"Thank you for your purchase, junior~"
These words came from an older student than me, who worked as a saleswoman in a shop.
This is something that the seven seats of the academy have allowed, but why? Well, it enables middle-class students to earn enough money to pay the academy's rather high tuition fees.
I nodded to the student before retrieving the three items I had just bought. I then stored them in my mana bracelet before calmly leaving the shop.
After that, I made my way quickly towards the Lophlys dormitory, where the person I had to deliver documents to was located.
Fifteen minutes later, I finally found myself in front of the dormitory.
I showed my student ID to the person in charge of securing the area, then I entered the huge building that currently housed a little over a thousand students.
Once inside, I headed towards the stairs and arrived at the second-year floor. I walked quietly through the large corridor, greeting a few students who were passing by.
After five minutes, I stopped in front of a beautiful old wooden door with the number six hundred nine marked on a small rectangular golden plaque.
I then started to take out all the documents that Professor Verdajin had entrusted to me before knocking on the door of the room.
I waited a few minutes before the door finally opened slowly.
CREAK
"Who...?"
The young man who opened the door was slightly older than me. He had long, very dark hair that nearly covered his entire face, leaving only his left eye visible.
He spoke to me with an expression that I could only describe as extremely grim.
"You don't need to know my name."
Saying this, I simply handed him the documents from Professor Verdajin.
"What is...?"
he said in a hoarse voice.
"Professor Verdajin asked me to deliver this to the student who lives in room six hundred nine. Since it's none of my business, I didn't look at what it was."
'Of course, that's a big lie,' I emphasized in my head.
"Professor Verdajin?"
he asked, as if to confirm what I was telling him.
"Indeed."
"Not someone else?"
"No."
"Um... I see."
he said, suspicious. After that, he took the documents, turned around, and closed the door, leaving me alone in the hallway.
'What a strange character...'
After that, I exited the building and secretly waited in a tree for something to happen.
Then, an hour later, a figure that blended perfectly into the night—thanks to its black outfit—stealthily slipped out of the dormitory.
I jumped from the branch where I had been waiting for a while, then I began to follow the senior student who had dressed in black to better blend into the night.
As I was pursuing him, the student soon rushed in the direction of the forest south of the academy, as noted on the paper.
As soon as he set foot in the forest, the student dressed in black suddenly disappeared.
"Well, I suspected it."
I suddenly stopped in front of the forest entrance before finally pulling out an object—one I had purchased earlier—from my mana bracelet.
The object in question was an old pair of glasses. Despite what one might think when looking at it, it actually had the power to see the body heat of living beings, making it a very rare artifact that would be resold for more than three hundred million gold pieces in a rather near future.
But how do I know this?
Well, I am the person who will buy back this artifact in ten years to play detective all over the Empire's capital. But before using it, I was curious about the origin of this artifact. So, I started to frantically search for the source of something so incredible.
"Well, thanks to this artifact, I didn't have to play detective for too long."
I delicately put on the glasses before scanning the surroundings of the forest with concentration.
After a few moments, I spotted a completely white figure walking through the forest, looking around to avoid getting lost.
Keeping a distance of about ten meters, I watched the figure from a tree so that it couldn't spot me using its mana.
The figure continued to walk for about a kilometer through the dense forest while I closely followed, moving from tree to tree without much difficulty.
Eventually, a dozen white figures suddenly appeared in my glasses' view, and I began to listen to the conversation taking place below.
I channeled a small amount of mana into my hearing to better capture the sounds in my current situation.
Despite the little mana used, I could clearly understand what the figures below were saying.
"Why are you here?"
said the rather tall and massive figure to the student I had been following for a few minutes.
"He asked me to come."
"I see... you weren't followed?"
"I didn't sense anyone."
"Good, then come in."
After the tall figure's words, my target entered a long and imposing tunnel located in a mountain.
As it departed, the tall figure closed the tunnel and stood guard with a two-handed sword measuring more than three meters, resting at its side.
'I could have handled him if he were alone... but unfortunately, there are several of them guarding this place.'
"Tsk."
I clicked my tongue before pulling out a blowgun from my mana bracelet. Then, I loaded it with a sleeping dart and shot at one of the figures farthest from me.
WHOOSH
FWIIICH
The dart flew majestically through the air before finally hitting its target with incredible precision.
"Tsk, damn mosquito!"
"What's wrong with you now?"
"Nothing, I just got stung by—"
THUD
As the figure swore, it soon fell to the ground, falling asleep and not likely to wake up anytime soon.
'At least not until I finish with their "King."'
After that, I simply proceeded as I had with the swearing figure, and soon, I found myself being the only one still awake.
I scanned the area to ensure no one remained at a distance, then I finally climbed down from the tree before heading toward the large tunnel.
"Well, at least I didn't prepare for nothing."
I said with a smile creeping onto my lips.
"So, it's a kid who decides to attack us? How funny, hahaha."
As I walked calmly, with unhidden joy, the voice of a madman echoed, causing me to stop.
'Oh crap...'
"What were you saying again? That you were well prepared?"
"Indeed, I was well prepared."
Saying this, I rushed toward him after picking up a sword that was lying on the ground. With only a few meters separating us, I let a chilling bloodlust shine through.
The man, as imposing as a refrigerator, froze for a second, but that was more than enough.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself in front of him and violently pierced him with my sword.
Finally, that's what I thought. As my blade dangerously approached his chest, the figure arched its enormous body backward, dodging my attack before quickly straightening up and swinging its fist toward my left side.
The impact was so powerful for my weak body that I was sent flying straight toward the tunnel.
BAAAAAM
A huge noise echoed throughout the forest, and my body slid down the tunnel before finally hitting the ground softly.
"You are even weaker than I thought, kid."
He said while scratching the back of his head. He then approached me and grabbed me by the neck.
"Why are you pretending to be out of it?"
'Oh crap...'
"Ahah, I think I got caught."
I said, wiping the blood that was slowly flowing from my mouth.
"Why are you here, kid?"
"Well, let's just say I heard about some people scheming not-so-nice things in the south forest of the academy. I just came to see if you pose a danger to the academy's students, that's all."
"Is that why you attacked us?"
"But I didn't kill anyone."
I said, spreading my arms and smiling like a madman.
"So, what are you going to do? Kill me?"
I asked him while secretly pulling a knife from the sleeve of my shirt.
"Well, I think it would be safer for us."
"Wait."
"What now, kid?"
"Since I'm going to die, can you at least tell me who you are?"
"Mm, we are Exocre, our goal is to awaken the demon god Nyzar'eth."
"The demon god?"
"Now that I've answered your questions... die!"
He then began to exert a tremendous pressure on my neck in an attempt to break it.
As I started to suffocate, I pulled out the knife and plunged it into his temple.
"E-Get off... me..."
The pressure on my neck began to dissipate, and I fell to the ground, out of breath.
"KOF... KOF... huff... That crazy guy..."
I said in a trembling, weak voice.
After catching my breath, I slowly got up and reached out for the imposing sword that lay on the ground about ten meters away.
"Well, come here, my pretty~"
I picked up the sword in my hands and then headed toward the entrance of the tunnel.
When I opened the tunnel entrance, a loud screeching sound was heard, but I didn't care.
With the gigantic sword resting on my shoulder, I began to walk slowly into the dark tunnel.