A boy quietly sleeping in his room suddenly opened his eyes. His instincts were still on high alert despite the battle already having ended. The artificial light peering through his window made him ease up. Such a familiar sight made him realize where he was.

He clenched his fists and slightly grinned. He felt his body become a little bit stronger. Not by a large margin but to the point that it was noticeable enough.

“I’m home.” Arin’s rapidly rushing blood slowed down as he quickly got out of bed. Seeing his body be fully intact without anything missing any body parts or sensing any discomfort, he went downstairs.

“Morning, son.” Kian had already prepared Arin’s favorite dish, Lamb Roast. The spices and herbs stuffed inside it made the outer layer extremely crispy while keeping the meat inside extremely tender.

From the looks of it, it was prepared with even more care than the last one. Arin immediately came to the dinner table and decided to immediately dig in. Yet to Arin’s surprise, Kian stopped him.

“We have a guest.” Kian took the apron off his body. He went back to the kitchen to bring out the other dishes he had made.

Arin felt something amiss as the visitors they usually got were the kinds of people who were out for their heads. It was safe to say that these visitors have involuntarily decided to tend to the plants.

“Who are they?” Arin crossed his arms.

“Another Labyrinth Solver like me. She’s extremely feisty so don’t act out of line or she’ll gut you alive. She’s here to make amends for failing her part of the deal.” Kian came out of the kitchen with another dish that looked extremely plain. White soft cubes are placed on top of the platter with a black sticky liquid covering it.

“Treating her to lunch for failing?” Arin’s curiosity peaked. He hadn’t received much interaction with Solvers at all. Despite going on countless killing sprees, he hadn’t faced a single person with a Fragment yet.

All the people he had gone against were common thugs without any genuine power. Possibly some smaller branches of bigger organizations yet they weren’t anything valuable.

A wrinkly hand knocked on the door. “Hello there deary.” A woman with thinning hair showed up to face them. Her face was filled with wrinkles due to her age and her back was hunched showing that time wasn’t kind to her. She wore a general uniform that signified her status.

“I’ll tell the little rascal all about it. I’ve already wanted to meet the kid you’ve been trying to raise for so long. Would you mind?” The old granny was using her cane to keep herself steady yet it was obvious that she was shaking.

“Just don’t be late, Marlet. Lunch is in five. I’m almost done setting it up.” Kian didn’t see the harm in letting her interact with him. Kindred souls should understand one another.

Marlet looked extremely exhausted yet her breathing remained the same the entire time. “Come here, little one. Come talk to little old me…” She started walking outside, leading the way as Arin followed right behind her.

Arin didn’t look down on this wrinkly old lady. He knew better than to underestimate someone who had connections with his father. “So what do I call you?”

“Just Marlet is fine.” The old granny came to the training field outside the house. She came to one of the weights and touched it. “Malum-infused metal, not common but not rare either. Good stuff.”

“So… Marlet. What happened?” Arin didn’t sense any hostile intent towards him, letting him casually talk to her like this.

“I don’t know if you should learn about this ahead of time. Let’s just say, I failed to recruit proper people.” Marlet’s yellow and crooked teeth showed as she tried to laugh it off.

“I already know that there’s someone watching over me. I’m not stupid enough to not realize that. Not a single person with a Fragment came to stop me over these years.”

“Not that… I’ve always done everything perfectly. I made sure. Nothing unplanned had happened so far.” There was obvious pride in her words as she said this. “Arin, your father wants you to stay out of the city’s problems for a reason. But I disagree, I think you should start as early as now.”

“So what is this? Recruitment?” Arin had long noticed the space distort all around them. It was as if they were covered in an invisible sphere.

“You could say that. Have you ever wondered why your father sent you to Seal Academy instead of just personally teaching you?” She giggled in an extremely ugly manner.

“Tell me.” Arin was all ears. He had been kept in the dark for a while now.

“It’s cause he’s enemies with a ‘few’ Labyrinth Solvers in the city. He can’t protect you right now. Kekekekeke.” Marlet took out a document from her robes and threw it at Arin. “Seal Academy’s reputation isn’t something even Labyrinth Solvers could just overlook. It’s an extremely sinister academy with great power backing it.”

Arin looked over the document that Marlet gave him and saw countless names listed on it. It took him only one glance to know what it contained. This was the list of names of every single professor in Seal Academy, alongside their power level and Fragment.

Arin immediately went over the ten-page-long name list until he finally found the name he had been interested in.

“Ferial Donslayer, Seal Solver. Fragment seems to have the ability to the ability to control ashes. Danger Level: 89. Conservative estimate, could very well be much higher.” Arin read out aloud. He kept going through even more names and realized quite a terrifying revelation. Every single professor was a Seal Solver.

Marlet noticed Arin’s winced eyes, “I see you finally realized just how strong your academy is. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Dean Alabaster’s strength’s still hidden but there’s one thing everyone in the entire city’s peak echelon understands. As long as he’s in Seal Academy, he’s invincible.”

“So what are you up to telling me all this?” Arin noted down a few more names that had a relatively high Danger Level.

“Kekekeke, didn’t you just receive a few Trials? I want them.” Marlet’s greedy eyes showed her ill intent. “I’m not going to be taking them for free of course, in fact, I can give you something even more valuable than them, Essence.”

Marlet took out a small box filled with twenty vials. “There are twenty grams of Essence here. It’s not like the diluted trash that Seal Academy gives you. If you consume this then you’ll receive unbelievable benefits for the future!”

“With this much, you’ll be a Seal Solver in no time at all! With your talent, you could surpass Fiona in the blink of an eye! Twenty grams of undiluted Essence.” Marlet kept on talking. “Who’s to say if you could even get a Perfect Clear from even one of them? Twenty guaranteed grams of Essence should be better for you. After the deadline of your bet finishes, I will return it.”

“Think about it! Equal to a professor already! You could do anything you want in Seal Academy and no one there can stop you! You’ll even be able to take Fiona’s life easily. Don’t you want that?”

Arin’s expression hadn’t changed at all this entire time. He was watching what Marlet was trying to do yet he was disappointed.

“Is that it?” Arin crossed his arms and started walking away. This kind of temptation didn’t work on him. He was interested in Essence yet he wasn’t about to make a deal regarding something he had no full information about.

“That’s not all. I never expected you to take the deal this easily. Otherwise, I would’ve been disappointed in you… Kekekekeke!” Her unsettling cackling caught Arin’s attention.

“The Boundary. The place beyond the city, beyond this cell. Land so toxic that those weaker than a Seal Solver would immediately melt as their bodies would get corrupted with Malum. Where countless vicious Pravum roam the land in search of their next victim. The place where Trials never been seen before are hidden. Unimaginable wealth resides within! The perfect battlefield to slash and kill, to cut and murder!” Marlet’s voice was bloodthirsty as she finished her speech. Her frail appearance was no longer there, replaced with a blood-loving murderer.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I’ll take you there! Fifty grams of Essence and a trip to the promised land of lunatics! The Boundary is waiting for you, Arin! This deal is for all those Trials! Can’t you see how valuable it is?! Kekekeke! Even I can’t resist this offer!” Marlet’s mouth was opened wide in complete madness.

“Heh… Hah… Hahahahaha!” Arin also showed off an extremely crazy smile that even went beyond Marlet’s. As he continued off laughing his expression turned extremely serious and menacing, “Resources really are getting spread thin.”

Arin’s eyes held complete contempt for Marlet. His words caused Marlet’s completely chaotic joyful mood to turn sour. She started biting her lower lip in a vain attempt to refrain from completely killing Arin.

“You must think I’m just an idiot, don’t you? Show me a little bit and I’ll come running? Not a chance.” Arin started walking away without a care. “All you’ve done is make me want those Trials even more. Say, what would make a Labyrinth Solver bend her knee and negotiate with someone so weak that she could kill with a single finger? I can’t wait to find out.”

Marlet’s elderly face turned extremely grotesque as she mercilessly reached out of her hand where a tattoo of a mask appeared. She manifested it into an odd wooden mask.

“You… you’ll pay the price for humiliating me.” As soon as she placed this wooden mask on her face, her wrinkly old body immediately morphed into a giant.

Her body was gigantic to the point that her palm was already as big as Arin's. She reached out her hand, attempting to snatch Arin’s body. She wanted nothing more than to grind his bones into dust and tear him limb from limb. After that, she would heal him back and redo everything all over again.

Although her face couldn’t be seen, the holes in the wooden mask showed off her unrelenting cruel eyes. If looks could kill, Arin would’ve already died a few times already. With this speed, Arin couldn’t even react, his fate was certain.

It would’ve happened as one would expect except Marlet ignored one key detail, Kian was still here. His reputation as a terrifying Labyrinth Solver wasn’t just a title he stumbled across.

Marlet’s gigantic hand was about to catch and crush Arin’s bones when an unknown force stopped her hand from going any further. This impenetrable sensation could only mean one thing. She knew that she had messed up.

“You didn’t take her deal? Huh…” Kian wore a leather glove in his hand. He had it outstretched in Marlet’s direction. He had frozen the molecules in the air, unable to be moved at all, creating a questionably terrifying barrier from nothing.

“I’m not going to lie son, I was expecting you to take it. I guess I’ll have to change my plans a bit.” Kian’s casual expression as he thought of his future moves completely caused Marlet to tremble.

“You should’ve been outside their watchful eyes and I would’ve been done by the time you came back. I guess life isn’t that easy.” Kian still smiled to himself. He wanted to see what his son would do when faced with a decision. As a loving father, all he needed to do was support it. No matter how difficult it may be.

“Kian! I didn’t mean to-” Marlet’s voice was audibly shaking. Despite her gigantic stature, she was completely afraid of the torture that she would have to endure if Kian were to lay his hands on her.

Kian let the air molecules freely move now. However, that only meant that Marlet was his next target. He casually tapped Marlet’s gigantic fist, forcing it to stay like that. By proxy, her entire body had been frozen stiff.

Marlet’s eyes turned blood red as her entire body turned purple in real time. It wasn’t just her flesh that was frozen, even the blood coursing through her was frozen still. As for her other bodily functions, they were still working, expertly manipulated by Kian.

“It looks like you still haven’t learned your lesson. A minute should be enough to let you learn your lesson.” Kian casually walked forward towards Marlet as her very body was struggling to even work.

“Kian, I learned… I learned my lesson! Don’t! I… I don’t want to…” Marlet’s eyes were still shaking as tears started to form from them. If anyone saw this without context then they wouldn’t understand just why Marlet was so terrified. However, if someone knew what would happen here, they would’ve unhesitatingly killed themselves.

Despite Marlet’s begging, he came to touch her head. “You should’ve thought about that before you made your move. Or… you want to increase it to ten minutes? I was just going to turn a blind eye to it but you just had to attack my son.”

“What are you going to do to her?” This was the fight between Labyrinth Solvers that he had seen yet never before had he seen something so one-sided. Marlet had been rendered useless the moment Kian had appeared.

“I’m just going to freeze the part of her brain that perceives time. She’ll feel as if months have passed in a single moment. It’s a good torture method.” Kian immediately activated his Fragment’s ability.

Marlet's screaming voice continued on despite Kian’s actions only affecting a small part of her brain. It was as if she couldn’t control her body at all.

“She still feels the sensation in real-time, it’s just that she’ll have to experience it over an extremely long period of time.” Kian had timed ten seconds and released her from this torture. She was initially crying for mercy but now she was just laughing madly.

The same scene stuck in slow motion for years broke her mentally. Being alone with nothing but your thoughts would surely break anyone’s mind.

Kian pointed his index finger out and stabbed it through the hole in her mask. Her madness didn’t stop her from experiencing the sensation of having her eye gouged out. Kian immediately reapplied it.

“Even the toughest of wills break apart with time.” Kian continued poking her eye out, playing around with it using his finger.

Arin quietly watched Kian discipline Marlet through such a brutal method. After the full 60 seconds was up, Kian let of his ability and let her return back to her senses. Her eyes had lost their light, she wasn’t even moving at all, lifelessly sitting there.

“And now, to finish it up. Removing her memory of this experience. All she’ll know is that this was hell. I’ll be permanently freezing a neuron in her head. However, that also has a side effect of making her lose other memories. Not that I care.” Kian finished everything up and like clockwork, Marlet acted extremely submissive towards him.

“Do something wrong again and I’ll make it an hour.” Kian started walking off with Arin back to the house. “Come here and eat. I didn’t prepare this feast for nothing.”

Marlet didn’t even dare to say anything for fear of offending Kian somehow. Her memory had been blocked but she knew that what she experienced was the worst kind of torture one could experience.

“So, what did you learn from this experience?” Kian had already cleaned his hands of blood as he started digging in on his own creations. The dishes were still piping hot.

From Kian’s perspective, he had only gone out for two minutes yet from Marlet’s forgotten memory, she had been here for 200 years.

Arin took a fork and stabbed the Lamb Roast in front of him, biting down on the savory meat. “Fragments are only limited by the user’s creativity.”

Kian faintly smiled. He gulped down, “Good. As she might’ve told you, things are getting really dangerous. Stick to Seal Academy for the time being while I sort this mess out. Or you could go… there.”

“Stick to dealing with Fiona. You are both the same age so I’ll leave that conflict among yourselves. Whatever you do with her, don’t regret it.” Kian continued eating as if everything that had happened was completely normal.

Arin recalled the promise he had made to rip her heart out. He might be a bit loose in his definition of his promises but he will still try to make good on them.

Arin continued to eat. Wracking up a few questions his mind wandered. Kian easily answered them as he asked.

“How long? You woke up the following day, if anything, I have to say your vitality is inhuman. Hahaha!”

“My Combat Technique? I didn’t need to. The outcome has already been set since the beginning, there was no point in Marlet fighting back.”

“What Marlet did wrong? She let a few rats pass by. Nothing to concern yourself with.” Kian’s tone had a slight gravity within it. Seeing that Kian didn’t want to push it, Arin reluctantly put it down.

As he said ‘rats’ Arin was reminded of a certain group he had met back then. A few students had quite the battle strength. That group was certainly as strong. Each member was as strong as he was back then. Although Arin hadn’t received any massive boost to his strength, it was steadily increasing.

As soon as I get my Combat Technique and a functional Fragment, my strength should soar to the very heavens. Then again… there’s always Essence. Such a classified item that even Dad can’t get his hands on it that easily.

Arin couldn’t just ask for it from his father as he knew that he barely had enough to supply himself with. Comparing his increase in strength and his father’s increase in strength, it was obvious who was more important.

“Marlet, don’t mess up again. I was going to make you pay initially but I’ve gotten a better idea. Find some sacrifices, bodies Arin can throw away. Loyal and obedient, not like the last time.” Kian stood up and started carrying the dishes away.

“Sacrifices…? I can do that. Give me a few days.” Marlet’s voice was weak. She was struggling to even keep her vision straight. Her mind had been tampered with to an unbelievable degree.

“Bind Solver. Bare minimum. At least twenty.” Kian’s voice sounded natural yet when it came to Marlet’s ears, all she could hear was an unreasonable devil.

“A standard… that would… I don’t know if-”

“At least twenty, three days.” Kian counteracted without any mercy. He had been in the business for 16 years now, it didn’t matter if Marlet could do it. He could always find someone else to exploit.

“In three days, I can get… eight people.” Marlet’s heart was bleeding out as she was going to use her own personal force yet recalling the blocked torture, she gave in.

“Twelve people in two days. That or… you better start running. You aren’t the first Labyrinth Solver I killed and you’re definitely not going to be the last. Choose wisely.” Kian snickered.

So that’s why so many Labyrinth Solvers are after him. Killing a Labyrinth Solver would definitely earn someone’s wrath. Good one, dad. Arin couldn’t wait for the days ahead.

Marlet still felt that ingrained fear within her yet for the life of her she couldn’t remember exactly what it was. Her instincts only told her to follow along if she didn’t want to suffer any longer.

Kian nodded in satisfaction.

“Ah, before I forget. The Trials are in ‘that’ place.” Kian mentioned something ominous before leaving.