Wuuush. The gust of night wind slipping through the gap of the open window grew increasingly cold, as if freezing alongside the killing intent that solidified inside dormitory room number 404. Three black daggers heavily coated with Soul-Withering Liquid descended simultaneously. The movements of the three Shadow Pavilion assassins were perfectly synchronized and precise, gliding forward without triggering even a single ripple of air friction to eliminate any chance of the target reacting. STAB! STAB! STAB! The three toxic blades struck their targets dead-on. One plunged straight toward the throat, another drove hard into the back of the neck, and the leader’s dagger pierced through the thin blanket exactly over Austin Carter's heart. The assassins from the shadow faction were already prepared to pull back their weapons and leap backward out the window to make their escape, leaving behind a cold corpse with a shattered soul. However, the sensa

[Calculating detonation countdown: 3... 2...] The blood-red, sulfur-scented vapor gushed thicker from the skin pores of the three Shadow Pavilion assassins. Their bodies had now bloated to twice their normal size, creating a gruesome visual distortion over the sunken wooden floorboards. The pulse of destructive energy from the Phantom Soul Bomb vibrated through the structural space of room number 404, triggering a high-frequency humming sound capable of shattering the window glass if it weren't muted by the system's domain. "Gahhh... Ugh... Dead... We are all... dead..." the assassin leader coughed, spitting a dense black fluid that ignited into small flames upon touching the air. The destructive power of three high-tier soul bombs detonating together was no joke. If this massive capacity of energy triggered completely, its blast radius would not only obliterate this cramped room, but was fully capable of collapsing the entire eight-story support factio

The night wind blew fiercely across the rooftops of the lower district of the Tower Academy, but the two black silhouettes leaping through the midnight sky paid absolutely no heed to the cold air. Their footsteps, usually noiseless, now sounded somewhat erratic, heavy with immense panic. The two backup contract killers from the Shadow Pavilion continued to push their remaining mana, fleeing from the support faction's dormitory as if a demon from the deepest hell was clutching at their heels. They did not look back even for a fraction of a second. In their minds, the drowsy face of Austin Carter wrapped in his light blue pajamas and the chilling threat he had uttered continued to resonate like a conceptual curse that locked down their blood circulation. Downtown, Secret Headquarters of the Shadow Pavilion. A dimly lit underground room, illuminated only by the glow of deep purple magic candles. Behind a massive black stone desk sat a sle

Wuuush! The swirling green light of the spatial portal suddenly cut off, throwing hundreds of first and second-year students of the Tower Academy into an entirely foreign landscape. The foul stench of decaying vegetation, puddles of thick black mud releasing acidic vapor, and a dense grey fog that restricted visibility immediately assaulted their olfactory senses. Floor 3 of the Tower: The Whispering Swamps. "Ugh! This place smells like a dead rat soaked in vinegar!" shouted one of the combat faction students, immediately activating the air-filtering magic mask on his neck armor. "Check the formation! Don't anyone step on the dark purple grass, that's toxic quicksand!" the instruction from the elite faction team leader echoed firmly, triggering the clanking sound of overlapping armor plates. All around them, hundreds of students began to lower massive backpacks weighing dozens of kilograms from their backs, panting heavily. Their bodies were already drenched in sweat within the f

THUD! THUD! THUD! A succession of violent impacts resonated against the outer walls of Austin Carter's pearl-white capsule. Over a dozen Shadow Crocodiles, completely driven mad by the Attractant Pheromone, began to assault the structure brutally. Their titanic snouts slammed against the composite walls while their sharp, spiked tails whipped the elliptical surface of the capsule, splashing corrosive remnants of acidic swamp mud. "Roarrr! Hisss!" The B-Rank amphibious reptiles clawed relentlessly, triggering the internal automated defense alarms of the Ultimate Portable Campsite Capsule. Although its Hydrophobic Coating successfully caused the mud to slide right off, the raw physical impact of over a dozen giant monsters weighing hundreds of kilograms simultaneously began to create micro-frequency vibrations that seeped into the interior. Inside the capsule, Austin Carter, who was curled up hugging his blue pillow, knit