Amelia flinched so hard her entire body jolted. For one horrifying second, she genuinely believed she had died. Slowly, trembling, she opened her eyes.

The bullet had struck the floor beside her. Nothing more.

Cassien lowered the pistol before immediately covering part of his face, physically trying not to burst into laughter.

"Just look at your face!" he finally laughed. "Is this game really that serious to you?"

He shook his head, still amused by her reaction.

"I’m kidding. If I’m openly asking you about the game, why would I actually be a participant?"

Cassien grinned.

"You fell for that way too hard, Amelia."

Amelia remained on the floor for a moment, still shaking uncontrollably. Then, almost as if coping through instinct, she awkwardly laughed along with him.

"Heheh..."

Her smile twitched unnaturally.

"Yeah... right. A joke. Of course." She swallowed nervously. "This was all just your idea of fun."

"Exactly." Cassien nodded.

He glanced toward the bullet hole in the floor.

"Don’t worry. I infused the shot with minimal mana so the sound wouldn’t travel far." He sighed while inspecting the damage. "I’ll deal with that later."

Amelia slowly stood up and approached the door. Her hand rested against the handle for a second while her thoughts raced violently.

’What the hell was that?’

’How did I get fooled that badly?’

She slowly exited the room, the door clicking shut behind her. Yet even while walking away, Amelia still convinced herself that everything Cassien had just done had truly been one elaborate joke.

Inside the dorm, Cassien leaned back against his bed.

’She’ll be useful later.’

He glanced toward the clock.

’9:00 AM tomorrow. Victoria’s office.’

There was also the matter of this new killer. Most likely, it was the same person responsible for murdering the farmer earlier. Interesting.

Though Cassien had no intention of letting anyone outpace him this early in the game.

No matter what he did, the original story was already beginning to diverge, and keeping future events identical was becoming increasingly unrealistic.

Which meant change was inevitable. Not just for the plot, but for him as well.

And honestly? That only made things more entertaining.

...

[Sync Percentage: 23%]

└ Well done.

[30 Character Points Received!]

...

Cassien glanced over the newly updated interface before smiling faintly. Looking at his available points, he had already made his decision.

’Adam Shrill, it’s time I take your 10 points.’

...

For the rest of the day, Cassien didn’t do much aside from implementing his character points into whichever attributes he believed would be most useful moving forward. Since the training facility had been shut down because of the earlier incident, all he could really do was practice mana control inside the limited space of his dormitory.

At least, that was assuming his roommate never showed up.

And throughout that entire night... he didn’t. Not once.

...

The next morning arrived quickly.

Time: 9:00 AM.

Ren, Cassien, Victoria, and Aiysha had all gathered together. The three stood before Victoria while she focused her attention on a wide map flattened across the table in front of her. Everyone listened closely as she outlined the procedure.

"Aiysha will take the front offense. She’s better suited there." Victoria pointed accordingly. "I’ll remain in the middle. Cassien will watch my back, and Ren..." She paused briefly before glancing toward him. "Will stay in support."

"Any questions?"

"W-what exactly do you mean by support?" Ren asked while adjusting his glasses nervously.

Victoria thought for a moment.

"Hmm... how do I explain it? Just do whatever we ask of you."

Ren nodded as though this answer somehow made sense to him.

"Same as always," he muttered quietly to himself.

...

Aiysha and Victoria tossed some spare equipment onto the table.

Cassien lightly declined most of it. Heavy armor was never his style. Speed and mobility were things he valued far more.

Ren equipped a neat set of very light leather armor, while the two women wore silver-plated gear. Aiysha carried a sword, Victoria held a magician’s staff, and Ren used a lightweight, balanced blade.

Cassien, after briefly inspecting the leftover gear, picked up an additional metal knife. Dual-wielding would likely be far more useful in tight cave spaces against creatures larger than himself.

...

"This carriage isn’t that bad," Ren whispered while trying to remain optimistic.

The others sighed almost immediately.

The knights had somehow assigned them an embarrassingly small carriage despite the apparent importance of the mission. All four of them sat shoulder-to-shoulder in one cramped line, practically crushed together with barely any breathing room.

The surrounding wood looked awful too, rough and ugly, like something stolen from a farming village in the middle of nowhere.

Victoria blushed slightly.

’Cassien and I are so close to each other... It’s almost like we could kiss at any moment.’

Cassien, meanwhile, sat by the window completely oblivious, staring outside at the passing scenery. He had to admit, these territories were far more beautiful than he had originally expected.

The ride dragged on for what felt like forever until they finally arrived.

...

11:00 AM.

"I’m so pleased to have all of you here with us today." The village chief spoke while the group sat inside his modest home. "As you may already know, our village has been suffering because of the Arthol Caverns."

He folded his hands together nervously. His daughter stood silently beside him.

"When we sent some of our strongest adventurers to investigate what was happening... only one of them returned."

The room quieted.

"He spoke of a Demon."

The chief’s expression darkened.

"He even brought back proof of its existence. But after that event..." He shook his head. "That man was never the same again."

The chief then gestured toward the quest notice laid across the table.

...

[Image: ...]

[Creature: Low-Tier Demonic Beast]

[Location: The Arthol Caverns]

[Difficulty: C-Tier]

[Mission: Return the Demon’s Core, whether shattered or intact, doesn’t matter]

[Rewards: 50 Gold Coins]

...

"So let me get this straight," Victoria said with a serious expression. "You want us to enter the Arthol Caverns, retrieve the Demon’s core, and in exchange, we receive 50 gold?"

"Precisely, young madame." The chief nodded.

Victoria was just about to finalize the agreement when Cassien suddenly leaned forward.

"No can do, old man," he said casually. "You think 50 gold coins is enough compensation for a mission involving a Demon?"

He tapped his fingers lightly against the wooden table.

"You must be out of your mind."

The chief visibly stiffened.

Cassien leaned back slightly, folding his arms.

"Make it 100." He smiled. "And then we have a deal."