"And that's how it happened."
"I see." Gunther sighed as he rubbed his temples while listening to the report brought back by the man he had sent out to spy on Grey and the others.
This was the sa man who had been on the rooftop, watching the entire battle unfold. He had just returned to relay every single detail of what he had witnessed back at the battlefield—how they struggled at first, how they eventually cooperated to take down the corrupted boss, and how all their energies and Ki had been utterly drained in the process.
"I had no worry since Rivock was there, but who knew that Grey is really that formidable even being only a Stage 2 warrior. That's crazy." Gunther murmured, his voice low but loud enough for the man to hear as his fingers pressed harder into his temples in deep thought.
"So have you found out what you needed to know?" the man asked, tilting his head slightly.
Gunther finally lifted his gaze, his eyes narrowing as a faint smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, so small it was almost invisible.
"Where are the kids?" he asked calmly.
"Back at the academy. I left five minutes after they did, so by now they should already be back in their dorms or probably at the infirmary getting checked up," the man replied with a casual shrug.
"Great then. Looks like this year's tournant will be very interesting." Gunther's grin widened fully as he rose from his seat, his boots clicking against the wooden floor. Without another word, he strolled out of the office, leaving the man standing there completely baffled by his sudden change of mood.
---
"Damn! I need to rest." Grey yawned loudly as he stepped into the room alongside Ray. Without wasting even a second, he staggered toward his bed and collapsed onto it like a stone sinking into water.
"Welco back, weaklings." Finral scoffed, his tone sharp as he glared at the pair entering.
"Says the guy who didn't even get picked for the mission. Who's the real weakling now?" Ray clapped back with a grin, clearly enjoying himself as he noticed the vein popping on Finral's forehead. The grinding of Finral's teeth only confird how much the insult struck.
"My whole body aches." Grey croaked out, lying flat on the bed as though he couldn't even summon the strength to move.
His hand slid beneath his pillow, searching for comfort, when he felt sothing strange—a faint shuffle of paper.
"Huh?" he muttered, eyebrows rising as he turned his head slightly. Finral and Ray were still caught up in their bickering match, voices rising and falling like two children in a playground fight.
Pulling out the object, Grey noticed it was a folded letter. His brow furrowed as he carefully opened it, reading the words inside.
"et
on the rooftop of our building by 9:30pm. Don't be late."
The ssage was short, direct, and mysterious. Grey's expression tightened as his mind imdiately began to run wild.
'Who sent this letter? Who is it? What do they want with ? Do I have an enemy here in the academy already, or is this sothing else entirely?' he thought, slipping the letter back under the pillow.
"Finral," Grey suddenly called out after hiding the note.
"What is it?" Finral barked in irritation, still glaring daggers at Ray.
"Did anybody co into this room while we were out?" Grey asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"No. Why?" Finral replied with his own raised brow, confusion etched into his face.
"Nothing." Grey straightened his bed lazily, masking his thoughts, and walked toward the door. "I'll go grab sothing to eat then," he said casually before stepping out of the room.
"Huh? What's suddenly wrong with him?" Ray asked, puzzled, his own brow lifting.
"No idea." Finral shrugged but quickly turned back to glaring at Ray with renewed hostility. "Now, how dare you call
weak when I can obviously beat the shit outta you in a fight!"
"Are we still on this? For real? Grow up, man!" Ray scoffed, rolling his eyes as he spun toward his bed, ignoring Finral's fury.
"Curse you!" Finral roared, his face reddening as pure rage bubbled out of him.
__
anwhile, after leaving the room, Grey could be seen with his hands tucked casually in his pockets as he strolled toward the canteen, his mind deep in thought.
'Who would even want to see ? Who would request a eting with
at such an odd hour and location? Sothing feels fishy. I need to be cautious of all this.
It's already 6 p.m. My Ki and mana will naturally restore in about two hours, so by the ti of the eting I'll be back in peak condition, ready to face whosoever dropped that letter. Still, for soone to even slip it into my room, they must be inside the academy already—either a student or an instructor.
Could it be Gunther?' he thought with his brows furrowed as he got closer to the canteen.
'Nah. That guy doesn't have that kind of patience. If he wanted to et , he would've just kicked the door open and dragged
out himself. Subtlety isn't really his style. So it must be soone else. But who? Tch! No use overthinking it now. I'll just wait until the eting ti to see who or what I'm up against.'
He pushed open the canteen door and walked in.
The place wasn't as lively as it had been earlier in the day. Only a handful of students were scattered around, eating quietly, and the usual noise was missing. Grey didn't care, though. He strode up to the counter, got his ager portion of food, and walked off with a frown tugging at his face.
'I really feel like I should challenge a red band soon, if only to get access to better als. Because what the hell is this? Not only is the quantity pitiful, the quality is also trash. My body needs way more fuel than this weak serving if I'm going to keep up.
Sheesh… but I can't afford to draw more attention to myself than I already have. Not yet. It'll be pointless to stir up unnecessary drama until I'm strong enough to crush anyone who cos my way.'
He sat down at an empty corner table and quietly ate, his gaze occasionally shifting. A few red bands walked in and out of the canteen, chatting among themselves, but they didn't even spare him a glance. Grey kept his head low and continued eating.
'Good. At least I don't have to deal with any of the direct descendants right after returning from that mission. I really don't have the energy for their arrogance right now.'
A few minutes later, his plate was empty. He rose, carried it back to the counter, and returned it with a sigh.
'Well then, I guess it's ti to rest up. Tonight, I'll find out who this mysterious person really is—and what they want with .'
With a small shrug, Grey shoved his hands back into his pockets and walked away, heading straight for his room.
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