RE: LORD OF TIME

Leaving the rift, William and the others returned to the building where the entrances to the Rifts were located.

The staff members working in the building saw them coming out of the rift only a few hours after entering, and looks of surprise appeared on their faces, as most people who entered the rift explored it for at least a day before coming back.

After all, the fifty Academic Credits fee was not low.

Though surprised, none of them said anything, and one of them guided them outside the building.

"I feel like the look they were giving us wasn’t right..." Liam couldn’t help but mutter after they left the building.

"They must be thinking we left the rift so early because we couldn’t handle the harsh environment," Alicia said with a shake of her head and didn’t care too much about what they were thinking.

"What are you planning to do next? Are you going to the administration office to inform them about the mine?" She asked as she looked at William.

William was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Your brother is Grey Ashford, right?"

Alicia’s body stiffened upon hearing William’s question and she began to sweat.

"You got the wrong person. I don’t have a sibling."

William rolled his eyes and gave her a speechless look.

"Do you really think I didn’t look into your information? After agreeing to let you come with us to the Astral Rift, I looked into your background because I wanted to confirm that you weren’t one of those snotty noble brats who just wanted to cause trouble for people like us."

"Ughh..." Alicia showed an awkward expression upon hearing William’s words. "You actually don’t have to worry about my brother. I can assure you that he won’t come looking for trouble with you guys because of me."

A faint smile appeared on William’s face, and he asked in a low voice.

"Then, did you inform your brother that you were going to enter the Astral Rift?"

"O-of course, I did," Alicia replied in a slightly trembling voice.

"Is that so..." William nodded at her words before changing the subject. "Do you think your brother will be interested in buying that mine?"

Alicia was stunned upon hearing William’s words because she had thought he was going to kick her out of the team to avoid trouble with her brother.

But instead of kicking her out, he was asking if her brother would be interested in the mine.

Seeing an opportunity to avoid getting kicked out, Alicia immediately nodded.

"Of course, he will be. Since you looked into my information, you should know what my family does, right?"

"I know your family owns one of the biggest merchant guilds in the Silver Wing Kingdom," William nodded. "That’s also one of the reasons I am asking if your brother would be interested in buying this mine from us."

"Since it’s a mine, he will definitely be interested in buying it..." Alicia said, and after a moment of hesitation, she added.

"But I don’t think the price he would offer would be higher than the academy. The most difficult thing about that mine is the environment of that Astral Rift. Sending people to mine there, protecting the mine from the monsters of the rift, and then transporting all those mined crystals outside isn’t an easy job."

William remained silent at Alicia’s words because he knew she was right. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"How about this? You find an opportunity to let me meet your brother. I will discuss it with your brother. If it doesn’t work out, we will simply sell it to the academy."

Alicia hesitated upon hearing William because if she did what he was saying, then her brother would find out that she had entered the Astral Rift without telling him.

From her expression, William could tell what she was thinking, so he spoke calmly.

"You can’t always enter the Rifts while hiding it from him. It’s better to solve this problem as soon as possible."

Alicia sighed and finally nodded.

"Alright. Wait for a day or two. He is currently busy with something. I will tell you once he is free."

Liam remained silent during the entire conversation because he had no idea what they were talking about.

He only understood that they were planning to sell the mine to Alicia’s brother instead of the academy.

"By the way, the academy will start from tomorrow, so it’s very likely Norn is already back at the academy. That guy is very petty, and since you beat down Zavier, who belongs to his faction, he might try to cause trouble for you."

William’s eyes narrowed at Alicia’s words. He was actually surprised that even after he beat down Zavier, no one had come to cause trouble for him in the past few days.

It was only later that he found out that Norn, the leader of their faction, had gone home and wasn’t in the academy, which was why no one had come to cause trouble for him.

But now that the academy was starting, he had most likely returned and would cause trouble for him.

"That guy Norn is in the second year, right?"

"Yes," Alicia nodded. "Be careful of him. He had already broken through to the Star Commander level around a month before the academy’s registration started."

William’s expression did not change upon hearing Norn’s level. Not to mention that he himself was very close to reaching the peak of the Star Warrior realm after refining the Vermilion Fire Seed.

Even without reaching the peak of the Star Warrior realm, he had enough confidence to beat down that guy if he came looking for trouble.

"By the way, have you heard the news? A student from our academy accepted a task to help a overseer with the examination of Aether Affinity. But during the task, he was captured by some people and killed."

William’s eyes couldn’t help but flicker upon hearing Alicia’s words.

"It’s quite normal for students to die during a mission, right? Why is this matter causing such a commotion?"

"It’s because the identity of the student who died is not normal," Alicia lowered her voice. "The student who died is Lucas Benlot. He is the sole heir of the Benlot Family. His entire family is going crazy after his death."

’So it’s really that guy, huh...’ William nodded inwardly, as he had already expected this matter to not end easily.

"Actually, I never liked that Lucas guy. His reputation within the Noble Circle wasn’t great, and there were even rumors that he often forced himself on commoner girls and later killed them."

"If what you said is true, then it’s good that he died," Liam said with a snort as his impression of nobles wasn’t very good due to some unpleasant experiences in the past.

William remained silent because he knew those were not just rumors but the actual truth.

Just as they were getting closer to their dormitory, William suddenly noticed something in the sky and paused.

Alicia and Liam noticed him looking into the sky and followed his gaze.

As they looked at the sky, their eyes widened slightly.

"What is that?" Liam asked in a stunned voice, looking at a humanoid figure with two white wings on its back flying through the sky.

William’s eyes narrowed when he saw the figure in the sky, and he immediately recognized them.

’Someone from the Heavenly Realm.’