"What... happened?"

Leon just barely managed to get the words out as he looked at Julien. This was one of the few times he had ever seen Julien this rattled. It left him at a complete loss. Especially when Julien was usually the one who was always calm.

"...You happened."

Julien answered, his tone still cold.

"What...?"

"All you have to do is listen to me. From the start, I was against you participating in the Ranking Battles. They simply attract too much attention, and the benefits aren’t worth it. You didn’t listen to me and still did it. I allowed. But I’m now telling you to stop again. You will fail. You will die."

Leon stared at Julien with a blank look.

From the way he was speaking, it was almost as if he were certain of his own death.

Of his own failure.

And that...

That really didn’t sit well with him.

"How are you so certain of it?"

"Ah, shit."

Julien covered his face, cursing under his breath as he looked at Leon through the narrow gap in his fingers.

"You’re being really stubborn, aren’t you? Does the idea of you not being able to win annoy you that much?"

Leon swallowed, but he said nothing.

He didn’t have anything to say, because it was true.

The very idea of failing was irking him. No, not quite. It was the way he spoke with such certainty that irked him.

’Why is he so confident that I’ll lose? I know that he’s strong, but I’m also strong. I know that I’m limited, but if I master the Rune, I should be able to win. I am close. How does he not understand that? I get that he saw a vision, but not all visions are accurate. He’s explained it to me. They can be changed. I’m sure that—’

"Wake up!!"

Julien’s scream tore through the room, startling Leon as his head snapped back up.

By now, Julien’s face was even closer, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He was growing even more restless.

"Stop thinking about useless things. You’re going to die. Do you understand me?"

"....."

"You’re my knight. Know your fucking place. When I tell you to do something, you do it. I don’t want to see a meaningless death."

Leon clenched his teeth, but soon lowered his head.

That was also the moment the door abruptly opened.

Clank—

"What the hell is going on?!"

"What’s happening? What’s wrong with you, Leon..."

The figures that had just barged in all stopped the moment they caught sight of Julien.

That was also the moment that Julien let go of Leon’s clothes and patted his clothes.

"Good. All of you are here."

Calm returned to his voice as he looked at them.

"I need you all to make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid like participate in the Ranking Battles. He will die if he continues. This is something that can’t be changed. Somehow, my words can’t get to his head. I hope that you guys can get your words through that thick skull of his."

Julien didn’t let the others say anything before his figure crumbled on the spot, disappearing from view as silence took over the entire room.

It persisted for several seconds until Kiera opened her lips.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

Her voice was directed at Leon.

"What do you mean that you’ll die?"

Leon clenched his fists, his jaw clenched tighter than ever.

"It’s..."

He paused, his gaze drifting towards the window of the room.

"...He’s not in the right state of mind."

***

’Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.’

The more I thought about Leon’s stubbornness, the angrier I became. How hard was it for him to understand that the path he was taking would only lead to his death? I understood that he wanted to prove himself.

I also understood that not all visions came true.

But so what...?

Why take the risk?

There was hardly any merit to winning at all. If he wanted to prove himself, there were many other ways. He was just being stubborn, and the very thought was pissing me off.

’Stupid! Stupid...!’

"Ah, shit."

Pausing before one of the buildings on the second level, I leaned my back against the side of the building and covered my face. Feeling just how rough my breath was, I knew that my mind was not in the right state.

The vision and Toren’s words had left me completely unsettled.

They were fucking with my mind, and despite my best attempt at trying to curb my emotions down, I couldn’t.

Something about what Toren said and showed me felt like they hit close to him.

Honestly, for an emotive mage, this was pretty pathetic.

But then again...

There was a good chance that Toren had used emotive magic on me. Perhaps this was why I was so unsettled.

’Ah, I don’t know. Whether it is or not, I’m not going to let the future unfold as it did in the vision. I’m different.’

Taking a deep breath, I looked to my right and left before dashing towards the pillar. My movements were quick, and with my newfound abilities, I was able to move past the gates with no issues and enter.

Having acted as bodyguard for Tharvek for the past several days, I had managed to pick up his mana pattern. Using [Mana Sense] and looking in all directions, I knew exactly where he was.

’He’s in the arena.’

I didn’t know what he was doing there, but this was perfect.

Since he was there, this meant that there was no one in his estate. Since I knew where it was, I didn’t hesitate to move towards it. Moving back to the third level, I moved in silence while eventually stopping before a massive estate with large gates that surrounded it from all sides.

I could feel the presence of several people inside, but I was able to sneak past the gates and them with no issues.

Having already been here, I knew the layout quite well.

Well, the outer layout. I wasn’t all too familiar with everything about the estate since I was limited to a certain area.

Entering through the main door, I was greeted by a massive hall, a long flight of stairs stretching upward toward the higher levels.

Grand chandeliers hung above, their crystals dim in the low light, while a soft carpet ran across the polished marble floor, muffling any sound. Everything about the place was nothing short of the epitome of luxury and wealth, yet in Tharvek’s absence, it felt hollow.

The entire place was eerily quiet as shadows gathered and darkness slowly took over the space.

’I’m sure that any item here can probably feed the people in the first levels for months.’

Without thinking too much, I moved up the stairs, my eyes drifting in every direction as I kept [Mana Sense] active alongside Emotive Magic, quietly scanning for any potential person lurking within the place.

I sensed nothing, but one couldn’t be too careful.

’There might also be a chance that I won’t be able to detect them, so I should remain cautious.’

With [Lament of Lies], I hid myself completely.

Moving to the second floor, the corridor that greeted me felt endless. I could see no end to it as I continued to walk ahead. This was as far as my memories brought me, not once having gone deeper than this.

Step. Step—!

With the absence of a carpet, my steps bounced off every wall as I continued ahead.

I tried to pay no mind to the sound, certain that [Lament of Lies] would hide it, but it still felt loud in my ears as I scanned every single room, trying to determine which one was Tharvek’s office.

Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to find.

With the door standing taller and more imposing than the others, I found it rather quickly, and without a second thought, an orb appeared in my mind as I phased right through the door and entered the office.

’So this is the office.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The place was rather well kept.

A large wooden desk sat at the far end of the room, its surface worn smooth with use, with a towering bookshelf standing right behind it, packed tightly with rows of books. Papers lay scattered across the desk in uneven piles, some half-stacked and others carelessly spread out.

On the opposite side of the desk, several seats were arranged neatly, positioned to face each other.

I only observed the room for a few seconds before getting to work.

’Surely he might have something that might be related to finding Noel. Since he acquires the blood from someone, he should keep something here.’

I looked through the drawers first. Some were locked, but it was easy for me to open them as I carefully went through each one of them. However, the only thing that I found were just random profiles of other people who were in the Ranking Battles.

Pausing at a certain profile, I gave it a quick skim.

[Gorian]

[Status: Deceased.]

[Description: Nobody worth taking note of.]

There wasn’t much in the description. Turning back, I saw a few details about the way he fought, but there was nothing else. I skimmed through other documents, eventually pausing at a certain document.

[Rhizen]

[Status: Alive]

[Description: Decent. Worth taking note of. Entered the city several months ago with several people. Of which, one of them now works for me as a bodyguard.]

My expression suddenly changed.

Wait...

There was more.

[I’m more interested in his guard. He seems extremely cautious and looks like he wants something from me. I’ll play along for now. If my guess is correct, he’ll eventually come into my estate and find this file.]

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

Without even realizing it, my own heart started to beat loudly.

[Just know that from the moment you pick up this file, I’ll already be aware. You should look behind you.]

"....."

The text ended there.

However, it felt as though my entire body had been submerged in the deepest depths of the ocean as I remained standing where I was.

Gradually, however, I turned my head.

And that was when I saw it.

"Well."

Tharvek.

"...I’m sure that you shouldn’t be here, right?"