William slept perfectly as wealth eased his worries. Looking out his window, he saw that the dawn had just broken. It was the perfect time to start the day.

He looked at his dimensional bag, and his smile widened. All his teeth were visible, his lips reaching up to his ears. He still couldn't believe the harvest he encountered yesterday.

He even thought that the adventurous spirit of the people in the academy had disappeared. According to him, even a few people at the top of the iron level could go and take advantage of the treasures. This was indeed true, but the reason people lost their adventurous spirit was that they were lost in the misty swamp. They couldn't even find the mage tower. They were constantly circling, encountering various skeletons and zombies. He sat down at the table with a sigh. He took out the first book he thought he should read.

This book belonged to Levenoth. It was the creature encyclopedia that he copied. He opened the book and began to read. After a while, he was glad that he had chosen this first.

There were extra notes by Levenoth on the book. He noted down everything from the potential strengths to the weaknesses of the creatures he encountered. He was number one in detail.

William was good at reading books. Even though this book was written in wizard language, it did not give him any trouble as it did not contain magic power.

A short time later, he saw one of the creatures he was curious about.

It was about Earthworm. In the book, he mentioned that the highest level he has seen belongs to the platinum level and the earth element, since the elemental affinity of this creature may be different according to the region where it lives, it is likely that it can survive for thousands of years.

William continued to read with interest. He even understood why it was called worm mountains. There was even a volcano where he hadn't been yet. There were worms using fire here. He described these creatures as 'relatively weak'. Levenoth had also made an addition. “A mage or warrior of the same level can easily fight or flee with them, but a little lacking in the killing. In particular, creatures belonging to the earth and plant element have high vitality. When encountering a worm with a metal element, you just have to run away.”

William found this logical. He could never pierce the skin of a metal element worm. It meant both wasted time and extra risk. Moreover, its teeth could certainly injure even a creature higher than itself.

William still hadn't found any information about the metal heart. He knew that the creature whose power he had increased through his heart belonged to a high-level worm, but he could not predict its exact level. Presumably, he had a platinum rank in mind but had never even seen a gold rank before. So their guesses would remain guesses until they either got to that level or saw someone.

After he finished reading the worm, he continued to turn the pages. About a hundred pages later, it came to the silver moon wolf.

He didn't know much about the silver moon wolf. Only the genealogical part, which seemed to be carefully written, caught his attention. There were a few other things he didn't know.

“Bloodline power gives them, in addition to speed, smell, hearing, perception, and night vision.”

These few traits had increased the silver moon wolf's value in William's eyes. Night vision, in particular, was an excellent skill.

He continued to read the book. By now the sun was getting close to being directly overhead. He was feeling a little hungry but wanted to finish the book first.

Near the end, he saw that the book talked about the moon-swallowing wolf and other unfamiliar creatures like him in the form of a story.

Here the moon-swallowing wolf went so far as to devour the moon that gave them strength because of the combination of their rebellious nature and love, where a rebellious silver moon wolf ate his father after his father ordered him to kill the wolf in love with the enemy pack, and was then chased by all the packs. It said he threatened his life. It was an excellent story. William had fun reading it. Levenoth devoted fifteen pages to this short story.

There were several other similar stories. It all made his eyes shine.

But nowhere did he mention the bloodline power of the moon-swallowing wolf. He closed the book in frustration. He then ate a quick meal and pay his debt to the weapon building. Then returned to his room.

He spent a few days like this. First of all, he wanted to learn about the possible creatures and valuable materials that he would encounter in this world, so he put aside meditation techniques to become a magician.

His main goal was to advance to the bronze level for now. When he was in Bronze rank, he would at least have a little bit of self-defense power. Sorcery could wait for now.

By the time he had finished the last book, he had learned what the fruit of life and other herbs he had found was good for.

The fruit of life, as the name suggests, gave life force! This was something not to be taken lightly.

It wrote that the real fruit of life contained an estimated ten years of life force. This was just a guess because no one had seen the truth. Only the mage whom they referred to as 'master' had succeeded in artificially creating the fruit of the life tree. But again, according to the writer, thousands of lives were sacrificed for this cause. So, most likely, the person they called 'master' was a bad person who didn't care about human life.

It was stated that this artificial fruit contained a life force equivalent to a year!

Even that was an insanely powerful fruit! It didn't matter if it was artificial or not. William didn't need it, of course, but at the end of his life, he could sell it to an old man for a favor.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

As a good idea, he made a mental note.

When he had finished all the books, it was time for the introductory and basic level books on the elements. It was almost evening now. He felt he was starving. So he made his way back to the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, the same three friends were having their dinner with an exciting conversation. He had not spoken to them for several days. He wondered what kind of news it would be. After all, Merlon couldn't keep his mouth shut, even if it was a secret.

He also learned that the principal can accept students from him.

When William sat down at the table, the trio enthusiastically greeted him. To William's surprise, this time Leslie began to speak.

“William, did you hear? Tomorrow the principal will change the rules of the academy! Now it will be more stringent!”

William took a sip of his beer. The beer's taste here was 'Eh'.

"Oh really? What was it?"

“We don't know either, but the news is not good. They were going to make certain things mandatory.” Said.

William did not find this strange. The academy was like the elementary schools in his previous life. It was so simple that it bothered him from the very beginning. In this way, it was almost impossible for the students to become stronger quickly. It was actually kind of like self-education. Only, thanks to the academy, people could hunt safely and close to the black forest.

"It does not matter." He said with a smile, then continued. “This brother of yours will overcome all difficulties.” Said.

The trio started laughing. Then Merlon spoke. "You are right my brother! No matter what, all difficulties come to us like mosquito bites.” He raised his arm and clenched his fist. Then he placed a small kiss on his arm muscles.

This time, the four of them, including William, began to laugh loudly. Merlon had a good catch. William felt that his level of humor was not bad.

“Well, what did you do? Did you succeed in the quest?”

Leslie began to speak excitedly, not letting anyone in.

“William, you should have seen it, son! We killed an iron-grade creature! Moreover, I was able to fight him equally!” he started to describe the battle scene excitedly.

“Of course, dear, we were already picking pears in our hands,” said Merlon, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Don't eat us! If it weren't for our arrows, it would have killed you in one bite!” Dullan spoke sarcastically.

“Have I killed it after all? YES! So shut up!” Leslie cried out.

“Hahaha!!” This time, the three of them were laughing, except for Leslie.

“Anyway, guys, I can't get enough of your conversation. I'm getting up slow." By that time William had finished the last bite on his plate. He couldn't wait to read books on the Elements.

“Okay, watch out! Don't forget to come to hunt with us next time!” shouted Merlon after him.

After William left, he spoke again. “How nerdy! William is a strong man, so why doesn't he come hunting with us?"

Dullan spoke. “I don't know what's on his mind, but like someone who likes to be alone. Look, he made an instrument called a guitar and he hangs out like a traveling bard.”

“He is a free man,” Leslie said in response, looking back at the disappearing figure of William.

Various thoughts were sprouting in him. 'When will I be free?'

He continued to eat in a depressed mood.

William felt a strange feeling as he quickly came to the front of his room. It was as if someone was watching him. But both sides were corridors, and when he looked, he saw no one. He felt even more uneasy as his hand went to the handle of the door. He knew it wasn't a good sign.

He placed his hand on his dimensional bag and suddenly opened the door. He saw someone in black robes sitting on his bed. He stood up as soon as he saw William enter. Suspecting that he might be an assassin, William quickly pulled out the firebringer and stepped closer to him. He grabbed the man's neck with his left hand and held the sword to his throat with his right hand.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" he asked.

The face of the black-robed man was visible in the light of the room. He was a young face, looking to be in his twenties.

He must have choked the man so hard that he began to blush and stutter. Realizing that he couldn't speak like that, William loosened the hand holding his throat a little.

“Young… Master…di…Baron…The..oo.” William let go of his hand when he heard him calling him young master.

He realized that it might be someone his father had sent.

The black-robed man started coughing as William let go of his throat. After a while, he took a deep breath and relaxed.

“Young master. Please know my face well. I am your father's assistant, Sora."

“How can I know? And how did you get in here?" William asked, frowning.

“Young Master, there is no place Sora cannot enter.” He said smiling, not explaining.

"Anyway, why did you come?"

“I have a letter from your father, sir.” He handed William a sealed letter.

“By the way, your sword looks perfect, it scared even me.” Said.

'Of course, it will scare, even damage bronze rank creatures…' William stopped speaking to himself as he realized that the youth in front of him was bronze rank. Just because he was his young master, he didn't counterattack. He knew that a man who could come this far silently could kill him silently, too.

When he opened the letter and read it, his mood was cheerful at first. The first half of the letter was about little Wilson and his older sister. His older sister was doing well in the mage tower. A second-level true mage noticed his talent and recruited her as a disciple.

William knew that most mages couldn't be trusted, but there was nothing he could do from such a distance. The mage tower and the academy were located at opposite ends of their location.

The second half of the letter talked about the things that darkened his face.

He lifted his head and looked at Sora, who was standing patiently. "Is this true?" he asked.

"Sir, why would your father lie to you?" said.

He was right. Theo was a serious man and usually didn't say empty words.

William could not stand it and read it again.

In the letter, he spoke of what he had feared all along; hoisting the flag of rebellion! Even if William had expected it, the news had worried him. He didn't think his father would lose, but such battles often revolved around intrigue. A traitor would stab someone in the back.

At the end of the letter, he mentioned a mission. He hoped that he would complete this mission.

He wanted him to kill the prince during the competition a month later!

William feared this the most. He had a feeling that Leslie wasn't a bad person, that they could even be a friend. Even the innate arrogance of being a prince was slowly fading away after meeting and socializing with him.

He thought darkly. He knew that if he didn't kill him, Theo's trust would erode towards him. It had nothing to do with being a future king. He just wanted to travel, explore and learn.

The conflict within him stemmed from the promise he had made to himself. He had promised himself earlier that he would help Theo in any way he could. If he broke that promise now, his conflict with himself would only increase in the future. He might even turn into what they call a heart demon one day. It could limit his growth. But the thought of killing a friend also seemed 'bad' to him. 'Double-edged wand!' he thought and took a deep sigh.

Then he began to think of possible solutions. When an idea came up, he felt it could be implemented.

He stood up and looked at Sora. “Show me your chest.” Said.

Sora quickly did as ordered and showed his chest. William sighed with relief when he saw the roaring tiger between the two swords on his chest. This meant that Sora was loyal to his family.

William asked verbally once more, just in case.

“Can I trust you, Sora?” said.

Sora immediately fell to his knees. “Sir, I have sworn to be faithful to the baron and his family for the rest of my life. It was Baron Theo who saved me, nurtured, and raised me. Sir! If you ordered me to die, I wouldn't hesitate for a second!” said.

These words moved William.

"Then…"

[1] : ['Don't eat me!: don't make a fool of me.]

[2] : ['Double-Edged wand!: 'caught between the devil and the deep blue sea' or 'all options stink']