Chapter 107: Growing Irritation

He began by moving through the rows upon rows of buildings, carefully making sure they were empty while remaining alert for any footsteps or other signs of movement around him.

Arlo knew well that whoever his attacker was would have become more cautious after their previous mission failed.

If they decided to strike again, they would either send a single person they were absolutely confident could overpower him or dispatch multiple people after him.

To accomplish that, they would first need to find a way to get close to him during the day.

The most obvious method would be sending people to linger around his compound and gather there until they were finally ready to launch their attack.

By ensuring there were no unfamiliar footsteps around the estate and no signs of anyone hiding within the surrounding buildings, Arlo could at least provide himself with some measure of security.

[Mph, not like that useless Professor did anything last time. I’m the one doing the majority of the work, and I don’t even get any thanks!]

The System grumbled, causing Arlo to roll his eyes. Still, he couldn’t help but admit that the System was right.

During the previous attack, it had been the System that helped him, not Professor Igris. Without the System’s intervention, his death at Joan’s hands would have been almost certain.

All Professor Igris had done was help clean up the aftermath and protect Arlo’s secret.

Yet even so, there was still a certain sense of comfort in knowing someone was watching his back.

That said, there was one thing about the previous attack that Arlo still couldn’t understand.

How had those people even infiltrated the academy and attempted to assassinate one of its students?

Cthulhu Academy was one of the greatest, if not the largest, Vorath learning institutions.

If students were occasionally being assassinated within its walls, then the academy’s reputation would have undoubtedly been dragged through the ground.

Yet Arlo had nearly been killed inside the academy despite unquestionably being one of its students.

How had such a large number of Vorath managed to sneak into the academy unnoticed!?

[Maybe they’re related to the school in the first place. Or perhaps they’re even sponsored by it. I don’t trust those people you call staff.]

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

"That doesn’t make sense. If they had been sent by the school, the academy should have reacted in one way or another upon all of their deaths. They should have launched an investigation or something."

"But those people died, and there hasn’t been any form of investigation at all, even though more than twenty people were killed."

"That doesn’t make sense if those people are connected to the academy in one way or another."

[Your attacker is still out there, completely unresponsive even after you killed twenty-one of his goons. He is hiding in the darkness while you’re standing in the light.]

[Like a dark python concealed in the shadows, watching every one of your movements.]

[I can only imagine what will happen when it suddenly lunges at you.]

"At least I’ll be safe within the academy. They won’t make too much careless moves, no matter how powerful they are."

[Then what happens when you leave the academy walls?]

Arlo simply shrugged the thought away.

"I’ll be fine. We’ll be under the scrutiny of the council members, remember? And there is no way I’ll get attacked by humans and also attacked by assassins at the same time, right?"

"There can’t possibly be such an unlucky coincidence in this world, can there?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

Yet his laughter soon turned awkward when the System gave him no response.

[What if there is?]

The System’s voice appeared the moment he stopped laughing.

Arlo furrowed his brows.

"Can you stop being such a pessimistic person? Things will go fine!" Arlo barked before finally heading toward his room.

[I am the System, Arlo. One of my purposes is to make sure that whenever things go wrong, I have a way to make them go right.]

[I can’t be pessimistic. I’m simply doing an even better job.]

[I consider every possible scenario that could go wrong and create plans for them. That’s my job!]

"Fine, fine. Do your job. I’ll help you by being careful, hmm?"

[Or perhaps you can help me by skipping sleep tonight and cultivating instead. You’ve been sleeping through all these missions in the first place.]

[So no sleep for you tonight. Got it?] the System asked.

Arlo nodded in defeat.

"Fine!"

And just like that, the evening quickly passed.

The moon rose into the sky as the world was swallowed by darkness before dawn eventually arrived once again.

Throughout the entire night, Arlo remained seated cross-legged, absorbing as much mana as he could while simultaneously experimenting with his skills.

He tried to develop his own variations of his arts while also deepening his understanding of his ability.

It was one of the best ways to rapidly improve his strength.

By learning the core principles behind his abilities, he could utilize them more effectively in combat.

At the same time, cultivating mana would allow him to increase his realm.

It was the fastest method available for improving his overall strength.

Morning finally arrived.

Arlo slowly opened his eyes, a brilliant astral-blue light flashing through them as he rose to his feet and stretched, his bones cracking one after another.

[You’ve made significant progress. Good job!] the System said.

Arlo quickly got up, washed away the impurities produced from his cultivation, and headed toward the academy.

Normally, the early morning would be filled with the excited murmurs of countless students.

But this time...

The moment Arlo entered the hall, he was met with silence as deep as a graveyard.

[As expected,. The time has come for the true separation between the real elites and the average Joes. There will always be silence.]

[That much-desired silence.] the System said in a dignified tone and Arlo rolled his eyes.

As he walked toward his usual spot, however, he was surprised to discover that Vael hadn’t arrived yet.

"Strange. He used to be the first to arrive..." Arlo mused, his brows furrowing slightly.

[Hmph, all average Joes are expected to feel the fearsome pressure. Were you expecting something different?]

"Don’t call Vael an average Joe..." Arlo corrected.

The System scoffed inside his head.

[I might have been forced to agree with you if he were someone like Emrys or Chris. But Vael is an average Joe, Arlo. The only thing he seems particularly good at is talking well and abusing you.]

"And..." Arlo said.

[Maybe the fact that he helped you just once by covering your absence during the first week at the academy. Anyone could do that.]

"And..."

[Maybe he’s also a gossiper who warns you about things that never truly become dangers to you in the first place.]

"And you still think he’s an average Joe?" Arlo asked.

The System scoffed again.

[Well, I will admit that he might be at least mildly useful.]

The System’s reluctant answer caused Arlo to chuckle triumphantly.

Soon, the students began pouring into the hall one after another and before long, the staff members arrived as well.

Still, Arlo couldn’t find Vael anywhere around the hall.

The hall gradually became more crowded, and just as the staff members were about to begin their lecture, Vael finally walked in.

But the sight of him caused Arlo’s brows to furrow.

The Vael walking toward him was completely different from the one he was used to.

The usual beaming smile that Arlo had almost never seen disappear from his face was gone. There was no excitement in his steps either.

Instead, his legs trembled slightly.

Arlo also noticed him limping every now and then, almost as if...

[I don’t remember him injuring his leg yesterday. Why is he limping?]

Dark bags hung beneath Vael’s eyes, making it obvious that he hadn’t slept throughout the entire night.

"Hmm, maybe he really did feel the pressure and trained throughout the night. But that doesn’t seem to have helped him much."

"He looks like even a gentle push could kill him." Arlo muttered with a slight chuckle.

But his amusement quickly disappeared when he noticed Vael suddenly changed direction.

Instead of approaching Arlo, he moved to the side and sat far away from him.

[Now that’s strange.] the System said.

Arlo’s brows furrowed.

’Something’s wrong. Vael has always been the one inviting me to sit with him, even against my will, and eventually, we both became used to sitting in the same spot.’

’But now, he’s visibly moving away from me, almost as if he’s avoiding me.’

[He also has an injury on his leg that he’s trying to conceal, and those eyebags are enormous. Only one thing comes to my mind.]

"He’s been assaulted. But not badly, almost as if he was..."

[Simply threatened.] the System completed.

Arlo’s head immediately turned toward the one place he suspected could be responsible.

The moment his eyes landed on the scene before him, a cold light flashed within them.

The people sitting opposite were none other than the Class A students.

And at that very moment, they were all looking directly at him, their mocking grins impossible to miss.

[There’s no doubt about it. It’s them. Strange, I’m not even surprised. I could already see this coming.] the System said, confirming the exact suspicion Arlo already had.

"Those bastards! I should have settled this yesterday and put them in their place for good."

Arlo muttered, a trace of irritation appearing in his voice.