I turned the page and kept reading. Ken wasn’t back yet, probably still visiting his mom. His wardrobe had been left slightly open, and when I noticed the book inside earlier, curiosity got the better of me. Now I was deep into it.

It detailed the stories of each god, but the one I cared about most was Ambly.

And yeah... the torture part was real.

During the war against that so-called God, Ambly had been captured out of all nine. What followed... wasn’t a battle. It was cruelty. The book didn’t sugarcoat it.

He cut her hand. It didn’t even specify which one, just that it was the hand that had touched Him. And when it healed, almost instantly, he cut it again. Fingers first. Then the wrist. Over and over.

Not for strategy. Not for war. Just because he could.

"What a bastard."

I closed the book after finishing that part, letting out a quiet breath. That wasn’t just brutal. That was personal.

I stood up and slid the book back into Ken’s wardrobe, placing it exactly where I found it. Then I turned toward the window. The light outside had dimmed, the sky settling into that dull evening gray.

And my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten.

"Yeah... food."

I slipped into the provided slippers and left the room, heading down to the dining area. The place was already active, though not crowded. A short line had formed near the counter.

As I grabbed a tray and joined it, I caught bits of conversation floating around.

Same topic everywhere.

The pervert.

"They accuse us..." the guy in front of me muttered to his friend. "Idiots."

"They’re scared," his friend replied. "Don’t talk like that."

"I know, but still... why us?" he grumbled. "Feels like they just want someone to blame."

"Just drop it."

The line moved quickly. When it was my turn, the worker behind the counter scooped portions onto my tray without much conversation. I took it with a small nod and stepped aside, scanning the room for a place to sit. Found one near the window.

From there, I had a clear view of the girls’ dormitory across the circular street. It was slightly off to the left. Lights were still on, way more than usual. Students gathered outside in small groups, teachers moving between them, guards stationed around like it was some kind of lockdown.

Yeah... they were taking this seriously.

I started eating, slow and quiet. God, this was boring. No phone. No distractions. No scrolling through random nonsense just to kill time. No news, no memes, nothing.

Just me and my thoughts.

"Great."

"Hey," a voice snapped me out of it. "This seat taken?"

I looked up. "Nah. Go ahead."

"Thanks, man." He dropped into the chair across from me with a tired exhale. "Did not feel like climbing three floors."

"Hmm."

"I’m Jayden Mi."

"Ace Walker."

Jayden looked around my height. His short brown hair was mostly neat, except for a single loose lock that fell along the left side of his face, trailing down toward his shoulder. His uniform was a mess, dirt smudged along the sleeves and front like he had just rolled around outside

"Phew..." he muttered, already digging into his food. "Was training in the arena. Tournament’s coming up. I’m dead."

"Hmm," I replied, taking another bite.

"I’m first year, by the way. Class C." He glanced up. "You?"

"F. First year too," I said. "My roommate’s C though. Ken."

"Oh, Ken Koi?" he perked up slightly. "That guy? Yeah, I know him. He’s your roommate?"

"He is."

"Nice." He nodded, then gave a small grin. "And... damn. F? Gods help you, man."

I forced a smile. "Yeah..."

Jayden leaned forward with a smirk, resting his forearms on the table. "Hey, I saw you with Professor Kroua today."

"And?" I kept eating, not looking up.

"She cast that spell around you. You were inside it with Jelda, right?"

"I guess you can say that."

"What happened in there?"

"Nothing much," I replied, keeping my tone flat. "I know a small calming trick. Needed focus to use it properly, so Professor helped keep things quiet."

"Oh... makes sense." He nodded, chewing. "She looked a lot better after."

I hummed in response and focused on my food. I wasn’t in the mood to keep explaining things, especially not something like that. The less people knew, the better. I picked up my pace a little, finishing what was left on my plate without dragging it out.

After a couple of minutes, I pushed the plate away and stood up. Jayden glanced up at me mid-bite.

"I’m done," I said, forcing a casual smile. "See you around, Jayden."

"Yeah, you too, Ace."

I took my tray over to the return counter and set it down with the others, then made my way out of the dining hall. The walk back to the room was quiet, the earlier chatter fading behind me. When I stepped inside, I shut the door, slipped out of the provided slippers, and dropped into the chair by the desk.

One hand rested on the wood as I focused, calling up the system. The familiar translucent interface flickered into existence in front of me. I navigated straight to Quests.

"What to pick..."

A new entry pulsed at the top.

╔══════════════════════╗

★ NEW QUEST ★

────────────────────────

> Title: Extra Help

────────────────────────

> Objective:

• Reach Level 6 before the day ends.

────────────────────────

> Reward:

+1 CLASS POINT

────────────────────────

> Deadline: Today

╚══════════════════════╝

I let out a low whistle. A class point just for leveling up today. That was more than worth it. I accepted the quest without hesitation and scrolled down.

Another one caught my eye immediately.

╔══════════════════════╗

★ NEW QUEST ★

────────────────────────

> Title: Quick, quick

────────────────────────

> Objective:

• Complete two quests from The Guild.

────────────────────────

> Reward:

+ 84 EXP

+ 33 LC

────────────────────────

> Deadline: Today

╚══════════════════════╝

"One of those kinda quests again, huh?"

That lined up perfectly. If I played it right, I could stack both rewards and push myself closer to the next level. Still, it wouldn’t be enough on its own. I needed something extra.

I switched over to the map.

The city lit up with markers, exclamation points scattered everywhere. It almost hurt to look at. Most of them were dimmed out, though. I hovered over one, and a small note popped up.

’Quest-giver unavailable: sleeping.’

"Figures."

I moved my focus to one that wasn’t grayed out and tapped it. A small window expanded beside the icon.

"What’s this one? Help the old woman find her cat."

No reward listed.

I stared at it for a second, then shrugged.

"Alright... let’s see what you’ve got."

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎