Nolan frowned, trying to read Lirazel’s shifting expression. "What do you an... my students? The ones from earlier?"
Lirazel nodded once, slowly, almost uneasily. "Yes. Them."
She crossed her arms, the weight of her words suddenly heavier than before. "After I moved the dungeon dragon den earlier today, I tried to co et you. But sothing stopped ." She tapped her temple. "I could feel it—your students. They were still here, surrounding this place. I couldn’t see them clearly, but sothing in them... noticed . Not fully, but close. Close enough that I didn’t want to risk appearing."
Nolan remained silent for a mont, his thoughts swimming through the possibilities. She wasn’t prone to paranoia. If she said she felt sothing off, she probably did.
He exhaled through his nose and rubbed his chin. "Makes sense, honestly. Maybe because they are connected to now in so way."
Lirazel blinked. "Connected? How?"
He shrugged with a hint of resignation. "I have this inborn cheat ability that I’m not going to tell you about. But this ability of mine has made my students stronger. It altered sothing. Whatever energy I pumped into them through the simulations and those weird taphysical classroom systems... it’s probably changed how they perceive magic or beings like you. They’re not normal students anymore."
Lirazel pulled her head back. "What? What? I don’t understand," but then her eyes imdiately widened. "Wait, so they really can sense ?"
"Probably," Nolan replied, deadpan. "Why do you think my machete can hurt you or killed the spawn earlier so easily?"
Her lips parted slightly, caught off guard. "I... never thought about it. It always confused and made wonder why."
"I bet it confused the spawn too," Nolan said. "Those things weren’t supposed to be hurt by anything not made from dragon essence or demonic blood rituals, right?"
She nodded slowly, then narrowed her eyes, mind whirring. "But your weapon—it’s not made of either."
"Nope," Nolan said, with a pop of his lips. "It’s tal. From my cheat ability. Bought off a shady site. Only cost seventy bucks and ca with free shipping. But when I use it after searching ’how to kill demons’ online, it... works."
Lirazel took a cautious step back, her eyes darting toward his waist where the machete usually hung. She wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not, but thinking about earlier, she felt even more confused. "Your cheat is strange."
"I know," Nolan said, almost proudly.
Then, like lightning flashing across her mory, sothing dawned on her.
"By the way," she said suddenly, "I received news about my sister."
Nolan narrowed his gaze. "What?"
Lirazel’s voice was low, serious. "It seems the other daughters of the Demon Lords have finally picked a leader. One of my sisters—no clue which—is taking charge of our bloodline’s campaign. She’ll lead the rest of our kind to wipe out the spawn of rival Demon Lords. Claim territory. Advance the blood war and take this lower realm."
"Great," Nolan muttered. "So what does that have to do with us?"
"She will send soone to co here," Lirazel replied. "To inspect our den. Evaluate our strength. She wants to know if we’re ready to fight. If we’re breeding and growing a proper army."
Nolan’s blood froze.
He blinked once. Twice. "But... we don’t have an army."
"Exactly," Lirazel said gravely. "We’re supposed to. We’re supposed to be copulating, spawning eggs, growing hatchlings for war. That’s how the Demon Lords show strength—through their heirs and their heirs’ children. I was ant to already have a legion forming."
Nolan swallowed, hard. "Do we really have to do that?"
"They sent a ssage," Lirazel said, her voice soft and sharp. "Right into the den. Magical runes. Blood-sealed script. They’ve detected an enemy spawn nearby."
Nolan’s brows furrowed. "The one I killed earlier?"
"Yes," Lirazel confird. "That one was a scout. Sent to test the strength of this territory. To see what kind of resistance existed here. It wasn’t even a real threat, just a asuring tool."
Nolan let out a low whistle. "Well, joke’s on them. That spawn got chopped up by my Earth machete."
Lirazel gave him a cautious nod. "That’s what worries . That spawn wasn’t destroyed by dragon breath, demonic fire, or even my blood spells. It was killed by you. With your strange cheat and mundane weapon. That changes the report."
He tilted his head. "You think they’ll back off?"
"Maybe," she said. "Or maybe they’ll send sothing stronger next ti. But regardless, my sister’s subordinates—our potential ally or judge—is coming. She needs proof that we’re prepared."
Nolan leaned against the classroom wall and sighed deeply. "Not interested."
Lirazel blinked. "What?"
"I’m not into baby-making wars," he said with a half-yawn. "If they co here with a battalion and we’re not ready, I’ll just flee. Simple. I disappear into the mountains or start over in another city under a fake na."
"You... you can’t!" Lirazel panicked. "I don’t want to betray my kind!"
Nolan, unbothered, scratched his nose. "Well, I don’t want to be forced into a galactic dragon custody battle at the cost of my lifespan. I would do it if it were free and I didn’t have to exchange sothing like my life... So here we are."
She grabbed his sleeve. "Nolan!"
He just gave her a look—a lazy, almost amused expression that sohow made it worse. "You worry too much. If they show up, I’ll figure sothing out. Maybe show them my new you-know feature. Play them a docuntary on war tactics or sothing."
"What?!" Lirazel paused with her face all read. "You... you are infuriating!"
"Yup," he agreed casually.
With that, he slipped out of the classroom, leaving Lirazel half-sputtering in disbelief.
The corridor outside was quiet again.
Most of the staff and remaining students were either gone or packing.
It felt like walking through the end of a festival—the energy was gone, the decorations still half-hanging, the scent of celebration fading.
Nolan didn’t mind. He stretched his arms overhead and bounced on his feet, testing his joints.
"Alright," he muttered, stepping into the daylight. "Ti to test this thing."
He pulled up the system screen, ntally activating the new feature. A soft hum of magic vibrated in his fingertips as a small, transparent browser window appeared in front of his eyes, floating in the air like augnted reality.
[Wireless Internet Enabled]
Current Mana Crystal Balance: 1024
Available Browsing Ti: 17 minutes, 7 seconds
Nolan grinned.
He would search for an image of a strong demon dragon army with zero soldiers and zero money and send it to Lirazel’s sister.
Maybe that would work, and they would think they are not needed, so they would go back to where they belong and not co here.
The loading icon spun, the faint hiss of mana being drained tingling at the edges of his awareness. Every second was precious. Every crystal mattered.
And still, he felt it—power. Not the raw kind that ca from leveling up or spell circles, but the clever kind. The dangerous kind.
The cheat kind.
He stepped forward, his silhouette frad by the sun, walking with an easy confidence toward the villa that now sat above a secret dragon den and a future full of terrifying, absurd possibilities.
"Let’s see what seventeen minutes of genius can buy," he said, smirking to himself.
And then, Nolan walked ahead—shoulders relaxed, head held high, the wireless internet humming softly behind his gaze.
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