When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the familiar face of Wei Lian—closer than I would've liked. My head was resting against his shoulder.
"Oh, you've finally woken up!" a cheerful voice announced.
I blinked and looked up to find a woman in a white coat standing nearby, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and disapproval.
Wei Lian immediately jerked his shoulder, knocking my head aside.
"If you're awake already, get off my shoulder, you loser."
I rubbed my forehead, half-awake and half-annoyed. "What was that for…?"
"Hahaha! Mr. Top, it isn't Mr. Bottom's fault he was unconscious. It was yours, wasn't it?" The woman smiled—no, grinned—with what might've been the most horrifyingly sweet expression I've ever seen on a human face.
A cold shiver crawled down my back. I quickly looked away, pretending to focus on anything else. My eyes caught a large display in the corner of the room—showing two cadets clashing in the arena, their weapons sparking with mana.
The woman sighed and took a calm sip of tea. "Honestly, what you did was overkill, Mr. Top. Why would you use your personal weapon in a friendly duel?"
Her voice was calm, but her tone carried the weight of authority. Even Wei Lian, usually smug beyond measure, kept quiet.
Then her gaze shifted to me. "And Mr. Bottom, why aren't you paying attention?"
"Ah—sorry!" I straightened up immediately. "I didn't realize you were talking to me. You've been calling me Mr. Bottom since the start, so… why exactly are you calling me that?"
She suddenly froze.
For a moment, her expression twisted—then her hand trembled, and the teacup slipped from her grip, spilling its contents all over the floor.
"Umm…" Her eyes darted everywhere—left, right, ceiling, desk—clearly searching for an escape route from whatever just clicked inside her head.
"…Oh, right! How's your head feeling, Cadet Kylen? Any headaches?"
Her sudden shift in tone was so forced it could've cracked glass.
I narrowed my eyes. "There's no headache. So, why do you keep calling me Mr. Bottom?"
"Umm… sigh."
She sat back behind her desk, defeated, and pulled open a drawer. After a moment of rummaging, she took out something—and my heart immediately told me it couldn't be good.
It was a book. A comic book, to be exact. On the cover was a white-haired man straddling a black-haired man whose face was hidden behind long bangs.
The realization hit me like a lightning bolt.
"Oh no…" I muttered under my breath.
She smiled nervously, holding it up like it was evidence in a court trial. "You see… you two kinda looked like the characters from this comic."
My soul left my body. "Wait, what are you trying to—"
Before I could finish, Wei Lian snatched the book from her hands, crushed it into a ball with terrifying precision, and hurled it straight through the open window.
It flew off into the horizon like a meteor of pure shame.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!" the woman screamed, falling to her knees as though her entire world had collapsed.
Wei Lian brushed off his hands, walked over to a chair near the door, and sat down with perfect calm.
"That," he said flatly, "never happened."
"Huaaaa…!" the woman wailed, crumpled on the floor like a heartbroken widow.
{A few minutes later}
"Sob… sob… you're evil!" she sniffled, wiping her face with her sleeve.
Wei Lian crossed his arms and looked away. "That's your fault! What kind of doctor shows that kind of book to cadets?"
I couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. "Hahaha!"
She glared at me through puffy, tear-swollen eyes, then sighed. "Sigh… well, let's get back to our actual conversation."
Her posture straightened, voice suddenly shifting back into professional mode—though the effect was somewhat ruined by her red nose and damp sleeves.
"What you did was unacceptable, Cadet Wei Lian!" she said sharply. "I don't know what drove you to use that much force, but your actions could've crippled your friend."
"WHAT?!" I blurted, nearly jumping out of my chair.
She nodded grimly. "In the arena, any physical wounds disappear after a match ends. But the pain and damage are converted into mental impact—a psychological echo. It's meant to simulate real consequences for losing."
I swallowed hard.
She continued, "Normally, that impact is reduced by the system so cadets don't suffer lasting trauma. But if a cadet receives too much damage, their brain might not withstand the mental overload. In extreme cases…" Her expression darkened. "…their brain can literally explode under the weight of that pain."
My hand shot up before I even realized it. "So—uh, why am I completely fine after the duel?"
She hesitated, then raised three fingers. "There are three main reasons for that. One, you possess Life-element mana. It accelerates your body's natural healing, which helped stabilize you immediately."
I nodded slowly. That made sense.
"Two," she continued, "I personally poured a week's worth of my own mana into your heart to ensure your life wasn't in danger. You're welcome, by the way."
"…Oh." I blinked. "Thanks."
"And the last one…" She frowned, tilting her head slightly. "Is the strange part. For some reason, your brain can handle the level of mental damage that would completely cripple a normal hero."
Wei Lian turned to look at me. "Cripple a hero?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes. The impact you sustained—if received by a hero-level individual—would have left them mentally shattered for the rest of their life."
I stared at her, my mind blank.
"…Wait. You're saying I took a hero-level hit… and walked it off?"
She gave a slow, uncertain nod. "More or less… yes."
I was completely amazed by that information.
The thought that I'd endured a hero-level mental strike without even realizing it… was hard to believe.
After talking with the doctor a few more times and going over some final checks, it was finally time for us to head back. The arena was still buzzing, and honestly, I wanted to catch the rest of the duels. It's not every day you get to watch a live brawl for free.
"Thanks for your help. I'm really grateful," I said, shaking the doctor's hand.
"It's fine," she replied with a faint smile. "I should be the one apologizing for… well, my earlier behavior." Her face twitched slightly, clearly remembering the book incident.
"Before you go—here." She handed me a small paper bag. "It's a potion my friend made. Oh, and make sure not to come back to the infirmary, okay?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of goodbye is that? But fine—I'll accept this gift with all my heart."
"Yeah, just—don't drink it right away," she warned, waving her hands nervously.
"…That makes me worry even more."
We left the infirmary. The corridor was quiet, filled with the faint hum of the academy's mana lamps. Just before I could step back into the main hall, Wei Lian grabbed my shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "For my behavior earlier. I wasn't in the right state of mind when I forced you into that duel."
I flicked his hand away and gave him a half-smile. "Seriously, Young Lord. It's fine. I know you like Lady Victoria, and she was the reason behind all that, right?"
He looked away, embarrassed.
"And besides," I continued, raising the paper bag, "I even got a free potion out of it. Win-win for me."
Wei Lian let out a small, awkward laugh. "Really? Then that's… good, I guess."
We parted ways at the corridor's end. He turned toward his dorms, and I made my way back to the hall, ready to watch the next match.
◇◇◇
{The Underworld}
On the second floor of the Mercenary Guild, there was a room reserved for only one person.
She was the second-highest-ranked mercenary in the entire Underworld—an existence shrouded in secrecy. From that quiet chamber, she controlled the guild's vast operations, maintaining its balance and influence from the shadows.
No one had ever seen her face. Not even the King of the Underworld himself.
But everyone knew her name.
They called her the Midnight Lady.
The room she occupied was drenched in darkness—so deep that not even the moonlight could pierce through it.
Dozens of trophies lined the walls, each engraved with the same number 2. At the center of it all sat the Midnight Lady herself, motionless behind a heavy wooden desk buried under papers and glowing magic stones.
She sighed softly, leaning back in her chair.
"When will all of this be done…" she murmured, her gaze turning toward the window, though she could see nothing through its pitch-black glass.
From the shadows before her desk, a figure began to rise—his form slipping out of darkness like ink spilling across the floor.
He wore a full black robe and a crow mask that hid his face completely.
"Praise the night, Midnight Lady," he said, bowing deeply. "I have come to deliver the reports of the missions completed by our mercenaries."
Before he could speak another word, the Midnight Lady snapped her fingers.
A spear forged from the man's own shadow burst upward, impaling him through the shoulder.
"I did not give you permission to speak," she said evenly. Her tone was calm, almost polite—but the weight behind it was terrifying. Then, after a pause, she added, "However… I'll let it pass. It's your first day as a Shadow Hound, after all."
The man trembled but forced out a reply.
"I… show my utmost gratitude."
"Good. Leave the reports in front of you. I'll review them later."
He nodded weakly and reached for the folder at his side, but then hesitated.
"Wait, my lady… there's something else."
Her eyes flicked up from the papers. "What is it?"
"There was a letter… sent from the House of Fire," he said, his voice low.
"Give me the letter," she commanded, and from beneath her desk, a slender hand of shadow emerged—its form twisting like living ink.
The Shadow Hound bowed and placed the envelope onto the dark palm. The shadow's hand closed around it, then receded smoothly into the darkness, delivering it to the Midnight Lady's grasp.
She tore it open in silence and began to read.
---
From the House of Fire,
Herana.
We have received information that one of the main family members of House Herana was kidnapped and later rescued by one of your mercenaries.
His name is Leonardo Auditore.
He successfully ensured our family member's safety—without even a scratch found upon her clothes.
For that reason, the House of Fire, Herana, formally requests that Leonardo Auditore be granted a special promotion to the next rank.
~ Sincerely,
Ash von Herana
Head of the House of Fire, Herana
---
She lifted her gaze toward the Shadow Hound.
"Tell me everything you know about Leonardo Auditore," she said—her voice calm yet dripping with quiet authority.
The masked figure bowed slightly. "His name is Leonardo Auditore. He began working as a mercenary just a day ago. His first mission was to assassinate a former hero—John Pedroplie.
Everything regarding his past and personal history remains inaccessible. That's all we've managed to uncover so far."
The Midnight Lady leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest.
"To think he managed to assassinate the man we've been hunting for years… and on his first mission, no less. Nothing about him suggests overwhelming power—no records, no feats—yet the results speak for themselves."
Her crimson eyes gleamed faintly under the candlelight.
"It wasn't strength," she murmured. "It was luck."
A faint smile curved her lips.
"And luck… is one of the strongest stats an Awakener could ever ask for."
{At the same time}
Kylen, still watching the duel, suddenly shivered.
A cold chill ran down his spine for no reason at all.
"…Is someone talking about me?"
He rubbed his arms, frowned for a second—then shrugged and went back to watching.
"Probably nothing."
To Be continued...