Chapter 131: 133
His jaw clenched, and his eyes burned with hatred as he thought about the boy who had interfered. "I'll make him pay. Insolent little worm... just you wait. I'll put you in your place."
Vladimir grabbed his phone, dialing a number with trembling fingers. His breathing was heavy, his anger barely contained.
Moments later, a rugged-looking man entered the room, his face calm and composed. "You called, Master?"
"There's a boy close to Freya," Vladimir said coldly, his voice low and dangerous. "I want every detail about him. Everything."
The man gave a curt nod. "Understood." He turned and left, his footsteps fading down the hallway.
As the room fell silent, Vladimir sank into a chair, his breathing still uneven. Unnoticed by him, a dark, shadowy aura began to swirl faintly around his figure, a reflection of the malice festering in his heart.
His lips curled into a wicked grin. "Just you wait... I'll make sure you regret ever crossing me."
........
Selena walked out of the classroom, her thoughts racing as she replayed recent events.
"He's been involved in yet another accident," she muttered under her breath. "Disappears without explanation and somehow ends up fighting the Dark Mage alongside Edwin. It's... too much of a coincidence."
She pulled out her notebook, flipping to a fresh page, and began scribbling notes furiously, her brows furrowed.
"It feels so suspicious," she thought, her pen moving rapidly. But then, a sudden idea struck her like lightning.
"Wait a second... what if he's working with the Dark Mage? What if he was there to oversee things but had to act because Edwin was overpowering the mage? Maybe his plan failed, and now he's trying to get on Edwin's good side to cover his tracks."
Her hand paused mid-sentence, and she leaned back in her chair, tapping the pen against her lips. Something about her theory didn't sit right.
"But why didn't the Dark Mage expose him?" she wondered aloud. "If Lukas betrayed him, why wouldn't the mage say anything to Edwin? It doesn't add up."
Selena twirled her pen absentmindedly, circling Lukas's name on the page. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.
"Unless... Lukas silenced the Dark Mage before he could talk. A sneak attack to cover his involvement."
Her eyes narrowed as the theory started to piece together. "And what if it's the same with Freya? Every dangerous encounter seems to draw him closer to people. It's like he's manipulating the situations to gain trust after things go wrong."
She grinned, convinced she was onto something big. "I cracked it!"
But her confidence faltered just as quickly, a chill running down her spine. She hugged herself, trying to steady her thoughts.
"No, Selena, don't jump to conclusions. You can't be careless. He might have powerful people behind him. Maybe even a secret organization. I need proof before I can make a move."
Her determination reignited, she flipped through her timetable, looking for Lukas's next class. "If I can figure out where he's going, maybe I can catch him off guard."
Her eyes scanned the schedule carefully, but then something odd caught her attention. She froze.
"Wait a minute," she whispered, her pulse quickening. "There's no class called Social Sciences."
Bang!
She slammed the book shut, her heart pounding.
"Did he... lie to me?" she muttered, her voice barely audible.
Her mind raced, piecing together the fragments of her suspicions. If he was lying about something so simple, what else was he hiding? She clenched her fists, her resolve hardening.
"I'll find out the truth, Lukas," she whispered. "You can't fool me."
...
After another grueling and almost soul-crushing morning training session led by Alex, my body ached in ways I didn't think possible. Every muscle protested as I tried to get up from the ground, feeling like I'd been hit by a carriage.
Across the room, Reed lay flat on his back, completely motionless.
"He's not breathing," Roderick muttered, catching his breath and glancing between me and Ashton.
I turned to Ashton, who looked a bit nervous, his brow creased. "Should we check on him?" Ashton asked cautiously.
"Maybe he's just messing with us," I said, though even I wasn't entirely sure.
Roderick didn't hesitate. He lifted his foot and gave Reed a light kick. When Reed didn't budge, Roderick's face hardened. He raised his foot higher, clearly ready to stomp.
Before his boot could connect, Reed's eyes shot open, and he let out a blood-curdling scream. "I AM THE HEIR OF THE ANCIENT ONE! Which son of a bitch dares to kick me?!"
The three of us jumped back like frightened cats. For a split second, I thought he was possessed. Reed's wild eyes darted between us, his hair sticking out like he'd just been struck by lightning.
"He certainly seems alright," I said dryly, trying to calm my racing heart.
Reed sat up, muttering something incomprehensible about ancient bloodlines and divine rights, while we all tried to recover from the fright.
Once the chaos subsided, we split up for our respective clubs.
---
I headed toward the alchemy club, still sore and grumbling to myself. My thoughts wandered back to our first class there, where an unexpected explosion nearly gave everyone a heart attack.
"Let's hope they don't try to kill us again," I muttered under my breath.
When I reached the clubroom, it was eerily empty. The door was locked, and there wasn't a single person in sight.
"Huh?" I tilted my head in confusion. Checking my watch, I realized I was five minutes late. Still, no one was here.
Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through the flood of messages and charts clogging my inbox until I found it:
[Alchemy class is canceled today.]
I sighed, shaking my head. "Figures. I missed the message."
The alchemy club only operated under strict supervision from the professor. Otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster the students might cause. With nothing else to do, I decided to make use of the free time for some practice.
---
At the training range, I set the level to three for Warden rank and unsheathed my twin blades. The sharp edges gleamed under the lights, and I rolled my shoulders, loosening up.
The Golem materialized before me—a towering construct of steel and stone, holding a massive sword and shield. It stood ready, unmoving but intimidating.
"Alright," I said, gripping my blades tighter. "Let's see what you've got."
The Golem's eyes glowed as it charged. I sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the heavy downward slash of its sword. Its blade smashed into the ground, sending debris flying.
I retaliated with a quick horizontal slash aimed at its torso, but its shield came up fast, blocking the attack with a loud clang.
Switching tactics, I darted to the right and spun low, slashing at its legs. My left blade connected, sparks flying as the Golem staggered slightly.
It recovered quickly, swinging its shield toward me in a wide arc. I ducked, feeling the rush of air as it narrowly missed my head, and countered with an upward slash toward its arm. The blade hit but barely left a scratch on its reinforced armor.
The Golem pressed forward, forcing me on the defensive. Its strikes were relentless, each swing of its sword heavy and precise. I parried with my blades, the force of the blows rattling through my arms.
I jumped back, trying to create some distance, but the Golem was fast for its size. It lunged, its shield ramming into me before I could dodge. The impact sent me sprawling to the ground, my blades slipping from my grasp.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled to the side just in time to avoid a finishing strike that dented the ground where I'd been lying. I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my blades and launching a desperate flurry of attacks at its exposed side.
The Golem blocked most of them with its shield but missed one slash that struck its shoulder joint, making it falter briefly.
Seeing an opening, I lunged forward with both blades aimed at its chest. But the Golem pivoted at the last second, its shield slamming into me like a battering ram. I flew back, landing hard on the floor.
Breathing heavily, I stayed down, my arms too sore to lift the blades again. The Golem stood tall, its glowing eyes fixed on me, signaling my defeat.
"I might've won if I used my skills," I muttered, shaking my head as I stared at the ceiling. "But whatever..."
Gasping for air, I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the ache in my body settle. It wasn't the victory I hoped for, but it was a good fight.
After back-to-back grueling training sessions, my body felt like it had been through a grinder. Every muscle ached, and even standing upright seemed like a monumental task.
"I pushed myself too much," I groaned, my voice barely more than a whisper, as I shuffled toward my room. My knees wobbled with every step, threatening to give out.
Finally, I reached my room and staggered inside. Without even bothering to take off my shoes, I collapsed onto the couch like a sack of potatoes. I was so drained I couldn't even think about making the trek to the cafeteria, even though my stomach growled in protest.
"Food can wait," I mumbled.
Digging into the stash of protein bars I had hidden for emergencies, I tore through a few, barely chewing as I scarfed them down. Washing them down with a bottle of water, I let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't a feast, but it would do.
The bed called to me like a siren, and I didn't resist. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out cold, slipping into the kind of deep sleep that only sheer exhaustion could bring.
...…
I don't know how long I'd been asleep, but I woke up with a start sometime in the middle of the night. My room was pitch dark, and the stillness felt unnervingly heavy, like the air itself was pressing down on me.
"Huh…" I muttered groggily, sitting up. Something felt... off.
The atmosphere was strange, as if the very air carried a weight I couldn't explain. My instincts prickled, a sense of unease crawling up my spine.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
The sound made me freeze.
Someone was at the door.
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