Chapter 99: Unexpected Guest

"I’m slowly understanding them..."

Arlo affirmed to himself as he studied the two skills before directing his attention onto the next.

Sin Of Envy

Status: Incomplete Power

[Description: Enables you to manipulate negative concept, especially of envy or jealousy within yourself or any other creature when their jealousy is directed toward you. This energy fuels your strength and increases the destructiveness of your original mana, allowing your attacks to touch the boundary of Runic Law Destructiveness.]

[Caution: Power is highly incomplete and can lead to consequences such as consciousness loss and replacement when used!]

"Hmmm."

As he stared at the panel, a gleam cross through Arlo’s eyes.

[It was that skill you activated. And the side effect was probably what you experienced, which was the emergence of your War Demon.]

[You understand now, don’t you?]

The System asked him, and Arlo nodded.

"So once I use it, there’s a high chance I’ll lose consciousness, and when that happens, the War Demon consciousness takes over. This is a useless skill." Arlo mused.

[Actually, it is a very good skill!]

"Huh?"

[Or rather, a very great skill. Now you know how to purposefully summon your War Demon! You have gained a little control over it!]

The System said, showing him the bright side of the situation.

Truthfully, Arlo couldn’t summon the War Demon at will, nor was he ever conscious whenever it emerged.

It came and went without warning, always eluding Arlo’s awareness and leaving no indication of when it would appear next.

But now, Arlo could summon it at will by willing the Sin of Envy to awaken.

[Summoning it should only be considered when no other means of survival remain.]

[Once summoned, control cannot be guaranteed. It will withdraw only when it chooses to.]

[Its consciousness has already awakened. There is a possibility that it may refuse to leave, resulting in permanent occupation of the host body.]

[In such an event, the host consciousness may remain trapped in slumber indefinitely.]

Arlo sucked in a cold breath.

[Recommended action: avoid summoning it unless death is otherwise certain.]

[The risk of eternal slumber is acceptable only under such circumstances.]

The System said as Arlo nodded.

He was about to move on when his ears suddenly perked up at the sound of footsteps approaching his house.

Immediately, his body froze.

There was no reason for anyone to come looking for him, and he could confidently say that only Professor Igris was aware of where he lived.

So what was someone doing here?

"Don’t tell me they’re back again..."

Arlo mused, but his fears proved unfounded when a knock suddenly sounded against the door, followed by a familiar voice.

"Knock."

"Knock."

"Knock."

"Arlo?!"

"Is that...Princess Milliani?!" Arlo wondered in shock.

Arlo rose to his feet and walked toward the door. He unlocked it and cautiously poked his head out.

Just as he had suspected, Princess Milliani stood directly in front of him, a large smile plastered across her face.

She was dressed in a light purple shirt and a pair of baggy trousers.

"Been a very long time, Princess Milliani!"

Arlo greeted with a half-smile, causing Princess Milliani to giggle, seemingly at a loss for words.

It really had been a long time since she had come to see him.

She was the one who had been ordered by her mother and the King to look after him within the academy.

She was also the one who had nearly lost her life if not for his intervention, an intervention that could have easily resulted in him losing his own.

It was rather bad of her to only show up now.

"Look, Arlo. I’m sorry. It’s just..."

"How do you know the way to my house?" Arlo suddenly asked.

He didn’t remember ever telling her where he lived, yet here she was standing directly outside his door.

"I learned it from a guy called Vael."

"He said you go to Professor Igris’ lab after school and that you don’t stay in the student area."

"So I figured you must be living in one of Professor Igris’ assigned homes," she explained.

"Oh. That makes sense."

But then he remembered something else.

"He also remembered to tell you that we’re in the middle of our Outer-Season event, that we just went through four days of relentless training, and that we’re beginning again tomorrow morning, meaning everyone definitely needs their rest if they hope to pass the test, didn’t he?"

"Oh, that... That makes sense."

"You definitely need your rest. I’ll... I’ll leave you alone. You can rest properly and prepare for the test tomorrow."

"Maybe I’ll see you after the event ends... or..."

Princess Milliani struggled to find the right words, and Arlo simply nodded.

"Goodbye, Princess Milliani..."

He replied before shutting the door and heading toward his bedroom.

"Yeah...bye."

Milliani mumbled, her hand still raised toward the closed door in front of her.

A moment of silence and quietly she lowered it, fingers curling tightly into her palm.

Turning around, she walked back, her lonely silhouette gradually disappearing into the shadows.

____________________

The Next Morning...

"Welcome back everyone to the second phase of the Outer-Season event..."

The Vice-Chancellor loudly announced, quickly going over everything from where they had left off the previous day. ℴ

"Psst, hey!"

Arlo turned his head and looked toward Vael, who was staring at him with a strange gaze.

"You know you’re the reason I couldn’t properly relax yesterday, right?"

He asked, causing Arlo to raise an eyebrow.

"And how did I cause that?"

"Because yesterday, a hot chick approached me, asking if I was Vael, the best friend of Arlo. Ahhh, it’s the only time in my life I’ve appreciated being able to prove that fact."

Vael said, causing Arlo to look at him strangely.

"She begged me profusely for your location, so I thought, ’Ahh, I know Arlo is a bad spirit. I know it.’ But can I really leave a hot chick suffering all alone? So I thought, ’I’mma just ignore all your bad habits and help her.’ All because of her, don’t get me wrong..."

"Well, thank you then, I guess..."

Arlo replied with a scoff.

"So tell me, how did the night go, huh? The best one you ever had? Hmmmm, hmmm. Let your brother know about it."

Vael asked playfully, poking at Arlo’s stomach and chest.

Arlo immediately slapped his hands away before grabbing him by his clothes and shoving him toward his face.

"I’ll give you one good, last warning, Vael. Next time anyone approaches you about me, never ever tell them where I live! Ever!"

Arlo warned.

"Okay, okay. I will. Fine, you win!"

Vael said as Arlo eyed him suspiciously before slowly releasing his clothes. Vael immediately straightened them once more.

"I guess the night didn’t go as well as I dreamed it would..."

"Stop talking about the night!"

"I never did. You must be hearing things wrong..."

Vael argued, earning a snort from Arlo before he ignored him and turned his attention to the side.

SWOOV

SWOOV

"Ahhhh, what is it again, Vael?"

Arlo asked, turning back toward Vael, who was literally only a few inches away from him, squeezing himself into his own seat.

"Still, Arlo. There’s something I have to warn you about, seriously..."

He said, this time with a heavy tone, causing Arlo to narrow his eyes.

"What’s wrong?"

"Yesterday, you know you were the one who topped the phase of the test, much to my displeasure, of course."

He still didn’t forget to slip in his jealousy.

"Yeah?"

"And do you also know that the two students below you were from Class A?! It seems that for the past three years, Class A has always topped the tests."

"So now that you, a person from Class D, topped the test, they kinda, you know, got furious, and you know..."

"They’re targeting me. Is that all you want to say? That they’re targeting me now?"

Arlo asked, and Vael nodded.

"I just want to say, be safe, Arlo..."

"I will, Vael..."

Arlo said, shrugging it off as Vael could only nod.

’At least, I gave him my warning. I did all I could.’

"The next phase of this event will be dealing with something called, ’Take the Bag!’"

Mr. Ian announced cryptically, causing them all to raise an eyebrow at the strange name of the event.

"The event is really simple, just like its name indicates. It’s a game-like simulation. With every passing second, a total of fifty of you will find a bag in your hand, a bag with a timer.

"All you need to do is make sure you have the bag in your hands for as long as possible.

"The one who holds the bag for the longest time will get the highest percentage for this test!"

Mr. Ian announced.

"So basically, there are fifty bags, each assigned to a different person at a particular time frame. Everyone wants the highest score, so you simply try to take the bag away from whoever is holding it and make sure the bag remains in your possession long enough to get the highest score."

"That’s a weird test..."

Vael couldn’t help but whisper beside Arlo, whose eyebrows furrowed as well. Just what did fighting over bags have to do with the upcoming Outer-Season event? It just sounded lame.

"Note, anything is allowed in this test, ranging from fighting to keep possession of the bag to hiding away from everyone’s eyes."

"I wouldn’t suggest the latter, though, as anyone close enough to you can sense that the bag is with you."

"Still, you’re permitted to use both your brain and brawn during this event..."