On Alex's fifteenth day at the encampment, something happened.
A crowd had gathered outside his modest camp. The murmur of voices, sharp and seething, stirred the morning air like a swarm of angry bees. Alex, still half-lost in sleep, was rudely jolted awake when two figures stormed in and dragged him outside. The cold bite of the dawn wind and the rough tugging snapped him fully alert.
His grogginess faded the moment he saw the eyes.
Eyes brimming with hatred. Glares laced with venom. Anger and contempt swirled like a storm around him.
It wasn't new. Alex had grown familiar with the stench of false judgment. But then—he saw her.
Anna Greymoor. Crying. Her face buried in the shoulder of a girl clad in sleek, black leather—Meika Noctshade. Her expression was thunder incarnate.
Behind her stood two other girls Alex hadn't seen since arriving—Rina Roarhart and Selene Frostreign. They glared at him with the same cold accusation that pierced deeper than blades.
Then Alex's eyes swept to the other side—boys, each gaze like a predator's, hyenas leashed with rope, ready to pounce the moment it snapped.
"What's going on here?" Alex demanded, locking eyes with Meika Noctshade. His voice was calm, but his heart pounded like war drums. "Why is everyone ready to jump on me?"
Meika's fury flared like fire. Her voice sliced through the murmurs like a whip.
"You dare?" she screamed.
Alex took a step forward, his brows furrowed. "I don't understand what's happening. Please, explain."
Meika's voice trembled with rage. "Do you know this girl?"
Alex's eyes shifted to Anna, then back to Meika. "Yes. I know Ms. Anna Greymoor."
"And you're not ashamed of what you did to her?" Meika snarled.
"I didn't do anything to Ms. Greymoor!" Alex snapped, confused and frustrated.
CRACK.
Before another word could escape, a fist like a meteor slammed into Alex's face. His body was hurled through the air like a broken puppet, crashing into the fortified wall with a sickening thud.
Varek Drakthorn. A six-circle fire elementalist. Notorious not just for his elemental prowess—but for being a physical powerhouse feared by all.
Had it been anyone else, their skull would've been pulp. A melon crushed under divine wrath.
Alex's vision blurred. Pain screamed from his broken jaw and fractured arm. Yet, against all logic and agony, he rose—bloodied, trembling, but standing.
His eyes, cold and sharp like twin daggers, locked onto Varek.
A sneak attack... from someone like him? Truly shameless.
But before he could retaliate, a shadow stepped between them.
Riven Veylor. Calm. Smiling.
"No need for violence," he said, raising a hand with practiced serenity. "We're all students here. Let's resolve this with words. Yes, he may have done wrong—but that doesn't mean we must descend to his level, right?"
There was a pause. A shift in the air.
The crowd murmured. Riven's charisma—his power—coiled around them like a subtle enchantment.
"Let's ask the girl," Riven continued. "She's the one who was harmed. She should decide the punishment."
The crowd murmured in agreement, nodding slowly.
Riven turned to Anna with a gentle smile. "I know your life was ruined because of him... but maybe you can find it in your heart to show kindness. Maybe even forgiveness."
Anna wiped her tears, her voice soft but firm. "I can't do that, sir. I'll decide his punishment. If he can bring me the Dimensional Key of this dimension—then, and only then—I'll forgive him."
The crowd gasped.
Then they laughed. Loud, mocking, cruel.
"He deserves that!" someone jeered.
"I don't want to see him again," Anna added coldly. "Please, make him leave."
Alex stood still. Numb. Silent.
He lifted his gaze skyward. A hollow chuckle escaped his bloodied lips.
"I trusted a girl with the same name as my little sister..."
He clenched his fists, trembling. "This is what she gave me in return. I'm sorry, Anna... your name has been dirtied by another."
Tears welled in his eyes, slipping down his bruised cheeks.
"I'm really sorry, Anna. I'm still... not strong enough to protect you."
His voice was broken glass—quiet but sharp.
Wordlessly, he turned and walked back to his tent. He gathered the few belongings he had—things that still clung to his identity.
Just as he was about to leave, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Riven Veylor.
Smiling, ever the friend.
"I made them lessen your punishment," he said softly, "because you're my friend, you know? You should be thankful."
Alex turned slowly. His eyes were empty. Lifeless. A glacier of emotion buried beneath.
"Thanks, Mr. Veylor," he said, voice flat.
Riven flinched.
That look. That dead-eyed gaze. It clawed at something buried in his memory.
He had seen it before. Long ago.
His own reflection.
Suddenly—
DING.
A cold blue screen shimmered before him.
----
When Alex stepped past the gate, a voice called.
"Alex!"
He stopped, but didn't turn.
Rina's footsteps pounded against the dirt as she rushed after him, her breath ragged with urgency. "Getting the dimensional key—it's not just hard. It's impossible. No one's retrieved one from a B-rank dungeon in over a hundred years. Just thinking about it is madness."
Alex didn't move. The wind swept through the campgrounds, stirring dust and dead leaves around his boots, brushing against his bloodied face like the last soft touch of someone long gone.
"My little sister was three when she died," he said, his voice trembling, raw. "Her name was Anna. I couldn't protect her back then... and now, I couldn't even protect her name from being dragged through the mud."
Rina froze. Her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, tears welling in her eyes.
Alex lifted his head toward the overcast sky, his gaze distant—
"If my urge to protect outweighs my thirst for revenge..."
A pause hung heavy in the air,
"Then how will I ever take my revenge?"
Rina fell to her knees, the weight of her guilt dragging her down. Tears slipped down her cheeks, hot against the cold air, as she watched Alex's silhouette grow smaller. His gait was slow, every step an echo of his pain. His frame was battered—bones fractured, soul splintered
"I'm really sorry, Alex… I wasn't able to help you," Rina thought, the guilt twisting like a dagger in her chest. "You protected me... but I couldn't do the same."
She tightened her fists until her nails bit into her palms, her heart pounding like war drums beneath her ribs.
"I have to become powerful—powerful enough to never hesitate again. Powerful enough to control my fate," she whispered, her voice steady.