Chapter 136 — Strange Training Regimen

Xavier looked down at Kael, who was struggling to breathe while lying on the ice-cold ground.

Snow surrounded them as far as the eye could see. The mountain winds continued to howl around them, carrying tiny particles of ice through the air. Kael’s clothes were torn in several places, and his body was covered in bruises from the training session that had just ended.

Above him, Xavier floated casually in the air, his arms folded across his chest.

He had a thoughtful expression as he stared down at his exhausted student.

"Tell me, Kael, are you ready for the Inter-High Tournament?" Xavier asked.

Kael momentarily stopped breathing as he tried to catch his breath. His chest rose and fell rapidly before he finally managed to speak.

"Well, I know that the geniuses cultivated by various clans of the other races will be powerful. But I’m very confident I’ll win the tournament," Kael replied.

Xavier stared at him for several seconds.

Then—

"Hah."

A chuckle escaped Xavier’s lips.

"That’s an arrogant thing to say," Xavier replied.

Kael raised an eyebrow while still lying on the ground.

"What do you mean by that?" Kael asked.

Xavier slowly descended until his feet touched the ground.

"Well, for one, you’re arrogant if you think you’ll be that much of a powerhouse in the tournament. There’s a reason why, these three months we’ve been on the mountains, I’ve only told you to battle monsters."

Kael frowned.

"Why?" Kael asked.

Xavier’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Well, for one, I know your gifts. You can adapt to any condition and attack. Although not quickly, I haven’t seen a limit to your adaptation. But your Copy Ability, although broken, has a dangerous backlash if you try to copy something way above your capabilities, like someone else’s Domain or replicating their Aura."

Xavier paused.

"But all in all, there’s a glaring reason why you won’t win."

A smirk appeared on his face.

"You’re not me."

Kael’s eyebrow twitched.

He knew Xavier was arrogant.

He had known that from the moment they met.

But somehow, hearing him casually declare that Kael would lose simply because he wasn’t Xavier still irritated him.

"I know that your generation, were the only set that won the tournament from the academy, but I doubt it was only you that took them all on," Kael said.

Xavier immediately raised one finger.

"That’s were you’re wrong, the other academies second year and first year all teamed up to battle me and still lost. I took them all alone," Xavier replied with a confident grin.

Kael froze.

His eyes widened slightly.

That wasn’t listed in the storyline of the game.

He had played the game countless times.

He knew the Inter-High Tournament.

He knew the academy’s history.

He knew that Xavier’s generation had been the only one to win the tournament.

But the game had never mentioned that Xavier had fought the other academies alone.

Then again...

The game had followed Leon.

That was the problem.

Everything Kael knew came from the perspective of the protagonist.

If something hadn’t been important to Leon’s story, the game simply hadn’t shown it.

So there are events that happened before Leon’s arrival that I never knew about.

That realization made Kael slightly uncomfortable.

Xavier noticed his silence.

"But one question, Kael."

Kael looked up.

"How exactly do you plan on handling the second years? You are nowhere close to the level of the second years in your academy, much less the ones in the other academies," Xavier stated.

Kael had a smirk on his face as he replied.

"That’s why I’m here, aren’t I? You’re the strongest, so I’m here to train. At the very least, so I can get stronger in preparation for the Inter-High Tournament," Kael stated.

Xavier stared at him.

Then his grin widened.

"I see."

He suddenly turned toward the horizon.

"Well, in that case, let’s start your training. The gate seems to be opening."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"What gate?" Kael asked.

Xavier pointed toward the distant mountains.

"Well, while I was wandering around the world in my third year, I came across this dungeon and found out that it wasn’t linked to the Demon Realm. And it opens once every year."

Xavier turned back toward Kael with a smirk.

"And I wanted you to explore it. It was a bit stressful clearing the dungeon. But I’m sure you can manage."

Kael’s expression immediately darkened.

"What dungeon? Throughout the gameplay, Xavier didn’t lead Leon, his original first and only disciple based on the storyline of the game, to this dungeon. Why do I get a bad omen?"

Kael didn’t say those words aloud.

He simply stared at Xavier.

A terrible feeling had already begun to settle inside his stomach.

There were many things in this world that Kael didn’t understand.

The Demon Royal Bloodline was one of them.

His connection to the darkness mana was another.

But this?

A dungeon that Xavier had discovered before the events of the game and that wasn’t connected to the Demon Realm?

That was completely new information.

"What are my probabilities of dying in this dungeon?" Kael asked.

Xavier tilted his head.

"Well, with your talent, I’m sure you’ll survive if you manage to open a Minor Domain at this level."

Kael’s expression went blank.

He slowly sat up.

"But that’s impossible. I’m still in the entry level of B-Rank. How do you expect me to open a Minor Domain? That’s a tall order and only a few percentage of A ranks achieve it, I don’t see myself breaking into A-Rank any time soon.," Kael complained.

Xavier nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

Kael stared at him.

That response somehow made everything worse.

Xavier continued.

"But you almost opened a Minor Domain. I could even say you did it toward the ending of the tournament."

Kael’s expression changed.

"But for some reason, I felt that wasn’t you, knowing your demonic origins," Xavier stated.

Kael became silent.

That was something he hadn’t wanted to discuss.

The strange state he had entered during the tournament.

The overwhelming darkness.

The feeling of something else moving inside his body.

The power that had almost completely swallowed his consciousness.

He still didn’t fully understand what had happened.

And apparently, neither did Xavier.

At least not completely.

"Yeah, you know about that," Kael muttered.

Xavier still had a smile on his face.

"For some reason, I want to meet that alternate ego of yours. But I’m sure you’ll be able to control that form better in the dungeon. Using that ring to limit your demonic powers won’t help. You’ll just erupt sooner or later," Xavier explained.

Kael instinctively touched the ring on his finger.

The ring had become something of a safety mechanism.

It suppressed the demonic power inside him.

But Xavier’s words made him wonder whether suppressing it was actually making things worse.

"How comforting," Kael muttered sarcastically.

Xavier ignored him.

"So use this dungeon as an opportunity to go all out. I’m sure that the dungeon will push you to your limits or just kill you. I don’t really care either way," Xavier said casually.

Kael’s eyelid twitched.

Of course.

That was Xavier.

The strongest Hunter in the world.

The man who could probably walk into an army of monsters and complain that they weren’t entertaining enough.

To him, Kael’s death probably would be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Kael stared at him.

Knowing his character, he’s too overconfident to think of me as a threat.

But he’s curious.

Curious enough to see what I become.

That was probably why Xavier hadn’t killed him yet.

Kael wasn’t afraid of Xavier exactly.

But he didn’t trust him either.

A sudden tremor shook the mountain.

Kael immediately turned his head.

The surrounding mana began to fluctuate.

The snow beneath their feet trembled.

Then—

A blue portal suddenly appeared behind both Kael and Xavier.

The portal wasn’t large.

At first.

But the moment it stabilized, an enormous wave of mana exploded from it.

BOOM!

The mana spike pushed Kael backward.

His boots dug into the snow as he struggled to maintain his balance.

Kael paused.

His eyes narrowed.

He hadn’t sensed the mana fluctuation.

Not even slightly.

The only reason he wasn’t completely surprised was because Xavier had already told him that the gate was forming.

Kael stared at the portal.

It was unlike any dungeon entrance he had ever seen.

There was no stone structure.

No ancient inscription.

No massive gate.

Only a swirling blue vortex floating in the middle of the mountain.

And somehow, the darkness surrounding the portal felt strangely familiar.

Kael’s instincts immediately screamed at him.

Don’t go in.

Unfortunately, his instincts had never been particularly useful when it came to avoiding trouble.

"I guess that’s your cue," Xavier said with a smile.

Kael slowly turned toward him.

"You don’t plan on telling me what to expect in this dungeon?" Kael asked.

Xavier smiled.

"And ruin the surprise? Of course not. Enjoy yourself. I’ll be back in one week to get you. There are some political matters for me to handle."

Kael stared at him.

"Wait."

Xavier turned around.

Kael’s expression became increasingly irritated.

"You’re seriously leaving me here?"

Xavier waved his hand.

"Have fun."

Then he vanished from Kael’s presence.

Kael stood completely still.

The wind blew past him.

The portal continued to spin.

He looked at the spot where Xavier had disappeared.

Then he looked at the dungeon.

"That bastard."

He sighed.

There was no point complaining.

He had already learned something about Xavier during the past three months.

The man didn’t care about conventional training.

He believed pressure created strength.

If Kael survived, he became stronger.

If he failed...

Well, apparently that was also part of the training.

Kael walked toward the portal.

With every step, the strange feeling inside his body became stronger.

His darkness mana reacted to it.

Not violently.

Almost like recognition.

Kael stopped.

His crimson eyes narrowed.

What exactly are you?

He couldn’t tell whether he was asking the dungeon...

Or himself.

He looked at the ring on his finger.

Then he looked back at the portal.

The Inter-High Tournament was coming.

The other academies were coming.

The second years were coming.

The Velvet Gang was preparing something.

And Kael had no intention of entering the second semester weaker than he was now.

If this dungeon really could push him to his limits...

Then perhaps Xavier had accidentally given him exactly what he needed.

Kael took a deep breath.

"Let’s see what’s waiting for me."

He stepped forward.

The moment his body touched the blue portal, the world disappeared.

For a brief moment, Kael felt weightless.

Then—

Darkness swallowed him whole.

And somewhere beyond the portal, something opened its eyes.