The academy was unusually quiet at night. Most students were either asleep or still completing the assignments Professor Cross had dumped onto the class earlier today.

Meanwhile I stood in front of professor Cross’s office while staring at the wooden door.

’Do I really have to go through with this.’ Even I thought my idea was insane.

Trying to threaten one of the strongest people in the academy while being a first year student wasn’t really a smart move.

But unfortunately, I needed him. The barriers surrounding the Aether Academy weren’t simple. Every student entering and leaving the campus was recorded by the system. And students can’t leave the academy during the first month. So trying to sneak out would immediately alert the authorities.

Which meant if I wanted to reach the hidden dungeon, I needed someone on the inside who can help me get out of the academy without any hindrance. And the only person that I could think of was Professor Cross.

Knock knock.

"...Enter."

The moment I stepped inside, Professor Cross looked up from his desk. His eyes narrowed slightly "Ren Valecrest, meeting hours are already over. Come back tomorrow."

"Professor, I need your help with something." Straight to the point. There is no point in wasting our time.

Professor Cross leaned back slightly in his chair before crossing his arms. "...If you’re here to complain about training, save both of us the time."

"I’m not here for that." I replied.

"Then, what are you here for? Get on with it. Don’t waste my time." Then his eyes shifted towards the travel bag on my shoulder.

"...You’re planning to leave the academy. I can’t help you with that, it’s against the rules. Go back to your dorm."

’He went straight to the point. Even in the novel he was always this serious.’.

"I need temporary access through the outer barrier," I replied calmly.

"Didn’t you hear me just now? I said go back to your dorm you can’t go out." Professor Cross refused almost instantly. "Aether Academy doesn’t allow first-year students to wander outside the city whenever they feel like it for the first month."

"I won’t be out for long. At most four days."

"Doesn’t matter. Rules are rules, and I can’t make an exception for you and violate them." Professor Cross shook his head. The conversation was already over for him.

I already knew he would not help me. But I had a different plan in mind. I gathered my thoughts before speaking. "...You still visit the eastern memorial hall every month?"

Professor Cross’s expression didn’t change. But I can tell that it got his attention. "What do you mean, Ren?"

’Gotcha.’ He didn’t deny it which meant there was room for negotiations. I slipped my hands into my pockets and slightly leaned on the wall.

"Every year," I continued, "on the same date, you visit the Eastern Memorial Hall in honour of your daughter carrying her favourite flower."

Professor Cross stared at me. The atmosphere in the office visibly shifted. The temperature in the room dropped.

"How do you know that... Not even the dean knows that. Who sent you here?" He began releasing his mana.

’Damn, even after surrounding my entire body with qi, I can barely breathe.’ Professor Cross was really strong.

"No one sent me here. But I have information you want Professor." Because you become one of the biggest villains in the novel three years from now after losing the last bit of sanity you had left. But I will save you.

"You think that would help you keep your life? No amount of information can save you now Valecrest. I can’t let you ruin my plan."

"Your daughter is still alive." There, I said it. This was what I was betting my life on.

Silence.

The entire room became eerily quiet. The entire room froze completely. The pressure he was releasing on me suddenly increased by a lot.

"Cough.. cough." I coughed up blood and fell on my knees. ’Fuck, I can’t lose consciousness here.’

"...What," he asked dangerously, "did you just say?"

I gathered all my strength and tried to get up. I looked straight into his eyes. "I said, Your daughter...is still alive."

BOOM.

The mana erupting from his body crushed me completely. But this time I refused to back down.

Then— Professor Cross suddenly disappeared and the next second I was slammed against the wall. Professor Cross’s hand was tightly gripping my neck.

"How do you know that? Tell me honestly Valecrest, Who are you..." His voice sounded desperate now. I can understand his pain. If someone you thought was dead and someone comes and tells you that they are alive, it gives the other person some hope.

I looked at Professor’s Cross face again. This time I could see the exhaustion hidden behind his eyes. I can see the hatred he carries. This was a man who had already broken years ago and was simply existing.

"Who I am isn’t important right now. Your daughter is more of a priority right now. She doesn’t have much time left, we need to save her soon." I said quietly. Because that was the truth. I needed to save her soon or she would die.

Professor Cross stared at me silently for several seconds before finally releasing my neck. In the original novel, Adrian Cross never fully believed the academy’s explanation surrounding his daughter’s unnatural death. That doubt slowly consumed him over the years until it took his life. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"...How do you know about my daughter?" he asked.

"You don’t need to know that."

"Then why should I believe you?"

"You can choose whether you want to believe me or not."

Professor Cross walked back toward his desk slowly before resting both hands against it. "...Everyone involved in that incident involving my daughter is either dead," he said. "Or protected by people I can’t touch."

It was natural, the family responsible for it was too powerful. One of the highest-ranking noble houses in the empire. Respected by everyone in the empire but they were rotten to the core. The exact kind of people this world loved protecting.

"...And yet you still haven’t given up investigating everyone related to it." I said. "Even after all these years."

"You know far too much." Professor Cross narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Trust me, I know more."

Professor Cross asked "...What do you want from me in exchange for the information?"

"Like I said earlier, get me out of the academy for four days." I replied calmly. "No records, and no questions."

His eyes narrowed immediately. "Why do you want to go out that desperately?"

"I need something but that is only available outside the academy."

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"You aren’t getting more information out of me."

"A student walks into my office in the middle of the night," he muttered while rubbing his forehead, "reveals information that should be impossible for him to know...and blackmails his Professor into helping him commit academy violations."

I frowned, "It’s called negotiating professor."

"I know." Professor Cross replied.

He opened one of the nearby drawers before pulling out a silver authorization seal. "Tell me, what do you know about my daughter?"

I quietly gathered my thoughts before replying. "The Aurelion family has her. They are planning something with her."

"How can I believe you? What if it’s a trap set by you?"

"There is no reason for me to be your enemy. It’s just a relationship based on mutual benefit. I help you and you help me." I stated.

He looked at me for a few seconds before sighing. "If what you say is true, we need to rescue her before he is sacrificed. Tell me, how do you plan to save her. You must have thought of a plan if you came to me."

"You’re smart, professor, of course I have a plan. But we need to wait for the right time. We don’t wanna put her in danger."

"For now, I will believe you. If you’re lying I would kill you. So don’t disappoint me."

"I won’t Professor."

"Here, the key that will take you out of the academy unnoticed."

"Thanks Professor, I will be taking my leave now." I said and left the room with the key.

Back in the office, Cross stared out of the window looking at the sky.

"...You really are a strange student, Ren Valecrest."