'Now… What should I eat for dinner today?'

Rael thought as he walked casually toward his dorm.

With Bearlo off on some secret training and not returning until tomorrow, Rael would have to cook for himself.

And cooking and Rael had never gotten along.

He knew how to cook, he had spent most of his previous life without parents and it was a skill he picked up as he grew.

That, however, didn't mean he liked it.

'But oh well… I just need to make sure I don't blow up the kitchen again and I'll be fine.'

The thought brought a memory.

His first attempt at cooking, when he had nearly blown up the orphanage kitchen.

"If not for that depressed bastard Noah saving the day," Rael muttered. "The whole orphanage would have become orphaned."

He let out a wide smile at his own words.

"Good old days."

He didn't even know why the words slipped out so naturally as he drew closer to his dorm.

Just then, Rael's senses screamed as he heard a sharp whistle of air cut past him from the side.

An arrow?

It was too fast and there was no time to dodge.

Instinct took over as Rael raised his palm up just as something sharp pierced through it, crunching into bone and finally stopping just a few inches from his pupils.

"Damn it." He cursed as the crimson blood dripped from his trembling hand before dripping onto the cold ground below.

Rael quickly scanned his surroundings.

A medium-sized boulder caught his eye some distance away. Without hesitation, he bolted toward it, diving behind the rock just in time and taking cover from the archer.

But thankfully the archer didn't fire any shots since the first shot.

As pain flared through him, Rael carefully peeked around the boulder while taking the arrow out of his palm and circulating mana toward the wound, forcing the bleeding to stop.

That was when he saw him.

A student stepped out of the forest beside his dorm, carrying a greatsword.

'The archer isn't with him.'

Rael noted it instantly, his focus shifting as he gauged the strength of the one approaching figures.

'A peak D-Rank greatsword wielder… and judging by the unstable mana fluctuations, he probably broke through just a few days ago.'

He noted it all in his mind within seconds before ducking back behind the boulder.

The student meanwhile walked toward him at a slow pace as if he was sure of the outcome.

Rael knew he couldn't run with an archer aiming for his back and he sure as hell didn't expect anyone to magically stumble upon him to help.

After all, it was already night and his dorm sat right beside a fucking forest and only a complete nutcase would wander here casually.

Rael exhaled slowly.

'…So it's one of those nights. '

"Hello, friends," Rael called out calmly. "And who might you kind people be?"

A deep voice answered him from the clearing.

"Varek Ashen Noctharion sends his regards." The greatsword wielder said. "He told us to wish you… good night."

'So, it is that bastard Varek.'

Between his conversation with Morvana and Azriel's death, Rael had completely pushed that insignificant bastard out of his mind and only now when his death felt closer did he remember.

'Fuck… this is a blunder.'

'I should've prepared for this. I should've known he would make a move once he had Azriel backing him.'

'I got careless and overconfident.'

Only now did Rael truly understand how much he had underestimated Varek and just how far Azriel had been willing to go to get rid of him

Rael had always believed they wouldn't be stupid enough to act so directly inside the academy. Turns out, he had misjudged just how badly their minds were clouded by irrational emotions.

'Tch… Now's not the time to spiral.'

Rael took a deep breath.

"Ah, I see." He replied lightly from behind the boulder. "Quite thoughtful of him."

He paused and then added cheerfully,

"I have received the message. You can all leave now."

"Hahaha… good." The senior student said, his voice dripping with amusement. "But Varek personally asked us to tuck you into bed."

He took another step forward.

"If you surrender peacefully, we might even sing you a nice lullaby."

His lips curled into a grin.

"So come out now, Rael."

Rael's lips twitched but he didn't respond.

'These fuckers are playing with me.'

Rael had noticed how they weren't in any hurry and aside from that first shot, the archer hadn't fired again.

'So that's how it is…'

The conclusion came easily.

'That bastard Varek probably ordered them to make my death slow.'

Rael exhaled softly.

His grin returned.

'…Guess I'll have to disappoint him. '

But how?

Even as those thoughts raced through his mind, Rael quietly summoned two of his cards.

One shot off to the farthest distance he could manage and the other remained with him as he attached it to the boulder he was leaning on.

'What should I do?'

'What should I do?'

He repeated it like a mantra as he sensed the student closing in, his presence just behind the boulder as he finally swung his greatsword.

Rael didn't panic.

The moment the attack came down, he activated the <<Magician>> effect.

His body vanished, melting into green flames as he reappeared at the location of his other card and the card he had left behind detonated, unleashing the <<Tower>> effect in a violent explosion.

The explosion kicked up a thick cloud of dust and debris but Rael already knew it wouldn't be enough to take down that C-Rank bastard.

And sure enough, his expectations were met.

The greatsword wielder had shielded himself, bracing behind his massive blade to withstand the blast.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

"Hey, guysz" Rael said lightly as he activated his skill, "Can we talk this over with some tea or coffee instead?"

The first ability he triggered was <<Draconic Resilience>> and in an instant, his already heightened senses expanded even further.

The world sharpened as an invisible sensory domain appeared around him. It enveloped his surroundings, including both opponents.

Within it, Rael could feel everything, even the slightest muscle twitch, the shift of weight and the faint rise of bloodlust.

Still, he held the skill back slightly.

He didn't activate the mana-heart effect yet.

That trump card would leave him completely drained for thirty minutes afterward and he still didn't know where the archer was… so he had no intentions to do that until he figured that out.

The arrogant senior scoffed. "Nah. Anything less than your blood is just shit."

"Damn." Rael replied, sighing dramatically. "Your mother would be so disappointed to hear you like my blood more than her milk."

He tilted his head as if genuinely pondering it.

"…Or maybe you never even drank it in the first place."

A faint grin tugged at his lips.

"That would explain why a higher-ranked senior needs to gang up on a weak mid E-Ranker like me."

"You also don't… have balls, just like your boss, Varek."

'First rule when fighting stronger opponents who have no intention of sparing you is to trash-talk them because there is always a chance they will lose their composure and start attacking in predictable patterns…

…and if not that, at least they will kill you instantly out of sheer rage, sparing you the pain of a slow death.'

And that was exactly what Rael was doing.

He was deliberately rage-baiting the bastard, hoping that his wounded ego would push him to charge in alone, asking the archer not to interfere.

Although he was sure the archer would interfere if that guy were to come close to death, at least it would buy Rael some time to think of a proper plan.

"You bastard." The senior cursed and as Rael had expected he signaled his partner to not interfere in any way.

He charged in like a reckless fool as Rael smirked, activating the skill he had received from Seraphina as a tribute.

<<The Internal Gravity>>

… Because the true fight had only begun.

—

Meanwhile, in the second-year dorms, Varek sat back on his throne with a satisfied smirk plastered across his face.

For him, today was perfect.

The cold prodigy, Azriel himself, had summoned Varek personally and not only that, he had asked him to get rid of Rael von Ashborn, the nobody who dared to play at being a successor of the Demon Realm.

Azriel had promised him everything.

As long as Rael's death looked like an accident externally, Azriel would handle the investigations, ensure no names surfaced and erase every loose end.

But that wasn't even the best part.

That small, insignificant common enemy, Rael, had earned Varek something far more valuable.

Azriel's allegiance.

Countless successors had tried to recruit Azriel, the man with a genuine chance of ascending to SS-Rank within the next two decades but all of them had failed.

But Azriel had promised to consider an alliance if Varek takes down Rael.

And that was the reason why Varek had sent a peak D-Rank to take care of that filthy human who was barely at mid E-Rank.

'I might finally achieve what none of my siblings could.'

His smile widened as the thought settled in.

"Today," he murmured, "can't possibly get any better."

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