Romu was efficient.
He stuffed a piece of water-soaked cloth into the shield warrior’s mouth and bound her tightly with rope. Then, he tucked her into the hollow of a distinctive-looking tree.
“That’s the first one.”
Romu was now very interested in anyone connected to the Cromwell family.
In the game, the descriptions of the villains could only be described as abysmal. Aside from drawing aggro, their actions rarely involved any deep logic.
For example, Beatrice.
Romu still hadn’t figured out why that woman insisted on pestering him. First, she made an enemy of the mentor, and then during the placement exam, she nearly got killed by Mio Ibuki and Kaffnir’s combined technique.
If they had succeeded, she probably would have become the legend of the fastest expulsion in the history of the Cromwell family.
But what happened afterward… how did she do it?
Uniting the capital’s nobility to work together and suppress Sylvia… No matter how he looked at it, that wasn’t something a dim-witted woman with an exaggerated laugh and a “Dear Brother” obsession could pull off.
Not only had she avoided expulsion, but the people backing her had already begun to influence the internal affairs of the academy.
‘If it was that “Dear Brother” making a move, it would actually make sense.’
That was the only answer Romu could come up with.
The question then was… what were they trying to do?
Keeping that question in the back of his mind, Romu found a suitable place to drop off the “human.”
Although the energy ripples from the battle had been mostly contained by the power of the Dragon Flame, they still acted like a torch in the night for the students who had managed to survive until today.
In the vision of [Transparent Mind’s Eye], points of light representing life force began to move frequently.
The metallic vibration of armor rubbing together.
The rustling of leather boots treading on decaying leaves.
Dozens of different sounds wove into a noisy net, closing in on the previous battlefield from all directions.
There were at least five teams.
Romu had nothing to fear.
However, one team caught his attention.
They weren’t students.
Students’ actions, no matter how professional, carried a slight “sense of the rules” inherent in an evaluation. They would never move like a true squad — unified in action, orderly in deployment, advancing silently through the forest.
There were over ten of them.
And their goal… didn’t seem to be him.
Romu’s body moved before his thoughts, turning into a blurry afterimage that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye as he climbed the tallest ancient tree.
He suppressed all his presence, merging into the shadows of the canopy.
His gaze pierced through the layers of leaves, falling upon the source of that strange aura.
It was a group of people clad in black cloaks. Their uniforms were uniform, with a twisted, eerie emblem embroidered in silver thread on their chests — something that looked like both an ice crystal and a skull.
At the tip of a staff held by one of them, a mass of pure dark mana was slowly swirling, swallowing the surrounding light.
Cocytus!
The notorious Dark Mage guild from the game’s lore!
Romu’s pupils shrank suddenly.
The game plot hidden deep in his memories surged into his mind like a tide.
“Romu Arcadia” had been killed off by the protagonist’s party like a boss precisely because he had become involved with this organization during a certain event.
His end… he hadn’t even been able to leave behind a whole corpse.
The development team’s malice toward the villains had always been dialed to the maximum.
And now, this group of lunatics — who shouldn’t have appeared in a beginner area — had actually appeared openly in the academy’s assessment grounds.
‘The Southern Valley is a temporary exam site chosen at random, with the barrier personally set up by the academy’s high-ranking officials…’
‘So, their appearance is no coincidence.’
The moment the thought appeared, Romu already had the answer.
These Dark Mages must be planning something.
“There’s profit to be made!”
Risk was equal to opportunity.
This was a creed carved into every player’s bones.
Members of Cocytus were Tier 3 at minimum, and squad leaders possessed Tier 4 strength…
‘I wonder how many credits I can get for the loot dropped from killing one of them?’
Strangely, even though this was clearly a battle with a huge disparity in strength and numbers, Romu didn’t feel a hint of pressure.
The threat of death?
As long as you kill everyone who sees you, no one will know you were there.
This was the perfect stealth of a Dragon Ninja.
Activating Shadow Meld, Romu’s form merged into the darkness once again.
Like a true shadow, he noiselessly followed the group of Dark Mages.
“Is the sacrifice’s location confirmed?” a raspy voice asked. It seemed to be the leader.
“Confirmed, My Lord. The target is 2 kilometers ahead of us, moving toward the entrance of the high-level area.”
“Very good. That Tier 5 ‘Abyssal Ripper’ is also about to wake. Those fools at the academy still think it’s just an exam question meant to increase the difficulty for the students.”
“Once it drives all the students to the final evaluation point, the mana concentration there will reach its peak. It will be the perfect time to open the ‘Gate’!”
“We only need to take the ‘sacrifice’ during the chaos, and the mission will be complete.”
Romu’s heart skipped a beat.
Sacrifice?
Gate?
Abyssal Ripper?
‘Bloodline Tracing… is this how the quest clues appear?’
At the mention of that name, Romu quickly ran through the plot in his mind.
Cocytus had always been trying to open a “Gate” to a certain abyss through some evil ritual in order to obtain powerful strength that humans could not reach.
To achieve this goal, their intelligence and personnel were planted in important positions across the major duchies and kingdoms of this world.
Even the academy had not been spared!
“A bunch of pieces of trash, they really know how to play.”
Romu had already drawn his Dragon Sword.
Perhaps the Dark Mages’ cautious movements were almost impossible for an average student to detect.
But… what if the opponent was a hidden class with explosive muscles, mastery of both Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and a Dragon Sword that could cut through heaven and earth without even leaving a scratch on the blade?
If the roles were reversed and Romu were leading this operation, he would probably scream “stat imbalance” if he encountered such a well-rounded and troublesome opponent!
“What is it?” the leader asked.
“Nothing, My Lord. It might have just been an illusion,” the Dark Mage replied, shaking his head, though he remained on high alert.
He was trailing the squad by about 10 meters.
Now!
Romu’s body leaped down from the canopy without making a single sound.
[Shadow Meld: Dragon Breath]!
*Pfft!*
The pitch-black blade of the Dragon Sword pierced straight through the multiple magical shields on the target’s body. Without any resistance, it stabbed directly through his heart.
The “Armor Penetration” and “Silence” effects triggered simultaneously!
Romu didn’t even give him a chance to fall.
His left hand muffled the man’s mouth while his right hand applied force, dragging him into the deeper shadows of the jungle.
The entire process was smooth as flowing water, taking less than 1 second.
The Cocytus squad in the distance knew nothing of this and continued to advance steadily.
It wasn’t until he had dragged the corpse 100 meters away that Romu let go.
He began to quickly loot this still-warm “experience pack.”
Soon, he pulled a cold, black crystal emitting an ominous aura from the person’s robes.
‘They’re even carrying Nether Crystals? Looks like they’re planning something big.’
With a flick of his wrist, Romu stored everything from the Dark Mage into the system warehouse.
At the same time, however, he noticed something was wrong.
‘Only 1.6 meters tall, but why is he so heavy?’
Feeling a warmth on the back of his hand as if he’d been stained by something, Romu pulled his hand away and instinctively sniffed.
The pungent scent of alchemical potions was actually mixed in with the “blood” flowing out!
‘An alchemical doll, or a bionic one?’
Romu was startled.
Since when had the Dark Mages started dabbling in dark technology?!
Wasn’t that the Alchemists’ job?
Could they even… understand how it worked?
Realizing that the “person” he was holding didn’t have a single trace of an aura a human should have, Romu suddenly became alert.
‘A Flesh Golem?!’
Something made from the flesh and bone of living people in the game had appeared right before his eyes!?
These guys definitely weren’t ordinary Dark Mages!
They were a literal gold mine!