Chapter 229: Becoming Colder
Kai smiled faintly and then turned around to leave.
He had already taken too much time in the Aurelian Academy, and he needed to return.
Just as he began to descend the slope, following the paved road, his face twitched. His mouth opened for something, but quickly closed again when he heard rushed footsteps. Even without turning, he knew who it was.
"No need to see me leave, Layra. Go heal your eye."
"How can I do that? That’s the least I can do."
"Go back."
His stern voice stopped Layra dead in her tracks.
Kai turned to face her. He smiled faintly—seeing that Layra was stunned by his commanding voice, though it seemed forced. "I am sure you need to return to mining now, so you don’t need to bother seeing me leave. I know the way. I’ll be fine."
"Kai..." Her body was covered by her cloak, but it couldn’t hide her fidgeting fingers. "What did you talk about with the guard Angel? I know you’re fighting those students for me, but is that the only thing you need to do?"
Of course, it was not the only thing Kai needed to do.
Beating up the students was simply done to help heal Layra’s impaired eye.
As much as the academy wanted to lift the punishment—they needed a legitimate reason. One that the freshmen could not collectively refute. And being beaten horribly by the same Lesser Angel who Layra lost to was enough reason to shut them up.
However, Kai was still technically a foreign student who trespassed and caused a commotion.
A Lesser Angel at that.
Both acts already have a harsh punishment, one being trapped inside a cage with a Star Beast that didn’t need to sleep for forty-eight hours, and the other being publicly whipped. But as a Lesser Angel, those punishments would be far worse.
Dean Lanchester told him that he would stall the punishments due for him.
Stall it long enough until the Dragon Ring tournament started.
If he won the tournament and became the Red Prince, these punishments could be annulled.
How can Kai tell Layra about this? She would only feel worse.
"Nothing. He’s only telling me how he couldn’t believe that I managed to beat the students." Kai replied with a brighter smile. "And my deal with Dean Lanchester was only this. He sets the scene, and I beat up the students. Nothing more."
Layra didn’t believe him.
And her eyes reflected that clearly.
"What are you thinking?" Kai laughed—and tapped her on her shoulder. "Do you really think beating those students wasn’t enough? The dean wanted you to be healed, and I gave him the guarantee by beating those students. That’s all."
He gave her one last nod before turning away, continuing on his path.
No intention to talk anymore.
"I’ll see you around, Layra. Don’t come to my academy; I’m not in a good position to receive guests."
"O-Okay..."
Kai descended the hill, heading straight for the ship.
But along the way, he cast Nigh-phantom with the sliver of mana he had amassed in the last couple of hours—and hid behind a tree. He pressed the back of his head against the trunk, and then reached for his leg.
"Errgh..."
He hissed in pain as he rolled up his pants, revealing a nasty gash on his shin.
Flesh mangled from the swipe that Pollus landed on him.
Just hours ago—he was healed after a brutal battle against the seniors that brought him really close to death. Now, even before he could enjoy his newly healed body, he already suffered a wound again.
Kai inspected the wound and clicked his tongue.
It would need more than a healing cream, as pieces of flesh were dangling freely.
He pressed the back of his head against the trunk again and stared at the clear night sky.
"A little bit more... Just a little bit more."
Kai closed his eyes and rested there for a moment, reminding himself over and over again that things would change after he won the Dragon Ring tournament. Fame would be his shield. And after he won, the academy would have no other choice but to make him an Angel.
And that would be the start of his ascent.
"I am still alive. I am going to continue on living. The world will change. And if it won’t, then I will force it to change."
...
"Most of you had already mastered the basics and some advanced techniques—so for today’s class, we would wind down a bit." Professor Hera swept her gaze at her students lined up in a perfect formation below. "Circle the academy’s territory at your own pace. Focus on being as mobile as you can. You are dismissed at exactly five o’clock."
Once Professor Hera waved her hand, the students dispersed.
She said today’s class was to wind down, so they took it as an opportunity to be slow.
Dorian cracked his neck and stretched his sore body.
"I’m going on ahead."
"Hmm?"
Standing right beside him was Kai.
And though Professor Hera told them to wind down, Kai had no intention of doing that. He was already charging his winged boots with his mana—quickly forcing the wings to unfurl before Dorian could even grasp the situation.
"She told us to wind down, so let’s take it slow."
"I’ll meet you in the Dead Range. Don’t be late."
Swoosh—!
Dorian stood with his hands planted on his hips, head tilted back, watching the sky where Kai was. The winged boots had flared to life with a crackle of dark mana, and Kai was now testing the activation of the wings.
He made sharp, decisive zig-zag movements in the sky.
He banked left, then right, carving controlled arcs against the fading light to confirm the boots were fully active. Satisfied, he blasted forward without hesitation. The acceleration tore a tail of darkness behind him, a smear of black across the dusk like a comet, and the air shuddered in his wake.
Out of all the students, he was the first to fly—the first to break from the pack.
Dorian shook his head slowly; resignation settled into his chest.
"Never mind me. Just go on ahead." He spoke aloud sarcastically. "Fuck is wrong with him these last few months?"
Footsteps approached from the side.
Matilda and Bryan stopped beside him; their gazes were also fixed on the same distant point, identical frowns etched into their faces behind the mask. The dark tail was already fading, but the image of Kai’s departure lingered.
"Is he good...?" Bryan whispered. There were bags under his eyes. "I can’t take this anymore."
"I don’t fucking know by now." Dorian shrugged. "He came back a different person."
The volunteer mission in the Second Sky was months ago.
Ever since that day, Kai had changed dramatically. He never played around. Or even smile at that. He became colder in a way. Not that he kept them at an arm’s length, but more like the aura coming out of him was colder.
Like someone who was already numb to any sensations.
Initially, they thought he was simply in shock.
None of them knew what exactly happened in the Second Sky, but when they asked the bald professor, he explained that the mission had gone badly. The Sky Gate was eventually closed, but almost all of the Assault Unit was wiped out.
If anything, Kai changed because of that.
But Matilda knew better.
Kai would never change dramatically like this simply because of battling Star Beasts.
She knew how strong he was.
’I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Bree,’ Matilda glanced to the other side, watching Bree staring into the void absent-mindedly. ’Did her secret finally get exposed? For Kai to be like this, it must be a really bad one.’
Kai seemed fine on the surface. He still spoke to Bree when the situation called for it, but that should not be the case. Both of them were incredibly close before, so these mild and awkward interactions were strange.
Matilda could instantly tell the difference.
The warmth between them had vanished. The heat that always made her worry was no longer there. As if Kai and Bree had made an agreement in the Second Sky to forget what happened between them since the academy started.
Both of them suddenly became platonic, which confirmed it for Matilda.
Confirmed that Kai changed because of what happened with Bree.
Of course, Matilda had confronted Bree months ago.
But Bree made excuses, saying nothing much changed or that it’s none of her business.
Not to mention, Kai was also frustrated about some things that happened.
After coming down from the Second Sky—he wasted no time going to hunt Star Beasts in the inner area of the Dead Range. Barbara, for some reason, didn’t disturb his hunt, steering clear of him.
Kai hunted Star Beasts at a surprising rate.
One Star Beast every single day, and some days he even killed two in one hunt.
But Chester had managed to beat him to complete the Rising Dragon II achievement.
Matilda had been certain that Kai was still hesitant about confronting Star Beasts head-on, but when he descended from the Second Sky, that hesitation was gone. It was replaced by a quiet, unshakable confidence backed by real strength.
The change was so drastic it almost felt like he’d grown stronger overnight.
It was shocking to learn how fast he was growing.
Even then, somehow, Chester kept up and beat Kai in reaching the achievement.
Personally, she refused to believe that Chester could keep up. That was unless he got outside aid, pushing him to greater heights. Kai hunted even faster after that, turning into a maniac to the point of not resting at all.
Kai didn’t even return once to his room in the last month.
Completely isolating himself in the Dead Rage.
Matilda knew about this when Talitha came to her to ask how Kai was doing.
And that was when she learned, after mining, Kai would hunt all night and then attend class without stopping by his room at all. Or perhaps he stopped by, but always slipped in without Talitha noticing.
But Talitha was sure that he had never slept in his room again.
Just going to class, mining, and hunting all night.
Rinse and repeat.
Not a single skipped day.
Unsurprisingly, he managed to reach the Star Beast Slayer achievement first.
It was done by killing fifty Star Beasts.
He got fifty legal mana ores from that, which he only shared with Bree, giving away half to her.
And now, he was pushing the others to hunt relentlessly—so that their group could win over Chester’s group. With only a few days before the quarterly group rank result, Kai was telling the others to hunt even longer.
Of course, it was taking a toll on the others.
But considering he hunted even longer than them, none of them could say a thing.