Chapter 234 - 233 : Cursed Luck and the Penalty

Chapter 234: Chapter 233 : Cursed Luck and the Penalty

Layla stood in the garden, staring at the seven massive wyverns circling above the house.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Barbatos.

The dragon-kin stood beside Arthur in complete silence, his horns catching the pale moonlight. His long tail rested behind him, still and controlled, while the ominous aura around him made the air feel heavier.

Layla’s mouth fell open.

She raised a trembling hand and pointed at the wyverns, then at Barbatos.

"Are you saying those things will protect me?"

Arthur nodded casually.

"Of course they will," he said. "So do not worry. Even if you cannot revive anymore after dying, I just will not let you die."

Layla stared at him.

Arthur turned toward Barbatos and the wyverns.

"From now on, all of you will live in her shadow," he commanded. "Protect her twenty-four hours a day. Never leave her side."

The seven wyverns lowered their heads.

Barbatos placed one hand over his chest and bowed.

Then, in the next second, all eight shadows dissolved into darkness.

The wyverns descended first, their enormous bodies turning into streams of black smoke. Barbatos followed, his figure fading into a shadowy silhouette before vanishing completely.

The darkness flowed across the ground.

Then it entered Layla’s shadow.

Her shadow rippled once.

And returned to normal.

Layla took a huge gulp.

"You are positive they will not eat me, right?"

Arthur sighed.

"Do not worry," he said. "Those shadows are already dead. They do not have wills of their own. They will follow your orders from now on, as long as those orders do not go against my command to protect you."

Layla looked down at her shadow.

It looked completely ordinary.

Yet somewhere inside it, a dragon-kin and seven massive wyverns waited.

She took a long breath.

"Now I do not know whether I should be grateful to you or angry with you."

Arthur smiled.

"You do not need to be either," he said. "I already told you that I would protect you, did I not?"

A small smile appeared on Layla’s face.

It was faint.

Reluctant.

But real.

"Alright," she said. "I will accept this outcome. After all, I was the one who lost the duel."

She looked toward the house.

"I will give you permission to take one of the rooms. You may live here."

A notification appeared before Arthur.

DING!

[ A total of 2,500 Mana Points will be consumed every second to maintain all assigned shadows. ]

Arthur glanced at it, then his expression relaxed.

’That is not much of a cost,’ he thought. ’With my Mana Heart and the Blessing of the World Tree, I can regenerate three thousand mana per second. My mana pool has also reached three million.’

A sly smile appeared on his face.

’That means I can maintain these shadows indefinitely.’

"Hey."

Layla’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Arthur looked at her.

"Are you listening?"

"Of course I was listening," Arthur replied smoothly.

Layla narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced.

"Then tell me," she said. "What is your plan from here onward? For catching the killer and for the Inter-Academy Competition?"

Arthur’s expression became serious.

"I have a very important plan."

Layla’s eyes sharpened.

"What is it?"

Arthur nodded solemnly.

"First, I will sleep," he said. "Then I will wake up and tell you."

Layla stared at him.

Arthur turned around and walked into the house.

She remained standing in the garden for a few seconds, watching his back in stunned silence.

"That guy definitely did not think of anything," she muttered.

Then she followed him inside.

───────────────

When Layla entered the house, she found Arthur already asleep in one of the guest rooms.

He had not even bothered to ask which room he was allowed to use.

He had simply entered the nearest empty room, thrown himself onto the bed, and fallen asleep without a care in the world.

Layla stood at the doorway, staring at him.

Her expression became complicated.

’I thought I was the only one holding back during our duel,’ she thought. ’I never imagined he was hiding power like this.’

Her eyes drifted toward her own shadow.

It lay quietly beneath her feet.

Completely normal.

Yet she knew what was hidden there.

The power Arthur had stolen from her system.

The ability she would have gained if she had defeated him.

"Shadow Extraction," she whispered.

Her gaze lowered.

"So that was the authority I was going to receive as a reward if I had won that duel."

Disappointment filled her chest.

She clenched her fists.

"Now I regret not going all out."

DING!

A system notification suddenly appeared before Layla.

Her eyes moved across the words.

Then her face darkened.

"Fuck," she muttered. "What the hell kind of penalty is this for failing the quest?"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ Prodigy System ]

[ Failure Condition Confirmed. ]

[ Official Duel — Defeat Arthur Celestian: FAILED. ]

[ Failure Penalty: ACTIVATED. ]

────────────────────────

[ System Deactivation Initiated. ]

[ Duration: 30 Days. ]

[ All Prodigy System functions will be unavailable during this period. ]

[ System Quests: LOCKED ]

[ System Rewards: LOCKED ]

[ System Skills: LOCKED ]

[ System Assistance: LOCKED ]

────────────────────────

[ Warning ]

[ The host will be unable to access any system function for the duration of the penalty. ]

[ Only innate abilities remain accessible. ]

[ Supreme Swordsmanship — SSS-Rank: ACTIVE ]

[ Prodigy System has been deactivated. ]

[ Remaining Deactivation Time: 30 Days. ]

────────────────────────

Layla read the notification again.

Then she yelled toward the ceiling.

"You bastard! You are really deactivating at the time I need you the most?"

Her voice echoed through the house.

"Does everyone really want me to die? First, that bastard is sleeping in my house, and now this system too!"

From inside the guest room, Arthur’s sleepy voice rang out.

"Hey! Can’t you see I am sleeping? Go outside if you want to yell!"

A vein popped on Layla’s forehead.

She wanted nothing more than to drag Arthur out of the room and throw him outside herself.

But she stopped.

Her anger slowly turned into frustration.

He was now her only real option for survival.

Her Prodigy System had been deactivated.

She could not access the system shop.

She could not purchase the expensive defensive skills, artifacts, and escape items she had planned to rely on.

For the next thirty days, she would be trapped without her system’s support while an unknown assassin hunted her.

And Arthur, the boy who had stolen her Resurrection ability, was sleeping peacefully in her house as if none of it mattered.

Layla gritted her teeth.

’My luck is truly cursed.’

She entered her room and slammed the door shut.

Bang!

───────────────

Meanwhile, Arina Evan Imperius stood in front of Aiden’s house.

The night air was cold, but she did not move.

She rang the bell and waited.

A few seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Then another.

Arina’s brows furrowed.

"Why the hell is he taking so long?"

At last, the door opened.

A white-haired boy stood in the doorway.

It was Aiden.

But he looked nothing like his usual self.

His white hair was messy, his clothes were wrinkled, and dark circles sat beneath his eyes. Bruises covered his face and arms. He looked exhausted, frightened, and pushed beyond his limits.

Arina nearly stepped back.

"What the fuck?" she blurted out. "Are you a ghost or something?"

Aiden looked at her with tired, unfocused eyes.

Then he clicked his tongue.

"Tch. I should have checked before opening the door."

He started to shut the door.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Arina immediately grabbed the edge of the door before it could close completely.

Aiden glared at her.

"What the hell do you want?"

Arina’s expression turned serious.

"It is not like I enjoy seeing your face either," she said. "But I heard Arthur was living here."

Her voice lowered.

"Let me meet him. Tell him I want him to let me see Father once."