A Background Character’s Path to Power Chapter 132 132: When the Prey Sets the Trap

"Or at least threaten them," I continued. "Make it clear I'm under your protection. Surely they wouldn't be stupid enough to ss with you after that, right?"

Virion glanced at , his erald eyes glinting strangely in the pale winter light, before turning back to his fishing hole.

"Sure," he said lightly. "But what about the consequences?"

I think I already knew the answer even before he continued.

"If I get rid of this one," Virion explained, his tail flicking idly, "or the next, or the one after that—the ones pulling the strings will notice. And then protecting you becos... complicated." His voice dropped, taking on that dangerous edge I'd only heard a handful of tis. "And there are people in this world who could kill you even with standing guard right beside you. Unless..." He smirked. "You want to spend the rest of your life trapped in my playground?"

I shook my head imdiately. The thought of being confined to Virion's training dinsions forever was worse than death.

"Besides..." His fishing line twitched, though he didn't react. "I can't intervene every ti. You need to grow on your own too." A pause. "And... I can't reveal my presence fully. For reasons."

My mind raced with possibilities.

Powerful enemies?

It made sense—soone as strong as Virion would have equally dangerous foes. And while he could probably escape or fight them off...

Innocent people wouldn't be so lucky.

"Alright, stop those wild thoughts," Virion suddenly snapped his tail—

And my stool vanished.

Thud.

"Ow! Urgh—!" I hit the ice hard, my tailbone screaming in protest. I glared up at him, rubbing my sore backside. "Was that necessary?!"

Virion grinned, utterly unrepentant. "New task for you: co up with a plan that doesn't involve directly. Use that brain of yours." His eyes glead with challenge. "Let's see if you can walk the path of a true Mystic."

I growled under my breath but nodded.

"Fine."

But...

...Why did you have to drop on the ice though, you snake?

"Hmm?"

"A-Alright, I'm thinking."

I rubbed my sore backside as my mind raced through possibilities.

If Master can't intervene directly...

Then we'd have to handle this ourselves.

Prevention would be ideal—handling the threat before anything actually happened. But that required information I didn't have. Resources I didn't have. Even if I suspected sothing was coming, I couldn't act on a hunch alone.

Alerting the academy or town was still an option. But without proof?

They probably think it is soone overreacting. Worse, it might alert the real perpetrator—whoever was pulling strings from the shadows. If they were skilled in disguise, as I feared… they could simply disappear, change their face, lie low. And next ti, they wouldn't leave any traces at all.

Tch...

What else? What could I do?

I considered a few more possibilities: shadowing suspicious figures, setting traps, and trying to provoke them into action.

But they all sounded risky and flawed.Or most of them relied on the enemy making a mistake.

I grimaced.

Wait-!

Then, all at once, an idea sparked.

My eyes lit up as the pieces clicked together.

I turned sharply to look at Virion, who had just freed sothing with a casual flick of his tail. "Master."

He glanced over as I spoke. "What if we do it ourselves?"

"Do what ourselves?" he asked, clearly amused.

I smiled—sharp and sly. "Cause a beast horde."

Virion's fishing rod paused mid-pull. "...What?"

"Not a real one," I clarified, raising my hands before he could throw into the lake. "A fake one."

Virion didn't respond imdiately. His rod remained still, the line taut in the ice. He studied in silence, a flicker of sothing unreadable in his erald eyes.

"We stage a controlled beast attack ourselves." I elaborated, my words coming faster as the plan solidified. "Then we wouldn't need to convince anyone with words. The town and academy would react on their own, as they should. No one would call it paranoia if they saw beasts with their own eyes. And if we control the variables… no one gets hurt."

Virion raised a brow. "You're proposing to terrify an entire city just to lure out one saboteur."

"Only mildly terrify," I anded. "Think of it as a stress test."

His lip twitched.

I stepped closer. "Master, think about it. The enemy has planned sothing. They're waiting for the right mont. But if we force their hand—if they think the mont has co earlier than expected—"

"They might act," Virion finished, now watching with genuine interest.

"Exactly. Maybe they'll slip up. Reveal themselves. React in a way they weren't prepared for. Or just go along with it. And even if they don't… we can still force the academy and the town to raise their defenses. No one gets blindsided."

Virion leaned back slightly, tail coiling in a slow spiral behind him. "You're not wrong. But the logistics?"

I nodded, already thinking it through. "We don't need to summon a massive horde. Just a cluster. Maybe a few powerful beasts. Ones that can be fought off by the outer guards, or even a one or two high-tier Resonators. It will be enough to be seen, to raise alarm—but not enough to cause real damage."

I hesitated. "Both are options. If we use illusions, it's safer—no real risk. But there's a chance people might suspect sothing's off if they fight them and they behave… strangely. On the other hand, using real ones would make the fear and response more authentic. We'd just need to control them."

"Ok, that's actually a good idea." Virion nodded, finally understanding my plans. "But, how are you going to do it?"

A slow smile spread across my face. "This is where you co in, Master." I held up a placating hand. "No offense, but... aren't you technically a monster too? I'm sure you have ways to control lower-ranked beasts."

Virion's tail twitched, but his expression remained unreadable.

"And," I added quickly, "you wouldn't even need to appear in your true form. Just... influence them from the shadows."

When he didn't imdiately refuse, I pressed further. "Or! If you really don't want to be involved, we could always use the Turtle Brothers for help. They're plenty strong, right?"

The mont I said it, another brilliant thought struck .

Good, this might work out too!