A cold smile spread across Rhys’s face.He raised his voice so everyone on the battlefield could hear him.“Anubis! Change with me! I will end this battle in five minutes!”“!!!”Anubis froze for only a split second before immediately understanding.That phrase wasn’t random.It was the signal Rhys had agreed upon with all of his familiars.Whenever Rhys mentioned five minutes, there was only one meaning.Mummification.Anubis instantly abandoned his fight with the gnome and rushed toward his Beast Tamer.The gnome reacted just as quickly.Stone spikes burst from the ground one after another while thick walls rose in Anubis’s path, trying to trap him before he could reach Rhys.It wasn’t enough.Anubis slipped through every obstacle with astonishing precision.Whenever spikes erupted beneath him, he changed direction before they could reach him.When stone walls blocked his path, he used them instead, darting between the narrow gaps as if they were stepping stones.Meanwhile, Rhys cha

“Congratulations. You won the Black Pearl. That officially makes you the first-place winner of this event.” Laura smiled warmly.“Thank you.” Rhys returned the smile, doing his best to ignore the icy stare directed at him from the side. He glanced around the hall, searching for two familiar figures.Varyn noticed immediately and walked over. “No need to look for them. They’ve already left. With the teachers serving as witnesses, we’ve officially confirmed your victory. No one can dispute the result.”“I see.” Rhys accepted the announcement with a calm nod.“You performed exceptionally well,” Varyn continued. “As the winners of the Black Pearl, you and your partner, Meave Talen, will receive an A-grade room, one thousand Lesser-class cores, and one Epic-grade item.”“Thank you.” Rhys and Meave bowed their heads together.Varyn handed each of them a document. “These are the room transfer forms. Sign them, and you’ll be able to move into your new rooms tomorrow. As for the Epic item, tha

The moment they stepped into the student council room, Grace welcomed them with a round of applause.“Congratulations,” she said with a smile. “I honestly didn’t expect you to defeat Thalveris like that. The result completely exceeded my expectations.”She looked between Rhys and Meave before continuing.“So this was your plan from the very beginning. You already knew she was capable of proving herself before you asked me to accept her into the student council.”Her gaze settled on Meave.“And that avatar…”Grace shook her head in admiration.“Even many third-year students struggle to condense their Mana to that level. The precision and control required to create something like that are incredible.”“As far as Mana Manipulation is concerned, I don’t think any student in Valaris Academy surpasses her.”“She’ll be a valuable addition to the student council.”Her praise only confirmed what Meave had already suspected.As expected…Rhys had never suggested something unless he was already

The previous day…“What did you just say?”Wyndia stared at Rhys with widened eyes. She had called him over intending to congratulate him after everything he had accomplished. Instead, he had made a request so absurd that, for a moment, she wondered if she had misheard him.Rhys nodded without hesitation.“Yes. I’m sure you’ve already heard about it, Master. The organization that’s been secretly watching the academy.”“I know about them,” Wyndia replied, still trying to process his words. “But why in the world would you want to join an organization like that?”“There are four reasons… I mean, three.”“Oi!” Wyndia snapped before he could continue. “Do you think I don’t know what reason you just cut out? Stop fooling around and answer me seriously.”Her brows knit together.“If there’s something bothering you, just tell me. You’re my student. I can help you if I can. I don’t want you throwing yourself into something this dangerous.”She took a slow breath, trying to understand him.“No…

“!!!”“Captain… you…”“A new member?”“The only person you’ve ever personally invited was…” Everyone instinctively turned toward the woman seated nearby.“It was me.” She calmly set her tobacco pipe on the table before nodding. “I never expected you to bring him here as a candidate. That’s quite surprising, Hilary. Is it because of his master?”Hilary shook her head.“Not really.”Her gaze drifted toward the masked assassin.“If I had to give one reason…”“It’s because Yela almost died at his hands.”The room fell silent.“What?”“Almost died?”The tanned young man frowned.“He’s only a first-year student. Even if he’s talented, there’s no way he should be strong enough to threaten Yela.”“Exactly.” Yela folded her arms. “He couldn’t have killed me.”Hilary simply looked toward the smoking woman.“Nayla.”“Clean her up.”“Hm?”Nayla looked puzzled, but she did as she was told. She took another slow puff from her pipe before blowing the smoke toward Yela.Instead of drifting away, the