When darkness finally settled and the screams ceased, everyone witnessed the aftermath. Anonymous lay on the ground, two clean cuts carved across his chest. He coughed up blood.
"Who did that?" Anonymous rasped. "I'll make this academy pay for this!" He tried to rise, but searing pain forced him back down.
Everyone scanned the room. They stood with swords still gripped in her hands. Kai's gauntlets remained active. Arthur and Soul stood ready as well. But someone else had joined them—a man taller than the rest, holding a single sword in his right hand. Pitch-black eyes stared from beneath dark hair. He smiled, his voice soft and silky.
"I don't think that will be happening," he said, stepping toward Anonymous. "You truly believe you can wage war? You're just a simple human—a weak one at that. You couldn't even withstand a single slash from my blade, and now you're writhing on the ground like a beaten dog. War? What a pathetic dream."
Anonymous glared up at him. Who was this man to cut him down so effortlessly? As the pain temporarily lessened, rage flooded in to replace it.
"I am from the Church of the Black Serpent!" Anonymous screamed. "Like I told Soul, if you harm me, my people will hunt you down!"
The man's smile widened, those black eyes boring holes through Anonymous. "If your people are as strong as you, I could eliminate them with ease. Humans like you don't deserve to live anyway."
He raised his sword and sliced Anonymous's head in half. The strike came too fast for thought or reaction. One moment Anonymous stared at the descending blade—the next, he was dead.
Arthur immediately activated his inspect skill. His voice system materialized—a black background with white text appearing in his vision.
Name: Kane
Age: 18
Hair Color: Black
Hobbies: Fighting, killing
Weapons: Great Demon Sword (right hand)
Stats: Strength 40, Agility 40, Speed 50, Endurance 70
Arthur's eyes widened at the stats. How could someone possess such power? He swallowed hard, praying he'd never face this man. With hobbies like fighting and killing, Kane was someone to avoid at all costs. Arthur doubted his voice energy would even scratch him.
Soul stared at Kane, his expression calm and relaxed as always. "You cut him down like that?"
"Indeed. After all, my sword cuts through anything—especially weak people like him," Kane replied, his face cold and expressionless.
"Thank you for saving us," They said.
Kane turned to her, studying her white armor and white swords. "Saved you? Are you implying you're weaker than the person I just killed?"
"No, it's not that," They retorted sharply.
Kai jumped up, his red armor and gauntlets blazing with crimson energy. "Weaker? Come on, man! We're not weak. All of us are strong in our own right!"
"I see you're the more confident of the bunch, aren't you?" Kane observed. "Well then, I'll be taking my leave."
Kane departed their dormitory, leaving them with one problem—the corpse. How would they dispose of it?
Soul stepped forward. "My power isn't just time stop. It has other abilities."
He placed his hand on Anonymous's body. Green aura spread outward, and the corpse began decaying rapidly. Within moments, only a skeleton remained. Moments later, even that crumbled to dust. Soul scattered it across the dorm room.
"What are you doing?" Kai demanded.
"It's harmless dust. No evidence can be used against us. You can't use tracing magic on dust," Soul explained.
"I suppose you're right. Did your decay magic affect the blood as well?"
"Of course. Anything my power touches decays—even things that shouldn't be able to decay."
"Fair enough. What do we do now?" Kai asked.
"I'm going back to meditating," They said, sitting cross-legged on her bed and closing her eyes.
"And I'm going back to sleep," Soul announced, lying down.
"I guess I'll just read my book then. Man, this is awkward," Kai muttered, sitting down and pretending none of this had happened.
Arthur stood there, uncertain. What was he supposed to do? He could continue reading about the Church of the Black Serpent. They were still active, and he needed to understand them—and that quest. He'd nearly forgotten about it. Two years might seem like plenty of time, but at this moment, it felt desperately short.
Arthur picked up the book from his bed and resumed reading. He needed to learn more if he wanted to destroy the Church of the Black Serpent and save humanity. The system was putting immense pressure on him. His first quest literally demanded he save the planet. Usually in system games, first quests involved drinking water or running—but no, his required saving the world.
"The system's really putting pressure on me now," Arthur thought. "I can't fail. I won't fail. Tomorrow I'll tell everyone what must happen within this two-year window."
Meanwhile, a few students walked down the hall. Jake smirked—black hair, dark blue armor, no weapons.
"Man, I've been here for two years and nothing's changed. These students are still boring as ever. There's nothing fun to do here. Fighting Kane will probably be the death of me," Jake muttered.
"Stop doing that!" his companion snapped.
"Hey, at least that guy's the only thing that gives me a thrill. If I fight Kane, I can put my life on the line and get that adrenaline pumping through my body." Jake cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, I'm probably not going to stop fighting that dude. He's the only thrill I have in this academy."
"Jake, stop mumbling to yourself like an idiot. We get it—you like fighting. Calm down. Is that really all you ever think about?" Klein said. He had dark hair with red strands, blue eyes like Jake's, and wore casual clothing—no armor, no weapons.
"Unless you can give me a better thrill, I won't stop talking about fighting," Jake shot back.
Klein sighed. "There's no use arguing with that guy. I'll just end up losing, and he'll keep rambling about fighting anyway."
They continued down the hall until loud banging noises erupted from a particular dorm room.
"Drama? Fighting? Yes! There has to be fighting coming from that room!" In a blink, Jake appeared before the door and peered inside. He saw everything—Kane killing Anonymous, Soul's decaying magic, everything that happened afterward.
"Holy—who's that guy?" Jake stepped back as Klein caught up, surprised at his friend's speed.
"I think that's Anonymous," Klein said, peering through the doorway.
When Kane turned to leave, both of them dashed away like their lives depended on it—which they probably did. Except Jake ran slower than Klein because he wasn't really scared of Kane. They'd fought many times before. Most times Jake lost, nearly died even, but they'd gotten to know each other—though that wasn't saying much, since Kane wasn't exactly deep. Still, knowing this, Jake wasn't as afraid of Kane as Klein was.
Eventually they burst into their own dorm room. The door flew back, hit the wall with a loud bang, then swung closed from the recoil.
Mia—a girl with silky brown hair, brown eyes, and casual clothing—rushed toward them, checking if they were all right. "What happened? What made you come in here like that?"
"Nothing," Jake said with total confidence.
Meanwhile, Klein shivered, feeling like he'd barely survived death. Yet Jake acted like it was nothing.
Mia smirked. "I'm glad you're okay. Tellim's sleeping in his bed, so please, let's not be too loud."
Both nodded and walked to their beds. They sat down beside each other and closed their eyes.
"Man, I'm tired," Jake said.
Klein wasn't tired at all—adrenaline still pumped through his body—but he nodded anyway. Jake lay down, armor still on, and fell asleep quickly.
Eventually the adrenaline faded from Klein's system, and he drifted off alongside Jake. Mia watched her three roommates sleep. She sighed, crossed her legs on her bed, and picked up the book she'd set down when they'd entered. Smiling to herself, she looked around at everyone sleeping. She couldn't think of a better way to live than with her three roommates. She couldn't imagine life without them. They'd spent so much time together, even before the academy, and thankfully they could remain together here as well.
All's well that ends well.