Around a well-barricaded location, filled with multiple people patrolling,
"Team leader, we might get late," a man spoke.
"Sigh, I am on strict orders to not let anybody enter," the man with a black coat spoke.
"We should tell Miss Emmy to communicate with Young Master," another man suggested.
"Go ask her yourself," the team leader lit a cigarette.
"How much time is left?" the team leader asked as he puffed out smoke.
"If we ignore the starting ceremony, we have around 5-6 hours," the man replied.
"Let's wait for Miss Emmy's confirmation. Tell other security teams to make sure the path we are taking is safe. I am sure nobody would be dumb enough to attack us, but make sure everything is fine beforehand," the team leader spoke.
Emmy was sitting in the private lounge present outside the dungeon that Asher had entered. It was a D Rank dungeon with a blue gate. She had followed Asher around for months when he came in and out of various dungeons, and he did not allow anybody to enter with him.
Although Asher guaranteed that he would wear the safety device at all times, Emmy could not help but worry about him. She was responsible for his safety, and dungeons were one such place where even the strongest could die. It was only because D Rank dungeons and below were safe, and the least deviation would occur in these dungeons, that Asher was able to convince his parents to let him go in solo.
*Ding*
She received a notification, so she decided to check it out.
"Hmm," Emmy saw a notification from Sylvie telling her about the time she needed to make sure that Asher should arrive.
"Sigh, I hope Young Master does not try to fully clear this dungeon," Emmy, who followed Asher around, was used to him killing a boss monster whenever he went in.
But this time around, not only did he need to participate in a tournament, but he also needed to exit the dungeon on time so they could arrive within the appropriate time.
Inside the dungeon,
"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" A screeching voice was heard.
A young man could be seen covered with red blood from top to bottom. His eyes were shining red, and his hair was a bit messy as he continued killing the monsters.
"Slash," Asher muttered as his body dashed towards the fleeting monster and sliced the monster in half.
He stopped to look at the fallen body of the monster. It was a monster with blue fur and ape-like appearance.
"Hah," Asher breathed out as he indifferently looked up towards the direction he was going.
Asher right now was radiating much of his bloodlust, making the monsters flee from him. His red eyes were dull, and his face was indifferent. If anybody could see him now, his appearance alone would have scared the life out of them.
His whole body was covered in blood, and his bright crimson-red eyes made him look intimidating.
As days went by after the discovery of the mana crystal mine and meeting Tom, Asher was having a hard time controlling his own madness. Sometimes he would dream of the past, and it would fuel his unstable emotions even more.
Asher channeled a bit of his mana into his legs as he kept running forward. This dungeon was a dense forest with tall trees surrounding him. As he kept running forward, many ape monsters were forced to fight him. But despite having a number advantage over Asher, no single monster could even break his stance.
*Slash*
Asher carefully acted around the nodes he could now see on the bodies of these Ape monsters after fighting a couple of them.
*Thud* *Thud*
Bodies of screeching monsters kept falling down the ground as Asher slitted their throats, taking their life.
Bunches of notifications kept popping in, but Asher ignored them as he kept on killing the monsters.
[ Host has leveled up ]
After seeing the level-up notification, Asher stopped.
"It seems that the boss is not needed anymore," Asher muttered.
Although he wanted to complete the dungeon, he knew that the clock was ticking and he needed to be present at the World Academy at the correct time. Asher turned back and decided to leave the dungeon. He went through the portal and arrived outside where many members of the Abyss Guild were waiting for him. But his appearance made others a bit uncomfortable.
"Young Master, we have arranged everything you need, the private room inside the lounge," one of the people who were waiting for him outside spoke.
Asher nodded and left him to change into better clothes and wash himself.
Emmy saw Asher, who was covered with blood all over his body, coming inside. "Young Master, we need to leave soon," Emmy informed Asher.
"I know, let me take a bath before we leave," Asher replied to Emmy.
Asher went into his personal room that was present in the huge lounge built outside the dungeon. After washing and changing into casual clothes, he came out. As they could not waste more time, Asher sat inside the car.
"Have you arranged for the medical potion I asked you for?" Asher asked Emmy.
"Yes, I have the potion with me. Should I hand it over?" Emmy asked Asher.
"No, this is not for me. You need to deliver it to a certain someone at the tournament," Asher spoke as he looked out the window. Even at this time, he was carefully maintaining his indifferent face and controlling his voice so that he could appear as normal as he could.
*******************************
In Soran, outside the hotel, a girl with pink hair on a wheelchair could be seen entering a car. The wheelchair was the latest invention so the person using it did not need any additional help from someone.
"The location is World Academy portal grounds, right?" the driver politely asked.
"Yes," the girl spoke.
"Did someone from your family got selected for the World Academy?" the driver decided to have a small talk with the young girl.
"I am the one who got selected," the girl replied to him without minding his words. She knew that people would find it surprising that someone like her, who would be seen as a liability, would attend the World Academy, which was famous for accepting only strong people.
"Oh, congrats," the driver got awkward after hearing the girl's response.
"Thank you," the girl simply thanked the man, keeping her straight face. The rest of the drive was silent.
"Uh- You can stop there only, my caretaker would take me from here," the girl spoke.
"Oh, okay," the driver stopped at the location, which was a bit far from the World Academy grounds.
The girl got out of the car and saw a woman wearing a black suit standing in front of her.
"Miss Alyssa, you should see the time you are arriving. We could have been late," the woman spoke rudely as she looked down at Alyssa in her wheelchair.
"Mind your words, you are just a caretaker," Alyssa got annoyed at the rude tone of the woman in front of her.
'What a rude kid, no wonder she got that ugly scar on her face,' the woman thought in her mind.
"We should go now. Your father told me to accompany you to the place where the participants will be staying before the start of the tournament," the woman said, changing the topic rather than reflecting on her tone.
"And he also said that your allowance is now empty after paying the fees of your Academy session, so you need to manage everything yourself," hearing the woman's words, anger flared in Alyssa's heart.
"Not like he gave me any before," Alyssa quietly spoke to herself.
She knew that her father would most likely cut her off, and this tournament was the chance for her to win and take the representative position which would make up for her allowance and help her gain some power inside the Academy for her goals.
"No matter what, even if I burn myself, I will take all those people down with me," Alyssa swore in her mind.
Somewhere in Soran, Alexander Astaria, who was arriving in his car with his son Alan, just got the message that Alyssa had arrived, and the caretaker would take her to the venue.
"Tch, I thought she would give up, but she still wants to participate," Alexander was annoyed that Alyssa still wanted to participate.
"What will that disabled girl do but stain our names?" Alan replied, hearing his father.
"You should just disown her," Alan's voice was full of hatred.
"It's not that easy as you think, and don't forget she is still your sister. Make sure you don't stain your public image over something stupid," Alexander looked at his son.
"I know father," Alan nodded.
"Many of the Elite families are attending, including us, and I don't need to tell you to perform well, do I?" Alexander looked at Alan.
"Don't worry father, I am sure only some of the participants could actually compete with me, let alone win," Alan confidently replied.
"Hahahaha, That's my boy," Alexander laughed and praised Alan to raise his spirits before the tournament.