Chapter 79: Friends, Lies and Dungeon Plans.

"She is beautiful," Amyra said, watching Lily leave the banquet hall. "But does she even know about your feelings?"

"Well, I don’t want to overwhelm her," I replied with a bitter smile. "After all... she has only known me for three days."

"That’s true, I guess. But how did you even fall for someone in such a short time?" Amyra asked, a mischievous smile creeping onto her face. "With your personality, I always thought it would take a miracle for you to fall in love. Isn’t this a little too soon?"

I looked toward the doorway Lily had disappeared through.

Memories of my last life flashed through my mind, the days Lily cried with me, the days she laughed with me and the length she went just to see me smile as my smile softened ever so slightly before I turned back to Amyra.

"Only she can handle me."

"Well, if you say so."

She shrugged, barely hiding the warm smile behind those mischievous expressions.

"So, did you make any new friends? How did you become so strong suddenly? And how are your classes going? Tell me you haven’t caused any trouble already. Prince Aurelion refused to tell me anything else about you except that you were his friend."

She fired one question after another while I answered each of them as calmly as I could. In the end, it was only when her friends came to fetch her that she finally left.

As I sat there alone, my thoughts drifted back to Lily’s abrupt departure.

Did she hear what I said?

I wondered.

With Rwar’s abilities, listening in on conversations wasn’t exactly difficult. Still, what surprised me wasn’t that, it was why she had reacted like that.

Was her soul slowly beginning to remember the life we once shared?

Or, did she simply not know how to react?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell.

As my chaotic thoughts wandered, the banquet carried on.

I kept using [[Eye of Usurper]] on one student after another but unfortunately, good Talents were rare, and truly useful ones were even rarer.

In the end, I found only three that seemed remotely useful but none of them were worth the trouble.

The senior students continued staring at me angrily while I peacefully sipped my wine alone at the table.

A few students came over to strike up a conversation but after exchanging a few polite words, I sent them on their way.

Even Liana stopped by to ask if I needed anything, still faithfully playing the role of my maid but I simply told her to enjoy herself instead.

Seles occasionally glanced my way but she was far too busy talking with the others and building the network she always obsessed over.

Meanwhile, Asher had already gathered a small crowd around himself as he bragged about something. It seemed that after merging with the other half of his soul, the passion he had once held for storytelling had returned once again.

Hope and Aurelion were surrounded by students from every year, along with seniors eager to recruit them into their respective factions.

Everything felt... far too peaceful.

But I wondered how long that peace would last.

These students were supposed to become the future of the First Ring of the Sea but nearly half of them were fated to die in the wars that were to come.

My thoughts were interrupted by a hand resting on my shoulder. I looked up to find Aurelion, who had apparently finally escaped the crowd gathered around him.

"You seem lost." He said as he pulled out the chair opposite me and took a seat.

"And you seem exhausted," I shot back.

"Haha. Talking to so many people at once is indeed tiring, but at the same time, I am grateful they are paying so much attention to me."

He chuckled.

"Aren’t you going to ask me why I had so much bloodlust toward your older brother? Or how did I even possess that much bloodlust?"

I decided to cut straight to the point.

In this entire banquet hall, if there was anyone who would have sensed my bloodlust the most clearly, it would have been either Hope or Aurelion.

Hope, being a spirit, was naturally more sensitive to such killing intent. As for Aurelion, being Aurelion was reason enough. Well, there was Rwar too, I guess.

"Aren’t friends supposed to trust each other? We haven’t been friends for long but I can tell, you know..." He smiled at me. "...you are by no means a bad person."

"I am sure you had your reasons for acting that way."

He scratched his cheek lightly.

"What if it turns out I am just pretending?"

I asked.

"Well, then I would definitely be a fool." He chuckled. "Which I most certainly am not."

...Like hell you aren’t.

I didn’t say it out loud.

But seriously, there was one thing I couldn’t understand.

Why was this guy so trusting?

Even in my previous life, he had been like this for no apparent reason. He was cautious around most people but he trusted me almost from the very beginning.

Every time I asked why, he always gave me the same answer.

"It’s because you don’t realize how similar we are."

Was it because he was the Chosen One?

Was it some sick joke by Fate to make the Demon King and the Fated Protagonist become friends, only to tear them apart?

Or...

Was it because he had actually seen similarities between us that I never could?

It was yet another mystery I couldn’t understand but then again, I had plenty of time to figure it out in this life.

"Also..." Aurelion’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts once again. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Could we change the conditions?"

"What conditions?" I frowned, genuinely confused.

"You know... how I promised to let you take my manhood if I ever betrayed you?" He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "After seeing what you did during your duel... I was just curious if we could maybe change the conditions?"

I chuckled.

"Too late for that, buddy." My grin widened. "I take promises very very seriously, so just make sure you never betray me."

The look on his face was priceless as I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer.

Here I was, worrying about all sorts of important things and this dumb bastard was worried about his balls.

The contrast was just too ridiculous.

***

After chatting with him a little longer, I decided it was time to head back.

It was already late and I had classes tomorrow. I also wanted to check out the elective courses I would be choosing. Then there was Ruan’s extra class, which demanded twice the effort.

After saying goodbye, I quietly left the banquet hall.

The cool night breeze greeted me as I stepped outside, making my way back toward the dormitory.

There were still countless thoughts weighing on my mind. Countless problems waiting for me and countless messes I was about to create.

But for now...

...my entire focus was on Seles.

Originally, I had planned to carry out my plan during the training mission Ruan would assign next week but Maximus had just handed me an even better opportunity.

The Dungeon Exploration.

I was certain he was planning something there but at the same time, it was the perfect chance to carry out my own plans as well.

The smile on my face widened.

Things are going to get a lot more interesting, aren’t they?

[Arc Three: Academy’s Initiation Completed]

***

Author Note:

Hey, guys! If you’re enjoying the story, don’t leave me guessing. 😭 Drop a comment, leave a review or toss a power stones if you feel like it! I genuinely love hearing your thoughts and your support always gives me extra motivation to write the next Chapter with even more fire. 🔥

Hell, who knows... if you guys keep setting me on fire like this, I might even end up writing three Chapters a day. 😂