━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Hidden Quest Progress Updated]

→ Theodore Lancaster Survival Route: 33%

→ Class 1A Conflict Triggered: 19%

→ Unknown Transmigrator Variable: 5%

[Reward Potential Increased]

━━━━━━━━━━━━

He remembered it from the first purge. Although this time, everything was drastically boosted or had created a new set of percentages.

Back then... it was something like this.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Hidden Quest Progress Updated]

→ Theodore Lancaster Survival Route: 17%

→ Class 1A Conflict Triggered

→ New Variable Detected: Unknown Transmigrator

[Reward Potential Increased]

━━━━━━━━━━━━

And now, Cassien had a theory. Not too big, but also not too small.

’What if this conflicts with my fate?’ he thought. ’Maybe I need to complete these to change my path... as the [Bastard Side-Character].’

It wasn’t that believable, though it made sense considering the fact that Cassien winning today, by beating a fated event, led those quests to boost significantly.

Now, winning didn’t just become something special. It was the very thing Cassien had to live by. He had to win. And one thing he made clear during the island exam was that he’d win, no matter what happened.

...

The night sky continued to settle above them. The stars shone more brightly now as every one of them slowly boarded the ship.

Alex stepped up beside Cassien.

"Keep this a secret, but I didn’t even think we’d end up third." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"What did you think?"

"Last."

Cassien laughed, then Ren stepped forward.

"I thought third, because my research told me that was the common ranking for where our class is usually placed. I guess my studying failed me."

Olivia stepped up toward Ren.

"You’ve got to stop relying on that stupid research. It gets you nowhere."

Ren adjusted his glasses, forming a confident but shaky smile.

"Never."

She sighed, and then Cassien walked forward slightly.

The female instructor stepped forward.

"Now that we’ve boarded the ship, you guys can get back to your rooms, eat, or do whatever you’d like. We’ll be back by tomorrow night."

Some conversations spread around the room at first, students still unaware of what had happened to Siv when he walked by.

Audrey was also confused, though she kept those thoughts to herself. Because in her mind, she was going to get the information back when they arrived, one way or another.

For now, it was rest time.

Amelia was still quite confused about where the three girls who were usually always together had disappeared to.

But there was no point in continuing to sulk, because she was tired as well. Thus, she left to go back to bed, where she could finally get some rest.

Some others went to the small restaurant to eat. They were starving after all.

Cassien stood on the rooftop, enjoying the moonlight’s illumination as he felt the air breeze from left to right for a while.

He began rethinking everything that had just happened on the island. In the process of doing so, a smile crept onto his face.

Then he heard it. A cluster of footsteps and creaking noises from behind him.

Step. Step. Step.

Cassien didn’t turn his head. He didn’t move around or anything, yet somehow, he could already tell who it was.

"What would you like from me..." A long pause escaped his words. "Ms. Moon."

She stood not too far behind him, coldly, but through this, it became apparent.

That cold feeling she gave Cassien.

He already realized she wanted an explanation.

"Tell me what you did on the exam," she demanded. "I want to know everything. Every little detail, including who those leaders were."

Cassien laughed for a moment.

"But we worked together to kill those three." He said, "You should be aware of what I did."

"Don’t mess with me." Aiysha cleared her throat. Cassien gulped mockingly. "I’m serious."

Cassien slowly turned around, his arms raised in the air in a mocking type of surrender.

"Fine, fine. I’ll tell you. Just lower your hand for a second. I see you attempting to swing out that sword." Cassien’s gaze locked onto her face. "Don’t do it, and I’ll tell you."

Another quiet laugh escaped him.

The air slowly turned colder around the two of them, their hearts beating with excitement.

Aiysha averted her gaze back to Cassien.

"Fine." She dropped her light sword. "Now then, tell me."

He remained in that same spot, now staring at her with a more precise look.

"Relax. I won’t lie. I know about your blessing more than you know about it."

Aiysha sighed.

"Just talk."

Cassien’s grin remained.

"Alright, alright." He concluded. "I’ll speak."

"Let’s begin from the very beginning..."

Cassien couldn’t lie since Aiysha had the [Goddess of Truths] blessing.

"From where the exam was first announced."

She stood still while listening closely. Cassien put his arms behind his back, crossing them together just as a butler would.

"From the beginning," his voice cut through the silence like a mosquito, "from the very beginning. I knew there was a traitor."

Aiysha hesitated.

Cassien had already told her that much from when they were working together during both of their lunch breaks.

"You’ve already said that."

Cassien grinned.

"I didn’t tell you how, though. Remember back then when you ’owed me a favor,’ so you didn’t need any questions? I’m more than ready to tell you now if you want."

Aiysha wasn’t a [Transmigrator]. Cassien had already attempted to call out her [Fate] before, yet nothing appeared.

But was telling her directly how he had done everything the smartest plan?

If he hadn’t, her blessing would interfere.

So what would Cassien do in a situation that left him sandwiched between going either way?

Why didn’t he just stay silent?

Cassien then began to speak again, knowing full well about her blessing.

"It was because of [Luck]." He answered quite spontaneously. "Everything that happened on the island was influenced by my [Luck] factor."

Aiysha closed her eyes for a second, placing both palms in front of her while casting a light chant.

She slowly opened her eyes right after she finished.

"You’re..." A large pause escaped through the quiet environment. "Right."

Cassien smiled.

"Of course I’m right. Why would I lie to you?"