Chapter 412: The Power Gap Just Gotten bigger

Darren also stared at him for a few moments, then a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Ha, look who finally came back." Then he said in a voice louder than necessary.

A few students nearby turned their heads, and the man beside him also laughed.

"I thought you died in that area." He said in a mocking tone.

Darren put his hands into his pockets.

"He disappeared for nine months, maybe he was hiding somewhere and waiting for the others to do the work."

Lian only looked at them for a few seconds, he never expected good behavior from these two idiots, but he also did not expect to receive such a welcome after coming back after all this time.

Nine months ago, maybe these words would have bothered him a little, and even that was a maybe, and that maybe was a big one.

Now? After facing the Black Silence, the mockery of these two was almost sweet, like hearing threats from two children.

"The academy’s welcome was warmer than I expected, they sent two idiots to make me understand that if I become lazy, my future will look like theirs." Then he answered in a completely dry tone.

"You still have that mouth." Darren said with a frown, and his smile became a little weaker.

"You still have the same face I punched the last time, so it seems neither of us has changed much." Lian also answered calmly.

A few students nearby could not completely hide their reactions, and some short smiles and hidden laughs came from them.

Darren’s face immediately became dark, he could never forget the memory of that damned day.

"You talk too much for someone who is nine months behind the others, if you fight Brother Roderick again, he will smash your face into the ground." The man beside him took one step forward and said proudly.

This time, Lian looked at them more carefully, interesting, they were not bluffing, they really believed they had become stronger than him.

Nine months ago, he had been a problem for them, but now, in their minds, he was a student who had made no progress for nine months, while they had hunted, gained levels, and evolved.

Even so, their confidence was too much, even considering that.

The young Vorhelm looked around briefly, many students were watching what was happening, but no one came closer.

Some of them had even moved farther away on purpose after seeing Darren.

So it was not only personal strength, there was something, or someone, behind these two.

Roderick... huh?

The answer was probably that simple.

"What happened? Did you finally realize how far behind you are?" Darren thought he was afraid when he saw that he did not answer, and his arrogant expression returned.

"No, I was thinking about what made your false confidence become this high and made you start imagining things."

"Maybe because I’m not the same student I was nine months ago." Darren’s smile became a little stiff.

"Unlikely."

"You better understand that things have changed, this place is not like before." Darren came closer, and this time the distance between them was less than one meter.

"Oh? What exactly changed?" Lian looked at him with a mocking expression.

And the man raised his hand, as if he wanted to put it on Lian’s shoulder, but before he could touch him, something changed.

For only a moment, he loosened his control.

He released only a very small part of what had formed inside him during this time.

The presence, killing intent, and monster-like instincts that had formed in his body through battles and coming close to death several times.

Darren’s eyes suddenly became wider, and his hand stopped in the air. The breathing of the man beside him also stopped for a moment.

The surroundings did not change for them, but for a fraction of a second, Lian was no longer just a normal student standing in front of them, and instead, something unclear and instinctive appeared deep inside their minds.

Something huge, hungry, and extremely dangerous, a creature that did not see them as enemies, but as prey.

Darren’s body took half a step back before his brain could even decide to do it.

Cold sweat appeared on the back of his neck, and the man beside him even took a full step back.

The young Vorhelm immediately gathered his presence again, the entire thing had lasted less than a second, but both of their faces had changed, and fear had made their whole bodies tremble.

"Your confidence has become much higher, but it seems your strength has not changed much but the gap of power between us has only gotten bigger " Lian said calmly.

He paused for a moment.

Darren’s jaw tightened, the initial fear was now mixed with anger and humiliation.

Could he retreat in front of everyone? No, his pride would not allow it.

Mana slowly began moving around his body, and the man beside him also prepared himself.

But before anything else could happen, a cold voice came from a few meters away.

"Lian Vorhelm."

The mana almost stopped at the same moment.

Lian turned his head, and Darren and the man beside him did the same.

A tall man was standing at the end of the path, wearing the formal clothes of the academy professors, with the same serious face and the same cold eyes that seemed to always find something to judge.

Professor Aldric.

The two frowned deeply, but they did not dare to continue the fight in front of the professor, and before leaving, they looked at the young Vorhelm one more time.

"Consider yourself lucky."

"If that helps you sleep better at night, sure." Lian answered without the slightest worry.

Darren’s face became dark again, but he said nothing and left with the other man.

He watched them leave for a few seconds, then turned toward the professor.

"Professor, it has been a long time."

Aldric said nothing for a few seconds and only looked at him, a long look that moved from his face, shoulders, and hands to the way he was standing.

"Looks like you were not lazy during these nine months." Of course, news that time in the Special Area moved ten times slower had also spread, and this was why some people thought those who entered that place might have fallen behind.

"If I had been lazy, I would not have had anything to say in front of those two and would have had to keep my head down." Lian gave a small smile.

"Come, we’ll talk in my office."

The office was almost exactly as he remembered it.

Clean and simple, even the way the files were placed on the desk was almost the same, unlike himself, Professor’s office had not changed much during these nine months.

Aldric sat behind the desk, and he also sat on the chair in front of him.

"What really happened there? I heard the rumors, but I would rather hear a better explanation from you, and of course, it is not only an explanation for me, the report you have to give to the academy also counts." Then Professor asked.

"Do you want the short version or the version that takes several hours?"

"Short, enough to give the academy a satisfying report, if you also achieved something useful, do not be shy about mentioning it, it can be recorded as part of your record and earn you student points."

It was predictable, and Lian began.

He talked about the native civilization, the Cindari, their cities, the conflict with them, the Titan, the Graveyard battle and the casualties, and the extremely dangerous creature that had eventually caused almost the entire group to be destroyed.

Aldric listened the entire time without interrupting him, although the more he heard, the more his eyebrows came together.

"That was a pretty busy student trip." He stayed silent for a few seconds, then added

From the first day he met this boy, he had felt that he was a magnet for trouble, when he sent him to the fallen border city, he realized that he was not only a magnet for trouble, but also so brave, or maybe stupid, that he would walk straight into the arms of trouble and danger.

In the entire report he heard, this boy was the one who went toward trouble and extremely dangerous and crazy actions, and doing such things required either endless courage or endless stupidity.