The moment I entered the observation room, my entire body froze.

Standing in the center of the room was a man I knew far too well.

White hair.

A black blindfold covered in glowing runic symbols.

Tall.

Relaxed.

Dangerous.

The atmosphere around him felt strange.

Not oppressive.

Not murderous.

Yet everyone in the room instinctively maintained their distance.

Even Stella.

Even Sebas.

Neither dared approach him casually.

The man smiled.

"Well, well, well."

His voice echoed softly throughout the room.

"What do we have here?"

My mouth went dry.

Xavier.

The strongest hunter alive.

The strongest existence currently walking this realm.

The only reason humanity had not already been overrun by demons.

The only confirmed SSR-Rank in existence.

Countless people believed Xavier’s strength came from talent alone.

They were wrong.

His true power came from his eyes.

The legendary Eyes of God.

Eyes that constantly absorbed mana from the surrounding world.

Mana from the atmosphere.

Mana from the earth.

Mana from living creatures.

Mana from literally everything around him.

As long as Xavier existed, he possessed an endless supply of mana.

The only reason he wore those rune-covered blindfolds was because his own body couldn’t withstand the ridiculous amount of mana his eyes generated.

The seals constantly suppressed the influx.

Without them, entire cities would feel the pressure of his presence.

The man was a walking natural disaster.

And now he was staring directly at me.

"What’s wrong?" Xavier asked with a grin.

"You know me?"

I nodded immediately.

His smile widened.

"That saves time."

I remained silent.

Every instinct I possessed was telling me to be careful.

Very careful.

Unlike most characters in the game, Xavier rarely appeared.

Most players never even met him.

Yet every time he did appear, something important happened.

His gaze remained fixed on me.

Or at least it looked that way.

Then he suddenly walked forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three.

Before stopping directly in front of me.

"You know," he said casually.

"I recently heard an interesting rumor."

I felt a bad feeling immediately.

"A first-year student."

He paused.

"One capable of reproducing a sword technique after seeing it only once."

My heart skipped a beat.

The Celestial Star Blade Style.

The technique Zion had used against the Mid-Tier Demon.

The technique I had copied using Perfect Copy.

The technique everyone witnessed.

Fortunately—

Nobody knew about the Celestial Moon Style.

Nobody knew about Tsukuyomi.

Nobody knew about the hidden inheritance beneath the Velvet Gang’s underground base.

That secret remained mine alone.

"I became curious."

Xavier grinned.

"So I came to see whether the rumor was true."

My mind immediately began racing.

How much does he know?

What exactly did he see?

Can his eyes identify Perfect Copy?

I wasn’t sure.

In the original game, the full abilities of the Eyes of God were never explained.

Only fragments were revealed.

Mana perception.

Technique analysis.

Near-perfect combat awareness.

Mana manipulation.

An absurd learning speed.

Some players even theorized that Xavier could glimpse possible futures through mana fluctuations.

Whether that was true or not remained unknown.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem interested in exposing any of my secrets.

Instead, he simply smiled.

"You have talent."

I nearly laughed.

That sentence coming from Xavier was absurd.

This was the same man who viewed S-Rank hunters as promising rookies.

His standards were terrifying.

Then he spoke again.

"Would you like to become my disciple?"

Silence.

The entire room froze.

"What?"

Stella’s voice came out before mine.

Even Sebas looked stunned.

I simply stared.

Did I hear that correctly?

Xavier wanted me as a disciple?

Out of everyone?

Why?

The strongest hunter alive had never cared about status.

Never cared about noble bloodlines. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Never cared about influence.

He only cared about talent.

Which somehow made this situation worse.

Because becoming Xavier’s disciple wasn’t a reward.

It was a death sentence disguised as an opportunity.

I knew.

Because I had experienced it before.

Back when I played as Leon.

Three times.

Three separate deaths.

That was how many times I died during Xavier’s training route.

His methods were insane.

One day he would throw you into a monster nest.

The next day he would force you to fight while enduring ten times Earth’s gravity.

Then he would casually tell you to survive for a week in an active war zone.

Failure usually resulted in death.

Success resulted in becoming a monster.

There was no middle ground.

"Relax."

Xavier laughed.

"You look terrified."

Because I am terrified.

Unfortunately, saying that aloud would be a terrible idea.

His grin widened.

Then, unexpectedly, his expression became slightly more serious.

"The talent to copy a technique is impressive."

He folded his arms.

"But that’s not what caught my attention."

My heartbeat accelerated.

"What did?" I asked carefully.

Xavier pointed directly at me.

"Your growth."

The room fell silent again.

"You entered the academy weak."

His smile returned.

"Yet somehow you’re growing at a speed that doesn’t make sense."

My expression remained calm.

Internally, alarms were ringing.

Fortunately, Infinite Adaptation wasn’t something visible.

Otherwise this conversation would be far more dangerous.

"I like unusual people."

Xavier shrugged.

"They make life interesting."

Then he turned around.

Just like that.

No warning.

No explanation.

No dramatic speech.

Only a casual statement.

"You have until the end of the Academy Tournament."

He walked toward a spatial portal that had appeared behind him.

"If you’re still interested by then, come find me."

The portal began to activate.

Before stepping through, Xavier suddenly stopped.

Without turning around, he spoke one final sentence.

"Oh."

The smile disappeared from my face.

Because somehow I knew this next sentence was meant specifically for me.

"Whatever is changing inside your body."

My heart skipped.

"Stop resisting it so much."

The room suddenly felt colder.

Xavier continued.

"Power isn’t dangerous because it exists."

"It’s dangerous when its owner refuses to understand it."

Then he stepped into the portal.

And vanished.

The observation room remained silent.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Meanwhile, I stood there completely frozen.

Because one thing had become painfully obvious.

Xavier didn’t know everything.

He hadn’t discovered Perfect Copy.

He didn’t know about Tsukuyomi.

He didn’t know about the Celestial Moon Style.

But he had noticed something else.

Something changing inside me.

And somehow that realization was even more terrifying.

Because if Xavier could notice it now...

Then sooner or later—

Everyone else would too.