CHAPTER 53 — The unexpected encounter(3)
"Want a sip?"
Aiden casually extended the coconut toward Valeria.
Valeria stared at it for a second before her eyebrow twitched.
Then—
SWAT!
She immediately tried to slap the coconut away.
But right before her palm could touch it—
Aiden smoothly lifted it higher.
Valeria's hand cut through empty air.
"Hehehe." Aiden chuckled lazily from the beach chair.
Valeria growled in irritation.
"Ugh… when are you two finally going to make peace with each other?"
A new voice suddenly joined in.
Valeria turned toward the source of the voice
And only then noticed Elias laying on another beach chair beside Aiden while calmly sipping coconut water through a straw.
"…Eli?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
"I didn't even notice you were here."
"I invited him." Aiden spoke proudly while taking another sip from his coconut. "A good instructor should also give his assistant proper rest."
"Hehe…" Elias laughed awkwardly before quietly returning to drinking his coconut water.
"You can also join us," Aiden added casually. "Just get your own cocon—"
"Oh."
A sharp voice interrupted him.
"Yeah, I was wondering where your lazy ass disappeared to."
Lucien walked toward them with crossed arms.
"But honestly," he continued dryly, "what else could I expect from you besides debauchery?"
Aiden calmly sipped his drink.
"Hey, Licy," he replied lazily, "why do you always show up just to ruin the mood?"
Lucien's forehead instantly twitched.
"Don't call me Licy, you idiot."
He pointed at him irritably.
"And stop giving people weird nicknames."
"Then what about Lulu?"
"…I'll kill you."
"See? This is why nobody invites you to parties."
Before Lucien could snap back—
"So this is where you all were."
Another tired voice joined in.
Lucien flinched slightly and turned around immediately.
Darian was standing behind him.
His face looked exhausted.
The dark circles beneath his eyes somehow looked even worse than before.
"Fuck you," Lucien muttered while clutching his chest dramatically. "You dark-circled freak, stop appearing out of nowhere like a ghost."
"Hey, Darian," Valeria called from nearby.
Both Lucien and Darian turned toward her.
"You seriously need to take some holidays," she said while narrowing her eyes. "Your condition looks terrible."
"Yeah, Darri bro." Aiden raised another coconut toward him from nowhere. "Come here and sit with us."
Everyone paused.
"…When did you even get another coconut?" Lucien muttered suspiciously.
Aiden ignored him completely.
"Here."
Darian silently accepted the coconut.
Then instead of using the straw—
CRACK.
He removed it entirely and drank straight from the coconut itself.
Lucien stared blankly.
Seriously where is he getting these from…?
"Looks like Class C is giving you a hard time," Elias said carefully.
"Yeah…"
Darian wiped his mouth tiredly.
"Hey, Darri bro. Have you seen the mirror." Aiden said while drinking the coconut water.
"Your dark circles has increased so much that you are haunting this island like a ghost now."
"Ha... Ha" Darian pretended to laugh it off but his eyes only get more lower from the weight of his classes.
"Are your students giving you a hard time." Lucien asked his voice carrying genuine concern.
"Most of them are troublemakers."
Darian replied his exhausted eyes lowered.
"And nobody even pays attention during class."
"Who would focus in the class of a dead-looking teacher?" Aiden teased casually.
"Hey, Aiden."
Lucien's voice sharpened immediately.
"What?" Aiden replied flatly.
Then—
Both of them looked at each other.
And instantly—
The atmosphere changed.
Their gazes collided like invisible blades.
The tension in the air thickened immediately.
Elias awkwardly shifted in his beach chair.
Darian froze slightly with widened eyes.
Even Valeria narrowed her eyes while scratching her head in annoyance.
"You two seriously started aga—"
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted across Rune Island.
The beach itself trembled.
A massive shockwave echoed through the surroundings.
"They started again!?"
Elias and Darian shouted simultaneously.
In panic—
Elias immediately grabbed Aiden.
While Darian grabbed Lucien.
Both Aiden and Lucien looked completely baffled.
"What the hell are you doing!?" they shouted in unison.
"What do you mean!?"
Elias stared at them.
"Weren't you two just attacking each other!?" Darian added frantically.
Aiden and Lucien looked at one another.
Then both spoke at the same time again.
"That wasn't from us."
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Confusion spread instantly across the shore.
"…Then what was that?" Lucien muttered.
The question lingered heavily in the air.
"Guys."
Valeria's voice suddenly turned serious.
Everyone immediately looked toward her.
She was staring toward the center of Rune Island beyond the forests.
Far in the distance—
A massive column of smoke was slowly rising into the sky.
Curling upward like a dark omen.
The instructors' expressions slowly changed.
The playful atmosphere vanished entirely.
And for the first time since arriving at Rune Island—
Something genuinely felt wrong.
---.
BOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted near one of the distant dungeon zones.
The ground trembled faintly beneath everyone's feet.
Several students scattered across Rune Island abruptly turned toward the source of the blast. Birds burst out from nearby trees while clouds of dust rose into the sky.
Near one of the occupied dungeons—
Ashwin's group stood outside the entrance, their gathered runes and monster cores packed away.
The moment the explosion echoed—
Ashwin slowly lifted his gaze.
A massive mushroom-like cloud of smoke curled upward into the sky.
And from within that smoke—
Four shadowy figures burst out.
Their silhouettes shot across the air like projectiles.
Several overlapping voices followed immediately after—
"SERIS YOU BASTARD!!!"
"What the hell was that for!?"
"You almost blew us up too!"
"That," Seris shouted proudly while spinning midair, "is what you call a grand exit!"
The group crashed through the smoke cloud while arguing amongst themselves.
Ashwin narrowed his metallic silver-gray eyes.
Then—
A faint blue glow formed around his pupils.
Aether Sight activated.
A luminous ring of mana shimmered around his irises as his gaze pierced through the smoke and directly locked onto the airborne figures.
At the same moment—
Seris suddenly felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"Hm?"
He instinctively turned his head.
And his eyes met Ashwin's glowing gaze from far below.
For a split second—
The atmosphere froze.
"...What the hell?" Seris muttered.
His eyes widened slightly.
"There are other Grand Aetherion students here too?!"
The four dark mages finally landed roughly across the rocky terrain, dust scattering beneath their boots.
Ashwin slowly reached for his wand.
"...Dark mages."
Kaizen, who stood nearby, immediately stiffened.
"Dark mages?" he repeated in panic.
"They are dark mages?!"
Ashwin nodded once.
His expression remained calm.
But his eyes had sharpened.
Meanwhile—
Seris had already turned toward the brown-haired boy in his group.
"Hey! Nitin!" he shouted hurriedly.
"Where's the exit route you prepared?!"
Nitin instantly pointed ahead while running.
"There! That giant pillar shaped like an elephant!"
Everyone followed his finger.
In the distance—
A gigantic stone pillar stood near the mountainside, naturally shaped like the head of a colossal elephant. Beside it—
Half-hidden behind rock formations—
A cave entrance could barely be seen.
"That cave!" Nitin shouted.
"Move!"
Without hesitation, the four dark mages immediately sprinted toward it.
Behind them—
Ashwin suddenly stepped forward.
His coat fluttered sharply from the burst of mana around him.
"Everyone move."
His calm voice carried absolute authority.
The students behind him immediately reacted.
No hesitation.
No questions.
The entire group instantly began chasing after the fleeing dark mages.
Junim looked over his shoulder while running.
"They're following us!"
His face twisted.
"WHY ARE THEY FOLLOWING US?!"
"Maybe because you blew up half the mountain!" Denin snapped.
"Shut up and run!"
Nitin pointed forward again.
"We're almost there!"
Denin glanced back once more—
And his expression immediately darkened.
"...Shit."
The Grand Aetherion students were getting closer.
Especially Ashwin.
The distance between them was shrinking rapidly.
"FUCK they're fast!"
WOOSH—
Suddenly—
A wave of dark orangish flames exploded backward toward the pursuing students.
The fire twisted unnaturally through the air like burning liquid.
Several students gasped in alarm.
"Look out!"
Some instantly stopped running.
Some raised their wands defensively.
But—
Ashwin didn't stop.
Not even for a second.
His expression remained cold and unbothered as he calmly raised his wand forward.
"Stormrein."
CRACKKKK—
Blue lightning erupted violently around the tip of his wand.
At the same time—
Silver wind currents spiraled around the lightning bolts, compressing them into razor-sharp streams of destruction.
The enhanced thunder bolts tore straight through the incoming dark flames—
Like scissors slicing paper apart.
BOOOOM—
The dark orange fire split open instantly.
Ashwin continued walking forward through the gap he himself created.
The divided flames slowly dissipated around him while silver sparks danced across his coat sleeves.
Behind him—
The students of Grand Aetherion stared in stunned silence.
The spectacle looked absurdly overwhelming.
"...Wow."
That was the only word Kaizen managed to utter.
Even the other students looked shaken.
Ashwin, however—
Never once looked back.
His glowing silver-gray eyes remained fixed on the fleeing dark mages ahead.
And slowly—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Not in excitement.
Not in arrogance.
But in Interest.
For the first time since arriving on Rune Island—
Something genuinely interesting had appeared.
---
CHAPTER ENDS