"Pigrot!"

All the bandits except for their leader immediately summoned their monsters and ordered them to charge toward Oliver and Bloob.

The monsters resembled pigs, but parts of their bodies were rotten and decaying while releasing an unbearable foul smell.

<Pigrot>

Around ten of them charged aggressively toward the two. However, neither Oliver nor Bloob showed any panic.

Immediately, Bloob dashed forward to meet the incoming monsters head-on. The moment he reached the center of the Pigrot group, Bloob activated Abyssal Veil. He blew out thick black smoke from his mouth, instantly covering the entire monster group.

Groorrr!!

All the Pigrots immediately began struggling violently before collapsing onto the ground while convulsing painfully.

The poisonous smoke was made from an extremely venomous black toxin. Just a single breath of it was enough to kill a large-sized monster like the Pigrots.

All the bandits were completely shocked by the sudden situation. However, before any of them could react further, Bloob had already manipulated silk threads and spread them throughout the entire area.

In a single pull, all the bandits were dragged together as the threads wrapped tightly around their bodies and completely immobilized them. On the other side, Khe stared at Bloob in utter shock.

In just a few moves, Bloob had defeated all the Pigrots and restrained his entire group effortlessly.

Fear immediately began filling Khe’s face. At that moment, he truly regretted ever trying to attack Oliver and Bloob.

"Please, don’t kill us! We... we are really sorry!" Khe begged fearfully toward Oliver, who still held the dagger against his neck.

Khe believed that if Bloob was already this terrifying, then Oliver standing before him must naturally be just as dangerous.

Oliver stared quietly at Khe’s face for a moment before suddenly striking his neck, causing Khe to lose consciousness instantly.

"We cannot let them live! Let me kill all of them!" Bloob suddenly shouted while grinning excitedly with Oliver’s face.

"N-No! Please don’t! We never kill anyone when we rob them! Our leader, Khe, always tells us not to take other people’s lives." one of the bandits hurriedly explained in panic.

"Ohh... that’s actually quite interesting. I thought all bandits were merciless people who didn’t value life. And judging from the way you attacked us earlier, it certainly didn’t seem like you cared much about our safety either." Oliver replied.

"Errr... it’s because you two looked strong."

"Looked strong?! We are strong!" Bloob shouted while trying to approach the bandits, causing all of them to panic in fear.

"Bloob. No. Sigh... fine, whatever. I will let all of you go this time. But after this, stop doing this kind of thing. And if I ever find out later that you’re still doing this job again, I cannot guarantee your lives at that point." Oliver warned seriously.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" the bandits repeatedly thanked him desperately.

Oliver then ordered Bloob to release them. Although Bloob looked dissatisfied, he still obeyed Oliver’s command. Soon, the bandits hurriedly carried the unconscious Khe away.

Oliver simply watched them leave before they quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night.

After that, he walked back toward Flora together with Bloob, who had already reverted to his original slime form and was now resting on top of Oliver’s head.

"Oliver! Why did you let them go, bloob?! They are bad people, bloob!" Bloob asked in confusion.

"I don’t know, Bloob. Maybe I was foolish for letting them go. But, I hope they can change their way of living from now on." Oliver replied.

Little did Oliver know, that single decision would eventually create a massive butterfly effect in the future.

Oliver then continued his journey toward the Duchy of Benedicta, the central duchy of the kingdom and also the place where the Royal Academy was located.

Stewart had slept like a log the previous night and did not notice anything that had happened.

After another two days of traveling, they finally arrived at the city of Boviss, also known as City of Knowledge. Oliver stepped down from the carriage and immediately looked toward the city below.

Right now, they were standing atop a nearby hill overlooking the entire city.

"It’s really beautiful! It honestly looks like a painting!" Oliver exclaimed while staring at the breathtaking scenery.

The city was incredibly massive, almost three to four times larger than Hazelbrow City. Its entire layout was beautifully designed, with enormous walls surrounding and protecting all of its borders.

At the northern side of Boviss was an enormous lake so vast that Oliver could not even see the opposite end of it.

Meanwhile, on both the western and eastern sides stretched massive open fields, with many smaller towns scattered across the landscape.

A gigantic gate could be seen at the southern entrance of the city, and long lines of carriages were already queueing there. It seemed many others, just like him, had also arrived for the academy selection.

And the most striking feature of all was the massive building complex located at the very center of the city. It was none other than the Royal Academy of Cyden.

"Let’s go. I can’t wait to see the city," Oliver said excitedly.

Soon after, they joined the long queue waiting to enter Boviss. After more than an hour of waiting, they finally reached the South Gate.

Dozens of fully armored knights were stationed there, controlling the flow of incoming traffic while carefully inspecting the contents of every carriage.

Unlike the ordinary merchant carriages carrying market goods, which received extremely detailed examinations, the carriage bearing the symbol of the academy only underwent a brief inspection before being allowed to pass through the gate.

After the carriage entered the city, Oliver immediately pulled down the window and looked at the completely new scenery before him, a wide smile spreading across his face.

He truly could not wait to begin this new Chapter of his life.

---

Inside one of the Guildmaster rooms within the Royal Academy of Cyden, a woman was quietly sitting on a chair.

Her black hair reflected the tiny rays of sunlight escaping through the window, while her sharp golden eyes glowed faintly within the dim room as she examined the list of candidates placed on her table.

And right now, her gaze was completely locked onto a single name written on the paper.

Oliver Overheart.