Beast Nightmare Sexx-Chapter 34: Masks and Lies

The magical theory class was a blur of archaic symbols and monotonous voices that I barely bothered to register.

I sat in the back row, where the shadows of the academy’s rustic architecture partially hid me. My fingers tapped rhythmically on the worn wooden desk as I processed what had just happened. The scent of that instructor’s perfume still seemed stuck in my nostrils—a mixture of lavender and the cold sweat of fear she felt before being dominated.

The system pulsed in the corner of my vision. The numbers didn’t lie: I was stronger now, but the cost of having my main abilities sealed weighed like an iron chain around my neck. I was a predator who had just discovered that his fangs had been filed down, leaving only claws and cunning.

When the heavy bell echoed through the corridors, signaling the end of the session, I stood up before everyone else. I wanted to avoid the stares. But in this world, a "mob" who defeats princes can’t simply disappear into the crowd.

As I crossed the stone arch of the exit, two familiar figures blocked my path: Daniel and Raymond. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

They looked different. There was no longer that relaxed camaraderie of "mobs" who share the same misery. There was an electric tension in their shoulders, a glint of something oscillating between admiration and deep suspicion.

"Shade, we finally found you!" Raymond exclaimed, his voice coming out a little louder than necessary, drawing the attention of some noble ladies passing by. They looked at us with the usual disgust, but I noticed that when their eyes fixed on me, the disgust was quickly replaced by cautious curiosity.

"We need to talk. Now," Daniel said, placing his hand on my shoulder. His grip was firm, almost as if he were testing whether I was still made of flesh and bone or had turned into some kind of war golem overnight.

They guided me to a more secluded corner of the inner courtyard, away from the main staircases where the heiresses of the great duchies paraded in their impeccable uniforms.

"Spill it, man," Raymond began, crossing his arms. "We spent the whole night trying to figure it out. That thing in the arena... Julius isn’t just a prince. He has the best training that money can buy. And you... you’re the fifth son of a barony that can barely afford to eat. How did you take him down? How did you beat those three as if they were kids playing with toy swords?"

I took a deep breath, preparing the mask I had been mentally polishing since I woke up. The Shade Fou Bartfort they knew was a mediocre guy, a survivor. If I revealed even a millimeter of the truth—about the Beast System, about the power I held over women—I would be dead before sunset. In this matriarchal kingdom, a man with real power is seen as an anomaly that needs to be eradicated or absolutely enslaved.

"You guys are overestimating those idiots," I said, letting a lopsided smile, loaded with feigned cynicism, appear. "Yes, they have the best armor. Yes, they have swords that cost more than my entire village. But they have a fatal flaw that no amount of gold can fix: absolute arrogance."

Daniel frowned.

"Arrogance doesn’t explain how you dodged those attacks, Shade. It looked like you knew where they were going to strike even before they thought about it."

"Exactly," I replied, leaning forward a little and lowering my voice to give it a tone of shared secrecy. "They thought I was trash. And when you fight someone you consider trash, you don’t use technique. You don’t use caution. You just attack with brute force, expecting the opponent to break on their own. Julius let his guard down. He wanted to humiliate me, not beat me. I simply used his own inertia against him. It was luck, Daniel. A lot of luck and the fact that they were more worried about posing for the audience than actually fighting."

Raymond snorted, clearly unsatisfied with the answer.

"Luck doesn’t knock down three high-ranking nobles in sequence. There’s something more, isn’t there? Did you find some ancient item on your father’s lands? Some kind of magical enhancement drug? You can tell us, we’re your friends. If you have a scheme, we want in too."

I looked at the two of them and felt a pang of contempt I hadn’t felt before. They were "mobs." Their ambitions were limited to finding a rich noblewoman to support them so they could live a life of submissive luxury. They didn’t understand that I didn’t want a "scheme." I wanted the entire board.

"There’s no item, Raymond. There’s no drug," I lied with icy conviction. "What there is, is that I have nothing to lose. If I had lost that fight, my life would have ended right there. Them? They would go back to their palaces. Desperation is a much better instructor than any weapons master in the capital. They underestimated the ’trash,’ and the trash fought back. That’s all you need to know, and it’s the only thing you should repeat out there if you don’t want your families coming after you for being associated with me."

My mention of noble families had an immediate effect. Daniel paled slightly. The reality of political revenge was the greatest fear of any common man in that place.

"You’re right..." Daniel murmured, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "If the Marquis finds out we’re too close to the one who humiliated his son..."

"Exactly," I cut in, wanting to end the subject. "Stick to the ’luck’ story. Say I’m just a crazy guy who had his moment of glory and will soon return to my place. It’s better for all of us."

I watched them relax a little, their greed replaced by the basic instinct of self-preservation. They still had doubts—I could see it in the way Raymond looked at my hands, as if searching for marks of some forbidden power—but they would accept the lie because the truth was too dangerous for their small minds.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Raymond said at last, trying to recover his playful tone. "You’ve always been the lucky one in our group of losers. But look, Shade, enjoy these fifteen minutes of fame. The girls are talking about you. Some are angry, of course, but others... well, you know how noble girls are. They love a ’wild animal’ to try and tame."

"I’ll keep that in mind," I replied with cutting neutrality.

As they walked away, discussing which group of girls they would try to approach at lunch, I remained there under the stone arch. The air was growing heavier. I knew that the original game’s story was falling apart. In the game, Shade Fou Bartfort was an extra who disappeared in the second Chapter. Now, I was the center of a storm I had created myself.

Luck had nothing to do with it.

And as I watched Daniel and Raymond disappear into the crowd, I knew that the next time I used my power, there would be no lie in the world capable of hiding it. I needed Marie. I needed that villainess and all the influence her name carried.

But first, I needed to deal with this system that now treated me like an animal on an electric collar.

The next few hours would be crucial. If I didn’t regain my abilities, the "lucky trash" would be swept off the map before he could even claim his throne.

I turned my back on the courtyard and headed toward the deserted training area, feeling the system vibrate again.

Time was running out.