“I came back as quickly as I could because I needed to tell all of you what I’d discovered.”Dent glanced toward Grace with a faint smile.“I also owe my thanks to Student Council President Grace.”“She helped me keep everything confidential.”“There were simply too many uncertainties.”“We couldn’t risk spreading panic before we knew the truth.”He slowly looked back at the students.“But…”“That isn’t necessary anymore.”Dent took a deep breath.“So I’ll keep this simple.”“Our situation…”“Is extremely grim.”“…!!!”A wave of unease swept through the hall.Every student instinctively straightened.The atmosphere turned so quiet that even breathing seemed loud.Dent continued.“The Abyssals have been manipulating the volcano deep within their territory.”“They’ve deliberately directed the volcanic ash toward us.”He slowly swept his gaze across the hall.“You don’t need to be a scholar to understand what that means.”“You’re already living through it.”He pointed toward the windows.

“Where are you all going?” Rhys asked as he noticed Grace and the others walking toward the city.Grace looked at him in confusion and pointed ahead. “Huh? We should go to…”Rhys cut her off with a casual wave. “Come here.”Without explaining further, he turned and led everyone away from the road. Instead of entering the city, he guided them through a quieter path that curved around the outskirts until they reached a secluded clearing hidden behind dense trees and rocky terrain.The moment they stepped into the open space, everyone froze.A teleportation circle was carved into the ground before them.“Huh? This…” Grace stared at it with wide eyes before pointing at the formation, unable to hide her shock. Had Rhys somehow found a secret teleportation circle that nobody else knew existed?Rhys smiled at her reaction.“Don’t worry. This one is linked to only a single teleportation circle, so there’s no need for someone to operate it from the other side.”He crouched beside the formation

Meanwhile, on the other side, Grace found herself just as surprised as Skylar had been. The fight had barely begun, yet Mirova was already displaying abilities Grace had never seen before. Grace controlled the battlefield from the rear. Her elemental spirits worked together with perfect coordination. The Plant Spirit spread thick roots beneath the ground, twisting the terrain into a maze that slowed the Abyssals’ advance. The Fire Spirit and Ice Spirit attacked relentlessly from opposite sides. One burned. The other froze. The Earth Spirit reinforced the battlefield whenever necessary, while the Lightning Spirit rained down bolts that struck any monster trying to break through. Together, the four spirits completely controlled the flow of battle. On the other side… Mirova fought in a completely different way. She hadn’t summoned her Lamia yet. Instead, she relied only on the Dark Butterfly and the squirrel. The squirrel raced across the battlefield at astonis

Rhys fell silent.He stared at the place where the Common Class Mutant had vanished.For the first time in quite a while…He genuinely had no words.Anubis chuckled beside him.“Didn’t she shoot much better than you?”“…”Rhys rubbed the back of his head with a helpless smile.“Well…”“I’ll just have to work harder.”Risa laughed softly before waving toward Meave.With the battlefield around her already cleared, Meave walked back to the group.She glanced around at the surrounding forest.“There aren’t any powerful Abyssals nearby.”“Even after releasing that much Mana…”“Nothing stronger came.”She looked farther ahead.“I think we should keep moving.”Rhys smiled.“You lead the way this time.”He looked at her with obvious curiosity.“That power…”“Were you secretly trying to improve my shooting technique or something?”He spread his hands.“Where did all the sweeping force go?”Meave shook her head.“Not exactly.”She lifted her staff.“With Multiflux Control…”“I can now apply two

“Wait here for a minute.”“There’s something I want to check.”Meave looked at Rhys in confusion.“Sure.”She couldn’t understand why he looked so hurried.She had already scanned the surrounding area several times.There wasn’t a single powerful Abyssal nearby.As far as she could tell, there was no immediate danger.Meanwhile, Rhys’ thoughts raced at incredible speed.That’s right…Can I create a special ability that lets me see a Familiar’s status?That should count as a special ability… shouldn’t it?If it does…Can I form a contract for it?He began muttering under his breath.“The first party will obviously be my eyes…”He frowned.“But who should the second party be?”“The elements?”He immediately shook his head.“No.”“The world itself.”“If I’m trying to read the world’s records…”“Then the contract should be made with the world.”He continued organizing his thoughts.“Every Familiar and every status should already exist somewhere within the world’s records.”“This isn’t a c