Chapter 106: The Aftermath [2]

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Academy Medical Center.

Ryan sat inside a treatment room, allowing a healer to tend to the wound on his left shoulder.

His longsword rested on the table beside him. Several fine cracks had already appeared along its blade.

This weapon, which had accompanied him for so long, probably couldn’t be used anymore.

But Ryan didn’t care. He simply stared quietly at the wall in front of him.

The images of Victor’s battle against the Abyssal Bone Spike Wolf kept replaying in his mind.

There had been a difference of twenty three entire levels. And that wasn’t even mentioning the complete Life Tier barrier separating them.

In the past, Ryan wouldn’t have even dared to imagine something like this.

Yet today, he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

To a certain extent, Victor had even entered that battle to save him.

"Victor Alves..." Ryan softly muttered the name.

In the past, he had always believed that this noble young master was nothing more than an arrogant bully who relied on his family background.

Even after Victor’s attitude began to change, Ryan had never truly regarded him as an opponent worthy of serious attention.

But now...

Ryan slowly clenched his fists.

"So you’ve already reached this level?"

His gaze gradually sharpened.

This time, the enormous gap between them didn’t fill him with despair.

On the contrary, an unprecedented fighting spirit was slowly igniting deep within his heart.

"Looks like I can’t afford to keep wasting time either."

...

Evening.

Victor finally woke up.

The first thing he felt was an indescribable soreness throughout his body.

He had just tried to raise his hand when he discovered that his left arm had already been secured to a healing support, while thick bandages were wrapped around his chest.

"Hiss..."

Victor couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath.

"I really suffered a huge loss this time," he muttered under his breath.

However, at that moment, a familiar system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[First Direct Confrontation with Fate has concluded!]

[Event evaluation is being generated...]

[Detected that the host has successfully altered a critical fate trajectory!]

[Investment target Leah Vane has survived!]

[The predetermined fate trajectory has undergone a major deviation!]

[Final Event Evaluation: SSS!]

Victor was slightly stunned.

SSS?

Afterward, new notifications appeared one after another.

[Congratulations! The host has obtained event rewards!]

[Reward 1: Investment Points ×20!]

[Reward 2: Free Attribute Points ×15!]

[Reward 3: Special Item: Fate Reversal Voucher ×1!]

[Fate Reversal Voucher]

[Quality: Special]

[Effect: Can be used during a designated investment event to grant an additional opportunity to increase the investment return multiplier.]

[Note: The specific increase depends on the investment target’s potential, investment value, and degree of fate deviation.]

Looking at the system notifications continuously appearing before him, Victor’s originally exhausted eyes immediately brightened.

Twenty Investment Points!

Fifteen Free Attribute Points!

And a special voucher capable of further increasing his investment return multiplier!

Although he had nearly lost his life this time, the rewards seemed even more generous than he had imagined.

Especially that final Fate Reversal Voucher.

For someone who possessed the Villain Investment System, an item capable of directly influencing investment return multipliers was probably worth far more than ordinary Epic equipment.

"Not bad..." The corners of Victor’s mouth slowly curved upward. "Looks like taking that beating wasn’t completely for nothing."

Just then, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.

A petite figure hurried inside.

"Young Master!"

Leah had originally only intended to come in and check on him. However, when she discovered that Victor had already opened his eyes, she froze on the spot.

The next moment, her eyes instantly turned red.

"You’re finally awake!"

Victor looked at the young girl, who seemed on the verge of bursting into tears, and couldn’t help feeling somewhat helpless.

"What? I’m not even dead yet, and you’re already preparing to mourn me?"

"Young Master!"

Leah was both anxious and angry, but her tears still couldn’t stop falling.

Seeing this, Victor could only sigh softly.

"Alright, alright."

"Come here."

Leah hesitated for a moment before walking over to the bedside.

Victor raised his right hand and gently rubbed her head.

"You did pretty well this time."

Leah froze.

"But I..."

"I know what you’re going to say."

Victor interrupted her.

"You think you’re too weak and that you dragged me down, right?"

Leah lowered her head without speaking.

Victor smiled. "Then work hard and become stronger. The next time something like this happens, try not to let me end up in such a miserable state."

Leah suddenly raised her head.

She looked at the familiar smile on Victor’s face, and tears once again flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

But this time, she didn’t continue blaming herself. She nodded firmly.

"Mm! I’ll definitely become stronger!"

Victor smiled in satisfaction.

Just then, another system notification suddenly appeared.

[Ding!]

[Detected a significant emotional change in investment target Leah Vane!]

[Target Loyalty Increased!]

[Current Loyalty: 92!]

[Target’s Desire for Growth Has Significantly Increased!]

[Detected a positive deviation in the investment target’s fate trajectory!]

[Recommendation: Host should continue making targeted investments!]

Looking at the system notification, the smile on Victor’s face grew even wider.

It seemed the rewards from this adventure weren’t limited to the system’s event rewards.

Just as he was preparing to continue examining his system panel, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hospital room as a slightly aged yet vigorous voice rang out.

"Victor Alves. I heard you’ve woken up."

Victor raised his head.

Vice Dean Albert stood at the doorway, accompanied by two academy instructors.

The old man’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Level 22, yet you managed to slay a Level 45 Second Tier magical beast. You brat, you’ve really given our academy an enormous headache this time."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Vice Dean, does this count as a meritorious contribution, or did I violate academy regulations?"

Hearing this, Albert couldn’t help laughing.

"What do you think?"

Victor thought for a moment.

Then, with an extremely serious expression, he said,

"I think I should at least receive some kind of reward, right?"

Albert: "..."

Looking at the young man lying on the hospital bed, who was clearly seriously injured yet had already begun thinking about academy rewards, the old man was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a while, he finally shook his head and laughed helplessly.

"Don’t worry. The academy won’t forget your contribution this time. But before that..."

Albert’s expression gradually became serious.

"There are some things I’d like to ask you personally."

Victor looked at him, the smile on his face remaining unchanged.

However, he had already vaguely guessed the purpose of the old man’s visit.

After all, a Level 45 abyssal magical beast had suddenly appeared in a first year screening area that was originally supposed to contain only magical beasts of Level 18 and below.

No matter how one looked at it, there was no way this could be dismissed as a simple accident.

And as the person who had personally killed that magical beast, Victor clearly couldn’t remain completely uninvolved.

However, Victor had no intention of turning himself into some kind of investigator.

What he needed to do most right now was recover from his injuries and increase his strength as quickly as possible.

After all, the opening of the Inferno Prison Secret Realm was drawing closer and closer.

Thinking of this, he leaned back against his pillow and put on an extremely innocent expression.

"Vice Dean, feel free to ask whatever you want. But let me make one thing clear first. I’m a seriously injured patient right now. If your questions are too complicated, I’m afraid I’ll have to charge extra."

The corners of Albert’s mouth twitched slightly.

Meanwhile, Leah, who was standing beside them, finally couldn’t help bursting into laughter through her tears.

At that moment, the atmosphere inside the hospital room became considerably more relaxed.