Chapter 55: Things Happened While Damian was Away

Chapter 55: Things Happened While Damian was Away The mansion had guards patrolling the area at all times. An important family like that required a high level of security. Damian was already expecting that. But the guards were all humans with no mana, so he easily dodged them and leapt over the mansion’s back wall. He ran straight toward the forest, vanishing into the darkness. The first thing he did was activate his Demon Eye—the very first skill he had ever obtained. His vision shifted. Everything looked as clear as day. The night was no longer dark. He could even see the faint traces of mana that Lindy had left earlier! That was how sharp his vision was. By now, those traces should have completely vanished, especially since they were so faint—just the subtle marks she left by walking through that part of the forest. But with his Demon Eye, Damian could see even the tiniest residue of mana. Because of that, he easily reached the spot where the demons had died. He even found the mark he had carved into one of the trees. The demon corpses were still there—though not all of them. Other demons, and even wild animals, had come to feed on the remains. "The majority of them are still here," he thought. "That’s good." Before doing anything, Damian carefully scanned his surroundings. He wanted to be absolutely sure no one was watching. With his Demon Eye, he was confident he would notice any presence nearby—even Lindy. He checked for several minutes, just to be safe. No one was there. So, he began the real reason he had come: to absorb the demons. There were plenty of demons for him to absorb. They were all weak, but they still granted him attributes—and some even skills—so it was worth it. It took him only a few minutes to absorb them all. Each time he did, the demon’s body vanished. By the end, Damian had gained 30 points in Strength, Agility, and Endurance, plus 17 points in Intelligence. With that, along with his other recent gains, Damian was now much stronger. The system already considered him a C-rank Hunter. [Damian Crowe] [Power Rank: C] [Attributes:] [Strength: 103] [Endurance: 99] [Agility: 109] [Intelligence: 97] [Charisma: 68] Not to mention all the skills he had picked up from the demons. Most of them were weak, but they were still valuable. "I can’t learn skills like other hunters... so every single one matters," Damian realized. Once he finished what he came for, he returned to the mansion. Using the same route, he slipped back inside and managed to reach his room unnoticed. Then, finally, it was time to sleep. * A few hours later, Lindy left the mansion. She had sensed and heard Damian sneaking out, but had no idea what he was up to. She waited until he came back, and judging by how long he had been gone, she knew he had gone into the forest. When she arrived at the place where they had fought the demons, and saw not a single body left, she was shocked. "What the fuck happened here?" she muttered."There’s no way creatures ate all the demons this fast..." Something was off. Lindy knew Damian was responsible, but she didn’t know how. Her mind spun with theories as she headed back to the mansion. * The following day, they left. Lindy drove all the way to the city where they could catch a plane back to the academy. No one wanted to return—but they had no choice. Their missions required it. "Are they, like, going to kill us on the spot or something?" Damian asked. "Not likely. Whoever did this is infiltrated in the academy, and it can’t be many of them. If they could kill us inside, they already would have," Lindy said. "They did try to beat me to death, remember?" he shot back. "You healed in a day at most, so relax—it was nothing." She had a point. It hadn’t been an attempt at murder—just a beating meant to send a message. If they could have killed him so easily, they would have done it back then. Besides, Damian strongly believed he hadn’t been the real target. They had gone after him only because he was Lindy’s assistant, and their true aim was to get to her. That was the only explanation that made sense. Anyway, they headed back to the city, bumping along the muddy, hole-ridden road, before finally boarding a plane that took them back to Morvane—the city where the academy was. Lindy didn’t say a word about what she had seen the night before—the demon corpses vanishing. She knew Damian wouldn’t answer her, and if she pressed too hard, things could turn ugly between them. What she wanted was to build more trust first, and then ask him. And with the situation at the academy bound to be rough for both of them, it was best to stay on the same page—working together to overcome whatever was coming. After reaching the city, they still had to drive all the way up to where the academy was. Lindy got them a car, and once again, she took the wheel. Inside the car, Damian felt a wave of anxiety. He was back in the city—Lion Beast could be somewhere nearby, hunting for him. But his smell had changed, so Lion Beast couldn’t track him that way. His appearance was different too, and he even had a new ID. No one at the airport knew it was him. Everything should have been fine. Still, he only allowed himself to fully relax once they left the city behind. That’s when his thoughts shifted toward the problem waiting for them at the academy. * When they pulled up in front of the academy, the guards came to check on them. Once they recognized who it was, they opened the gate without issue. Lindy leaned closer to Damian and spoke in a low voice. "Pay attention to anyone who looks... too surprised to see us. Those might be the people who ordered us killed." Damian nodded. He was already thinking the same thing. The guards seemed normal—none of them showed any unusual reaction to their return. But once they moved deeper into the academy, crossing paths with higher-ranking members, things started to change. The first person to look at them differently was, to their surprise, the old man in charge of the library. He was walking across the courtyard when he spotted Lindy and Damian. At first, they assumed the old man was simply surprised to see them after so many days away. But then the librarian walked right over to them. "Professor Lindy," the librarian said, "I heard you were on a mission with your assistant. How was it?" "Everything went well," she said. The librarian raised a brow. "But didn’t you use the private jet? Where is it?" She smiled. "Nothing for you to worry about, librarian." "Of course, of course." The librarian smiled back. "I was just curious." After that, the man left. Lindy turned to Damian. "I’ll go speak with the headmaster about the plane, and say there was an accident." "An accident? Won’t you tell the truth?" "I can’t. We can’t dismiss the headmaster as a suspect. He might be one of the people stealing from me—or even behind all of this. You saw how the librarian acted, right? He seems friendly, but he could be hiding something. We need to be careful." Damian nodded. That was beyond him. Professor Lindy would be the one dealing with the higher-ups, while he focused on other things—like not getting beaten up in the middle of the academy again. They parted ways. Damian met with Curt and Mitra, who were eager to hear how the mission had gone. "Everything went fine," Damian said. "It was a lot of fun learning from Lindy. I didn’t know there were such powerful artifacts." "You didn’t?" Curt raised a brow. "Not only that," Mitra added, "but Lindy is known for carrying a lot of artifacts with her. You should consider learning more about artifact crafting in the future." "I’ll think about it, though my talent as an alchemist isn’t exactly great. But what about you two? How were things here?" They were standing in the courtyard when Mitra suddenly stepped closer and whispered, "We need to talk in private. Something happened while you were away." Damian frowned. What could have possibly happened in such a short time? Damian was curious—but also afraid. They didn’t go to the dorms. Mitra and Curt insisted it might not be safe there. "Can you get us into Lindy’s room? It has security—and protections to keep anyone from listening in," Mitra asked. "I’ll try," Damian said. He led the way. The officers at the building entrance already knew him and were glad to see he was back. "I’m just bringing a few friends along. Lindy said I could show them the research room," he told the guard. "Sure, go on in. Just keep the noise down—there are people working inside," the guard replied. "I won’t. Thanks." They walked across the building until they reached Lindy’s room. Once inside, it was time to finally hear what had happened while Damian was away. Mitra even closed the curtains, making sure no one outside could see them. Whatever it was—it was serious.