Aeren traveled through the "Forest of Zone," encountering various monsters along the way and dispatching them efficiently. After a few hours of traversing the dense forest, he finally emerged from the forest's edge.
Aeren looked around at the quiet, peaceful landscape outside the forest and began walking toward Zone City. The journey took about an hour before he could see the city's gates in the distance.
Aeren entered through the gate without drawing anyone's attention and began wandering through the streets. As he walked, Aeren saw a scene unfolding nearby—someone was bullying a boy and a girl, with the boy trying to protect her. Aeren glanced at them briefly before continuing on his way.
A few minutes later, he spotted his own face on missing person posters scattered around the city. After glancing one more time, he disappeared from crowd and made his way to the Guild.
At the guild, Aeren found a long line and waited patiently for nearly an hour before his turn came. He approached a young woman with plain, commoner features working at the reception desk.
"Miss, I'd like to meet with the Guild Master," Aeren said politely.
She didn't even look up at him. "He's already in a meeting with someone."
Aeren handed over his ID card as part of the procedure. She looked at Aeren's student ID, shocked, and hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you earlier, but the Guild Master is expecting you." She bowed in apology.
Aeren nodded and proceeded to the second floor. He knocked on the Guild Master's door and waited.
"Come in," came the voice from inside.
When Aeren opened the door, he saw two additional people with the Guild Master. Both wore robes that hid their faces, though Aeren could tell one was old and the other seemed to be a child around his own age.
The Guild Master looked at Aeren and asked, "You're a student from the academy?"
"Yes, I am," Aeren replied.
"Good. Can you do me a favor?" the Guild Master asked with a smile.
Aeren looked at the Guild Master politely. "What is it?"
The Guild Master nodded. "These people need to get to the Academy, but they're not familiar with the area. This child is a 'special student' at the academy—helping them might even benefit you in the future."
Aeren glanced at the child, unable to make out their face beneath the hood, and nodded. "Sure, but I don't have any money for travel expenses."
The Guild Master laughed at Aeren words. "HAHAHAHA! Don't worry about that."
Aeren nodded at the Guild Master's words and signaled for the two robed figures to follow him. They left Zone City's gates and found a carriage. During the journey, Aeren didn't ask them any questions, and they remained equally silent.
When night fell and the carriage stopped in an isolated area, Aeren disappeared to explore the surroundings. The two passengers were about to ask where he was going, but he had already vanished into the darkness.
A few hours later, when morning arrived, Aeren returned empty-handed and climbed back into the carriage.
"Where were you last night?" the child asked with a soft, curious voice.
Aeren looked at both of them. "I was searching for something useful in the area, but couldn't find anything."
After hearing his explanation, they didn't press him further and let him do as he pleased. This pattern repeated the following night, but this time they didn't ask any questions.
After 3 days of travel, the three of them safely reached the Academy.
Aeren observed the Academy's new structure and noticed students around the grounds again, though the population seemed lower than usual—as if admissions were happening again but with fewer applicants.
Aeren could see that the mana shield protecting the academy had been strengthened significantly since the previous mana shock wave incident, and there were additional protective barriers constructed around the perimeter.
After studying the academy's enhanced defenses from outside, Aeren entered with the two robed figures. Once inside, he left them behind and went his separate way, sighing as he headed toward his dormitory.
When Aeren reached his room, he found it completely empty—no roommates in sight.
Since there were no classes scheduled for the day, he was about to settle in when his system device chimed with a message.
Looking at the small black orb, Aeren read:
System Message: [You have completed your Quest safely]
Quest Reward:
[Reward: 200 Academy Points]
[Analyzing...]
[You and Ciya have received an extra reward]
[You may select one weapon from the shop for free]
[You have received an additional 200 Academy Points]
[Status: The Academy incorrectly ranked the quest difficulty, causing your team to suffer losses. The Principal offers extra rewards as an apology.]
Ding
System Message:
[Quest Reward]
[You may meet with the Principal today at 4:00 PM to receive your reward]
Aeren looked at the message and checked the time—it was 2:00 PM.
He glanced outside his window at the academy grounds, then left his room to explore the newly reconstructed Academy.
Meanwhile, outside the academy gates, Renn, Isolde, Lira, and Elenya stood together, having just returned from completing their own S-class quest.
"Holy shit, that quest was like going through hell," Renn said with a heavy sigh.
Isolde looked at Renn with a smile. "Yeah, if it weren't for Lira, we might have died there."
Elenya looked at both of them with a proud expression. "That's right—be grateful to Lira. If you always follow her lead, you'll never be in danger again."
Renn glanced at the princess's cute expression and patted her head. "Yeah, yeah."
Elenya started to get annoyed with his casual response and looked toward Lira, but Lira ignored their conversation and entered the academy.
Watching Lira walk away, Isolde asked Renn curiously, "Why do you think those monsters were attacking all those cities? If we had been even a little late, they would have destroyed another city completely."
Renn checked his system interface, noting the many rewards he had received. Then he looked at the Academy's reward system, which offered less impressive benefits than his personal system. Inwardly, he thought, Just wait, Aeren. I'll kill you.
"Maybe someone is manipulating them," Renn said in a flat voice, as if he didn't particularly care.
Isolde didn't press him further and entered the newly reconstructed academy alongside Renn.