Library

I focused my Mana on the source of the strange murky liquid that had poisoned us. With precision and control, I directed my Mana to slowly dissolve the poison particle by particle.

It was a challenging task and it required good Mana control. I gathered my Mana and tightly enveloped the source, leaving no room for even a single particle to escape.

There were different methods to get rid of the poison Diana tricked us into drinking. While the protagonists had opted for a straightforward approach, channeling huge amounts of Mana to expel the poison, I had taken a more meticulous route.

Carefully nipping at the poison with my Mana, I made sure to leave no trace behind. Though it was more intricate, it was the only one I could use.

Sigh...

I brushed my slightly sweaty hair out of my face, taking a moment to survey the class. Unsurprisingly, only a handful of students had managed to expel the poison, and the protagonists were not among them.

As I looked around, I caught the eye of the teacher, who nodded in acknowledgement. A few of my classmates followed her gaze, glancing in my direction before turning back to face the front of the room.

The students in the room were on high alert whenever Diana walked nearby, and for good reason. After her poison trick, no one wanted to let their guard down around her. However, I was aware that she wouldn't try anything else.

I pulled out my phone that I recently purchased in the city, and began scrolling through the internet, searching for interesting articles to read. As I perused the headlines, one in particular caught my eye - a story about a director in Helixia who had suddenly gone on a rampage.

The cause of the director's outburst was still unknown, but the article was accompanied by comments from survivors who had witnessed the event. Some recounted how the director had collapsed and began convulsing, while others described how he had attacked visitors without warning.

One comment, in particular, caught my attention. An unknown user had asked a pointed question.

[ How can we be sure it has nothing to do with Demons? ]

As I read through the comment, I couldn't help but admire the unknown user's astute observation. It was indeed correct that the incident in Helixia had been caused by demons.

The director's sudden outburst was a result of his attempt to control Dark Mana, a power only accessible to Demons and Demon Worshipers ranked D or higher. Unfortunately, his failure to control it had led to a surge of Dark Mana that overwhelmed his human thoughts and emotions, causing him to go on a rampage.

Despite the article claiming that he was currently jailed, I was certain that the director had been deemed a traitor and executed for his actions.

"As expected..."

I murmured to myself, as I noticed that most of the students had recovered from the poison.

"Good job, everyone!"

Suddenly, Diana's voice cut through the silence, causing all eyes to turn towards her. Students watched warily as she took out another box, this one containing another set of potions with strange liquid.

"Don't worry, it's a recovery potion..."

Diana reassured us with a wave of her hand, as if the fact that she had just fed us poison was inconsequential. She then proceeded to make a small cut on her palm and drank one of the potions.

We all stared as the wound on her palm slowly closed, leaving no trace of injury on her flawless white skin.

"The old guy will irk me if anybody is poisoned..."

Diana muttered under her breath, and only a few of us understood that she was referring to the director of the academy, one of the strongest beings in humanity.

I couldn't help but notice that some of the students looked like fish out of water, opening and closing their mouths as if they were trying to get oxygen. However, the shock of openly insulting a human whose power was likely one of the reasons Demons didn't engage in a full-on war was too much for them.

Diana distributed the recovery potions to all of us before leaving the classroom without a word. We all sat in silence for a moment before slowly gathering our things and filing out of the room.

Usually, the end of class was a time for chatter and catching up with friends, but today everyone seemed too shaken to talk. Even the main characters, who were usually the liveliest bunch, walked quietly, exchanging only a few gestures before pointing towards the cafeteria.

"I guess it's time..."

I said to myself as I stood up from my seat, hearing my spine crack in eight places - a personal record of mine since I arrived in this world.

Despite it being too early for lunch or my usual training session with Robbin, I didn't feel like sticking around. Instead, I decided to head to the library and finally get that boring book I've needed to get since coming here.

As I walked out of the building, I noticed many students running through the rain, trying to cover their heads so they wouldn't get wet. Unlike them, I didn't bother with such precautions; in fact, I enjoyed the rain. To me, it was like a natural rejuvenation that brought life to the land.

I made my way towards the library, taking my time and enjoying the refreshing feeling of the rain on my face. It wasn't long before I reached my destination and stepped inside the quiet building. The librarian, whose name was Mrs. Wilson, greeted me with a friendly smile as I walked through the sections with many books on various topics.

"Not this... This is not it either..."

I scanned the countless shelves of books, searching for the one with a dark purple cover, growing increasingly frustrated as I failed to find what I was looking for.

"..."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm myself down.