Chapter 158: Their Holiday Is Going Just As Expected…

With a golden slime perched comfortably atop his head and his body lazily reclining on a sunbathing chair, Skyler was currently experiencing what he considered the perfect holiday.

He folded his hands behind his head and stared at the artificial sky created inside the dungeon.

The illusionary clouds drifted slowly overhead.

’...Those fake clouds look like gold coins.’

The thought alone made him smile.

’If only they were real...’

He imagined them raining down from the sky before mentally calculating how much interest he could earn if he lend them wisely.

Unfortunately, reality was cruel.

The clouds remained clouds.

Nearby, the others were equally occupied with their own activities.

Sénior had somehow managed to dig out a large section of earth.

Rather than playing with it like an ordinary child.

He was constructing enormous earthen totems.

Each carving was surprisingly detailed, filled with ancient Barbarian patterns and symbols.

After finishing the last line, he placed both hands upon the sculpture.

"Oh ancestral spirits! Please reside within this sacred earth and pass your guidance to future generations."

For a brief instant, to nobody’s horror, as nobody was watching.

Something impossible occurred.

The totem’s stone eyes softly glowed, only for a heartbeat.

Then they returned to being ordinary earth.

No one noticed this except Sénior.

"Hmm... We still haven’t conquered this land so maybe our connection with the ancestors remains weak here."

He scratched his chin thoughtfully, completely ignoring the fact that he had just attempted an ancestral summoning ritual inside the Imperial Zenith School’s dungeon.

To a Barbarian, every foreign land was simply another place waiting to be understood or conquered.

Not far away, Ryan was suffering through an entirely different kind of training.

He sprinted between the trees with astonishing concentration.

Thud!

His forehead collided directly with a tree trunk.

"...Ow!"

Ryan rubbed his forehead in pain.

"Your guidance isn’t helping at all!"

Inside his consciousness, a translucent figure sighed.

It was the vestige of a Heroic Thief Spirit.

Since Ryan currently lacked the energy necessary to fully manifest such a Heroic Spirit, only a fragment resided within his mind to guide him.

Watching from nearby, was the old Sword Spirit.

The Heroic Thief clicked his tongue.

’That’s not how it’s done. When stealing something, your eyes should observe everything around you, but your heart must focus solely on what you wish to steal.

’Your movements must become as natural as breathing, swift and silent like an unseen wind and before your target even realizes something is missing, it should already be in your pocket.’

Ryan’s face darkened.

"But I’m not a thief!"

The Heroic Spirit laughed.

’That’s true, you’re not, but I can certainly make yo–’

Before he could finish, an old man deliberately cleared his throat.

’Ahem.’

The atmosphere inside Ryan’s mental world instantly became heavy.

The Sword Spirit slowly looked toward the Heroic Thief.

His expression was frighteningly calm.

’What are you teaching my descendant?’

The Heroic Thief immediately straightened his back.

’O-Of course nothing improper, Sir! I’m merely improving his hand-eye coordination and dexterity!"

The Sword Spirit narrowed his eyes.

’Why?’

’...Well,’ The Heroic Thief awkwardly laughed.

’Ryan is still young, these flexible hands and quick reflexes will surely prove useful when dealing with wi–’

The Sword Spirit’s expression darkened as darkness suddenly descended upon the mental world.

The Heroic Thief slowly swallowed.

"...Ah! I-I may have phrased that poorly."

Moments later, a completely one-sided beating began.

Unfortunately for the thief, running away inside someone else’s consciousness wasn’t an option.

Outside.

Ryan remained blissfully unaware of the chaos occurring inside his own mind.

His entire concentration rested upon a small bird several meters away.

The bird had just discovered an earthworm and happily prepared to eat it.

Ryan slowly closed his eyes as he assumed an incredibly strange stance.

One hand stretched toward the bird. The other rested behind his back.

His expression became incomparably serious.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

A faint light gathered around his fingertips.

A second later, the bird blinked in confusion.

The earthworm had disappeared.

The bird nervously looked around.

This place was clearly cursed.

Without another thought, it flapped its wings and escaped to another tree.

Meanwhile, the bewildered earthworm found itself safely resting inside Ryan’s hand.

"...I did it!"

Ryan raised both arms triumphantly.

"YAAAHHH! I finally stole something!"

The earthworm, having narrowly escaped death, as it was send on another ride as Ryan threw it nearby.

Whether it was grateful or simply traumatized...

No one knew.

Meanwhile, Paul was faring the worst among them.

While everyone else was relaxing, training, or simply wasting time, Paul had locked himself inside the tent with the [Viewing Device] placed before him.

The episode of Justice Kid had already ended.

Yet, he had replayed several scenes more than five times.

With both hands folded beneath his chin and a serious expression on his face, Paul carefully analyzed every detail.

Every line of dialogue.

Every background object.

Every suspicious camera angle.

To an outsider, it looked less like a child watching a show and more like a detective investigating a major criminal case.

"...There has definitely been foreshadowing."

He adjusted his glasses.

Since the beginning of this month, subtle hints had continuously appeared throughout the story.

They all pointed toward one individual.

Malachar the Faceless.

The mysterious right-hand man of Shadow, the leader of Pottham City’s largest criminal organization.

Although Malachar himself had yet to appear on screen.

His influence was everywhere.

Every newly introduced villain wore a black mask bearing the same strange symbol.

Their movements were unnaturally synchronized, even their personalities had begun changing.

It was almost as though unseen shadows were controlling them from behind the scenes.

Paul replayed one particular scene again.

"...Interesting."

He paused the image.

The villain’s shadow had moved half a second later than the villain himself.

It was so subtle that most viewers would never notice it.

But Paul noticed as his eyes narrowed.

’Is there some sort of internal conflict happening inside Pottham’s criminal organization?’

Pottham, the sprawling metropolis where Justice Kid carried out his battles against evil.

Until now, Shadow had always appeared to possess absolute control over his subordinates.

Yet recently, small cracks had begun appearing within that perfect organization.

Someone, was moving in the darkness.

Paul slowly leaned back.

His thoughts rapidly connected one clue after another.

His eyes shone with confidence.

"...Something is definitely going to happen next episode."

The clues had already been laid.

The foreshadowing was subtle, but not invisible enough to escape him.

Someone was about to appear.

And there was only one person it could be.

Paul slowly adjusted his glasses as a brilliant flash reflected across them.

A satisfied smile spread across his face.

"Hehehe, I truly am a genius."

Paul proudly admired his own reasoning.

Their holiday is going just as expected...