Chapter 312
Student Council Trials
Ten minutes later, Thomas was seated back on his couch, wiping his hands with a towel before putting his very expensive rings back onto all ten of his fingers.
Thor, who had been watching him work closely, asked with a smile, "So… how was it? …Anything new?"
Thomas went silent for a while as he closed his eyes, seemingly putting everything in order in his mind. When he opened them again, he adopted a serene expression before saying, "So these two are Masie and Derren, right?"
Thor nodded.
"Well, I tried my best, and I got some information that might be useful. There are a few locations where these two were initiated into the gang called La Blanca. However, they might move regularly, so what you find might not be worth much. I also have some figures and faces that could be useful… I'll write and draw what I got."
A thankful expression appeared on Thor's face as he sighed. "We only had low-ranking members here, and even if they likely wouldn't be entrusted with sensitive information, but just to be sure I had to check with you. These two were pretty promising since they were the most recently members that we captured, so I brought them here… sorry for taking so much of your time." He scratched his head as he looked at the two sleeping figures.
While Thomas might look harmless, he was actually a master-level ascender!This meant he had reached the level where the impossible became possible, and it was obvious he had just used his methods on Masie and Derren.
Thomas whipped out his notebook and began to write with a pondering expression on his face before he suddenly stopped. He said, "There's no need to be like that. You are supposed to be my superior anyway… and I got to see something very interesting…"
"Oh?" Thor perked up with a serious expression. "Do you mind sharing, if it's important to the investigation? Anything will help us progress faster."
Thomas stroked his beard as he said, "No, no, no, it's not too relevant to the investigation…"
Thor tilted his head in confusion.
"It actually has something to do with… IAM," he said with a slightly amused expression. "He seems to be hiding secrets of his own."
Thor frowned. "What did you see in their dreams? Is it something to be concerned about?"
"Well, their interpretations and the actions that took place may have been slightly exaggerated, and some parts were difficult to understand, but I have the general gist… Do you want to hear it? I'm sure you'll be as shocked as I am."
"…Well, I don't really like invading people's pri— go on."
Five minutes later.
"What!? Are you being serious!? Are you sure you didn't mistake something?" Thor wore an expression of pure shock.
"Well, I can't be a hundred percent sure… but based on what I saw… I believe IAM is actually an experienced-level ascender!" Thomas said as he shook his head.
A hearty laugh escaped Thor's gut as he grabbed his forehead in disbelief, a hint of pride in his voice as he shook Thomas's shoulders with vigor.
"If what you are saying is true! Then I really underestimated that kid! Is this what they call lying low like a snake before soaring like a dragon? This is incredible, ah! And that little shit had the balls to act like he was just a frail seventeen-year-old! Ha ha ha, just you wait, you little spawnling, I'm going to make you regret that!"
"I-I-I-I u-uu-uu understand y-your e-excitement, but c-can y-you st-stop shaking me!"
"Oh… sorry, ahem… So anyways, make sure to keep this under wraps. I'm sure there is a reason why he is hiding, and we wouldn't want to ruin his own plans after all. "
As he made a serious shushing gesture toward Thomas, whose lips twitched before he said, "O…k."
Thor started muttering to himself, "With such talent, of course he got a recommendation… what is that kid hiding behind that blank expression?"
Thomas smiled slightly as he looked at the two sleeping figures of Masie and Derren, the last two people IAM had taken down—him firing a bullet into Derren's leg and stomping on Masie's head.
"What are you going to do about them?" Thomas asked.
Thor glanced at them and said, "Well… they haven't been in *La Blanca* for too long. It shouldn't take too much effort to correct them… perhaps they might even join our line of work. They didn't seem like bad kids… just forced by circumstances."
"I got the same idea from them. They can be used well, so take good care of them."
"Of course!"
The forest was massive. Its trees rose impossibly high, tall and crooked, their trunks twisted as if they had grown while resisting some unseen force. The bark was darker than ash, rough and cracked, absorbing light rather than reflecting it, while faint veins of dull silver ran through it like old scars. The leaves shimmered faintly overhead, their colors subtly shifting between deep green and muted gold, never settling on one shade for long.
Low fog clung tightly to the ground, thick enough to swallow footsteps and blur the roots that coiled like sleeping serpents beneath the soil. Each breath carried a damp, metallic scent mixed with something faintly sweet and decayed, making it hard to tell whether the forest was alive, dying, or something caught uncomfortably in between. The air felt heavy, pressing down on the lungs, as though the forest demanded effort just to exist within it.
The canopy above formed an uneven ceiling, branches overlapping in jagged patterns that blocked out much of the sky. What little light managed to slip through filtered down in thin, distorted beams, warping shadows into long, unnatural shapes that seemed to stretch and recoil when no one was looking directly at them. At times, it felt as though the canopy itself was watching.
There were no birds, no insects, no wind stirring the leaves. Despite its eerie beauty, there was a constant, palpable sense of danger, a feeling that the forest was not merely a place but an entity—one that tolerated intruders only until it decided otherwise.
IAM stood there alongside the others as today marked the day of the Council Trials.
What new and exciting developments would take place here? Would IAM be able to pass? What even was the trial?