Raze fetched water into the bowl, washed his wounds slowly, then proceeded to wash the rest of his body. After he was done, he walked out into the room, wiped his body, and put on trousers. He found an old shirt of his and tore it up, using the shirt to wrap his wound.
He headed to the bed, and like a falling tree, he fell into his bed and fell asleep in seconds.
_________
The rays of sunlight woke Raze to a new day. He turned on the bed and looked at the ceiling. "Aghhh," he groaned and got up from the bed. He was about to head to wash up, but he noticed a piece of paper under the door.
He walked to the door and pulled the paper out. He unfolded it and read the contents.
*(All classes have been set on hold today in respect to the competition tomorrow. All students have a free day to carry out their activities and train in preparation for the competition.
Signed, Academy Headmaster.)*
Raze smiled when he saw the message. He had been worried about how he would hide his wound. Luckily, he had a full day to get it sorted out.
He also needed to train. He wanted to be among the ones chosen for the elite competition. He also needed to make a full layout as to how to go from here.
Raze walked to his chair, pulled it out, sat down, and propped his leg up on the table. "How do I make sure I win this Elite competition?" He paused and thought for a while. He wanted to make sure that he won.
To do that, he would need to cause a lot of sabotage—a huge amount of sabotage. He had to make sure that only the people he wanted got into the competition. That way, he would be able to control the situation.
"Should I use Alex? No, I shouldn't blackmail Alex yet. A simple lie is not enough for me to bring him to his knees. I need to do more to make sure I make his life a living hell.
Then there's Mia. She needs to be a part of the people that I'll control in the competition."
[Mission Update: The Hidden Snake That Strikes: Use the preliminary to create your network, control and use the ways of a villain.]
[Reward: 300 EXP, 150 SP, 4 stat points, a unique skill.]
The system gave him another mission, but this mission didn't have a penalty or even specific requirements. It only asked him to build his network.
It didn't say how long it should be or how intricate it should be. It only asked him to build a network. Raze already had an idea as to how to build his network—Joel.
He got up, walked to the bathroom, and washed his face quickly. He removed the cloth he had tied on his arm and washed the dry blood off. The wound had clotted up. It still hurt like hell, but it was better.
He got out and put on a simple shirt and trousers. He walked out of the room, shut the door, and stood at the door of the dorm.
Other students soon started going out. They had to get food or train, even if it was a free day. Raze knew that if he was patient for a while, Joel would walk out since he stayed in this dorm as well.
And just as expected, close to twenty minutes later, Joel came walking out. He had a large shirt and shorts on.
When Joel spotted Raze, he subconsciously paused, but he noticed that Raze was not looking at him, so he walked out. But as he got past the door, Raze followed behind him and placed his hand across his shoulder.
"Joel, it's a nice morning, isn't it?" he asked with a smile.
Joel froze in his feet. He slowly turned his head to look at Raze.
"Why the scared face, Joel? You never looked at me like that. What changed?" Raze asked him.
"It's nothing. You startled me," Joel said.
"Good, because you and I have a lot to talk about. Let's go for a walk. The academy has a nice park where we can sit and talk," Raze said.
"I'm actually heading somewhere," Joel said.
"Are you really refusing me, Joel? After everything we did together? I guess it's fine. I'll just let everyone know that despite all that we have done together, we are no longer friends," Raze said to him with a smile.
Joel froze when he heard that. He couldn't afford that. If Raze told anyone about what they had done, his academy life would end. They would most definitely expel him.
He was a commoner. If he got expelled, he had nothing to look forward to in this life.
"Please, no. I'll come with you. Please don't tell anyone," Joel begged.
"Good. That's the right choice. Now let's walk, and try to act natural," Raze said and pulled Joel along the path to the park.
"You see, Joel, if memory serves, you know how to gather information, right?" Raze asked.
"I don't think that's true," Joel said.
"Are you certain? Because I'm sure you'd be good for the task," Raze said, his tone suggesting that he was not asking.
"I'm sure I can make it work," Joel agreed.
"Good. There was someone with the ability to walk through walls, and that person snuck into my room. I want you to gather information on that. You have the whole of today to do that.
You have to get back to me before the end of the day, or I'll make sure your academy life ends here. You should know already—I don't care about myself, so I don't mind taking you down with me.
And if you ever try to tell the academy about what we discussed, then I promise you, you will get expelled as well. The moment you get expelled, watch your back, because I'll come for you. You already know that I am capable of murder, right?" Raze asked.