*Puff*
Puffing on a cigarette, a man with gray hair and black eyes stood by the window, peering down at the city.
He turned around and glanced at his desk. On it were a bunch of papers roughly piled up.
No, it was a mess.
He then approached it and flipped one of the papers.
His eyes narrowed.
[The Death of the Osborn Heir]
[Felix Osborn, a gruesome murder.]
[Masked Killer on the loose.]
[Osborn Company's stocks dropped to a new low at the murder of their heir.]
"Tsk."
The man clicked his tongue.
"Useless humans."
He grumbled to himself. But only stopped as he took a drag for another puff.
*Puff*
This man was none other than Francis Osborn, CEO of Osborn Company, and the father of Felix Osborn.
And...
A Wraith cultist.
Wraith cultists were a group of humans that directly worshiped the Wraiths.
There were different groups of Wraith cultists, but they all had one goal in mind.
To successfully summon a full fledged Wraith.
But so far, no Wraith Cult had ever managed to successfully summon one.
Though, a Wraith would soon corrupt a Wraithbounds body, the limitations of the human body was far too much of a handicap.
In other words, the one controlling a Wraithbound's body was actually a Wraith, but their potential would be restricted.
Which is why they had to summon their real body.
Wraiths typically feed on someone's emotions.
Particularly, despair.
If a human feels like they want to end it all, that's when the Wraiths would appear in their vision.
In exchange for a pact, they would be granted power.
But of course, they would omit the part where their bodies would soon become possessed.
Truthfully, Francis Osborn was long gone.
The one controlling his body was none other than a Wraith.
And because of the death of his son, who would soon become a full fledged Wraithbound, he was quite peeved.
No, he was furious.
It would take ten years just for a Wraith to fully corrupt a Wraithbound's body.
The death of Felix pushed his plans quite far back.
But there was one solution to this.
Amy Ashfield.
He'd done his research on her, and found out that she was a top student in Astrea Academy.
This meant that her mana capacity was significantly great.
If she were to turn into a Wraithbound, then the limitations of the Wraith possessing her would drastically lessen.
Since she was the only witness to the crime, she might've seen the perpetrator.
Francis could find out who the perpetrator was, and be able to replace Felix with Amy.
She was the perfect candidate.
Not only that, but he was informed by Darwin that the students would have their Battle Royale session today.
Meaning, it was the perfect chance to kidnap Amy Ashfield.
They had several targets as well such as Belle Locke.
But it would be far too difficult to defeat her, as she was always surrounded with exceptional mages.
*Puff*
He took a drag again. He then dropped the cigarette and stepped on it against the ground.
A sizzling sound echoed in the room.
Tzzz—
As soon as he did that, he lumped down on his seat.
Brrt... Brrt...
From his pocket, he felt his phone buzzing. It seemed like someone was calling him.
Click–
The first one to speak was Francis, as he placed the phone near his ear.
"So? Did you get her?"
—I did.
"Good, take her to the location I sent you."
—Understood.
Click–
As the call ended, Francis stood up and grabbed his coat that was hugging the back of his seat.
He donned the coat and took a cigarette from a pack and a lighter from his pocket, as he nibbled on the cigarette.
Click. Click.
*Puff*
***
After the incident, all the students were advised to stay at home for the time being.
The winner would be announced after things settled down. But of course, Evelyn knew Brandon had won.
All of the Professors attended a meeting as Evelyn and Vanessa were the one to debrief them on what exactly happened.
Some Professors stayed quiet and listened, while some showed obvious disdain.
How could they not? When a student of Astrea Academy–an Academy for the elite– was kidnapped?
The one to have spoken most of the time was Vanessa, since Evelyn didn't know how to put the situation into words.
While no one pinned the blame on her, Evelyn thought otherwise.
Yes, the only one who blamed Evelyn was none other than herself.
It was her class, and Amy was one of her students. Yet she was kidnapped right under her nose.
It was a huge blow to her reputation.
She was distressed by what happened. But she didn't lose hope.
Evelyn had several connections–being a member of 'The Waltz'. One of the top guilds in the country.
If she would request their assistance, then saving Amy was indeed possible.
After the meeting was over, Evelyn roamed the halls. The sound of her heels clicking on the marbled floor echoed.
Click– Click—
But she abruptly paused as two familiar figures entered her line of sight.
It was Brandon Locke, and he seemed to be talking to his sister, Belle Locke.
No, it seemed like they were arguing as their voices reached Evelyn's ears.
"Why did you hide the fact that you were a Deviant?"
"I didn't."
Evelyn was curious as well, eavesdropping on the two siblings' conversation.
But to her surprise, Brandon didn't continue the conversation, as he walked ahead of his sister.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"To find Amy."
"That's not your job."
"It kind of is."
What Brandon said piqued Evelyn's curiosity.
Why was it his job?
They were partners, sure. But Amy's kidnapping had nothing to do with him.
He shouldn't involve himself as that was the police's duty
No, for Evelyn, it was her responsibility.
For some reason, Brandon seemed to know something.
Brandon continued to walk to the exit as Belle walked the other way.
Brandon seemed like he knew just exactly where to go.
This intrigued Evelyn even more.
'Does he know something?'
If she wanted to save Amy, then Brandon would be her only lead.
Since he was now alone, it was a good time to approach him.
And she did just that as she called out for him.
"Brandon Locke."
"...?"
Brandon turned around and met her gaze.
"Miss Evelyn? What can I do for you?"
"Come to my office."
"..."
***
Entering her office, the room was clean, free from any speck of dust.
It was finely furnished, as each furniture gave the room a symmetrical feel.
Seated on her desk, Evelyn motioned for her bag and took out a specific item.
It was a lollipop.
Brandon tilted his head, puzzled.
'Why did she bring me here?'
Evelyn unwrapped the lollipop and gave it a lick before shoving it inside her mouth.
"....?"
"Firstly."
Slurp~
"Congratulations on winning."
"Ah, so I did win in the end?"
"Yes."
Slurp, slurp~
"Second... Become my assistant."
"...?"
"Of course, there are incentives in doing so. Such as being personally trained by me."
"...?"
She removed the lollipop and gave it a lick. Then shoved it back in her mouth and continued.
"So? What will it be?"
"..."
Brandon was taken aback.
He knew his performance during the Battle Royale was superb.
"Do know that I won't accept any refusal."
But what he didn't expect was to catch the attention of someone like Evelyn.
It was a good offer. Through Evelyn, he could get several references for [Skill Weaver].
And though his control over magic was proficient enough, he realized his control over mana was lackluster.
"Are you gonna give me an answer? Or are you just going to continue staring at me?"
He had realized this when he would get easily exhausted whenever he used a skill.
Not only that, but the way he used his skills was too 'by the book'.
"Brandon?"
The way he used a skill was only as to how the system told him how to use it.
Theory and application was way too different, and Brandon knew that.
The only way he could improve was if there was someone who could teach him.
Slurp... Slurp~
However, now was not the time for this kind of conversation.
Amy was in danger, and he didn't quite know where she was being held.
The only way to get a lead on her location was to head for the Osborn Company building.
"...I'm quite uncomfortable with how you're looking at me."
'Ah.'
But it was then when an idea flashed in his mind.
"That's it!"
"Keum...!"
As he locked his gaze on Evelyn, she was leaning down and hiding her face.
Brandon tilted his head.
"Miss Evelyn?"
"...I don't like it when people stare at me for too long"
"Huh?"
He never realized that he was so lost in his thoughts that he was staring at Evelyn for exactly four minutes.
"Oh, sorry."
"...It's okay. So what's your answer?"
"I accept."
"Great. We'll meet up every–"
"On two conditions."
"..."
"One, help me save Amy."
Evelyn tilted her head, as she continued to lick the lollipop.
"...Do you know where she is?"
"I have a rough idea."
"...How do you know?"
"Two, no questions asked."
"Is that any way to speak to your Professor?"
"No. Questions. Asked."
She furrowed her brow.
At the end of it, they both came to an agreement.
Brandon would become her protégé, as long as she never questioned whatever he did.
As Brandon left the office, he approached a corner and breathed out a heavy sigh.
—---------------------------
[Quests]
[Save Amy Ashfield.]
[Rewards:]
[EXP: +300]
[Stat Points: +5]
[System Coins: +100]
[Penalty:]
[Due to the sheer difficulty, no penalty shall be enacted upon the user.]
—---------------------------