Liam could tell from the woman's expression.She had expected him to be dead.There was no relief in her eyes. If anything, there was a faint disappointment hidden behind her calm expression.Her crimson eyes moved across the destroyed arena before finally settling on him."You killed the monster?"Liam didn't answer. He simply stared at her.For some reason, the sight of those crimson eyes made something inside him turn cold.He had never liked vampires.He had always considered their history disturbing, but knowing that this woman had apparently been hoping to find his corpse made that feeling much stronger.During the Great War, humans and vampires had shared one of the bloodiest relationships among the Six Great Races.There had been a time when vampires treated humans as nothing more than livestock.Humans had been captured, bred, and kept solely as a source of blood.The other races had been too troublesome to control. Werewolves were difficult to enslave. Witches could retaliat

Liam didn't dwell on the Adaptive Core for long.Whatever had happened to him, he still didn't understand it, and sitting around staring at the strange information wasn't going to make the answers appear.Besides, there was something more important he wanted to know.How strong was he now?He pushed himself out of the chair and left his room.The residence had several areas designed for the four students, but there was one place that had immediately caught his attention when Professor Eleanor had given them the tour.The training room.Unlike the rest of the residence, the room had been reinforced with layers of defensive magic specifically designed to withstand attacks from high-level cultivators.If Liam wanted to test his new limits without accidentally destroying Room 1313, that was the obvious place to go.He opened the door.Then stopped."...What the hell?"The entire training room was filled with blood.Hundreds of thin crimson needles floated through the air, moving silently i

Liam stared at the remains of the construct for several seconds before finally looking at Lily.She was already turning away."Thank you," he said.Lily stopped.For a moment, Liam thought she might say something. Instead, she simply shook her head."I wasn't worried about you."Liam blinked.Lily glanced back at him, her crimson eyes as cold and calm as ever."If you died in here, Room 1313 would lose multiple ranks."Liam's expression slowly changed."...Oh."So that was it.She hadn't stepped in because she was concerned about him. She had stepped in because his death would have affected their room's ranking.Liam couldn't help but feel slightly amused."Right. The ranking."Lily gave him one final look before walking toward the exit.Liam watched her disappear through the doorway before looking back at the destroyed training construct.A bitter smile appeared on his face.The gap between them wasn't small.It wasn't something he could close simply by working a little harder. Lily

Liam tucked The Eight Paths of Aura beneath his arm and looked toward the surrounding shelves.Then he saw exactly what he was looking for.The title of the book was simple, but that was all he needed.The Great Six Races.Insight had only revealed that it was an information book about the Great Races, but Liam didn't need anything more to know it was worth taking.After picking it up, Liam looked around again.There were still about ten minutes left.If he was serious about surviving at Blackthorn Academy, relying on a single technique wasn't enough. He needed options.His gaze moved across the enormous collection of books until something caught his attention.A dark blue book was floating several shelves away from the others.Unlike the surrounding books, it wasn't neatly arranged. It simply hovered by itself.Liam flew toward it and caught it before it could drift away.The title immediately caught his attention.Arcane Marksman: Principles of Mana-Infused Ranged Combat.Liam's eye

Liam fell into deep thought.The only person he could think of was Karl.As for why Karl would want him dead, that part was easy to understand.Karl had almost been humiliated by him on their first day. Liam still remembered the look on the werewolf prince's face after their little confrontation. Karl was proud, competitive, and clearly wasn't the type to simply forget something like that.But why hadn't he attacked Liam personally?That was even easier to understand.If Karl openly attacked a human student and ended up killing him, the consequences wouldn't just affect Liam. It would put the entire Fenrir family under public scrutiny.A werewolf prince murdering a human student inside Blackthorn Academy would create an uproar, and Karl would probably lose his right to continue his studies.So, if Karl really wanted Liam dead, sending someone else made far more sense.Liam's eyes narrowed.But that was only a theory.He needed proof before accusing anyone.As they continued walking, L