The Protagonist Already Knows

Chapter 38: Day 1 [5]

Standing up, I simply clicked my tongue and entered the empty castle keep, heading up the stairs to the third floor.

Feeling the hot and humid air rush against my face, I walked along one of the skybridges and leaped upward onto the ledge.

My feet dangling in the air, I gazed down at the courtyard.

During my battle with the spying student, I had noticed something, something that I would never have noticed while practicing with the AI Dummy bots.

My opponent’s emotions.

To win the fight in a swift swoop, I had taken advantage of the boy’s nervousness and surprise, pretending I could cast another mana sphere when I couldn’t.

Perhaps...an effective weapon art didn’t simply include my emotions, but the emotions of the opponent I was facing.

If my opponent were aggressive and furious, perhaps slower and more controlled slashes would be effective to fuel their anger and force them to make a mistake.

"Oh...hey, Ash."

Snapping back to reality, I spotted Ren walking a few steps to my right, his expression unreadable.

Turning my head, I curtly nodded and discreetly marked him, instantly feeling a sense of anxiety overwhelm me as I almost tumbled downward due to my body’s sudden trembling.

Removing my mark and dryly coughing, I asked to be sure.

"Did you guys find our castle’s golden ball...?"

Nodding his head, Ren approached me and pointed at the chapel below us.

"In there. A few of us already set up alarm spells while you were gone. Evangel and Haerin already volunteered to watch it for the night, as well."

"..."

Of course, I had expected Ren to know I had vanished from the fortress with his incredible memory, but did he really have to call me out?

Playing a fool, I simply nodded my head, ignoring his mention of me being gone, and just a few moments later, Ren leaped upward, now sitting on the ledge beside me.

As a result of this situation, where the future had so drastically changed right in front of Ren’s eyes, his worries about Ash must have worsened, even with my lie about Evangel.

"..."

If I eliminated myself to escape this place...it would be really suspicious in his eyes, wouldn’t it?

Glancing at Ren’s crumpled clothes, hardened expression, and dimly lit eyes, I paused

At that moment, I wondered: why had I been trying to antagonize Ren, acting like he was my enemy?

Both of us were simply trying to make good with our future knowledge, right?

As I shook my head, the aroma of freshly cooked salmon drifting upward from the courtyard, the silence between us was finally broken as a shout sounded from a familiar voice below.

"What the hell are you two doing up there!? Get the hell down here; what are you two!? Too fucking edgy for us!? I knew he was a loser, but you too, Ren!?"

After shouting at us, Lily clicked her tongue and rejoined the group of students now sitting on the grass with plates of fish.

"Are you going?"

Staying still, I tilted my head and answered Ren.

"Don’t mind me: I don’t enjoy seafood."

"...me either."

Looking left, at the lake surrounding the fortress, Ren paused for a moment before turning back to face me.

"Wanna go get something?"

With my energy and mana severely low from using Anubis’s Ferry multiple times already, I knew I had to replenish myself soon.

Thus, I nodded my head and leaped back onto the skybridge, walking to the edge of the fortress.

Meeting me at the edge, Ren paused for a moment and asked.

"Can you get across?"

Nodding my head, I watched as Ren transformed into a beam of light, completely blinding me.

In the next moment, upon re-opening my eyes, I saw a dazzling ball of white light barreling across the lake and toward the forest.

After wiping my eyes for a moment in pain, I sighed and activated Anubis’s Ferry.

There was no point in hiding my wraith-like abilities: Ren would find out about them sooner or later.

Flying through the air effortlessly, I glanced down at the now-orange lake, reflecting the sunset sky.

In the distance, Ren stared at me intently, probably noticing my intangible body instantly with those eyes of his; however, for some reason, he turned around after a few seconds of observing.

Rematerializing next to Ren at the outskirts of the forest and grasping his shoulder, I yelled.

"Boo!"

Like a scared child, Ren fell forward, his reaction time managing to save him as he grasped onto the trunk of a nearby tree instantly to stabilize himself.

Not even giving him a moment to speak, I said while walking into the forest.

"Now, how does that feel? Next time, warn me before using that light beam, or else, I swear I’ll go fucking blind."

...

...

...

Hunting went as well as you would expect with a professional archer by your side, and I even learned quite a few tricks with my ability.

Levitating above the ground, I stood right next to a deer, its antlers phasing right through my body.

However, the deer remained completely still, not even noticing me, and peacefully drinking from the small river running through the forest.

It couldn’t...sense me?

Could it be...that only beings that possessed the ability to use mana could see me in my wraith form?

So...mundane humans couldn’t see me at all when I used Anubis’s Ferry?

As I stepped back and re-materialized, the deer instantly, upon hearing me, sprinted back into the dense forest.

Glancing up at the trees, I attempted to mark something multiple times until I finally felt the feeling of my mark being placed.

"Are you done?"

Jumping out of the trees with a large pile of wood, Ren nodded his head and began setting up the campfire.

Neither of us could carry the carcass of a large animal over the lake and back to the fortress, so we had just decided to eat here.