《Void Walker》


 Chapter 0: It changed

    In 2019, humanity was thoroughly on a path of no return. Animals were dying, trees were falling, the earth was drying due to too much agriculture, while the sea was rising. Thus, God offered humanity a way out.


    ¡°You can ask for something you¡¯d wish there was in this world which will prevent this from happening again. You have 1 year to decide.¡±


    The countdown began.


    This was said to all humans on the 31st of December. This created an uproar in society. Media were talking about this. On the internet multitude of forums were created to have an idea of what people were thinking. And by the end of 2020. God asked us what we chose. Everybody answered in their mind. And on the 1<sup>st</sup> of January, it happened. The Selection.


    Magic won, by how much, we couldn¡¯t know. Because all those who hadn¡¯t chosen magic suddenly disappeared. Leaving only 2.5 billion people on Earth, this was the first step.


    Then, Earth changed. Cities collapsed and were reduced to nothingness, mountains, plains and forest appeared in their stead. The Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean, China¡¯s Sea disappeared. New territories replaced them. Composed of pristine lakes and highlands. Australia gained in size and fused with all the island which were in between it and Asia. The sea was cleansed. And, Earth grew, which resulted in longer days and nights, and longer years. This marked years 0 of the new calendar.


    Beasts changed, evolved, or appeared for the first time on Earth, and monsters appeared. Humanity changed to. All the techniques acquired after the 15<sup>th</sup> century was forgotten, a status page was visible like in a game. And it started. Some humans stayed the same, while others evolved, they grew horns, ears, fur or tails, and on their status screen, near the ¡®race¡¯, ¡®demon¡¯, ¡®beast man¡¯ or ¡®elf¡¯ could be seen. At first, it didn¡¯t have much importance. We were weak, while magical beasts had a way stronger innate strength than us. The Hunt began. It lasted 20 years, this was the second part of the Selection.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Humanity grew strong enough to defend itself and managed to developed ¡®cities¡¯ with the help of magic, magical beasts were no longer that much of threat. People had a place to stay and to defend. Though beasts¡¯ tides are still considered as calamities, some could be resisted whereas before it was a one-sided slaughter. Then, human and demons started to fight among themselves. Since they both had gained in power, enough to protect themselves, they no longer needed to associate with the other party. The trigger to this was a food shortage. Farms didn¡¯t exist yet. People survived with what they found in the forest, were beasts were kings. And to develop farms time was needed, but people will die in the process. Then came the problem of who will eat and who won¡¯t. Priorities were needed.


    Humans used the fact that demons and the like were of a different race, an inferior one, thus needed to serve their new masters. The third part of the Selection began the Divide. In cities where a race was the superior, the others needed to leave.


    This choice was not without consequences. Separating themselves meant reducing their fighting potential, which left the cities more vulnerable to beasts¡¯ attacks.


    Around year 70 post change, Human, Beast man, Elf, Dwarf and Demon each found a territory. Humans were mainly around former Europe, Beast man in America, Demon in Asia, Elf in Australia and Dwarf in Africa. Kingdoms have taken shapes, everything was still unstable and cities were fragile, but it started to become more secure for the people. This marked the end of the Selection. Then, came the Development.


    Between year 70 and year 124, walls, farms, street, everything was improving at a fast rate until it reached a state which was like the constructions the Middle Age. That was not all. Magic was further studied, manufacture of weapons too. Demons¡¯ introduced the magic devices, beast men introduced magic weaponry, and humans introduced array which improved greatly the use of both magic device and weaponry, elves studied the new ecosystem and developed alchemy, and dwarves provided metals and other natural resources at a moderate rate to the other races.


    Though, there was still discrimination among them. They needed to establish trades and relationship among them if they wanted to survive and thrive in this new world.


    It was common belief that the dragon next door will be the one to kill you if you couldn¡¯t defend yourself at that time. But sometimes, it will be your closest friend you invite in your house who will backstab you and flee with your wife. Thus, unless you¡¯re strong enough, nothing you have can be preserved.


    However, no matter how strong you are, the only thing which will change is how and when you die.

 Chapter 1: The price of freedom

    Year 273


    In the glimmer of the moonlight, on a snowy weather, a man in his forties was sitting cross-legged in front of a lake. The lake was like frozen mirror reflecting the clouded sky. Steps could be heard behind the man before they stopped few meters behind him. The man didn¡¯t bother to turn his head or stand up. He already knew who was behind him.


    ¡°So, you came. I thought you would have stayed there forever. It seems that it was a success.¡± Said the man in a low voice, but loud enough for the person behind him to hear it.


    No reply came after his sentence, only a ragged breathing could be heard. The man finally decided to turn its head to look at the person behind him.


    It was a youth. The youth seemed to be 17 due to his 180cm height but was in fact 15. His unruly black hair gave him a rebellious look which was emphasised with his blue eyes. With his angular face and greek nose he could be considered handsome, if not for his pale skin which was due to lack of nutriments. His clothes were tattered, blood could be seen in the corner of his mouth. He was holding in his hand something which shouldn¡¯t be of this world. A handgun, a desert eagle model precisely. Though it didn¡¯t work with canon powder and standards bullet, the outer appearance was the same.


    The youth looked at the man in front of him with eyes devoid of emotions. This man gave and took everything from him. It was his father and the one who killed his only sister. He lived a life worse than hell to be able to stand his ground against him. He was too weak before to defy him, he could only follow without complaining. Vengeance is better served cold. He raised his gun and pointed it at his father head. The latter started to laugh.


    ¡°Look at you¡­ Aren¡¯t a grown up now? I can¡¯t believe that the one who is going to kill me is the one who I saw crying for his mom when she left him for few minutes.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Both voices were cold, enough to give goosebumps to anyone who is unprepared. They looked at each other eyes without moving an inch. The son wanted to kill his father, and the father didn¡¯t plan to retaliate. He had finished most the things he needed to do.


    ¡°Why¡­ Why did you do this?¡±, though he intended to not let his emotions get the better of him, the youth couldn¡¯t hide the sorrow in his voice.


    ¡°This? What do you mean? Why I killed your sister?¡±


    ¡°Your own daughter!¡±


    Anger and pain could be felt this time. His hand holding the gun was shaking a little but stayed resolute to press the trigger at the moment he judged it necessary.


    ¡°Because she was weak. Her core was killing her anyway.¡±, said the man like if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    ¡°Why did you put it in her in the first place? You could have made her stronger without doing this!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want my children to be stronger. I want them to be the strongest. And there is no other way. Humans, demons, beast men, dwarves, elves, none of them have a core. But, magical beasts, monsters, dragons, those walking disaster have one. We don¡¯t hunt dragon, they hunt us. 274 years ago, when God offered us the opportunity to start a new, people though it was a blessing, they saw hope. Do you know what I see? Someone who comply to those who shall die their last wish. Our ancestor was lucky enough to have escaped the brainwashing partially and left us with some ancient knowledge, so we could have a broader view of what was happening. Every race thinks they know have enshrined themselves in this new world, and thrive. They are blinded by peace. You saw it for yourself. Beasts are getting stronger. Monsters are getting more cunning and villainous. It won¡¯t be long before dragons start rampaging through our world. And do you think that a strong human or demon or whatever is going to save us?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Though his voice was cold at first, it got warmer and warmer with the more words he spoke. The man didn¡¯t have any proof for his claims if not for the beasts rising in power, but he was certain of what he said. God didn¡¯t want to save humanity. He sent humanity to its doom.


    The youth stayed silent. His father was the bastard who deprived him of everything. The one who sent him to hell to be stronger. He never made a mistake, but now, he couldn¡¯t believe him. The races weren¡¯t staying idle too. With the years, people have managed to become stronger, and have a better understanding of their ability. New weapons were constructed every day. Weapons capable of cutting down some middle and high beasts like butter were created. Magic has been studied and its depth was being understood. The races were getting stronger too. The cities, kingdoms, empires developed a better defence. How can they face extinction in a night? Even if a dragon woke up, at most he would attack cities in the outskirt, a dragon couldn¡¯t pass the defence of a capital. It was simply insane.


    ¡°You¡¯re not even 60 and you¡¯re already insane.¡± Said the youth with disdain.


    The man laughed. Even his son didn¡¯t believe him. But it didn¡¯t matter. If he couldn¡¯t convince him, he was sure that time could. His son wouldn¡¯t die. At least not right now. He trained him to the utmost of his capabilities. He created just for him the deadly weapon of a forgotten time by adjusting it with his new world rule. And he thought that with time his son will only get stronger. And the only thing which will stand in his way was the same thing that stood in humanity way a long time ago. He raised his head and looked straight at his son''s eyes, waiting for him to make his move.


    The youth faced his father eyes and saw his determination. His feelings were swayed a little before he regained control of himself. He couldn¡¯t falter here. From now on, he couldn¡¯t let someone lead his life, he couldn¡¯t let someone take everything which was precious to him away. He promised his mother that he¡¯ll find a good wife and be considerate to her, he promised his sister that he will live in happiness and not be drown by sorrow, and he promised himself that when he will be strong enough, he will kill his father.


    The gun locked onto his father head. Mana was poured into the magical array in it. His index pressed the trigger. And a piercing sound could be heard. The head exploded into a pool of blood, scattering the remains everywhere, painting the snow in a scarlet colour. His father body stayed cross-legged despite missing its head, showered in blood.


    The youth lowered his gun and looked at the cloudy sky. Tears formed in his eyes. Bloody tears, since it¡¯s been a long time since he couldn¡¯t produce any normal tears with his eyes.


    He fell on his knees, he no longer had the strength to stand up. He finally did it. He was finally free of his father¡¯s clutch. But, he didn¡¯t have a family anymore.


    ¡°Status.¡±


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Name</td>


    <td>Grey Cromwell </td>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Nephilim</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Level</td>


    <td>64</td>


    <td>Class</td>


    <td>Void Walker</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>4241/6000</td>


    <td>Strength</td>


    <td>84</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Agility</td>


    <td>122</td>


    <td>Dexterity</td>


    <td>114</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Endurance</td>


    <td>98</td>


    <td>Will</td>


    <td>167</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intelligence</td>


    <td>105</td>


    <td>Wisdom</td>


    <td>70</td>


    <td></td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Attributes</td>


    <td>Ice magic (Grade: Emperor) Darkness magic (Grade: Emperor) Void magic (Grade: God)</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>

 Classification // levels// and stuff

    Levels for beasts and monster:


    1-20 : Common class


    20-39: Core class


    40-59: King class -- Starting this stage, beasts and monsters can think and are less victims of their instincts


    60-79: Legend Class -- Their knowledge is high and they can defeat opponents of higher level than theirs with less trouble


    80-99: Disaster Class -- They can talk


    100-119: Cataclysm Class -- Shit just got real, they can take Human/ Beastman/ Demon/ Elf form


    120+: Dragon Class -- They just sleep all day long for most of them


    Rank for Fighter/Swordsman/ Axe user/ Spearman / mage ( their elements are added next to their class)/ or whateverIf you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    1-10: 1st rank Apprentice ( in sword or whatever)


    11-20: 2nd rank Apprentice


    21-30: 1st rank fighter (swordsman/whatever)


    31-40:2nd rank fighter


    41-50: 1st rank Master fighter ( you know the song now)


    51-60: 2nd rank Master fighter


    61-70: 1st rank Legend fighter ( please spare me from naming them all...)


    71-80: 2nd rank Legend fighter


    81-90: 1st rank Heroic fighter


    91-100: 2nd rank Heroic fighter


    101-110: 1st rank Godly fighter (highest level reached until years 273 is 104 so no information about what is above but you can guess :3 )


    Affinity : Common< Good<Very good<Rare<Epic<Emperor<Half God<God


    Magic array: Low<Middle <High< A rank<S rank< Forbidden (SS rank)


    Patterns:


    sygmus- amplification


    celenius- absorption


    elegius - restriction (used to delimit the flow of mana)


    myomus- adaptation


    Difference between magical beasts and monster:


    Magical beasts are from the ''Old World'' and evolved in a similar way as human did. They each had their different starting point noetheless regarding their species. Monsters appeared with the ''New World''. For instance Dragons are monsters. And appeared with a dragon class strength. Beings more powerful than Dragons didn''t exist in the beginning, and since the latter didn''t care about other species gaining strength they didn''t prevent them from appearing with time.


    So Dragons are dragon class, but all dragon class aren''t Dragons. Though they are scarce they do exist.

 Chapter 2: Romantic meeting?

    After a long time to calm his emotions, Grey stood up and walked to the wooden house which was nearby the lake. Each time he made a step he felt like his feet had been made of lead. When he reached the house doorstep, his eyes shone with a faint light of decisiveness. He could only go forward from now on.


    He opened the old wooden door and stepped inside the house. A faint cherry perfume could be smelled inside. It was his mother¡¯s favorite. The perfume that filled his childhood. Reminiscing about his mother loving gaze, her gentle smile while she was looking at him, her silvery white hair which combined with her light blue eyes gave her an aura of a goddess. He wanted to cry. But he couldn¡¯t. He already did a long time ago. And now was not the time to do so.


    Heading directly for the cave, he passed through the living room where his family used to be living happily inside, the kitchen where he used to eat his mother¡¯s delicious meals, the room where his sister and he used to play together.


    He took a stairway which led him deeper in the ground before being faced with and iron door. The door wasn¡¯t locked, like waiting for him to go through it. He lightly pushed it and an ear-piercing noise could be heard as the gears haven¡¯t been taken care of since a long time. He entered the room behind it, there was only darkness. He extended his hand to the wall next to him and poured his mana in it. From the spot where his hand was, streaks of lights started to emerge and went in all direction, illuminating the room. This was a common magic array used to illuminate dark places if mana was used to fuel it.


    Grey eyes scanned the room in front of him before finding what he was looking for. On a table in the corner of the room were the objects he was looking from. A long sleeved black leather hood jacket printed with blue lines on the sleeves, enhanced with magic to keep the body warm and was resistant enough to resist sharp steel sword with sword auras below level 3. A black t shirt which granted heat resistance and was strong enough reduced physical impact by a small margin. Black leather pants with its belt. Both granted a boost in dexterity and agility, with the ability to take on blows from people with sharp knives. A pair of white gloves granting a bonus in strength. And his favorite, a pair of boots with which he could go 15% faster. Aside from these clothes, there was also a silver bracelet and a black ring, one granting him the ability to change his status page when displayed t an outsider and the other one working as a storage ring. He looked around a bit before finding a long bow made of black wood. The hardness of black wood was good and the string was from a king class earth spider, it was his deceased mother¡¯s bow. He found the quiver alongside three dozen or so arrows of same quality. He searched around again until he found a long steel sword deprived of magic array. With everything ready, he headed upstairs and entered the bathroom.


    He took off his tattered clothes, revealing a muscular but scarred body. Some of his scars were old but new ones could be seen atop of them. After getting undress, he activated the magic array inside the bathroom to produce hot water before diving inside. He let out a small cry of pain. He forgot that his body was freezing due to the temperature outside and dived in hot water without thinking of the consequences. He leaned his body against one of the bathtub wall and slowly closed his eyes. And took a rest for the first time since a very long time¡­


    ---------------------------------------


    Meanwhile, somewhere far away, deep underneath the earth, two men were walking in an old corridor.


    One of them was dressed in an expensive attire coupled with precious jewelry on his finger. This man was someone of great influence or someone who possessed enough fortune for people to show him respect. The man following him was fully dressed in white. Although his clothes looked way less expensive than the other one, the power in them could make one break out in cold sweat just by being next to him.


    They both walked down this dark corridor while holding what seemed like a lantern until they arrived at their destination. When they stopped, both felt a shiver running down their spine. In front of them was two corpses. Though they were nearly no more flesh on them, they could recognise what was in front them. The corpse of those gigantic being released an aura which was that befitting of those who stand above all the livings. They were dragons.


    After regaining their wits both men started to laugh. They knew that they would stumble on something amazing by coming here. But they did not expect that. They started to look around to see if there were no traps or anything which could endanger their life whatsoever while examining those corpses. After making sure that no problem would arise while they will be distracted they both stepped forth and studied those dragons. The first thing they looked for was at their core. A dragon¡¯s core contained an absurd amount of condensed mana, enough to fuel a whole capital for a hundred of years without showing sign of depleting. A nearly bottom less abyss of mana.


    After searching for few hours, they looked at each other terrified. Both cores have disappeared. Someone was here before them. However, something made them frown. If someone has been here before, why would he leave those dragons bones which simply are the best material when it comes to forging weapon since they can withstand the strongest type of offensive array without breaking. It made no sense. Thus, the only other possibility was that a monster or a magical beast was the one who took them, which was not a great news either. If a monster or a magical beast happens to consume a dragon core, it is the same has making him evolve from common class type to disaster class. A disaster class monster who specializes in close combat would be like a lv.100 or so warrior. It was way too strong.


    The man in white looked at his companion and gave him a glance signaling him that they should take as much as they could and leave. The other was about to nod when an idea came up in his mind. It was a delirious idea. No one would dare to think about it. But, if he succeeded, he could foresee himself being at the top of the world. He gave his companion a cold smile while looking at him in his eyes.


    ¡°I have a better idea¡­¡±


    The man in white shuddered when he heard what his companion had in mind.


    How about committing suicide? That¡¯s no different!


    Those words were his thoughts and his lasts.


    ------------------------------------


    Grey walked out of the wooden house with his new clothes on, his quiver and bow equipped and his sword and gun in their respective place. He took a last look at the tomb stones which were next to the lake, showered in a glimmer of sunlight. There were three of them. Though he hated his father for what he has done and couldn¡¯t forgive him, he knew that his mother wouldn¡¯t have wished for her husband to rot in the depth of the lake.


    After biding his biding his farewell to his family graves he set off. As of now, he was only 15, and besides fighting and killing and the basic common knowledge he knew nothing else. He needed to broaden his view of the world. He couldn¡¯t stay idle neither just aimlessly wander in this world. Thus his first goal was to reach Archon. Archon was the second only to the capital city Hesta in the Human Kingdom, and had an academy to which he could attend. His father had saved up quite a lot of money so he wasn¡¯t afraid of any kind of fee if it was needed, neither was he afraid of not being admitted. The registration would only happen a month from now and he only needed something like a week by feet to reach Archon. And he could use the remaining three weeks he had to catch up by borrowing or buying books there.


    However, something made him uneasy. If the bracelet failed to concealed his true status, he would be in trouble. City guards were not a threat to him. But, Elders were. If there were only his level and his stats it would have been fine, but his race was the problem. He couldn¡¯t tell them that since he had been implanted a core inside his body he stopped being human and became a Nephilim. People wouldn¡¯t believe him. At first he thought that it was some kind of ritual, until he discovered that it was simply committing suicide. Really. When assassin wanted to suicide after getting caught, they just had to swallow a core chard and in the next few seconds their mana veins would expose and they would die the next second. Thus no one would believe him.


    He shook his head lightly displaying a bitter smile before turning his head to the forest behind the house. Then his body disappeared from where he stood and sounds of leaves scattering in the wind could be heard.


    --------------------------------


    A few days later, inside a forest which was separating the Northern grassland and the Human Kingdom, a carriage was on its way back home at a not slow but not fast pace.


    ¡°Sigh. What should I do¡­¡±


    Those words were spoken by a young woman, she was 16 years old this year. Although she was wearing hard leather armor on her, when one saw her dignified look with her deep black eyes and hair, one could tell that she was a noble. Her smooth white skin couldn¡¯t belong to those who suffered hardship since they were young, and her body curves were fine and modest. She was currently talking with her maid who accompanied her inside the carriage to relive her boredom.


    ¡°My lady, I think it will be wise for you to start to consider to act more ladylike and¡­¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Stop, I don¡¯t want to talk about this. I still have 2 years before being forced to stay home every day while waiting for a man who will fulfil my father¡¯s and my standards. So, until then let me have fun, okay?¡±


    As if! Let¡¯s not even mention your standards, no man will propose to you if a simple glare from you make him fear for his life! And how risking your life in the wilderness can be fun?


    Though the maid had an unconvinced look on her face which was clearly visible for the young lady, the latter didn¡¯t say anything as she knew very well what was troubling her. If it was only for her beauty, many men will come rushing to her door to propose to her, but since she castrated a man in a public area for carelessly touching her, they started to fear her. And, aside from her father and brothers, she could only look at other men with a cold face while glaring at them. Not without reason, the young noble men usually had one common thing when they looked at her, though they try to hide it, an hint of lust was clearly present. They didn¡¯t even know her, and they didn¡¯t care about her, they just wanted her body and nothing less, nothing more.


    The young lady resumed her daydreaming was gazing at the forest which was around them. Only after her sixth sense told her that something was wrong that she noticed something was wrong in what she was seeing. In the shadows of the trees, she could see faint yellow lights moving at their speed, slowly getting closer to them.


    Sensing her young mistress¡¯ body getting tensed, the maid frowned and looked in the same direction as her. When she saw the yellow dots getting closer and brighter, her face paled in fright.


    ¡°Armoured shadow grizzly!¡±


    She opened the carriage door and shouted while pointing at the dark figures which were slowly closing on them. The horses which couldn¡¯t sense the presence of the shadow grizzly before became alerted and started to lose their mind. Shadow grizzly could erase their presence, making weaker enemies who had a great awareness of danger to not feel anything. However, their four yellow eyes were their weak points. If their prey saw them, no matter how much they reduce their presence, only one beast was famous for its yellow eyes and his stealth abilities in the forest here.


    The guards who were aware of the incoming danger calmed their horse with all their capabilities. Those who were walking by foot positioned themselves in front of the carriage and the those and horse. In total, there were 16 of them by foot who served as vanguard, they unsheathed their sword and started to pour magic in it to activate their offensive array. At the same time, they used body magic to strengthen themselves.


    Seeing that their preys were already aware of their presence, the shadow grizzlies just went straight at them at full speed.


    The young lady in the carriage, whose name is JOHN C Sylvia Bethel, flicked her hand and a two-handed claymore appeared in front of her. The sword was made of hard red leather which was tempered in a king class magical beast blood, and the blade which was four feet long and ten inches wide, was made of titanium. Titanium is a well know metal for its ability to withstand the use of high level type of array.


    Clenching her sword In her hands, she was about to leave the carriage when a terrifying roar was heard. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Her sixth sense was screaming at her to flee without having any idea of looking back.


    Frozen by terror, the guards and everyone else were looking toward the source of this terrifying roar. The shadow grizzlies which were running toward them increased in speed and appeared before the vanguards before jumping straight at them.


    The guards feeling death being near, regained their wits and raised their shield to reduce the impact from the grizzlies strikes. The reason for their terror was not the shadow grizzlies in front of them, it was the king class magical beast, the underworld grizzly. Compared to the shadow grizzlies which were only three meters tall with four arms, two legs and four yellow eyes. The underworld grizzly had a unique red eye on his forehead but was bigger in size and had an additional pair of arms which were renowned for their terrifying strength. What¡¯s more, unlike the shadow grizzly which used magic passively without knowing, king class monster knew different type of spells and could use them freely. In few words, king class monsters are stronger and clever.


    The underworld grizzly¡¯s roar gave the shadow grizzlies an advantage since their opponents could only defend under their continuous strike. These guards were not foolish, even if they wanted to retaliate they would have to wait for an opportunity to counter their opponents attack or a mistake from them. Still, their shield wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand continuous strikes from shadow grizzlies for a long time and their arm were starting to feel numb.


    Seeing this, Sylvia activated her offensive array on the claymore and raised it in the air before she swung it down in front of her. A thunder fell on the shadow grizzlies side, interrupting them, leaving room for the guards to catch their breath. The guards clenched their sword while activating their respective offensive array and each sword lit up in either flame, light or thunder and they started to retaliate. Looking from afar, the underworld grizzly saw his subordinates being pushed back. Though he knew that the human party wasn¡¯t weak he didn¡¯t expect them to be that strong. He opened his mouth and a black mist was released. The mist travelled quickly to the shadow grizzly, and when it reached them, their usual yellow eyes turned ashen red and drool started to seep from their mouth.


    One of the six shadow grizzly suddenly caught a sword with his paw before pulling the sword with its wielder and bit off its neck. His paw was bleeding and blood could be seen coming out from places in his body, but it simply didn¡¯t care. They have entered a berserk state because of the black mist. The complexion of the guards turned gloomy. Even if their opponents were beasts, as long as they had a sense of pain they could somehow control the flow of the fight by hitting where it hurts, but now, they would let a sword pierce their belly and still go forward to kill them.


    The underworld grizzly pleased with the result started to move in their direction at a moderate speed. When arrived, only one shadow grizzly was left standing, drenched in blood, which belonged to him and those guards. However, noticing that the underworld grizzly was already here and only three guards were left standing, Sylvia ran at full speed at the last shadow grizzly, dodged its claw strikes before using lighting steps to appear behind him and swung her giant claymore at its neck to cut it. With this, it was her, the maid and three guards against this king class beast. The maid hadn¡¯t stayed idle, to serve Sylvia¡¯s family, all servants and guards needed to have some accomplishment in magic, thus as a fire 2<sup>nd</sup> rank fire magician, she could assist from the rear.


    Though they had the number advantage, none of them could afford to relax. The difference between core class beasts and king class beasts was too huge. Carelessness wasn¡¯t something they could afford. And they far from their peak condition. The maid¡¯s mana pool was already depleted by half, the guards¡¯ shields were destroyed and could only count on their sword. Their full plate armor had holes due to claw attacks and blood could be seen dripping from it. And as for Sylvia, her hair was disheveled, her skin was paler as she had used too much mana already, one of her thighs was bleeding, but only slightly, and her breathing was ragged.


    Seeing the underworld grizzly, the maid started to chant the most offensive fire spell she could muster with her leftover mana, Fire Sword Fall. This spell summons a gigantic fire sword above the caster¡¯s enemy, and fall on him leaving only dust left in a great explosion. Though this may start a wild fire in the forest, they couldn¡¯t afford to care about it now.


    Noticing that the maid began to chant, the other four needed to restrict the underworld grizzly movement to prevent it from dodging. They needed to restrict it for a whole thirty seconds. The three guards used the nearby trees as shields to move around it so they can encircle him. The underworld grizzly went on all six, and his body released three dark pulses in all direction. Each waves stroke everything in its way, some trunks resisted but cracks appeared on them while other just snapped when the waves touched them.


    Two guards were behind weaker trees and couldn¡¯t move to another one which was stronger in time, and by the second wave their body payed the price. The third one was behind a sturdier tree and could use it as a shield to protect himself from the dark pulses. As for Sylvia, she summoned an earth cocoon to protect her and the maid since they were still on the road side of the forest. Her earth cocoon was completely peeled off by the third wave.


    Noticing that only two flies died, the underworld grizzly felt ashamed of himself and dashed behind the third guards and threw its body at him before he could react. The third guard¡¯s body exploded on the impact since he was close to a tree (the third guard¡¯s name was Petra¡­). In the end, what saved his life killed him indirectly.


    After that, the underworld grizzly felt his limbs being restricted in the ground couldn¡¯t pull them out. The next moment, a gigantic fire sword was above its head, the tip aiming at him. Its only eye constricted before releasing a deathly energy. The fire sword fell on the grizzly body but didn¡¯t hit his body directly but a black shield formed by the underworld grizzly. A loud explosion occurred and scattered the nearby tree, and only left behind a meter-deep hole around a black shell. The black shield dissipated, leaving an unscathed grizzly. Despair could be seen in both Sylvia and the maid eyes. The grizzly jumped over the hole and arrived directly in front of Sylvia. The maid whose mana had reached a critical state, used the little bit of strength she had to place herself in front of the grizzly. The grizzly just shattered her body in a clean sweep of its paw.


    Being the only one left alive, Sylvia couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore. Everyone who accompanied her just died in less than ten minutes. Her legs were trembling and something hot could be felt in her nether region. She fell on her knees looking at the deathly glare emitted by the red eye of the underworld grizzly. What did she do to deserve this? She didn¡¯t know, but the underworld grizzly knew. His wife and children, were killed by these petty humans, for their training. A king class beast would never engage on human, unless they lacked food or territory. And this case was the same, this beast was only seeking vengeance. Like they did in the past.


    Opening it mouth revealing its sharp teeth and releasing a nauseous breath, the beast was about to eat the girl alive when it felt like death was looking at him. Its only eye alerted by the killing intend emitted his way released a scan spell in the surrounding to look for any leaving being nearby. But it was too late.


    Right under his nose was already another human, his dark hair and light blue crystal eyes sent a cold shiver down its spine. Before he could even react, a bang sound was heard and its head exploded. In its last moments, the underworld beast was frightened, there was always a protective barrier around his body. Though not as resilient as the black shield it wasn¡¯t something which could be pierced easily. Then, when it was pierced like a white sheet of paper, the only thing that came to his mind was the rumor among magical beasts of a kid with dark hair and blue eyes who slaughtered king class beasts like ants and could kill disaster class beasts too.


    With a thud, the body of the underworld beast fell on the round, lifeless.


    Sylvia who was still whimpering when death was near still hasn¡¯t recovered and looked at the young man in front of her. When he appeared, she wanted to scream at him, to run and leave her. He didn¡¯t know her thus why would he die in her place. But the moment he pulled aa strange object from his belt, and pointed it at the grizzly she had a faint light of hope in her eyes which transformed into amazement the moment she saw the dead body of the grizzly.


    She couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. What kind of weapon was it? And how could someone around her age use such destructive power?


    She wanted to speak but no sound came from her mouth. Her body was still numb due to fear and she had no energy left. She closed her eyes and fell in a world of darkness, with the last thing she saw being his cold blue eyes looking at her with a hint of pity.

 Chapter 3: This is... food?

    Feeling a foreign heat enveloping her body, Sylvia slowly opened her drowsy eyes. Being half asleep, she didn¡¯t notice that she was on the back of someone. Seeing the wooden maze around her, she remembered what she saw before fainting and her body started to tremble to the thought of the beast opening his jaw to eat her alive. But, the shiver came to a stop when she recalled her life being saved by someone.


    After getting a hold of herself, she started to analyse her own situation. It was at this moment, that she finally noticed that she was moving while being carried on someone¡¯s back. Her first reaction was to scream and try to free herself from this stranger grasp. She thought that she would have to use force to free herself, but the moment she put her hand on the stranger¡¯s back to put some distance between him and her, he gently let go of his grip on her butt and let her fall on the ground.


    ¡°Ouch! You brute! Is that a way to treat a lady?¡±, falling on the ground unprepared didn¡¯t her hurt that much but she just couldn¡¯t stand the fact of being treated like a vulgar backpack.


    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re fine now. Take this. There¡¯s enough food for few days the road is just a little bit further left from here. I don¡¯t know where you wished to go, but as long as you reach the road you should find your way again. With this, it¡¯s farewell.¡± Grey said that to her without any bit of emotion in his voice and just tossed a bag with few rations and some water for the girl to survive. He just helped her because he needed to kill the beast, and saving wasn¡¯t a problem. At first, he wished to befriend her somehow, but who knew that she was that arrogant with the one who saved her life.


    Seeing the boy¡¯s indifferent attitude, Sylvia became quite annoyed, but after taking a closer look to his face, she finally knew that he was the one who saved her life. Only then did she knew why he was acting that way. He saved her and instead of thanking him she scowled him.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ You saved my life and¡­ It just surprised me¡­ Sorry¡­¡± Avoiding his gaze, Sylvia said this to him with a clear sense of guilt in her voice.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You can go. This where we part, I can¡¯t lose time here.¡±


    And I needed to slow down my pace because of you.


    Feeling a bit of anger in his voice, she already knew that her pride must have offended him. But she couldn¡¯t let him go. She didn¡¯t have any idea of how close to Archon this place was and there was way too much risk for a lone girl like her to travel alone. She was not weak, but she wasn¡¯t strong either. If a group of well-trained bandits saw her and recognized her, she was doomed. Worst case scenario she would be sold to a slave trader, and the best would be a demand for a ransom. Thus, she couldn¡¯t afford to take this risk. She didn¡¯t know who he was but he was strong. Way stronger than her.


    ¡°Please! No¡­ I mean¡­ Maybe we have the same destination¡­ So, it would be better to travel together¡­¡± Her voice was a little weak since she was afraid of offending him again when she was the one in need. Furthermore, he saved her once already, and he had no obligation to help her again.


    ¡°¡­ Where?¡± Seeing her pitiful look, Grey knew that she was in a pinch and that she need him. Though he didn¡¯t like her, he didn¡¯t hate her too. And maybe she could be of help in the future in a way or another.


    Hearing his words, hope-filled Sylvia¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Archon! I¡¯m going to Archon!¡±


    ¡°¡­ You really have some luck¡­ I am heading there too. Stand up. We¡¯ve already lost too much time. I hope you can cope with my speed.¡±


    Speaking with the same indifference, Grey quickly glanced at her to follow him before jumping on a tree branch and started to jump through the forest. Seeing this, Sylvia was dumbfounded. It was the first time that she saw someone do this. But she quickly regained her wits when she saw that his figure was getting further and further away and started to run after him in the forest.


    When the sun was getting down, Grey signalled her that they would stop here and find a place to camp, which they found without much effort. There was a small cave nearby which didn¡¯t have any clues of being recently occupied by beasts or monsters. After settling down, Grey prepared a small campfire to cook something for them.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Hearing him say that they would stop here for today, Sylvia fell on the ground, exhausted. She didn¡¯t know for how long she had run, and even at her full speed she couldn¡¯t keep up with him, and he didn¡¯t even break out a sweat. The worst thing was that she knew that she still slowing him down.


    Sitting in a corner at the entrance of the cave, Sylvia remembered that despite being with him for this whole time she didn¡¯t know his name.


    ¡°Hum¡­ Sorry but¡­ We didn¡¯t introduce each other and I still don¡¯t know your name¡­ Mine is Sylvia Bethel.¡±


    ¡°Grey Cromwell.¡±


    ¡°Grey Cromwell¡­¡±


    Sylvia muttered the name to herself, trying to remember if she ever heard his name somewhere, but she couldn¡¯t¡¯ find anything in her memory, which was strange. He was so strong at such a young age and nobody knew about him?


    Thinking about how he killed the underworld grizzly in a single strike, she recalled that before he came, she had wet herself. Her face instantly blushed from embarrassment. But the next moment, she felt that when she came to herself, she didn¡¯t feel any kind of discomfort in her nether region, which meant that it has dried or¡­


    ¡°Hum¡­. Grey¡­ How long was I out?¡±


    ¡°Something like an hour or two¡­ I think.¡±


    It isn¡¯t possible for it to become dry in an hour or two. He¡­ He did something with my body!


    ¡°Did¡­ did you do something to me¡­?¡±


    Though she was blushing and stuttering in her speech, she kept her eyes locked on him to prevent him from running away or laughing at her. Grey became flagger basted for a moment she didn¡¯t know what she was talking about, but after taking a closer look at her face he knew that he may have done something which had led to this. Then he remembered. He let out a dry cough before explaining to her that he only used basic cleanse magic on her body and clothes. Now it was her time to become surprised. She had never heard of something like cleansing magic for clothes. Mana was violent and hard to control. People who could use their mana to heal people were naturally gifted as it was basically impossible to use healing magic for most people. Thus, unless it was through an array or something of the kind, using something like ¡®clean¡¯ or ¡®cleanse¡¯ was near impossible.


    ¡°You used it¡­ directly? Without an array?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Oh, since you sweated quite a lot on the way I can show you.¡±


    In a flash, Grey was next to her, literally frightening her. She didn¡¯t see him move at all. And before she could say something, she could feel a warm feeling enveloping her making relieving her muscles or their pain and clearing the stench coming from her body and clothes. When she noticed this, she blinked her eyes watery eyes many times in astonishment and checked pinched her cheek to verify that she wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    Her mouth wide open, she wanted to say something but no words would come out of her mouth.


    ¡°If you thought that I¡¯d take advantage of a fainted girl you really are looking down me. If a girl doesn¡¯t react there¡¯s no fun.¡±


    She wanted to retort but only blushed lightly while avoiding his gaze. She suspected him and nearly slandered him. In less than a day she had made the same mistake twice. And he even dared to tease her, but she could not get angry him somehow.


    ¡°Now then, come and eat. It¡¯s ready.¡±


    Grey extended to her a bowl containing a weird looking soup with herbs and pieces of meat mixed together. There was a greenish substance mixed something blue in it.


    It didn¡¯t look good. No. It looked very bad. If he hadn¡¯t saved her life earlier she¡¯d have thought that he was trying to poison her. She resigned to her fate and took a sip of the mixture.


    It was good. Not top notch cuisine but it was soothing and she could feel her body recovering from her tiredness and her mana pool slowly replenishing. She didn¡¯t hesitate anymore and wolfed down the whole thing and asked for another service. Grey let out a dry laugh before giving her another bowl.


    Her body was feeling strange, she felt like a layer of heat was covering her and keeping her safe.


    ¡°This soup is a little bit special. It will help you recover both your mana and stamina and it will create a shield around your skin which doesn¡¯t have any great defensive power but it will keep you warm for the night.¡±


    ¡°Hum¡­ Thanks for the food¡­¡±


    For the first time since they met, Grey smiled at her. Sensing her heartbeat accelerating, Sylvia quickly left this place for the cave. When she was finally alone, she laid down on the floor and arranged her thoughts.


    He is¡­ strong and¡­ not that bad looking¡­ but¡­ I can¡¯t. He doesn¡¯t see me like this. For him, I am surely just another girl¡­ And I can¡¯t involve him with my family troubles¡­


    When Sylvia left and disappeared in the cave, the smile on Grey¡¯s face faded. There was something which was looking at them since they¡¯ve been here. Though he didn¡¯t who or what it was, since the beginning it didn¡¯t move.


    Grey slowly got up and glanced in their stalker direction. Without a word, a dozen of ice spears flew in the dark night and crashed against a wind wall. Having been discovered the stalker walked into Grey¡¯s line of sight. The stalker was a man seemingly in his forties, his unshaved beard and thick eyebrows surely made him look older than he was. However, his sharp gaze and killing intent gave Grey an odd feeling. Like, there was something underneath which needed to stay hidden in those layers of killing intent.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d be discovered this easily.¡±


    ¡°I thought that you¡¯d have acted the moment you saw us.¡±


    ¡°¡­ So, I was discovered since then huh¡­ Anyway. You guys don¡¯t seem too bad, and I am a straightforward person. Leave the girl and your belongings and I can guaranty your safety, good deal?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡±


    Before the man could make a move, his whole body was frozen. Not in an ice block, like frozen in time. Grey slowly walked toward him while preparing a spell. When he was near the man, he lightly touched his forehead with a finger covered in mana to look through his memories.

 Chapter 4: Arrival

    When Sylvia woke up few rays of lights were already visible in the depth of the cave. She stretched her body before checking her surroundings.


    Did he sleep outside?


    Grey was nowhere to be found inside, so she decided to see if he was already outside. She walked out of the cave before being welcomed by a strange scene. Grey was indeed outside. He created something akin to a table with ice and placed some food on it while he was on an ice chair, eyes closed.


    Was he already awake? And he prepared breakfast too?


    Sylvia quietly approached the table and took a seat. The moment she did, Grey opened his eyes and looked at her before signalling her to eat quickly so they can resume their journey. She didn¡¯t delay and obediently ate. Unlike last night, she couldn¡¯t feel a warm feeling and the protective barrier after eating, but she could feel her body being more energetic nonetheless. When they were about to leave, she smelled something strange. Though it was faint, she could smell the scent of blood. When she was certain of that fact she rushed to tell Grey of what she had discovered. Grey raised his eyebrows seemingly surprised.


    ¡°You are sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Grey frowned.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t delay. We¡¯re lucky enough that no beasts followed this scent to our cave. We need to move on. Though I can protect you from few monsters, if we¡¯re greatly outnumbered I can¡¯t guaranty your safety.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not weak¡­ I can protect myself well! Humpf, just you wait, in a few, I¡¯ll be stronger than you.¡±


    ¡°If you can beat me one day, I¡¯ll teach how to cook.¡±


    Sylvia looked at him like he just said the strangest thing in the world.


    ¡°Who said that I can¡¯t cook?¡±


    ¡°If you could, you would have offered your help earlier. Unless you consider me as one of your servants.¡±


    Sylvia went silent after this. It was true that she didn¡¯t know how to cook. And her mother was greatly disappointed in her because, if we put aside her clothing and her body, she lacked in many ways as a woman.


    ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t cook well¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Grey answered her without turning his head. After he finished packing everything he had in his backpack, they continued their travel.


    Actually, if Grey wasn¡¯t here, Sylvia would have been lost. Though this forest was not too far from Archon, each time she came here, she never went too far from the main road or known hunting grounds. So, travelling like they were doing, was basically suicide for her.


    They continued at a ¡®slow¡¯ pace. Grey was getting used to her speed and always stayed in her line of sight. By noon, Grey told Sylvia that they would be at the city if they kept it up by this evening. Sylvia nodded. This wasn¡¯t too bad for her. In their way, she gained a point in endurance and in agility. Though it wasn¡¯t much, she was rewarded for her continuous effort for trying to match Grey¡¯s ¡®slow¡¯ pace.


    When they stopped to eat, she found a quiet spot and checked her status.


    Status.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Name</td>


    <td>Sylvia Bethel</td>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Human</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Level</td>


    <td>23</td>


    <td>Class</td>


    <td>1st rank Valkyrie</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>140/140</td>


    <td>Strength</td>


    <td>29</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Agility</td>


    <td>27</td>


    <td>Dexterity</td>


    <td>31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Endurance</td>


    <td>29</td>


    <td>Will</td>


    <td>30</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intelligence</td>


    <td>50</td>


    <td>Wisdom</td>


    <td>24</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Attributes</td>


    <td>Earth magic (Grade: Rare) Lightning magic (Grade: Epic)</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Her status was considered as very good for her age and level. She among the talents who were going to attend the academy for the next term. Her Valkyrie profession was said to be very rare because the requirements were hard to meet. To obtain it, she needs to have at least 10 points in strength at 6 years old and 12 in wisdom, agility and dexterity. Furthermore, she had to be able to sense mana. When she got her class at the temple, her family celebrated this event. Though her older brother class more amazing than hers, she wasn¡¯t envious. All she ever asked was enough strength to be able to live like she wanted to. But, yesterday she saw how powerless she was against those monsters.


    No need to think about this anymore. I just need to be stronger.


    However, there was something she wanted to know. She wanted to see Grey¡¯s Status. However, asking for someone¡¯s status was very inappropriate. You¡¯d only show your full status to your family or lover. So if she wanted to see Grey¡¯s status, she needed to be more intimate with him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Thinking of this, Sylvia¡¯s cheeks gained a taint of red.


    No! Impossible! There will be only trouble for him¡­ He is only a commoner¡­ And I don¡¯t like him¡­ Yeah¡­ I just find him reliable, a bit cold, but he is kind. Though he wouldn¡¯t shed a tear if I were to die¡­


    The reason she thought that was because he was ready to let her on her own at any moment. If she was with him, he would protect her if he could do it without endangering his life. But if she was to leave, he wouldn¡¯t even look for her.


    After clearing her feelings, her face regained its usual calmness. She headed toward Grey location who already had finished cooking. Like this morning, his cooking replenished her energy. She didn¡¯t know how his cooking could do such a thing, but it way too inappropriate to ask, so she stayed silent and followed his instructions.


    -----------------------------------------------------


    Inside the forest, where Grey and Sylvia stayed for the night. Multiple hooded figures appeared next to their cave. They were scanning the entire area as if looking for something. One of them was shorter than the rest, but his aura wasn¡¯t weaker. If someone paid enough attention, they could see smalls bump on the chest area of this person.


    ¡°His trails stop here. He should be nearby. Where is he?¡±


    A soothing voice came out of this person. There were no rooms for more doubts. It was a woman, or at least looked and sounded like one.


    ¡°Miss! I¡­ I found him.¡±


    One of the hooded spoke while stuttering on his words. Anxiousness could be felt on his body. He led the ¡®woman¡¯ toward the place he discovered. There, was a naked old man with his limbs frozen in black ice. Next to him, there was a small message.


    MESSAGE FOR HEADLESS GROUP LITTLE GIRL: NEXT TIME YOUR UNCLEWILL BE DEAD.


    PS: THANKS FOR THE MONEY.


    Those who stood next to the ¡®woman¡¯ felt like the temperature dropped drastically. They could see their little demon shiver from anger.


    ¡°Free him. And wake him up. Look around again, if you find any clues of who did this, report it to me. I don¡¯t know who did that. It¡¯s my first time seeing this type of ice. But no matter who he is, we will find him. And according to the situation, we¡¯ll kill him.¡±


    Her voice was devoid of warmth. Those who heard her felt a little bit of pity for the one who dared to anger her.


    -----------------------------------------------------


    Twilight, a beautiful moment of the day. It was at this time that Grey and Sylvia could perceive Archon¡¯s city wall. The wall was ten meters high, multiple defensive and offensive array could be seen on the outer part of it. From the outside, some buildings could be seen, as the city¡¯s Library. It was the tallest building. Its construction was like a pagoda, but some ramifications on the main building have been added with time.


    Seeing the city wall, relief could be seen in Sylvia¡¯s eyes. She liked wilderness, but these two days have been tiring her out. Feeling her enthusiasm, Grey lightly smiled. This city will be his first step. He already came here numerous time. He never used the front door, though. And he couldn¡¯t enjoy his time there.


    They arrived at the East gate of the city. Carriage and caravans could be seen, peddlers and adventurers as well. They needed to queue before going in until their turn came.


    ¡°Identity card, and put your backpack on this platform please.¡±


    Grey put his backpack on the platform before turning his head to the guards.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have an identity card. I lived in the forest since I was young, thus I wasn¡¯t registered in any city.¡±


    Hearing this, Sylvia came to a certain understanding.


    No wonder he is so strong¡­


    ¡°I see¡­ Then I will need you to put your hand on this orb and to show me your short status.¡±


    Full status revealing a person¡¯s stats, it was forbidden to force someone to show it. However, a short status only revealed a person name and race.


    After verifying that there was no dangerous weapon in Grey¡¯s backpack, he took out a white orb to verify his intentions. As long as one whished for the demise of the city, the orb could detect it. Grey placed his hand on the orb, and after a while, it still didn¡¯t react. The guards nodded his head, and Grey retrieved his hand. Then he showed his short status to the guard.


    ¡°Show short status.¡±


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Name</td>


    <td>Grey Cromwell</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Race</td>


    <td>Human (Nephilim)</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After confirming that Grey was human, he let him pass and asked Sylvia her ID if she had one. Sylvia had already returned to her cold demeanour. When she showed the guard her ID, his back became drenched in sweat.


    What the fuck! A Bethel! Why is she here? Don¡¯t they usually travel with a carriage?


    Seeing the panic-stricken guards, a faint smile appeared on Sylvia¡¯s icy face.


    ¡°Can my friend and I enter now? Or do we need to wait here?¡±


    ¡°No no no! Please enter! I didn¡¯t know that Miss Bethel was coming!¡±


    Make you wait? I have yet to give up on my human rights! Being a slave of your house no thank you!


    His fear wasn¡¯t baseless. The Bethel family was a household which had yet to achieve nobility but whose financial power was second to none in Archon. They started as slave traders and slowly expanded their domain. Their position today is mostly because several rare and powerful class appeared in their family. Their business was thriving and their members were getting stronger. And with Sylvia and her older brother who were considered as geniuses, their end had yet to come.


    ¡°Good.¡± Sylvia didn¡¯t even spare a glance to the guards before heading towards the inner city. Grey followed her. Since it was supposed to be his first time here, he couldn¡¯t afford to show her that he already knew the city.


    When they entered, a large paved road was ahead of them. It was one of the main streets of Archon. Multiple stores and building were on each side of the road. Since it was the end of the day, besides the rustling of caravans and carriage and few people talking there was not a sound.


    ¡°Do you perhaps know where I could find an inn?¡±


    ¡°Huh? An inn? Hum, yes¡­ But, I still need to repay you for your help. I could take you as a guest in my house, it would save you the trouble to find an inn.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the offer, but I must refuse. My mother wouldn¡¯t like me to sleep at the house of a woman who is not my fianc¨¦e or girlfriend.¡±


    Hearing him, Sylvia¡¯s cheeks turned slightly pink. But after seeing him grin, she knew that he was teasing her. She stomped her feet before pointing at a building behind few stores.


    ¡°This is the Pendulum Inn. Food is quite good there, not magical like yours but their lodging is great¡­ Just a bit expensive¡­ Oh yeah! Do you have money? I can lend you some if you want¡­¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m fine. I dare say I have more money than your whole family.¡±


    As Grey said this, he walked toward the inn, waving his hand at her. Sylvia knew that they had to part at some points, but she didn¡¯t why it gave her this bitter feeling. After shaking her head slightly, she walked toward her home.

 Chapter 5: First day

    After waking up, Grey went for a bath. The inn assigned a special bath for him, which was normal. He did pay his stay in gold coins. Commoners would pay in bronze or silver coin most of the time. If someone could afford gold coins, he was basically wealthy. Since 100 bronze coins could be exchanged for 1 silver coin and 100 silver coins for 1 gold coins, with the fact that most of the jobs commoners could do were paid in few bronze coins per day, affording a gold coin was quite difficult. Don¡¯t even mention platinum and diamond coins. These were only for nobles or very wealthy merchants as they were mostly used to buy tons of raw material or food and A or S rank array scrolls.


    Grey himself possessed some platinum coins which were the leftovers of his father, but it would have been difficult to pay with those, thus he was thankful to the thief for delivering some pocket money for him.


    After taking his bath, Grey went to his room but was greeted by a maid in front of his door. She was a whole head smaller than him, her body had voluptuous curves, her posture was straight and refined, and had short brown hair with her green eyes and her lovely face. But something was wrong with her eyes, though they were light in them, Grey couldn¡¯t help but feel that something was off with them.


    Though Grey didn¡¯t doubt his charm, he never saw before, let alone talk to her. Thus, when he saw her, his face couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    Seeing him with a displease expression, the maid quickly gave him a short bow.


    ¡°Hello young master, my name is Alexia Carps, as an apology for the inconvenience our young mistress brought to you for the past two days, my old master dispatched me in order to serve you.¡±


    After hearing her explanation, Grey gave her a wry smile while he was sneering in his heart. He got close to her and put his hand on her head. Surprised by his actions, Alexia¡¯s body shivered and became stiff, but soon enough a warm feeling invaded her. Her body didn¡¯t reject this feeling and loosen up a bit.


    Meanwhile, Grey¡¯s suspicion was confirmed. This girl in front of him should be in her early twenties but numerous traces of abuse could be found in her body. Moreover, there was an irregular amount of mana in her brain and heart region. Though he wasn¡¯t sure of it, his intuition told him that this was due to a slave contract.


    He laughed bitterly in his heart.


    I saved and helped your daughter. And according to what she told you, you sent this girl to spy on me huh? Well, I don¡¯t care.


    Retrieving his hand, Grey told the girl that he was planning to go the library for the whole day, after registering for the Academy entrance exam. Thus, he needed her to tell him the way and explain him everything she knew about the city.


    If he didn¡¯t rely on her and just sent her away now it would have been suspicious. Though he doesn¡¯t fear the Bethel family, dealing with them would be a hassle. And he wasn¡¯t here to wreak havoc in the city for now.


    Alexia gladly followed his orders, though she still didn¡¯t know what he had done, if he relied on her this could only be a good thing. She needed to do her mission nothing else. If she did good, and if he kept her, her life would only be better. If he threw her away¡­


    No¡­ Don¡¯t think about it¡­ I don¡¯t want be those beasts¡¯ thing anymore¡­


    After taking a breakfast prepared by the inn, Alexia led Grey through the town and showed him around while explaining him how this city came to be, and which families were the most dominant here. This city was created in 146 post the New Beginning, it was created to offer a place for northern people of the kingdom to rest during humankind counter attack against the beast to develop the kingdom and guaranty safer frontiers.


    Since then, from a military city, it became an important city with both economic and military power. The Hecht family, which was here since 146, is the most powerful family in Archon right now. Their roots here are deeper than everyone else, and to thank them for defending this city since then, the king gave them a 3rd rank nobility. 1st rank being the highest nobility one family could get and 5th rank the lowest.


    And, the first daughter the Hecht family is supposed to be betrothed to the eldest son of the Bethel family. In order to enshrine themselves in the nobility, the Bethel family wanted his new generations to marry with nobles, though the highest rank in Archon was 3rd, for them it good enough. And it seemed that the son of a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank would attend the Academy for next term. Many young ladies who heard the news were already prepared to show him their worth.


    Besides these facts, it seemed that the commoners in Archon were being discriminated by certain noble. The Gatch and Limen family were only 5th rank noble, but their disdain for commoners was famous in the city. When a commoner saw them, he would not even dare look at their shoes afraid of being whipped on the spot. Though it was against the law, as long as the commoner didn¡¯t complain, the law couldn¡¯t do anything for him. And complaining was a synonym of forsaking your whole family.


    And, the Krell family was the only 4th rank in Archon. Their power was unknown as they do not fight in public and they always valued books and culture more than anything else. However, no one dare to belittle them. There was once another 4th rank noble family in Archon, The Cassus. One of their young master dared to rape the youngest daughter because she didn¡¯t even spare him a glance. When her tattered and trembling was found in their family underground cell, it less than one day, every and each one of them were killed and their mansion and corpses burned for a whole day.


    When she was done telling him this, they had already arrived in front of the Academy entrance.


    Archon was a big city. In a circular shape with twenty kilometers radius, it was the biggest city in the North in the area. And the Academy was at its core, and itself was gigantic. Since there was an arena, multiple amphitheater, and an exclusive library and multiple dorms, the Academy surface represented 30% of Archon. One could enter the Academy at any moment as long as one passed the exam. Though noble or rich family could afford tutors for their children until they could enroll, for commoners they had to use the bit of money they had to borrow books and learn by themselves. This led to huge disparity inside the Academy. Each term, the number of commoners who could enroll never went above one digit.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    There was a small building next to the entrance where one could come to ask for information. Since, Grey didn¡¯t have any idea as to when it opened, seeing that nobody was coming in, he just went in to check. And as he thought, there were few people in here and they were all commoners per their clothes. Noble or rich family must have already been done with all the formalities, thus, those who would still come to register at that time would be commoners who wanted to try their luck.


    The registration went without any problem since he just needed to fill his name, race, gender and which group he wished to join.


    They were five groups in the academy divided in four years. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. Each group was specialised. Alpha were combat oriented classes, Beta economic and management classes, Gamma magic arrays and mana manipulation classes, Delta crafting classes, and Epsilon for those interest strategy, history and scientific classes.


    For Grey, Alpha and Gamma group were useless, Beta wasn¡¯t for him, however, Delta and Epsilon were quite interesting. In the end, he chose Delta, as he thought that he could just go to the library in his free time to learn by himself.


    When he handed over his registration paper, he was told that he would be evaluated on his crafting basics for his entrance exam. He just nodded his head before thanking the employee for his explanations and left for the library.


    On the way, he bought something to eat for Alexia and him with the change he got yesterday for his gold coins. Since, when he showed his gold coins to the seller, he nearly fainted.


    You little brat! You buy sandwiches with gold?! Did you buy your clothes with diamond?! How am I supposed to give you your change?


    ¡°Excuse my master. Those things are new to him. It is his first time in a city.¡±


    Alexia gave the seller a quick bow apologising in Grey¡¯s place. And what she said didn¡¯t surprise Grey. His act yesterday gave Sylvia the feeling that he was a man of the forest and never went to a city before. So, it was normal. Meanwhile, the complexion of the seller turned even more awkward.


    His first city?! And he is already filthy rich??! Fuck you! Where is fairness in this world! *crying internally*


    After Grey and Alexia left, the seller¡¯s mood was so down that he closed his shop and went home to cry in a corner while his wife was scolding him to go back to work.


    At last, they arrived at the library. There, Grey dismissed Alexia asking her to wait for him in his room at the inn. Alexia didn¡¯t inquire about his motives and left after giving him a quick bow.


    The reason he dismissed her was to let her an opportunity to report what she had seen today to Sylvia¡¯s old man. Letting them get carried away by showing them that their plan worked somehow can only give him advantages.


    After registering in the library and paying a little fee, Grey headed toward the first floor where books about general knowledge could be found. He took out about twenty books from the bookshelf which were about history and magic technology and found a quiet place to start reading.


    Not far from him, a childhood friend couple were sitting in a corner reading their own book, and when they saw him holding his pile like it was nothing and reading at a speed which defied common sense, they got curious about him.


    What in the holy mother of potatoes! He just finished 200 worth of pages in less than thirty minutes! Is he even reading?!


    The man got curious and approached the table where Grey sat.


    ¡°Hey! Hello, is that seat next to you taken?¡±


    Grey gave him a glance before shaking his head, telling him that it was fine to sit there.


    ¡°Thanks¡­ Hum¡­ You just finished ¡®Dynamic patterns of mana¡¯, quite fast¡­ Do you have a technique or something?¡±


    ¡°Not really, I just learn a little bit faster than others.¡±


    Grey didn¡¯t even lift his head while reading when he answered him. The man frowned a little bit. But amazement was visible in his eyes. He was quite sceptical of Grey¡¯s claims but if it was true, it would be incredible.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I doubt you but¡­ You know it¡¯s quite hard to believe it¡­ I always thought that I was a fast learner, otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t even attempt the exam for the Epsilon group for the next term, but you just shattered my confidence with your reading speed.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ll attend the Academy?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Though I am a commoner, I think I have a chance. My name is Bahus Ophtel. 16 years old. I¡¯ll take the exam for Epsilon.¡±


    ¡°Grey Cromwell, commoner as well. 15 years old. I aim for Delta.¡±


    Bahus was stunned. He thought that Grey was older than him but he was wrong. He, who still had some baby fat in his cheeks but had a well-built body along with short black hair and brown eyes which fit is handsome face, was often mistaken for someone younger, but he was considered as a genius among commoners. Now he met someone REALLY younger than him and seemingly smarter too. His childhood friend, got up from her seat and went next to them. At first, she wasn¡¯t interested in their conversation, but when she heard Grey say that he was aiming for the Delta group her interest in him grew.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Maya, you came. Grey, I present you Maya Precus, like you, she is aiming for the Delta group. Although her personality is a little off she is NUGHFF¡±


    Before he could end his sentence, he was elbowed by Maya.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. I¡¯m Maya Precus, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Grey. Are you a commoner as well?¡±


    ¡°The pleasure is mine. Yes, why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Because I saw you coming with a maid and with your reading capabilities¡­ If it¡¯s true, you should have been from a wealthy family I thought.¡±


    ¡°Hum, no. I lived in the forest since my birth. It¡¯s my first time in a city. And if you want to check, just pick up a book I¡¯ve already read and tell ask me something about it.¡±


    Hearing him, they became flabbergasted. It took them a while to recover but when he offered them a chance to test his capabilities, Bahus¡¯ hand reacted on the spot and opened one of the books he already read.


    ¡°Can you tell me about the need of a mana derivation channel in a light producing array and the mana patterns required to produce it?¡±


    ¡°For a lighting array, you can use a mana derivation channel in order to create a specific path for the user¡¯s mana while he aliment it. You can use the sygmus pattern to amplify the effect, the celenius pattern to add a mana absorbing effect in the array making it somewhat self-sufficient, though the power would be low. That¡¯s pretty much it in this book, which is why I find it severely lacking because it doesn¡¯t mention pattern fusion and the effect of the elegius pattern which can prevent the user mana from leaking, thus making it less mana demanding.¡±


    When Grey finished his explanation while keeping a straight, the complexion of Maya and Bahus went from amazement to horror.


    This guy is a monster.


    ¡°You¡­ Do you even human?¡±


    Bahus was completely out of it. His head was still processing in order to digest everything he heard. The worst part was that Grey¡¯s wordswere the same as those used in the book. Like he was reading him to it. And what he added from his own knowledge just blew his mind.


    Is this book lacking? You¡¯re the one who knows too much!


    After that, the three of them spend the afternoon chatting in the library while reading. From times to times, an employee would come to ask them to shut up if they couldn¡¯t whisper.


    By the end of the day, Grey read something like fifty books. Bahus wanted to commit suicide, and Maya encouraged him to do so, thus he wouldn¡¯t waste their time. He nearly cried after that. Grey learned that Maya¡¯s father was a blacksmith which is why she wanted to attempt to enroll in the Delta group with her skills. When she asked what type of crafting Grey specialized, he just answered that he was fine with anything related to metal. Maya nearly fainted on the spot and Bahus nearly got expelled from the library because he was laughing too much. When the time to part came, Grey told them that he was planning on visiting the library every day for two weeks, until the exam. Bahus and Maya left together and Grey went on his own since their lodging were not in the same part of the city.


    When Grey arrived at the inn, he was greeted by Alexia who seemed to have been waiting for him. He greeted her back and went to the dining hall to eat before returning to his room to sleep.

 Chapter 6: Before the exam

    Two weeks flew by quickly. During this time, beside going to the library, Grey would often doze off in his room or take a stroll in town. As for Alexia, she followed him quietly everywhere. Literally. When she barged in while he was taking a bath in order to serve him with only a towel to cover her well-developed body, he told her that it wasn¡¯t necessary, but she insisted that she wanted to anyway. Thus, he allowed her in. At first, he just closed his eyes and ignored her advance when she was purposely rubbing her breasts on his back or touching his dick by ¡®mistake¡¯. The problem wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t find her attractive. You could say that Grey was a virgin for whom its first time shouldn¡¯t be with a girl he didn¡¯t care about. Grey could endure it for few days before locking the access to the bath while he was in. His limits were tempted each day with her, and he knew that she was starting to become reckless and might go further than just touching him.


    Alexia felt dejected when she was forbidden from accompanying in the bath. With time, she came to know Grey a little more. Though he was expressionless with her, he acted politely and kindly. He never mistreated her, and he rent another room in the inn for her to sleep him. He even bought her some clothes once since he was supposed to take care of her now that she was his maid although he always wore the same clothes. Well, not exactly. Once she asked him if he had any other clothes than the one he had now and he just told her that there wasn¡¯t any need. He could use magic to do the laundry and he could change his clothes features to make them look different. When she saw him transform his jacket into a shirt, she was stunned. And when she reported it to the Bethel family, Sylvia just raised her eyebrows while the other looked at her as if she was telling them that Santa existed, though Santa¡¯s myth didn¡¯t exist in this world.


    Sylvia had to explain to them that as far as she knew, he could use magic the way he wished. She didn¡¯t know to what extent, but besides elemental restriction, everything relates to mana manipulation, looked to be his forte. To this fact, many people present couldn¡¯t help but frown. He had such talent in mana manipulation but wished to enroll in the Delta group? They just couldn¡¯t understand his goal. But, if he proves himself to be advantageous for them in the future, they wouldn¡¯t dare to mistreat him, and he saved Sylvia after all, without asking for any rewards. Though the fact that he was ready to let her on her own made them twitch, this was normal. If people don¡¯t ask for help, why would you go all your way to help them, moreover when they¡¯ve been rude to you? Thus, they just instructed Alexia to grow more intimate with him which made her feel strange. Because, as soon as those words were said, she could feel a bit of killing intent coming from someone in the room. When she tried to pinpoint who it was, it had already disappeared. However, her efforts didn¡¯t pay off with the bath plan. So, she tried to sneak in his room at night to give herself to him, but when she opened his door with the key she was nearly stabbed to death by an ice lance. After that, she quietly stayed by his side giving him obvious hints that he should just have his way with her.


    And Grey saw those ¡®hints¡¯. When they were alone in his room, she would purposely wear light and revealing clothes. She once said to him that he should relieve his stress through sexual activities while fidgeting and blushing enough to make her look even more appealing. At that time, Grey just couldn¡¯t take it anymore and threatened to fire her if she was to try seducing him anymore than that. He told her that he wasn¡¯t planning on throwing her away if she didn¡¯t disturb him. Alexia stopped her advance afterwards, but she didn¡¯t feel any better. For her, a man promise was worthless. She didn¡¯t believe him. Unless a woman could hold a man¡¯s heart or make him have feelings for her, everything he said was worthless. That was what she came to think of time. Furthermore, she knew that if she managed to make him Grey fall for her, instead of being passive with her, he would proactively care for her.


    This whole thing gave Grey a headache, and he once made the mistake to tell Bahus about this. He made mistakes before, but this one might just be the worst. When he told Bahus that he was sexually harassed by his maid and that he was still a virgin, the latter nearly strangled him to death on the spot out of jealousy before nagging him to go to the red-light district with him. Maya who came in the library after that asked them what they were talking about. Grey told her that Bahus wanted to take him to the red-light district without batting an eye before asking what it was. He clearly knew. But he just wanted to see Bahus being beaten up by Maya, which she did. Accusing Bahus of wanting to lead him astray.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    In those two weeks, they saw each other only thrice. Since a fee was needed to enter the library they couldn¡¯t afford to come every day as they were commoners. Grey offered to pay their entrance, since money was anything but something that he lacked, however, they refused him saying that they needed to help their parents in their business in the afternoon. Maya helped her father by taking care of the customers or directly in the forge if there was too much work, while Bahus had part time job as a servant in a restaurant in the west part of the city in order to gather enough money to be self-sufficient and not depend on his parents until the exam. If he could enter the Academy, as long as his grades were sufficient, he would be fed and would be provided with a dorm.


    Grey learned something by talking with them too. Regardless of your group, by the end of each month, five students of each group in each year would participate in a big tournament. This was necessary to remind the students who were not in the Alpha group to not neglect their training since a beast tide could happen at any moment anywhere. Although it was called a tournament, in each year the Alpha group would end up first, many would concede after exchanging few moves because they just needed to show the examiner that they could use spells or weapons in order to graduate in their group.


    Grey just nodded when he heard this. He wasn¡¯t interested in fighting any of those students since finding someone who could be his opponent was very unlikely. No, it was impossible. Thus, he didn¡¯t bother with it and just continued reading.


    And today was the day of the exam. In order to greet the participants, the Academy opened its doors and welcomed them in his outer courtyard. The courtyard was divided into five segments, each representing a group. Many people besides the participants came. Most, no, all of them wore neat clothing and released powerful aura. They were people from the nobility or wealthy families coming to witness their child prowess.


    When Grey entered the Delta segments he could feel hateful gaze coming from two different people, which made him puzzled. He didn¡¯t offend anyone since he lived here. Who would feel enmity toward him here? He just brushed it off and didn¡¯t bother about it anymore. Until a young man came toward him.


    The young man had long black hair and his black eyes were sharp, with his young face features made him look quite the handsome guy. At first, Grey was confused as to why he was coming toward him until he saw Sylvia coming along him. That was when he noticed that their faces had some similarities, he concluded that he must be his younger brother or something like this.


    When they reached his position, Sylvia politely greeted Grey and he did the same, while the young man stayed silent, looking coldly at him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look that strong. I wonder if father and sister aren¡¯t just exaggerating about you.¡±


    Grey flatly ignored him. When he heard his first sentence, he knew his interest in him died at the same time.


    Seeing that Grey didn¡¯t even look at him let alone answer him, the young man snapped and opened his palm, preparing a wind blast. But before he could finish his spell, Grey¡¯s hand moved and he planted his index at the centre of the young man palm. The young man felt that something was off. He couldn¡¯t muster any mana not matter how he tried and his arm was frozen. He couldn¡¯t move it at all.


    ¡°What are you doing?! Release me!¡±


    Noticing that her younger brother was in serious trouble, Sylvia finally reacted.


    ¡°Please, both of you stop! Grey, my little brother was wrong¡­ Please excuse him¡­ I don¡¯t know why he did that¡­¡±


    Hearing her, Grey sneered in his heart.


    You clearly saw your brother intend to harm me and you still didn¡¯t say anything. Paying kindness with enmity huh.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know you. I have no obligation to answer you. Be glad that I didn¡¯t kill you. And if you¡¯d excuse me, I have some people waiting for me.¡±


    Grey¡¯s voice was cold, he glared at both of them before taking his leave and went to look for Maya who was applying for the same group as him. Sylvia was stunned. It was supposed to be their reunion after such a long time, and instead of what she expected, he just grew colder toward her. It was her father¡¯s plan to use Michael to test him, but she didn¡¯t expect that he would react in such a way. While she was dealing with her emotions, Michael, her younger brother was cursing in his heart. He thought that even if he couldn¡¯t beat him, he could at least hurt him. If it wasn¡¯t for Grey, Alexia would have been his already. He clearly expressed his wish to possess her, but his father still gave her away to a stranger. When she was told to have sex with him, he nearly wanted to kill her off after raping her so that he wouldn¡¯t get to taste her. It¡¯s not that Michael viewed women as toys, he viewed those with weaker status than him as such.


    Grey was completely oblivious to the reason of Michael¡¯s resentment toward him, and he couldn¡¯t care less. Though he¡¯d rather stay low key, if they pushed him too far, he would kill them all. This was the price of messing with his life.

 Chapter 7: One less participant

    ¡°Good morning everyone. I am the dean of this Academy, Edward Von Kalig. I am here to announce the beginning of the examination to select the future elite of society. I won¡¯t waste anymore of your time and will tell you what each test will be about. Starting with the Alpha group, in order to select 30 people among the 261 candidates, each will be given a challenge card on which a number will be written. When you will arrive at the arena, a magic panel will display which numbers shall fight. Each of you shall fight 5 times. The top 30 will be selected. For the Beta and Epsilon group, there will be a writing test about a subject fitting your main course which I am sure you will love. Gamma and Delta will stay in the outer courtyard, teachers will come with the material to evaluate your actual skill and knowledge in a short moment. Each group only have 30 seats. Being caught cheating will disqualify the participant and prevent him from joining the Academy. With this I am done, and I hope you will all try your best.¡±


    Edward Von Kalig. A powerful battle mage. He became the dean of the Academy five years ago, after retiring from the army. Due to some injury on the battle field he apparently can¡¯t have children, which left many women crying. Though he is already in his fifties, he doesn¡¯t have a shred of white hair. He had both blue eyes and hair. His angular face and piercing gaze combined with his height around 2 meters and his stylish clothes, made him look both domineering and manly. While everyone was gazing at him with eyes full of respect, Grey was just wondering about his own matters.


    Hum¡­ After this maybe I should make those two try my cooking. Though they¡¯re not bad, if there is a tournament at the end of each month, I doubt that they can do well. I don¡¯t know their stats but they are even worse than Sylvia¡­


    For Grey, since he began to interact with other people, Bahus and Maya could be the first one he could consider as friend. Though he wouldn¡¯t deliberately trust them, being able to ¡®have fun¡¯ like normal 15 years old teen, was something new to him. After interacting with them so much, and studying every and each one of their movements, he came to know that they were weak. Too weak. He couldn¡¯t blame them, but he could help them.


    While Grey was pondering about the best course of action he could take to convince them and help them, someone has been staring at him since he entered the courtyard. She was half a head smaller than Grey, her body was well proportioned, and her golden eyes with her silvery white hair gave her an unearthly beauty.


    That girl was sending daggers at Grey. The reason, she was the little miss of the Headless guild. Their group was notorious through the Human Kingdom because they dealt with illegal traffic of weapons, beast core, and sometimes corpses. Since they had an assassination branch, some of their employers would sometimes request the corpse of their target. To do what? They didn¡¯t care. Since their strength and their ability to accomplish their task without leaving any clues was recognized through the world, even kings and emperors wouldn¡¯t want to offend them for no reason. And yet, a youth younger than her didn¡¯t even blink before shaming her uncle.


    After interrogating her uncle about what he saw, the latter just shivered and wept while saying ¡®Please stop¡­ Please stop¡­¡¯. It took few days before they managed to make him calm down, and few more before he could talk about it without breaking down again.


    When she heard her uncle story, she and everybody present felt a shiver crawling down their spine. Her uncle wasn¡¯t the most powerful of the guild, but his strength was superior to hers. This was because he lived longer than her and trained more than her. Until now, she had never encountered someone her age, don¡¯t even mention younger, that could be on par with her, let alone defeat her.


    Her father decided to look for Grey¡¯s whereabouts in order to recruit him. Though they had a little misunderstanding, this wasn¡¯t something on which they couldn¡¯t reconcile, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have left her uncle alive.


    So, when they found out about him and his plan to enrol in the Academy they sent her with the task to rope him in. However, she thought that he would apply for the Alpha group, and would use this opportunity to challenge him. When she saw him among the Delta faction, she became irritated.


    You! Your place is clearly here! Why are you with those flies?!


    In fact, the reason for her desire to challenge him wasn¡¯t so that she could prove everyone that she was stronger, since she believed that he won against her uncle because he let his guard down, but it was to prevent her mother from spewing any more nonsense. When her mother heard about Grey battle capability, she said that he would be a great son in law. The place turned silent after she said that. And it became worst when her father said he was somewhat worthy. Her face turned ghastly pale. She didn¡¯t want to be bound by some shitty love relationship, and even worse, to a stranger whom she had never met and called her ¡®little girl¡¯. Thus, she just became irritated by seeing his face.


    However, that was what she wanted to believe. It would happen that she¡¯d sometimes fantasise about a relationship similar to what her parents had. But she just couldn¡¯t find the right person in who she could believe and depend on.


    While Grey and this girl were occupied by their thoughts, Bahus was in heaven. In his line of sight was a kind looking goddess. She was the Hecht family first daughter, Milena Hecht. Her long curled gold hair and her gentle face, with her gorgeous body gave her the title of ¡®The princess of Archon¡¯. She was the Hecht family most important person. Her looks already made her worthy of her rank, but her talent was also frightening. Though she only had a single element affinity, which was nature, it was emperor grade. Her fame didn¡¯t stop at Archon, even in the capital she was well-known. She was sixteen this year, and was betrothed to eldest son of the Bethel family: Kayne Bethel. A triple attribute and each of them epic grade man with the very rare class: Summoner. He was a prodigy. Among the younger generation, he was undefeated. With him, the Bethel family¡¯s future was guaranteed. It is said that at their wedding, which is supposed to happen in two year from now, the king himself will bestow them a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank noble status. And this poor Bahus, was love struck at first sight. He could only fantasize about being with her If he dared to make a move on her, he wouldn¡¯t even know how he died. Though she was also in his group, it was more of a curse than a blessing. This meant that he¡¯ll have to keep his emotions in check otherwise he might regret it.


    After a while, each group went to his its destined location. Since Grey and Maya belonged to the same group they stayed together and chatted while waiting for the examiners to come.


    Soon enough, they arrived with dozens of boxes, which contained the materials available for the exam. After displaying to the participants what kind of material they could use, they made them form multiple lines before placing few a table and very few tools in front of them.


    ¡°The rules for this test is simple. You will each ask for some material in a certain quantity. All in all, you can¡¯t exceed ten kilograms of material. You must show your ingenuity and display your crafting skill with them. You will have 3 hours to create your piece. Afterwards, we will call you one by one and you will explain how you created it, what is it useful for and its flaws. By doing this, we can examine both your experience and knowledge at the same time. Those of you who can show amazing skills might be selected as direct pupil of a teacher of the Delta department, thus, candidates do your best.¡±


    An old lady came in front of our section and told her speech. When the other listened to her, you could see their fighting spirit being ignited, and it became the real deal when she mentioned about the direct tutelage thing.


    Looks like being a direct pupil have some advantages¡­ Should I aim for that?


    If people could hear Grey¡¯s thoughts, they would strangle him for being ignorant. When a student was chosen as a direct pupil, his graduation was only a matter of time and he could have access to nearly everything the school could offer if his teacher allowed him. And being bullied would be anything but something he will ever experience. Noble and wealthy family could throw their weights outside of the Academy however they pleased, but inside, the teachers¡¯ words were absolute. This was only possible because Edward Von Kalig was the strongest man in the city, and no one would anger him just for his/her son/daughter mischief. So, being a direct pupil was the same as being a prince or princess of the Academy.


    Those matters were things Grey would completely brush off. The only interesting part for him would be that if his teacher allowed his to have access to all levels of the Academy¡¯s library, he could have access to knowledge which he wouldn¡¯t be able to know of otherwise. Grey possessed few hints about the old-world technology. But he lacked many things to create them. His father could have given him pointers but aside from giving him his desert eagle, he never said anything about it. He just said that the old-world weapons could destroy cities at will, which is why God erased all knowledge about them in humans¡¯ mind. But he failed to erase everything in his ancestor¡¯s memory, which is why their family knew few things about it. Though Grey didn¡¯t believe his father¡¯s word about the beasts getting abnormally stronger, if he could recreate weapons which could destroy cities and countries in a blast, he could protect himself and those he cared about without much difficulty. At least, that was his thoughts.


    However, he stumbled on a major problem. Mana. The old world didn¡¯t have mana, thus, the laws of the world were different. Everything in this world was bathed in mana and reacted quite differently from what they used to. The best example would be his gun. In order to fire a bullet, he needed to give it mana, with or without attributes, in the array which will create a condensed mana bullet and at the same time he needed to fire a extremely strong explosion spell inside to propel it. Apparently, in the old world they would use something called ¡®gun powder¡¯. But, it didn¡¯t work here. If you ignited ¡®gun powder¡¯ in this world, it would give a green flame which can burn for a long time while producing a bit of heat, no explosion. So, his gun needed to be solid enough to not explode each time he fired a bullet. However, he always kept few cartridges in his storage ring. One of the reason is that if he ever was lacking mana create more bullet, he just had to use the explosion spell and fire orichalcum bullets. The other reason¡­ Just in case he happened to use his power.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Anyway, Grey needed to show his crafting skills. He asked for ten kilograms of common steel. When people heard him they though he was a fool, even Maya was doubting his choice. There were many types of things available: Black wood, silver wood, iron, steel, platinum, ebenium, and other things which could help you create complexes and powerful objects. Still, he just chose steel. The examiner asked him if he was certain of his choice, Grey just nodded his head.


    They brought him a cube of steel which weighted ten kilogrammes. Grey though about what he was going to do for half an hour before he started.


    Meanwhile, the old lady who gave the speech was facing the participants with her eyes closed. When she heard Grey¡¯s demand, she just shook her head disappointment. When she arrived, and scanned the participants, he was the only person which she couldn¡¯t appraise. She had this unique magic which could enable you to see a person status forcibly. However, when she tried to see Grey¡¯s status, beside his name, everything was hidden. She could only see question marks everywhere. So, she decided to keep an eye on him, but his choice just disappointed her. This, was until she saw him starting to craft.


    There were many techniques used to craft with metal. However, since the participants were provided with a minimum of equipment, their possibilities were limited. However, when she saw Grey¡¯s method she was dumb struck. He enveloped his right arm in mana and plunged it in the block of steel.


    The examiners beside her felt her body become stiff and looked at what could have provoked such a reaction. When Grey plants his arm in the block of steel, one of them nearly spat blood on the spot.


    The fuck you¡¯re doing?! You think this is a game?!


    They wanted to strangle him for playing trick on them at this stage, but their thoughts came to a stop the next moment. The block of steel started to liquefy all impurities with it, leaving a ball of pure steel in Grey¡¯s hand. And with a burst of mana the ball of pure steel covered his hand and forearm, forming a gauntlet. At that moment, the complexion of the examiners was like they just saw a shiny rare animal. Until it turned into horror.


    Grey didn¡¯t stop here, he carved multiple patterns inside the gauntlet to give it magical properties as well. And when he was done, he gave his creation another look, before rating it.


    ¡°Not bad.¡±


    The participants who were near him nearly fainted when they heard him. Though they couldn¡¯t tell that he created pure steel, the fact that he engraved an array on his creation in less than 5min on the spot made them pale in fear.


    Afterwards, Grey gave a look at Maya¡¯s creation and saw her forging a rapier out of ebenium. Ebenium was titanium imbibed of dark magic. Its solidity and resistance was superior which meant that forging something out of ebenium took more time and if a mistake was made while forging it would be very difficult to correct it without losing quality. Seeing her fully concentrated, Grey just closed his eyes and went to sleep until the given time passed.


    Meanwhile, among the examiners, an uproar was occurring.


    ¡°This kid is mine, don¡¯t even fight with me for him.¡±


    The old lady¡¯s voice was cold and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.


    ¡°Old Chen, you can¡¯t take direct pupil anymore. You are the head of the Delta department, you should let us younger teacher have the opportunity to guide him as it would be beneficial for both of us.¡±


    A middle-aged man rebuked her. His arguments were logical. As the head of the Delta department, if she was to take a direct pupil she would have very little time to guide him and his position would be above other direct pupil, which often led those to grow arrogant. And having a direct pupil was an opportunity for both the teacher and the student, since the teacher could gain enlightenment while sharing his knowledge and experience with his student and progress together.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. If you want to fight me for him, please make your move.¡±


    ¡°Hugh.¡±


    The old lady just didn¡¯t care about whatever he said. Someone who could clear all the impurities in metals and force it to gain the form one wished and engraved array on it in less than 10 minutes. This was just a living freak. If she let him go, she would never forgive herself. Besides her reputation as a department head was already bad, why would she care about her face now? Shamelessness has always been her greatest weapon.


    Meanwhile, Grey was sleeping on an ice chair he made. Like this, the two hours left passed by quickly.


    ¡°Everyone shall stop now. You will be called one by one, and present your creation to everyone.¡±


    Very few participants hadn¡¯t finished yet. The reason was that it was better to present a finished product which could testify your skills than present something on which the examiners could only speculate if you could manage to do it or not.


    Each participant presented their production one after another. None of them really interested Grey, until it was Maya¡¯s turn.


    ¡°This rapier that I forged out of ebenium has been balanced for someone who is used to weapon around 7 kilograms. The blade tip has been reinforced by me with fire attributes and sygmus pattern to amplify it, so that the user could ignite the tip to do additional damage to his enemy. To forge the blade, I used 9 kilograms of ebenium. I lost 2 kilograms in the heating and hammering process and managed to improve the purity by ten percent. And I used some left over of the ebenium with black wood to create the handle. If I were to tell its flaws, it is that against magical beasts with skin harder than the blade, its piercing ability could be greatly reduced, and my pattern is weak and can only last for two weeks if used regularly.¡±


    A round of applause was hear when she was done. Forging and engraving on a weapon with an array which could last two weeks was something not many could do. And Grey clearly saw the eyes of an examiner shining when she was done, and breathed out a sigh of relief. If she didn¡¯t pass, he was ready to use any way possible to let her attend the Academy. Now he just needed to pray that Bahus could pass as well.


    When his turn came, many eyes were locked on him. Some filled with surprise, other respect and there were some with disdain. They just couldn¡¯t believe that someone could forge anything great out of common steel in less than 10 minutes. They wouldn¡¯t believe it, even if you beat them to death.


    ¡°This a magic gauntlet. To forge it, I used 10 kilograms of common steel. The reason for that is that in order to grant it all the properties I wanted I needed 6 kilograms of pure steel. Thus, I started by melting all the impurities in the steel block with my mana and then I used my mana to shape it to my will. Afterwards I engraved multiple arrays in it. I used a celenius and a myomus patterns and fused them together so that it can shape itself to the user hand as long as there is mana in the surrounding. I engraved a mana derivation channel composed solely of sygmus patterns. The channel is controlled by an elegius pattern to control the leaking of mana. Thus, with the help of this magic gauntlet, the user can cast offensive spells which will deal 60% more damage and will only have to use 12% more mana in the process. Furthermore, since it is made of pure condensed steel, it can be useful in close combat to protect the user. The arrays can last a year or so I think.¡±


    Silence.


    Everyone was thunder struck. There were 2 reasons for that. 1<sup>st</sup>: the object itself was way too powerful. Not that it didn¡¯t exist or there wasn¡¯t anything more powerful in the world. The problem laid in the fact that it was produced in few minutes and could do so much. 2<sup>nd</sup> reason: Grey talked about it as if he was describing a cabbage you could find in the street. Some of them heard him when he said ¡®Not bad¡¯, and they believed him somehow. But now, they just doubted his sanity.


    Not bad?! Is my dagger garbage then?! The fuck is wrong with you!


    Maya, on the other hand, was just shaking her head. She didn¡¯t know what Grey was capable of. But after coming to know him a bit, she knew that common sense just didn¡¯t apply to him. Though he looked like a normal cold looking young man, he was just a monster in sheep¡¯s clothing when it came to knowledge.


    On the other hand, the old lady had a smile planted on her face as she said ¡®good¡¯ multiple times. The examiners beside her just wanted to commit suicide. They had an idea of what he created but it wasn¡¯t even close to this.


    Was crafting that easy? Did I just waste 40 years of my life?


    Seeing that no one reacted, Grey just placed his product in front of the examiner before turning to leave with the others.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it! Show us! I don¡¯t believe that you had the time to forge that!¡±


    Someone in the crowd was completely rejecting Grey¡¯s claims about his production and many nodded their head. The latter didn¡¯t care and just waited with the others. However, the old lady did care. It was the production of her future direct pupil. How could she let some ignorant slander him?


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe him, then come here and try it. If it happens to be true, you will be disqualified on the spot for slandering a participant.¡±


    When she said those words, those had doubts could feel beads of cold on their back. Though they doubted Grey¡¯s skills, they wouldn¡¯t risk their chance just because of that. However, the one who voiced his complaint didn¡¯t falter and walked out of the crowd and came up.


    ¡°Dalien Gorg, I wish to test his production and do not believe he could have done it.¡±


    When Dalien said his name, many whispers could be heard in the crowd. It was because the Gorg family was well known in the north of the city for their weaponry. Their reputation wasn¡¯t bad, but it paled in front of the Bethel family.


    Dalien took the gauntlet and put in hand in it. The next instant, the gauntlet shape changed and fitted his hand perfectly. A hint of fear appeared in Dalien¡¯s eyes but he still didn¡¯t sway from his belief. He aimed at the sky and casted a wind blast. The gauntlet¡¯s pattern became visible and a huge wind ball surged from his palm before exploding in the air creating a shockwave.


    The eyes of the examiners didn¡¯t reveal anything. When Grey had put the gauntlet in front of them they already knew that he wasn¡¯t lying. However, Dalien¡¯s body started trembling. He knew that he fucked up. His father always said that in this city, no one could beat him in forging. And it wasn¡¯t a baseless claim. He often challenged or was challenged by blacksmith or artisan in the same generation as him and always won. If someone absurd like Grey in forging was in the city he should have known about it.


    While shacking nonstop he turned his head to face the old lady who was still smiling.


    ¡°Looks like we have one less participant.¡±

 Chapter 8: Bone rings

    Dalien¡¯s face lost all its colors. He couldn¡¯t do anything but tremble. The first reason was the shock he just experienced. The gauntlet was something way out of his league. He couldn¡¯t even comprehend how it could have been made in such a short period of time. Usually, when you poured your mana in a magic item, unless there weren¡¯t any impurities, you would face some resistance from the item. As your mana will adapt itself to the main component of the item, it will face some kind of resistance from the other components. However, when he poured his mana, it was like the gauntlet fused with his hand, and his mana flowed without facing any difficulties.


    The second thing which surprised him was the efficiency of the arrays. He clearly knew how strong his wind blast was. And the one he displayed earlier was clearly stronger. He didn¡¯t know by how much exactly, but he wouldn¡¯t dare to doubt Grey¡¯s words again. His brain was still processing on how he could get out of this mess. Losing to Grey wasn¡¯t a problem, but being thrown out while he had the ability to pass the exam¡­ It was something he couldn¡¯t accept. Not only him, his parents would kill him if they learned about that.


    ¡°Seniors¡­ This participant didn¡¯t want to offend anyone¡­ This product was something out of the ordinary and this participant just had some doubts¡­¡±


    Dalien quickly gave an apologetic bow to the examiners while trying to clear his name. He needed to bargain his way out this mess. However, the old lady didn¡¯t even bother answering him, looking at Grey, asking him what he thought about this. The latter was surprised by that. He never thought that in the end it would have been his decision which would matter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. He and many others doubted me, thus, his actions are quite understandable.¡±


    Grey¡¯s words made the face of many examiners satisfied. Since the beginning, when Dalien gave away his name, they were a bit restless. They clearly knew about his reputation. His arrogance wasn¡¯t something he didn¡¯t deserve. Until Grey appeared, no one would dare to call them first in the field of forging and crafting among the new generation. Since his family wasn¡¯t of noble lineage, they needed to find a way to earn enough for their living. And about a decade ago, his family was renown in Archon for their prowess craftsmanship. If one wanted an item from their brand, it could be said that he had to wait for at least a month before they could even start thinking about crafting it.


    Dalien quickly thanked Grey. He was arrogant at first, but now he clearly knew that he was inferior. And with his intervention he could still have a chance to stay in the Academy. Though the old lady wasn¡¯t quite satisfied by that, she didn¡¯t care. She made her intention clear that she had Grey in her sight. Only blind people wouldn¡¯t see it. Since when did she ask for anyone opinion? Those who knew her well couldn¡¯t even remember if she ever did. Besides the dean, she would slap you if you dared to contradict her without solid reasons. The older, the wiser? With her it was more like: the older, the fiercer. Her reason was simple: ¡®I am this old already, why do I need to restrain myself with the bit I have left to live?¡¯.


    After all the commotion died down, the examination continued and finally came to an end. Dalien was chosen as a direct pupil by one of the examiners and left with him. Before he left, he apologises once again to Grey, clearly hoping to develop a better relationship with him in the future.


    ¡°You really did it huh?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Maya was looking at Grey with an accusatory glare. Though she was happy for him for getting the old lady attention, she couldn¡¯t help but be a little jealous. She didn¡¯t know if it was talent or anything else, but Grey¡¯s abilities were something she had never seen before. However, she knew that everything wasn¡¯t given for free. If he possessed so many abilities, it surely meant that he worked harder than anyone else to develop them.


    ¡°Humph! Men are always the same! Did you need to do that much?!¡±


    Just as he was about to respond to her, Grey felt a piercing pain in his chest. His fell on one knee while holding his left chest. His breathing became rough. The cores which were situated where his heart should have been, have begun pulsating. He didn¡¯t what was happening. It was the first time something like this was happening. It was like the cores were calling for something.


    Seeing Grey fall so suddenly, Maya rushed to his side.


    ¡°Are you okay?! What is happening to you?¡±


    ¡°I am fine¡­ I just need to rest¡­¡±


    Grey¡¯s voice was dry and weak. He didn¡¯t know what was happening to him. But his cores were reacting strangely. Something must have happened. But before he could think about it, his vision was shrouded by darkness.


    Soon enough, the old lady and another woman arrived near them. When the old lady saw the fainted and sweating Grey, her brows furrowed. She went to his side and placed her hand on his forehead. She was trying to use healing magic on him, but her mana could not penetrate Grey¡¯s skin at all. A look of shock was visible on her face at that point. The middle-aged woman who was accompanying came for Maya and said to her that she will take her as her direct pupil. After that, though Maya was reluctant, she left with her, leaving Grey in the old lady care.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The old lady supported Grey¡¯s body with a mana platform before heading toward her room.


    -----------------------------------------


    Inside the dean¡¯s office, two men were facing each other. One of them was the dean. Edward Von Kalig, while the other one, wasn¡¯t someone who belonged here. He was dressed in aristocratic clothes and a solemn look on his face. If one took a closer look, there were two bone rings on his fingers.


    ¡°Edward, please consider my offer. Our king will not last for long, and the princes are just a bunch of fools. There are only advantages for you if you take my side at that time.¡±


    ¡°Lacus¡­ I am tired of those things. I don¡¯t want to involve myself in that strife of power which is taking place in the capital. And, I don¡¯t think I am qualified enough to judge who shall be the next king.¡±


    While Edward had an exasperated look on his face, the other man¡¯s complexion was still calm as ever. He came here with one goal. Ensure that Edward would either be his ally or stay neutral. His assurance on overthrowing the current monarch was high, but he needed more time. And during that time, he needed to gather more allies.


    ¡°How can you say that? Although you can¡¯t judge who shall be the next king, anyone knows that the current royal family is falling into ruin. Due to their ineptitude, our kingdom is being led by the nose by all other countries. Our borders had never been so frail. We can¡¯t let things continue like this. He did make the Elf Kingdom our ally, but how far are they? Demons and beast men are getting stronger and in just a few more years they wouldn¡¯t think twice before invading us. Their hatred for humans is only second to monsters and magical beasts. We¡¯re doomed if we don¡¯t do anything.¡±


    Edward stayed silent. Those facts weren¡¯t unknown to him. But, he couldn¡¯t afford himself to participate in that. He had responsibilities he needed to attend to. If their rebellion ever happened to fail, his Academy would be finished. He couldn¡¯t be careless in this matter.


    ¡°Lacus. I am sorry. But I can¡¯t risk it. I can just promise you that I will be watching from the sidelines.¡±


    A smile grew on Lacus¡¯ face. It went as expected.


    ¡°You won¡¯t regret your decision, and I understand your troubles. I just wish you help me with something.¡±


    Lacus took out the bone rings from his finger and showed them to Edward.


    ¡°I just want you to appraise those rings and tell me how much arrays they can handle.¡±


    Edward frowned. This wasn¡¯t something very difficult. And that was the problem. The appraisal skill was very rare but Lacus surely had men who could use it. Nevertheless, Edward took the bone rings and sent his mana in them to appraise them.


    The moment his mana penetrated the bone rings, they started trembled for not even a second before rejecting the foreign mana. Edward was shocked. He sent another round of mana but in a greater quantity. This time, the bone rings trembled for few second before rejecting Edward¡¯s mana.


    ¡°You should try to use your ice attribute on the ring on your left and use more mana by the way.¡±


    The smile on Lacus face was still the same as if he knew this would have happened. Edward followed his instructions and used ice attributed mana on the left ring. This time, the ring didn¡¯t reject Edward¡¯s mana and absorbed it without any trouble.


    ¡°This¡­ Where did you find this?¡±


    If Edward was shocked at first, now he was horrified. The amount of mana he sent wasn¡¯t something an ordinary item could absorb, let alone handle like this ring.


    Seeing Edward¡¯s face, Lacus began to laugh. If he was surprised now, he was in for a heart attack by the end of this.


    ¡°Secret. Let¡¯s just say that I have more than a hundred kilogrammes of this material, though I lost some while doing some experiments.¡±


    Edward took a deep breath of cold air.


    More than a hundred kilogrammes¡­ Since could you find this kind of things in such quantity?!


    ¡°It just happens that these bones are really special. They only accept mana of their own elements. The left one is an ice type while the right one is a darkness type. However, there is a huge problem with those. It¡¯s impossible to engrave an array which quality is inferior to A rank. So, imagine the pain it is to find elemental engraver. Thus, I won¡¯t be asking you to help me fight for the throne, just your help engraving those things.¡±


    Edward stayed silent. Though Lacus said that he wouldn¡¯t have to help him fight for the throne, isn¡¯t engraving those common-sense-defying things the same as helping him fight?


    ¡°If you accept to help with this little matter, I can give 5 kilogrammes of ice bone.¡±


    The smile on Lacus face grew wider. To him sacrificing 5 kilograms of bone wouldn¡¯t be that much of a loss if he could find someone to engrave on them. He discovered that those bones were powerful but had way too much restrictions. First, in order to forge those rings, it took him a whole week, and five 2<sup>nd</sup> rank master fire magicians. It was just absurd. And to engrave them, you needed at least an A rank elemental array. A rank arrays were far from common but they weren¡¯t that rare. However, elemental array was a completely different thing. The engraver¡¯s attribute needed to be high and his mana pool too. And those rings needed a monstrous amount of mana to be engraved. And in the whole kingdom, only Edward had the qualification to engrave them.


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t engrave the darkness type, though¡­¡±


    Edward¡¯s feelings were in turmoil. This was an offer only a fool would refuse. This thing was too strong. He could engrave multiple arrays on it and t would not even crack. Engraving multiple A or S rank array on an item was the same as destroying it. It would simply explode. But this could handle it. He was certain.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about it. I¡¯ll deal with that later. I¡¯m only asking you to engrave the ice type.¡±


    After thinking things through again for a moment, Edward finally accepted.


    Lacus smile showed his white teeth. Everything was going according to what he expected. Now, he only needed to wait, and continue his preparations.


    ¡°You won¡¯t regret it. I¡¯ll make this kingdom great again.¡±

 Chapter 9: Carla Meist

    Grey slowly opened his eyes. His chest was still hurting a bit, but the cores seemed to have calmed down. He didn¡¯t know what happened. It was the first time such a thing happened. Though he wasn¡¯t sure, there was something in the Academy to which the core reacted.


    He slowly sat up and finally took notice of his surroundings. He was on a bed in a white room. The room was devoid of furniture and looked like it was cleaned not long ago.


    Clueless of where he was, Grey released his mana and spread it to scout the surrounding in order to find any living being nearby. But, before his mana could leave the room, the door suddenly opened. The old lady walked, her hands behind her back and her eyes still closed.


    Sensing Grey¡¯s mana she was quite surprised by its density and purity but quickly calmed down. When she was treating, she found out something about him. Not only does his body rejected her mana, he was also hollowed. There was like an abyss in his chest, though she didn¡¯t know why she wasn¡¯t too curious about it. Each person had his owns secrets.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    She asked him with concern in her voice. She finally decided to take a direct pupil, and on the first day, he was already at death door. Her worries were normal.


    ¡°I feel better¡­ Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Good. You really scared me earlier. I don¡¯t know what has gotten to you but if you need help, you can ask me. You¡¯re my direct pupil after all.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ No, I will be fine. It shouldn¡¯t happen again.¡±


    He clearly couldn¡¯t be sure about that. But he still said it with a straight face.


    ¡°No need to act tough with me. Humph. And you¡¯re quite the lady killer. Three different girls came to me to ask about your condition.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?!¡±


    Grey was dumbstruck. Besides Maya, there shouldn¡¯t be any girl who would visit him.


    ¡°How long was I in that state?¡±


    ¡°Only a few hours, it¡¯s way past noon. You should come up and eat something.¡±


    Few hours?! And three girls came to see me? When did I get that handsome?


    ¡°Oh, and someone came to me telling me that she is your maid. I let her stay in the living room. You should go and see her, she was restless when she heard about your condition.¡±


    ¡°Hum, I understand¡­ By the way¡­ Who were those three girls?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know? Are you a playboy?¡±


    ¡°No! Besides Maya and my maid, I didn¡¯t talk with that many girls¡­¡±


    Well, if I count you, I had a conversation with 6 girls since I was born¡­ How am I a playboy?!


    ¡°Really? Well Maya did come to see you with a friend, someone called Bahus something, I think?¡±


    She doesn¡¯t even care about his name¡­


    ¡°Yeah, they are¡­ my friends¡­¡±


    For Grey, the idea of friendship was still very vague. If ¡®friends¡¯ were people with whom he could spend time with and have fun, then they did qualify. If they were people in whom he could trust, they were still lacking. However, he could say that he cared about their wellbeing.


    Bahus was easy going. He didn¡¯t take anything serious to heart as long as it didn¡¯t concern his family. He never told Grey why he wanted to enter the Academy besides graduating and getting hired by a wealthy company to help his family. Grey felt that there was something else, but since he didn¡¯t mention it, Grey didn¡¯t ask. He couldn¡¯t force them when he, himself barely said anything about his past. But, the reason he could consider Bahus as his friend was that he could see his heart. Bahus was greedy but cautious. He wouldn¡¯t risk losing something if it wasn¡¯t worth it. On the outside, he acted like a fool, while scheming internally. However, when they were together there wasn¡¯t any trace of malice in his words. How did Grey know that? Grey followed him secretly to his workplace. Bahus would like a humble and sometimes clumsy waiter to make the customer drop their guards, and when they weren¡¯t looking some silver coins would fly out of their pockets without them knowing about it. However, it didn¡¯t always work. Bahus knew that his fa?ade couldn¡¯t trick everyone, so he would only act if he was sure. When Grey observed him at that time, he could clearly see that it was an act. His breathing, his movements, everything was calculated, but his heartbeat was his main flaw. It was irregular when he spotted a potential prey. However, he couldn¡¯t notice anything strange with his behaviours when he was with them, which meant for Grey that, he ¡®trusted¡¯ him and really wanted to befriend him.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    As for Maya, she was acting like a big sister for both of them. She was the only child in her family. Her mother passed away after giving birth to her and her father didn¡¯t remarry. So, she treated us like the little brothers she couldn¡¯t have. She would not talk that much, but she always listened to what people told her. The best example would be when she is receiving the customers for her father. None of them would complain and she would entertain them while they were waiting by talking to them. Some even just came just to get advice from her on how to deal with their wife or partner in their group of adventurers. She would take the time to listen to their trouble and advise them, some even came to propose to her before being shot down. The gentleness she showed to the customers even surprised Grey, because when they were together, she was like a sleeping tiger waiting for an occasion to hit them. And Bahus was the victim by default since Grey could dodge her strike, he ended being the only beaten. Grey wanted to tell to those guys who proposed to her that they didn¡¯t know what kind of monster they wanted to marry, but he knew that if he said it aloud, he would blow his cover and get hunted down by her in the process. However, whether it was with them or other people she was always straight forward and true to herself. Grey didn¡¯t know if she knew about Bahus little mischief to gain his pocket money but judged it safer, for him, to not say anything.


    Anyway, after leaving the white room, Grey found out that he was in the old lady¡¯s house which was located behind the Delta building in the inner courtyard. He was lead to the living room where a familiar figure was waiting for him.


    When Alexia saw Grey come down, many different emotions were visible in her eyes, but the dominant one was the relief she felt. She didn¡¯t know what would have happened to her if he were to die. Nothing mattered more than his wellbeing to the current her.


    She got up from her seat and quickly came in front of him to greet him.


    ¡°I am glad that you are well, young master.¡±


    She gave him a slight bow while looking at him. Grey gave her a wry smile. Though he didn¡¯t know what kind of predicament she was in, if he were to leave her alone, he knew that what awaited her wasn¡¯t something she wished. He didn¡¯t want to have too much to do with the Bethel, so he could not really trust. At least, not until he took out those things in her body. But taking them out now wouldn¡¯t be productive, so he just needed to wait a little bit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t die yet.¡±


    Alexia just looked at him before turning her head to the old lady.


    ¡°I thank you again for taking care of my young master while I wasn¡¯t around. I will accompany him back to the inn now.¡±


    Please DON¡¯T take care of me¡­


    For some reason, Alexia¡¯ smile became dangerous all of a sudden. Grey clearly told her to stop trying to seduce him, however, even his father was afraid of a woman¡¯s scheme.


    ¡°Ahum¡­ Since I was accepted, maybe there is some kind of dorms in which I could stay¡­¡±


    ¡°Young master. There is no need for you to stay on the Academy ground all the time. It will only take you around 15 minutes to come here since our inn isn¡¯t too far. And you clearly paid enough money for at least two more weeks. It would be throwing money at the window if young master stayed here.¡±


    Grey¡¯s mouth was wide open. He wanted to retort but just couldn¡¯t. Since the term will officially start in two weeks of time, he did pay for a month. However, he hadn¡¯t expected the x factor which is Alexia. Seeing his deadpan expression, the old lady was clearly amused. At first, she thought that Grey would the kind who wouldn¡¯t be intimidated by a woman. If she knew that he was just afraid of her because she enticed him too much, she would have wondered if he was truly a man.


    Grey sighed in defeat and thanked the old lady again before taking his leave. However, as he was about to leave the house¡¯s ground, he turned around and went back in.


    ¡°I forgot! You didn¡¯t tell me who came here to see me.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Interested?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ A bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides Maya and the guy, there were Sylvia Bethel and another girl named Carla Meist.¡±


    ¡°Sylvia huh¡­ wait! Carla Meist?¡±


    Grey was shocked. He knew who it was, but didn¡¯t expect her to look for him. Did she treat his threat as air? No, she wouldn¡¯t. She must be looking for him for something else, and it required him to be alive. Thus, Grey concluded that she wanted to talk to him, about what? He didn¡¯t have any clue.


    In the memory of her uncle, he managed to find out about her. She had a fire attribute with an emperor grade. And at the mere age of sixteen, she was already level 30. She was clearly a walking monster. Whatever she wanted from him, he could only get benefits, since they couldn¡¯t force him anyway.


    Grey bid his farewell again before heading toward the inn with Alexia.

 Chapter 10: Marry my daughter

    He didn¡¯t get an ounce of sleep. Grey had to keep his eyes open all night. Since what happened yesterday, Alexia used the fact that until they knew what caused him to faint like that it would be too dangerous to leave him alone in his room. Thus, he had to stay in an artificial sleep in order to prevent Alexia from sneaking inside his bed. Though he could stay in an artificial sleep to be aware of his surroundings, it wouldn¡¯t be as beneficial as a real sleep.


    I shouldn¡¯t have allowed her to stay¡­


    After getting ready and dressing up, Grey left the room with a tied and a taped Alexia on the ground. He just needed to get her something to eat after he was done.


    Grey arrived in the dining room where breakfast was served and took his usual bread accompanied with a soup. After he sat down and began to eat, another figure came to his table. Seeing the person approaching, Grey gave it a quick glance before coming to an understanding.


    The one coming was Carla. The moment she was in front of his table, the surroundings seemed to have frozen. The other costumers stopped moving.


    Time magic? Grey while wondered, his wariness grew. Time magicianswere a pain in the ass.


    ¡°You look better.¡±


    She said, with her usual cold tone.


    ¡°Yes. Thank you for your concern.¡±


    Grey just replied her nonchalantly, while sipping his soup. Though he looked defenseless on the outside, every fiber of his body was ready in case those who were still hidden in the shadow decided to come out.


    Her gaze grew colder. She knew that he was aware of those who were in the back just in case. She just didn¡¯t understand how he could tell when she herself wouldn¡¯t know if she hadn¡¯t been told in advance.


    ¡°I am not here as an enemy and I won¡¯t pursue the matter where you robbed us.¡±


    ¡°I was the victim.¡±


    Pfft. One of those hidden in the shadow nearly burst out of anger.


    What victim? Since when did the victims beat their assailant like that?


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like you suffered any injuries.¡±


    ¡°I was mentally shocked.¡±


    ¡°Liar.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡±


    Carla frowned. Grey wasn¡¯t giving her any respect at all. It was like he couldn¡¯t care less about her. Though her character was little fiery, she was still very beautiful. When she passed the exam yesterday, she didn¡¯t know how many of those flies tried to court her and she didn¡¯t spare them a single glance. And he, with whom she talked to, ignored her completely. This shocked her and dealt a blow to her confidence.


    ¡°The Headless guild would like to recruit you. Of course, we will listen to your conditions as we value your potential. It should be said that our guild is one of the strongest in the new world, being with us can only make your path smoother.¡±


    While gnashing her teeth, and glaring at Grey, she finally exposed her goal in meeting him.


    This time, it was Grey who was shocked. He didn¡¯t expect this. At best, he thought that they would ask him to reimburse or maybe ask for compensation since he messed with her uncle¡¯s mind; but never he would¡¯ve thought that they would ask him to join them.


    And this wasn¡¯t too bad for him. The things he lacked was knowledge, and materials. Though the Academy could provide him in both, it will be limited and restricted. However, if he were to join them, he could ask everything he wanted if they could find what he needed.


    ¡°I want materials and books.¡±


    Hearing Grey¡¯s response, Carla¡¯s eyes shone with a bright light. At first, she thought that he would refuse to join them since their job was shady or because of her uncle¡¯s matter. But, when she realized the content of his requirement, doubts filled her eyes.


    Books and materials? Why does he need that?


    ¡°As long as you can prove yourself useful to the guild, we won¡¯t be stingy on our rewards.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t want to be monitored anymore. It¡¯s been days since you guys have been tailing me. And I always need to check who it is. I wanted to kill them at first you know?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand.¡±


    In the report she had seen, it was written that Grey was oblivious of them tailing him. If what he displayed was just an act, then they have been fooled since the beginning.


    ¡°However, we need to brand you with our sigil so that we can be sure that you won¡¯t betray us our reveal any secrets related to the guild.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡±


    Carla became flabbergasted.


    ¡°W-What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°My body will reject the sigil. And I wouldn¡¯t accept it anyway. If I promise to not betray you it will be enough.¡±


    When he said that, a hooded figure walked out of the shadow and arrived at their table. The figure was clearly one of the member of the Headless guild. The figure retrieved his hood and showed the face of a handsome middle aged man. The man face had common traits with Carla. Grey deduced that he should be one of her relatives.


    When Carla saw the man face, her eyes were full of shock. She wouldn¡¯t have thought that he would have come.


    The man face exposed a bright smile when he looked at Grey.


    ¡°Oh! I see. Then, allow me to present myself. My name is Arnold Meist, 1<sup>st</sup> chief of the Headless guild, Carla¡¯s father.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Grey Cromwell.¡±


    ¡°I know. Your conditions aren¡¯t too extravagant and can be satisfied, but the fact that a sigil can¡¯t be implanted on you makes things a little bit difficult¡­¡±


    ¡°If you stepped in this conversation, then it means that you clearly have a way to go past that.¡±


    Arnold¡¯s smile twitched a bit. He thought that he could lead Grey to promise that he will accept any other method besides the sigil before offering his idea, but the latte didn¡¯t even let him this opportunity.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Marriage. With my daughter.¡±


    Silence.


    What the¡­


    Besides Carla, this was what everybody was thinking. Carla just rolled her eyes, already aware that her father was up to no good.


    ¡°I-I think that¡¯s not good too. We don¡¯t know each other, and she looks at me like she wants to eat me alive.¡±


    ¡°I know. But that¡¯s not a problem. You guys are still young, you¡¯ll have plenty of time. And I don¡¯t believe that someone weaker than her can satisfy her too.¡±


    ¡°DAD! What are you saying?!¡±


    ¡°What ¡®what am I saying¡¯? You mother and I are really concerned if we will ever see our grandchildren in our life. You act headstrong and like a man, it¡¯s time for you to be a little more girly don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my problem!¡±


    Carla started pouting and divert her gaze from her father. Grey was still shocked by what he was seeing. He never expected this woman to be able to express this kind of feelings.


    Arnold returned his gaze to the dumb struck Grey and wryly smiled.


    ¡°Well¡­ If you look past her little temperament, she can be cute too¡­¡±


    Oi. Why are you looking sideways then? Do you even believe your words?


    ¡°Anyway. Let¡¯s say this. You guys can try to date, and if things really can¡¯t be done between the two of you, we¡¯ll cancel the engagement. Like this, since you¡¯re engag¡­. Ahum, dating the guild¡¯s little princess, betraying the guild would be less likely.¡±


    Grey¡¯s mind was suffering from overheating. Things were going too fast for him.


    Wait. Did you say ¡®engaged¡¯? How hard are you trying to sell off your daughter?


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    Grey decided to think about it. He didn¡¯t have any experience with girls. Maya was like a sister to him at most, Alexia was a monster, and his impressions of Sylvia wasn¡¯t too good. However, he knew about Carla. Through her uncle¡¯s memory he knew that she was trustworthy and kind. Though she acted ruthlessly with anything close to an enemy, this was just because of her position to the guild, she couldn¡¯t afford to show weaknesses.


    And, for the first time since they began to talk, Grey finally noticed that Carla was very attractive. Her light rosy hair and her blue eyes were traits which Grey found very attractive. Her eyes held a strong will. Her cherry lips and nose made her face look dignified and cute at the same time. Then, Grey lowered his gaze to her bosom and found it sufficient, not too much not too lacking. Her waist was slim and everything below was under the table.


    Seeing Grey stare at her like that, a hint of red appeared on Carla¡¯s cheeks. With her father¡¯s intervention, she was overly aware of it and couldn¡¯t control her emotions. Meanwhile, the culprit for all this was wearing a satisfied smile.


    ¡°Like what you see?¡±


    Grey knew that he was too obvious in his staring and already felt multiple source of killing intent coming from the shadow. But, you could say that it was his first time checking out a girl like this.


    ¡°Ahum¡­ The thing is¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I have no experience with girls whatsoever. You could say that besides my mother and sister, I didn¡¯t get to know any other girl for those past 15 years¡­ So, I have never dated anyone¡­¡±


    Silence.


    Grey wasn¡¯t a complete greenhorn in those matters between men and women. He at least knew about sex, since he often saw sex slaves and the like before. His father even explained him how children were conceived and told him that if he were to have a child with a woman, whoever it was, he had to take care of her. That was the main reason he didn¡¯t want to do it with Alexia. However, things like dating were like a new territory for him.


    Arnold¡¯s body became stiff at Grey statement, and Carla¡¯s eyes grew wide. Both have seen Grey¡¯s maid and could tell that she just wanted to jump on him. Even yesterday when she came to his room, they thought that he called her to sleep with her. What he just said made them doubt about his manhood.


    ¡°This¡­ This is not a problem. My daughter lacks experience like you¡­ And we will be the one supervising your date so that nothing would go wrong.¡±


    It took a lot on Arnold to keep his calm and not ask Grey if how, as a single man, he could resist such a thing? He would have fallen on the battlefield ages ago. If he didn¡¯t know that an asura was waiting for him at home, passing a night with such a maid be too much on his nerve.


    Meanwhile, Carla felt a bit of relief. She didn¡¯t want this to happen, but at least, if he were to accept, she wouldn¡¯t have to deal with a beast.


    ¡°However, we would like to know a bit more about you¡­ So, if you could show us your level and attributes it would make things easier for us. We won¡¯t ask for you class and stats.¡±


    Grey¡¯s mind cooled down when he heard those words. His status wasn¡¯t something he could show carelessly. At least he couldn¡¯t show them that he had the void magic. And a god grade at that. But, the possibilities that their guild could offer him weren¡¯t something he could discard too. And showing his level and other elements will assure him that they wouldn¡¯t carelessly offend him.


    ¡°Show level and attributes.¡±


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Name</td>


    <td>Grey Cromwell</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Level</td>


    <td>64</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Attributes</td>


    <td>Ice magic (Grade: Emperor) Darkness magic (Grade: Emperor) [Void magic (Grade: God)]</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Arnold and Carla breath stopped. Level 64, two emperor grade elements.


    I knew he was strong but this¡­ No wonder he didn¡¯t care about the Alpha group, for him, they just are a bunch of kids playing around.


    ¡°How about you guys marry right now?¡±


    ¡°No way!¡±


    Both of them had the same reaction. Grey¡¯s reasons were obvious, he didn¡¯t have any feelings for Carla, though he wasn¡¯t reluctant to give it a try, marrying her was out of the question. And as for Carla, Grey was indeed strong enough, but she couldn¡¯t abandon herself to someone just because they wanted to rope him in. She planned on dating him, and making him grew closer to the guild so that he¡¯d feel part of it, then stop this farce. But, she was already feeling embarrassed about what she will have to do.

 Chapter 11: How am I supposed to do that?

    After parting with Grey, Carla and Arnold both left with their shadow guards and the time spell was released.


    The complexion of Arnold grew grave and serious when they reached their lodging.


    ¡°He is too dangerous. He holds many secrets. His double attribute is already very rare, and both of them are emperor grade¡­ Is this a joke? And, it still can¡¯t explain how he turned my little brother in such a state. From what we heard yesterday, his control over mana seems to be outstanding and one of a kind¡­ How can such a monster exist and no one knows about it?¡±


    ¡°Dad, do you think we should kill him?¡±


    Carla¡¯s voice held a faint trace of concern. She had nearly been sold off to Grey this morning, but she had to accept the fact that he wasn¡¯t ordinary. It could be said that he may be the only one which could completely suppress her among the younger generation, so, she was a bit curious about him.


    ¡°No. Since my baby daughter and he are engaged there won¡¯t be any problem.¡±


    His face showed a teasing grin. Carla¡¯s face became slightly hotter. She could have said no, but she still said yes. If he revealed himself to be dangerous for the guild, she wouldn¡¯t have considered it. Though she didn¡¯t intend to do more than date him, she was still in this mess.


    ¡°A-About that¡­ What are we supposed to do?¡±


    Arnold¡¯s smile grew wider.


    ¡°Tomorrow, you too will go out in the forest to have some time between the two of you. You should think about something to cook for him, I am sure he¡¯d love it to death¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The face of the following shadow guards grew paler. They had never tasted their little princess¡¯ cooking, but they smelled it. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were used to dealing with much more dangerous poison, they thought that anyone who smelled that would fall unconscious on the spot.


    ¡°Chief, won¡¯t it treat as a poisoning attempt if he were to try the miss¡¯¡­ cooking.¡±


    One of them suddenly spoke. Offending a level 64 young man wasn¡¯t something he would like to do.


    ¡°He won¡¯t mind. All men wish to try their wife¡¯s cooking.¡±


    ¡°Why are you guys talking about my cooking as a weapon? I know that it¡¯s lacking but no one died eating it.¡±


    Yet. Carla tried to cook a few months ago, the ones who tried her cooking were either crippled or wasted. They needed months of treatment to recuperate, some are still bedridden. Remembering this, all members present couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. Even her father felt ashamed. He didn¡¯t know how her mother could cook so well but she couldn¡¯t even make the simplest soup without waking up the dead and putting the living to sleep.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about the cooking matter tomorrow. The reason I need you two to go to the forest beside spending some lovey-dovey time is to intercept a carriage which will be coming to the city. Though we don¡¯t have a concrete knowledge of what it contains, what is inside deserve our guild to take it.¡±


    Hearing her father¡¯s words, Carla¡¯s face regained her usual complexion.


    ¡°Is there any other information?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t believe that they knew only this much about it. And her father wouldn¡¯t send her on a mission with this little information.


    ¡°Indeed. There will be 10 guards escorting the carriage along with adventurers. The adventurer''s number 15 people, they are mostly B rank and the guards are around lv.40. At first, I thought about sending you along with some helpers, but now that Grey is with you, it should be enough. I will send some people just in case something goes wrong, but I doubt it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°I will give you the map with their route and documents about each guard and adventurer and their speciality.¡±


    ¡°Is it safe¡­ to let Grey know about all this?¡±


    ¡°Already doubting him? He hadn¡¯t done anything. He knew about you. When you appeared in front of him, he didn''t look surprised. This and your uncle¡¯s matter mean one thing: he somehow went through his memories. He already knows some secrets about our guild but didn¡¯t say anything. This could only mean two things: either he really didn¡¯t care about us which is unlikely since he decided to associate with us, either he didn¡¯t find any benefits in betraying us which will explain why he accepted. He asked for books and materials. This guy is strong, a mana manipulating and crafting genius, isn¡¯t arrogant and a virgin. Why would he betray us if we can give him what he wants?¡±


    Carla¡¯s cheeks reddened when she heard ¡®virgin¡¯. She never thought before today that he was a virgin with such an alluring maid by his side. But still what her father said made sense. He had a goal and betraying them wouldn¡¯t help him achieve it. And if he were to entangle himself with her, he would even proactively help them.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I see¡­ But please dad¡­ Don¡¯t say that we¡¯re dating¡­ It¡¯s a bit embarrassing¡­¡±


    Her face was even more flushed. Today, she really wasn¡¯t herself. She needed to calm down.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see. Eh eh. However, you will need to tell him that you change your features, it¡¯ll be awkward if he were to be confused about the real you and the silver-haired you.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll tell him tomorrow.¡±


    They kept debating about how they should act tomorrow during their operation about that until a shadow guard came to inform them about someone¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°Chief, master Krieg has arrived with his son.¡±


    Arnold frowned, and Clara cold gaze returned. Krieg was one of the seven masters in the guild. His fame in the guild was only second to Arnold, and his strength too. However, since Carla was born, he pestered him about marrying his son to her. It¡¯s not that Arnold didn¡¯t want it, he even agreed by saying that when they grew older he would let them try to get t know each other and see if they could match. However, due to Carla¡¯s talent, she underwent an intense training until she was fourteen and didn¡¯t get to interact with many people. And Arnold wanted her to focus on gaining sufficient strength first. Afterwards, Arnold decided to present Krieg¡¯s son to Carla. They decided to give him a surprise by coming to his lodging when he was there. Krieg¡¯s son was 17 at that time, and when they opened his door, they saw him fucking a woman while two other were embracing his arms with their breast. At that time, Arnold¡¯s face lost all colours. The first reason was that his daughter was very similar to his wife. And having multiple women with a wife like his, was the same as courting death. Carla¡¯s disgust in Krieg¡¯s son grew without end, and until today, she would speak to him as if he was the lowest animal.


    He tried to redeem himself by saying he would never have any intercourse with another woman than her. She didn¡¯t believe him but didn¡¯t say anything at that time. She used her skill to silently follow him for few days, and when he was at his limits, found him in a brothel under the care of multiple women once again. This meant a lot to her. Not only was he obsessed with women, he was unfaithful.


    With time, she came to understand that those men who once tasted a woman had sometimes difficult time to control themselves. It was even worse when they were young. But she didn¡¯t care. Her father had waited years before being able to get intimate with her mother, and he didn¡¯t see any other women in the meantime. So, she didn¡¯t understand why other men couldn¡¯t do the same. Then, she had a basis that her man wouldn¡¯t be any lower than her father in this regard.


    Truth to be told, that period was a nightmare for Arnold. If his right hand wasn¡¯t that effective, he might have died out of frustration multiple times¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them enter. Say to him that I already have someone, and if he bothers me again, I don¡¯t mind cutting his thing into pieces and feed it to the dogs.¡±


    Her voice was icy cold, and her words sent a shiver down the shadow guard¡¯s spine. Between offending Krieg¡¯s son and Arnold¡¯s daughter, his choice was evident. He disappeared to relay Carla¡¯s words.


    Arnold''s face had a trace of shock too.


    Are you going to use Grey as a scapegoat?


    He just shook his head. Krieg had done many things for the guild, and his son was also very gifted. At 19 years, old, with a dual attribute both rare grade, he already completed many missions for the guild. But his character wasn¡¯t good. He only had one daughter, and if he forced her to marry him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to face his wife and his daughter ever again. He was already greatly surprised when she accepted his offer earlier. Though he didn¡¯t show it, he was afraid that her attitude might erupt.


    However, if I have to compare Grey and Cain¡­ Cain wouldn¡¯t even be able to catch Grey¡¯s shadow, and I¡¯d rather face Krieg and Cain than a single Grey... Wait¡­ Yeah, this idea might be interesting¡­


    ¡°Carla, is there a way for people to still apply for the Academy?¡±


    Carla looked confused at her father¡¯s words. She had no idea about what he was thinking.


    ¡°Well, if someone from those already selected is ready to bet their place with another participant and lose the match, the participant can get their place. However, it¡¯s up to those selected to agree or not and to choose what type of match they will compete.¡±


    ¡°Good. Tell me the name of those who managed to qualify themselves in the Alpha group.¡±


    In the afternoon, Grey went to the public library to meet up with Maya and Bahus. He hadn¡¯t seen them since the exam, and they might be worried about his conditions. The other reason was that he needed to stay away from was Alexia. He asked what a guy was supposed to do when he was dating a girl. The moment he said that he clearly saw the shadow of the demon behind her while she kept mumbling some nonsense. Feeling that something was amiss, he quietly left while she was still lost in her mumbling and went around town to spend some time.


    When he met up with Bahus and Maya at the library the latter jumped at him and hugged him tightly. Grey¡¯s body stiffened instantly. It has been too long since he was hugged so he was biting at lost at what to do, but after some time, he gently hugged her back. Bahus just slapped his back with all his might and ended up the one suffering from his own strike. Maya burst out of laughing seeing him holding his hand while blowing on it until an employee came and threatened them AGAIN to expulse them if they continued to be so noisy.


    After going to their usual spot, Bahus started to explain how his exam went to Grey since he couldn¡¯t tell him earlier. As his explanation went on, Grey thought that it was strange that a certain girl¡¯s name was often mentioned.


    ¡°Who is this Milena?¡±


    Maya and Bahus were dumbstruck before they recalled that Grey wasn¡¯t from here and was new to all this.


    ¡°She is an angel! A goddess of the goddesses! Her smile would make a withered willow flow with life, her hands are smooth as a cloud! She is just the perfect girl!¡±


    Grey was curious. He wondered if she was more beautiful than Carla. When he remembered about her, he suddenly thought of something.


    ¡°Oh! This morning I had a talk with a girl and her father and we¡¯re supposed to date now. How am I supposed to do that?¡±


    Silence.


    The joyous Bahus who was remembering his goddess became frozen, the smile on Maya¡¯s face started to twitch.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    Tears. Tears were coming out of Bahus eyes. He couldn''t believe his ears. He was older than Grey and still didn''t have a girlfriend. This world was too unfair. And, Maya who just found a little brother was about to lose him to some random vixen, at least those were her thoughts.

 Chapter 12: A good day

    ¡°We should arrive soon, at least before the sunset. Keep your guard up, we never know when an enemy could appear.¡±


    A full plate armored guard told this to his subordinates and allies. Their bodies were suffering from fatigue from constant fatigue and lack of sleep, since they¡¯ve been walking since this morning, but they were about to reach their goal, thus, he was a bit impatient to arrive at their destination.


    He had been requested to escort this carriage to Archon by his chief. This task wasn¡¯t an easy one. They had to go through Deastch region. Due to its high population in common and core class monsters, they couldn¡¯t get any good sleep there. Although their group was composed of skilled individuals, fighting constantly and always being on guards made nearly wrecked their nerves. This would have been less problematic if they didn¡¯t have to deliver their package in such a short amount of time.


    Now that they¡¯ve left it, their armor and weapons felt heavier than before. They all wanted to just throw everything, and lie down on a bed for whole day. This task took a much larger toll on their body than what they could have ever thought.


    ¡°Sir, I think it would be wiser to take some time to rest. We¡¯re all exhausted, and if we continue like this, it would take only a few goblins to overpower us.¡±


    One of his subordinates walked to his side and asked him with a pleading tone. His steps were a bit unsteady and his face was pale.


    Seeing the weary face of his subordinates, the one leading the expedition decided to allow everyone to take a rest for an hour at most before resuming their journey. Hearing his words, many just fell on their ass letting out a sigh of relief.


    After checking on everyone situation and arranging a few groups to scout the surroundings to prevent any surprise attacks while they were resting, the leader went inside the carriage.


    Inside, there was only a small box, just big enough to contain a human¡¯s hand. His chief didn¡¯t give him any details about what was inside, he just told him that if he were to fail, no one could save them from getting killed.


    Remembering the hell he¡¯s been through because of this box, he just wanted to curse the sender.


    Fuck! Did you think we were some kind of delivery service!


    He took place inside the carriage and rested his body. In less than a few breaths of time, his eyelids started to feel heavy, and he could feel the fatigue taking advantage of his body.


    A fresh and warm feeling started to circulate in his body as he was using his mana to improve his recovery. This ability saved his life multiple times.


    Letting himself enter this state of regeneration, he recalled about his hometown and those who were waiting for him there.


    Meanwhile, outside, the guards and adventurer who weren¡¯t on a patrol duty, gathered together and enjoyed their break.


    ¡°Man¡­ I swear on God¡¯s name, I will never do this again. Fuck! We should have waited for more people before setting off!¡±


    ¡°The package needed to be delivered by tomorrow¡­ We couldn¡¯t risk it. And we will be paid in gold coins! Shit! Who thought that I will be able to touch some in this life!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take them from you so you won¡¯t get too emotionally attached to them¡­ I still need to rent some high-class prostitutes when we get there.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?! Touch my money and I¡¯ll cut your arm! You don¡¯t even need a gold coin to rent ten of them and you want mine? Do you want to buy the brothel or what?¡±


    ¡°Not a bad idea¡­ Hey, how about you give me your money on your own will? I promise I¡¯ll let you try the girls first and you¡¯ll be my henchman!¡±


    Those two men started to laugh between themselves while those surrounding them were just shaking their head with a wry smile. Spending their time like, helped them loosening their body and mind a little.


    The mood was good overall, everything was about end. They could finally enjoy their life after all of this. This was a good day.


    If only that was true.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°HELP! We¡¯re being attacked!¡±


    A high-pitched voice disturbed their rest.


    Those who were about to take a nap cursed in their mind. They finally got a break and it hadn¡¯t even last 10 minutes.


    A scout was running toward their location his eyes bloodshot and sweating profusely. His body was aching all over, his mind was still in disarray from what happened earlier.


    Their leader left the carriage, black lines appeared on his forehead. His sixth sense could tell him that what they were about to face something worse than monsters.


    ¡°By what?¡±


    His voice was cold and his expression was serious. They were still exhausted, having to fight an enemy right now was disadvantageous for them. Whatever it was, they needed to deal with it quickly, or they were doomed.


    ¡°Not what¡­ who¡­ two persons¡­ those who were with me¡­ all dead¡­¡±


    Fear. His body was trembling, his vision started to blur. The bloody scene repeated in his mind. Each of his teammates¡¯ head suddenly exploding after being aimed at that thing. The eyes of that person.


    A shiver ran down his spine. They couldn¡¯t even do anything. The only reason he could escape was that he couldn¡¯t kill all of them at the same time. But, he knew that they were coming.


    The mood in the camp got heavy once again. Everybody stopped what they were doing or were about to do and took a defensive stance. Their eyes were locked in the directions from which the scout came from. They could only blame their luck to encounter bandits here.


    Archers readied their bow and aimed at the entrance from where the scout came from. All their muscles were tensed, ready to fire their arrow at the first living being that dared to show even a shred of his hair. The five of them could take down the enemy if they could see him. Once again, those were wishful thoughts.


    An unknown sound was heard, and at the same time, the head of one archer exploded. Leaving only a quarter of his skull still attached to his body while its insides were drifting from its body. The stench of blood penetrated their nostrils and attracted their attention to the archer¡¯s corpse.


    Seeing this, the scout let out a shriek. This was something he already saw. The other all wore a shocked expression. They all have already seen someone being shot in the head. However, at best, the arrow would pierce the skull, not destroy it. And using magic to destroy someone¡¯s head wasn¡¯t really effective at long range, unless one had incredible aiming skills and could hide his mana. Even a wind blast couldn¡¯t fly so fast that one of them couldn¡¯t react to it. However, the moment they heard that strange sound, his head was already in this sorry state.


    Death. Their throat became dry sensing its grip on their neck.


    And, they heard it again. Another archer was shot down. This time, the leader sensed the imminent danger.


    ¡°Mages! Raise a mana shield around the group! Quick! Don¡¯t let those bastards shoot us all down like livestock!¡±


    Hearing him, the mages among the adventurer returned to their sense and started to raise a shield, but before they could finish, another archer was shot down.


    Seeing this, the other two archers left their positions and went behind the guards.


    The leader cursed in his mind. They had no information on their enemy and he was using unknown means to kill them. He searched in his breast plate for something, and took out a scroll. He infused his mana in it and tossed it in the air.


    Few seconds later, the ground started to shake. A hand made of stone came out of the ground. Then few more of these hands appeared in front of their group.


    The scroll was engraved with a spell array. ¡®Summon 5 Earth golems¡¯. These types of scroll weren¡¯t given for free. It could be said that it pained him a bit to used it, but the lives of he and his subordinates, were more precious.


    The magic barrier had been fully deployed, the five meters tall golem were standing in front of the guards. They were ready and waiting for the enemy. And they didn¡¯t have to wait too much.


    Soon, two hooded figures appeared in front of them. They couldn¡¯t see their face but they could see the symbol on their chest. A headless snake.


    Headless guild?! Fuck!


    The leader eyes narrowed. There could only be one reason for them to appear here. They knew about what they were transporting and their information must have been leaked.


    ¡°Be careful everyone! They¡¯re from the headless guild! Watch out for the shadows, don¡¯t get too close to them! And don¡¯t let them time to cast any spell, as long as the barrier is up, the archers can take them down! If we can get those two out of the way, we will be fine.¡±


    The last sentence was half a lie. Escaping from the headless guild was easier said than done. But he needed to boost the spirit of his subordinates.


    Seeing that their opponents were only two people, they let out a sigh of relief. Though, the headless guild was famous for its shadow corps, if they stayed far from them, they shouldn¡¯t get backstabbed out of nowhere. And, the fact that they could see their enemies made it possible to kill them.


    One of the archers didn¡¯t even think twice and fired an arrow at one of them. However, the arrow stopped just in front of them, before falling covered in a layer of ice. Seeing this, the leader¡¯s mouth twitch. He glanced at the mages, and they nodded their head. If the enemy was using magic, they just needed to make him use it until he runs out of it.


    Feeling more relaxed about their situation, the mages took in a deep breath and started to cast an offensive spell. But, they hadn¡¯t even finished that it happened.


    Eyes icy cold looked at them and flashed in a blue light from one of the hooded figure. The next moment, the barrier shattered and their spell were interrupted.


    The mages fell on their knees as they couldn¡¯t muster anymore mana. Their body became weak and their strength was leaving them. The glimmer of hope they saw few seconds ago, seemed like a wild dream.


    The barrier being shattered made all of them startled. The air became bitter ice in their surroundings, and the ground seemed to be uneven suddenly. And then, shroud of darkness surrounded them.


    The leader cursed in his mind.


    Fuck! Why now?!

 Chapter 13: Erase Time

    ¡°You¡­ You really are something¡­¡±


    This was what Carla said when she saw the bloodbath in front of her.


    Since the beginning, Carla didn¡¯t need to make a move. At first, when they were discovered by one of the expedition¡¯s patrolling group, she had thought that they wouldn¡¯t be able to launch a surprise attack. This would have been a lost in momentum for them. However, when Grey pulled out his gun and fired at them, she couldn¡¯t believe her eyes.


    What is this thing? I couldn¡¯t even see what he fired! Magic items like this exist?


    Those were her thoughts at that time. She knew that Grey possessed many magical items since he could craft them, but she never saw something like this before.


    He nearly killed every one from the patrolling group that caught them in a short amount of time. When she saw one of them running for his life, she wanted to run after him, but Grey stopped her and shook his head. He only told her that they needed to clear everyone else who parted from the main group. Leaving witnesses wasn¡¯t a problem, but being caught off guard by them could be inconvenient. She still insisted that the survivor will warn the main group from their arrival. Grey didn¡¯t even bother answering her and just disappeared from her sight after he asked her to wait for him here.


    She did not have any choice in the matter. He was too fast for her, so, she just sat where she was and waited. And before long, he reappeared.


    A thin stench of blood penetrated her nostril, but she couldn¡¯t see any on him. Seeing his usual calmness, she already knew that this wasn¡¯t his blood.


    They advanced toward the main group location while staying under the cover of the shadow of the forest.


    Then, the main group was in their sight, fully prepared to welcome them. Clara whispered to Grey about what he would do now that they were waiting for them. And he just pulled out his gun again without looking at her and aimed at the archers.


    He pulled the trigger, and one archer was dead, his head partially destroyed. Carla was shocked once again. Earlier, he could shoot their enemies down with 15 meters separating them, so she wasn¡¯t too shocked by his aiming skills, but this time it was different. There was at least 100 meters distance between them and the main group, and he could aim at the archer¡¯s head on the first try. And then, one shot after another, the archers died unable to dodge or see what killed them.


    The whole time, Carla looked at Grey with astonishment in her eyes, and a bit of fear. If he wanted, he could kill her and she wouldn¡¯t even be able to see him, let alone react.


    After that, he decided to confront them head on since they put up a magic barrier to obstruct his shots.


    By the time Grey and Carla arrived, they had summoned 5 earth golems. This, made Carla bit her lips. Earth golems had tremendous regenerating abilities and could be considered invincible as long as their core wasn¡¯t destroyed. Furthermore, their resistance to fire made them a pain in the ass for her to deal with.


    While she was still thinking about how to deal with the golems, a piercing sound was heard. An arrow was coming at them, but never touched his target. It fell at their feet covered in ice.


    The arrow was aimed at her and she would have bee it if it weren¡¯t for Grey¡¯s intervention. A cold shiver ran down her spine before her thoughts became clear. She couldn¡¯t be distracted and needed to focus on the battle.


    However, Grey kept surprising her. In few seconds, he shattered the mana barrier and prevented the mages from casting their spell. Furthermore, he created a dome of darkness covering them and the main group where everything inside was pitch black.


    Being a member of the Headless guild, she had developed something similar to night vision, but there was a gap being able to see with only the glimmer of the moon and being able to see in complete darkness. Inside the dome, she was like everyone else, blind. Everyone, except Grey. He didn¡¯t need to see them, the mana circulating in their body was enough.


    Grey whispered to her to not move, no matter what. And a metallic sound came from his position. She knew what it meant. He had drawn out a sword.


    Few seconds later, shriek and cries could be heard coming from the main group. She couldn¡¯t see, but she knew what was happening. It was a one-sided battle. They couldn¡¯t retaliate. Those who tried to gather some mana to lighten up the place were killed, those who were still in shock too died fear and unwillingness in their eyes. They were about to be all killed after all they have done.


    Three minutes. That¡¯s what it took to kill nearly all of them.


    Indeed, the last one standing was the leader of the expedition. After killing everyone else but him, Grey released the black cage, unfolding the slaughter which had taken place earlier. All members either lost their head or were simply cut in half by a blood dripping steel sword. Grey¡¯s coat was drenched in red while his eyes released the same coldness. He turned his head towards the leader and slowly walked toward him.


    Each step he took, made the leader¡¯s heart beat faster.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Refusing to die without putting up a fight, the leader bit his tongue and released a vengeful cry.


    The taste of iron invaded him, the pain cleared his thoughts while the scene seemed more vivid than ever for him.


    He channeled all his mana on body strengthening magic.


    Strength boost, agility boost, dexterity boost, endurance boost, iron skin. All the spells he could use, he used them. With his shield and sword ready, he took an offensive stance, waiting for Grey to come closer.


    ¡°If you resist, you will only suffer. I just need to inspect your memories, I can promise you that you won¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    And you will cut my neck afterwards you demon!


    He didn¡¯t answer Grey, just tightened his grip on his sword.


    Grey¡¯s mouth twitched. He didn¡¯t want to waste anymore mana. He kicked the ground at full power and punch right in the leader abdomen, breaking his bones and internal organs, and sending him flying. And before he encountered an obstacle, Grey appeared above him and stomped on his shield shattering his arm.


    Although he sustained a tremendous amount of damage, the leader hadn¡¯t fallen unconscious and was still breathing heavily while looking at Grey with his bloodshot eyes.


    Grey gathered mana in his hand and put it on the leader¡¯s forehead.


    After getting all the information he wanted from him, a bloody arc appeared in front of him. He had just cut his head.


    Status, mana.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>3981/6000</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As he feared, he had used over 200 mana since the beginning of this. He couldn¡¯t afford wasting it like this. However, there was a reason for him to act like this.


    He appeared in front of the carriage and went in to retrieve the box. After taking it in his hand, he could say that the box weighted around 6 kilograms. The box was locked through a magic array. His eyes showed a faint light of red before the array disappeared completely.


    He opened it and saw what was inside. His cores were beating faster in his chest while his hand touched the icy cold object contained in it. A refreshing feeling flowed in his body. It didn¡¯t last long, but it was very comfortable.


    Status, mana.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>4031/6000</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Seeing his mana, Grey¡¯s mouth curved upward. He hadn¡¯t guessed wrong, those were dragon bones. Someone had found a dragon¡¯s corpse.


    Seeing Grey smile at the box, Carla regained her wits and rejoined him.


    ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    He didn¡¯t answer her. This was something he needed, though it didn¡¯t have use for him now, he couldn¡¯t tell her. If the Headless guild knew what it was, he couldn¡¯t investigate about their origins calmly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We¡¯re done here.¡±


    Carla was dissatisfied by his answer. It clearly meant that he didn¡¯t trust her. Though she couldn¡¯t blame him, it pained her a bit.


    And like this, they left this battlefield drenched in blood of only one side.


    On their way back, Carla changed her hair and eye color again in order to pass the guards at the gate. Her fame as the princess of the Headless guild wasn¡¯t something she could ignore, so, she needed to hide her specific traits in order to not raise too much suspicion. Grey gave his coat to Carla, who burned both of his and hers to not let any evidence. And he gave her the box with the bones, before parting ways with her, which was hard for her. Not because she would miss him, but Carla¡¯s father instructed them to give each other a kiss on the cheeks each time they meet and part. He personally didn¡¯t care that much, but it took her a whole 10 minutes to get ready this morning. However, this time she only took around 7 minutes.


    She improved¡­ But I wonder why would her face turn red each time she does it? Is there something that I miss? It¡¯s just the cheek¡­


    Shaking his head in defeat from understanding a young maiden, Grey directly went to his inn to take a shower.


    Arriving at the inn entrance, he saw Maya anxiously waiting in front of the door and Alexia hugging her gently. He waved at them, and their head toward him. Maya¡¯s eyes were red like she cried for a long time while Alexia¡¯s were showing pity.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Bahus¡­ He¡­¡±


    ¡°He was beaten up by some hooligans. The authorities managed to save him, and now he is recuperating in his house.¡±


    Maya was choking on her words and new tears started to appear in the corner of her eyes., so, Alexia needed to intervene. Black lines appeared on Grey¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go visit him.¡±


    The three of them left toward Bahus¡¯ house. When they arrived, Bahus¡¯ mother welcomed us warmly, happy to see that her son had made new friends. Her eyes were tired and her short brown her were disheveled, seemingly from crying and worrying over her son¡¯s health. Her husband was out in town looking for some medicine to let their son recuperate faster. She led them to Bahus¡¯ bedroom, where they found him lying on his bed in a very bad shape, in a coma.


    Grey stood there, analyzing his body. Broken ribs, his limbs were in a strange position due to the bones being also broken. His internal organs were a mess, and his skull had suffered a great amount of damage. Leaving possibilities for brain damage.


    ¡°Leave. I¡¯ll take care of him. I need some time to heal completely.¡±


    Hearing him, the three women gave him a strange look. Bahus was crippled. The best that they could do for him was reliving him from his pain and maybe healing his bones at some extent.


    ¡°Grey¡­ You shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave him to me. I will save him, all I need to know is when all of this happened.¡±


    Maya was still unconvinced, but she answered him.


    ¡°Something after noon, we had lunch together before he went for his part time job.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then you can leave now. In at most thirty minutes, I promise you that Bahus will recover completely.¡±


    ¡°If-If you can save my son¡­. I don¡¯t know how I should repay you¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can do it, then I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    He is¡­ my first friend¡­


    After looking at her son one last time, Bahus¡¯ mother left the room accompanied by Maya and Alexia. But before the latter stepped out of the room, Grey stopped her I her tracks by putting his hand on her head.


    ¡°What happened today can¡¯t be told to the Bethel. I order you.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, young master.¡±


    She was hesitant at first, then accepted his request as if he was her true master. Then, she followed the other two outside after closing the door.


    Grey looked at his friend with a hint of hatred in his eyes. Robbers, thieves or even hooligans wouldn¡¯t do this. This was clearly premeditated. They wanted to make him suffer.


    The authorities intervened? What a joke¡­ They clearly had already finished what they needed to do.


    Grey¡¯s black hair started to change, from their roots, they took an ashen white color. His blue eyes turned blood red, and his face was grimmer than ever.


    First, I¡¯ll heal Bahus, then I¡¯ll deal with whoever was behind this.


    Grey approached Bahus, and placed his hands on his frail body.


    An enormous amount of mana started to gather in his hands. However, this mana was different, it was denser and purer than a normal person¡¯s mana.


    ¡°Erase Time.¡±

 News~~

    Well, I can already see the comment section be like " Why do you do this to me? T-T" but, yep, hiatus. A good one, trust me. So, I just need time to write and stuff and there is another novel I am thinking of writing which has been pestering my dreams since a few days. And I''ll start writing it in the same time as this one. However, if I don''t want to end up confused, I''ll have to take more time than I used to writing and separate my brain in two parts >.>Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    All I can say is that this new novel won''t have an op mc (I mean, stronk but not op, just stronk), at least for the first two arcs, and there will be some town management and the likes. I hope the beginning of that story will be able to bring some manly tears out of your eyes~~


    My hiatus won''t be for long, I hope. And unlike this novel, the next one will probably have 5-6k minimum words per chapter since I''ll have more time... Until my break ends and then it''ll be tough for me to keep this going. >.>


    ANYWAY! Don''t kill me T-T

 Chapter 14: Destroying the seal

    Grey was sitting cross-legged in Bahus¡¯ room. The latter was in the dining room, telling his mother that he was fine and that there wasn¡¯t anything to worry about anymore, before coming back to his room to find Grey.


    ¡°I¡­ Please let me get stronger!¡±


    Bahus bowed his head to Grey, to which Grey lightly smiled.


    Using void magic to restore Bahus¡¯ body cost him 400 mana. This wasn¡¯t something he didn¡¯t expect but it was still something he couldn¡¯t disregard. Though he had clues about remnants of a dragon class, it wasn¡¯t in his possession so he couldn¡¯t use his mana that freely anymore.


    After he saved Bahus, he asked him why he was put in such a state. The answer wasn¡¯t something Grey expected. Apparently, they beat him until he was crippled just to warn him from not trying to get things which he shouldn¡¯t even look at. Grey thought that someone finally caught Bahus stealing from wealthy people, but that wasn¡¯t the case. When Grey asked him what they meant about that, Bahus¡¯ eyes flickered with a strange light.


    ¡°They¡­ I think it might be because of her¡­¡±


    ¡°Her?¡±


    ¡°The first daughter of the Hecht, Milena Hecht¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? The girl you like?¡±


    ¡°No! It isn''t love! I just¡­ I just admire her beauty. After the exam, I managed to strike a conversation with her. We just talked about what he had to reflect on during the exam and exchanged our point of view. I never meant to court her or anything alike. But¡­ Some might have thought otherwise. I tried to explain myself but they just kept beating me up¡­¡±


    ¡°Did they say anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ They said that if I were to talk to her again, they would take care of Maya and my family¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t want to risk my family¡¯s wellbeing but¡­ I know that she will come to talk to me on her own¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I somewhat told her that if she could take me as a friend or even someone with which she could talk about the different material with, I¡¯d be glad to accept this position¡­¡±


    At that moment, Bahus throat was little dry and his cheeks were a bit red.


    His heart beat faster to the sweet thoughts about him and Milena chatting about everything and nothing in the courtyards while laughing. However, his delusions were broken by an icy cold air emanating from Grey.


    ¡°I can help you. However¡­ It might hurt, a lot. And I can¡¯t promise you that you¡¯ll be strong enough by the next time you¡¯ll encounter them. You told me what they looked like, but those are surely only small fries. The real culprits didn¡¯t act.¡±


    ¡°I know. With me being part of the Academy if I were to complain about a student they would surely be in a pinch in case of an investigation if they acted personally. But, regardless of the pain, I want to become stronger.¡±


    Grey sighed and took out the core of the underworld beast he retrieved a few days earlier. Seeing the core a look of shock appeared on Bahus¡¯ face.


    ¡°A blue core?! You have a king class core!¡±


    According to the level of a magical beast or monster, the color of its core would differ. Blue was for king class, and the brighter the core, the higher the level of the beast or monster.


    ¡°Yes. And I will forcefully transfuse a part of its stats and mana pool to you. How much will depend on your endurance¡­¡±


    Grey¡¯s voice was low but showed a hint of sadness. He knew better than anyone else what kind of pain it was.


    ¡°W-What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°In a core, reside the beast¡¯ stats and mana pool. Humanoids can¡¯t possess a core otherwise their body would explode, but I found a way to transfuse the stats. This core is the highest I currently have. If you can endure the pain and maintain the connection, I will be able to transfer to you a part of its stats.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This is insane! Imagine¡­ What if you absorbed a dragon¡¯s core?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d die. There is probably more chance for you to defeat me than being able to absorb a dragon¡¯s core.¡±


    ¡°Ahah¡­ You can heal a crippled body in thirty minutes, engrave arrays like they were kid¡¯s drawings¡­ And I don¡¯t want to test how good you are at fighting, I might commit suicide otherwise.¡±


    Grey frowned.


    ¡°Why would you commit suicide? I just saved you.¡±


    ¡°Because you¡¯re good at fighting too?!¡±


    ¡°I can manage.¡±


    ¡°Manage means?¡±


    Grey stayed silent, avoiding Bahus questioning gaze. If he told him that he only needed one bullet to kill a king class, he didn¡¯t know what his reaction would be.


    ¡°Anyway¡­ If you can increase my stats¡­ That¡¯s good I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°Increasing your stats is the first step. The hardest step would be learning how to fight. What kind of weapon do you use?¡±


    ¡°Hum¡­ I¡­ I used my fists¡­¡±


    ¡°Martial arts then? Hum¡­ I wonder if you can survive that training...¡±


    Grey¡¯s voice was very low but Bahus still managed to hear his words.


    ¡°What? What do you mean to survive?¡±


    ¡°I need you to be able to protect your family against multiple opponents who will be armed and will use magic at the same time and in the most efficient way to prevent them from harming your family while you fight. Do you think I will simply teach how to throw punches left and right?¡±


    Bahus was dumbstruck.


    Just how much of an abnormality are you?


    But before he could say something, something hot flowed down his cheeks. Noticing that he had started crying, Grey raised his eyebrows. Bahus himself didn¡¯t understand, he never felt like that before.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.Is this¡­ Being able to rely on a friend¡­


    Grey sighed.


    ¡°I will transfuse the stats in you and we will start the training afterward. But, we will do this tomorrow. However, I have something to say. This is important since I will be looking for who crippled.¡±


    Bahus nodded his head after wiping off his tears.


    Back in his room, Grey fell head first on his bed.


    ¡°Do you want a massage young master?¡±


    Alexia offered her service since she could see that Grey tired. Grey didn¡¯t even bother looking at her.


    ¡°You can go back now. I think you paid Sylvia¡¯s debt already.¡±


    Hearing him, Alexia¡¯s face paled. Her body was trembling uncontrollably as she was trying to muster enough courage to defend herself.


    ¡°Please¡­ Don¡¯t throw me away¡­ I don¡¯t want to be with them anymore¡­ Please¡­¡±


    Her eyes were looking at the floor while she was trying her hardest to speak. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes.


    Then, she felt a hand on her head and looked up to see that Grey was standing in front of her.


    ¡°Do you really want to stay with me?¡±


    ¡°Yes! No matter what!¡±


    Alexia didn¡¯t even think twice and nodded her head vehemently.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to get rid of these things in your body.¡±


    After that, a shroud of darkness covered Alexia¡¯s consciousness.


    Watching the collapsed Alexia in his arm, Grey let out a cold smile.


    ¡°Now then, if I help Bahus I will certainly antagonize those guys, might as well go all the way.¡±


    Meanwhile, in the Bethel family mansion.


    ¡°Alexia¡¯s link has been cut.¡±


    It was dining time, thus everyone present in the mansion, was in the dining room having a meal together.


    Hearing his father¡¯s words, Sylvia¡¯s younger brother darkened.


    ¡°Her last report mentioned that Grey¡¯s friend seems to have been crippled then healed by him through unknown meanings. Something must have happened for her bind to disappear like this. Kayne, do you have any idea about this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. This is indeed troubling. This Grey¡¯s talent isn¡¯t ordinary, I¡¯d say that he dangerous. If what she said is right, then not only does he have a godly talent in crafting but in healing spells as well. This kind of person needs to be roped in at any cost.¡±


    Kayne answered his father with a calm and composed face. Recently, Grey¡¯s name was something he grew accustomed to.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t involve him in our matters¡­ He won¡¯t like it.¡±


    Sylvia voiced her opinions, though her tone was composed, complex emotions could be felt in her last words.


    ¡°I am with Sylvia. We should let that commoner out of our matters! We shouldn¡¯t have given him Alexia in the first place.¡±


    This time it was her younger brother, Chris who spoke. Since the beginning, Chris wanted to get back at Grey, but couldn¡¯t since his father prohibited him to do so. However, things would be different as long as his father disregarded Grey.


    ¡°I wonder? Though his lack of background is troublesome, with his talent and prowess he would be fit for our little Sylvia.¡±


    Sylvia¡¯s mother interjection made her daughter blush, a fact that didn¡¯t escape her eyes. Since few years, she tried to find an appropriate partner for her daughter, but no one managed to move her or make her drop her cold shoulders. The fact that a talent full young man could make her daughter react that way, was an opportunity she wouldn¡¯t let go of.


    ¡°Indeed. Little sister could use her charms bind him to our family.¡±


    Kayne supported his mother idea.


    ¡°No. He doesn¡¯t like me and¡­ I didn¡¯t leave him a good impression of me.¡±


    ¡°What? You didn¡¯t outright refuse? Is my baby daughter alright?¡±


    Her father didn¡¯t let go of that chance to tease her.


    ¡°Dad! Stop! I don¡¯t love him either. He is just¡­ more interesting than the others.¡±


    ¡°Honey, you shouldn¡¯t tease your daughter like that. But Sylvia, if you find him interesting it is enough. If you fall in love with him afterward there won¡¯t be any problems but if someone else steals him from you, it will be too late by then.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­ I don¡¯t want to marry him¡­¡±


    ¡°Why? Is it because he is weaker than your formidable big brother?¡±


    She gave her daughter a look as if she had a complex on her own brother.


    ¡°No! And¡­ I think he is stronger.¡±


    This sentence made Kayne¡¯s lips twitch.


    ¡°Little sister, I can agree to the fact that this Grey of yours is strong, but overestimating his abilities isn¡¯t something you should do.¡±


    ¡°He. Is. Not. My Grey. And I am not exaggerating. Can you kill an underworld grizzly with one attack? Can you block Chris magic with one finger? I know that big brother is really strong, but Grey is stronger. I don¡¯t know how much, but at least I know that if I were to fight him I wouldn¡¯t even see how I died.¡±


    ¡°If he was that strong, why didn¡¯t he sign up in the Alpha group?¡±


    ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t want to¡­ I think? I don¡¯t know¡­ I didn¡¯t get the chance to speak with him since your little presentation¡­¡±


    Seeing that their conversation was starting to go off the chart, Sylvia¡¯s father finally reacted.


    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. Tomorrow you will go and see and try to get close to him. If you find any clues about what happened to Alexia, be sure to investigate about it without being found out.¡±


    Sylvia¡¯s eyes flickered with shock.


    ¡°Dad, are you thinking that Grey undid you slave seal?¡±


    ¡°A little bit. This kid has given me too many surprises already that if it were to be him, I would be half shocked now.¡±