A man with gloomy features sat with his head lowered, reading a handwritten letter. His black eyes looked coldly at the contents of the message. In his other hand, he held a cigarette that appeared to be of high quality and expensive. His long indigo hair, reaching down to his neck, was tied and draped over his right side. Its color differed from Jens' lively hair—it was dull and somber.
His jawline was broad and handsome, his nose straight. He looked to be in his thirties, and his physique was exceptionally well-built—so much so that even his formal attire couldn't hide it. It was the kind of build that would attract many women.
A cold smile appeared on his lips as he read the paper in his hand. Then he muttered in a chilling voice that could send fear and shivers down anyone's spine—yet it carried a hint of amusement:
"Keep playing your trivial little games. They won't last long anyway."
He placed the paper on the table and gently brushed his finger over the name written on it.
"But… why did you suddenly create more weaknesses for yourself? Heh… that's foolish."
A knock came at the door.
Without looking toward it, the man allowed the other person to enter.
A young man walked in, bowed, and spoke with an expressionless face:
"Sir, my lady is having another episode."
A flicker of coldness flashed in the man's eyes, but he quickly hid it and let out an audible sigh so the young man could hear.
"Remove all sharp objects from her and lock her in her room. I'll visit her shortly."
A trace of sympathy appeared in the young man's eyes before he bid farewell and left.
As soon as he exited, the man's expression returned to its cold, indifferent state. With darkened eyes, he muttered:
"…Why can't the vase just stay still?"
Then, in a low but commanding tone, he said:
"Execute the second plan."
A shadow behind him nodded and disappeared.
…
"Why does he seem surrounded by such a dark aura?"
David whispered to Nathan while observing Stephen's gloomy expression. Nathan looked at Stephen, raised his eyebrows, and shrugged.
"I don't know."
Stephen was sitting, looking at the secluded place now controlled by this small, ridiculous gang.
Even though he hadn't been there long, it felt to him as if something had been taken from him—and he didn't like that feeling.
He glanced at Nathan, who was enthusiastically organizing their gang's space, then sighed and stood up from the chair the new members had brought from somewhere unknown and made him sit on like a leader.
As Stephen moved, everyone's eyes turned toward him.
He paused, frowning.
*…Do they seriously think I'm the leader of this ridiculous gang?*
In a cold voice, he said to Nathan and David:
"I'm leaving."
David crossed his arms.
"What? Where to?"
At the same time David spoke, Nathan cheerfully said:
"Yes, boss."
Stephen ignored David's question and walked out.
After he left, David clenched his teeth slightly in irritation.
"He ignored me."
Nathan chuckled mockingly but said nothing.
Meanwhile, the other members whispered among themselves:
"Isn't he weaker than them? Why is he the leader?"
Another student named Arthur whispered:
"You don't know? Nathan obeys that guy in a strange way."
"Then what about David? Isn't he extremely arrogant? Why would he let someone else be the leader?"
Arthur shook his head.
"I don't know… but it seems they both respect him. So we should too—or we might get into trouble."
"In any case, their friendship is strange."
…
After walking a distance away, Stephen pressed the watch on his wrist.
It was made of a strange white metal with a small sky-blue sphere in the center. When pressed, a blue mana screen appeared above it—similar to a phone screen and touch-sensitive.
Naturally, the screen also prevented side and rear viewing, offering a level of privacy.
A rough voice came through the speaker:
[Am I dreaming? Why did you suddenly call me?]
Stephen frowned.
"Why does your voice sound like that?"
There was a brief silence, then the old man laughed awkwardly:
[I ate something spicy.]
The old man, Carlos, had a sensitivity to spicy food despite loving it—something that caused Jens a lot of trouble trying to stop him.
But Carlos could never give up his favorite food, even if it harmed him.
"…."
Stephen didn't know what to say, so he smoothly returned to his original topic:
"I called to ask for something."
There was a full minute of silence before the old man responded, slightly surprised:
[Ask for anything. This old man will do whatever you want.]
Stephen fell silent, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Carlos's behavior felt to him like that of a rich father spoiling his only child.
Even though Stephen didn't understand family love personally, he had seen it in his past life on social media—and he knew what it should look like. That realization hurt him deeply.
"…I need a fake identity."
[Huh? What for?]
"For an investigation."
Carlos didn't ask further.
[Alright. Send me the details and I'll prepare it.]
"Okay."
[Tell me how things are going at the acad—]
"…."
Stephen suddenly ended the call mid-sentence—accidentally.
*…I thought the call had already ended. Will the old man be annoyed?*
After a few seconds, he dismissed it.
*What's done is done.*
…
Practical training class with Instructor Andrew began.
Stephen stood in the training field minutes before the lesson, with Nathan and David beside him.
David looked serious, while Nathan stood relaxed with his hands behind his head, yawning occasionally—clearly sleep-deprived from reading that diary.
Stephen stood quietly between them.
He noticed David's growing irritation.
Of course—David was upset because Stephen and Nathan seemed completely unconcerned about yesterday's events.
It didn't look like they were about to face a potential enemy.
David spoke in a low voice:
"How are we going to deal with the instructor? Just observe him? Or what?"
Nathan lowered his arms and gave him a small, warning-like smile:
"Shut up, David. Do you want to die?"
David clenched his teeth.
Stephen intervened calmly:
"High-ranking Awakened have extremely sharp hearing—sometimes spanning miles. It's better not to talk about certain things now."
David calmed down but still glared at Nathan.
"Can't this guy fix his disgusting way of speaking?"
Nathan smirked:
"You should fix your intelligence first—at least enough to understand what's around you."
David burned with anger internally.
(Author: Nathan is really going to give David a stroke 😂😂)
Stephen looked at Nathan coldly:
"Nathan, don't overdo it."
Nathan's expression faded. He shrugged and looked away, muttering:
"I'm not overdoing it."
Stephen sighed.
*No wonder he was the villain in the novel… he can provoke anyone, even when he means well.*
Instructor Andrew arrived, and the noisy training field—filled with three combined classes—fell silent.
This time, his assistant Matthew was also present, carrying a large box.
The students looked at it curiously.
Andrew wasn't in a hurry. He counted the students, nodded in satisfaction, then spoke monotonously:
"Today, we will train mana control using what Instructor Siena taught you. Pay close attention."
The students nodded seriously.
He took out a small white sphere, about the size of a thumb.
"Do you see this mana control sphere? It's essential for training your mana control."
"You all know that someone who can't control their mana and relies only on skills is a failure."
"We'll begin with this."
A thin thread of mana began glowing from the center of the sphere, spiraling outward until it formed rings—stopping at twenty-five.
"Do you see these rings?"
"They represent your mana control level."
"I have twenty-five rings—that means my control is extremely high."
"Each ring requires a precise, small amount of mana. If it's too thick, the rings collapse… and that means failure."
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