What would it feel like to kill someone?
Would it be like in fantasy stories, where my heart is filled with pain and guilt?
Or perhaps I am a psychopath who would feel a thrill from it.
Or maybe… I wouldn't feel anything at all.
Such thoughts swirled in my mind as I walked through the academy's corridors, watching the chaos my actions had caused. Students were running everywhere, like a herd of frightened deer.
But they weren't afraid. They were excited, roaming around in search of a worthy opponent.
The nobles walked alone, challenging suitable opponents when they found them. Meanwhile, commoners moved in groups of at least three, and when they encountered a worthy foe—whether a noble or another commoner—one would issue a challenge while the others followed toward the arena, awaiting their turn.
Even by glancing at the ranking board, one could see that the standings were changing every few minutes.
Most likely, the commoners' alliance was Alexander's plan, but he hadn't expected them to execute it without ensuring he benefited from it.
After all, if they had truly listened to Alexander, they would have focused their attacks on the strongest nobles while ignoring his rise in rank.
But they did the opposite. After all, humans are selfish creatures, and those who can prioritize the group's interests over their own are rare.
After a while, I finally reached the Elite Tower. But instead of heading to my room, I climbed to the second floor, where the second-year students resided.
As I ascended, I noticed a familiar student descending the stairs.
It was Jess, his face bearing a grim expression.
I had a rough idea of why he was coming down from the second-year floor.
The layout of the second-year floor was no different from that of the first-year floor, except that the room numbers had a "2" on the left instead of a "1."
I walked toward a door marked with the number six on the right and knocked gently.
"Yes, who is it?"
A deep voice came from inside the room, and if I didn't know the person's age, I might have thought he was a middle-aged man.
"It's me, Edward Lightstar. I want to buy something."
At my words, there was a brief silence before the voice responded,
"Alright, wait a moment."
After a short pause, the door opened, revealing Allen Debran, the sixth-ranked student in the second year.
With his short blond hair and blue eyes, he resembled a prince straight out of a fairy tale.
But that was just his outward appearance. I knew that beneath the surface lurked a man as cunning and selfish as they come.
Upon seeing me, Allen gave a slight smile and gestured for me to enter his room.
"Come in, Lord Lightstar."
The room was similar to mine, as all Elite Tower rooms shared the same design.
Without wasting time on pointless pleasantries, I stated my request directly.
"I want five F-rank demonic cores and ten F-rank mana enhancement potions."
Allen frowned slightly at my request before asking,
"Why do you need this many cores and potions? While they might boost your power, they could also cause a lot of trouble."
"Are you a merchant or an investigator?"
At that, Allen let out a small chuckle. But upon seeing my cold expression, he sighed in resignation.
He then pulled out five dark purple spherical crystals and ten blue vials from thin air.
As soon as he revealed the goods, I smiled slightly and gestured toward the cores and potions, storing them in my personal space.
Despite its name, my personal space wasn't a magical pocket dimension but more like a secret vault located at the heart of human territory.
To store an item, all one had to do was use a specific command, which would transfer it to their personal vault.
Of course, this luxury wasn't available to everyone—only those with a certain level of status could access it.
Once I had taken the goods, Allen smiled and asked,
"So, how would you like to pay, Lord Lightstar? Do you prefer to mortgage your future points or pay with your balance?"
"I should also mention that my goods are priced 20% higher than the market rate, but for you, I'll only charge 10% extra."
"I'll pay with my balance."
The balance was the official currency of human territory, a purely digital currency without any physical form.
After paying Allen, I left the Elite Tower while sending messages to five first-year students.
Contrary to what one might expect, contacting another student wasn't difficult. All you had to do was enter their rank and send a message—it was just a matter of whether they would accept your request or not.
But I was 100% confident that the students I contacted would accept. After all, I had chosen them myself, based on my knowledge of the original novel.
———
After some time, I arrived at one of the academy's secluded arenas.
The sheer size of the castle housing the academy was so immense that it could easily be considered a small city.
The arena contained only five students, and as I stepped in, a red-haired student approached me.
It was Daron, one of the main characters in my novel, *Chronicles of the End.*
He eyed me warily and asked,
"So, are you going to tell us why you called us here?"
Hearing this, I smiled, though I felt a slight tension. After all, if things didn't go as planned, I might end up causing the death of a main character.
"As I mentioned in my message, I called you all here for a deal that will benefit us all."
Daron frowned slightly before asking,
"And what's your deal?"
Smiling, I revealed the five demonic cores and ten mana enhancement potions.
"It's simple. I'll give you these cores and potions to make you stronger, and in return, I want you to challenge Alexander to wear him down."
This time, it was Zion who spoke up.
"Wouldn't consuming these things put us at risk of losing control?"
"No, it's just a small amount. You won't lose control as long as your emotions remain stable."
"So, let me ask you this—are you confident in your ability to handle this without losing control of your emotions?"
At my words, the five students exchanged uncertain glances before ultimately agreeing.
Seeing this, I smiled in satisfaction.
I was confident the cores and potions wouldn't cause any harm.
After all, I had carefully chosen each of them. They all possessed both the desire to grow stronger and the willpower to keep their emotions in check.
All of them—except one.
———
Sorry for my absence. I was a bit busy, so I couldn't post. I had planned to release three chapters as compensation, but it turns out the upcoming chapters need a lot of work.