"Now pick one up each,"

Professor Garhard said as he pulled out three identical boxes from his subspace.

Kafrik stared at the boxes, his eyes calm on the surface, but inside he was filled with restless energy.

He had waited for this moment for so long, the day he would finally take his revenge.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Vivian, who stood calmly beside Charlotte.

Their faces were steady, showing no hint of emotion, yet there was something different about them, especially that cripple.

Over the past few months, his body had changed.

He looked stronger, and there was something in the way he stood, a quiet but undeniable sense of power.

'Odd,' Kafrik thought to himself. 'Why do I feel like that?'

Even though that cripple was still only at the fourth star, Kafrik could sense something strange about him, something that didn't belong to an ordinary person.

It made his chest feel tight, a feeling he didn't like at all.

He frowned and kept staring at the cripple, trying to figure out what felt so strange about him.

But just then, Vivian's head moved slightly, and his calm gaze turned toward Kafrik.

Gasp—!

A sharp breath escaped Kafrik as he quickly looked away.

A chill crawled down his spine, and cold sweat ran down his back.

His whole body trembled for reasons he couldn't understand.

He clenched his fists, trying to steady his breathing and slow his racing heart.

"…What the hell was that?" he muttered under his breath.

He didn't dare to look at Vivian again.

That cripple, just a single glance from him was enough to make Kafrik's body freeze in fear.

'How can someone like him make me feel this way…?'

He thought, his heart still pounding in his chest.

Just as he was about to sink into his thoughts, a voice came from the front.

"Kafrik, take yours," Professor Garhard called out.

"Yes," Kafrik replied, trying to calm his pounding heart.

He walked toward the professor and picked up one of the round disk like tokens.

When he looked down, he saw the number 14 written on the token inside.

Just as he was about to turn away, a sudden transmission echoed in his mind.

[Kafrik, Princess Charlotte and Vivian got the same number.]

His heart skipped a beat, then started racing even faster.

He didn't respond immediately, but another message followed soon after.

[She's at the fifth star, near the peak of the mid stage. If they team up against me, there might be a problem.]

The voice was calm, filled only with caution, no trace of fear or emotion.

[Should we postpone the plan?] came the next question.

[No,] Kafrik replied instantly, his expression dark and firm.

There was no hesitation in his eyes, only the burning desire for revenge.

This was the perfect chance for him.

He had waited so long to get back at them, especially that bitch Charlotte, who had always humiliated him.

Now that the chance was here for him to take his revenge, he would not let it slip away.

He pictured the plan in his head.

First, subdue that cripple.

Then, take Charlotte and force her to kneel, make her beg, make her pay for every insult.

He did not plan to wait.

He imagined making her his slave, breaking her pride until she begged for mercy.

Kafrik cleared his throat and sent the reply in the same cool tone he used for the transmission.

[No need to postpone. You take care of Charlotte. I will take care of the cripple. Understood?]

His voice held a hard edge.

A cold light flashed in his eyes as he looked at Vivian and Charlotte.

Vivian met his glance again.

This time a small, mocking smile touched his lips.

That smile burned Kafrik with more than a dozen knives.

He wanted to roar, to rush forward and smash that smile off Vivian's face.

But not right now.

Instead, his hands tightened around his token.

He thought, 'Just you wait. I'll make you watch while I humiliate your fiance.'

The professor's voice cut through Kafrik's thoughts like cold steel.

[We will do that,]

Garhard said slowly, [but do not order me. I am not your servant] The rebuke was sharp like a sword's edge.

Kafrik's face did not change, but inside his anger burned hotter.

He didn't answer.

He let out a cold snort and moved back to his place, muttering, "Useless piece of bastard."

Every little move of his felt like poison in the air.

Still, one thought warmed him: the look of despair on the cripple's face when he turned his fiance into a slave.

He chuckled to himself. "I can't wait till this exam is over," he thought.

He kept waiting as the others finished taking their tokens and formed groups of three.

Only Vivian and Charlotte were a group of two.

For some reason their matching number showed only two people, which meant Vivian and Charlotte would have to go into the dungeon as a pair, not a trio like everyone else.

It was a strange coincidence.

Each token was supposed to link to two others, forming a group of three.

He was part of a triple himself.

Yet Vivian and Charlotte's numbers matched only each other, leaving them alone.

Despite Kafrik's growing excitement, he remained cautious as he didn't leave any obvious clues.

He had to erase any suspicion.

If the most important people vanished and he remained, questions would follow.

He had a plan.

He and the professor would make doppelgangers, copies that would act as them.

The duplicates would stay behind while the originals slipped away to wait in the dungeon and ambush Vivian and Charlotte.

"Okay, group one, come forward," Professor Garhard called out.

A group of three students walked nervously to the front.

The professor watched them for a moment, then raised his hand.

Rumble... rumble... rumble...

With a snap of his fingers, a huge stone gate appeared behind him.

The air trembled as the dungeon slowly opened, dark mist rolling out from within.

"Remember," the professor said in a calm but firm tone, "you have one hour. Explore the dungeon and gather as many beast cores as you can."

"Yes, sir!" the three replied together, their voices a little shaky.

They stepped inside, vanishing into the darkness.

The gate closed with a deep echo.

The remaining students began whispering among themselves, guessing what kind of monsters might be inside.

Some looked excited, others pale.

Time passed slowly.

After what felt like forever, the dungeon gate began to shake again.

The same rumbling sound filled the air before the three students stumbled out.

Their faces were pale, their clothes torn, and one of them was slightly limping.

They handed a few beast cores to Professor Garhard with trembling hands before walking back to their place, sighing in exhaustion and relief.

Watching them, Kafrik let out a cold snort of disdain.

To him, their fear was pathetic.

If they couldn't handle a simple beginner dungeon, they had no right to be here.

One by one, the groups went in and came out.

Soon, about half the students had finished their exam.

Professor Garhard clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright, students, take a short break," he said.

As soon as he spoke, the tension eased.

The students started chatting loudly again, laughing and comparing the beast cores they had collected.

The professor, meanwhile, turned and began walking toward the deep forest nearby.

No one paid much attention, except for one pair of cold blue eyes.

Those eyes followed him silently, filled with sharp killing intent.

The air around that person seemed to freeze for a moment.

Just then, the professor paused mid-step.

He felt something, an instinct honed from years of danger.

He turned around quickly.

But the moment his gaze swept over the crowd, the killing intent disappeared like it had never existed.

"Hm?" he muttered softly, frowning in confusion.

After a brief moment, he shook his head and continued into the forest, unaware that someone's hatred was already shadowing his steps.

Kafrik knew the time had come.

He quickly made up an excuse. "Guys, I have something important," he told his teammates, his voice sounding smooth and kind.

"I'll be back within twenty minutes."

One of them nodded easily.

"Alright. Just be back before our turn."

"Alright," Kafrik agreed, flashing a quick, false grin.

He turned his back on them and walked away.

The very second he moved, the smile dropped from his face like a stone.

He could feel the cold hate building up inside him.

He muttered, low enough that only he could hear the words: "Just a few more hours before I rip you limb from limb."

The thought of making his enemy suffer filled him with joy.

His eyes lit up with cruel excitement, and he slowly licked his lips.

He muttered, low enough that only he could hear the words: "Just a few more hours, hehe."

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