After three excruciatingly long minutes, the man finally spoke, raising his head merely. Just so his eyes would look at the human.

“How do you know so much about her? You’re just a Grade C human that barely reached 18 years old. There is no possible way you know such information.”

Conall looked at him with a faint smile, making him quickly understand. As much of a shame as it was, he had to accept it.

Then, he said words that made the boy’s smile widen.

“Let’s make a deal. If what you said happens today, I will make you my temporary master. If it doesn’t, however, you will die. I think that’s fair, don’t you also?”

‘You really love that master of yours, don’t you?’

He looked at the man dressed in noble clothes, who was showing him one’s most vulnerable sides with no issue.

“I don’t mind.”

As he said that, they felt vibration scatter across the ground, reaching all the way to the castle.

The man’s head abruptly sprung up while Conall put on a smile.

“I guess they broke down the barriers.”

“Those!!!”

While the boy assumed, the other clenched his fists tightly. The barriers they broke down were created by Vayna, specifically to reinforce the realm he was staying in. Especially against vermin like them.

In an instant, Conall watched as the fae of the forest disappeared from the dining hall.

Outside of the mansion, the group of roughly thirty people who ventured on the hill suddenly stopped as they saw what unfolded in front of them.

A man with glowing, white antlers stood in the air, observing them with his cold, forest-green eyes. His hair flowed along with the wind, as though they were one.

“In what purpose have you come?”

Clearly, they panicked. Hearing him ask the question, they murmured along their hooded selves before what seemed like their leader uncovered his face.

Short, white hair with deep red eyes, and a big frame. Taller than all of his peers, the man’s deep voice filled the area.

“G-great fairy Olghar. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lord.”

As he kneeled, so did his companions. Truly, they didn’t expect the fairy to come out of the castle on his own. Usually, he would be undisturbed, needing something to actually catch his attention.

There was a great spell they had prepared, but it seemed all useless now. Well, it was actually a blessing in disguise, the leader thought. They could save on some of the more rare and expensive resources.

“I don’t think you have heard me.”

The leader looked in surprise. He didn’t expect a fairy like him to be so feisty.

“Ah, we have come to you with great news, lord.”

“What is it?”

With a slight grin on his face, the leader put his finger up.

“We know the perpetrator of your master’s disappearance. Below your domain, there lies an academy. It was th-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. An angry voice escaped the mouth of the man in the sky.

“How do you know about my master? There is no one except her and me that knows of our relationship.”

‘Shit? Why isn’t he delighted?’

The man looked at him, dumbfounded. He was supposed to listen to everything regarding his master. There was a missing variable here. Looking to the sides of his team, he silently sent them a message to their bracelets.

Immediately, all of them started running away, however, Olghar wouldn’t just allow them to do so.

In front of the Heavenly Order troops, a wall of wind blocked their path, not allowing them to go back from where they came from.

“Attack the wall!”

The leader shouted and a conglomeration of various spells followed. Attacking in the same spot over and over again, nothing happened. As sturdy as it was, it remained. Despite most of these people being in Grade A, none of them could form the slightest of a gap in the fairy’s wind mana.

“Get away from the ground!”

Sensing mana moving from below, the man quickly exerted his powers. Equipping his back with wings made of fire, he flew through the air. Many of his subordinates didn’t follow in his path, though.

The grass under them grasped their feet and torsos. Then, with a twist of Olghar’s fingers, they snapped in half, painting the ground red.

“Why are you doing this!? We came here to help you reach your master!”

One of the hooded figures floating beside the leader shouted in consternation.

He looked at them with murderous eyes. Their green glow sent shivers down their spines. With a flap of his glistering wings grafted with golden lines, countless tornadoes formed and went after the hoodlums.

“I already know the truth. It’s you who captured Vayna.”

“NO!”

“Shut up! Lufre!”

The leader kicked the man in his stomach before blocking the tornadoes with his fists coated with fire.

“Great Olghar, please, listen! We indeed have Vayna. That’s exactly why you shouldn’t kill us. Reconsider this! If we die, your master also dies!”

‘God, please, make him listen.’

He prayed in his head while looking at the fairy. It was then. Olghar stared directly into his eyes. The leader felt as though he was the only one in the forest. Except for the great being staring him down.

Only they were there, him before the gigantic eyes, waiting for judgment.

He felt as though the lord of the forest stared directly at his soul. He heard a single sentence before darkness took hold of him.

“I hate liars.”

The surrounding people of the Heavenly Order shivered and shrieked as they saw their leader collapse, a hole in the middle of his chest.

“Disgusting. Blood of demons.”

Olghar spit out the piece of heart in his mouth. Black blood was smeared on his lips, but he didn’t do anything about it.

Countless spells went after him, however, an invisible barrier blocked the attacks. The shattering of their hope could be heard as they cried in pain, their bodies severed from the sharp tornadoes going through the hill.

Raising his hands, the grass surrounding all of the bodies sucked them in. In less than a minute, they became no more than fertilizers for the trees.

The master of the forest stared down at the disintegrating corpses ruthlessly. Only their black robes remained, but even those, he shredded with his wind before throwing it out of his domain.

His wings moved once again, and he reappeared in the castle. Back in the dining hall, he saw the human boy sitting on one of the table chairs.

“Done?”

Conall asked with an expectant look on his face as he turned to him.

“You were right. Thank you. I’m sure their plan would have worked if not for you.”

Olghar stared at him solemnly.

“Don’t stress about it. Everything’s fine because you have full control of the forest. Now, if you don’t mind me, do you think we could proceed with our agreement?”

“Haa, of course. A fairy upholds its promises, especially if they started them.”

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With a sigh, he appeased the red-haired boy.

“However, before we do it, I would like to ask one thing. What will you use me for?”

Conall stood up from the chair before stretching his bones.

“What else other than having the dungeons all to myself?”

Olghar had a confused look. ‘What does he mean?’, he wondered.

Looking at the Great Fairy, he shook his head in disappointment. Quickly, he explained.

“It’s simple. I’ll be flooding the dungeons!”

He looked at his cheeky grin with his mouth agape.

“No, you’re not. I’m not letting my territory be destroyed out of your stupidity.”

“I’ll have everything under my control.”

“No, I said it already.”

“Master. You will be able to see your master sooner.”

“Damn you, human. No, fuck you. Argh, I hate all of you, manipulating scum.”

“Aren’t fairies supposed to be cute and all? Why are you cursing? You’re scaring me.”

“Shut up. Let’s just get this over with already, so give me your hand.”

“Here.”

Immediately, as his hand felt the harsh grip of the fairy, he felt a searing pain as something was being engraved.

An ancient glyph of some sort. Conall wasn’t able to decipher its meaning, however, he knew it was profound. A similar mark appeared on the forehead of Olghar, glowing bright golden. However, it quickly disintegrated, most likely due to the previous oath with Vayna.

In its place, a new, slightly different glyph appeared.

Suddenly, after the pain ended and a white light engulfed the top of his right hand, he felt a connection between the two of them. It was comforting, as though instinctively knowing that the person before him couldn’t do anything to him, no matter what.

Soon, both of their marks disappeared into the unknown, but the connection had been established.

“You happy?”

With an irritated expression, Olghar crossed his arms.

“More than ever. My friend, this will be the best decision in your entire existence.”

“Hohoho, it has to be. If it isn’t, you will die.”

A sneer contaminated his laugh, and Conall looked at him confusedly.

“Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean?”

He didn’t like that smirk on his face. The fairy looked like a hound proud of shredding its owner’s slippers.

“I changed the oath a little. If you can’t help me see my master within a year from now, your soul will be stuck for eternity in this very domain.”

One of Conall’s eyelids twitched, an almost visible vein appearing on his forehead.

“You’re quite the brazen guy, you know? I’m sure you will do it.”

‘Me, with my broken apart soul?’

Olghar snickered as he saw the constipated look on the human’s face.

…

Eyneir looked at the broken-down wooden hut. He was traveling with the Heavenly Order a minute ago, however, he prompted them to leave him alone.

As they traveled down the forest, the hut stood in full display, but they omitted it. It was common knowledge in the order, especially the immovable planks and magic circle making up the structure.

So, the order simply went on their way, focusing on the mission of killing students.

However, along the way, Eyneir stopped, sensing a deep cluster of nature’s energy emanating from inside. No one other than was acquainted with the forest attribute. With all of them being untalented Grade Bs as well, they didn’t notice the minute raptures in mana.

After they scattered around the forest and he couldn’t see any of them, he turned to the shack.

“Who are you? I know you’re hiding in there.”

There was no response, to which he let out a scoff. An ethereal, green bow appeared in his right hand while disappearing from his back. Placing his fingers gently on the bowstring, stared blankly at the door.

The wind whistled as he drew the weapon, an arrow made up of a threateningly powerful energy forming in the air.

As the green arrow cut through the air, it left beautiful lines going all the way around it and beyond.

Since the distance between the two wasn’t large, the attack immediately hit the building, engulfing it in green energy. Yet, it looked like the hut bore the attack without an issue, the mana going through like a breeze.

“Tch. It’s as strong as they said.”

The elf complained before moving closer to the hut. If whatever was inside didn’t want to come out, he would simply invade it.

Grabbing onto the handle of the doors, he pulled it, a second later, his body moved on its own, dodging the incoming sword thrust.

Eyneir looked at the boy coming at him with the sharp sword. A grin formed on his face as he bent his body, just so the sword missed his nose.

“Ahh, you just made my day. You even gave me a few points.”

The prince looked at Conall’s medallion, which showed the number ‘80’, with delight in his eyes.

He already had more than 100 points himself, however, free points were more than welcome. Maybe the academy would give him something nice for all these points he gathered.

“I’ll have to disappoint you, unfortunately.”

“Stop for a second. I didn’t like that tone of yours.”

The smile on Eyneir’s face faded as he heard him speak. Murderous intent replaced his joyful eyes and voice. The bow in his hand moved quickly.

“Hiding like a rat, you shall die like a rat too.”

Conall didn’t stop his attack with only the thrust. His sword was already extended, so he grabbed it with both hands before slashing up. Meeting the hard ground, he quickly adjusted his pose, only to witness the elf already aiming at him with a green arrow.

Swiftly, he moved away, just in time for the arrow to miss him. Even though the wind that came with the spell almost swayed him, his legs were firmly attached to the ground.

The boy understood with no issues that the battle before him would be excruciatingly hard, impossible probably. Once Eyneir started using his skills, there would be little he could do. But he needed to win this fight desperately. The first place on the leaderboard was meant to be his if he wanted to change his fate.

That’s why, he needed to decide the outcome of this battle quickly, before the elf lost his haughtiness and started using his head.

Running directly at the elf, he slashed at him, however, the opponent blocked the attack plainly with his bow. Even though it was made of what seemed to be energy, it held mass.

‘Did he steal it from the king?’

One of the many heirlooms of the elves’ royal family, Naera. Conall saw a green mass gathering in the area around his chest, but he wouldn’t allow him.

Raising the pommel of the sword slightly, he allowed the sword to slide down the bow, right at the elf’s chest. Nonetheless, Eyneir raised it abruptly, disrupting his strike and stance.

With a kick flying to his face, Conall deflected it with his sword just barely while moving closer to the white-haired prince. A swing aimed at the royal uniform robes, the area where his ribs were.

The blade finally touched, however, not in the way the knight wished for. Eyneir caught the sword with ease, in between his free arm and ribs. No matter how hard Conall tried, he couldn’t pry it away from the grasp.

Only when he felt the punch that made his stomach squirmish from the inside did the sword leave the opponent’s grasp.

Eyneir sneered as he saw him roll through the forest floor.

Gasping for air, he struggled to stand up. A second later, he witnessed a thick, black leather boot that was right up his face.

Flying backward, half-conscious, he calmly assessed the situation. Landing on hard rocks, his back hurt, however, he couldn't care less. Using the momentum of his body flying through the ground, he stood up abruptly, swinging with all of his might ahead of him.

The green arrow that was flying at him hit the sharp edge of his blade and stopped in mid-air, trying to force its way through. Conall clenched his teeth while pushing fang with all of his body weight.

Finally, after countless struggles, he swung his weapon, throwing the arrow completely off its course. However, a moment later, he felt something warm underneath his uniform. Specifically, in the area of his left shoulder.

He looked at Eyneir, around whom a dispersing green energy swirled, in the direction where he was standing. Glancing to the side, he could see a deep hole in his shoulder, probably the size of a tree branch.

While gritting his teeth in pain, Eyneir watched the spectacle with a smile on his face.

“Ahh, it’s so peaceful when you don’t talk. Keep it up. If you utter a single grunt, you can forget about a merciful death.”

Sending out arrow after arrow, Conall struggled to keep up, especially with countless holes riddling across his body. His vital points were omitted, as well as the main veins, all in the point of causing as much pain as possible.

After a while, the elf stopped. Getting bored of Conall starting to always dodge his fierce arrows despite the state he was in, he halted the barrage. It simply wasn't enjoyable anymore.

However, the aftermath of his actions was still there. Conall breathed heavily like a dog, holding himself up with his sword, barely enough so he didn’t fall from his feet.

He had holes littered everywhere, one on each shoulder, hip, thigh, and foot. The elf also made sure to put a few of them in his torso, on the sides.

Eyneir was honestly impressed that the human hadn’t yet been summoned by the medallion, but that just meant his vitality was amazing. A great tool for torture like him was a rare commodity.

Though, the only thing he disliked was that he didn’t feel pain, at least on the surface. He didn’t show any of it. He wanted him to wail in pain, not be the current disappointment that he was.

Ending his little pout, Eyneir went up to him, standing a hand reach close to him. Ligthning-fast, he grabbed Conall’s head, his palm holding the jaw like claws.

Tightening his grip, he raised him up to his height, which was roughly a head taller.

“I wonder, does this hurt?”

Retrieving a dagger from his ring, he put it in one of the holes in his body. Though the red-haired man squirmed, he couldn’t let anything out with the pale hand holding his mouth.

Eyneir chuckled before twisting the dagger, causing Conall to convulse visibly.

“Now, this is more like it. Tell me, do you honestly think it was worth it? Did you honestly think I wouldn’t do anything after what you did to me?”

Grasping tighter the more he spoke, Eyneir failed to realize something in his outrage.

Shutting his mouth, his eyes widened. Conall’s feet touched the ground as he descended. The arm holding his face fell and hit the grass, blood dripping to the ground.

Staring at the astonished elf with indifferent eyes, he swung the blood off his blade.

“It’s quite amazing you fell for the same trick twice.”