embarrassing thoughts


    But without Cade knowing, Elicia''s eyes had never left him.


    That one moment when Cade used Spectre Duhan and stood in front of her, her heart skipped a beat, and she, for some reason, felt like the University wasn''t that bad anymore.


    '' *Blush* What are you thinking Elicia¡­ It''s not like that. It''s just he was kinda cool back then¡­''


    The two then proceeded to go down the path where it would lead to the Dungeon''s exit.


    But just when they were about to arrive at the exit, Cade frowned.


    A big boulder was blocking their way, and it wouldn''t be possible for them to continue their journey through here.


    " Sure enough.. those guys, they really won''t be giving us a way to escape."


    Cade''s face turned grim. Once might be a coincidence, but after seeing this scene, he perfectly knew that the incident before was all nned. Elicia was being targeted for a reason sho knows why, and because he was in a group with Elica, he was also implicated in this matter.


    Elicia saw Cade''s frowning face, and a bit of panic appeared on her. She also didn''t expect that things would turn up like this. However, she felt bad for Cade.


    He was here because she asked him to team up with her.


    But just before Elicia could say anything to apologize, Cade had already turned around and he ced his hand on Elicia''s head.


    " No need to apologize. I''m going with you is also of my own will. Let''s just say that we are equally responsible for this thing. And now, let''s just find another exit."


    " Ummm.."


    The exchange was very short, but it was very effective.


    Just like that, Cade was able to make Elicia''s heart feel calmer, and the two proceeded to go deeper into the Dungeon to find another exit.


    Yet without Elicia knowing, everything actually fell into Cade''s n.


    Now that he knew Elicia was strong, he would like to use Elicia''s help to find some treasure hidden in this Dungeon that could help him.


    . . . . . . . .<novelnext></novelnext>


    The group Aurum, the protagonist led, was actually one of the most elite groups for this Dungeon Exploration.


    It was a small group consisting of Aurum, Eva, and Luna.


    Eva was actually Aurum''s childhood sweetheart, so it was not a question that she would be there to support Aurum.


    As for Luna, she was only here because she was dragged by Eva.


    Since the beginning of the ss, Eva and Luna have had a good rtionship, and the two quickly be friends.


    And now, here she was. Knowing that she alone might not be enough to protect Aurum, Eva came and asked Luna to join them, which Luna obviously could not reject the request of her only friend in school.


    As Aurum was the weakest among the three, he stayed in the middle, protected from both front and behind by the two girls.


    This School Dungeon, even though it had been conquered still a dungeon at its essence.


    Monsters still jumped out within this Dungeon, and it hasplicated branched paths.


    There were also dangerous moments when traps appeared.


    Just the first thirty to forty minutes were enough to teach the three a lesson that exploring Dungeon needed sufficient preparation.


    Well, it''s not like Aurum was not useful, though.


    He was pretty knowledgeable, and since he had read a lot of books, he could subtly tell differences between traps and which path to take, and it had led them away from an instant wipeout.


    But once they delved deep into the Dungeon, there was a suddenmotion in the front.


    The group of three noticed it, but it was already way toote.


    It was the monster parade.


    Just like in the original story, the first trial that the protagonist would encounter in the University was the monster parade.


    There were, of course there are choices to be taken. Whether to run away or to fight here, Aurum and co obviously chose to run.


    This monster parade was not like the one that Cade and Elicia faced before. It was a full monster parade with more than 100 monsters on it, and trying to face them would only be stupid.


    The group of three didn''t waste any time and ran.


    They used all their stamina and ran with all their might.


    But everything was as if it was predetermined before.


    Just like in the game, even if you choose to run, the protagonist''s group would soon read a dead-end and have no other choice but to face the tusked boar directly.


    Still, it was pretty fortunate for them that right before the dead-end, there was a fork on the path, and now they would only need to handle about ten or so monsters in front of them.

 Chapter 30 Ch 30 : Truth

    While the protagonist Aurum and his group were facing their first big hurdle, Cade was actually not that far away from them, and he had actually seen them being surrounded by the group of Tusked Boar.


    It''s just, that he didn''t really have the intention to go and help.


    If he was not wrong, this battle would be the time when the protagonist awoke his power, and he really didn''t want to interfere with the protagonist.


    Let''s just leave the protagonist to handle most of the hard things in this world while he would focus on getting rich and living afortable life with Elsa and possible future girlfriends or wives.


    Yet, at this time, a voice came and shocked him.


    '' Really? Do you think that would be possible? Hyahahahahaha!''


    Who else would it be other than Grigory? After a long time being together, Cade had been somehow ustomed to this habit of Grigory that liked toe out of nowhere.


    But, it was not the voice that made him startled. It was the content of his words.


    '' What do you mean by that?'' Cade frowned as he seemed to notice something strange in Grigory''s words.


    '' Hmm? I directly meant that. From your memories, aren''t you familiar with the words New game+? After defeating the Final Boss, there was an option to fight an undefeatable true boss, right? The protagonist was defeated, and the world was destroyed, but he had been given a chance to turn back the time in the new game+. However, do you think a mob like you would also be given a chance?''


    ''.....''


    *Chill*


    An utter chill was all Cade could feel right now.


    What Grigory said was correct.


    If this was to go perfectly like the game, then wouldn''t his life end the moment the world was destroyed by the True Boss?


    If that was to be the case, then why is he even trying his best to change his life?


    But it''s not like all hope has been lost.


    Cade tried to calm his breath as he tried to think of a solution.


    '' Then¡­ there are only two solutions. First I would try and help the protagonist to get stronger so that he wouldn''t get killed by the True Boss, or second, I just need to be stronger. A mob stronger than the protagonist or even the final boss, wouldn''t it be fun to see?''


    A sh of determination grew in Cade''s mind.


    Yet, right now is not the right time to think too much. To reach his goal, he just couldn''t stay still and dream all day.


    His first goal was to find the treasure of this Dungeon.


    On the side, Elicia actually saw the continuously changing expressions from Cade, and she could not help but be worried.


    " Cade.. you okay?"


    " Don''t worry, Elicia. In fact, I''m better than ever."


    "????"


    Elicia was confused by Cade''s words, and she seemed that she had a lot to ask.


    But when she saw Cade had been walking with a determination that was unlike before, she could put all the thoughts back into her mind, and just felt happy for Cade while silently following him from behind.


    After a while, the group of two arrived at a dead end.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was at one of the corners of the Dungeon that, for some reason, had a strange drawing on it. It''s just because it had been left for too long, the drawing had be a bit blurred, and there was nobody that could recognize this drawing.


    But obviously, that doesn''t include Cade.


    When he arrived at the strange murals, even with the strange gaze of Elicia, Cade didn''t have any intention to withdraw.


    Rather, he stepped closer to the Mural, and a few rhythmic knocking began to sound.


    " What the¡­"


    Elicia was about to open her mouth in confusion, but the next thing that happened had honestly shocked her.


    The Mural that had made a lot of archeologists in this world confused suddenly moved.


    The door trembled, and a secret passageway was opened for the two of them.


    And like there was nothing wrong with this situation, Cade just turned at Elicia, and asked:


    " Hmm? What are you waiting for Elicia? Let''s go inside!"


    " ... "


    The next moment they knew, the two had already gone inside the hidden passage in the school dungeon.


    Elicia was still looking at Cade with an admiring look, but Cade really couldn''t me her.


    Just who would think that the secret code of the Mural was the "Blue-Bird" of Naruto.


    No wait¡­ rather.. would blue bird even be in this world?


    Without them noticing, the two had walked pretty deep into the passageway.


    The surrounding became darker with every time passed, and even Elicia could feel there was something wrong here.


    Yet, Cade continued to walk as if there was nothing wrong here.


    The location was perfectly the same as in the game.


    The location might look eery, but from the beginning till the end, Cade perfectly knew that there was no monster here.


    This would be the ce for an event in the third or fourth year of the academy, and for now, this ce was still perfectly safe.


    Step by step, Cade led Elicia to dive deeper and deeper and only stop when he had reached his destination.


    ncing around in confusion, Elicia really didn''t know what was happening. However, this time, in front of her stood arge majestic door that looked like it shouldn''t be here.


    As Elicia looked at the pce from a distance, she was so shocked by the appearance of the big door that she thought she was dreaming.


    Yet Cade''s words suddenly woke her up from everything.


    " Well, Elicia, please prepare yourself. We will go on a hell of a ride."


    "????"

 Chapter 31 Ch 31 : End Of The First Dungeon Exploration

    Noticing the gaze of Cade, Elicia felt there was something wrong here. Yet, she just couldn''t put her thoughts into it.


    Deciding to put her trust in Cade, Elicia collected herself as she nodded her head and walked all the way in until she reached the entrance of the pce.


    ording to what Cade had said on their way here, behind the golden doors would be something that is pretty useful to her.


    Until now, the existence of the Arcane Card has been a great help to humanity, but that didn''t mean humans have discovered everything about Arcane Card.


    In fact, the existence of Arcane Card was still something that humans couldn''t put their minds into.


    They only knew Arcane Card could evolve or raise in rank, but what caused them was still a mystery that needed to be unfolded.


    As for Cade, even if he was a transmigrator, there was obviously no way for him to fully understand the theory behind it. Yet, there''s some loophole that could be used to his advantage.


    Arriving in front of the two golden doors, Elicia nodded at Cade as both of them, at the same time took a deep breath and ced their hands on the door. Immediately, the door was opened from the inside.


    ¡ªShiiiiin!


    The door opened, and a dazzling glow appeared and nearly blinded them.


    Covering his eyes to mitigate the impact of the light, with great difficulty, Cade forced his eyes open and saw vast amounts of armory inside.


    Each armor was different from the others;


    Some with a big shield and some with long and sharp swords.


    There was even some armor that had the shape of mythical beasts, mostly like kirin, dragon, or pegasus.


    In the game, this ce was nothing more than a disy. With the protagonist didn''t even bats an eye for them.


    Yet to Cade, this was his target here. With thisrge amounts of armor, wouldn''t he not need to be concerned about fusing his Arcane Card for a while?


    Furthermore, he had cross-checked with Grigory and had confirmed that the fusion was possible.


    Walking around in a daze, Cade and Elicia followed the path and reached a strange altar, where in the middle, a shining, shimmering, splendid thing was put on disy.


    Just one look, and both Elicia and Cade could see that the thing disyed was not your usual ordinary things.


    But the problem was, right in front of the shining item, a big guardian wolf was lying still, and just based on its aura alone, they could infer that the wolf was at the very least at Rank (VI) Monster.


    " Cade, what should we do?"


    . . . . . . . . . .


    A little whileter, standing in front of the School Dungeon was Elizabeth. Yet, the normally calm andposed beauty didn''t look that calm today.


    Today''s incident was really out of her prediction, and it could worsen the image of Orion University, which was already bad to begin with.


    And to make the situation worse for her, two students have note up until now.


    " Cade North and Elicia Holzberg¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Looking at the name that was written on the paper in front of her, Elizabeth felt like having a big headache.


    The former might be just amoner, but thetter was the heir of the Holzberg group, and a single incident might cause an uproar in the whole school.


    " *Sigh* If I knew about this, I would have gone with them¡­"


    Thinking about this incident, Elizabeth could only me herself. Usually the homeroom teacher would apany their students to the Dungeon, but for some reason. Elizabeth was called to the principal office this morning and couldn''t really apany the students.


    Now that things had gone like this, Elizabeth could only shake her head and readied herself to ept the responsibility for this matter.


    But it seems that fate was still kind to Elizabeth today.


    Not long after, the two figures appeared, looking unharmed at all, and even with a smile on their faces.


    There was, in fact a temptation in Elizabeth''s mind to punch them once, but she decided to just put it forter.


    As of now, she was just relieved that everyone was able to return from the Dungeon safely.


    However, the turbulence was far from over.


    Just when Cade and Elicia took their step outside the Dungeon, they were blocked by a group of students.


    Elizabeth was a bitte to react, and when she arrived at themotion, the atmosphere had been very tense.


    ??When she arrived, the surrounding area was wrapped in a strange atmosphere. Elizabeth could feel all the gazes heading toward Cade and Elicia.


    Most of the students were watchfully waiting with both amusement and curiosity on their faces, but there was a group in the center being noisy.


    Elizabeth asked Aurum about the situation.


    "What in the world happened?"


    "It started out as a small quarrel. However¡­"


    In the center were more than five people surrounding Cade and Elicia. They were all the students that had ditched the monster parade at Cade and Elicia before.


    For some reason, from the beginning, Elicia never really had the best reputation in this school. But she never thought that they would be this brave.


    Conflicts and problems were normal between business, but to attack in such a frontal way, did they really think the Holzberg family would really let things be?


    Actually, there was a lot of question on Cade''s mind too, but now he would just stay silent and listened to what the other guys were going to say.


    Elicia raised her voice in front of the fice people.


    It was a shout filled with grief.


    "What do you mean I''m the one causing the monster parade?! You guys were the one that caused the monster parade and almost made a disaster, and now you are trying to put all the me on me?!"

 Chapter 32 Ch 32 : Aftermath

    "Heh, we have more than one witness here. Do you think you could still shriek responsibility?."


    "Yeah, do you think just because you are the Holzberg family heir, you could do all you want?! I''ll say it once again, this is Orion University, and even though you are from the Holzberg family, you should not think that you are invincible here! "


    " You¡­"


    Cade was not really sure what had happened. But it seems those guys were really able to hit the nail on Elicia.


    But now, it made Cade even more curious. For them to be this bold, just who is their backing?


    While the two sides kept exchanging their thought, the situation got even tenser that even Elizabeth couldn''t interfere.


    The points that were said by the five guys were all correct, and Elicia was in a bit of a pinch.


    But then something happened. Out of nowhere, an ice spear appeared and attacked the five guys.


    From Cade''s side, he could obviously see that it was not Elicia. Yet, the positioning of the attack was so damn good that even Elizabeth had a hard time making the decision whether it was Elicia or not.


    One of the five guys was stabbed in the feet, and soon themotion was increased to a whole another level.


    . . . . . . . . . .


    For the next few days, everything went on as if the event that day had never happened.


    Nheless, there was one significant change.


    Because of yesterday, the number of Elicia''s followers has decreased a lot.


    Not that Elicia really cared, though. After all, they were the ones that flocked after her.


    However, she was still a bit concerned about this incident and reported it to her father. And Orion University decided to have more investigation regarding this incident.


    The early result of the investigation had stated that the one using the ice spear to attack one of the five guys was not Elicia. Yet, it didn''t dispel the prejudice toward Elicia at all.


    As for Cade, he would just continue his life as usual.


    He was still in the cycle of studying and training, yet there was a little change in it.


    Maybe because on that day, Elicia had seen that even when the guys were attacking her, Cade didn''t leave her and stayed by her side. She had a good impression of Cade, and now often came and chatted with Cade for a while.


    Not that Cade was annoyed. Well, who would be annoyed when a cute and beautiful girles to you.


    About ten minutes away from the male dorm was a training facility called the Body training center. It was a facility filled with magical devices and equipment for exercise and training.


    Of course, one look and you could see the amount of money needed to construct such an environment would not be small.


    Yet, the facility was almost empty.


    It was not because people were toozy. It''s just they sometimes didn''t find the point in strengthening their bodies. Most of the people here had a summon-type Arcane Card, so they would rather train their Arcane Card than their body.


    While almost everyone had that thought, there would also be some exceptions.


    "I knew you''d be here."


    Aurum, who was drenched in sweat after ying with the exercise equipment, widened his eyes at the sudden voice.


    "Luna? Are you also here to train?"


    "Well¡­ yes, but no."


    Aurum was confused by Luna''s answer, and with a wry smile, Luna pointed at Aurum.


    " Rather¡­ can I have some help?"


    "???"


    Aurum was confused by Luna''s words. But when he heard Luna was actually nning to rely on him, a trace of happiness appeared in his heart.


    " Umm¡­ it is a bit weird, but¡­"<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Hmm?"


    Unfortunately for both of them. Just when Luna was about to get into the good part, someone suddenly entered the facility.


    " Hmm? Did I miss something here?"


    *Blush*


    It was Eva, and maybe because of Eva''s interference, Luna was not able to finish what she was about to say.


    " Aa¡­. nothing. Just treat it like I haven''t said anything!"


    And along with that line, Luna proceeded to run as she went into a closed personal training room, leaving both Aurum and Eva with a dumbfounded expressions.


    " ???? "


    " Pffttt"


    The scene of Luna running away in blush made the two exchange a smallugh with each other.


    After a while, Aurum wiped his sweat with a towel he had brought.


    " By the way, are you here to train too, Eva?"


    Aurum shifted his gaze toward Eva, which was now also in her training suit.


    "Well, it can''t be helped. I''m one with possession type Arcane Card, so training myself has always been a daily thing to me. Rather, I''m a bit confused why you still train yourself hard even though you have a summon type."


    "¡­ Aha."


    Aurum touched his cheek slightly in embarrassment. He just couldn''t say that it was also a habit to him.


    Years of being called waste Arcane Card, Aurum had slightly grown ustomed to strengthening his body to protect himself.


    Yet, who knows that it would be pretty useful.


    "By the way, congrattions for finally recognizing your potential."


    " Well, i need to thank both of you and Luna for that. Without the two of you, I would never be able to do that."


    What the two have been saying was the incident of Aurum''s awakening in the dungeon.


    At that time, when they were cornered, Aurum suddenly felt there was an empty space in his heart.


    Normally, every person would only have one empty space for an Arcane Card, but Aurum surprisingly has more than one, and he could capture an already weakened monster to be his Arcane Card.


    Just like other capture targets, Eva was also born with a golden spoon. So when she realized how hard Aurum''s life was and how he was still able to manage through it, she became to be interested in Aurum.


    She always believed that she had worked hard and had the preserves of steel, but in front of Aurum, she finally felt the true monster of Hardwork.


    "¡­Oh, right. There''s a strange rumor circting in our ss."


    Eva mentioned, to which Aurum tilted his head curiously.


    " You know a guy named Cade North?"


    "¡­Cade North? Oh, that guy who always sits in the corner of the ss?"


    "Uh, yeah, him¡­ What''s up with that look? Do you not like him?"


    For some reason, Aurum''s expression turned a bit strange when Eva mentioned Cade''s name, but he quickly shrugged it off.


    " Nothing.. tell me more about him."


    " Well, it''s just a baseless rumor. But from the rumor that I''ve heard, it seems he is actually a delinquent and a problem child from his previous school, which had a tie with the disappearance case in the Luminous City."

 Chapter 33 Ch 33 : Research Group

    "*Sneeze* Is someone talking about me?"


    Without them knowing, Cade actually was in one of the private training rooms in the fitness center.


    For today, his aim was to strengthen his body.


    After all, he knew that in a real battle, the summoner was the weak point of summon-type Arcane Card, and he should at least be able to protect himself.


    After finishing one set of training, Cade took a break.


    He opened the water bottle in his hand and drank them directly.


    " But really.. One rumor after another.. It seems that I really wouldn''t be able to have a calm life here¡­"


    Thinking back about the weird rumor surrounding the university, Cade really could only me himself.


    The time Elicia treated him a bit closer, he knew that rumor would soone and surround him. After all, they must be treating him as Elicia''s Henchman and one that should be got ridden of.


    But it''s not like any other choice.


    From the beginning, he knew that his life here would be far from calm, and all he needed to do was to strengthen himself.


    [ Spectre Duhan the II ]


    [ Rank: (III)/(IV) ]


    [ Duhans are headless, and wherever one stops, a mortal''s death soon follows. A duhan will stop its snorting horse before the door of a house and shout the name of the person about to die, drawing forth the soul at the call. He may also stop at the very spot where a person will die. After the second fusion, Spectre Duhan had realized its ability to call other phantoms. ]


    [ Special Skill: Erosion me, Sword Thrust, Phantom Call.]


    " Well, that''s enough break. Let''s continue my physical training for a bit."


    After that, Cade continued to do his training in the fitness center for another two hours before returning to the dorm to sleep.


    . . . . . . .


    Just like every other University, Orion University also has its research group.


    Hmm? Sex research group like in the hentai?


    Cade didn''t really know whether it existed or not, and even if it existed, Cade wasn''t sure whether he would really join that club.


    For now, his focus was on the research group that was in front of him.


    Before his transmigration, he would think that Orion University was actually a very nice ce that was suitable to gather a harem.


    But now reality hits him hard, and he really needs the luck of the protagonist or to get stronger as soon as possible if he wants to survive. Heck, even the first School Dungeon exploration might prove to be fatal if he was not strong enough.


    The research groups were no different than college circles. Research group promotions happened in the second week after first-year came in.


    There was a research group for pretty much any topic. There were hobby-like clubs like bowling, pool, and anime, while there were also academic research groups like studying, martial arts, and training.


    As a transmigrator, Cade had the privilege to know which research groups each capture target would be joining.


    And today, he decided to join one of the research groups that the protagonist and a few of the capture targets would be attending.


    And coincidentally, it would also be a research group where Isabel was teaching.


    To be honest, Elicia at first wanted to be in the same research group as Cade. But after listening to the rumor surrounding the two of them, Elicia began to realize that her decision to get close to Ray had started implicating him, and after saying sorry, she slowly took a distance between the two.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But it''s not like they have truly severed their rtionship. They had just changed from normal friends to text buddies.


    Cade had realized that it was toote for him to stay low, so he decided to change his n and get closer to the protagonist''s group a bit. As chances, he would be able to gain some benefits from themter.


    [ Leo-23]


    When Cade entered, he saw many first years.


    There were about 30, with 24 of them being boys. It couldn''t be helped though. After all, it was an already popr research group.


    Adding the fact that the beautiful and angelic Isabel was the teacher made the poprity of the club soar to the sky.


    Yet, the reality was not often as beautiful. Cade fully knew that after a few weeks, the number of the first year would diminish to only about four or five.


    Cade silently walked his way while observing the entirety of the ssroom.


    After sneaking a look around the clubroom, Cade turned towards the beautiful girl in the front.


    '' Alice Sapphire''


    The third capture targets after Eva and Luna.


    Different from the two of them, Alice Sapphire, or for short Alice-senpai is an upperssman.


    She has a tall and beautiful slim-figured girl with mid-back length dark hair; that she wears a red hairband with rose ornament and scarlet pupils. And even though she was slim, the part that needed to be developed well was well developed and adding her strict demeanor, she really looked like the princess of a vampire castle.


    ncing at Alice-senpai one more time, Cade proceeded to sit behind her.


    Sitting behind her, Cade could smell a flowery scent from her hair.


    After a while, Isabel finally showed up with a surprise behind her.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Isabel. Wee to our research club, the Arcane Card evolution research club."


    Following behind her was one of the reasons why Cade decided to join this research club.


    The guest lecturer of the club, Professor Muna.


    He was actually a decent professor, but after one day his daughter mysteriously died, he made a deal with the monsters and decided to be their spy.


    Later, there was even an event where he would try to deal with Alice-Senpai, and this was the biggest reason why Cade decided to join.


    To help Alice-Senpai and make good rtions with her.


    But what took Cade''s attention the most was not professor Muna.


    But rather, the two beautiful girl and the two other figures that were standing behind the two of them.


    '' She¡­ what is she doing here? Should she really be in this research group¡­''


    Surveying the ssroom for a while, the girl''s eyes finally met with Cade before her expression turned into a smile.


    " Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Luna Forewater from Cygnus-1. I hope we can be acquainted for the next few years!"


    Obviously, it was none other than Luna. And behind her was the protagonist, Aurum and Eva.

 Chapter 34 Ch 34 : Short Trip

    "Spider-type Arcane Card normally has a vicious nature. Even if they are Arcane Card, you need to keep allowing them to hunt and kill prey so as for them not to lose their viciousness. Only then will it be able to unleash its full capabilities in battle."


    Professor Muna gave his lecture about the types of Arcane Card.


    In this research group, the thing they would learn was a way to evolve Arcane Card, but how would they be able to learn to evolve Arcane Card if they didn''t even have the basic knowledge about Arcane Card?


    And that''s why we are here, stuck in the boring lecture of Arcane Card.


    Cade, who was sitting behind Alice was ying around with his pencils, spinning them around and not paying attention.


    But all of a sudden:


    " Mr. Cade, could you please tell us the basic information about the monster in the picture?"


    Professor Muna said as he pointed at the monitor, obviously dissatisfied with Cade''s gesture.


    A critical piece of information, in this world, the profession of Arcane Card researcher was considered an important figure as it could either help an Arcane Card to learn moves, breakthroughs, or even evolve.


    And Professor Muna was a leading figure in that professor. Therefore, being ignored by Cade, he decided to teach Cade a lesson.


    Yet, Professor Muna was ying with the wrong guy this time.


    " Hmm¡­ it is a pretty rare water-type Arcane Card in the family of Oak Fish. Based on its characteristics, this Arcane Card excels in crowd control and detecting enemies, while it has a disadvantage against Lightning type¡­."


    For the next few minutes, Cade didn''t stop talking about the characteristic of the Oak Fish, which made everyone''s eyes sparkle in a daze when they saw him.


    But one thing they didn''t know, Cade actually didn''t know anything about the so-called Oak Fish and just replicated what Grigory said in his mind.


    '' Gyahahahahah, so shameless! But I like your shamelessness. However, why are you suddenly trying to get into the limelight?''


    Grigory asked, but Cade didn''t respond.


    After all, the reason was pretty much obvious.


    His reason for staying low was because he thought it could get him away from danger, butter, he knew from Grigory that the world would be destroyed in a few years. Therefore, every minute counted and Cade needed to get strong as possible.


    And as of now, what hecked the most was resources, and he hoped to get some resources by being in the limelight.


    For the next half hour of ss, Professor Muna kept asking questions to Cade, to which Cade responded perfectly.


    It was so perfect that Isabel''s eyes now began to have an obsession with Cade, and her face had a smugness all over it as she was the one that endorsed recruiting Cade.


    The ss soon was over; Professor Muna said his goodbye as he didn''t feel like he wanted to be there anymore. And as for Isabel, she quickly said goodbye as she needed to report this to the Higher-ups.


    The room had been left by the two instructors, and Cade was also ready to go.


    But then, a group of girls came to his desk and surrounded him.


    " Cade¡­ Can we ask you some questions?"


    But just before they could say anything, a big cough sounded and took all their attention.


    " *Cough* Sorry, but this guy.. he already had a priormitment to me."


    Cade: "Damn¡­"


    The girl''s quarrel ended up about ten or twenty minutester.


    In the end, Luna was able to chase away the girls.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Although the university always said that status was not important and everyone was equal here, obviously, no one wanted to offend Luna''s father.


    Cade was about to leave secretly, but when he saw Luna approaching, he stopped.


    "Cade..."


    "Yes?"


    Cade responded, but he really didn''t know what to say.


    Previously he had decided to hide from Luna because he didn''t want to get attention. But now, he had changed his mindset. This meeting was somewhat inevitable.


    "You forgot this."


    Luna handed Cade a paper he had left behind.


    This wasn''t an event that was written in the game, so Cade was really speechless about what to do.


    And rather, a lot of confusion began to spread in his mind.


    Luna was supposed to be with the protagonist Aurum at this time, so why..


    But before Cade could say anything, the next development had truly surprised him.


    After handing the paper, Luna just stood there for a while, before saying her goodbye.


    " Well, that''s all from me. Cade, you should not be that careless!"


    Luna reprimanded, but just after saying those words, she proceeded to leave, leaving Cade dumbfounded by what had just happened here.


    But unknown to him, right after Luna left the room, she actually ran with blush all over her face.


    '' Damn.. Luna, what are you doing! You are supposed to ask him why he hid from you, so why is my heart beating so fast¡­ Ahhhh! I really don''t know about it anymore, damn you, Cade!''


    Cade: "Nani!!???"


    . . . . . . . .


    Time flew, and a few days quickly passed.


    While Cade had a bit of remorse that his n to impress Alice-Senpai had failed, and rather now he got Luna watching him, chances had finallye to him.


    Sitting in his room, Cade excitedly looked at the flyer that was in his hand.


    [ Arcane card Evolution Research Group announcement.]


    ¡ªThere will be a short trip on Sunday to let the new students learn more about Arcane Card research.


    The short trip was today.


    After stuffing his stuff in the bag, Cade walked to the meeting ce.


    It was a lie if he wasn''t excited. After all, this would be his first big event in which the protagonist and his group would be directly involved.


    Many of the protagonist groups, Aurum, Luna, Eva, and even Alice, were already present.


    They were dressed in their everyday clothes and were just waiting for the trip to start.

 Chapter 35 Ch 35 : Short Trip (2)

    In a secret dark room that looked like it was the ce for viins, Professor Muna, with a jet ck coat that covered his body, revealed himself.


    " Is the preparation ready?"


    " Yeah¡­ Don''t worry. We have sent our members to intercept them. And to make it even more foolproof, we have sent a rank (VI) member that was also gically enhanced to lead the operation. As of now, without any trouble, we could say that the sess chance is as high as 90%."


    The answer was so cold and almost without any expression.


    But Professor Muna who heard this, sighed a lot of relief as he revealed the pendant that was hanging on his neck.


    " Good¡­ my child, soon we will meet once again. And that bastard Cade! I will make him pay to humiliate me!"


    . . . . . . . . . . .


    Yet without them knowing, the "foolproof" n was actually already known by a certain person.


    '' Kid, are you ready? If nothing goes wrong, this will be your first encounter with that group.''


    Grigory''s voice sounded in Cade''s mind.


    '' Don''t worry. In the original game, only the protagonist, his group, and the students go on this trip. But now, I have convinced Isabel toe with us. So there should be no problem. But rather than that.. can you help me a bit?''


    '' Hyahahaha? Where? I don''t see a guy that seemed like he was in dire need of help. Rather, I could only see a guy that is trying his best to hide his boner!''


    " ¡­.. "


    Sitting on the bus, Cade was actually in an awkward position.


    On his right side was Isabel, who was looking at him with a glimmering expression while continuously talking about the Arcane Card.


    While on the other side was Luna, who watched him with a very sour expression as he chatted with Isabel.


    " *Cough* Everyone please, Hello, I''m the club president, Alice. Today might not be a very formal event, but we still needed to follow some rules, okay. Therefore, I will begin to exin our rules one by one."


    While Cade was still stuck in that situation, the Club president, Alice-Senpai came to the rescue.


    With her beautiful face and gentle first impression, Alice-Senpai looked around the club members while exining the rules.


    "First, I''ll give a short introduction about our research group for our new members."


    " As you all know, with the development of humanity and Arcane Card, humans began to strive for more.


    Why Arcane Card would breakthrough, how to learn a new skill or even the possibility to evolve.


    To be honest, our research group mainly deal with breakthrough and skills, but as a research group, we need to find a bigger goal, and that is the evolution of Arcane Card. Thus the name of Arcane Card evolution research group!"


    With a cheerful and proud smile, she took out a piece of paper from her pocket.


    "Kuhum. Once or twice a month, we will leave the university to get more familiar with the Arcane Card research center. The purpose is to incorporate new learning methods and learn from the pro, but for today, we will give a free tour session for orientation.''"


    Until now, everything perfectly went like what Cade knew. But after this would be the real deal.


    With a tense expression, Cade watched Alice-Senpai take out another piece of paper from her pocket.


    "And today, to make us know each other better, Instead of traveling alone, we''ll split into groups of three. Oh, but since the number of members is not enough, thest group will be a group of two!"


    "Then we''ll start by drawing lots."<novelnext></novelnext>


    **


    A whileter -


    " Cade,e here! Look at that!"


    " *Sigh* Is it just my luck, or do you y a trick on this?"


    " Tehee¡­"


    Standing in front of Cade was Luna, his partner for today''s exploration.


    As you expected, thest two-person group fell into Cade and Luna''s hands.


    To be honest, Cade really didn''t know whether it was the will of the world or not, but it seems they tried to keep the timeline as close as possible to the game.


    Nheless, there were also things that Cade should be grateful for. Thankfully, everything else had remained unchanged. Aurum became a group with Alice-Senpai and Eva, and they should now begin to develop their closeness.


    Yet.. thinking that even Alice-Senoai would fall for Aurum..


    *Sigh* Really, the charm of the protagonist sometimes made him envy.


    But Cade quickly sobered up from those kinds of thoughts. Today was not the right for that.


    After all, this would be an essential event for the protagonist.


    "Whew, I thought we were lost."


    " Geez.. why don''t you trust me? I told you to trust my instinct, didn''t I?"


    Luna said while sticking out her tongue, which Cade could only roll his eyes.


    After almost getting lost more than a dozen times and spending almost thirty minutes going nowhere, Cade and Luna finally arrived at their destination. Thepartment for Monster Museum.


    Monster fossils that were saved for research were disyed in this museum.


    Arcane Card and Monsters are, after all deeply rted. There were many asions in which the Arcane Card took the form of a monster, and researchers all over Pangaea agreed that by observing Monsters, they could gain more insights into the Arcane card.


    Today, an incident would ur here. With a trembling heart, Cade walked in.


    It was a museum, but at the same time, it was a research base, so there were not many people there.


    Most of them were researchers or university students like Cade who were in club activities or projects.


    And among the people here, there were three people who stood out.


    Aurum, Alice-Senpai and Eva.


    The three were super good-looking people with more than 99 ratings in charm.


    But for some reason, when Aurum saw Cade walking together with Luna, Cade could see that his gaze was a bit distant before slowly he forced a smile to grow on his face as he walked in Cade''s direction.


    " Hello, we have met before, but it is our first time to introduce ourselves right? My name is Aurum Griffyndor, or to be short, Aurum."

 Chapter 36 Ch 36 : Problem In The Trip

    '' Geez.. so at the end, it reallyes to this huh¡­''


    Looking at the hand that was stuck out to him, Cade could only shake his head helplessly.


    " Hey, you don''t need to make such a nk face, okay? I know you are a loner, but¡­"


    " Can you please shut up!"


    Quickly trying to hide the embarrassment on his face, Cade turned around to shush Luna.


    Well, it was pretty apparent that Cade had pretty much expected this. Yet, he still didn''t expect that it woulde this fast.


    However, Cade still had some thoughts on his mind.


    Even though he knew this wasing, he didn''t have any intention of joining the protagonist group.


    After all, he had his own source of problems, and adding more problems from the protagonist''s group would not help him at all.


    But just when Cade was racking his brain hard about how to finish this introduction, a warning came from Grigory.


    " Sorry, I don''t think we''ll have the time."


    " ???"


    Aurum was handsome, exceptional in martial arts, and had a fantastic personality.


    Except for the previous weak Arcane Card, he was a bit too perfect, so he felt inhumane.


    Rejected by Cade like this, Aurum felt a bit strange, but then..


    Right after Cade said his words¡­


    ¡ªBOOM!


    A thunderous sound reverberated through the area; In an instant, everyone became silent.


    The sounds of emergency rm repeatedly pulsed through the deathly silence.


    The sound resembling the footsteps of a giant creature soon led to the sound of something breaking. The atmosphere in the area took a quick turn.


    "Kyaaaak!"


    " What¡­ what is that Arcane Card!??"


    Standing in front of them was an Arcane Card a few meters tall. It had rough green skin and looked like a two feet giant Lizard.


    And to make it worse, it seemed to lead a group of monsters to attack everyone here.


    " Damn.. it seems we really have no time. Summon Arcane Card!"


    Except for Cade, who has been prepared, Alice Senpai was the quickest toe to her mind.


    Just like the other Capture target, as the Arcane Card was summoned, a blinding light enveloped Alice-Senpai''s body.


    Her Arcane Card was also the possession type, and it had given her a beautiful and strong armor that helped her to battle her opponent. This armor takes the form of a beautiful, white revealing gown with a hem sprouting from it and a red cor, being tied with a red and gold belt. The upper part of the dress includes a red and golden wing, which could either be used in attacking or defending.


    Following Alice-Senpai''s lead, the others also summoned their Arcane Card.


    Luna and Eva, with their possession type Arcane-Card, Cade with his Spectre Duhan, and Aurum with a Tusked Board Arcane Card that he had just captured from the Dungeon.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "H-help mee!?"


    Even though most of the people here were a researcher and had high and stable sries, they were still cowards in the face of monsters and unknown threats.


    The unknown led to anxiety, and anxiety quickly led to panic. The researcher screamed and began to run. Some were begging for help.


    And in the corner, one could see the monsters were getting nearer, and it was only one step away from devouring a female researcher.


    '' Will I die here.. Mom¡­''


    The female researcher had closed her eyes as she had already lost faith in herself. All she wanted right now was a quick death, and she hoped the monsters would be a bit lenient for her.


    Yet, even after some time, her death had note yet, and it made her curious.


    " How.."


    "Stay here! Everyone, gather!! We will break through the monsters together."


    Standing in front of her was a Giant Tusked Boar that blocked the monster''s advance.


    Knowing that it would be dangerous, Aurum had taken action and shouted.


    Currently, the whole ce was being attacked by an enemy with an unknown goal, so their best course of option was to stick together and not panic.


    As of now, led by Alice-senpai, the group of five was still able to manage the horde of monsters in front of them, but it was still assumed that the big enemy Arcane Card had not made its move yet.


    The number of monsters was not small, but they were barely able to hold on.


    " Hold on! We need to hold on until reinforcement arrives!"


    Right after the monster appeared, the group immediately reported the attack to the Uktima''s federation police, and all they needed right now was to hold on.


    A blue fire rose up around the Spectre Duhan''s sword. From right the beginning until now, Cade had never let go and kept telling the Monster Duhan to kill as many monsters as possible.


    The sword was swung, and three of the monsters lost their lives in an instant, showing the power of the blue fire sword.


    Sneaking a nce at Cade, who now had sweats all over his body, Luna asked.


    "You okay?"


    "Yeah. The consumption was not low, but I should still manage. After all, we wouldn''t know when that Big Arcane Card would make its move."


    Even when battling the monsters, Cade''s gaze was always at the big Arcane Card from the start.


    Based on the game, the big Arcane Card would only make its moveter, but he couldn''t always rely on his knowledge from the game. After all, who knew what changes his appearance would have brought here.


    Meanwhile, Cade also sneakily snuck a gaze at Aurum.


    If he was not wrong, if the Dungeon was the first time Aurum made his name known, then today would be the day for him to reveal his true potential and make a lot of guilds and family interested in him.


    Cade slowly backed off from Aurum''s battlefield.


    There was nothing he could do here.


    Once Aurum realized his hidden power, the monster on the side would eventually be taken care of. The girls would also start to look at him more and admire him.


    For him, it would be more effective to try and find the perpetrator rather than putting all his focus on the monsters.

 Chapter 37 Ch 37 : Accident

    "Support me."


    Fixing her grip on the sword, Luna spoke.


    Their attention had never once left the big Arcane Card, yet with every single attack they made, they kept ughtering the monsters.


    There was something strange here, and they could all feel it. Yet, it''s not like they had any other choice.


    "Support? Don''t worry, I won''t be holding you back!"


    Rebutting Luna, Aurum sent the Giant tusked boar to bulldoze a horde of monsters.


    "Guooo¡ª!"


    Not a small amount of monsters were killed with this one attack, and a smug smile appeared on Aurum''s face.


    But before they could celebrate, the big Arcane Card had finally moved.


    A jet-ck aura hurled towards them like miasma from hell. But a single streak of me annihted it.


    Just like the other, Alice was also a possession type. But rather than the melee type, she focused more on range attack and could support the team by firing elemental attacks from the back rows.


    Alice''s firebolt then flew through the air. The arrow broke the piercing aura and went to pierce through the big Arcane Card''s shoulder.


    Luna didn''t miss this opportunity. Taking the opportunity given by Alice, she leaped and cut down diagonally with her sword.


    This attack should have been pretty fatal.


    Yet, when the sword hit the big Arcane Card''s body, Luna felt like she was hitting a big iron.


    Her hand was numb from the aftereffect of the impact, and she instinctively felt something was wrong.


    " Luna, quickly get away from there!"


    Alice screamed, but Luna was a tad toote.


    The Big Arcane Card''s fist was raised, and immediately it hammered toward the ce where Luna was currently standing.


    *BOOM!!!!!*


    . . . . . . . . .


    On Cade''s side, he now was no longer with Luna and the others.


    Instead, he was currently escorting the survivors outside the building.


    He knew the protagonist party should be fine on their own. But even in the game, this event would only end with the perpetrator being able to get away safely, and there were no traces of the perpetrator like he was never even there before.


    Therefore, what Cade was trying to do was to find the perpetrator of this incident.


    Standing among the midst of survivors, Cade was lost in his own thoughts.


    asionally he would nce to his left and right and observe the survivors, with his focus being on the man at the very back of the line.


    He lookedpletely ordinary with a white coat of a researcher. Yet for some reason, Cade could not dismiss the uneasiness in his heart when he looked at that person.


    He had short ck hair and almost dead-fish eyes. But when his eyes met Cade''s, the smile that appeared on his face was as if saying, ''When are you going to make a move?''


    Looking at him, Cade couldn''t help but look at him in confusion.


    ¡­should he make a move or not?


    Cade was busy considering things when Grigory''s voice appeared out of thin air.


    '' A bit undecided, I see. Kid.. Do you know what they say? Even when there''s a 99% chance of something being false, what matter is the 1% probability of that the thing being true.''


    -Thud! -Thud! -Thud!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Immediately after Grigory said those words, one after another the researchers started falling to the ground.


    Only here did Cade realize his grave mistake.


    He wanted to guide the researchers and, if possible, ambush the perpetrator that hid among the researchers.


    Yet, now the mantis had been caught by the cicada. The hunter has be the hunted.


    Cade instinctively tried to summon his Arcane Card, but a wave of vertigo caused him to stumble a bit.


    . . . . . . . . . .


    BOOMMMM!!!!


    " Luna!!!"


    At Luna and the other''s side, the entire ce was filled with dust and debris as the punch was about to demolish everything entirely.


    Both Aurum and Alice were looking in Luna''s direction with worried expressions.


    Heck, Aurum even began to tremble a bit.


    For him, who had never had any friends before, the existence of Luna and Eva was like his closest rtive.


    So when he saw Luna was about to be injured by the Big Arcane Card, something inside him clicked, and he felt a burning sensation throughout his body.


    Unconsciously, the tusked boar Arcane Card was recalled by him, and slowly but sure, a red aura began to spread all over his body, enveloping him.


    But in this current situation. No one was careful enough to see the change in Aurum.


    Just now, Aurum, Alice, and Eva have felt the strength of the Big Arcane Card, and even if it wouldn''t kill Luna in one attack, it would still heavily injure Luna.


    The three looked at each other and immediately rushed as they tried to help Luna out of her predicament.


    But when they reached there, and the dust surrounding the ce was finally removed, they were greeted by something shocking.


    Luna, she stood there unharmed by the attack, and right in front of her was something like a humongous phoenix standing full of majestic blocking the attack of Big Arcane Card with ease.


    " You guys, don''t worry! I am here now!"


    A voice came from the side which brought a huge relief to Aurum, Eva, and the others.


    . . . . . . . .


    Looking around, one by one, the researchers fell to the ground unconscious.


    "Damn it!"


    Gnashing his teeth, Cade tried his best tobat the drug effects.


    It was indeed a blunder on his part.


    ? Originally, his n was to apprehend the perpetrator behind this and at least gain some info about the n, but who knew that he would actually be the one targeted instead.


    Although the drug was not that strong, continuous exposure to the drugs could still pose a hazard to his body.


    The researchers were quickly affected because they were not that strong in physique, but Cade, still had a few times until the drugs fully took effect.


    Not going to waste time, he quickly took off his clothes and made a temporary mask.


    ...but even so, he didn''t know how long she could remain conscious. Time was ticking, and he could only try her best to not fall until reinforcement came.


    As standing not too far from him, the perpetrator was actually smiling as he look at the struggling Cade.

 Chapter 38 Ch 38 : Accident (2)

    "Cough!...cough! S-sir, please help me!"


    Coughing and stumbling on the ground, the man walked towards Cade.


    Looking at the man who seemed to be in distress, Cade immediately took a few steps back as he summoned his Arcane card.


    " S-sir.."


    " You know you are not going to trick me, okay?"


    "Kh-you know that it''s not fun to y with you kid.. You must be a loner in ss."


    The man, who heard Cade''s response, immediately stopped to y pretend.


    After all, there was no fun in pretending if Cade was like this.


    "ku ku ku"


    Trembling, the man smiled deepened as he startedughing.


    " But how careless of me to be discovered like this.... Well.. it can''t be med, though. I just couldn''t contain my excitement."


    Standing up, the man exaggeratively said.


    Until now, the man looked perfectly like a normal human. He was just like every other researcher, except he emitted that gloomy aura that somehow made Cade nauseous.


    Yet, Cade couldn''t let his guard down.


    It was because he knew in theter state of the game, one of the major enemies was a human-monster hybrid.


    -Voom!


    Summoning Spectre Duhan, Cade immediately told Spectre Duhan to rush at the man.


    "oh my, aren''t we a little too hasty?"


    Raising his hands, the man pretended like he was about to surrender.


    But when Spectre Duhan''s sword was about to hit the man, something happened.


    Two gruesome hands that looked like it was Ogre''s hands appeared from the man''s back and blocked Spectre Duhan''s attack.


    "Bang!" Spectre''s Duhan sword ferociously hacked downwards and smashed at the two ferocious ogre hands.


    Instantly, Cade''s expression changed. He realized through the connected sense with Spectre Duhan that the ogre hand''s strength was no joke. A strong reverse force strangely shot upwards. Finally, it threw the unprepared Spectre Duhan backward.


    Watching Cade''s face turn pale as Spectre Duhan wasunched like a ball, the man once againughed coldly.


    He waved his hand and began to rush at Spectre Duhan. He howled as he explosively shot toward Spectre Duhan from all directions.


    '' Damn it¡­ Spectre Duhan, Sword Strike!''


    After dragging its feet on the ground for some distance, Spectre Duhan finally regained its bnce but only to see the man wasing at him and ready to pulverize him to the ground.


    It quickly followed Cade''smand as the sword in its hand glowed. The zing sword in his hand then quickly increased its momentum as it angrily shot toward the man.


    There was even a faint blue arc that appeared on its surface and left an afterimage line behind it.


    Yet, the man was calm at this time.


    Seeing the sword strike explosively, shooting at him, the man''s eyebrows twitched with surprise. He was certainly amazed by Cade''s ability to remain calm in this kind of situation.


    However, surprises remained only surprises.


    The man did not show any mercy when he attacked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The zing sword that stabbed downwards seemed to have shed against something, emitting a clear sound. At the same time, Cade could see half of the sword was broken and flew until it hit the nearby wall.


    Spectre Duhan itself was not in a better condition.


    While blocking the sword, the impact of the pinch was transmitted to Spectre Duhan, and now it was kneeling on the ground, trying its best to move.


    This revtion caused Cade''s heart to sink. He thought that he could at least stall for time, but it seemed that he was still far from that.


    The man smirked as he walked in Cade''s direction.


    -Woosh! -Woosh! -Woosh!


    As soon as the man took a step in his direction, Cade quickly made another n.


    Spectre Duhan could not move, but it didn''t mean it could not use any skill.


    Utilizing Spectre Duhan''s new skill, it summoned an army of phantoms that controlled surrounding things and threw them in the direction of the man.


    He only wanted one thing, and that was to wait for Isabel to arrive.


    But would it really be that easy?


    -Thump! -Thump! -Thump!


    "Not bad, but do you really think you could defeat me like this?"


    The man''s smirk grew even wider.


    Just now, he had somehow gauged Cade''s strength, and it was one that he could easily toy around with.


    "...It''s not too bad, but you are way too weak¡­"


    Looking at Cade, who was on the floor panting heavily as he tried to resist the effect of the drugs, The man had a delighted smile on his face.


    The more he tried to resist, the more the drug would get into his body and paralyze him.


    "Although you are not bad, at the very end, you are still at rank (III). My current strength may have been greatly limited, but it is not difficult for me to finish you off." The man said ndly, "Now.. it''s time to enjoy myself as I will torture you slowly. Let''s just hope that no reinforcement woulde so soon."


    Eyeing the man, which, as time passed, was closer and closer to him, Cade''s face grew bitter.


    To be honest, this was a very big lesson for him. He was way too naive, thinking that because he knew the future direction, he could easily change it.


    But it was not like Cade was not prepared.


    "Grigory, it seems that you have to act. It is just like, as you say, the current me is still way too weak."


    "Hyahahahahah, it is indeed not difficult. After all, I am the Great Lord Grigory. Finishing someone like him was a piece of easy cake for me." Grigory''s voice sounded in Cade''s heart.


    But it was a bit too fast to be happy as Grigory was not finished yet.


    " However, I''m not here for charity. I have helped you so much these past days, but you have never returned anything back to me."


    Cade smiled bitterly and nodded. It was not like he have any other choices, and from the beginning, he knew that Grigory only decided to stay with him because of his own him.


    " Hyahahahaha, that''s a deal then. But no worries, I haven''t think what to get from you yet. As of now, just leave it to me, I will temporarily control your body."


    As the deal was made, Cade first nodded his head before he shrugged his shoulders at the man. In an abrupt manner, he gradually closed his eyes.


    Seeing Cade''s strange action, the man felt a little stunned. He frowned, and a momentter, his expression suddenly changed.


    At first, he thought Cade had finally given up, but it didn''t seem to be the case as He noticed a ferocious force that was not inferior to his own suddenly explode from the young man''s body in midair.

 Chapter 39 Ch 39 : Two Battle

    "How is this possible?" Feeling the steady climb of aura that came out from Cade''s pressure, the man''s insipid face finally revealed a shocked expression.


    Within the dark atmosphere that came out from Cade''s body, it was as if the man had just walked through hell. It was like an illusion, but the illusion could not be more real than ever.


    In the midst of this strange atmosphere, the man raised his head as he watched Cade, which now had apletely different tone around his body.


    A momentter, his expression gradually turned grave as he growled in a low voice, "Boy, what is this¡­"


    It was not at all strange that the man would feel so shocked. The situation was way too bizarre that even in a world wheremon sense had begun to shift like this world, things seemed like it was out ofmon sense.


    "Don''t tell me this brat originates from one of those forces?" A shocking thought shed across the man''s heart.


    It could not be helped, though. Something like this, only organizations that worked in the underground could do it.


    Under the shock of the frightening and aloof strength of those forces, he found it difficult to keep his heart calm.


    " Boy, you must be from the underworld, right? We are both spies from the underworld, so shouldn''t we¡­"


    " Hyahahahahaha, do you think we are the same? Kiddo¡­ you are too naive! Do you think we are on the same strata? I''ll tell you now, I could kill you with a flick of my hand."


    Out of nowhere, Cade who previously stood in front of him disappeared, and when he reappeared, he had now reappeared next to


    The man who previously had gradually recovered his calm began to sweat in nervousness. What was that speed?


    Even he who had merged with a monster and some of the higher executives could not have that kind of speed. Unless..


    His expression was grave as his dry pair of hands grasped each other.


    The only thing that was on his mind right now was to survive. And seeing that Cade would give him no way of escape, he had no other way but to fight back.


    " Kid,  There''s a saying that a cornered beast is the most dangerous, so you should not be so presumptuous!!"


    Following his call, the two Ogre hand was raised and was thrown at Cade''s direction with a speed that was close to the speed of sound.


    Even a rank (VI) Arcane Card would have a hard time avoiding this attack, yet for some reason, Cade was standing there with a smile on his face. Not a trace of worry or even care about the attack.


    Surrounding him, the dark luster that previously was only like a fog began to condense, and it created an armor that easily blocked the attack of the man.


    "Impossible¡­"


    " Hehe, what do you mean by Impossible.. This is why humans are worthless. They didn''t know when to stop."


    Following the words, shapeless energy was scattered from his hands in a lightning-like manner and entered the man''s mind. After which, the man felt like the world was spinning, and when he regained back his consciousness, he had been transported into a strange room with a big guillotine right in front of him.


    " Cade, let me tell you. This is how you should be dealing with guys like this."


    At this time, only Grigory''s voice could be heard resounded throughout the room.<novelnext></novelnext>


    . . . . . . . . .


    " Isabel-Sensei, cover me!"


    When Cade and Grigory was having their time with the man who was actually the real perpetrator behind the incident, Aurum and the others were currently having the battle of their life.


    Well¡­ battle of their life might be a bit exaggerated, but it still was a big battle that was a new experience for them, especially for Aurum.


    Led by Isabel, who took the brute force of Big Arcane Card attack, Luna, Eva, Alice, and Aurum attacked from the sides.


    The three beautiful girls were all super strong and could be said as the top talent in humanities, but surprisingly, other than Isabel Sensei, the one that actually had the most impact in this battle was Aurum.


    That time when he thought Luna was gravely injured, Aurum was able to unlock his special mode, the Brave mode, which would get stronger with the number ofrades on his side.


    On this Brave mode, the Arcane Card fused into Aurum''s body as aura, and it gave him a huge enhancement in strength and toughness that he wouldn''t even lost from one with a real possession type Arcane Card, or even.. stronger.


    " Hyahhh!!!!!"


    Utilizing the moment where the Big Arcane Card suddenly became silent, Aurum slipped through his big body and went right for the head.


    With a slightly calmer mind, he put the remaining energy of the Brave mode into his right hand. A bright light shed from his body as though a sh bomb had exploded.


    Aurum''s palm opened, and a red ball of energy appeared as it emitted pressure and heat befitting its brightness. Unable to withstand the ball of energy''s power, the moment Aurum fired the energy ball, his hand felt like it had been torn open. His body fell down as the brave mode ended, and he temporarily entered a weak period, while he writhed in unendurable pain.


    Fortunately, the attack which he put all his energy into didn''t miss its target. It flew along the intended trajectory, striking the Big Arcane card''s chest, almost poking a hole in it.


    Bull''s eye.


    Even though the attack was not strong enough to kill the Big Arcane Card in one hit, it had opened a lot of chances for others to attack.


    Isabel especially didn''t want to miss this opportunity.


    The moment she saw the Big Arcane Card writhing in pain from Aurum''s attack, she had let go of all her defense and focused on attacking.


    A ze of fire was emitted from the Phoenix''s body, as it shed and went for the one-shot kill.


    At that moment, a deep growl rang out. The Big ARcane Card was burned to death and only let a few painful shriek before it eventually sumbed to its fate.


    It seemed Isabel had finally did it.


    "Huu¡­"


    Feeling strength leaving their body, a sigh came out naturally as Aurum and the girls could finally rest for a bit.

 Chapter 40 Ch 40 : Misfortune

    " Wait, where''s Cade?"


    While everyone was rejoicing after they defeated the Big Arcane Card, Luna was the one to notice that Cade had gone missing.


    She looked left and right as she couldn''t find Cade anywhere, and a bad feeling began to rise in her heart.


    Yet at this time, she could somehow feel Aurum was looking at her strangely.


    " What?"


    " No.. I just couldn''t understand why you are so concerned about him. You know about it, right? There''s a lot of bad rumor su-"


    " Stop right there!"


    Before Aurum could even finish his words, Luna had already cut him off.


    Just like what Aurum said, she also has heard the rumor about Cade.


    However, she had known Cade personally, and she couldn''t believe that Cade was that guy.


    After all, even though they had only met a few times prior to this, Luna who was raised in an environment where she was used to ttery, realized that Cade should not be that kind of person.


    Aurum too, realizing Luna''s re, decided to stop.


    He also knew that it was just a rumor, and if Luna didn''t care about that rumor, then he should stop too.


    It''s just that he silently vowed that if the rumor was indeed true, then he would do all he could to protect this friend of his from Cade.


    The atmosphere turned silent for a bit before Isabel came to break the silence.


    " Well, if it''s cade. I think I saw him before. He was escorting the researchers outside."


    " Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go."


    Luna immediately turned cheerful again when she heard Cade was actually okay.


    But never once would she realize that the event after this would bring her nightmare even after a long time had passed.


    Led by Luna, the group of five which had just defeated the horde of Monster and Arcane cards went after Cade''s direction.


    The group, especially Isabel and Luna, were excited to see Cade and ended this first trip which ended up being a bloody nightmare.


    But when they saw Cade, they all had a serious expressions.


    Surrounding Cade, a group of researchers were lying motionless on the ground.


    One look and they could see that none of the researchers actually had a fatal wound on their body, but their current state was already worrying.


    What happened that all of the researchers herey on the ground like a dead fish?


    But what startled them the most was actually the fact that Cade was standing in the middle of them, with a dark, gloomy aura that didn''t feel like Cade at all, strangling one of the researchers with one hand.


    . . . . . . . . .


    A few minutes before Isabel and the others arrive, Grigory who previously controlled Cade''s body, actually brings the man''s consciousness into the secret room.


    a€?a€?"Oh wow, that''s some great attack."


    Looking behind him, Grigory whispered in sarcasm as he saw the man''s attack continuously miss his body.


    Just like Grigory, after he was with Cade, it had been a pretty long time since he had fun like this, so he decided to y around with the man a bit and didn''t immediately finish him off.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "...too bad you missed."


    Looking at the man who was on the floor panting heavily, Cade could only shake his head helplessly.


    The man that he was having a lot of trouble with was treated like a ything by Grigory.


    Grigory though, had a delighted smile on his face. A couple of minutes wasn''t enough for him to fill his thirst for ying around.


    Walking slowly, Grigory savored the man''s struggling expression.


    "Hyahahahahah... yes struggle more... show weakness and despair. That is what makes you human so interesting!"


    "Youu.. wh-at have you done to me! Where have you brought me to?"


    Gritting her teeth, the man red at Grigory, who was only a few steps away from him.


    The situation has been reversed once again.


    The man who previously thought he was the hunter was actually just a small prey under Grigory''s eyes.


    "My... so disrespectful. Haven''t your elder taught you how to be polite? Hyahahahahaha"


    Laughing like a maniac as he could see the man had slowly plunged into despair, Grigory''s expression twisted savagely


    Grabbing onto his face, Grigory was ready to y around for a bit more.


    Yet, he suddenly had a change of expression when he realized something was going on outside.


    " Well, change of n. I thought keeping you here for a bit would be fun. But it seems we have another guesting."


    "What are you..?"


    "Ooops, it seems like I spoke too much."


    Smiling mysteriously, Grigory didn''t answer the man''s question and just proceeded to throw him away in the direction of the huge guillotines.


    " Well, let''s just say that your time is over."


    "Y-ou y-ou"


    Trembling, the man''s expression changed a lot. He knew his life would soon be over, but never once did he expects that it would be over this fast.


    His strong voice reverberated across the hall as the guillotines swung down, ending the man''s life once and forever.


    While all of this was happening inside the secret room of Grigory, in the real world, Cade''s body which was controlled by Grigory actually strangled the man to death. And those scenes were witnessed by Luna and the others.


    Time felt like it has stopped for Luna.


    The man that she treated as a friend had just killed a researcher in front of her eyes. What had just happened here?


    The scene was so bizarre that Luna actually did not notice the strange ogre arm that came out of the man''s back.


    Sigh


    Startling everyone here, a loud sigh resounded across the hallway. Soon "Cade" threw the man to the ground as if he had been with the toy that was in his hand, and he paused on Aurum before looking at Luna, who was struggling with all her might.


    With an annoyed look, he scratched his head and said.


    "I suppose this is not the best time to see me, huh? That guy definitely would annoy me to death because of this eventter."

 Chapter 41 Ch 41 : Suspect

    "Gasp!"


    Luna, who had just regained consciousness, was still looking ghastly pale as if she had just seen a ghost.


    Herst memory before she lost consciousness was Ray looking at her with that dark, expressionless eyes as if there were not even human.


    From her small mouth, she tried to gasp for air, and slowly her face began to get its rosiness back.


    Yet, her expression didn''t change at all, as she kept looking at her surrounding, trying to understand what had just happened.


    Luna was like this, she might pretend to be strong on the outside, but whenever it came to matters or someone that she cared about, she was pretty fragile.


    In the original story itself, It wouldn''t be until muchter that she would ovee this as she began to realize that doing so would only burden her partners.


    "¡­"


    Aurum approached her to pat her back.


    Luna turned her eyes at Aurum with a confused expression while Aurum, after a sigh, began to exin things.


    " If you are worried about Cade.. then he is okay."


    Luna sighed a bit of relief when she heard this. But she immediately tensed again when she knew Auruum was not done yet.


    " However, I couldn''t really say what he did was justified. You might not realize it, but even if the opponent might have a tie to the underworld, killing someone in daylight was still.. "


    Luna''s face turned pale once again.


    The moment she heard underworld and kill, she knew Cade was in trouble. But at the same time, she felt relieved when she learned that Cade should not be in the wrong.


    To her, who had received her family education from an early age, she knew that anyone with ties to the underworld must not be a good guy and should be killed. Cade''s only wrongdoing was he as of now was still a university student and currently did not have "the license to kill" yet.


    " Then, we should help him to rify the situation!"


    Luna immediately stood up as she ran and went to find Cade, leaving Aurum at the side a bit dumbfounded.


    "Leave her be. I''m sure she was just worried about him and nothing else."


    Eva from the side came and pat Aurum on the back, while Aurum could only sigh at the behavior of this friend of his.


    ****


    In a white room with only a single desk and two chairs, a splendid face for investigation and interrogation, Cade was seated with an officer on the opposite side.


    The officer, Jaden who also previously handled Cade when he just got into the hospital, let out a dry cough, then spoke briefly.


    "Good to see you being well Mr. Cade."


    "¡­Yes?"


    Jaden stared at Cade with a very calm expression.


    Jaden Smith. Cade somewhat understood why he was here. In their previous meeting, Jaden had introduced himself as a member of Luminous City Police, but it couldn''t be closer to the truth.


    In fact, Jaden was a member of Ultima''s federation Special force which would only appear if there were cases that ordinary police could not handle.


    This Special Force was full of Master and wouldter y some crucial roles in the midgame.


    But what Cade couldn''t understand was why he kept appearing in front of him.


    "¡­We''re running into each other rather often, huh."


    "...Well¡­."<novelnext></novelnext>


    Jaden chuckled a bit when he heard Cade''s unresponsive answer.


    Obviously all of this was not a coincidence, and Cade had been long put into Jaden''s watchlist.


    As the two finished exchanging greetings, Jaden immediately changed into his serious face.


    " I''m not gonna lie anymore. I was watching over you."


    "???"


    Jaden who was smiling mysteriously, ran through his pocket, then he took out something that looked like a shdisk before putting it right in front of Cade.


    [Prime suspect ¨C Cade North.]


    The shdisk blinked as it showed a hologram with the image and name of Cade on it.


    Even though he was a Special Force, there was no way Jaden would openly disy something to his suspect like this. In other words, Jaden actually didn''t have any evidence at all, and was trying to find something from Cade''s reaction.


    "Prime Suspect¡­?"


    Cade''s eyes widened.


    Though he had some guesses, he was also a bit surprised.


    Because this event.. it'' felt way too familiar.


    [¡­As the *protagonist* was brought into the special white room for investigation and interrogation after that incident, a familiar face appeared in front of him.


    "¡­We''re running into each other rather often, huh."


    With a calm face that looked like even a big flood would not faze him, he greeted him out of the blue. The protagonist was confused, unable toprehend the situation.


    '' Why was he here?''


    But it seems like the man was able to see right through the protagonist.


    "¡­We''re running into each other rather often, huh."


    Smiling mysteriously, Jaden''s smirk slowly turned into a serious face.


    " I''m not gonna lie anymore. I was watching over you."


    "¡­Yes?"


    Jaden, who was smiling mysteriously, ran through his pocket, then he took out something that looked like a shdisk before putting it right in front of the protagonist.


    [Prime suspect ¨C Aurum Griffyndor.]  ]


    '' Damn¡­ have I just take the protagonist role?''


    '' Hyahahahaha, when they said you are the protagonist of your life, I would never expect you to take a lot of Aurum''s role here.''


    Grigory''s voice resounded as it had a sarcastic tone on it.


    Once again, and without him noticing, Cade had taken Aurum''s role. SInce he came to this world, whether it was a coincidence or not, Cade began to slowly take the protagonist role from Aurum, and it certainly was not one that he wanted.


    Yet from the outside, Jaden actually saw that Cade was frowning and thought that his strategy was sessful.


    He coughs a bit to woke Cade up from his daydream.


    " *Cough* Sorry to interrupt you, but our time was a bit limited here. Therefore, I think we need to begin now."

 Chapter 42 Ch 42 : Aftermath 2

    " Geez, I can''t believe they have locked the door."


    Almost thirty minutes since Cade began the introduction with Jaden, Luuna was actually waiting for him outside with a worried expression.


    She was a daughter of a big-shot, and unlike other people, she knew about the Special Forces.


    And since that Jaden was here, Cade might be into a bit of a problem.


    But the problem was¡­


    There was no way for her to enter the interrogation room.


    Even using his father and family name was not helpful, and he had no other choice but to wait for Cade silently here.


    And as time passed, the worries on her face began to be even more apparent. Until..


    The room to interrogation door was opened from inside, and Cade appeared out of it with a tired and pale look.


    " Cade! Are you okay?"


    Luna came to him, sizing each and every part of him, and only when she made sure that he was okay that she sigh a relief.


    " Well.. I''m okay, I guess." Cade touched his cheek as he responded, but it clearly wasn''t enough to satisfy the curiosity of Luna.


    " Tell me, what have they done to you inside? Grrrrr.. if they were to do anything!"


    Luna clenched her fist as her eyes were burning with rage which Cade could only chuckle a bit.


    " It''s nothing much. Every time he asked a question, I just answered that he should contact mywyer, and I''m not entitled to answer his question."


    A smile appeared on Cade''s face as he imagined the frustrated look of Jaden.


    Indeed, it was also one of the choices to make in the game, and even though it was silly, the walkthrough had pointed out that it was the best choice of answer to take, and Cade had decided to follow the walkthrough only to find out that it had worked miraculously.


    Luna''s face turned frozen a bit before she also burst intoughter as she heard how Cade wickedly handled the situation.


    " Pfttt¡­ I could imagine how ashen his face when he heard your answer¡­"


    As of now, Cade had given up on maintaining his distance from Luna.


    Even though Luna should actually be the main heroine, it was a Galge game, and the protagonist should still have lots of other choices to be his spouse.


    Even more, as one who has yed the game till its end, he knew how hard-headed could Luna be, and since she had decided to be closer to Cade, he knew there was no avoiding it.


    Rather, he should just keep a good rtionship with Luna. Who knew when it would be helpful to himter?


    As the two finished exchanging a few words with each other, Cade''s face slowly turned a bit serious.


    " What?" Luna asked. She was curious why Cade suddenly behaved so strangely.


    " No.. it''s just. Back then, I''m sorry that I-"


    Cade hadn''t even finished his words when Luna understood where he would bring this topic to.


    At that time, she was already tired from fighting the Big Arcane Card, so when she saw Cade strangling a researcher with eyes and an aura that was far from the usual him, she unknowingly fainted.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Luna seemed to fidget a bit, but after she made up her mind, she put her hand on Cade''s lips.


    " No need to be sorry. Rather, I''m the one that should say sorry."


    The tense atmosphere was relieved, and rather there was something that felt like a new bond had been created between the two, which even Eva and Alice-Senpai, who were secretly watching from the side, raised their thumbs up unknowingly.


    . . . . . . . .


    Luminous City -


    Luminous City was one of the most prosperous ces in the Ultima Federation.


    Nheless, behind every prosperous ce, there was always darkness hidden beneath it.


    Inside the slum of Luminous City, a certain man with red hair was walking with eyes full of bloodlust.


    " Blood¡­ I need more blood. Damn those guys from the Underworld, after they used me once, now they want to get rid of me?"


    The looks in his eyes were terrifying, and even the delinquents that usually y around in the slums were not naive enough to get close.


    Today, the man was in a pretty bad mood.


    The missing incident in the Luminous City, he was actually the one behind it as the guys from the Underworld has given him a mission to find someone from Luminous City but without any significant lead about his target.


    Yet, for some reason, a few months ago the operation was suddenly cut, and he was kicked from the Underworld without any exnation.


    The man was just about to get into a bar in the slum and make some trouble when suddenly, a few guys in ck clothes came and approached him.


    " Are you Irvin the red blood? From your look, you don''t seem to be that convincing."


    One of the men said. His tone was full of a sneer as he went nearer to Irvin the Red Blood.


    Yet never once the man in ck thought that this decision of him to get closer to Irvin was a misjudgment on his part.


    While he was acting tough and all, he suddenly saw Irvin''s hand glowed red before he could not feel any of his limbs or body.


    *Snap*


    A bloody red shadow suddenly appeared behind the man in ck as it snapped its head before crushing its skull into minced meat.


    In just a second, Irvin was able to kill the man in ck. Nevertheless, the expression of hisrades didn''t have any slight change, and it made Irvin feel a bit ufortable.


    " I am Irvin the Red Blood! Who are you? And what do you want? Do you think because I am like this, you guys could bully me all you want?"


    Irvin roared, but certainly. she could feel that the other side was not something he could easily take care of.


    The man in ck all seemed ready to summon their Arcane Card when Irvin Roared. But the man that looked like the leader stopped them as he walked closer to Irvin.


    " I apologize, my subordinates were just testing you. By the way, the name''s bond, and I want to issue a mission for Irvin the Red Blood."


    The man said with a friendly smile. Yet, the next moment, the man''s eyes opened slightly as a tremendous aura came and hammered Irvin.


    " Oh, but for your knowing. This is not an offer."

 Chapter 43 Ch 43 : Girls Talk

    Eva''s room, A special penthouse that was only allocated to the few most talented students in Orion Academy.


    "¡­."


    "¡­."


    "Haha¡­"


    Three people were sitting in a circle, watching each other silently.


    No one knew how they got into this situation. But one thing is for sure, Eva who was sitting in the middle, was red all over her face.


    It all started with what Eva said as a joke.


    ''Since we are all here, should we have a little sleepover? Our friend Luna here obviously has a lot of exining to us''


    Anyone could tell that Eva was just joking. But for Aurum, who was the dense protagonist with protagonist luck, absolutely didn''t think so.


    It was his first time going on a sleepover with a friend, and he was thrilled by it that he had forgotten that two of his friend here were girls.


    And as for Luna, she was just getting dragged here by Eva.


    In reality, Eva was not prepared at all to receive guests in her ce. Heck, the two even needed to wait for a while outside as Eva was cleaning her messy ce.


    "*Cough* Anyone wants a drink?"


    "No thanks."


    Unable to endure the awkward atmosphere, Eva tried to offer something which unfortunately, everyone here had refused.


    Of course, the drink was not alcohol, and it was just orange juice. Still, the awkward atmosphere was not able to be lifted yet.


    After that, another 10 minutes of silence continued. And only then does Eva begin to have an interesting idea.


    Her eyes shifted at Luna, who still stared in front of her dazedly.


    When the dazed Luna saw this, she felt a chill on her spines. Yet there''s no way she couldn''t escape now, right?


    "Ne- Luna, I want to ask."


    Eva opened her mouth.


    " You¡­ are you and that Cade in that kind of rtionship?"


    *Burst*


    Luna had just almost burst the drink that she was just about to put in her mouth.


    It was a vague question, but Luna certainly knew what Eva was referring to, and her face immediately turned red.


    " You.. what do you mean by that?"


    " Well, looking at how concerned you are about him, isn''t it natural for me to ask?"


    At Eva''s nonchnt answer, Luna could only scorn secretly on her heart.


    However, she also knew what Eva was talking about.


    She and Cade was just friend¡­ wait.. it was even not clear whether they were friends or not.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Looking from the other''s perspective, wasn''t Cade trying to avoid her while she continuously tried to shorten the distance between them?


    *Blush*


    Now that she looked back into it, it was pretty justifiable that others might think she and Cade were in a secret rtionship.


    Smoke had almoste out of Luna''s head as she tried to make a justification.


    Yet, there''s one thing she perfectly knew.


    Even though the feeling she currently harbored toward Cade was not loved or anything like that, it was a lie if she wasn''t attracted to Cade.


    Just like any other woman on our original earth, that mysteriousness from Cade was somehow able to get her interested.


    And while the two were currently having their girl talks, Aurum could only sit from afar while watching the two.


    '' ¡­. I really couldn''t join the girl talk, couldn''t I?''


    . . . . . . . . .


    " *Sneeze* Someone must be talking about me once again. Hopefully, it is a group of a beautiful girls."


    In his own dormitory, Cade was currently browsing the inte.


    Hisst battle had told him that there was a need for him to at least quickly reach Rank (V) or (VI) if he wanted to be safe.


    He was not the protagonist who could fight over rank easily. Therefore, his only option was to overpower the enemy both in rank and strength.


    As of now, he was browsing two things.


    Arcane Card''s equipment which could be used alongside Arcane Card to boost its strength and as a way to make more money as the Arcane Card Equipment was far from cheap.


    Actually, he first thought about drawing *one Piece or even Naruto. Yet after realizing that he had no talent in drawing, Seth eventually decided to give up.


    Nevertheless, it was not like Cade was not without any solution. After browsing for some time, Cade really couldn''t find any other way on the inte, and therefore he had decided to do his original idea, and that was to sell some of Grigory''s knowledge.


    Let''s be honest. The most terrifying thing about Grigory was neither his strength nor weird personallity. It was the knowledge that was hidden in Grigory.


    Just imagine having a library worth of more than millions of books. That was how Cade feeling about Grigory right now.


    However, Cade had yet knew that thest time he used Grifory''s power to handle the man has left an imense recupersion to him.


    Just when he was about to ce his phone to his desk and going to sleep, Cade suddenly noticed something strange.


    " Weird¡­ how could this be."


    For some reason, Cade felt like the left side of his view was getting worse.


    He had experimented a few times, and the more he observed it, the more it was clear to him that his left eyes was getting worse with every seconds passed.


    At first it was just a little bit blurry, but now it felt like without a thick sses, Cade couldn''t really see anything.


    And when he thought everything couldn''t get any worse, Grigory''s voice suddenly resounded throughout his mind.


    " Hyahahahah, what are you worrying for? Wasn''t it just a small price to pay so that you could use this lord Grigory''s power?"

 Chapter 44 Ch 44 : Cade The Arcane Card Specialist??

    A frown appeared in Cade''s mind when he heard Grigory''s words.


    But Grigory has not stopped yet.


    " Still, don''t get me wrong. It is not that I, the lord Grigory, wanted to take your left eye. After all, there was no use for me to do so. Rather, it was your body that could not handle much of my power that it had decided to give up on your left eye."


    Immediately, everything became clear to Cade.


    Indeed, he was way too naive. Everything muste with a price, and so did borrowing Grigory''s powerst time.


    He felt stupid thinking that he could go like xiao y*an and borrow the immortal power every time he was in a bit of a pinch.


    " So¡­ is there no way of getting my left eye back?" Cade said, his face frowning as he tried to think of a solution.


    Yet Grigory just brushed it off too easily.


    " Are you stupid? Of course, there are! Well, but let''s not think about it first. Anyway, your first priority is to make more money."


    The more he thought about it, the more Cade felt Grigory was right.


    Indeed. He needed to get his priority right, and for now, he needed to prepare for the future.


    . . . . . . . . .


    -A few daysyer-


    "Your Heavy Steel Bison hasn''t advanced yet? Are you sure you will be okay for the mid-term examination?" A second-year student at Orion University looked at the Arcane Card of his friend up and down and frowned.


    This big Arcane Card should be at the peak of the third rank; otherwise, a Heavy Steel Bison would not be only this big.


    This Heavy Steel Bison was regarded as one of the best among defense type Arcane Card in Rank (V) or below.


    Its tough and thick skin was as strong as an iron board, its colossal body could smash every enemy in front of it, and as for its terrifying horn on its head, that thing was definitely not a decoration.


    Yet, even though it was strong since it couldn''t advance to rank (IV), it would be a notch below others, and there was a chance that the Arcane Card owner could not pass the mid-term exam.


    "Yes, but what should I do? I have tried my best, and for some reason, this Arcane Card of mine has not shown any indication of evolving yet. It has been a few months since we became second-year students, and I thought that in these few months, my Arcane Card would finally break through its rank. Nheless¡­"


    The student, who was also the Arcane Card owner, seemed to be pretty down as hopelessness began to spread on his face.


    It was true. Going to an Arcane Card specialist would cost a fortune, and he didn''t have that kind of money with him.


    Yet, if he didn''t do anything, his student life here would be at risk.


    But when everything seemed to be so dark for him, and there was no hope for the future, suddenly he heard a word from behind that made him shocked.


    " A Rank (III)  Heavy Steel Bison. Since your Heavy Steel Bison is now at the peak of the third grade, you must be hoping to evolve it. Yet, for some reason, every time you felt it was about to break through, you felt like something was holding it back, and in the end, it could not reach a breakthrough even after months of being at the peak of the third level."


    Cade just now had just seen the two students were having a discussion about how to upgrade his Arcane Card, and he immediately smelled that money wasing.<novelnext></novelnext>


    To be honest, he was just repeating what Grigory said on his mind, but for others, he sounded like a peerless expert right now.


    This surprised the two students. They did not think that another student who came out of nowhere and they hadn''t seen before would be able to determine all of this in such a short time using nothing but his naked eye.


    The other student seemed to be a bit curious about Cade, while the one who actually owned the Arcane Card immediately replied. "That''s right,"


    His eyes were glimmering as he looked at Cade.


    Maybe.. maybe there might be hope.


    " You, can you-"


    The man immediately wanted to try and ask Cade, yet Cade, who was in his pretending mode, immediately cut him off.


    " I know what you want, but really I couldn''t promise anything. After all, I am still a student like you guys."


    " Ahh¡­"


    The student was about to lose hope once again, but Cade''s next words had immediately reinvigorated him.


    " However, if you want to. There''s no harm in me trying."


    These kinds of words, to the student in need, were like a blessing from heaven.


    The other student was not as optimistic, though. He thought Cade might have hidden motives and tried to warn his friend, yet his friend was already too desperate that he decided to bet on Cade.


    " You.. are you really sure about this?"


    The friend of the Arcane Card''s owner tried to drag his hand and asked him to think twice.


    But no matter how hard he tried, his friend had already made up his mind.


    After all, just like Cade said before. There''s no harm in trying.


    And even if it were to fail, it would be better to fail after trying than failed because he has not tried yet.


    " Then.. please."


    For the next few hours, his fate would be decided and he had decide to put all jis hope into Cade.


    "Mm," muttered Cade. He was pretending to be calm, but he was actually pretty exciyed down inside.


    This would be his first time trying, and if this was sesful, the next step would be much easier for him.


    As everything was calm on his mind, he began to mutter secretly in his mind.


    " Then.. I will also leave everything to you, Grigory."

 Chapter 45 Ch 45 : Cade The Arcane Card Specialist?? (2)

    What did youst give him?


    Cade nced at the Heavy Armored bison in front of him as he squinted his eyes.


    Even though Grigory was like a walking dictionary, it didn''t mean that he was omnipotent. He still needed to do some diagnosing to fully knew what to do to help the heavily armored bison fully break through a rank.


    "Well, my father''s friend brought me a strange thing that he called the iron orb stonest time, so I gave it to my Arcane Card. I was hoping to help break through a rank before the end ofst semester, but... who knew that it would be like this!" The student''s face flushed.


    " But would this really mean something?"


    Cade was also speechless. From what he knew from the game, there were indeed some items that would help him rank up.


    But if it was based on the game logic, those things would take an immediate effect, so why would things turn up like this.


    Fortunately, it seemed that after some time, Grigory had already found the problem.


    "Alright, I will take care of it now. But you know the rules. If something really happens, then you couldn''t put any me on me.."


    Once again, Cade reminded. The students obviously felt a bit worried, especially after Cade said such a word. But after steeling his determination, he eventually gave the nod to Cade.


    " Please. Just tell me what you need." The student was now a drowning man clutching at a straw, for there was only a little time left until the mid-term. Time was limited; how could he think of any other possible way.


    After checking once more with Grigory, Cade was ready to help the Arcane Card rank up. Yet..


    '' Grigory, you sure this is the only way?''


    '' Hyahahahahaha, are you doubting me, kid? This Great Lord Grigory ascertains to you that this is the fastest way to do this. But of course, if you don''t believe me, you are free to find any other method to help this little guy rank up."


    "....."


    Cade in the end, could only sigh.


    It was not like he had any other choice but to believe in Grigory.


    After all, normally, helping Arcane Card breakthrough would require a lot of resources and materials, the things that neither he nor the students that requested his help currently had in their possession.


    " You trust me, right? So make sure that you wouldn''tin about anything I would do after this," Cade instructed the student.


    The student nodded without hesitation and immediately took his friend to back off a bit to give Cade some space. No matter how much he did or didn''t trust Cade, since he had chosen Cade, he had no other way to go.


    The thought of failing was no longer in his mind as he only hoped for the best for both Cade and himself.


    Now that he got all the time and space, Cade proceeded to walk closer to the Heavy steeled bison.


    Once again, he calmed himself as he knew what he needed to do after this might look silly. Still, it was all Grigory''s instruction, and he could only believe in him.


    '' Okay Cade.. Calm down. You can do this.''


    He surrounded the Heavy steel Bison one or two times, and after making sure that everything was okay, he kicked the Heavy Steeled Bison right on its butt...


    "...."


    "....."


    "....."<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Mooo!??"


    When he saw what Cade had just done, the student almost fainted. Are you trying to make him a fool? Kicking an Arcane Card in the butt was helpful for evolution? If this was the case, then there would be no professional Arcane Card Researcher.


    He rushed over and tried to grab Cade''s cor, only to have Cade calmly look him in the eye as he smiled, "Don''t worry, everything was under control."


    "What?!"


    If not for the fact that he was not paying anything to Cade, he would definitely have called Cade a scammer and given him a few meaningful fists.


    Nheless, something soon happened.


    *Gurgle*-


    The Heavy armored Bison which was lying on the ground with no care about what happened in the world before suddenly trembled.


    It roared to the sky as It spewed out the strange ck object from its butthole and began to convulse like crazy.


    But what made no sense to the student and his friend was what happened next.


    Right after the Bison pulled out some shit from his ass, something happened.


    Boom!


    With a disy of strength that it didn''t possess before, change began to ur on the Heavy armor Bison.


    Its body which was alreadyrge, to begin with, began to grow evenrger, and there were traces of ck around the shade of its body.


    The Heavy Armored Bison was going through a breakthrough process from Rank (III) to Rank (IV), and there seemed like there would be no problem around this time.


    The student was shocked and couldn''t see what was happening, but Cade quickly reminded him.


    " Hurry, to get a sessful breakthrough, the Arcane Card owner and the Arcane Card needed to be in sync. If you are to let go of this chance, I''m not sure that I could help you the next time."


    The student nodded as his attention immediately fixed on the Heavy armor bison as his eyes were full pf vigor.


    What Cade said was correct, and he clearly must not let this chance slip by.


    As he began to focus on his Arcane Card, the breakthrough process began to continue without much problem, and after a while, the breakthrough process eventually ended.


    " Sess...."


    A new vigorful Rank (IV) Heavy armored Bison appeared, and the student''s face was full of smiles.


    If he could, he really wanted to give a plentiful of kisses to Cade right now. It''s such a shame that Cade was a man.


    The student walked to Cade as he expressed his gratitude, but Cade just smiled as he epted his gratitude.


    " Well, now that the breakthrough process was a sess, can you do me a favor?"


    "????"

 Chapter 46 Ch 46 : A Huge Commotion At Orion University

    A few days have passed at Orion University since Cade helped a second-year student to have his Arcane Card breakthrough a rank.


    And in these few days, things had never been calm at Orion University.


    " What the fuck, who are you to skip through lines? Don''t you know that I am the next heir of Mishima''s industry?"


    " Huh? You? I am the young Master of the Peng n. Now kneel before I ask my grandfather''s underling toe and submerge your puny Mishima n to the ground!"


    Two people were arguing over a very crowded line at the Orion University.


    Yet, no one was paying much attention to them.


    After all, things like this have been prettymon in these past few days.


    Since the news that Cade was able to help an Arcane Card to breakthrough with just a single kick was widespread, lots of students hade to visit him.


    At first, they were all skeptical.


    Adding to the already bad reputation surrounding Cade, there were not many customers on the first day.


    But things began to change as more and more customers were helped by Cade, and now Cade''s business could be said as blooming like it was in the summer.


    '' Hyahahahahah, Kid¡­ who thought that your decision to give a free first consultation would be this good.''


    Inside therge room in which he used to do the Arcane Card diagnosing, Cade, who currently covered his left eye with a bang, was lying on the ground as he took a deep breath after he finished helping his tenth customer of the day.


    '' Well, it is business, okay. To do a good business, first, we must be able to get some attention. And I believe that helping that guy at that time would be good marketing to us.''


    Cade said, his eye looking at the empty ceiling. '' s.. who would have thought that things would be this hectic. Heck, I didn''t even get a good rest these past two days.''


    Lamenting his bad luck, Cade could only me himself.


    Nheless, when he thought about the huge amount of money that he pocketed from his hard work these past few days, a smile could not help but creep on his face.


    Just thinking about how many sweets and new clothes he could buy for Elsater, Cade''s tense expression began to rx a bit.


    '' *Sigh* What a Siscon¡­''


    '' ¡­.. ''


    Cade was just about to deny things. But then, Grigory suddenly changed the topic.


    '' Well, but it seems now is not the right time for you to rx yet. A big customer ising.''


    '' ??? ''


    Along with that words, the sound of the door being opened from the outside filled the room.


    Cade was actually in a pretty bad mood when he heard this sound.


    He was pretty sure that he had told everyone that he had done enough for today and wanted to have some rest. But now another customer wasing in?<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cade was ready to reject whoever it was, but a sweet and charming voice woke him up from his daze.


    " Hmm¡­ I heard that you are closed for today. So should I go back and return tomorrow?"


    Red hair, devilish body, and beautiful mature face.


    The sight of Ms. Elizabething and visiting him in this broad daylight had greatly startled Cade.


    '' Elizabeth.. what the heck is she doing here? Shouldn''t she be with Aurum?''


    When Elizabeth saw Cade was dazed while looking at her, a smile inexplicably escaped from her mouth. After all, she was still a woman and seeing a young man charmed by her beauty was still a satisfying sight to her.


    " Boy.. to be amazed by my charm.. You know that I am old enough to be your aunty, right?"


    " Ah¡­ I¡­"


    She walked closer to Cade as Cade could feel Elizabeth''s breath right next to his ear, and it had made his whole body scream *danger*.


    One small mistake and maybe his Mount Everest would possibly erupt.


    Seeing that Cade immediately backed off, Elizabeth chuckled. She might be known as a devilish and stern woman, but just like every other teacher, a talented and special student like Cade deserves some special treatment.


    " *Cough* Could I please ask you why you are here, Ms. Elizabeth?"


    Cade quickly regained hisposure as he coughed.


    Really, Ms. Elizabeth''s charm was not something he could easily brush off as the charming mature body had exuded an aura that neither Isabel, Luna, nor Elicia had. However, he was not a horny beast, and he absolutely would not do anything out of reason here.


    " Well, couldn''t I visit a student of mine? I have heard that business is thriving for you, so Ie here to take a look and make sure that everything is okay."


    " Ah¡­"


    Elizabeth actually wanted to tease Cade a bit more. Yet, seeing that Cade also stopped ying around, Ms. Elizabeth eventually also decided to stop ying around.


    " Well, jokes asides. I''m actually here for a business."


    " You¡­ can you help me?" Ms. Elizabeth asked after a brief of silence which made Cade surprised.


    Just what kind of difficulties would make someone like here to her student?


    Based on the original game, Ms. Elizabeth should be with Aurum right now, so Cade was pretty surprised when he saw her here.


    " Actually, I also have hit a wall in my Arcane Card. I have looked for a lot of professional Arcane Card researchers before, but none of them had provided me any solution, so I have thought of giving up. But after some time, the rumor about you started flowing around the academy. Therefore, I felt it wouldn''t hurt to take a look for a bit." Ms. Elizabeth said with a bit difficult as it had never crossed her mind to ask a favor from a student before.


    " But don''t worry, if you couldn''t, then just tell me. After all, even professional Arcane Card researchers had given up."


    After she said this, Ms. Elizabeth''s hand began to glow and her Arcane Card quickly appeared beside her as she wanted Cade to take a look at her Arcane Card.

 Chapter 47 Ch 47 : A Small Outing

    "This is my Arcane Card, Scarlet Archfiend. It should have been an Arcane Card with Rank (VIII) Potential. Yet¡­ I was at the peak of Rank (VI), but I could feel there was a big wall holding me off from going forward."


    Even though it was a bit shameful, Elizabeth decided to not hide anything from Cade.


    After all, she still hoped that Cade might have a solution for her trouble, and for some reason, her hunch told her that Cade might really possess a solution.


    That was also the reason why she decided toe here.


    Among the best student in her ss, the four name that got her attention the most was Cade, Aurum, Eva, and Luna.


    Yet if in the original game, she had taken her interest in Aurum, this time, the existence of Cade had made her ce more emphasis on Cade.


    After hearing Elizabeth''s words, Cade stayed silent for a while.


    Indeed, like what Elizabeth thought, he did possess the solution.


    But Elizabeth''s problem was not in her or the breakthrough.


    Rather, it was because her Arcane Card was unique.


    In the original game, the protagonist wouldter solve this problem and ultimately make Elizabeth forever grateful for him. But at the same time, Cade was wondering. How should he tell Elizabeth that he knew the solution?


    While Cade was busy pondering things inside, the time outside kept ticking. And Elizabeth, who saw Cade fall silent, could only sigh. She thought that, just like any other, Cade also didn''t possess any answer to her problem.


    So at this time, she was ready to leave. Yet then..


    "I think I might have the solution¡­ However, I need to prepare a bit as solving your matter is not an easy business."


    Cade opened his mouth, which made Elizabeth''s eyes widen in surprise.


    . . . . . . . .


    After Cade said those words, a week easily passed.


    Counting this day, only seven days were left for the mid-semester exam, yet Cade today had a different agenda on his mind.


    The activity of the Research group has been suspended for a bit after the incident and will only be continued after the Mid-term break.


    However, when everybody was preparing their best for the Mid-term exam, Cade actually went to the Royal Capital.


    "Brother, is it really okay for me to take your time like this?"


    Next to Cade, the small and cute Elsa was looking at him with her pure big eyes, and to be honest, if there were sound effects, everyone here would easily hear the sound of "critical damage" sounding multiple times from Cade''s side.


    However, Cade was not the one that responded to Elsa''s question.


    "Hehehehe, your brother might not look like it, but he had made a plenty amount of money recently. Therefore, it is okay to enjoy yourself a bit."


    From the side, Isabel jokingly said.


    But Cade didn''t really mind. Hearing Isabel''s words, he even jokinglyplied and said to Elsa that he would even buy her a castle if she wanted to today.


    Today''s agenda was nothing special. Cade and Elsa followed by Isabel, were just going to go to the Royal Capital to enjoy their day.


    At first, it would only be Cade and Elsa, but when Isabel came and heard the n, she had told her that she should join too, as she knew the Royal Capital a lot better than them.


    "¡­Are you okay?"


    Isabel looked pretty normal at first nce, but Cade still asked, and Isabel nodded silently.


    Though she might look like this, Cade knew Isabel was a very busy person. Especially after the incident, and she had a lot of things to handle.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Heck, Cade also heard that sometimes Jalen came to interrogate her about some fact in the incidents, and even after all of that, she still woulde here to apany them.


    This meant a lot to Cade, and it was a lie if he said he wasn''t touched at all.


    "Isabel.."


    "Hmm?"


    Isabel closed her mouth and stared at Cade for a while. Which Cade didn''t avoid her eyes.


    The two stayed like that for a while, before Cade finally opened his mouth jokingly.


    "You know, if you are this kind to me, I might really be your fan."


    "¡­?"


    Isabel widened her eyes and tilted her head. She tried to digest what Cade was saying, but Cade''s next words really made her widen her eyes.


    "I''m a big fan, okay. I''m even a member of the angelic Isabel fan ca-"


    "Aahhhh!!! Cade, shut your mouth!!!"


    Isabel''s blushing face was cute, and it was undeniable.


    Angelic Isabel fan caf¨¦ did exist. It was a fan cafe exclusive to Orion University with more than 1000 regrs from both alumni and current students. And even though Isabel had warned them several times the existence of the fan cafe was still there that, Isabel eventually grew tired of reminding them and just let them be, pretending that she didn''t know they existed.


    The fun atmospherested for almost five minutes as Elsa was also dragged by Cade to tease the blushing Isabel..


    "Cade, I hate you.."


    Isabel pouted, and Cade could only pretend to make a sorry face.


    But then¡­


    Isabel asked with a quivering voice.


    "Does that mean¡­ you like me?"


    "¡­Yes?"


    . . . . . . . . .


    On another side of Orion University, at the library, Aurum, Luna, and Eva were currently studying for the Mid-term test.


    All of them were studying hard this time, especially Luna as she still remembered how Cade was able to beat her in the university entrance test.


    Eva was lying on the library seat, staring at her two friends studying hard.


    She sighed. These two are really hard workers, and she really couldn''t bepared with them in these parts, especially in the theoretical study.


    But it couldn''t be helped. The two were going for the number one in the theoretical study, while for her, in the top ten was already plenty.


    She decided to y with her phone a bit, but as she yed with her phone, she found a piece of interesting news which she decided to immediately pass it to Luna with a face full of smirks.


    "Hey, Luna. Do you know that while you are studying hard like this, your prince is currently on a date with another girl and her child?"


    "¡­.?"

 Chapter 48 Ch 48 : Misunderstanding (?)

    " *Cough*"


    Hearing Eva''s words, Luna had almost caught in a surprise attack, and even the librarian reprimanded them for being a bit too noisy.


    " This¡­ what do you mean by that, Eva?"


    Luna asked with a smile, but her eyes were not smiling.


    Yet Eva seemed to be enjoying this. She wasn''t intimidated by the "smile" of her friend at all, and rather just showed her the picture that she got from the social media directly to Luna.


    " Look at this. Wasn''t this like a picture of a happy family?"


    Inside the picture was the photo of Isabel and Cade holding Elsa''s hand.


    From afar, they indeed looked like a happy family, but if Luna could think clearly, she would realize that the age gap just didn''t match.


    It''s just she was now way too hotheaded from Eva''s provocation that she couldn''t think straight anymore.


    A zing aura began toe out from her body, and Aurum, who was watching from the side started to get panicked.


    " I need to see this with my own eye! As his friend.. shouldn''t he tell me first if he already has a family?"


    Luna stormed out of the library, leaving Aurum and Eva in the dust.


    " Hey, was all of this really necessary? Didn''t she say that they are just friends?"


    " Haha.. I don''t know. But wouldn''t this be a lot more interesting than being stuck here all day reading books? Let''s go. It''s our chance to get out of this boring ce!"


    "....."


    At the end of the day, Aurum could only let himself be dragged by Eva and Luna and hoped that things would be solved soon as possible as he wanted to return and study.


    . . . . . . . . .


    "¡­Anyways, this ce is amazing."


    Cade, who didn''t know that storm wasing for him, was currently enjoying himself in a two-star Michelin restaurant.


    At first, he just wanted to enjoy the meal in a small casual restaurant, but thinking about what Elsa had been going through all these years, he decided to go extravagant this one time.


    He sat down on thefy chair and began to look through the menu.


    " By the way, Elsa. What do you want to eat?"


    Cade looked to his side, and he saw Elsa was looking at the menu with glimmers in her eyes.


    It was apparent that the menu here came with the illustration of the food, and each one of them looked pretty delicious.


    It took a while for Elsa to decide, but in the end, her choice fell to..


    "Fried chicken!"


    "Alright, got it. Then, a serving of Fried Chicken and a serving of seafood tter for us."


    Cade finished his order and waited for Isabel to choose his menu.


    But really, women are such fickle creatures. Even when ordering food, Cade could see Isabel was calcting each and every menu''s calories before eventually ordering them.


    DING!!!


    While Cade was waiting, he saw his smartphone was getting a new message.


    The sender was none other than Luna.


    '' This girl.. how could she get my number?''


    But that was not all that mattered. Cade was pretty curious about the content of the message and proceeded to open it.


    [Hey, are you busy? Everyone is going to go get food.]


    '' Hmm? What is this?''


    Cade felt pretty strange, but he still decided to reply.


    [ I''m sorry, I can''t. I''m having my lunch now.]<novelnext></novelnext>


    It took a while for Cade to get his response back, but when he was getting one, he was pretty surprised.


    [ So it''s true? At this young age, you already had a child?]


    " ????? "


    . . . . . . . .


    On the airship that Luna and the other took to go down from Orion University to the Royal Capital, Luna currently had a beet-red face.


    The reason was none other than the text that Cade had just sent to her.


    [ I have a kid? Do you have alcohol in this daylight? I''m here with my little sister and Ms. Isabel.]


    [ *Pic Sent*]


    [ But well, if you are currently free, feel free toe and join me here. The address is at¡­.]


    " ¡­.. "


    Just now, Cade had exined all the misunderstandings that happened, and it was a lie if Luna said she was not embarrassed.


    She jumped at Cade, using him of having a kid, and now it was all a misunderstanding?


    If she could, she would have buried her head on the ground like an ostrich.


    On her side, Eva and Aurum were trying their best to hold theirugh, especially Eva.


    " What!??" red Luna. She was like a tigress who had her kid get hurt. Yet Eva was not afraid at all.


    " Nothing, it''s just¡­ too funny.. Pffttt¡­."


    In the end, it was impossible for Eva and Aurum to hold theirugh. Theyughed like a maniac while Luna could only stand there, watching them with ring eyes.


    After five minutes, theughter slowly subsided, and they could finally have a proper conversation.


    " You¡­ because of you, Cade had¡­"


    " Wait, stop there, youngd."


    Eva said, but her face clearly showed that she was having a hard time controlling herself fromughing.


    " You know, isn''t this a good oue? That guy Cade is now inviting you for lunch?"


    " Well, I don''t know about what you really think inside, but wasn''t this a good chance for you?"


    **


    10 P.M.


    Cade came to the first floor of a big shop for Arcane Card items.


    He now was alone with no longer Isabel and Elsa apanying him.


    Originally, he had wanted to go back to Orion University. Yet a message came from Luna telling him that she wanted to invite him to go to the shop together.


    When Cade arrived, he actually thought that Eva and Aurum would also be waiting there alongside Luna. However, Luna was the only one in front of the auction entrance. She was killing time tapping on the ground with her toes.


    " Damn it.. this is not like what they think¡­ We are just friends.."


    Luna murmured as she really couldn''t get what Eva said previously out of her mind.


    '' You sure you are not in love with him?''


    " Garrhhh damn, that Eva. Why must she say things like that!"


    But soon enough, Luna noticed Cade who was watching her from the side.


    Cade looked at her and grinned.


    "Why are you staring?"


    "¡­."

 Chapter 49 Ch 49 : Minsuderstanding (?) (2)

    " By the way, here!"


    Cade handed something that was like a piece of paper to Luna.


    Inside, were a few scribbles that he had written. But the moment Luna''s eyes fell onto those scribbles, her eyes widened in shock.


    " This¡­"


    " Well, these are a way for you to learn a new skill. Of course, you could just disregard it, but I just want to give you my thanks for before."


    What Cade meant here was obviously that time when he made Luna so worried. After all, he was not an ungrateful bastard, and he could feel Luna''s care toward him, and it made him a bit ttered.


    Yet, Luna could not hear anything at this exact moment.


    '' This¡­ is he going to confess to me? Arrgghhh¡­. I treat him as a friend, but he.. Well, maybe he isn''t that bad. But Luna¡­''


    Unknown to Cade, a lot of calction was going on in Luna''s head at this time, and it somehow made a cloud of smokee out of her head.


    But in the end, she steeled herself.


    " Cade¡­ Don''t you think we are going a bit too fast here.. I.. as of now I haven''t seen you as something more than.."


    "????"


    . . . . . . . .


    Back in her room, Luna was currently burying her head deep into the pillow.


    " Stupid Luna¡­ why must you say those kinds of things. Now your rtionship with Cade would be so awkward..."


    Just an hour ago, she was excited to meet Cade in the auction, but now she was back in her room with her face blushing like mad.


    She clearly remembered what had just happened between her and Cade.


    " But that guy.. if he doesn''t really mean that, why would he do things that make me misunderstand.. stupid.."


    Her thought ran back to the moment when she said that she and Cade should stay as a friend. At that time, Cade''s reaction waspletely unpredictable to her.


    He didn''t fall into depression or some kind of the sort that she was prepared for, but rather, he just came closer to her and ced his hand on Luna''s forehead as he said:


    " Are you okay? If you don''t feel well, we could juste backter."


    " ...."


    " Argghhh! That guy.. I really don''t know what to do.. *Sigh* Now I can''t even look at him in the eye.."


    The more she thought about how she couldn''t control herself and immediately ran away after that, the more Luna felt she was a dumb ass. Yet there''s nothing she could do. Even now, imagining Cade ced his hand on her forehead had made her face hot, and she couldn''t really think straight at that moment.


    Hiding her face in the pillow, Luna could not help but think where everything started going so wrong.


    At first, she took a slight interest in Cade because he was the only one that has ever beat her in a theoretical exam.


    Then, the two were grouped together in the final test, which with their good cooperation. They were able to beat the almost unbeatable boss that hadn''t been beaten for almost ten years.


    Things got slightly interesting to Luna when she asked her family to look for Cade''s background, and there she saw someone that was not blessed with talent or background but worked hard until he could stand side to side with her, and it made her admire Cade.


    For her, Cade was someone that she aspired to be.


    Free and no shackles from family. Work hard and oriented toward his dream. It made Cade feel so bright to her that she wanted to be closer to Cade.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But things then turned 180 degrees when the university term started, and Cade avoided her.


    Now that she thinks about it, if she looked closer, wouldn''t it look more like she was the one that was obsessed with Cade?


    " *Sigh* I really don''t know anymore¡­"


    Luna eventually started to grow tired as shey on her bed while looking at the empty ceiling. But on her hand was the piece of paper that Cade had given to her today, and it seems that particr piece of paper has taken her interest.


    " Well, let''s just try this tomorrow, and for the rest.. let''s think about itter."


    . . . . . . . .


    On Cade''s side, he had just finished visiting another Arcane card shop.


    The incident with Luna was a bit weird, he says (?). Nheless, he had his own priority and would easily be distracted by other things.


    Although most of the items there were useless for him as his Arcane Card didn''t break through nor learn new special skills like the other, he was able to pick up two items.


    ===


    [Giant Bison Leather Armor]


    A leather armor made from the leather of a Giant Bison


    This Leather Armor would not be broken by rank (IV) or lower attack.


    ===


    ===


    [Flute of symphony]


    A flute used by a wandering Arcane.


    If you blow this horn, a sound wille out from the flute. Help to repel monsters.


    ===


    Both of them were blessing in disguise, and even though Cade had spent almost 50% of his ie of the past week on the two items, he didn''t feel it was useless at all.


    They were very useful inbat, and in case of dungeon exploration, Cade could blow the flute to ensure a safe space to rest.


    Yet Cade was far from satisfied for today.


    The mid-term exam was getting closer, and even though he believed that he could safely pass the mid-term exam, there was nothing wrong with making things sure.


    After he returned to Orion University, Cade didn''t immediately go back to his dorm.


    Rather, he went for the Arcane Card training station, where he booked an entire room for himself.


    It was alreadyte at night, and there were not many people left, so Cade was not left waiting for too long.


    After waiting for about ten minutes, Cade was led to the room that he had booked.


    It was an empty white spacy room, just like the one that they used for the final examination for the university entrance exam.


    Here, Cade could do virtual training or even mana absorption training. However, none of them was his goal for today.

 Chapter 50 Ch 50 : Changes

    As Cade''s hand glowed, a card appeared on Cade''s hand with the image of a headless knight, followed by the appearance of Spectre Duhan.


    Spectre Duhan looked around sillily before it eventually turned its head on Cade, a bit confused.


    " Kyuu!!!???"


    " No, there are no enemies. I just called you here because recently I felt we haven''t got that much time to bond.."


    " Kyu!!!"


    Spectre Duhan was excited. The moment Cade said those words, he immediately jumped on its master.


    Though the scene of a headless armored knight cuddling around a university student was not a good sight, and Cade was grateful that he had booked an entire room to himself, he still chose not to avoid and let himself be tackled by Spectre Duhan.


    " Kyuu!!!"


    " I know, I also miss those times. However, we can''t always stay in the past, right?"


    Although these Arcane Cards were not as smart as adult humans, they were still quite clever with strong learning abilities. And Spectre Duhan currently had the intelligence of a small yful kid.


    The sudden change of situation was a bit startling to him. He was always ying the supporting role before, but now he was standing head to head against the enemy, killing them without mercy. Yet for Cade''s sake, he had decided to go through all of it, and only now he could grumble a bit.


    Looking at the Spectre Duhan being like this, Cade couldn''t help but chuckle. Just like Elsa, he was always there with him from the start, and even though Cade could not see the affection meter like in the game, he had a hunch that his affection with Spectre Duhan would not go below 80.


    Afterforting Spectre Duhan, Cade took out something from his pocket, then fed Spectre Duhan.


    It was the magic core of a monster, which normally would help an Arcane Card grow.


    Though he knew that it would not help Spectre Duhan in the slightest, Cade still didn''t feel that it was wasteful.


    After all, Spectre Duhan deserved some of this after all his hard work.


    But at this time, something happened.


    Fuzzily, eyes closed, Cade sensed a fragile ideological dimension.


    The space was like Grigory''s special room, yet it was much smaller and weaker.


    It did not take long for Cade to realize that this should be Spectre Duhan''s mind space. But the question was, how could he be here?


    Deep in the ideological dimension, there seemed to hide a timid soul.


    The moment Cade tried to move. That timid soul trembled, then shrank. It was like a lonely kid huddling himself together in the dark.


    The dark night outside the window made the kid nervous. Only by hugging himself could he feel some warmth.


    Soon, the dark night changed, it was still dark outside, yet he could see a trace of warmness spreading around. Floating around was the memory of when Cade first summoned Spectre Duhan, but what was this?


    Even in the game, Cade didn''t remember there was something like this.


    '' Was this the first time I met with Spectre? What the heck is this?''


    The clock ticked away. Spectre''s soul was still hiding in the corner of its ideological dimension.


    The connection between them suddenly broke. Cade opened his eyes, looking at Spectre, which had now turned into Spectre Duhan helplessly.<novelnext></novelnext>


    In front of him, Spectre Duhan seemed not to know what happened just then. Sitting happily in Cade''sp, it ate the monster core that Cade had given to him.


    When it saw Cade was looking at him intently, it smiled as it offered the monster core that was half-eaten.


    " No, it''s okay. You could eat all of them."


    " Kyuu!!!"


    Watching Spectre Duhan eating happily like this, Cade''s mind couldn''t help but be thrown back to a few months ago, when they hadn''t met Grigory yet.


    They have gone so far from that time, but at the same time, it was also just the start of their journey.


    He still had a lot to do, and his father and his enemies were still there outside.


    While Cade was reminiscing about the past, unknowingly, a change began to ur in his Arcane Card.


    On the back of the card that had the Spectre Duhan''s image on it, a new few words were carved.


    [ Spectre Duhan the II ]


    [ Rank: (III)/(IV) ]


    [ Duhans are headless, and wherever one stops, a mortal''s death soon follows. A duhan will stop its snorting horse before the door of a house and shout the name of the person about to die, drawing forth the soul at the call. He may also stop at the very spot where a person will die. After the second fusion, Spectre Duhan realized its ability to call other phantoms. ]


    [ Special Skill: Erosion me, Sword Thrust, Phantom Call, (Bond Skill) Permaclone.]


    . . . . . . .


    Tiiriing¡ª Tiiriing¡ª


    When Cade returned back to his dorm, he noticed that his phone was full of messages.


    At first, he had intended to ignore them, but as the number kept increasing, he also began to slightly get annoyed.


    [Umm.. is this Cade, do you have any ns to sell a study guide?]


    [Sorry to intrude on you thiste Cade. But can you please give me some notes? Well for you to know, my father is¡­]


    '' Ah.. I see. It was already this time huh?''


    The rumor about Cade being a Genius Arcane Card Specialist plus how he was able to Ace the university entrance exam surely has spread around, and it was natural that lots of people would start sucking up to him.


    Heck, some people even brought their family name.


    Nheless, Cade was not the type to reject such an opportunity.


    Call him capitalist or anything, but wouldn''t this be another chance to get another extra pocket money.


    With a smile growing on his face, he began to reply to each message.


    [ Hi *Name*. I''m very happy to share my notes with you. But of course, I know that you wouldn''t like to owe me. Therefore, as a token of friendship, I would charge you a very low rate. As of now, I am selling my notes for $100 per subject. Please contact me if you are interested. Sincerely, Cade.]

 Chapter 51 Ch 51 : Mid-Term Exam

    The next day, the mid-term Exam was already at the edge.


    People crammed, and the library was packed. Yet today, there was a strange atmosphere at Orion University.


    " Hey, Have you bought it?"


    " Yes.. but thank God. With this, at least I believe I would be able to survive through this mid-term Exam."


    " Good.. but to think he would sell his notes for $100, he certainly had done us a favor."


    These kinds of discussions were pretty normal in the first year at Orion University, and the reason was none other than Cade selling his notes to the students at what he perceived as a low price.


    As most of the people here were from wealthy families, they had no issue with the price Cade set, and rather they thought Cade was giving a favor for them. And quickly, business was blooming that Cade began to feel stupid that he had not done this from the start.


    Being in the middle of this rumor, Cade didn''t seem to be impacted much.


    After all, it was not his first time being in the limelight, and his previous rumor was way harsher than this.


    "¡­Auuuu, I''m exhausted. But getting $20,000 in one day.. Those rich kids really know how to spend money."


    Cade put his phone down as he had just finished the most recent transaction.


    Lately, there was some special request like predicting the Exam or even a special QnA session, and since they packed a quite good amount of money, Cade definitely wouldn''t reject them.


    The problem was Cade wascking some sleep as It had taken him almost five whole hours to write the notes. He had separated the important topics and underlined which needed to be understood.


    " *Sigh* It couldn''t be helped, though¡­ After all, I need to provide a good service. Or else my customer would be running away from me. Nheless, it is a lot more tiring than I thought."


    Cade said as he stretched his body. But from the side, there seemed to be a grumpy voice.


    " Huh, iming to be tired when everything was the hard work of this Lord Grigory.. you get some nerve, kid.."


    It was pretty obvious that everything also involved Grigory, as Cade didn''t really have the brain for it.


    But different from usual, Cade didn''t react too much when he heard Grigory''s words. Rather, he just smirked back at him.


    " Hmm¡­ what is this? Is the great Lord Grigory feel dissatisfied? Should we redo our discussionst night? I haven''t even yet finished about how you scared Lunast time."


    " !!!! "


    For some reason, even Grigory''s face began to turn pale when he heard Cade''s words. Even though he was all-powerful, it seemed like the system that bound Grigory to Cade was still a being that Grigory could not offend.


    It wasst night that the two realized when Cade really wanted to nag that all Grigory could do was listen to him all day long, and it had created a separate trauma for him.


    " Not answering, huh? Maybe we should really-"


    " Okay, you won, kid! *Sigh* To think this Great Lord Grigory would eventually sumb to a little kid nagging.."


    Cade could only chuckle when he heard this.


    He was about to go take sleep when suddenly a new message came into his phone.


    [ Hey.. Um¡­ I heard that you are selling your notes. Can I buy it? The name''s Ste, by the way.]


    . . . . . .


    For the rest of the week, Cade spent his time racking money from those rich kids.


    As for his biggest customer, two big customers were like fat sheep to him.


    One was Elicia, who, during thest day before the Exam, came to Cade and booked him for the whole day to teach her, and the other was the girl that undergoes the Codename Ste.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yes, Codename.


    The number was new, and it was Cade''s first contact with the number. However, the person behind the number was not someone new to Cade.


    It was directly stated in the game that sometimes, Luna went around with the name Ste.


    But really, Luna and Ste? Couldn''t she think of a more creative name than that?


    But there''s a question in Cade''s mind.


    Just what caused her to use a codename for contacting him?


    Was she shy that she needed help from her rival to finish the Exam?


    Thinking it like that, a smirk appeared in Cade''s mind.


    '' Well, sometimes she could also be cute, huh?''


    " ¡­."


    '' What?''


    " No, sometimes I really wonder. Whether you are stupid or are you deliberately acting like this to get girls?"


    " ¡­.. "


    Nheless, today''s focus was not on Luna or Cade.


    With Grigory''s help, Cade was positive that being in the top three was child y.


    The main focus this time was none other than the protagonist Aurum who kept looking at Cade like he saw his nemesis.


    '' Why is he¡­''


    " *Cough* Cade, isn''t it? It''s okay. You don''t need to think about it that much. He is just angry because he felt like his chance of being at the top of his grade had diminished a lot."


    From nowhere, a feminine sound chimed in. Cade turned his head to the source of the sound and saw Eva was actually looking at him with teasing eyes.


    " What??"


    " Nothing, I''m just a bit curious about the guy that was able to take my friend''s interest¡­ Oh, and by the way. Please don''t mistake it with I have an interest in you. I''m not that kind of woman that likes to steal my friend''s man."


    " ¡­. "


    Cade rolled his eyes. But once again, he was reminded of Eva''s personality.


    If Luna was a cold outside hot inside type of girl, Luna was the kind but full of trick woman.


    Cade still remembers just how much trouble Eva gave him in the game with all her tricks, and somehow it gave a bad taste in his mouth.


    As Eva saw Cade was dazed while looking at her, a smile began to creep on her face.


    " Hmm? What is this? Don''t tell me that you are actually interested in me? That''s bad.. Luna would definitely cry when she heard this and.."


    And just like that, Eva kept running her mouth for almost two minutes before Cade eventually couldn''t tolerate it anymore and decided to leave for the ssroom.


    But before he left, he stopped for a while as he looked at Eva right into her eyes and said:


    " I''m not interested in you. But¡­ if I''m being honest, I''m a bit interested in that friend of yours, and I need you to tell him that no matter what he did, he would never catch up to me. The first position, it is already mine from the start."

 Chapter 52 Ch 52 : Aurums Adventure (1)

    Almost a weekter -


    " Ugh¡­ damned bastard¡­"


    Inside an unknown Dungeon in the Royal Capital, Aurum who was alone, was struggling his best to stay alive.


    It has been a week since the mid-term exam and also a few days since the result was announced.


    '' Still.. remembering the result.. what a humiliation.''


    Aurum could still vividly remember that day, the day when the result was announced.


    To think that after a few days of not sleeping trying to get the best result, he was still easily being outdone by Cade, it was a lie if Aurum didn''t feel hurt at all, but that was not all.


    Ranking result.


    Cade North 1800/800


    Luna Forewater 1780/1800


    Elicia Holzberg 1775/1800


    Eva 1770/1800


    Aurum Griffyndor 1765/1765


    It was such a humiliation that he, not only he was outperformed by Cade, but also a few people that bought Cade notes.


    Every time he remembered this, he couldn''t help but feel depressed.


    Was this the gap between them?


    Not only did his friend prefer Cade way more than him, but now the theoretical test that he always felt proud of was also beaten by Cade?


    Just where the heck did this guye from?


    Still.. now was not the right time for that.


    As soon as he looked around him, Aurum felt a st of hot air engulf his body.


    The dry environment instantly caused his lips to tighten up, The ground beneath him was full of cracks, and signs of skirmishes could be seen everywhere in the surroundings. Evidently, showing that battles had urred in this ce.


    < The trial ground of the brave.>


    It was the name of the Dungeon that Aurum was currently inside.


    A few days ago, when he returned home, he identally found a book about this Dungeon and noticed that this Dungeon might help him to get stronger than Cade. Aurum no longer thinks twice and immediately go for the Dungeon.


    "Just like its description, there really is no source of water nor food here."


    It was apletely deste ce.


    The surrounding vegetation was all withered, and there were no signs of animal or living creatures in sight.


    But what took Aurum''s attention was the big Colosseum that was ced in the middle.


    From the books, Aurum knew that this Colosseum was no ordinary Coliseum.


    It would be the ce for the Final Boss of the Dungeon, and to fully clear this Dungeon, he needs to go to the Colosseum.


    "Let''s see... food ration and everything¡­ they shouldst me for about a week."


    "There also shouldn''t be any problems regarding sleep and injuries as I had brought some first aid kids and a special tent with a protection barrier."


    "What else....hmm, I think that''s it.."


    -Keuka!<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Who!!!"


    All of a sudden, Aurum noticed there was a movement from the surrounding area.


    Stopping in front of a dead tree, he paused and stared at the barrennd in front of him.


    A hermit crab-like monster with red carapaces and a thick white shell appeared from the cracking ground.


    In a ce like this, these kinds of monsters were expected, and Aurum didn''t panic.


    His re collided mid-air with the Hermit Crabs.


    Roar!


    The Hermit Crab swung its giant pincer towards Aurum like a streak of lightning.


    Swish-!!


    However, the attack only swiped at the empty air.


    ''Fast.. luckily, I was prepared?''


    Here, Aurum was already above the Hermit Crab''s head. It was here that he kind of understood the reason for this monster''s infamy.


    In the desert, the hermit crab was also known as the grim reaper of the desert, with a strong pincer that could easily kill a man in a surprise attack.


    With a glow on his right hand, he summoned his Arcane Card, the Giant Tusked Boar.


    "Even so¡­. I think it still hasn''t reached Rank (III) yet.''


    Before the Hermit Crab could lift its head up, The Tusked Boar rushed directly at collided with it head-on.


    The two Creatures shed, and no one could gain the upper hand. But the Hermit Crab misunderstands something here.


    From the beginning, it was never a one-on-one battle with the Tusked Boar.


    Aurum, who was still hanging with his life on the top of the Hermit Crab''s head, took the small sword from his pocket before he propelled himself into the air and used the momentum to swing it with all his might right in the middle of the monster''s forehead.


    Kaboom!!


    The explosive force from the sword cracked the head of the Hermit Crab, and right when the hermit crab let its guard down, the Tusked Boar used this chance to ramp at it once more.


    Its skull waspletely obliterated; with a bubbleing out of its mouth, the Hermit Crab stopped movingpletely.


    Tapping on the dead body of the Hermit Crab, a white streak appeared before Aurum.


    It gathered around Aurum for a while before it eventually took the shape of an Arcane Card and went into Aurum''s body.


    ''So there is also this..!''


    For a while, Aurum had felt there was something strange with his Arcane Card. He felt like there was an empty space on his Arcane card, but he had never known what it was. It was only now that he realized he was able to hold more than one Arcane Card at a time.


    The feeling of happiness and dness that he came to this Dungeon filled Aurum, but then something happened.


    "You¡­ you, just what are you??"


    Aurum heard that trembling voice and looked behind him, only to spot an unidentified speechless face staring back at him.


    From the voice alone, Aurum could somehow conclude that it was a female. But she was wearing a hood that covered her face and body, and it was hard to see her full figure.


    But what was strange was that Aurum had not discovered her existence until now. It was like she was a ghost that appeared out of nowhere.


    Left with little choice, Aurum raised his sword at the newly appeared woman.


    " Stop there, or else don''t me me for making a move!!!"

 Chapter 53 Ch 53 : Aurums Adventure (2)

    " A¡­ Please don''t kill me. This is just a misunderstanding¡­ I''m not a bad person a¡­."


    The woman figure raised her hand as she shrieked in horror.


    It was strange to see someone else here, especially a weak woman like her here.


    Yet, for some reason, when he saw this, Aurum couldn''t see any trace of hostility at all from the woman, so he decided to sheathe his sword.


    In moments like this, uncertainty was your greatest enemy. And if it was Cade with the advice of Lord Grigory he would definitely have struck the woman first before trying to find out what happened.


    After all, wouldn''t it be better to kill rather than be killed?


    But Aurum was different from Cade.


    After years of facing hatred and despising re, he knew which one he could trust or not.


    And this time, he put his bet on his instinct as he walked closer to the woman in the hood.


    ? ??"You are not supposed the be here, aren''t you.. So why are you here?"


    Aurum decided to ask the woman quite openly.


    The woman opened her mouth for a while, about to respond. But quickly, she just shook her head. It seemed like there was something that held her back from answering.


    "*Sigh* Well then, let me change my question. You are not gonna avoid my question again this time, right?"


    The woman seemed to be a bit confused. She put her finger together timidly, but she still stood in front of Aurum as if waiting for his question.


    Aurum shifted his gaze to the woman once again, scanning her all over.


    Then.. a sigh came out of his mouth.


    " *Sigh* I don''t know whether I would regret thister.. You¡­ are you familiar with this ce?"


    "Eh??"


    ¡­.Anything could happen inside a dungeon.


    Aurum knew this fact better than anyone here, actually.


    During his childhood, he had been thrown into a Dungeon more than once to survive as it was an attempt to get him to awaken his potential.


    And for someone to out of nowhere appear inside a Dungeon looking to be harmless, there''s nothing good about it.


    Yet he just couldn''t brush the feeling that the one in front of him would not possess him any harm.


    The woman''s eyes widened. She looked at Aurum a few more times, asking whether she heard things wrong.


    " You¡­"


    " Haven''t I made myself clear? How about you lead the way. After all, traveling alone in an unknown ce would not be safe. And I still don''t know how someone like you could survive in this ce."


    Aurum raised one of his eyes, looking a bit annoyed. But even though Aurum''s words were crude, they basically meant" "Follow me, I will protect you."


    The woman almost shrieks out of disbelief. Her whole life, it was the first time someone had treated her like this.


    She at first only came here because she heard somemotion and thought that just like others that hade here before, Aurum would either try to kill her or chase her away.


    A smile quickly crept on her face, before with glimmering eyes and cheerful face, she walked in front of Aurum and said:


    " Then, follow me! I will be your guide here! By the way, it''s not you. I have a name, and my name is Marie."


    . . . . . . . .<novelnext></novelnext>


    Later that day¡­


    With Marie as his guide, Aurum''s n could be said to be on the money. He got to explore the Dungeon much faster than anticipated, and along the way, he was able to kill some monsters.


    They were looking for monsters that went alone, and as soon as they reached the perimeter of the monster''s location, Aurum summoned his Arcane Card.


    The Giant tusked board charged and held the monsters, while Aurum dealt the finishing blow.


    The Giant tusked boar rank had been growing pretty nicely with all the battles here, and the newly captured Crab also raised a few ranks.


    ''Oh? Since when did the Giant Tusked Boar reach rank (III)? Did it consume some monster core along the way?''


    Aurum''s eyes opened wider.


    It wasmon knowledge that from rank (II) and beyond, breaking through rank for an Arcane Card would require a few specific items. And to be able to break through to rank (III) by coincidence, Aurum didn''t know whether he shouldugh or cry.


    Maybe it felt happy after his owner''s interested gaze fell on it. The Giant tusked boar, who was only rank (II) a few hours prior, stood close to Aurum and let out a roar of ''Wuuong''. It was looking at Aurum with a face like ''praise me''


    He grinned brightly.


    "Alright, good job, you are a good boy. Then. Let''s go!"


    Just like before, Aurum and Marie continued the exploration.


    Including the newly ranked-up Giant Tusked Boar, Aurum felt now he should have a chance to finish this Dungeon.


    However¡­


    '' Would things really be going as he wanted?


    In that case, who knows?


    Dungeons were always unexpected, and except you knew the plot like Cade, there was nothing sure in this world. But that''s not a reason for Aurum to return.


    Still in the same Dungeon when the evening came, Aurum who was now traveling with Marie, decided to take a break.


    Until now, they have met a few monsters along the way, but all of them were handled easily by Aurum, and now they were making good progress toward the colosseum.


    Large chunks of meat were nicely sizzling on top of a campfire.


    "Whaaa real roasted meat! It has been a long since I saw one."


    "Would you like some?"


    "Aigoo, thank you for your hospitality, but it''s okay. After all, you are the main vanguard of our party, and you should prioritize yourself."


    Not gonna argue with Marie, Aurum expertly sliced the meat that he had brought as supplies and put it on the te before giving it to Marie.


    " ??? "


    " Just eat it.."


    " Ah¡­"


    Marie''s face turned from shock into awkwardness before it eventually turned into a smile as she took the te from Aurum''s hand.


    And while looking at Aurum, she murmured secretly.


    " You.. why are you so different from the others??"

 Chapter 54 Ch 54 : Aurums Adventure (3)

    About fifteen years ago, on the outskirt of the Royal Capital, lived a small family consisting of only a mother and a son.


    The father of the son had been nowhere to be seen from the start, and their lives weren''t filled with luxury, but at the very least, they had each other to depend on, and they were happy.


    Of course, sometimes there were arguments like about Christmas presents or about food, but the pair of mother and son were able to ovee them and continued their peaceful life in the Royal Capital Outskirts."


    Even so, that happiness didn''tst long.


    When the boy reached six years old, something happened.


    He was out buying food and daily necessities in the afternoon, and when he returned, he found that his house was surrounded by an unknown group of people.


    At first, he was scared that something bad would happen to his mother.


    He runs and runs, he breaks through the encirclement of the unknown people and rushes inside.


    But what was waiting for him inside was far from his wildest imagination.


    A man with a tall and strong stature was waiting for him. And the first sentence that he said when he saw the boy was:


    " Son.. I finally see you."


    Fast forward two a few yearster, the boy was recognized as a son of a big family line, and the mother and son were brought to the big family mansion. But this was just the start of every disaster. A big family child was different from a normal child.


    The awakening day came much faster, and this is where everything began to go downhill.


    At the age of ten, the boy went through his awakening process. But for some reason, it waster found that the boy did not have an Arcane Card, something that was very valuable to the current world.


    This ident shocked the whole family.


    There were even some rumors saying that the boy did not have the blood of the family, and it had almost gotten the boy, and the mother evicted to the slum.


    But under the protection of the father, every rumor slowly died down. And what reced them was only the fact that the boy was talentless.


    Still, there''s no way the father and the boy would give up just like this. The pair of father and Son tried everything.


    From throwing the son to the Dungeon to stimte danger or even trying to put him into illusion.... But nothing worked.


    It was up to the point where the pair of father and son started to give up.


    But when they thought nothing could get worse, that happened.


    Out of nowhere, the mother fell sick.


    It was not that she was drugged or something. The mother''s body had been weak from the start, and she just could not cope with all the events that happened to surround her.


    A yearter, the mother finally could not hold it anymore.


    She left the father and son, but until now, the son could still remember the mother''sst words like it was yesterday.


    " Aurum.. you don''t need to be strong, *Insert words here*. Mother is happy with you being who you are. And remember never forget to smile, because mother like it the most when you are happy."


    . . . . . . . .


    " Huaaaa¡­. that''s so sad¡­."<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Hey.. why are you crying? I''m not telling this story for you to cry.."


    Still in the same Dungeon, Aurum had just finished telling his story to Marie. He didn''t know why, even though he had not even told this story to Luna and Eva, he felt like telling his story to this girl that he had just met a few hours ago.


    But who would ever think that his story would receive such a big reaction from Marie that she even started crying?


    Maybe because it was already prettyte that the story gave more impact than usual, and Aurum''s face looked even lonelier when he told Marie his story. But it certainly had more impact than what he thought.


    "Sniff. then.. Is that your goal to be in this dungeon? Are you going to take revenge?"


    Thankfully, Marie stopped crying after a short while. However, her question made Aurum look at her nkly, as if asking whether he had heard her wrongly.


    "What? Did I say something wrong?"


    Marie''s innocent voice didn''t really suit what she had just said before.


    "Okay, okay. I hear you."


    Aurum nodded his head as if he''d given up.


    " But you are wrong. Even from the beginning, I have no intention of getting any revenge."


    " ??? "


    " You know, revenge.. it must not be something that my mother wanted. And furthermore, I could only me myself for my weakness¡­"


    Aurum looked a bit lonely when he said this. No matter what, the passing of his mother had still left a bitter taste in his mouth till today. And even if he said it was inevitable, deep down, he must regret things and hope he could change them.


    Nheless, his expression got a lot better when he remembered the past few months that he had spent at Orion University.


    " Well, you know.. I now have friends that I can trust. One of them likes to y pranks, and one of them keeps falling for the other one''s pranks. However.. I like them so much, and I wanted strength so I could protect them."


    It couldn''t be helped that Aurum right now looked very bright. A scarred child who still could look forward to the future, even Marie was dazed for a while looking at Aurum.


    But it was Aurum''s next words that had truly caught her off-guard.


    " And.. it is a bit embarrassing to say this. But you too, Marie! You are also my friends. Even though we had just met not long ago, I feel like I could trust you, and we could be good friends."


    " A-ahhh¡­"


    Marie''s face was hidden by the hood, but from her reaction, it was obvious that she was blushing like mad.


    She tried to turn away to hide her face, and only after she felt she had recovered a bit that she call out back to him.


    "Hey, Aurum?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Just like you said, we only meet for a while. But¡­."


    Marie smiled softly as her eyes turned into crescents.


    "Thank you for treating me as a friend."

 Chapter 55 Ch 55 : Aurums Adventure (4)

    A few dayster¡­.


    ''There''s a breeze inside this dungeon?''


    Aurum raised his head.


    After a few days of exploring, they finally reached the huge Colosseum. But for some reason, Aurum couldn''t help but notice there''s something strange here.


    As soon as stepping inside, he sensed an ominous wind blowing in from the Colosseum.


    He felt a chill run down his back. And at the same time, Aurum could somehow guess the identity of this mysterious wind.


    ''There shouldn''t be a wind in a ce like this, unless..''


    This was a ripple caused by the huge concentration of mana from the boss.


    But if this was to be the case, the boss of this Dungeon should be ranked (V) or higher, and it was far beyond what Aurum could handle right now.


    Considering that this Dungeon was not far from the Royal Capital and also one that had not been conquered before, this must be an anomaly. But¡­


    ''The boss of such a dungeon¡­.''


    With such a boss, the reward must also not be small.


    It was a lie if Aurum said he was not tempted to confirm the creature with his own two eyes now. And, if there was a chance¡­.


    Even though he was shuddering from the bone-chilling aura that managed to make his hair stand on end, Aurum couldn''t help but smile.


    Was this what they said about the adventurous life?


    A life full of danger, but at the same time also a life with no boring days.


    It was then.


    Tap.


    A hand was ced on Aurum''s shoulder.


    "Eiii, Aurum.. I think we should go back. The boss.. it is far too strong for us."


    Marie said directly to Aurum. Her eyes looked worried as she could also feel the gushing mana from the Colusseum.


    The Colosseum was huge. The two were standing right in front of the door to the big Colusseum, but even so, they could already feel the terror that was spreading from the boss.


    But Marie''s words were obviously useless to Aurum who was already charmed by the beauty of the Dungeon.


    " It''s okay, Marie. I will just take a look. And if things got dangerous, I would immediately back off. For now, just wait for me here. I will return as fast as possible."


    " Hey, wait!!!"


    Marie tried to get ahold of Aurum''s hand, but it was toote.


    Before she knew it, Aurum had already opened the big door and entered, leaving her dumbfoundedly outside.


    ''Geez.. I know he really wanted to see what the boss looks like out of curiosity, but¡­''


    Marie said, full of dissatisfaction. But clearly, her eyes were full of worries.


    '' Promise me to return safely, Aurum.''


    . . . . . . .


    Inside the Colosseum¡­


    " I''m sorry Marie, but I just couldn''t go back now."


    Aurum scratched the side of his head as he had just entered the Colosseum and left Marie outside.


    ''Well, none of these guys would really matter if I just take a peek and leave, right?¡­.''


    So, he had no other choice but to continue going forward.


    However¡­.


    The deeper he went in, the greater the ripples of mana from the boss became.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Kriekkk-! Boom!


    The door to the boss room finally opened.


    The Colosseum''s inside though was far from what Aurum had expected;. The interior waspletely shrouded in darkness.


    It was so dark that Aurum found it hard to see one inch in front of him. All he could see clearly was the ground beneath his feet.


    The floor was covered in stone tiles.


    As soon as he set foot on this floor¡­.


    Whooosh!


    Countless torches lining up the walls lit up all at once and illuminated the interior.


    If it was in the game, the Boss music would have begun ying right now. But even without the Boss Music, the atmosphere was already eery enough.


    ''Calm down Aurum.. you can do it...''


    Aurum continued to maintain his vignce. He scanned his vicinity and cautiously stepped forward.


    A few stepster, when Aurum felt he was halfway through the dark, fire-illuminated ce, the door issued a loud bang and closed shut behind him.


    SLAM!!


    Aurum nced back. There was a trace of panic on his face.


    ''¡­.It''s okay.. there must be another way out.''


    He didn''t know why but he kind of got this really strong gut feeling that this ce, it had something that really mattered to him, and he could not miss it.


    His gut feelings on matters such as this one were on the money, most of the time.


    It was then.


    From the utter darkness, which had no fire illuminating it, a ''figure'' walked out and stood right before him, blocking his path forward.


    The ''thing'' stopped its walk and turned around to face him.


    Gulp.


    Aurum swallowed his dry saliva.


    His instinct screamed and told him to quickly get away.


    This thing was not one that he could defeat right now. And one small mistake and he could find his life flying.


    It was not in the game, so there was no name indicator of the enemy.


    But if Cade was here, he would definitely know that this thing''s name should be shrouded in red.


    The way it was kitted out from head to toe in metal armor was simr to a knight in the medieval era. But it is jet ck armor gave a fiendish feeling that seemed to appear out of the fantasy world.


    Whatever the case may be, One thing is for sure, this thing was not human. That pair of red lights oozed out from where one''s eyes should be. They felt so cold and uncaring, utterly mechanical and lifeless.


    '' Run.. I need to run..''


    No longer wanting to be here, Aurum''s first response was to leave this ce.


    Now he regretted why he came here. With his current strength, this would only be suicide.


    But sometimes, what you get isn''t always what you want.


    ??Perhaps reading Aurum''s mind, that thing made a rush towards him.


    Tap, tap, tap, tap!


    The speed it produced was so fast that he found it hard to believe it was wearing a suit of armor.


    It closed the distance in the blink of an eye and leaped up into the air. Once flying, the thing raised his sword and aimed it toward Aurum''s neck


    ''Too fast!!!!!''

 Chapter 56 Ch 56 : Aurums Adventure (4)

    '' Damnit.. will I die like this..''


    The moment the sword was about to brush his neck, Aurum unconsciously closed his eyes.


    He had experienced the danger of a Dungeon since he was a kid, but it was the first time he was so close to death.


    '' Mother, Eva, Luna, forgive me¡­''


    Memories began to surge through his mind. Just like one said, when you were about to face your death, you would go through your memories for some time.


    It was then that something happened.


    BOOOMMM!!!!!


    When Aurum thought he could no longer keep his life, he felt something wasing out of his body.


    It was small and almost the same size and shape as an Arcane Card, but it carried a tremendous aura, and for God''s sake, it was able to block the sword that had almost imed Aurum''s sword.


    The sword and the card shed, and when it happened, it created a massive explosion that repulsed that "thing" away, throwing it with full force into one of the walls.


    But if Aurum thought the surprise ended here, he was fully wrong.


    Right after his attack was blocked by the strange card and was attacked by the explosion, that thing quickly stood up as if there was nothing had happened.


    Kung!!


    There was no time to admire it, though.


    Because for the first time in a long while, Aurum''s skin broke out in goosebumps.


    But the thing ignored Aurum, and his focus was always on that strange card.


    "A Sacred Arcana wielder¡­. So the game is going to start now.. Interesting.."


    "¡­.You.. did you just speak?"


    "¡­?"


    When Aurum spat out a response purely out of reflex, that thing''s eyes disyed an expression of pure surprise.


    "You, can you understand my speech?"


    Aurum was also taken aback.


    ''How is it possible to converse with this guy?!''


    Not only could he understand what a monster was saying, but he could also actually converse with it, too. And pretty fluently?


    Anguage he couldn''t even remember learning before fluently rolled out of his mouth as if it was his mother tongue.


    "You¡­. You know how to speak our tongue?! Wait.. maybe.. Kukuku.. the Sacred Arcana had never failed to surprise me."


    Nheless, Aurum still failed to understand what that thing meant from the start?


    '' What is Sacred Arcana, and why does it matter to me?''


    Aurum''s gaze was shifted back to that thing. That thing also returned the gaze with great interest.


    "To be able to converse¡­. Very good. Still¡­ I need the Sacred Arcana."


    That thing pointed at the shining card that had just blocked one of his attacks.


    "And because of that.. I need you to die."


    Aurum''s re sharpened instantly. Once again, he felt great killing intent from that thing.


    But right at this moment, something else happened.


    The colosseum that previously was filled with silence suddenly trembled, and before they knew it, the big door to the boss room was forcefully opened from the outside.


    A gust of wind appeared between them and blocked Aurum from the intimidating Aura of that thing.


    " Tch.. another pest.."


    That thing clicked its tongue and seemed to be a bit annoyed.


    But Aurum was the one that was more surprised here.


    Because appearing right between them was none other than Marie.


    The Marie that he had protected until now. The exact same appearance and face. But for some reason, this time Marie''s body exhibited a different aura, and this aura made people feel like she was no longer human.<novelnext></novelnext>


    " Marie, what are you doing here? Run!!! This is not something you can.."


    " Don''t worry Aurum. I''m here to take my ce back."


    ''What do you mean by..¡­.''


    Even before Aurum finished his words, that thing seemed to no longer be patient enough to wait for Aurum and Marie''s reunion.


    It dashed and raised its arm toward Marie, and the daggernded right in the middle of Marie''s head.


    "Heok!"


    The shocked cry came from Aurum as he saw Marie split into two.


    But the next moment, another Marie reappeared right next to him, harmless.


    " Humph, another trick.."


    That thing extended his hand out, and the sword buried in the fake Marie was pulled out.


    Marie, though seemed to be unconcerned as he looked back at that thing with a domineering posture.


    "Anything else you want to say?"


    " You¡­."


    " Well, I don''t care what  you say, but I will make sure that you will get what you deserved today."


    As Marie and that thing finished exchanging these few words, Aurum could feel a huge amount of aura bursting from their body.


    It was no longer something that he could even stay close to it, but at this moment, he felt a hand tapping his shoulder.


    " Marie.. how?"


    " Well, I''m sure you have a lot of questions to ask. But it is a pretty long story, and now is not the time. I''ll take you away for a bit, or else, you will get implicated by this battle."


    Another Marie appeared and brought Aurum away, while in the meantime, a battle between Marie and that thing was ready to be started.


    "Attack!"


    When Marie issued her orders, Countless other Marie appeared with a bow in their hands and pulled on their bowstrings.


    "Humph,e my servants!"


    That thing also didn''t want to lose. He summoned a lot of monsters and ced them as the vanguard.


    Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!


    Kkrrroooar!!


    The monsters, with arrows sticking out of their bodies, all roared out in anger.


    Before the Maries could nock the next volley of arrows, the monsters rushed forward. Some of them also began throwing their weapon away as a means to attack.


    Meanwhile, That thing''s eyes gleamed dangerously.


    ''You''re mine!''


    That thing stomped the ground hard, using the ground as a propeller, before pouncing forward toward Marie himself as well.


    His sight was fixed solely on Marie, who was the biggest obstacle here. And Marie too, was waiting for that thing''s arrival with the wand in her hand that glowed even brighter.


    Soon, sparks endlessly flew as the weapons wielded by the two shed in mid-air.


    ng! ng!! Clang!!


    Marie used magic to enhance his attack, while that thing used that ck aura to keep the battle in check.


    At the same time, the battle below also broke out, and now a few Marie clones were engaging the monsters in closebat.


    Aurum looked at another Marie, who was sitting calmly next to him.


    "Uhm¡­. So, like, shouldn''t we lend assistance here?"


    But that Marie just shook her head.


    " It''s okay. After all, you will only be a burden if you were to join."


    " ¡­.. "

 Chapter 57 Ch 57 : Aurums Adventure (4)

    Still shing inside the Colosseum, on one of the asions, Marie was able to hit that "thing" and left a big dent on the upper half of his body.


    "Keu-heuk!"


    " Humph.. to think that even after years of relinquishing your title, you will still possess this kind of strength¡­.."


    That thing was pretty short of breath.


    " As expected of Marie.. this body, it wouldn''t suffice at all¡­"


    The fight looked pretty even from the side, but if one were to look closely, Marie seemed to have a clear upper hand on this.


    It''s just for some reason. She just couldn''t erase the bad feeling that kept rosing in her heart.


    " Humph, I''m not going to let you take a breath!!"


    Disregarding the bad feeling in her heart, Marie finally managed to finish her chants. A ball of condensed windrger than a volleyball flew in the midst of the dark Colosseum, obliterating everything on its path.


    KABOOM¡ª!!


    Here, the power of Marie is on full disy.


    Even Aurum, who was watching from the side, couldn''t help but gaped his mouth.


    ng! ng!! Pow-!!


    Still, even though it was injured harshly, that thing still managed to shake the explosion from the wind magic and went at Marie for closebat.


    His blurry vision could only pick up on the sight of the tattered thing fighting against the full force of Marie.


    ''When would I be able to do something like this..?''


    He couldn''t take his eyes off Marie on the tattered figure even for one bit. And even though the more he saw them battling, the more he felt his weaknesses, there''s no way he would miss such a battle.


    Yet unnoticed to Marie and Aurum, darkness was slowly creeping behind them.


    At the same time¡­.


    BOOM!!!


    Marie''s cane pped that thing in the back of his head!!


    It shrieked in pain, but after a while, that thing suddenly broke intoughter.


    " Kyakakakakaka¡­ Marie¡­ I don''t know whether you are naive or what.."


    Marie''s expression froze. Normally, she would just ignore that things provocation. Yet for some reason, there was this uneasy feeling that kept bothering her, and it made her hesitate.


    She was about to open her mouth, but at this time, she could subtly hear a screaming voice.


    And the voice came from below her!


    ''That voice definitely belonged to Aurum!!''


    She turned her head in the direction of the voice, only to see Aurum was surrounded by a blob of dark things.


    He was trying his best to fight them, but if this were to continue, he wouldn''t reallyst long.


    '' That can''t be.. I''m sure I have left my clone with-''


    " Ahh?? What is it? Are you confused about how this can happen?"


    That thing appeared right behind Marie, an evil smile spread on its face.


    Marie trembled¡­


    If Aurum continued to be surrounded by the dark blob-like thing, then he''d not get out of here alive. In that case, she must¡­.


    " Marie, Marie.. about to lose your dear friends once again, I see. Now I know why they call you the witch of cmity. Each and every one of your friends, you never fail to bring a cmity to them."


    Her maddened eyes spotted that thing that was currently eerily smiling.


    Yet, there''s not a thing she could do!


    She was too busy fighting him and wasn''t paying any attention to her rear.


    '' If this was to continue..''


    No, she must save Aurum.


    Marie no longer concerned herself with anything and rushed at Aurum. But unknown to her, that thing was looking at this action of her with a smile full of amusement.<novelnext></novelnext>


    . . . . . . .


    Aurum ran with all his might. In front, the ck blob, and from behind too.


    Even though he was stuck in a seemingly dangerous situation, Aurum still managed to keep his calm.


    "Attack him, Giant Tusked Boar!!"


    As if he''d been waiting for that call, The Giant Tusked boar jumped out from his shadow immediately and easily squashed a few ck blobs on his way.


    However, he underestimated the toughness of the ck blob a bit too much.


    "No!"


    Aurum''s eyes opened wider.


    Even when squashed, the ck blob was still tenacious, and now it tried to strike back.


    However, even before he could say anything, a glowing sword pierced deeply into the ck blob.


    Stab!!


    The de ran straight through from the middle and cut the ck blob into two before burning it with the shining light.


    "Marie!!"


    Aurum quickly took several steps back.


    Once again, Marie appeared before him, saving him from danger.


    Yet there was no happiness inside Aurum. Because at this time, that thing also followed Marie.


    Tak.. Tak¡­


    The sound of metal nking reverberated throughout the area as that thing got closer and closer.


    " My my¡­ you are still the same. Have you learned your lesson? Protecting them would only bring you down. Now.. I will show you the real gap between us."


    As he said that, a bloody dogfight erupted between the two.


    That thing didn''t even try to dodge Marie''s attacks. The armor gets even more tattered, but his speed never declines one bit.


    Rather, it gets even faster with every blows traded.


    Pow!


    That thing''s head was forced slightly to the side.


    But, even before Marie couldunch more attacks, she felt a degree of danger from her surrounding as the dark blob also came and attacked her.


    POW!


    Marie dodged, but she still got her leg caught in the way of the attack.


    Yet at this time, she could not even let a shriek of pain.


    Because from the edge of her eyes, she saw that thing was actually going for Aurum.


    "Die!!"


    In front of Aurum, that thing raised his sword high, and there was nothing that Aurum could do.


    She ignored the pain that was gnawing her body and rushed at his direction.


    Aurum closed his eyes, ready to receive his death. Yet, even after some time, he could not feel the pain. And rather, he could feel a warm hand being ced on his cheek.


    Stab!!


    Here, Aurum could feel blood shots in his eyes.


    The moment he opened his eyes, only the scene of Marie being pierced on his heart was disyed in front of him.


    The de ran straight through her chest and emerged from her back.


    "You¡­. Marie¡­.!"


    " It''s okay.. I''m d that you are safe. I don''t want to once again.."


    But before she could even finish her words, light began to grow surrounding her and Marie''s body slowly dissintegrated into the particles of light.

 Chapter 58 Ch 58: Aurums Adventure (5)

    " Where am I??"


    It was a dark ce. One without light or whatsoever, only endless voids and emptiness.


    " Thest thing I remember¡­"


    She was fighting with that "thing" that suddenly came and invaded the Dungeon she resided on.


    And to protect her friend. She decided to sacrifice herself.


    " Well.. at least he should be okay.."


    Marie smiled. " Now.. what should I do in this ce?? Hmm.. maybe I should do like usual, wait for people toe.."


    Who knows how many years it has been that she was always alone.


    She has always ensured herself that everything was okay, but on the very inside, she was lonely.


    That was also the reason why when Aurum came, she didn''t waste any time and went for Aurum.


    Even if she needs to pretend to be weak, and be protected, as long as she can prolong that moment even for just a second longer.


    Unknown to Marie. When she thought about all the time she spent with Aurum, tears began to escape from her eyes.


    It might be short, but to Marie, it was one of the happiest moments of her life.


    " *Sniff..* Stupid.. Stupid Aurum.. Why did you leave me.."


    She didn''t know why, but she started crying. She could no longer hold back her tears and could only mutter the same words again and again.


    But at this time, she suddenly found there was a great light that wasing toward her. It was so warm that unconsciously Marie raised her hand toward it, and the next moment, she found herself no longer in that dark void space.


    . . . . . . . .


    Back to a few moments ago.


    Just when Marie was killed by that thing.


    "No Marie¡­.!"


    Aurum looked at the figure of Marie with a swording out from her chest, full of disbelief.


    His eyes began to turn red. He stared at that thing full of anger and hatred as he saw Marie''s figure begin to disintegrate.


    Yet, that thing didn''t even flinch and just smiled back at Aurum.


    " What? Do you want to take revenge? Then just do so! But you are just a weakling, and you couldn''t do anything."


    That thing''s words were harsh, but it couldn''t be nearer to the truth.


    It was a fact that Marie died because he protected him, and it had left a massive impact on Aurum.


    Would, once again, his weaknesses take things dear to him?


    The feeling of frustration and despair filled Aurum.


    But at this time, something happened.


    As Aurum thought he would never see Marie again, he subtly could hear Marie''s voice in his heart.


    And that voice was telling him to call her.


    It was so bizarre. But sometimes, people tend to cling to the little hope that they had.


    Something began to change inside of Aurum, and that "thing" also noticed it.


    " No, you don''t!"


    It rushed at Aurum with its fastest speed, yet it was a bit toote.


    Aurum had already made his mind, and that weird card once again appeared on his hand, now glowed with rainbow light.


    "Contract established!!"


    When that happened¡­.


    Uwaaaahhh-!!


    Apanied by a heavy, somber cry, Marie''s figure that was beginning to disintegrate before suddenly shone.


    Particles of light enveloped Marie, and a brand new Marie appeared in front of Aurum,plete with a shining cane that made her lookpletely like a Magical Girl after transformation.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And now there was a link that connected the two. Marie, she has be Aurum''s third Arcane Card.


    And just like the usual Magical Girl''s transformation, when they transform, it is usually followed by this huge explosion. And that thing was identally caught in that explosion, throwing it away a few meters deep into the wall.


    " Marie¡­"


    As soon as Aurum thought of that name, Marie suddenly turned her head around.


    There was a bright smile on her face, which was very suitable for her appearance.


    It was as if saying thank you and I''m back.


    But again, there was no time to celebrate.


    "Aurum, we can''t waste any more time than this!"


    Marie pointed to that thing that was struggling to get back up to its knees after getting hit by that explosion.


    " For some reason, I felt like as time passed, my power was leaking. And it wouldn''t be long until I fell a few ranks. If that happened, I don''t know whether we could survive this."


    Aurum felt like a bag of cold water was thrown into his happiness.


    Would they really be unable to get out of this unfavorable situation?


    But when he saw Marie was still smirking like she had a n, Aurum quickly came to a realization.


    '' Wait.. since Marie had turned into my Arcane Card, then¡­''


    It was at this point, Aurum felt he realized what Marie was thinking.


    It was a gamble, but it was the best risk they could think of right now.


    " Marie!!"


    " Yes, I know!"


    Brave Mode, awaken!!!


    In the meantime, the boss had finally been able to regain his stature.


    Shurururu¡­


    The after impact from thest explosion was not small, and it had made its tattered body be even more tattered.


    But it was surprised because when it woke up, the one in front of him was neither Aurum nor Marie.


    His stature was like Aurum, but he had that shining aura that previously was exclusive to Marie.


    " Who.."


    " Your mom!"


    BAMM!!!!!


    Obviously, it was Aurum who activated the Brave mode with Marie. But there was no way that thing would expect this.


    And seizing this chance, Aurum''s assault began on that thing.


    POW!!!


    That thing teetered about unsteadily before falling to his knees.


    Plop.


    He tried to stand back up, but Aurum didn''t give him any chance to do so.


    Plop.


    "Euh-euk¡­"


    Aurum stood before that thing he wordlessly stared down at him for a while.


    ''Bastard..''


    Then, while ignoring Aurum''s question-filled gaze directed at it, that thing extended its hand out towards his side before he roared with a groaned voice:


    " Come, my monsters, attack him!!"

 Chapter 59 Ch 59 : Aurums Adventure (Last)

    [ You have harshly wounded the boss. The second phase would start now.]


    If it was in the game, there certainly would be a notification like this.


    Aurum, in his brave mode, was currently surrounded by a group of monsters as that thing had finally felt that Aurum was a huge threat to him.


    Nheless, even when being surrounded, Aurum didn''t feel like he was cornered.


    The brave mode was basically Aurum strength plus the Arcane Card strength multiplied by a few times.


    With his increased strength from the brave mode, Aurum was easily killing monsters right and left while also umting a lot of Mana to Rank Up.


    Still, he didn''t growcent as he also knew he needed to finish things quickly before the brave mode ended.


    ''Bastard, get out of my way!''


    That thing''s agile movements were being hampered gradually due to the increasing number of wounds being inflicted on its body.


    "Keuahahahk!!"


    His sarcastic voice andughter had long disappeared.


    The boss had been dodging Marie''s attack left and right before, but now, it was quite obviously running out of breath.


    ''Just a little bit more!''


    Taking advantage of that thing being a bit restless, Aurum silently used Marie''s technique to summon a clone and caught that thing off guard from behind.


    "Now!!"


    When Aurum gave the signal, Mana began to surge through his body.


    That thing also noticed there was something going on here, but Aurum''s close was tightly holding him back.


    "What are you tryin¡­..?"


    Before he could finish, Aurumpleted his technique, and an army of light arrows rained down on that thing''s position.


    KWABOOOM!!


    BOOM!!


    "Keo-heok!!"


    For the first time ever, the boss spat out a sharp cry of pain.


    Even when it was hit by Marie''s attack before, it could still stand tall despite its tattered body. But now, that thing twisted its body around, and one of his arms fell off.


    To make it even worse for him, his monster army was also obliterated by Aurum''s attack, leaving only a few ck blobs that were more resistant to attacks.


    Grit!


    That thing''s enraged, murderous eyes were now firmly fixed on Aurum.


    "Kill.. I''ll kill you!!"


    Seeing this, Aurum couldn''t help but admire the tenacity of that thing.


    ''Even with such a heavy wound, it can still exhibit that much strength!''


    Unfortunately for it, its fate had been sealed since Aurum used his brave mode.


    Waving his hand a few times, multiple bolts of light appeared surrounding Aurum.


    ''Light bolts!''


    Just like what he did before, Aurum threw the light bolts at that thing. And even more, now it was fully targeted at that thing, not a wide area attack like the previous one.


    Shukk-!!


    The light bolts flew to their target in the blink of an eye.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Under such heavy attacks, that thing realized that it was difficult to dodge, so it used its own de to deflect the light bolts.


    Crack!


    The light bolts were just too much and too fast. And even if that thing was able to deflect some of them, he still could not survive the attack fully harmless.


    And at the same time¡­.


    Aurum used this chance to close the distance to "that thing", and use a short-distance light bolt to stab that thing in the stomach.


    Stab!!


    "That thing"''s eyes widened considerably.


    "Keo-heok!!"


    However, that thing was not an easy opponent. He ignored the damages that his body had received and still managed to grab Aurum''s wrist even in the midst of all this. It was not that hard to see that thing''s desire to not go down without a fight from its crazed eyes.


    "Even if I go down, I will bring you with me!"


    Just as that thing raised its swords above its head to stab at Aurum¡­.


    Aurum simply smirked. At the same time, a clone that had long been hiding appeared, and a huge light bolt wasunched in the direction of that thing''s face.


    Boom!!


    That thing crashed into the hard ground.


    And at this time, a bright light came to envelop the whole Dungeon, with a voice that could be heard:


    The Trial of The Brave has been cleared. Please im your reward.


    . . . . . . . .


    At the same time, when Aurum was having a hard time in the Dungeon. Unknown to him, Luna actually invites Cade to her home.


    Well, it''s not like Luna was going to introduce Cade as her fiancee.


    Still, if Aurum knew about this, Cade was sure that he would have heartbreak, especially if he knew that Eva was also going to be there with him.


    Cade, as a man only needed one minute to get ready, quickly grabbed a taxi and headed off to the meeting point. A few people were already there, waiting for his arrival.


    They were all Luna''s father''s employees tasked to pick up Cade here.


    The man who looked like the group leader waved his hand at Cade.


    "Heyyy! Over here."


    It was a bearded man with a fairly big physique in a tuxedo. He smiled softly and walked closer while speaking to Cade.


    "Are you Mister Cade?"


    "That''s correct."


    "Well, it''s a relief that you found the right ce so quickly. I guess this is fate, so how about we greet each other before we get started?"


    The bearded man briefly introduced the members of his team.


    The eight of them, including himself, were all a team under Luna''s father, the weakest among them were rank (IV), and the man himself had a mid-rank (V) Arcane Card.


    ''Not bad.. even though, from my viewpoint, they are rather weak, they are still a pretty solid line-up from a Human standpoint. However, I don''t think the reason they are here is this simple.''


    Grigory''s voice appeared out of nowhere, warning Cade. He usually doesn''t appear if there is nothing that could attract his attention.


    For Grigory to say something like this, there must be something waiting for Cade after this.


    Yet Cade looked pretty calm.


    '' I know.''

 Chapter 60 Ch 60 : Growth

    " By the way, Mr. Cade, let''s get inside. Our leader is waiting for you."


    The bearded man said, full of hospitality. From his tone alone, no one would notice that there was something strange behind this.


    Yet Cade, who had yed the game from the start to the end, already had a guess about what was going on.


    These guys, they were not fake. They were indeed Luna''s father''s underlings. However¡­


    Cade entered the car and was quickly brought away by the group of guys in the ck suit that named themselves Luna''s father underling.


    They went through the road of the Royal Capital, and they soon reached a ce that, from the outside, looked like a big mansion.


    " Mr. Cade, here we are. Please wait a bit. We will be letting you in soon."


    The ce where the car was parked was a shady, dark and secret ce behind the mansion, where you wouldn''t think it would be a part of the huge luxurious mansion.


    Normally, no guest would be brought here, but Cade''s case today was special.


    Cade though, seemed a bit unfazed as he had already seen what wasing.


    A few minutester¡­


    '' Kid, there''s someoneing in your direction with full hostility. And to make it worse, he seemed to be a lot stronger than you. Should I handle him for you? Kyhahahahah.''


    Grigory''s voice resounded as Cade subtly opened his closed eyes.


    To be honest, he had started to get tired of waiting.


    '' No, it''s okay. I''ll handle this.''


    Cade went outside of the car. His hand shone, and Spectre Duhan appeared right next to him. With brand new armor that made him look even stronger than usual.


    " Spectre Duhan, prepare for a confrontation."


    " Kyuu!!"


    As they talked for a bit.


    The enemy had finallye.


    A white wolf with a tiny little figure approached Spectre Duhan in a sh.


    Yet the group of underlings didn''t seem like they would make a move. It even seems more like they pretended Cade didn''t exist and just watched the battle unfold from afar.


    Its w shone and was ready to unleash a heavy strike that could easily obliterate a rank (III) Arcane Card.


    "It looks like you haven''t really figured the situation out yet, eh? Spectre Duhan, block it."


    Cade gives an instruction, much to the bewilderment of the others.


    The expression of the underlings became weirder and weirder as they watched Spectre Duhan''s sword sh with the little wold w, but the Spectre Duhan was not losing ground.


    ''¡­.What the hell? Shouldn''t it suppose to be a Rank (III) Arcane Card? Unless¡­''


    The little wolf was also confused.


    It tried to perform a few more tricks, but no matter how hard he tried, Spectre DUhan showed no sign of buzzing and only blocked his moves with a few sword strikes.


    ''Has he now reached rank (IV)?!''


    Cold sweat formed on the forehead of the underlings.


    ''Such a fast growth, how could this be possible¡­.''


    Since Luna got interested in Cade, the underlings had done pretty deep research on Cade.


    And they knew that not even a year ago, Cade''s Spectre Duhan. was only at Rank (I).


    To grow three ranks in less than a year, if Cade was not a monster, they didn''t know what else they could describe him with.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yet the surprise was far from ending yet.


    It happened then.


    The little wolf knew he could not gain the upper hand in this form.


    He was about to unleash his true power. But here, he felt a bit dizzy, and the head of the little wold was pressed down to the ground.


    Thud.


    "M-master''s Fenrir¡­"


    The underling''s eyes trembled like an earthquake.


    "Wha-what the hell?!"


    "How could this be?!"


    If before they were surprised by Cade, now they all shrieked in horror.


    The bearded man and his goons quickly took several steps back and yanked their Arcane Card out.


    They were afraid that mishaps would happen to the little wolf. Yet they were making the same mistake at the little wolf.


    Spectre Duhan''s eyes were passed on them, and immediately they felt a terrifying pressure on their body.


    It was as if death was passed on them, and they and their Arcane Card could only lower their head to the ground, thinking just what kind of monster had they offended here.


    Unfortunately, Cade''s disy of power didn''tst long.


    When he thought that the little wolf would still have some tricks to y against him, a familiar girly voice appeared from the direction of the mansion.


    " Father!!! What the heck are you doing? Haven''t I said that it''s enough?"


    " Eh.. but I need to test my future son.."


    " Haven''t I said that it is enough?? Furthermore¡­ I.."


    Obviously, it was none other than Luna.


    Her face was blushing, full of red as she looked at Cade, and next to her was a middle-aged man with a white suit and a calm-looking face.


    " Anyway.. you should end this farce soon! There''s no way you should treat a guest like this!"


    " Okay okay.. I get it. Still, I don''t think there''s no need for you to get this agitated. After all, even our guest here seems to be pretty okay."


    Luna''s father pointed at Cade, which looked pretty much unharmed with Spectre Duhan by his side.


    " See? He is unharmed. And to make it better, he looked pretty calm."


    " Ughh¡­"


    Obviously, all the thing before was an act pulled by Luna''s father.


    Even the little wolf was actually Luna''s father''s Arcane Card though it had used some trick to suppress its rank.


    But what made things worse here was she actually looked pretty fierce in front of Cade, and now Luna, who saw Cade was looking back at her intently, shyishly hid behind her father.


    " Haha.. she is still too naive for this."


    Luna''s fatherughed. But at Luna''s re, he quickly shifted his gaze at Cade.


    " *Cough* Hello Cade, I''m Luna''s father. I''m sorry for the inconvenience before, but I have heard about you a lot from Luna, and I couldn''t help but see your strength by myself.


    However... even though I had surpress my rank a lot, to think that you have a skill that could even trick my Arcane Card, you really are as brilliant as my cute little daughter here said."

 Chapter 61 Ch 61 : Hello Elizabeth

    " I''m sorry.."


    " For what?


    " For.. getting my father interested in you and troubling you before.."


    Entering the huge mansion, Luna apologized to Cade. Her face looked down, but it was not because she felt apologetic.


    Rather, it was because she was embarrassed by what her father had said before.


    '' Stupid father.. me and Cade.. we are not in that kind of rtionship.''


    Eva, looking from the side, found this new side of her friend pretty interesting.


    While she was with her or Aurum, Luna was the cheerful type of girl. Yet, for some reason, whenever she was with Cade, she suddenly turned into this little blushing machine. And therefore, she decided to tease her a bit.


    " Hmm? What is it? A drama about father-inw and son-inw?"


    " We.. We are not like that!!!"


    Luna went into full rebuttal mode.


    But secretly, her heart thought of entirely something else.


    '' But for him not to rebuke¡­ Did he really think about me like that?''


    The walk to Luna''s room was filled with a weird atmosphere as Eva continuously teased Luna.


    Fortunately, after about five minutes, the torture was over, and they finally reached Luna''s father''s room.


    " Father, we areing!"


    Opening the door, Cade and the others were greeted with the scene of Luna''s father, along with a few acquaintances of his all of them were important people.


    Completely different from before, Luna''s father had dropped the quirky personality and now changed into one of the charismatic faces of one of the strongest Arcane card wielders in the world.


    " Well, wee Luna, Cade, and Eva. Now, before everything else, let me introduce you three to these acquaintances of mine."


    . . . . . . . .


    Later that day -


    " Sir.. just who is that kid?"


    After Cade left the room, he quickly became a hot topic among the acquaintances of Cade''s father.


    In front of Cade, they might not show it directly. Yet they were all actually amazed by Cade''s skill.


    To be able to answer a question that even the best of the Arcane Card researchers could not answer, they felt like talking to someone that had a thousand years'' worth of knowledge on their mind, and they could not help but be more interested in Cade.


    " Haha.. Haven''t I introduced you to him before? He is a ssmate of my daughter and also a good friend of hers."


    Luna''s fatherughed. Especially emphasizing the meaning that Cade is Luna''s good friend, and they should not think to do anything weird to him.


    " But Sir¡­"


    The few guys next to Luna''s father in the room still didn''t want to give up. After all, Cade was just a special urrence here.


    But just one look from Luna''s father was enough to dispel all kinds of bad thoughts from their mind.


    " Hmm? Haven''t I made it clear? He is a good friend of my lovely daughter."


    Luna''s father walked to one of the guys here, patting his shoulder.


    At this time, the guys who Luna''s father had patted trembled.


    His knees weakened, and he almost suffocated.


    A pressure from Rank (VIII) Arcane Card Wielder was not something that you could easily handle.


    It was up to the point that everyone believed that they should not discuss this anymore. Luna''s father finally relieved the room of his pressure.


    '' Well.. Luna. Your father has fulfilled your request. So please cut some ck to this lovely father of yours, okay..''<novelnext></novelnext>


    . . . . . . .


    The very next day, after Cade went to Luna''s house, he was prepared to fulfill his promise to certain someone.


    He was ready to go out when a few notifications popped out from his phone.


    He opened his phone and found that it was none other than Luna.


    Cade picked up the phone call:


    "Hi, sorry for troubling you yesterday. Did you get some good sleepst night?"


    "Well, it''s okay. And no need to be sorry. After all, I also get the chance to test my Spectre Duhan''s new skills."


    "Well, true that¡­."


    The chat continued for a while more. To be honest, Cade didn''t feel trouble at all from Luna''s father''s antics yesterday.


    Even in the game, Luna''s father did the same thing to the protagonist, and his original aim was actually to let everyone knows that he was backing the protagonist.


    '' Hmm? Did I just take the protagonist''s chance once again¡­ Well whatever.''


    Things had be like this, and there was no use in remorsing things. If it could help him, then Cade should care less about the chances of the protagonist.


    But at this time, he could hear another voiceing from his mind.


    '' Humph, why are you seeking protection from another human? Was this Lord Grigory not enough for you? Humph, not like I care, though. You could rely on those weak humans all you wanted.''


    " ¡­.. "


    Since when did this fearsome, mysterious Grigory turn into a tsundere?


    Nheless, even before Cade could answer. He could hear the sound of his doorbell ringing.


    " Coming!!!"


    " Eh.. what are you doing, Cade?"


    "Uhm¡­.. I''m sorry, Luna. But let''s continue our chat next time. I still have something to do here."


    ? " Eh.. wait-"


    Before Luna could finish her words, Cade had already closed the phone.


    Later, he could only apologize to Luna for this. But now he had no other choice because¡­


    When Cade opened the door, a beautiful mature woman with red hair was already waiting for him.


    She was so beautiful that even Ray felt a bit dazed.


    " *Cough* Sorry for intruding on your holiday."


    " Ahh.. it''s okay Ms. Elizabeth.."


    Obviously, it was none other than Miss Elizabeth.


    Today Cade would finally fulfill his promise with Miss Elizabeth to help her Arcane Card rank-up but before that¡­


    " Elizabeth."


    " ??? "


    " No, we are not in the university anymore, so you can just call me Elizabeth."


    Miss Elizabeth was blushing a bit when she said those words. Cade was almost ten years younger than her, and saying things like this to a teenager like him felt so wrong.


    Yet, she just couldn''t maintain the same hierarchy as they were no longer in the university.


    Butpletely unknown to her, her blushing face was captured in Cade''s memory, and only a single word coulde out of his mouth.


    '' Cute¡­''

 Chapter 62 Ch 62 : Undead Dungeon

    Knock, knock.


    "Here are the requested files, sir."


    "Come in."


    Inside a strange room that looked like it was disconnected from this world, a strange man entered the office.


    As if he had been waiting a while, the man that sat at the table didn''t even bother to look at the man that had just entered, as he still continued working on the thick stack of documents in front of him.


    " Sir, regarding Irvin the Red Blood, we have been able to make sure that he was able to infiltrate Orion University. However, the university was currently on a break, and therefore we were not able to do anything at this time. Based on our estimation, the operation would only be able to start after the break ended."


    " Hmm.. Good job. Then continue on what you have been doing so far."


    The man that looked like the leader said. His face was disinterested as he continued working on the document.


    But the underling didn''t leave yet, and for some reason, it annoyed the leader a bit.


    "Umm¡­ Sir.."


    " What is it?"


    The leader said, one of his eyes raised.


    The underling looked troubled a bit and wasn''t sure whether he should really say this thing out loud.


    However, considering that the leader''s patience seemed to be worsening with every second ticked by, he wasn''t left with many choices.


    " Sir, actually.. One of our executives had reported that he had found the user of the Fool Sacred Arcana-"


    The underling wasn''t even able to finish his words when it happened..


    *Cracked*


    All of a sudden, the aura surrounding the room felt suffocating, and while the underling tried his best to stay calm, the walls and the table began to grow cracks on them.


    " Are you sure about this?"


    " I- I don''t know sir. But ut was what Executive A reported to us."


    The atmosphere was eerily suffocating, with only silence enveloping the whole room.


    Fortunately, before the underlings fainted from the oppressive aura, the leader finally called back his pressure.


    " Hmm.. it is weird. The prophecy said that the Sacred Arcana War shouldn''t have started so early¡­ *Sigh* Maybe I start getting old." The leader''s voice sounds a bit grim. Then he finally turned his face to see the trembling underling in front of him.


    " By the way, good job for reporting those things to me. For now, everything is still under control, and just continue what we have been doing so far."


    . . . . . . .


    " Are we there yet?"


    Back to Cade, the ce that Cade brought Ms. Elizabeth was a pretty far ce which took them almost four hours by train and then followed by two more hours of walking in a deste ce with no other passerby.


    If not for the fact that she was far stronger than him, Elizabeth would definitely think that Cade had a bad intention for her.


    " Don''t worry, we''ll be there soon."


    After taking a deep breath, Cade nced behind me. An inch away from his feet was a razor-sharp cliff.


    The secret ce they were looking for was located in the middle of a cliff, buried in moss and vines.


    "Humph."


    It was clear that Elizabeth began to grow impatient, yet Cade could not do anything to pacify her.


    A few minutester, they eventually arrived at their destined ce. Cade looked into the dark cave without going in. Using Spectre Duhan to survey the ce, they quickly discovered a monster. It was a ghost.


    Just like in the original story, this was an unconquered hidden undead dungeon. But what Cade was looking for was the thing that would be the reward for thepletion of this dungeon.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Follow me."


    Cade took the lead, and Miss Elizabeth silently followed.


    "¡­So this is why it hasn''t been discovered until now."


    Even if you knew it was there, it would have been hard to find it. Not only was it covered in all sorts of vegetation, but the entrance was also narrow.


    At first nce, the entrance only looked like a tiny gap.


    "Once we go in, there won''t be giving up in the wat. Are you prepared?"


    "Humph, do you think I Elizabeth is a joke? Let''s go. This should be the ce that you said could help my Arcane Card rank up, right?"


    Elizabeth was pretty fired up.


    Cade didn''t say anything, and since Elizabeth had agreed, he just began leading the way.


    Not far from the entrance, where Spectre Duhan found that ghost monster, Cade and Miss Elizabeth quickly find their first match up here.


    "Beware, the monster here is pretty strong."


    Cade even prepared a light grenade just in case.


    Even if the focus in this world was Arcane Card, there were always some people who had a passion for other things, and that''s howbat items were born in this world.


    Though one might argue that they were useless in the face of a strong enemy, preparing one or two wouldn''t hurt at all.


    Cade quickly sends Spectre Duhan to engage the enemy inbat.


    Even the weakest mob here should be an intermediate Rank (V) Monster, and the difference between ranks was immense.


    Cade going all out with Specter Duhan would likely only distract it for a moment.


    However, a moment of distraction was enough. Because Miss Elizabeth would take care of the rest.


    " Humph, just a trash, and you dare block my way? Burn into ashes!!"


    Ms. Elizabeth''s phoenix was strong.


    One Fireball was enough to incinerate the enemy that Cade had a lot of trouble with in one move. And here Cade was once again reminded of how he was still far from being safe in this world.


    If someone like Elizabeth were his enemy, he wouldn''t even survive a few seconds.


    " What is it?"


    Seeing Cade was dazed while looking at her, Elizabeth asked.


    " Nothing. I just think that you are actually amazing.."


    *Blush*


    " You.. stop sayning nonsene things! Or else, I would leave you here!"


    "???"


    To be honest, Cade was just saying things voluntarily. But Elizabeth''s reaction was way much more than he expected, and only then he remember Elizabeth''s trait from the databook.


    Elizabeth:


    Weakness: Praise, especially earnest praise.


    A supremely arrogant person but at the same time, she was weak to someone she acknowledged.


    "....."

 Chapter 63 Ch 63 : Meeting In The Dungeon

    The inside of the Dungeon was covered by dense darkness. That even turning on a shlight would not help that much. Cade grabbed Miss Elizabeth''s hand and guided her. Ignoring the blush on her face and kept going.


    The two walked through the Dungeon with the only lightning they have was from the Spectre Duhan''s aura.


    "It''s kinda creepy."


    "*Mutter* Hand¡­.."


    " Ah, sorry I can''t really hear you. It''s dark here."


    " ¡­.. "


    " Kyuu¡­."


    After a few minutes of walking, Cade suddenly stopped and widened his eyes.


    It was almost gone unnoticeable, but for Cade, who knew the history of this Dungeon from the game, he saw something that shouldn''t be there.


    There was a used cigarette slipped in the corner. If it was any other dungeon, then it wouldn''t be strange to see that thing here.


    But this should be a not yet discovered Dungeon, and to see such a thing, means..


    " Be wary. There might be ambushers around us." Cade warned Elizabeth.


    They stopped, and their eyes surrounded the Dungeon.


    And right, not long after, two people were walking forward from the pathway.


    '' *Sigh* Haven''t I said this before? You should take out that cigarette first."


    " Oh please shut up. Wasn''t it you who threw that cigarette there?"


    Ray couldn''t tell who they were from their faces.


    All he could see was one had a bigger stature, while the other one was pretty small with a bald head.


    But considering the feeling he got from them and the tattoos on their faces, they should be some bad guys.


    At this point, Elizabeth was more than ready to act. But Cade had another idea.


    "¡­Wait, stay quiet for a moment."


    " Why?"


    Miss Elizabeth whispered.


    She was about to summon her Arcane Card and burn those two into cinders. But Cade''s words stopped her.


    He clenched Elizabeth''s hand tighter, which took her by surprise.


    " ??? "


    " Don''t worry, I have a n."


    As he walked toward the two men, he introduced himself.


    "Wow¡­ Hello, my name is Cade. I did not expect to meet people in a ce like this. My girlfriend here and I discovered this ce by ident, and we decided to explore it a bit.. Haha.."


    Cade pretended like he was a clueless boy with his girlfriend, who identally delved into the Dungeon.


    " ??? "


    The man with the tattoo was also surprised by this development, but he quickly said..


    "I''m Gran, and this here is Glenn."


    "Nice to meet you."


    The short bald headed Gran smiled. Glen was a bit confused, but he still followed Gran.


    " *Pstt* Hey, what are you doing?"


    " Hehe¡­ just follow me. If things go as I wanted, we could brought him deep into the Dungeon, kill him andter get the girl for ourselves."


    " Damn.. you are smart, Gran!!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ray''s face was just way too young, and the two didn''t believe that a girl would be that strong. Therefore, they thought that there would be little risk to this.


    All four people except Elizabeth had big smiles on their faces as they had their own motives.


    But unknowingly, it had turned into a war of who could utilize the other party better.


    "This Mountain range is no ce for people. You havee a long way¡­. what brings the two of you to these remotends?"


    "Well, we actually¡­."


    Cade went ahead and replied.


    "Hahahah so that''s it? A pair of lovebirds who looked for a ce to snu-snu?"


    *Blush*


    Elizabeth''s face was beet red.


    Her grit on Cade''s hand tightened, and Cade could feel a murderous re from behind. It was as if her eyes were saying:


    '' I''ll make sure I will remember this, Mr. North.''


    Gran had a wide smile. Glenn also was trying to hold back hisughter.


    "Anyway, this dungeon is a really dangerous ce. You could call this meeting fate, so from here on, we are going to be your escort. I think the road we offer is in good faith. There is no reason to refuse. We would be grateful to apany you, haha."


    Obviously it was a suspicious offer. But Cade pretended that he didn''t notice anything weird and disyed his brightest smile.


    "Haha! If it is like that, why should we refuse?"


    As the two groups reached an agreement, they began to explore the Dungeon together.


    Nheless to say, Ray knew all the traps of this Dungeon from the game.


    But sometimes, games and reality might differ, and he couldn''t be more than try to be safe.


    The path to the boss room was wrought with monsters.


    Currently, there were six ghouls in front of them. They were intermediate rank grade (V) undead monsters.


    While summoning their Arcane Cards, the two separated and gently surrounded the ghouls.


    Gran''s ck-horned Grizzly acted like a tank, while Glenn''s Goblin knight dealt the finishing blow.


    ''Not bad. They should be at least at rank (V) or higher. d that I didn''t make a rash decision.'' Cade judged.


    It wasn''t just their rank. They also had good reflexes and judgment. They knew where and what to attack and how to properly strike an opponent.


    So these are the people raised in this harsh adventurous world, huh?


    Though Elizabeth couldn''t really understand Cade''s meaning. From the start, she kept looking at Cade suspiciously.


    And since now the two bad guys were battling, they finally got the time to chat.


    " Hey, what are you thinking? I could just burn them into cinders.."


    " ..."


    " What??"


    " Are you always this fierce? No wonder that you¡­"


    Not even able to finish his words, Cade could feel a huge amount of murderous aura leaking from Elizabeth.


    " Okay okay¡­ I''m just joking, okay. Geez.. where is that girl who was blushing just now just because I held her hand.."


    " ¡­.. "


    " Back to the topic, the reason I have them by our side was none other than to check for traps.


    The two of us alone. Though we are more than enough to get through this Dungeon alive, there were also some risks. But with them, if anything goes wrong, we could always use them.. Hehehehe¡­"

 Chapter 64 Ch 64 : Meeting In The Dungeon (2)

    Soon, the group came to the Second floor.


    The ce was even more dangerous; traps were installed everywhere. Sometimes stronger monsters, but,pared to the traps that made their dungeon-walk truly miserable, they seemed to be the lesser evil.


    Based on Cade''s memories, this dungeon should consist of three floors.


    It was one of the hardest Dungeon in the mid-game, and not only the monsters which most of them at an intermediate rank (V), one wrong move and you will be killed by the traps.


    " Arggh!!!"


    Oil poured from the ceiling, igniting mes. Standing under the fiery rain, Glenn was shocked. If not for Cade''s timely shout, he would have lost his life here.


    Following slowly behind, Cade and Elizabeth were still safe.


    "This¡­Wasn''t this trap a bit extreme?"


    After that incident, they still continued their exploration. They havee this far, so there''s no turning back now.


    "But¡­" Cade suddenly spoke.


    "You guys are taking all the risk.. To be honest, we feel pretty bad. Maybe we should..."


    Glenn and Gran were surprised by Cade''s words.


    Quickly, the goodwill they had toward Cade rose, and they replied.


    " It''s okay. You don''t need to worry. Just treat this as an adventure for you and your girlfriend."


    The two didn''t notice this, but they had fallen into Cade''s trap. Humans were just like this, utilizing their psych; Cade perfectly got two little guys to check the water of the trap for him.


    '' Kyahahahah, I like that kid! It seems you have learned a lot from me.''


    '' Well, with you always staying by my side all day long, wouldn''t it be weird if I didn''t learn a thing or two??''


    . . . . . . . . .


    ''This is an interesting ce.''


    Glenn and Gran had explored many dungeons and ces with monsters. Swarms of bloodthirsty monsters moving about in packs, dangerous hunting grounds infested with wandering Booses.


    And this was not the first DUngeon they got in that was filled with traps.


    " Still, the monster level of this Dungeon is pretty high. Luckily, we are able to deceive them with your advice, brother."


    " Haha.. it''s all just luck."


    ''That''s it¡­ lower your guard down more.''


    As they kept advancing toward the dungeon, Cade''s timely warning had saved them more than once. And now they even began to call one another brother.


    Though it was all clearly just on the front. When things came to an end, Glenn and Gran would not hesitate to kill Cade and take Elizabeth all for themself.


    Nheless, all the good times would eventuallyst.


    Just a little bit ahead of him was a ce where ck and white tiles were arranged like a chess board. Heck, there were even chess pieces on the left and right sides of the board.


    " This.. what should we do?"


    Glenn and Gran looked at each other worryingly.


    This chess board looked to have appeared out of nowhere. And onemon rule from the Dungeon: The more a thing looked unnatural, the more dangerous it was.


    "But we havee this far. We have to keep moving." Gran seemed to be struggling to make a decision.


    But the moment his feet were about to step into the chess board, he could feel his scalp tingling.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But at this time, he could feel a hand tapping his shoulder.


    " It''s okay. I will be the one to check this trap."


    It was Cade, and his face was full of reassurance.


    Glenn and Gran wanted to reject like before, but this time, they remembered the strange feeling they got when they were about to step onto the chessboard and couldn''t help but agree to Cade''s proposal.


    " Then.. please. But remember to be safe, brother."


    " Got it!"


    Holding Elizabeth''s hand, Cade advanced slowly while pressing lightly on the floor in order to respond quickly to any traps.


    Still, it was all just y pretend.


    Cade was very familiar with this trap, and no matter what step he took, Nothing happened.


    ck White ck White.


    Cade danced through the chess board like there was a pattern. But in reality, there is actually no pattern here.


    This chessboard was another nasty trap of the game creator.


    Just ahead, an almost invisibly thin thread extended at the height of an ankle.


    There it was, at the boundary between the ck and white tiles. Unless you concentrated hard, it was difficult to find this trap.


    It was the real trap here. When people tried their best to think about the chess pieces and tiles, a simple trap was enough to finish the job for them.


    Guided by Cade, the two quickly finished crossing the chessboard trap.


    It was such a terrifying moment for Elizabeth, but she still chose to put her trust on Cade, and now she could not feel luckier to have Cade by her side.


    Glenn and Gran also saw Cade and Elizabeth cross the chessboard trap safely.


    They sighed relief and were about to follow Cade''s step.


    But then, the moment Glenn and Gran reached halfway, something happened.


    Cade, with an evil smile, took a small rock and threw it right at the thread to trigger the real Chessboard trap.


    *tuduk*


    The stone, though was not that fast, no doubt cutting it along the process. At that moment, the walls to the left and right opened up, and a rain of arrows poured out.


    "Keuahak!"


    " Why??"


    Glenn and Gran were overwhelmed with shock from the arrows flying into their body! The only thing they could do was scream helplessly as arrows prated their armor.


    Even summoning their Arcane Card would only dy their death a bit as the Arcane Card''s defense was not strong enough to handle the rain of arrows.


    But what they couldn''t understand was why Cade would do this.


    " Pfftt.. fool. Do you think just because I helped you a few times, I don''t know what you guys are thinking?"


    " You just want to kill me and take Elizabeth by yourself. Well, not that I cared, though. Now enjoy your time before you guys rot in hell."


    Cade''s words were thest thing they remembered before they died, and it was also one that plunged them into despair.

 Chapter 65 Ch 65 : Dungeon Boss

    " Aren''t you a bit too cruel?"


    " Cruel? This is a necessary part of surviving."


    Entering the Third floor, Elizabeth couldn''t help but look back at the scene where Cade mercilessly threw the two other people to death.


    No matter what, she was still a woman, and she was easily shaken by this. Unlike Cade, who was now a follower of Grigory-Sama''s teaching.


    Let''s not say Ny-nine percent and one percent. Those guys were obviously nning something shady, and Cade would definitely not give any mercy to anyone who nned to harm himself.


    In the end, seeing Cade like this, Elizabeth could not say anything and just silently followed behind him as the two walked through the third floor.


    "Let''s hurry. We don''t have time."


    The two ran through the cave. Monsters were around every corner, but with Elizabeth here, it was easy to take care of them.


    After running for about ten minutes taking care of ghouls, zombies, and ghosts, they finally arrived in front of a giant stone door.


    " A giant stone door? Is it the Boss room?"


    Elizabeth marveled, but Cade had no intention of answering her.


    Because right now, his focus waspletely on something else.


    At first nce, the stone door seemed to be immovable, but strange symbols were written on the wall.


    These symbols were an ancientnguage that only existed in Dungeons. And with the level of their modern technology, they still couldn''t understand the meaning of these Dungeons runes.


    But sometimes, there''s no need to understand something to solve the problem.


    Cade took out my smartwatch and began looking through the notes.


    '' Let''s see the mountain Dungeon of Elizabeth¡­''


    It can''t be seen, can''t be felt,


    can''t be heard, and can''t be smelt.


    It lies behind stars and under hills,


    and empty holes it fills.


    Ites first and follows after,


    ends life and killsughter.


    What is it?


    If everything were to follow the natural progression, after seeing these runes, the protagonist would return to Orion University, finding a lot of hints before returning with the answer in his hand.


    However, Cade didn''t have time to do so.


    He scrolled down through the notes that he had quickly made after he realized he was transmigrated into a game that he had yed before and found his answer.


    "Darkness."


    Cade muttered the answer, and the stone wall reacted. The symbols on the wall glowed with blue light, then disappeared into particles of light.


    Immediately afterward, a rumbling sound filled the space as the huge door was opened.


    "Wait, you can read the ancient runes?"


    Elizabeth was looking at Cade like he was not from this world.


    How did he know that? Not only the knowledge about Arcane Card evolution. Now he is also well-versed in Ancient runes?


    Unfortunately, her question would still need to be postponed a bit, as Cade also didn''t know how to answer her.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I''ll tell you if I have the timeter. For now, let''s clear the Dungeon and get some sleep."


    " ¡­.. "


    Entering the boss room, they were greeted with a huge, dark, and silent room.


    In the middle of the roomy a throne made of stone. Sitting on this throne was a Lich, staring down at Cade and Elizabeth.


    He waspletely covered in a ck cloak. His eyes oozed with boredom, as though he had only just woken up from his sleep.


    However, the moment he saw Cade, the lich''s eyes burned red. He met Cade''s eyes and made a small smile.


    " What is this? An intruder?"


    A chilling sound resounded. Elizabeth''s face was frozen in nervousness.


    A monster capable of speaking humannguage signified that it was far from ordinary.


    Even in reality, monsters of rank (VI) and above had intelligence on par with humans. Though of course, talking was still limited to humanoid monsters.


    Cade though, was a bit better because he had known this from the game.


    Yet the feeling that he got from this lich, for some reason, his hunch told him to run away as soon as possible.


    But at this time, just when Cade took out his Arcane Card and was ready to summon his Spectre Duhan, something happened.


    '' Kid, please swap with me for a moment.''


    Grigory''s voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    Normally, Cade would refuse as he had learned his lesson thest time. Grigory''s power needed to be paid, and it was not something that he could afford right now.


    However, it was very rare to see Grigory this serious. And cade eventually decided to put his trust.


    The Lich pulled out his scythe, and an unknown burst of aura surged within Cade.


    '' This, what other secrets is he hiding from me?''


    Elizabeth was shocked. But the one who was more shocked was the lich.


    " Who are you? You are not the one we are waiting for¡­No, this familiar scent.. what is it?"


    " Haha.. long time no see. Elder Lich.. It is sad to see you ended up in a state like this."


    Against anyone like Grigory, there should be no one who could stay sane after feeling his tremendous aura.


    Yet the Lich, or what Grigory had just called Elder Lich, seemed to be pretty much unaffected.


    " Elder Lich, what are you talking about? No.. rather¡­ The prophecy told me about the chosen one.. Why..?"


    The prophecy about the chosen one.


    The Lich emphasized hisst words.


    Startled, Cade stared at Grigory. But Grigory just stood there with a sad smile that was rarely seen on his face.


    " Old friend, I don''t know how you ended up like this. But for someone like you to believe in superstition¡­ *Sigh* As an old friend, the best I could do is to remove you from this suffering."


    Grigory''s words seem sad, and there''s a trace of loneliness on it. But for some reason, Elder Lich''s eyes suddenly turned red after he heard Grigory''s words.


    "A Superstition, you say?"


    The Lich stared at Cade whose body now was controlled by Grigory, full of rage. A dark aura waved around his body that made his cloak swing around like mad.


    "If that''s the case, then don''t me me for being merciless. A guy likes you¡­ What would you understand!??"

 Chapter 66 Ch 66: Dungeon Boss (2)

    In the original story, when the protagonist and his party entered this Dungeon, the boss should only be at Rank (VI) or lower.


    But for some reason, Cade now could see the dancing aura around the lich, and just based on the bad feeling that it radiated, Cade could see that the weakest the lich was at Rank (VII)


    '' You.. you are noting out just to infuriate him, right?''


    '' Haha¡­ what do you mean by that? But isn''t it better? The stronger he is, the better the reward that you would get.''


    Cade was frozen by Grigory''s response.


    There was some truth in his words still¡­


    '' I will talk to youter about this. And you better told me about that chosen one thingy.''


    The Lich slowly raised his Schyte.


    His de vibrated, letting out a stiff voice.


    ''Come. I will show you why you should not make me angry!''


    Elizabeth stepped up. Cade also took out his Arcane Card.


    He knew that he might only be a burden in this fight. Yet, he would try his best to support Elizabeth.


    "I have a way of defeating him. For now, please hold him back. I''ll support you from the back."


    "¡­I trust you."


    Now, it was Elizabeth''s turn. As she put more power into her Arcane Card. The Aura of a Rank (VII) Arcane Card Wielder rose up clearly from her Phoenix.


    The Lich made the first move, rashly rushing in and striking down with his scythe. Elizabeth''s phoenix used its wing and blocked him.


    KWANG!


    When the scythe hit the wing, it didn''t feel like it was hitting a wing. Rather, the Lich felt like he was hitting metal.


    The two shed. The Lich pulled his scythe back and repeatedly struck down. It was as if he wanted to break the phoenix''s wing.


    However, not even a single scratch appeared on Elizabeth''s phoenix.


    The phoenix, just like how it was in the myth, had a very strong healing ability, and it continuously healed itself throughout the battle.


    Cade and the Spectre Duhan could only watch from the side. The best he could do was just to throw around some stones or attack from range to distract the Lich.


    A battle between these strong existences was not a thing that he could easily interfere.


    But sometimes, there was a time when preparation would determine the end of a battle.


    Watching them fight, Cade slowly took his pocket.


    He knew the boss in this Dungeon was a lich, so he came pretty much prepared.


    ''I couldn''t use a heavy bomb as it might injure Miss Elizabeth''s Phoenix. But¡­''


    A Holy Light bomb that contained the attack of a strong Holy Type Arcane Card was revealed on Cade''s hand.


    '' This might do it.''


    ng. Kwang. Koong. Kwaaaang!


    Under the thunderous noise of the two strong existences shing, Cade waited patiently.


    Then, at the instant where the Lich was overwhelmed by the Pheonix''s continuous attack, Cade threw it.


    Shuuuuu¡ª


    A small ball of a blue container. Yet, for some reason, the Lich could feel a tremendous amount of danger from it.


    His instinct told him to run, but the Phoenix would never let him be.<novelnext></novelnext>


    '' Bastard, let me-''


    For a fraction of a second, he stopped moving.


    The Holy light bomb came right in front of him and detonated at point-nk range, leaving the Lich no escape.


    Still, it was a bit too pretentious to hope the Lich would be defeated just like this.


    Miss Elizabeth knew it was finally her chance as she unleashed her full aura. The Phoenix me rose up like a tornado, and it slowly encircles the Lich.


    Next, The Phoenix unleashed its finishing technique.


    A powerful fire bomb that descended like a meteor, One heavy attack that would obliterate everything on its path.


    The Lich held up his scythe, trying to block. However, the injury from the holy light bomb was not small. The moment the fire bomb shed with the scythe, a crack appeared on the lich''s scythe. Because of injury, its movement dulled a lot, and it no longer had the power to resist.


    Miss Elizabeth quickly followed Cade''s advice to continue attacking..


    It was the right method of defeating it.


    No matter what, they must not give the Lich time to recuperate.


    The Lich eventually didn''tst long. Its scythe crumbled, and the Firebomb could not be blocked.


    "BOOMMM!!!!"


    Under the strength of the Great Fire Bomb, the Lich could no longer maintain its posture.


    Just like that, the Lich''s final stand shattered, and its body turned into dust and scattered into the air.


    And in the ce of the defeated Lich¡­


    All that was left was a treasure Chest.


    "Is it done?"


    Dumbstruck, Miss Elizabeth stared at the treasure chest.


    Previously, the highest-rated treasure chest afterpleting a dungeon was a gold Treasure Chest.


    But this time, a tinum treasure chest was disyed, and it was no wonder that Miss Elizabeth was confused.


    "W-What''s this?"


    She looked around the room just in case she was missing something. However, there was only a scene of Cade walking directly at the treasure chest.


    " Hey.. what are you?"


    There was nothing else disyed in the room. In other words, the thing that Cade said she needed should be inside the treasure chest.


    And seeing Cade handle the treasure chest so carefreely, it was impossible if Elizabeth was not concerned.


    "Is this it¡­?"


    Inside the tinum treasure chest was none other than a small golden bead.


    To be honest, it was in line with his original expectation. But considering that they had just battled against a Rank (VII) Monster, wasn''t this a bitckluster?


    Disappointed, Cade just took the small bead into his hand. He looked toward Elizabeth and brought it to her.


    "Hey, this bead is¡­."


    For some reason, Elizabeth could feel a huge ominous aura from the bead, and it brought her a bad feeling. But Cade just smirked.


    " You know? The legend of Phoenix? To be fully reborn, your Phoenix needs to die first."

 Chapter 67 Ch 67 : Evolution (1)

    *Shudder*


    The moment Cade disyed that evil smile, there was something that told Elizabeth to run.


    It could not be helped, Cade who had been with Grigory twenty-four-seven, had learned some of his habits, and now he unconsciously disyed it in front of Elizabeth.


    But Elizabeth was a bitte to react. Before she could even do something, Cade had already moved and shoved the strange bead inside the Phoenix''s mouth.


    " You¡­."


    His movement was so swift that Elizabeth could not do anything to prevent him. And all she could do was have her eyes widen in shock.


    She saw her trusted Arcane Card convulsed and began screaming like mad. And the cause of this was none other than Cade.


    If she could, she really wanted to hammer Cade to the ground. But now, without her Arcane Card, she was practically defenseless in front of Cade.


    Her re for Cade would kill him a few times if re could kill.


    But then, when Cade was about to tell her about how the bead really worked¡­


    "Bastard¡­ I won''t let you go!!"


    A deep voice rang out.


    Cade and Elizabeth quickly turned around.


    "¡­Shoot."


    Cade bit his lips.


    Maybe because the original game didn''t have this event, he forgot about this possibility.


    They were the two guys they had seen before. Glenn and gran, one was holding a greatsword, and the other was holding a double-edged axe the size of his body.


    But now, there was a difference between them and the original Glenn and Gran that was killed by Cade''s scheme before..


    " How?"


    Elizabeth looked a bit shaken while Cade stood in front of Elizabeth, putting her behind him to protect her.


    For some reason, this small gesture had shaken Elizabeth''s heart a bit.


    She was usually a strong and independent woman who didn''t need to be protected. But now the situation was reversed, and Cade protecting her made her heart beat faster.


    *Thump*


    Nheless, Cade didn''t know and also didn''t have the time to know about what Elizabeth thought of him. One look and Cade could see they were no longer human.


    " These guys.. they should be revived by the power of the lich.."


    A Lich was a controller of undead, and it wasn''t rare to see Lich resurrecting monsters. In fact, the monsters in this Dungeon were originally corpses resurrected by the Lich.


    But for the Lich to even revive someone before he perished.. Was his grudge that deep?


    "Hahahaha, it is nice to see you guys again. I''m pretty sure you guys wouldn''t expect this, right?"


    Glenn, who wielded the scowled intimidatingly, but the sword-wielding Gran stopped him. He then spoke more politely.


    "Well, you two. It''s been a long time since west met, didn''t we?"


    Gran was more polite. But obviously, he also shared the same sentiment as Glenn.


    An eery smile decorated his face. The grudge was deeply embedded, and they couldn''t wait to tear Cade into pieces.


    . . . . . .


    . . . . . .


    At the same time, in Nexore''s Fitness Center, far away from the Dungeon, Elizabeth and Cade were currently struggling with their lives.


    "Huaa¡­."


    Luna just finished her 4-hour-long training session. Her day had finallye to an end.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was her usual training. She equipped her Arcane Card and fought against Isabel on a daily basis.


    Though Isabel did not look like it, she was also one of the best in the younger generation, and having the chance to fight against Isabel in daily basis had greatly benefitted Luna.


    Letting out a sluggish sigh, she murmured quietly.


    "Finally it''s over¡­."


    " Haha.. thank you for the hard work."


    Isabel replied with a bright smile as she offered her a water bottle.


    The two then chatted for a while happily. They could be considered as pretty close as both of them knew Cade on a personal level.


    But sometimes, it just took a few words to break that happiness.


    ''Now let''s go back to my room, take a shower, and sleep. Tomorrow is thest day of the vacation, so I should use it wisely Right, I should sleep until 3 P.M. That''s a good n.''


    Luna thought happily on her mind.


    But when she and Elizabeth were about to go to the changing room, she happened to hear two first-year gossipings.


    "¡­Did you know that strange guy, Cade likes our goddess Luna?"


    Immediately, Luna''s shoulders strongly shook.


    She blushed a bit, but for some reason, she couldn''t stop herself from listening.


    "What, really? No way! I thought he liked Miss Isabel!"


    This time, it was Isabel''s turn to blush.


    Unknowingly two goddesses of Orion University began to eavesdrop on others'' conversations.


    "No way. Can''t you see how he''s been following Luna around recently? People are saying he''s going to confess to her soon."


    "What? Confess? I don''t believe it. I thought he was madly in love with Miss Isabel¡­?


    Hearing this, the two women slowly backed off.


    What was this discussion?


    Confess? Love?


    No, they and Cade didn''t have this kind of rtionship. But¡­


    *Blush*


    They were unable to understand what was happening and suddenly felt a bit dizzy.


    But at the same time, slowly going on their mind was their image of starting a family with Cade. And to be honest, they didn''t feel it was that bad.


    ¡­At that moment, the door was opened from the outside, and the two first years saw Luna and Isabel.


    "Ah!"


    Isabel quickly turned around.


    And Luna, while secretly hiding her blush, she red at them with furrowed brows.


    "What are you guys talking about?"


    "¡­N-Nothing."


    The two first-years who saw Luna and Isabel were scared as they were caught talking behind their back.


    But while they were thinking about how to get out of this situation, they unknowingly just dug their graves deeper and along the way, brought Cade with them too.


    " Haha¡­ it''s just a rumor¡­ please don''t think too much about it. Furthermore, recently I heard some rumor about Miss Elizabeth secretly meeting with that guy, so this must be the case!"


    Isabel and Luna: "???"

 Chapter 68 Ch 68 : Evolution (2)

    Though the two kept greeting them full of smiles. Cade still could feel a chill run down his back.


    "¡­You two.. Are you sure about this?"


    Cade tried asking once again, gaining time for Elizabeth''s phoenix to finish her evolution.


    However, the answer was the same. Gran calmly nodded, gripping his greatsword. Glenn also grinned as he held up his double-edged ax.


    "me yourself for making us your enemy, kiddo."


    The moment Gran muttered, the surroundings changed. A tide of darkness shot up from the right side, engulfing Cade.


    It was one of Lich''s skills that had been passed to Glenn.


    By using this veil, he could keep Cade away from the outside world, relieving him of the chance of getting help.


    Miss Elizabeth''s figure disappeared into the darkness, and Cade was left alone with Glenn and Gran.


    "¡­Haha, now we will not be afraid of harming the girl. Don''t worry though. We will treat her well after we are done with you."


    Glenn smiled menacingly. But unknown to him, what he had done was just helping Cade.


    Cade''s biggest concern was harming Elizabeth while battling them. But since the two use this istion barrier, there''s no need for him to be concerned about that anymore.


    And as for losing? Cade had never had any thought about losing.


    After all, if things came to worst, he still had another eye to be used.


    Cade''s hand glowed and rapidly summoned Spectre Duhan in front of him!


    "You and your Arcane Card will be an inhabitant here!" Glenn pointed, roared and immediately went at Spectre Duhan, diving with his dual axes at full force.


    Glenn was already strong before. Adding to the fact that its body had been enhanced with the Lich''s power. It now had a strange dark aura around him that looked very menacing.


    Spectre Duhan, with sturdy outside armor, didn''t have any fear when facing Glenn''s ax. He unexpectedly went after Glenn''s axes!!


    "Keng!!"


    Spectre Duhan''s sword fell against the Axes causing sparks to fly. One could see how sharp both the Sword and axes were!


    Nheless, Cade was far from finished.


    The first confrontation was equal. But Spectre DUhan still had a lot of means at his hand. His body glowed, and blue fire began to appear from his sword.


    Sword Thrust!


    Using his superior technique, Spectre Duhan deflected the axes before thrusting his sword at Glenn''s shoulder, trying to nullify its ability to hold axes.


    But one must not forget that it was not a one-on-one battle.


    "Bah Glenn, don''t be too rash. Even if you are stronger, your technique is still far from a real Arcane Card!" Gran immediately ordered.


    The moment Spectre Duhan was about to strike Glenn''s shoulder, it came and blocked the sword for Glenn.


    When it came to fighting with physical bodies, Humans didn''t have the slightest of advantages. Therefore, Gran used their numerical advantage to restrict Spectre Duhan!


    And the result was pretty obvious.


    ng!!! ng!!!! ng!!!!


    After a few rounds of shing, and Cade could see Spectre Duhan began to get oppressed by the two.


    Yet Cade was far from being panicked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Since their strength came from theirbination attack, then all he needed to do was to break theirbination.


    " Spectre Duhan, Phantom Force!!" Cademanded.


    Spectre Duhan heard thismand and immediately maintained a distance.


    Glenn and Gran hadn''t finished yet when the Spectre Duhan quickly jumped away.


    Utilizing the unpreparedness of the two, Spectre Duhan controlled the debris surrounding him andunched them in the direction of the two.


    Though the first few attacks could be blocked, the number of Debris sent flying by Spectre Duhan kept increasing, eventually overwhelming the two.


    "Bastard!" Glenn coldly yelled.


    Who would have thought that even after like this, they still couldn''t get a definite advantage over Cade and Spectre Duhan?


    " You¡­ it seems it is time for us to stop ying around."


    The cold look in Gran''s eyes grew stronger, and Glenn could only nod at the words of his partner.


    Gran suddenly opened its mouth, where its jaw seemed to be widening and swallowed Glenn whole.


    But the next thing that happenedpletely shocked Cade.


    Gran''s body started to shine, and soon a twenty-meter-long Undead Snake monster appeared.


    " Have you really forsaken your humanity¡­"


    " Bah, I don''t care anymore as long as I could kill you!"


    Spatting something from his mouth, the venomous liquid seemed to corrode the air as it flew in an arc towards Spectre Duhan!


    "Pupu"


    The venomous liquid sshed onto Spectre DUhan''s armor. A ck smoke emerged from his armor as it had caught on fire. Moreover, a small corroded wound quickly appeared!


    Cade felt a burst of fear. The Venom of Gran, who had fully turned into a mosnter, was extremely strong. Even with Spectre Duhan''s strong armor, it didn''t fully negate the damage.


    If before the two did only have the strength of Rank (V) Monster, now Cade could somehow feel despair as the enemy rose into Rank (VI) in the midst of battle.


    '' Damn it.. do I have no other choice.''


    "Xia!!" Gran, who had now turned into an undead snake monster, obviously wouldn''t give Cadee any opportunity to catch his breath as another Sshing Venom immediately flew towards Spectre Duhan!


    "Beng!!"


    Dirt flew everywhere as the ground was smashed. The Undead Snake''s body full of scales had an incredibly terrifying pouncing strength. If it hit Spectre Duhan and followed up with a Coiling Snake, it would signify the end of this fight.


    Spectre Duhan consecutively Dashed away from Gran''s attacks. His two bluish eyes rigidly stared at the undead snake''s every move. asionally, he wouldunch his own attack.


    Still, it was a bit hard to break through the scale''s hard defense.


    " Hahahah, what aughable effort! Now dance, we will dance throughout the moonlight!" Gran mocked.


    Despite that, Gran also didn''t have that much of an easy time. He still had a hard time controlling his new power, and it was hard to finish Spectre Duhan in a few moves.


    Cade stared at Gran and thought about what best solution he could do. But then, suddenly, a ruthless grin appeared on his face.


    Because he heard the sound of Grigory ringing in his ear:


    '' Cade, the evolution process had been finished.''

 Chapter 69 Ch 69 : Evolution (3)

    The enormous Undead snake''s mouth continued to charge toward Spectre''s Duhan, making it almost impossible to dodge!!!


    "Haha, you finally stop dodging? You are done for!!"


    At this moment, a weird smirk appeared on the Undead Snake''s face; it seemed that the oue had been decided!


    "Since you can''t dodge, then die!!" the snake coldlyughed.


    "Hmph, why do I have to dodge?!" Cade let out a cold harrumph. His expression was focused, almost as if he had been waiting for this moment!


    Previously, he kept dodging because of two things.


    First, he was indeed weaker than the Undead Snake Monster.


    And second, he tried to buy time for Elizabeth.


    He was afraid that if he was defeated too fast, it would hinder Elizabeth''s evolution process.


    And since now Grigory had given the sign, there''s no reason for Cade to hold back anymore.


    Just as the Vicious Undead Snake''s terrifyingly strong jaw chomped together, Cade unexpectedly propped up the corner of his mouth: "Spectre Duhan, Sword Thrust!"


    The second Cade issued hismand, Spectre Duhan''s blue me instantly became distinct.


    It enveloped the whole body before it focused on the tip of the sword, increasing the temperature by multiple times.


    Then, it abruptly and unexpectedly charged towards the Undead Snake''s throat!


    In the middle of the darkness, a fleeting blue glow rushed directly into therge vicious mouth!


    A gust of violent shockwave poured down from above, in the aftermath of the two charging at each other.


    What emerged from the field, however, was an astonishing sight!


    Spectre Duhan was able to avoid all the Undead Snake''s attacks and sessfully pierced the mouth of the Undead Snake with its glowing sword.


    The super high temperature also gave continuous burn damage, and Gran, who had turned into the Undead Snake, felt its mouth was burning.


    " Damn it¡­ you.. you dare!!!!"


    The entire ce suddenly went silent!!


    The sound of the Undead Snake shrieking in pain decorated the whole ce, and Cade only stood still, observing from a distance.


    " You.. I''ll kill you!!! Do you think such a weak attack would be enough to finish me???"


    The Undead Snake swung its body around, trying to get Spectre Duhan out of its mouth.


    However, unknown to him. A small smirk had long appeared on Cade''s face.


    " Me? Who said I would be the one to finish you?"


    Here, the Undead Snake began to notice the strangeness of the situation.


    But the moment he felt something was wrong, it was already turned toote for him.


    Cracks began appearing on its field before it suddenly expanded rapidly. The only ones left on the field were the terrified undead Snake and Cade!


    " What.. what the hell happened here?"


    However, before the Undead Snake could even finish digesting what might happen here. In the next moment, a bright red luster emanated from within the turbidity like emerging daybreak.


    It formed into an iparably gorgeous and refined spherical thing that looked like a miniature sun falling from the sky.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Seeing this scene, the Undead snake''s face turned pale before it let out a chilling shriek.


    This shriek was astonishingly met with an explosion of the miniature sun that burst right on top of the Undead Snake.


    At this time, Cade didn''t waste much time as he immediately retracted Spectre Duhan. Subsequently, he could saw that inside the turbid field, The Undead Snake was immediately turned into ashes!!


    It was clear from the start that the Undead Snake was not an opponent for this attack. Nheless, to see an opponent he struggled hard against was handled this easily, Cade still felt a bit bitter in his heart.


    The veiled room was destroyed, and Elizabeth revealed herself, flying in the midst of the fire.


    Elizabeth''s phoenix was previously known for its beautiful appearance, bing a kind of "Idol" Among thedies in the capital.


    However, the Elizabeth that appeared in front of Cade had far surpassed the beauty of the Phoenix. Her pair of silver pupils, ming red hair, and beautiful body.


    All of them blended into one that Cade could only mutter the word ''perfection'' when he saw Elizabeth.


    When Elizabethnded, Cade could not take his eyes off her even one bit.


    " You.. don''t stare too much. You are making me blush."


    Elizabeth noticed Cade''s eyes, and a red glint began to appear on her face. Imagining how she coldly treated Cade before, only for him to help her in Arcane Card Evolution and even protect her when they were attacked, Elizabeth felt really shameful.


    But at the same time, she now begins to feel strange when she sees Cade.


    '' *Thump* Why is my heart beating so fast.. Am I really..''


    However, there was no way Cade would be able to see how Elizabeth was feeling. Rather, he focused on the change that happened to Elizabeth.


    " By the way, congrattions. Not only did your Arcane Card sessfully break through a new rank, it seems you also gained a good opportunity."


    "It''s thanks to you."


    This time, Elizabeth replied with a smile that had mellowed a lot from her usual self.


    And it caught Cade off guard.


    Who knew such a cold woman could have a charming smile like that? This certainly was cheating.


    " Umm? You okay?"


    " Ahh!!! Sure!"


    Cade replied hurriedly, but Elizebth sure noticed the strangeness in Cade, and another heartyugh appeared on her face. It has been a long time since she was able to have a heartyugh like this.


    Nheless, Cade was more than satisfied with this oue. He smacked my knees and got up.


    "Alright, let''s go back now."


    "¡­Yeah."


    This mountain range dungeon was too dangerous for them to stay overnight.


    Adding to the fact that there''s no reason for both of them to stay here anymore, the two quickly packed up their things and left.


    And as for Glenn and Gran, who died here, the two could only offer their deepest condolences.


    After all, this was the nature of the world, and only the strong survive.


    The two went down the mountain together. Cade took the lead as Elizabeth followed behind him.

 Chapter 70 Ch 70 : Before The Intercultural Exchange Program

    Half a monthter¡­.


    Laying down on the floor panting, Cade turned his head to the right, where Elizabeth''s figure could be seen fiddling around with her hair.


    Seeing this, I pleaded.


    "Huff..huff...huff...Ms. Elizabeth, please let me rest!"


    Hearing his plea, Elizabeth seemed to ignore him and proceeded to lightly sway her hair on her shoulder as she shook her head and said.


    "Don''t worry. This is just the beginning of our session. So put your heads up and quickly get ready!"


    .


    " Ghhh...damn it!"


    Helpless, Cade didn''t have any other choice but to lift his tired body up and once again prepare himself to be subjected to Elizabeth''s merciless training.


    He went running along the school track about ten moreps while Spectre Duhan followed him from behind.


    His training was simple endurance training. As Cade didn''t have much advantage in both attack and defense, Elizabeth had decided to train Cade into an endurance Monster. Slowly wears his opponent off before striking the big attack.


    Nheless, Cade''s training could still be considered heaven ifpared to the other person that was also training next to him.


    -nk!


    "khh..."


    Aurum, who had just gained a major boost in strength, was also invited to train by Elizabeth here.


    As soon as he stood up, without giving him a chance to recover, Elizabeth appeared before him and kicked his body in the guts.


    "huup!"


    Almost puking his guts out, Aurum looked at Elizabeth desperately.


    " Miss Elizabeth.. Could not we stop now? I don''t think I can continue any longer."


    " Humph. Will you say that to your enemy?"


    Not going to let Aurum rest, Miss Elizabeth went in his direction.


    Seeing the kick once again; Aurum, without hesitation, ducked his body down and avoided it within a hairbreadth.


    "Not bad, but still too slow."


    Just like Cade, Aurum also had a special training menu for him.


    He was specially trained to handle the brave mode and needed to be able to hold Elizabeth for a few minutes. Which to be honest, was his current limit.


    Seeing her attack was avoided, a faint smile appeared on Elizabeth''s lips as she suddenly halted her and a burst of fire came out from her body.


    " Miss Elizabeth, Wait...that''s cheating!!!"


    -Bang!


    Thest thing Aurum could remember was the sound of fire bursting through his body. Before, a tremendous force hit him, causing him to fall face-first on the ground.


    -Dank!


    "Gaaaahhh!"


    "Not bad you''ve improved quite a bit since your first lesson."


    Leisurely recalling her Arcane card, Elizabeth walked around Aurum as she nodded her head in appreciation.


    It has been almost half a month, and the two indeed did not betray her expectation at all.


    ...ever since the first day that Elizabeth had started training Aurum, she realized that he was indeed talented.<novelnext></novelnext>


    With every lesson they had, she would see him improve quickly.


    The only bad luck he got was he got born in the same generation by Cade, and his talent was far eclipsed by him.


    Of course, it is not like Cade knew that Elizabeth thought so highly of him.


    If not, his reaction would surely be:


    '' Are you joking, woman? He is the main character. And he obviously is far stronger than me!''


    Once he got back from the Dungeon with Elizabeth, Cade was able to notice a subtle change in Aurum.


    He didn''t know what had happened to him, but it felt like he had released a lot of his immatureness.


    Still, the thing that shocked Cade the most was the appearance of Marie next to Aurum.


    '' What the heck happened¡­ Marie should only appear after the Third year. And for her to appear so early in the game, would the timeline¡­.''


    '' *Sigh* Forget it¡­''


    He had known from the start that the timeline would not stay like what he knew from the game.


    His appearance had brought butterflies impact, and it would only take time until the impact became bigger.


    And now, all he could do was try to get better and survive.


    Still, it was not without reason that Elizabeth called the two here and trained them.


    " That''s enough for today. With your current self, I can see that the two of you have improved a lot. I''m very happy with your progress. Now, there should be no trouble even if those bastards from the other university were to arrive.


    Kuku¡­"


    Elizabeth''s beautiful face suddenly turned into a malicious one that even Cade and Aurum were afraid to look at.


    Yup, there was a reason why she was so stern.


    After this, the intercultural exchange events between the five great universities would take ce. And for that, Orion University must not lose more face than it currently has.


    Orion University''s face was already low, to begin with, and they could not afford to be lower.


    "Well...the reason we were able to improve so much is because of your amazing teaching ability Miss Elizabeth. Without you, we would''ve never gotten this far..."


    Cade said.


    One thing he had learned from his previous world, being a licking dog, sometimes would not hurt.


    Especially when the other party was far stronger than him.


    But sometimes, you also need to consider the person before being a licking dog.


    " Bah, stop it, brat. I don''t know why, but you sent me a shiver when you said things like that."


    " ¡­.."


    " Still, if you like my training that much, I would not object to giving you a second round of training for today."


    Ever since their first training with Miss Elizabeth, they''ve been continuously beaten ck and blue by her. There was not a single day where they woulde out unscathed.


    And now because Cade and his big mouth¡­.


    ''*Sigh* I''ll see youter.''


    Aurum looked at Cade one more time. His eyes seemed to want to say so.


    But in the end, the two could only surrender to their fate of being beaten by Miss Elizabeth''s training once again.

 Chapter 71 Ch 71: Exchange Students

    The next day, Cade and the others were gathered in the University hall.


    Sitting in one of the furthest seats today, an odd atmosphere enveloped the hall.


    Many different emotions were disyed on the face of some of the students present.


    Some of the students were wary, some were excited, and some were nervous...however, if there was one thing that was noticeable, it was that everyone was acting strange.


    The most notable thing that could be observed was the fact that from the front to the back, almost everyone was staring at the entrance of the hall with extra apprehension.


    As if an enemy was about toe through that door and fight them.


    But it couldn''t be helped. Because Cade also knew where this intensity wasing from.


    Today was the day that the exchange students from the five great universities were going to arrive...


    '' *Cough* attention, please!''


    Standing in the middle of the hall, pretending to be unbothered by the strange atmosphere shrouding the ssroom, the principal coughed as he tried to get everyone''s attention.


    "As most of you already know, today we will be having exchange studentsing into our university. So I would like for you all to be on your best behavior."


    Pausing and looking at the students in the hall, The principal''s tone became firmer.


    "But I need to remind you. Best behavior doesn''t mean that our dignity could be trampled. If you feel they are too much and were excessive in their behavior, feel free to fight back. Because remember, no matter who you are, Orion University is your home, and we will always get your back!"


    "Oooh!!!!"


    The principal''s quick speech was quickly greeted with a huge cheer from the audience.


    The speech was enough to get rid of the anxiousness of the students, and rather, it increased the feeling of belongingness toward the university.


    However, Cade, who was from the earth, felt something amiss here.


    '' Why do I feel like this atmosphere would soon turn into a School Brawl...''


    ''.....''


    After a while, finished with what he wanted to say, the principal nodded at the reaction of the students and began to open his tab.


    "Alright, enough with that. I will now introduce the exchange students and supervisors from the other four Great universities. This year, our Orion University had the privilege of holding the intercultural exchange festival, so we should greet them with hospitality."


    The principal smiled but based on the current atmosphere. Cade felt like the correct word should be Hostility and not hospitality.


    Everyone''s eyes were once again returned to the door to the hall room.


    And one by one, the exchange students and their Supervisors came.


    Squinting his eyes, a frown involuntarily appeared on Cade''s face.


    Because from one of the schools, the faces of the people that came here werepletely different from what he remembered.


    A rtively handsome boy with ck hair and yellow pupils smiled amiably. He looks pretty approachable, but to be honest. He was the one that gave Cade the eeriest feeling among the students. And for some reason, Cade could see a trace of familiarity on his face.


    ''...if I didn''t remember wrongly, there should be nothing too big happening in this event except the protagonist showing his power and getting closer to the heroines. But..


    At least, that was what was supposed to happen in the game.


    However, Cade was no longer sure about this oue. If the student was already giving Cade a bad feeling, then the man behind him was an entirely different case.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It might just be an illusion, but the feeling that Cade could feel from his was endless bloodlust. It was like he was one that had dyed his hand red with human blood.


    Did the protagonist get stronger too fast, make the situation worsen? That was the question in his mind.


    ...He really didn''t know. However, what he did know was that this exchange program might not be as easy as he thought.


    He already acknowledged the fact that things were going to change and that the story was no longer going the way that it was before...but still, it felt somewhat odd.


    However, guess could only be guesses...


    "...andst but not least, From the Southern Cross academy, Supervisor Irvin and Sadao. Please, everyone give your apuse!"


    Snapping him out of his thoughts, hearing the name said by the principal, Cade lowered his head and grabbed his hair as he couldn''t help but curse.


    Now he remembered why he found those two faces familiar.


    ''Are you kidding me...?''


    Irvin? Was this Irvin the Red Blood? One of thete-game antagonists?


    And the other one was Sadao?


    He was one of the major antagonists in the game, so why would he appear this early?


    Cade knew that things had changed, but letting the big shots appear this early in the game, would the game-make really like to make it game over for him?


    He had not even finished his matter with Elicia yet. And now, two other viins were about toe?


    Cade could only sigh helplessly. He knew trouble was waiting for them at this academy.


    . . . . . .


    The next day, the sun slowly rose from the horizon, and the Capital City, more specifically, Orion University, basked in the warmth of the sun.


    Cade stood in, enjoying the warmth that came from the sun. He nced to his right, where a beautiful young girl stood.


    Currently, Elicia and Cade were waiting at the northern entrance of the university.


    ording to Miss Elizabeth''s instructions, they were tasked here to greet the exchange student.


    His job was to greet them and bring them around the university to familiarize themselves with the ce.


    But of course, the ones that Cade would bring with him would not be Irvin and Sadao.


    They were left for Aurum to deal with.


    He would only be bringing two unimportant characters around, and it should not be a hard task.


    But sometimes, even mobs had their own trouble.


    Not long after the supposed to-be supervisor and student came, Cade could feel today would not be as peaceful as he wanted.


    Because just the first time when the student met Elicia, the first sentence he said was:


    " Girl, a pretty one like you should not be here. How abouting to our university, and I''ll teach you the true meaning of love?"


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