Chapter 70 Work Experience [7]

Chapter 70 Work Experience [7]

Woooom—

The sirens continued to blare, and footsteps echoed in the distance. I remained seated and stared in the distance.

"....I'm tired."

I could hardly move my body.

Out there, on the opposite side, the guards were probably fighting against the inmates who had escaped.

I knew the plan from Professor Bucklam who had told me everything. At least, everything that he knew.

Five other people were aware of the plan. They all seemed to belong to the same organization.

....The one that I also seemed to be a part of.

"You..."

I snapped out of my thoughts after hearing a certain voice. However, I didn't turn my head and continued to stare in the same direction.

"....How come you're here?"

In the end, that was all she managed to say.

I almost laughed then.

"I'd like to ask you the same question."

No, really.

I was actually curious.

"That's none of your-"

She stopped upon realizing her own hypocrisy. Her expression crumbled, and she eventually clicked her tongue.

"My aunt. That was my aunt."

"....I see."

It finally made more sense to me.

"....."

"....."

"....."

"....So?"

"So, what?"

I turned to look at Kiera who had her mouth open. As if realizing something, she ended up muttering something along the lines of, 'Would you believe this fucker...'

I could only hear because she wasn't trying to hide her voice.

"I only said, 'I'd like to ask you the same question'. Didn't mean that I was planning on sharing after you shared."

"You..."

She raised her fist and leaned her body slightly. It looked like she wanted to hit me. However, I didn't flinch and just stared at her.

"What are you doing?"

Her red eyes sparkled in the dark as she clenched her teeth.

"....."

That fist never reached me.

With a long breath, she leaned back and cursed.

"Fuck."

I silently shook my head and similarly leaned back. My body still ached, and my mana was recovering very slowly. Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

In the distance, I could still hear the muffled banging sounds. It seemed pretty intense out there.

".....You're pretty strong."

My thoughts were once again broken by Kiera's voice.

"Strong?"

I looked at her and almost doubted her words.

Did she really just call me strong...?

I wanted to laugh. Strong? As if. I was currently still weak.

The only reason I was even able to keep up with her aunt was because her mana had been sealed for so long that her body was still getting accustomed to life without restraints.

I would've been killed with a flick of her finger had that not been the case.

Still...

"....Thanks."

I received her words and didn't deny them.

Such was my persona.

"Not a trace of humility, huh...? Well, I get it. Annoying as you are, you are pretty strong."

Kiera ended up shrugging her shoulders.

"So yeah..."

She proceeded to scratch the side of her face.

"....Uh, yeah."

Scratch. Scratch.

"Yup."

Scratch—

"Right..."

Repeating the same words, she struggled to get the words out of her mouth. Confused, I continued to stare at her when she ended up clicking her tongue.

"Whatever, fuck. I just wanted to say thanks."

"Thanks...?"

I was taken aback.

: Progress - 2 % + 7% ---> 9%

Evelyn J. Verlice : Slumber

: Progress - 0%

"....."

I wordlessly stared at the window that appeared before me.

Failure.

My first failure.

I felt my chest tighten staring at the +7%.

It was a necessary loss that I was willing to take. I still knew nothing about what the situation entailed, and what would happen once the bars reached 100%.Most likely, it was going to be something bad for me.

However...

I was willing to take the risk and allow it to build up a little.In the end, I gained something more valuable with my decision.

To build a solid foundation.

I was willing to sacrifice short-term gains.

***

In a remote forest.

Woo— Wooom—!

The air twisted and two figures suddenly appeared out of thin air. Stumbling forward, they managed to stop after a few steps.

"Huuuu... Haa..."

"This is....?"

They were none other than Rose Keline and Robert Bucklam. They could still feel the lingering heat from Kiera's spell as they immediately channeled their mana to cool themselves down.

Rose looked around in confusion. Then, as if realizing that they were no longer in the prison, she turned to look at Rober where she smiled.

"It looks like you've saved me."

Catching his breath, he managed to say,

".....I was only following the plan."

He glanced at the shattered glass in his hand. It was a one-time use relic that enabled him to teleport outside of the prison.

The organization had paid a massive price to get it into his hands.

There was also another inmate who had received the same relic. Their job was similar to his, which was to help the greater-

risk members to teleport out.

It was already hard for the organization to get them to have access to the relics. The difficulty of giving it to the higher-

grade inmates was almost impossible.

It was for this reason that the two of them had been given the relics.

Their job was to escape with them.

"Mhh~ Well, I should still thank you."

Rose broke the silence that had suddenly gripped their area.

Rubbing her wrists which were still bruised, her brows wrinkled slightly.

"I won't lie, I was having a rather tough time dealing with the two of them. Especially that boy. His fighting style... It was rather unique."

Recalling the way the boy from before fought, and the emotionless expression he wore as he attacked her, Rose chuckled.

"...An interesting one."

Such was her evaluation of him.

"A very interesting one."

He definitely was.

"But..."

Rose looked around and tilted her head.

"Are we the only ones here? Where are the others?"

"I'm not certain."

Robert looked around.

Their relics were set to similar coordinates and therefore, theoretically, they should have already teleported here.

.....From what he had been told, their job was supposedly easier than his.

It was for this reason that Robert felt confused by the situation.

'Could something have gone wrong?'

He hoped that was the case, but responded differently.

"They might've been held back by something. I went straight to you the moment I could so I wasn't able to see."

"Hm~"

The smile on Rose's face widened. She seemed very pleased.

"Indeed, your reputation precedes you as a distinguished professor. Your sense of priority is commendable. I consider myself lucky to have gotten you as my helper. I'll make sure to tell the Directorate about your contributions. I'm sure they'll reward you."

".....Thank you."

Robert lowered his head to express his gratitude.

"I'm grateful for your words."

"Don't be too excited. I'm only putting in my word. Whether you get anything out of this will depend on 'him'."

"Who...?"

Robert tilted his head in confusion.

Rose's smile suddenly faded.

Then, as if two hands were squeezing at her throat, she managed to force out a few words.

"....The one who walks among us."