Rustling starts in the forest and a silhouette, and a hideous silhouette appears and is walking toward the forest entrance.
- Get ready, Jynn!
- I already am!
Steps resonate in the forest to the entrance of the forest and students that were simply passing by on their way to their class stopped to see what was the monster that was coming out of the forest. The closer the hideous silhouette got the less monster it looked. At first, those that were looking at the scene thought that the monster was getting smaller or that he was shedding fur but they came to realize that whatever that thing was it was carrying something or something was stuck on him whatever it was, those things were starting to fall off of him. The nurse and the young trio arrive at the scene and also see the weird silhouette.
- Wha... WHAT IS THAT? asks Juliana
- Everyone! Stay calm. says Lexie
The student calms down and gulps. Because the silhouette was finally gonna reveal itself. But as soon as the silhouette is revealed everyone present gasps in horror and shock.
- *huff* *huff* What is going on*huff* *huff*?
The one that walks out of the forest is Noah and along with Noah two Dire Wolves that were dead but their fangs were still stuck in Noah's body which Noah didn't pull out. The things that were falling off of him were the dead body of the Dire Wolves.
- *huff* *huff* I will *huff* make this *huff* bastard pay *huff* *huff* for this. whisper Noah before falling unconscious.
[Inner Realm]
Noah opens his eye and realizes that he is in his Inner Realm. He sighs
- That was a close one. he says
- It was way too close. says Dull
- You think? says Noah
- You got lucky that your Curse was perfect for this situation and you passed out before your Sigil started releasing.
- Luck is also a part of a person's abilities. says Bright
- Wise words from a wise man. says Noah while nodding in agreement
- However, I do agree with my brother this time, Noah. This was way too close. You need to learn to control your Curse.
- I know. So let's do it now. says Noah with a determined face
- Forget about training for now. says Dull
- What? After you have been nagging me for the past two days and now we can't do it? Why?
- Because it's been an hour since they found you.
- It's already been that long?
- Yeah. That's why for now I will only explain to you some stuff about what is a demon Curse.
- Ok.
- First of all, a Curse is the power of a demon and it is only acquired after you become a full-fledged demon. In other words, after you manage to completely resist your Demonic Instinct
- But why do I already have mine, then?
- I don't know. Just like I don't know why did your Demonic Instinct awaken so soon. says Dull with a frown
{Noah}
" Does he feel bad? Because he doesn't understand why is this happening to me?"
- You don't have to feel bad, Dull. says, Noah
- Huh? What are you talking about? Why in the hell would I feel bad for you? Want me to kill you, huh?
- Calm down, brother. He was saying that because you were frowning.
- Nah. but seriously what the fuck is wrong with you? asks Noah
- Kid, do you want to die?
- Try me, bastard.
Bright pushes Noah making him leave his Inner Realm
[Inner Realm]
- Why did you do that, Bright? says Dull with a voice full of anger
- Brother you need to calm down or at this rate, you won't be able to train him.
- I won't just train that fucker, I will kill him too!
- IF YOU KEEP THIS UP WE WILL BE TOO LATE! yells Bright
Dull calms down
- I know... You are right. he says
[Outisde world Blue dorm class]
The door of the classroom opens and Juliana walks in
- How did it go? asks Lumia. Were you able to find him?
The whole class goes silent. Andre looks at Juliana
- How did it go, Juliana?
Juliana looks at Andre, then she turns and looks at Aos
- You really got lucky, Aos. she says
- Me? What are you talking about?
- The quest that Noah took, you wanted it.
- I think I can vouch for everyone when I say that everyone wanted it. answer Aos
- I guess that means that you are all lucky. The quest to investigate the forest, we believe it was a trap.
- A trap?
- In the forest, somebody brought from outside the Academy, a pack of 20 Dire Wolves.
- Dire Wolves? They are threat-level 9 monsters.
Andre grabs Juliana by the shoulders
- What about Noah? Is he dead? asks Andre
- No.
All the student gasp in shock
That's a totally normal reaction. the Threat level system is a system created by humans to sort out the strength of the monsters. There are 10 levels in total and the littler the number is the more dangerous the monster is. A threat level 9 monster is a monster who can fight against a low-to-peak bronze-rank human. All monsters possess a prana pool but their prana pool takes a different form than the ones humans have therefore instead of a prana pool; they have what is called a prana core. A human that is a Contract Holder can ingest a monster core after purifying it to increase their prana.
- Noah managed to kill all of the Dire Wolves. says Juliana. He came out of the forest an hour ago
- That's not possible! yells Aos. A pack of 20 Dire Wolves together is considered threat level 8! How is it possible for an Iron-rank magician to kill all of them?
- What the hell is wrong with you? asks Juliana
Aos flinches
- One of our fellow classmates almost died and that's how you react? asks Juliana
She sighs
- I only came here to notify you, teacher. says Juliana. So, I will be taking my leave
She leaves the classroom
[Back in the nurse's office]
Noah slowly opens his eyes.
- The nurse's office again. mumbles Noah
- And it hasn't even been that long since you visited it before.
{Noah}
" Wait... That voice is!"
Noah gets up and sees Yoan in front of him
- Yoan! What are you doing here? asks Noah
- Keeping an eye on you.
- But you are in your last year! Shouldn't you be studying or something?
Yoan rubs his head
- You don't have to worry about me, kiddo! Exams are nothing for a genius like me. he says with a wink
{Noah}
" He is not wrong but if there is one thing I learned from my past life is that overconfidence can be deadly in some situations."
- Anyways, I haven't seen you these past few days and when I come to see you, I find you coming out of the forest half dead with bodies of Dire Wolves stuck on your body.
- Sorry. I never thought that monsters would have infiltrated the Academy. says Noah in regret
Yoan sighs
- Don't worry about it, kiddo. Monsters entering the Academy is impossible because they would first need to break through the gates of the capital, which is not easy to do.
- So how did they get in here? asks Noah
- We think someone might have brought them in. answers Yoan
- Someone was after me? And that person is in the Academy? Right now?
- We still don't know if they were after you. says Yoan. It depends on when the monsters were brought into the forest.
- What do you mean?
- If the monsters were there even before you entered the forest that means the culprit wasn't targeting you but was trying to stain the Academy's reputation. But if the monsters were brought into the forest after you took the quest or when you were in the forest that means that you were the target.
- I see.... But Yoan?
- Is something wrong? Do you have a clue? asks Yoan
- No. I just wanted to know if I was gonna get my points.
Yoan stares at Noah and lets out a laugh
- hahaha hahaha, Don't worry about it! Darius said that you would receive double the amount of points that were promised on the quest.
- Waaaa, really? Doesn't that mean that I would receive 10000 Points in total!?
- You are the first person in the history of the Academy to receive such a high amount of Points in one go. says Yoan
Noah starts acting like he is thinking
- What are you thinking about? Don't tell me that you are already thinking about how you are gonna spend those Points? says Yoan
- No... It's that when I was fighting the Dire Wolves there was something blocking me from getting out of the forest.
- So, you had noticed.
- Yeah. At first, I tried to fight then I realized that there was more than I could handle, so I ran and when I arrived at the entrance of the forest something was blocking me from escaping.
- That was a Field Of Mana. An ability that only magicians who have reached Black-Gold rank can use
- Magicians with 5 mana hearts?
- Yeah.
- I won't nag at you this time since you couldn't escape but next time you take a quest like that, take the members of your squad with you. Ok?
- Ok.
- Now, I got to go help with the investigation.
Yoan leaves
[With Yoan walking back to the forest]
{Yoan}
" There is only one person who has enough power and influence to deploy a Black-Gold rank magician plus he has a motive. Even though the motive wouldn't make sense in a normal case, he is abnormal so it totally makes sense if it's him. I swear Telnoir if this was done by you then you are gonna regret it!"
[Back in the nurse's office]
Noah lays back down
{Noah}
" Dull is right. I almost died this time and that wouldn't have happened if I knew how to use my Curse. I was too stubborn and I let my emotions get the better of me."
The door of the nursery opens and Lexie, Gancelot, Abel, and Juliana walk inside
- BOSS!
- MASTER!
- Eh! You already woke up? asks Lexie
- Yeah. answer Noah
Lexie sits down next to him
- How do you feel? asks Lexie
- My whole body hurts when I move and I am extremely tired.
- Healing magic instantly heals wounds but it doesn't recover your energy nor does it recover your stamina. And even though it heals injuries it doesn't heal the pain.
- So, how long do I need to stay here?
- You should be fine at the end of the day, so I recommend staying in here until tomorrow.
- Ok. says Noah. I am gonna take a nap then.
- What? But you just woke up, Boss! says, Abel. Are you sure you are fine?
- I really am so you guys should go to class.
- We'll come back later. says Gancelot
The trio leaves
- Don't leave like last time. says Lexie at the door
- I got it. Noah answers
Lexie leaves. Noah closes his eyes and enters his Inner Realm
- Seems like you finally realized. says Dull
- Yeah. says Noah
- Today is the last day of the week, therefore, it is also the last day your Demonic Instinct will manifest and at the end of the day, you will have to face off against yourself.