Chapter 357: Two thousand levels of fun and games

Chapter 357: Two thousand levels of fun and games

After his explanations, Saint Tartaros teleported everyone to the academy. Astelia and Sofia appeared directly in the headmaster's office in the company of Tartaros, while the students were probably sent to their dormitories. Beligenus was busy writing a book using an impractically huge feather as his pen. It took a few seconds for him to finish writing his page, and only then did he look up at the newcomers, welcomed them, and told them to sit.

Sofia did try to read what Beligenus was writing about, but it was in Draconic, and reading Draconic signs upside down was still outside of Sofia's capabilities, especially with how much she had been slacking off on this particular subject ever since her scribe had started translating the system messages for her.

Before the headmaster could explain anything, Astelia had already asked a question: What happened to Clint? Is he still alive?

Beligenus nodded, his white beard shaking up and down, Doctor Leverle handled his case. He is safe but currently in a coma. We could not get any answers from him, but that is entirely unnecessary, as we now have a good grasp on the situation.

Tartaros picked up where Beligenus left off, We, Beligenus, the Imperial couple, and myself, have been working on a large project. To facilitate its smooth continuation, we have decided to let you both know a bit more. You will then continue to oversee the competitions events as a pair from here on out. Miss Vakaria already knows a little.

Astelia turned to look at Sofia, a puzzled look on her face.

Can I share everything I know? Sofia asked, and Beligenus nodded in response. Sofia thus proceeded to explain what she knew to Astelia, In short, the hidden goal of the competition is to bait a certain unknown someone into trying to steal the admins sword, and one of my students is apparently linked to that person somehow. That's it.

Oh, Astelia softly reacted, The sword as the reward did look a bit too good to be true, though I had just pinned that on the emperor being overly generous with his citizens But how does that lead to Clint trying to poison Sofias students?

Tartaros stood up from his chair, his hands on his hips. He started pacing around the office as he answered, The person we are trying to bait out of hiding and terminate is a traitor of the Empire and the reason for the late Empress passing, he revealed, They were last identified by the system as a level 508.

Hearing this, Astelias hand gripped a bit tighter on her seat's armrest, causing the stressed wood to make an intermittent cracking noise.

Well.

I am not going to be of any help here, clearly. L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Theyre going at this guy at three against one and still need to proceed with caution For the best, probably. An all-out battle between level 500 powerhouses must be devastating on a planetary level, thinking about how Erredis said she could have covered the entire moon in rot with a single breath.

Beligenus then continued, We expect that person to try multiple things to get their hands on the sword, one of them is to have someone they have some influence over win the sword legitimately for them. That someone is one of Teacher Vakarias students.

Sofia frowned as she quickly made the connection in her head with the poisoning incident being obviously related to this. You mean they controlled Clint to sabotage my group and poison Shaily in order to skew the token gains in favor of another one of my students and eliminate competition?

It is not straightforward like so, Beligenus refuted, they are a cunning, powerful, and ruthless individual. While achieving these might have given their candidate an edge, that would have been nothing but a happy accident for them. In accordance with their habits, the intent of the maneuver was likely twofold. It served to gauge our response to their actions and to remove the priest of Death from the scene, allowing them to spectate the event in a less roundabout manner.

I felt a presence watching me all the time after Clint left. That was them Sofia concluded.

Beligenus narrowed his eyes a bit, although the rest of his face was imperturbable. The question came out of nowhere, but he indulged her, That would be the system-protected jingle bell which has been attached to your weapon ever since you arrived at the Academy.

So he does know that it is a bell despite it being empty and not identifiable. But is that a guess or can he actually hear it? To probe further

How does it sound to you? Sofia continued, Describe it in detail. My continued collaboration will entirely depend on your and Mr Tartaros answers.

You trust that bell more than your own judgment? Beligenus asked curiously, So be it, if that is all you require, to my best knowledge, this bell sounds like the distant ringing of wind chimes on a sunny day. As far as I can tell, it does not actually emit any physical soundwave and instead directly sends information through the soul. I assume that this was likely one of the ultimate rewards of the second trial.

Sofia turned her gaze to Tartaros, who was waiting with his arms crossed, back against a wall.

What the Dragon said, he declared with no hesitation before adding one more detail, the sound is relaxing. Soul-healing properties, I would wager.

I see, Sofia said, storing her staff. I think we can trust them, she told Astelia.

It took a bit more talking to convince Astelia, but she eventually accepted to conserve the status quo after making Beligenus swear under Moons name that he would not let a single one of their students die during the year.

The two old monsters were annoyingly reluctant to share any more information on the target of the plan, the specific Student of Sofias who had a link to them, or the exact reason why Astelia would have wanted to be a part of the entire ordeal. But they did at least have one more interesting thing to say, which was that they were now certain that the attack during the first event had been instigated by Scripture, and that He would undoubtedly strike again at some point during the year.

They had then assured them that they would intervene when that happened. Tartaros would prevent the target of their plan from stepping in and taking advantage of the chaos, Beligenus would focus on preventing a direct divine intervention from Scripture, and Sofia and Astelia would have to fend for themselves against Scriptures now isolated and weakened pawns.

In a way, they would repay Sofias help by helping her against Scripture. It was enticing but Sofia had to wonder whether it would be an issue for the no help part of her quest, which she would now have to ask the Orator about.

Either way, she eventually headed out of the Headmasters office with Astelia, but not before leaving them with a last present to really seal their temporary alliance.

Just so that we stand on completely clear grounds. My name is still Aphenoreth, and I swear on the four Lords name that if you let one of our students die for your little hunting plan, I will haunt you both and your friend the Emperor until the very memory of your existence is erased from the fabric of this world. Now have a nice day.

Sofia closed the door behind her with a gentle smile on her face.

There was an oppressive silence in Beligenus office as Astelia and Sofia walked down the stairs of the headmasters tower.

I told you. We are playing with fire, Beligenus.

You know me. I have always had a fascination for fire. These two burn too brightly to ignore. Everything is following the plan so far. We only yet have to secure the Archangel.

Delivia is still negotiating as we speak