Chapter 123 Before the Trip

Words : 919 Updated : Sep 26th, 2025

"That was a terrible performance." Magnus's voice rang out as they finally left their virtual pods. "Seeing not a single one of you pass is a bit disheartening given how many attempts I gave you." Neraxis had managed to hold out—just barely—until the end of the Earth element bit. However, the next was Wind, and he couldn't even last more than a minute. This pattern kept repeating until, eventually, every single student had tested every element. Fire was about enduring while the heat steadily increased around you. Wind, the air was sucked out of his lungs, and lastly water. It was similar to wind, yet instead of air being sucked out of his lungs, he was waterboarded instead. Safe to say, it was a disaster for everyone. But despite all that, one person, in particular, had a rather unique approach to the situation. "Kael, do you mind explaining yourself?" Magnus asked with a frown. "Five times all of you went in there, and each time, you went straight for the boss monster and died in a single hit." So that's why the difficulty spiked at the very start. Neraxis exhaled a sigh. "I nearly had it at the end, though. It's just very fast. If I get another chance, I can probably kill it," Kael remarked with a shrug, making Magnus roll his eyes. "Of course, Kael. But I suggest you do it the normal way when you actually reach floor four," Magnus said, turning to Neraxis and Aurelia. "I heard you two have an emergency club meeting, yes? Since today is just revision, you're free to go."@@@@ A smile appeared on Neraxis's face. "Thank you, Instructor. Also, are we free to use this virtual training room whenever we want?" "Until academy closing hours, yes," Magnus affirmed and waved both him and Aurelia off. On the way out, he was met with a glare from Eris, which he ignored purely out of spite. Nonetheless, now that Aurelia and Neraxis were alone together, they could have a little chat. But before all that, he took out ten Curse-Soothing potions from his dimensional ring and handed them to Aurelia. "Here. I had a lot on my mind lately, so I nearly forgot." "It's fine. You can probably stop doing this. I don't feel that bad anymore when I see blood," Aurelia replied with a smile, putting the potions inside her own dimensional ring. "Don't argue with me, Aurelia. A curse like that can spring back up at any moment," Neraxis commented. "Besides, you look a lot better now that your eye bags are gone. You're sleeping fine, right?" However, just as he was about to do the same, Emily stopped him. "Wait, Neraxis. Stay behind for a moment." She sent a glance toward Aurelia. "You can wait outside, sis. I'll catch up in a moment." "Okay..." Aurelia reluctantly replied and left the clubroom alongside the other members, leaving only Neraxis and Emily inside. However, her next words weren't exactly what he expected. "Do you want something from her? Is that why you're helping her?" Noticing the hostility, he furrowed his brows. "She's a classmate and a friend. It costs me twenty minutes a week to keep her sanity intact, why wouldn't I want to do it? I'm sure you've heard I'm not the only one helping her." "People have tried taking advantage of her before. Though she was much more naive back then," Emily said with a sigh. "I know what you and the others did for her. Sorry for lashing out." "Don't worry about it. If it was my sister, I'd do the same," he chuckled. "Though I suppose that's not the only thing you wanted to tell me?" "Nope. It's more of a warning." Emily stepped closer, whispering, "Stradon Fortress has had an unusual amount of monsters surrounding it these past couple of years. There's a high chance a rift outbreak will happen." "And yet we're still going?" Neraxis tilted his head. "Aren't we just running into fire at this point?" "Yes and no," she corrected. "While we are running into fire, the seniors you saw earlier are very strong. The girl who spoke is a B-rank as well." So it's safe as long as we stay around her, got it. He rolled his eyes. "So you just want me to protect Aurelia?" "If you wouldn't mind, then yes. I want you to keep an eye on her since you two will be grouped together," Emily said. "Anyways, thanks for the chat, Neraxis. You can go get your stuff ready now." "See you later." Neraxis nodded and turned around, heading outside, where he spotted Aurelia idly sitting by the window. Nonetheless, he didn't want to get between the sister talk, so he simply made his way home. Aside from a shower and breakfast, there wasn't much he needed to pack. After all, he had provisions, clothing, and all sorts of survival kits stashed away in his dimensional ring. It didn't take long to finally arrive home, passing by his parents, who were slouching around and baking some cookies. A few minutes later, Neraxis fixed himself up, and now, he was ready to head out. However, an ominous feeling lingered in his chest despite the promised security. Why do I feel like something is going to go wrong?

Chapter 123 Before the Trip

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