Inside the Waterflow Training Center's training room, Smith looked at the mask given by Vincent before he said to the thin air.
"You can come out now."
From the entrance of the training room, a guy with black coat and hair that looked like a K-Pop singer stepped out from the shadows.
He was Chun Dong, a member of the Memento Mori. His hand held the book with a skull cover, showing that he had no hostile intention.
He looked at Smith with an uncertain gaze.
"Are you sure you want to join us?"
"What are you saying, Satan? I have pulled you to this place and talked to you about it for a while."
"I remember that." Chun Dong answered as he approached Smith and sat in front of him.
Satan was his codename in Memento Mori. He was the wrath of Memento Mori, and he was called that because he seldom got angry. However, once he got angry, he would definitely destroy the area around him.
"You suddenly said you wanted to join us without telling your exact reason."
"Hahahaha. But, your leader approved my application, right?" Smith smirked as he leaned his face to Chun Dong.
"Indeed. I informed the other members of their approval as soon as I returned two weeks ago, and three of us were in favor, while the two of us decided not to vote."
"That means all members don't mind me joining your group. That's good." Smith said. "Then, let's go to your base. Introduce me to them." Smith stood up, and put on the [Dark Mask.]
As soon as he put the mask on, his appearance changed. His white hair turned black, and her beard disappeared. The mask also disappeared and showed Smith's youth figure.
Because the [Dark Mask] used illusion to mask his appearance, his training cloth also turned into a black coat similar to Chun Dong.
"That's amazing. Where did your disciple get that item, Sword Saint?" Chun Dong asked as he stood up. He was genuinely amazed by the item because he couldn't see through the illusion.
"That's a secret, apparently," Smirk smirked. "Also, please don't call me Smith. Call me Lucifer."
Chun Dong smiled when Smith said to call him Lucifer. That meant he had already accepted himself as part of the Memento Mori.
It was a name that Chun Dong suggested to him, as Smith seemed to be a prideful man, especially with his Swordsmanship. He was the best one to bear the name of Lucifer, which was the symbol of pride.
"Then I, Satan, welcome you, Lucifer, to our group."
"Sure, hahahaha! Let's meet the other members. I must return before 3 PM because my disciple wants to train later."
"Sure, let's go. I will escort you to our base."
Saying so, Chun Dong put his hand inside his coat and took out a black stone. Smith's lips curled up as he recognized the stone.
"Hoh? Teleportation Stone? That's something rare."
"Indeed. This item only drops from a monster in S-Rank Dungeon. However, this one has a fixed coordinate that leads to our base and could only be used once a week."
"That's still convenient, though. So we use that to get to your base? Can I go back here?"
"You can. But, we will use this to get there instantly. We have a member that can use Unique Composite Magic to teleport around. So don't worry, she will send you home."
"Neat. Let's go then." Smith said.
"Sure."
Chun Dong put his hand on Smith's shoulder and activated the [Teleportation Stone]. Their bodies were engulfed in blue light before disappearing from the training room.
***
[23 April 2023, 09:00 AM]
[Academy]
The first class was over by the time I arrived, and the teacher of the second class entered the classroom simultaneously. Of course, he reminded me not to be late next time and asked me what was wrong with my eye.
I told him that I got into an accident yesterday and just returned from hospital this morning. Lisa, who was in the same class as me, looked at me worriedly when I explained to the teacher that I had gotten into an accident.
Well, two days ago, I didn't use the eyepatch, so it was natural for her to be curious and worried.
More importantly, the teacher just told me to sit on my seat after he grumbled a little, saying that I surely fought someone and got injured in my eye instead of getting involved in an accident.
I mean, he was not wrong. I did get blinded when I raided Raymond's nightclub. It even aired on the news that night, but I didn't really care about the news because I was too busy with other things.
The class in the Academy proceeded like usual, and time passed as I did Mana Breathing training while pretending to be sleeping like usual.
Without me noticing, lunchtime had arrived, and I went to the cafeteria. The heroines ate together like usual on the nearby table, even without Zaiden being there. They invited me to be with them, but I refused, saying that I wanted to eat alone for today.
They didn't force me and were satisfied with me being near them and didn't dodge them. Anyway, I ate at the table beside them and sometimes glanced at the heroines.
Looking at them made me realize that their feelings for Zaiden were not too strong, and they actually enjoyed being together more.
'They still need to be developed. I will stick to the plot, for now, as it seems that being together in the Academy only made them closer faster instead of making them fall for Zaiden. That's except for that girl…'
I looked at Lisa, whose Trait made her a bit obsessive. From all heroines, I noticed that her feelings toward Zaiden were real and closer to love instead of like. There was also another girl close to Zaiden, but her actions sometimes confused me. That girl was Lily, the true enigma in this world.
I didn't know how to deal with that girl. She sometimes acted as if she knew me, and sometimes she acted like a girl of her age. Furthermore, Zaiden was the closest to Lily compared to anyone else.
'But that also means he will despair more when he loses her compared to the other girls. Let's just wait and see for now.'
I wolfed down the meal and finished in just five minutes. As I finished my meal, Ao suddenly stood up and approached me, sitting across from me. The other girls didn't seem to mind her as they continued talking.
"Vincent, can we talk?" She asked.
"Do you need something from me?"
"Yes, well… Did you visit Master in the last two weeks?"
"I did. Why?"
Why did she suddenly ask if I visited Smith suddenly? To begin with, did she not visit Smith in the last two weeks?
She was strict and a girl who followed the principle of discipline. It would have been weird if she didn't visit Smith to train.
"Umm… well… Can you tell Master that I won't be able to train in a week? I have some… family business going on."
Oh. I see.
When she said family business, I instantly understood what she meant.
Rosa had invited Zaiden to the Sacred Relic guild; surely, Zaiden wouldn't refuse her invitation if he wanted to get stronger. I also let him get bashed until he broke a lot of his bones when he fought against the mutated Hobgoblin.
He must've realized that he should get stronger fast if she wanted to keep his loved one safe.
The fastest way to get stronger was to join a guild. And Sacred Relic was the best place to do that. Hence, as Zaiden's friend, Ao must've been requested to take care of him for a while, to get him used to the place.
"Sure." I smiled. "In exchange, can you tell the principal or the teacher that I won't be able to attend the Academy for a week? I have some family business too." I winked at her.
To be honest, I cringed at myself for winking, but well… I couldn't redo what I did.
Even Ao became dumbfounded because I winked at her. Though it didn't appear to be a wink because I wore an eyepatch. But well, a wink was a wink.
"Cough, forget about that. Can you make some reason, so I don't need to attend the Academy for a week?"
Thomas Evan surely had some connection with Jack. However, I shouldn't be too obvious when asking, so I added.
"You are from a rich family, no? Seeing you have a family business and anything. Surely, you can ask the Academy to let me stay at home for a week or more."
Hearing my words, Ao smiled slightly. "You're correct. My family is rich and has a connection with the Academy's director." She said.
"However, I must know what this family business that you have. If I remember correctly, you are from the orphanage, no?" She smirked, acting as if she had used the reverse card to counter my earlier words.
"I am indeed from an orphanage. My family business is with Smith, my Master. They said that a Master is a second father, no?"
"Oh! Indeed. So Master needs something from you again, huh…" She looked rather sad as she cast her gaze down.
If I was an insensitive and dense bastard from a novel, I surely wouldn't notice her looking sad, as she only looked down a little. However, I was also not some protagonist who helped every girl who looked sad. So I ignored her and continued.
"Something like that."
While it was me who needed something from Smith, I didn't need to tell everything to her.
"I see… Well, I will arrange it. A week, right?"
"Yes. Thanks."
"No problem." She answered as she stood up. "Don't forget to tell Master, though." She walked back to the others and sat beside Lily.
I could hear them asking Ao about what she talked about with me. Ao played it well by saying that she wanted me to tell Smith that she would be absent from training for a week.
Their conversation returned to normal after a while, and I stood up as I had finished my meal. While I was walking away, exiting the cafeteria, I could feel a gaze cast on my back.
I felt a chill running down my spine and turned around immediately, but the feeling of being watched disappeared as soon as I surveyed the cafeteria.
'Was it my imagination?' I thought as I turned around, walking faster than before.
'No, such thought would get me killed. That was not my imagination. Someone was staring dagger at me with some intent to kill.'
I quickly left the cafeteria and walked back to my classroom. I wanted to get away from the cafeteria as soon as possible. I had some bad feelings about it.
'That feeling… that killing intent was similar to a monster instead of a human.'
I had felt that kind of killing intent in the dungeons many times. However, the killing intent that I felt earlier was enough to send a chill down my spine. That meant, whatever it was, it had enough strength to make me stop for a while.
The Academy hadn't been explored in my novel. It was only mentioned as the setting where Zaiden and the heroines came from. So I didn't specify any problem or arc related to the Academy.
But, there was a killing intent enough to make me stop for a while and put my guard up. From what I felt, the killing intent was imbued by Mana, and it was around D Rank at most.
There was one possibility that I could think of.
'There is a Mid Demon hidden in the Academy.'
Mid Demon could take a Human form to disguise themselves. It was not strange that it could disguise itself as a student in the Academy. How careless of me.
However, it was strange.
I never felt the Demon's energy before, and it didn't attack me before it sent the killing intent earlier. Jack, the headmaster, also didn't make any move when he visited the Academy at the time we held the Sparring Tournament.
Which meant the Demon only infiltrated the Academy after the Sparring Tournament. He also only had D Rank Mana, but he was still Mid Demon, a Demon equivalent to C-Rank monster, so I shouldn't underestimate it.
Mid Demon got its Rank from its intelligence, so he must be planning something in the Academy.
'I will ask Tina to investigate it.'
For now, I should focus on training. I had a week off from the Academy because of Ao. While Tina investigated the Demon that infiltrated the Academy, I should make myself stronger under Smith's guidance and stay under radar.
I didn't need to worry about the students' safety, as the Demon wouldn't do anything that made it get found out. If he showed himself and killed the students without mercy, a strong Awakener would surely arrive and destroy it instantly.
So, I had time to train before killing the Demon. As it was only one Mid Demon, I was confident of killing it alone. So, it was a blessing for me.
'I never thought that a free Mana source would come to me.'
By killing the Demon, my Mana would surely increase a little. I wasn't hoping for a massive jump of a rank, but it would make me closer to a C Rank Mana.
I had hunted a lot of monsters, so it should be close to rising before finally it stagnated, as raising from C to C+ was similar to raising F Rank Mana to C Rank Mana. But, killing a Demon would give me a good amount of progress in my overall status.
'Once again, I worship my S Rank Luck. It must be thanks to my luck that the Demon is not proficient in Magic, considering he only had D Rank Mana. I can snipe it from a distance without him noticing me.'
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