Malveas Empire

Gris was indeed a hitman. He was less afraid of dying when performing his missions.

The reason was simple. He could already guess what kind of death he might go through. There was a chance he failed because the target was protected by a group of guards who shot him on the spot.

The other possibility was that he was captured by them and tortured in the worst way to reveal the information they wanted.

To ease the fear, he bore that in mind and anticipated it. But in the end, he died suddenly and lived on in a new body.

'I don't know what kind of death I will face in this world. It's a bit scary to imagine me dying by magic that didn't exist in my world before.'

Gris gripped the scroll of paper tightly. If he were weak, he'd die before the rest. He'd probably meet a gruesome end if he were strong, drawing in plenty of enemies.

But being strong was the better option from his point of view. There was a chance he would meet a natural death because no one could touch him.

"The preparation time for the academy is very short. I cannot facilitate you well," Blayz spoke again, and Alberic left to return with some servants.

The servants gave a crate to each of the five children. Curious, they opened them and found all the items they needed inside.

"Last night, I prepared supplies for you all. The clothes and study materials I gave you are few. The academy will provide you with more later during your stay in the dormitory."

Gris beamed as he found the Soulshard Axe in his crate. He grabbed a small box and found a piece of paper inside.

[Promissory Note of Payment

To the holder of this letter,

We, the Imperial Bank of Malveas, guarantee the payment of one thousand (1,000) silver coins to the holder of this note.

Due date: none.

Redeemable for equivalent silver coins at our bank.

Given at the Dark Exchange on June 13th, the 7th year of ADW.

Signed, Leofric, Director of Malveas Bank.]

"Pandemonium Academy is in the fiefdom of the Malveas Empire. You can exchange this payment note to the bank to buy what you need," Blayz explained as the other children joined Gris in opening the note.

Malveas was once an empire called Evelore that worshipped Eveloria, the essence of mercy. But in the fifth doomsday wave, Evelore was overrun by the Doomsday Committee.

From then on, the name of the empire was changed to Malveas, and the Doomsday Committee declared Malveas the first evil nation.

This action triggered the deities supporting the destruction to give the mission of building evil kingdoms. The original story does not mention the exact number of countries controlled by the villains because it keeps increasing and decreasing.

The heroes, of course, did not let the villains spread their evil ideology. Both sides continue to fight fiercely to defend the chosen countries.

The only country the heroes could not touch was the Malveas Empire, the most feared and final target in the story.

Gris read the date on the note of payment. This world used the same calendar as his world.

The difference was that the worldwide dating rules changed after the first doomsday wave began. It changed to a specific year after the doomsday wave (ADW).

"One silver coin here can buy one simple outfit," Gris spoke to Blayz. "In Malveas, one silver coin is equivalent to what?"

Blayz smiled. "Three years ago, it could buy bread for a few days. I don't really know how the currency in Malveas has evolved."

"Thank you, Father. I will put your gift to good use."

"As you should."

Following Gris, the other children directly thanked Blayz for caring for them.

"What about the rights I'm supposed to get after passing the Forest of Death Test?" Gris questioned, taking out the Wish-Weaver brooch he always kept in his clothes pocket.

Alaric did not expect Gris to be so bold as to ask that question. But he was tempted to match his boldness.

"We can't use our lands for training," Alaric added. "It would be great if the brooch was useful to us after the academy."

The other three children stared at Gris and Alaric as if they had lost their minds. They did not dare to question the Wish-Weaver brooch because they feared Blayz.

But their fear was just a vain imagination. Blayz responded to Gris and Alaric in a calm manner, not as bad as their minds bore.

"It's not just you who are thinking about the value of that brooch. I was also considering it all night. You remember six of our family are seniors and academy graduates, right?"

Alaric became enthusiastic with his conjecture. "Can we ask them for something?"

"Exactly. I'll arrange everything when the academy representative picks you up. Show the brooch to ask the six members of the Silverth family for a favor. They won't refuse as long as it's within their capability."

That was Blayz's most useful giving compared to a thousand silver coins. Observing his calm demeanor, Rowena felt encouraged to make a request.

"Father, what about our weapons and training? I'm hoping for a better wand and mana stone."

Rowan and Rowena were children Blayz paid particular attention to, so he would not throw them away.

He glanced at Alberic. "Tell Alberic what you need. Not just Rowena, but the others. Although short, you should prepare your best versions before attending the academy."

"Yes, Father!" Everyone replied.

"I'm done with my speech. You can prepare what you need from today."

With that, Blayz ended the meeting. He gave Gris a wave. "You, follow me! There's something we should discuss regarding your class."

Rowena spoke to Gris before he left. "I heard there's a battle at the academy. When I get a divine blessing, I'll challenge you as a fellow magic user!"

"Well, you'd better get some good skills. It's possible that I already had a legion of undead when you just received your class," Gris responded with a sneer.

His words sparked an angry frown on Rowena's forehead. However, he decided not to bother confronting a girl who had not yet reached adulthood.

Getting up from his chair, he trailed after Blayz as they left the great hall. Alberic remained behind in addressing the children's requests.

"Do you know why I called you separately?" Blayz asked the question.

Gris instantly realized that his father was taking him to the lab. "I think it's related to the magical animal I want."

"Your guess is correct. Not only that, I also brought a slave for you to test your skill. You don't have much time, so you must do it quickly."

Hearing that, Gris' steps paused for a moment before he resumed walking, his face lit up with excitement. He could finally test the Route of Death for the first time.