Everyone in the town was looking at two people with the beauty of gods walking together, . Their presence itself felt like a blessing to the citizens. The two, noticing the people staring, started covering their faces and entered an alley.

Fiona and Levi were walking together back to the academy. Levi had insisted on walking separately to avoid such a crowd, but Fiona denied his plan, and now she regretted it. Not because she was with Levi, but because she didn't like how some worshipped them just for their looks and others stripped them with their eyes.

"So why does Eliza hate you so much?"

Levi did say he would answer her questions, but he too didn't have a clue. Why did the previous Levi say those things? Eliza definitely didn't lie; her anger was clearly visible. And by how Levi talked trash to her, it meant he knew her before, even at the academy. Then why did Eliza not remember him?

Levi sighed and took a turn, covering his face with a cloth.

"We just don't like each other's guts, and some stuff just doesn't work out between us."

Fiona knew that wasn't the true reason. Though she didn't want to intervene in their privacy, she didn't want their situation to escalate any longer.

"I can see both of you not liking each other's guts. She left the arena with disgust on her face, muttering, probably cursing you to death. I have never seen her this angry."

She wasn't probably cursing; she definitely cursed him for a lifetime.

Levi still had many dots to connect, and having the knowledge of the game should have helped him, but none of it was on track.

'Eliza's mother never got trapped in the dungeon at this stage.'

In the game, Eliza did have a fiery and easily angered personality, but she never hated someone this much. Her mother had supposedly passed away when she was eight years old. She did get trapped in a dungeon, and once she was rescued, it was too late.

After her death, Eliza fell into an abyss of absolute depression. She always felt sad every moment of her time, which is why she decided to train and distract herself, also to take revenge for her mother. However, the hollowness in her heart still lingered and haunted her every day. That is why Eliza was a bit harder to level up because a [depressed] quote always lurked on her stats until after the first arc.

But now, her mother was trapped in a dungeon eight years later, and Levi didn't know how? That too wasn't mentioned in the game. Nobody even knew if she was alive. Levi thought about why the plot could have changed a lot, and then he remembered seeing a new power in Eliza.

'The Lionheart's legacy. It wasn't in the game, and now here it is. This definitely had some connection with Eliza and her mother. That means… someone else knows about this as well and is trying to stop Eliza's awakening.'

"Professor, can I ask you something… don't tell Eliza about this?"

Fiona nodded. "Go on."

"How long has Eliza's mother been trapped in the dungeon?"

Fiona felt a prickling sensation grasp her heart. She looked at Levi, and seeing his cluelessness, she decided to tell him, the whole world knew about it. So why is he asking her? She didn't care to ask him.

"Exactly a month and two days."

Fiona counted each and every day since that incident. The news hit her like a boulder rolling down a mountain. Once she was trapped, nobody could save her unless she fought and came out herself. To stop herself from feeling such guilt, she decided to train Eliza and be someone she could rely on, just like Eliza's mother did.

"She was like a big sister to me. Always nagging but loving at the same time… I should have never let her go to that dungeon."

Fiona regretted letting Eliza's mother, Anna, tackle an S-rank dungeon alone, but there was no choice. She never told anyone why she went inside except her husband. The only way to stop that particular dungeon from breaking out was to go inside it and kill the person, but there was a catch. Only one person could enter it and it would be blocked. If the person doesn't come back in three days, the dungeon changes places to who knows where. The Lionheart has deployed each and every personnel to find the dungeon, but it is not that easy, and in the game, they never found it.

Since nobody found the dungeon, the mana would overload, and then a dungeon break would occur. This event would be a crucial event for Eliza because she is chosen to stop the monsters only to see her mother's dead body inside a monster's stomach she cuts up.

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Now Levi had two choices, either go the game route and let her die or save her which could change how Eliza blooms in the future. The obvious choice would be to save her, but right now he wouldn't stand a chance. He would also need to travel and would be away for a long time. Plus, he wouldn't survive if he went to save her in the current state.

'I need time but also have to hurry up as fast as I can.'

Fiona looked at Levi. Even though she didn't know Levi for long and he too didn't show much emotion, she could kind of tell his thought process. "What are you thinking so seriously about?"

Levi shook his head and chuckled.

"Nothing, just wondering what to do on my exam preparation break."

The first year's exams were coming soon, and the academy would provide them a week's break before the terminals. Levi planned on entering the dungeon during that period if the dungeon was in the place he knew from the game and had not changed.

Fiona, bewildered by Levi's question, answered like the professor she was. "What do you mean? You don't need to wonder. Study and train hard. Are you planning on skipping your exams?"

"Ummm… No."

"Good, because if you do, and even if you fail in any one of the tests… you should make yourself ready for the gruesome training I am going to give you."

Levi and Fiona kept running, and once they were near the gate, both decided to enter alternately so as not to cause any sort of rumours. They stopped in an alley and waited to see if anyone was there.

Fiona was the first to walk out, and before she stepped out of the alley, she gave a concerned look to Levi. "Don't do anything harsh. I still don't know why both of you are fighting. She really isn't or didn't used to be like this. Just give her some time, and maybe she can think with a clear mind."

Levi only smiled and nodded.

******

"Levi, did you do your assignment?"

"Yeah."

"Then give it to me, hurry."

Gabriel didn't even wait for Levi to sit. He, without Levi's permission, took out a notebook and started frantically turning the page. He found the assignment he was looking for but didn't expect it to take three pages.

"No… why is it so long?"

"That's what she said."

Levi joked, but Gabriel didn't have the time to think about it. His pen

was moving at the speed of lightning, and his handwriting… worse than dog poop.

Seeing Gabriel this stressed about an assignment didn't mean he cared about his grades; Levi knew what he cared about and asked Gabriel if something had changed. "Does the professor not teach you… I mean, call you for extra lessons sometimes to help you?"

Gabriel's speed slowed down a bit. He knew what Levi was talking about. Being Fiona's brother meant that he could visit her apartment and ask for one-to-one lessons without worrying too much about it. Helping is what families do. But that wasn't the case for him.

Gabriel faked a smile and kept on copying the homework. "She is just too busy, you know… being a professor and an S-rank can make your life a lot harder."

It was his indirect way of saying they weren't that close with each other… anymore.

Levi didn't further say anything; he took his pen and started writing on the empty page in Gabriel's notebook. Gabriel, touched by this, was about to say thank you, but when he saw Levi's handwriting, he couldn't help but gasp.

"What is this satanic writing?"

Levi pointed at Gabriel's writing and smiled. "If mine is satanic, then your writing wouldn't even be approved in hell."

Gabriel objectively looked at his writing and didn't say anything, vowing to practice handwriting every day.

*******

The school day went like every other day, except Eliza was absent, but many didn't think much about it. Everything in the city didn't change much. Noel's shop was being destroyed, and a house was being built on top of this.

The central eye on Levi's shoulder flapped its tiny bat wings. If anyone saw it, they would think it was just a cute pet, not knowing it could kill them just by a look.

"John seems to be panicking a lot."

The lesser eyes could only talk with Levi and only send telepathic messages to the central eye. So Levi could only traverse with the long-distanced lesser eye using the central eye as the medium. It would be good if he could share his vision with them, but sadly it wasn't possible.

Levi, heading to his work, started a telepathic conversation.

'What happened caused him to panic?'

The central eye started receiving the message from its lower creatures. "He burnt his tongue on coffee this morning, his exercise band snapped and hit him in his eye. He slipped on soap, and the toilet brush went up his—"

'Stop.'

Levi immediately stopped the central eye from completing the sentence. He knew what had happened and didn't want to hear the rest of it. He had assigned a lesser eye to keep an eye on John all the time but didn't know it trespassed his privacy. However, this wouldn't last for long.

'The curse has started. He definitely won't be able to fool it this time.'

The central eye again flapped its wings, this time it was even more frantic.

"The lesser eyes have sensed someone strong inside the town just now."

Just by a look, the lesser eye could tell the individual was strong that they didn't even need to look at them and evaluate their strength for a long.

Levi also felt a bit of panic about the central eye's message.

'Trespassing?'

"No, he just showed his face to the guard, and he kneeled, and now the individual just by taking exactly seventeen steps is in the hospital."

Seventeen steps? What kind of monster was it? The town wasn't small and you could get to it easily just by taking a few explosive steps. And to travel that many steps without causing any trouble is indeed a strength beyond humans.

Levi, thinking who could it be, asked the central eye. "Tell me their appearance."

The cute eye nodded and started exchanging messages. "A man, almost two meters tall, broad shoulders, golden hair, and eyes like autumn leaves."

Levi knew a person with that exact appearance. He just wondered why he was here. The best way to confirm the identity of the person could be their attire.

'Is he wearing some kind of hood, and the gloves he is wearing have the logo of a magic staff with the engraving of an angel in it?'

"Yes, and he appears to be talking with your mentor, Ryan."

Levi's guess was true, and he didn't feel where this was going.

'Why is the pope even here?'