Chapter 28: F-Rank Disguise, The Academy Elites

"What in the world is that?" the female noble gasped.

She pointed her green magical staff directly at Saile’s chest. She wore colorful silk clothes that looked completely ridiculous inside a dark, ancient graveyard.

"It is just a beggar," the lead noble, Luap, sneered coldly. "He must have wandered in from the coast before the Academy sealed the dungeon."

"He smells terrible," one of the Holy Knights complained, plugging his nose with his silver gauntlet. "Let us just kill him and move on. We have an assignment to finish."

Inside Saile’s mind, a dark, heavy presence surged forward.

"Let me rip their tongues out," Naicul hissed viciously. The ancient God’s voice boiled with absolute, murderous rage. "I will snap their shiny little swords in half. I will feed their hearts to the sea monsters!"

"Quiet," Saile thought back firmly. "We are not fighting them."

Saile knew he could kill all five of them in less than ten seconds. His Level 36 stats were packed with explosive, terrifying power. With a single use of Phantom Step, he could snap Luap’s neck before the boy even blinked.

But fighting them meant wasting his precious energy. It meant revealing his EX-Rank dark mana to the Church. And most importantly, it meant he would have to clear the rest of the massive tomb entirely by himself.

Luap reached into his shiny leather belt. He pulled out a small, clear testing crystal. It was exactly like the one the priests used during the Awakening Ceremony.

He tossed the clear crystal carelessly through the air.

It hit the stone floor right at Saile’s wet boots and rolled to a stop.

"Pick it up," Luap ordered violently. He rested his glowing, A-Rank broadsword on his shoulder. "Let us see exactly what kind of trash we are dealing with."

Saile bent down slowly. He did not break eye contact.

"Hide your aura," Naicul commanded sharply, forcing his anger down. "Lock your

core tight."

Saile squeezed his EX-Rank mana core. He pushed the dark, violent energy deep into his chest. He completely suppressed his immense power, making himself completely hollow. To the outside world, he instantly became nothing.

He picked up the cold crystal with his bare hand.

The stone did not glow with bright light. It did not shine. A dull, muddy brown color slowly filled the center of the clear gem. It looked exactly like dirty dishwater.

A bright golden screen flashed directly above the crystal for everyone to see.

[Talent: F-Rank - Null.]

The quiet cavern suddenly erupted into loud, mocking laughter.

The five wealthy elites threw their heads back. They laughed until their sides actually hurt. The female noble wiped a tear of pure amusement from her eye. The thick tension in the room disappeared completely. They were no longer looking at a potential threat. They were looking at a complete joke.

"F-Rank!" Luap gasped loudly, pointing a silver-plated finger at Saile. "He literally has absolutely zero magic in his blood! He is completely useless!"

"I have never even seen a Null reading before," the second Holy Knight chuckled. "I did not know a human could be that pathetic."

Saile stood quietly. He kept his face totally blank. He opened his fingers and let the crystal drop. It clattered uselessly against the cold stone floor.

Naicul was going absolutely ballistic in the dark corners of Saile’s skull.

"They called me pathetic!" Naicul screamed. The dark mana pushed aggressively against Saile’s ribs, begging to be released. "I conquered this entire world! I built this fortress!"

"They called me pathetic," Saile corrected him softly. "And it works perfectly for us. Just watch."

Luap finally stopped laughing. He wiped his face and looked down at Saile with pure, cold cruelty.

"Well, F-Rank," the noble said smoothly, taking a heavy step forward. "Since you are already down here in our trial zone, you can actually make yourself useful."

Saile looked up, faking a terrified tremble in his voice. "Useful how?"

"This dungeon is full of ancient traps," Luap explained. He pointed his glowing broadsword straight at Saile’s chest. The sharp tip rested just inches from Saile’s heart. "Our Academy instructors cleared out the big monsters yesterday. But the pressure plates and spike traps are still highly active."

The noble smiled an ugly, wicked smile.

"My silver armor is far too expensive to get scratched by falling rocks," Luap sneered. "You are going to walk twenty paces ahead of us. You are our new trap-bait."

The other four elites quickly drew their weapons. Two heavy broadswords, a glowing silver spear, and the green magical staff all pointed directly at the wet, bleeding boy. Their eyes were completely cold and empty of pity.

To them, an F-Rank commoner was not even considered a real human being. He was just a disposable tool.

"If you step on a trap, you die," Luap threatened violently. "But if you refuse to walk, I will cut your head off right now."

Saile looked calmly at the five glowing weapons. He hunched his shoulders forward, making himself look much smaller and weaker. He put a fake, terrified shake into his bloody hands.

"Please do not hurt me," Saile begged quietly. "I will walk ahead. I will do whatever you say."

"Good boy," Luap laughed cruelly. He pushed Saile hard in the back with the flat

side of his heavy sword. "Now get moving, trash. And keep your eyes on the floor."

Saile stumbled forward on purpose. He pretended to be incredibly clumsy. He walked slowly toward the dark, arching stone hallway that led deeper into the Ashen Vanguard’s Tomb.

Behind him, the wealthy elites chatted happily about the upcoming Academy

graduation. They talked about the fancy parties they would attend in the Central

Continent. They completely ignored the boy walking ahead of them.

"You are actually going to let them use us as bait?" Naicul grumbled bitterly. The God’s boiling anger was slowly turning into deep, heavy annoyance.

"No," Saile thought back.

A dark, wicked smirk finally crept onto his hidden face. He tightened his grip on the heavy hilt of the Calamity Fang tied securely to his back. The rusted black iron felt perfectly warm against his skin, eagerly waiting for blood.

"We need to find the boss room to get the massive EXP," Saile explained quietly in his mind. "This dungeon is huge. Let these arrogant fools trigger the traps for us."

"I understand," Naicul chuckled happily. A slow, malicious laugh echoed through Saile’s skull. "We let them waste their bright holy magic clearing out the weak mobs in the hallways. They can do all the boring, heavy lifting."

"Exactly," Saile finished cleanly. "We let them exhaust their mana. We let them take the damage. And when they finally reach the boss room, we steal all their EXP."

Saile kept his head down. He walked deeper into the cold, ancient darkness of the tomb. He played the part of the terrified, weak peasant perfectly. He dragged his wet boots across the dusty stone floor, making sure to step carefully right over the loose tiles. Suddenly, a sharp click echoed loudly through the dark hallway.

Saile had intentionally stepped right over a hidden pressure plate. He left it perfectly primed for the group walking behind him.

"Watch out!" the female noble screamed.

Three massive, rusted iron spears shot out from the dark stone walls. They flew through the air with terrifying speed, aiming directly for Luap’s chest.

The noble cursed loudly. He swung his glowing A-Rank broadsword in a desperate

panic. A wave of bright holy fire exploded from his blade. The fire smashed into the flying spears, melting the rusted iron into useless slag before they could hit his expensive armor.

The physical force of the explosion knocked the noble backward. He crashed into one of the Holy Knights, sending them both tumbling into the dirt.

"You useless peasant!" Luap roared angrily, pulling himself up from the dusty floor. He glared fiercely at Saile. "Are you blind? You missed the trap!"

"I am sorry!" Saile cried out, throwing his hands over his head and cowering against the wall. "It is too dark! I did not see it!"

Inside his mind, Saile was laughing.

Before the noble could raise his sword to punish the boy, a low, guttural growl echoed from the shadows ahead.

The trap had not just fired spears. It had opened a hidden stone door in the wall. Five Skeletal Warriors marched slowly out into the hallway. They wore ancient, broken armor and carried rusted iron longswords. Their eye sockets glowed with a faint, angry red light.

Red System screens flashed instantly in Saile’s vision.

[Target: Skeletal Warrior. Level: 20.] [Threat Level: Low.]

They were incredibly weak. Saile could have destroyed all five of them with a single spin sweep. But he stayed crouched against the wall, pretending to be absolutely terrified.

"Monsters!" the female noble shrieked. She raised her green staff and fired a massive bolt of magical lightning.

The lightning smashed into the first skeleton, shattering its brittle bones into

white dust. The other four elites rushed forward. They swung their glowing swords and heavy spears, screaming loud battle cries. They hacked and slashed wildly at the slow, clumsy undead monsters.

It took them two full minutes to clear the hallway. The rich students breathed heavily, their shiny armor covered in gray bone dust. They had wasted a massive amount of holy mana on low-level trash mobs.

"Keep moving, peasant," Luap panted, kicking a broken skull out of his way. "And

open your eyes this time."

Saile nodded quickly. He turned around and continued walking down the dark corridor. The arrogant Academy elites followed right behind him. They complained loudly about the dust and the smell. They had absolutely no idea who they had just threatened. They were completely blind to the terrifying, EX-Rank monster quietly leading the way.

The true trial of the Ashen Tomb had just begun, and Saile was holding all the cards.