Chapter 9

Beth's POV

After the Trial, everyone went their way and Rey had to return to his room.

Although he had the freedom to wander the central Living Room, he opted to stay put since he preferred not to.

No one could blame him.

As night descended and everyone else slept soundly, a certain student couldn’t sleep.

"Damn it…" He muttered, his eyes were wide open as he stared at the ceiling.

Before long, he sat upright and clapped his hand over his face.

“I screwed up big time…” He murmured in the dark.

It was hard to make out the expression on his face, but it appeared to be a grimace.

‘I didn’t expect to be asked for another testimony. It wasn’t part of the plan…’

In the dark of the night, Adam Sanchez lay on the bed going over the earlier events of the day.

How he had been humiliated before everyone.

“I really fucked up!”

“Ahh… don’t blame yourself too much.” A voice suddenly said from the corner of the room.

“Eep!”

Like a little child, Adam shrieked as he jumped from his position, startled.

The figure before him was cloaked in a silhouette. They appeared to be in a hooded robe, covered from top to bottom.

Although he couldn’t discern any facial features, they were undoubtedly a person.

“You have to stop doing that! You startled me…”

Adam soon forgot his initial fear—or shock, if he was being honest—and glared at the intruder who had seemingly come out of nowhere.

“Haha! I apologize. That wasn’t very nice…”

The shadowy person stepped forward and based on their deep baritone, they were obviously male.

“You don’t need to beat yourself too hard, though. Who could have seen this coming?”

Adam chuckled at the words spoken by the silhouette before him.

“Who said I was blaming myself? You’re the one who came up with the plan, so it's technically your fault for not planning this far ahead.”

As Adam stared hard at the shadow, he had a wide grin on his face. His grimace was gone, and his sense of superiority had returned.

“I suppose you’re right. That’s a fair conclusion…” The shadow said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

“But let’s focus less on the past, and more on the future, shall we?”

The person they had framed, Rey Skylar, had gotten less punishment than they would have liked, but the goal was still achieved.

“There’s enough unrest now to move on to the next stage…”

Adam's grin widened further as he already knew what that meant.

“It’ll soon be time for me to take over the class.”

Once chaos ensued and he consistently presented the perfect solution, his influence would grow.

He only had to play both sides—the Nation, and his fellow students.

It was the perfect plan.

“Thank you for the sack of Monster Cores, by the way. I wouldn’t have gone along with your plan if I didn’t know you were so capable.” Adam retorted with a snort.

He had been given a down payment of over 200 Monster Cores, which had a very high commercial value.

Once he sold it, he would have tons of money. Compared to his broke classmates, he had a safety net and financial freedom.

‘Hehehe… hehe…’ Adam chuckled to himself, reveling in his newfound wealth and success.

“It was nothing.” The Shadow responded, sounding almost as amused as Adam.

“Where did you get so many Monster Cores, though? You’re a fellow student, so you couldn’t have gone out to get it.”

Adam Sanchez didn’t think any student would be foolish or skilled enough to escape the walls.

He had thought about it himself, but after seeing the tight security, he decided against it. Instead, he decided to bide his time and wait for his chance.

‘Sorry for accusing you of something you didn’t do, Rey. But… a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do!’

Of course, Adam didn’t feel sorry in the slightest.

“I stole it.” The silhouette interrupted his thoughts with a straightforward response.

"Oh, really? Quite bold of you to steal from the ones who provide for us. But I can't say I disapprove. Hehehe..."

Adam didn’t care much for the Royal Council or the entire United Human Alliance.

He simply wanted the power and influence he once had—and then, to enjoy this world and all it had to offer.

‘I don’t see any Dragons around here. And I’m sure these people have a shelter or something…’

All he had to do was gather enough people and food and he could probably establish a new nation somewhere.

‘I wouldn’t even mind signing a peace treaty with the Dragons.’

If he could gain control of his classmates—powerful Otherworlders that they were—he was confident he would have enough leverage to bargain.

‘I don’t want to think about it, but it’s even possible I switch sides to the Dragon Race if they have a better deal…’

For now, though, Adam decided not to think too far ahead.

He still had the present to worry about.

“There is still one more issue we need to resolve before moving on to the second phase.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Eliminating the one true threat to our plan. Who do you think that is?”

Adam narrowed his eyes a little, thinking as hard as he could. After a few seconds of thought, only one face came to mind.

“Adonis… right?”

“Correct! You really are brilliant, aren’t you?”

“Hehe! There’s no need to state the obvious.”

Adam always knew he was smart. He only got bad grades in school because he simply didn’t want to put in the effort.

School… Training… all of those things were a bore to him, so he didn’t really bother.

If he did, Adam was sure he would end up excelling more than the rest of his peers.

‘I’m a genius, after all.’

It felt good that his partner could see that.

“In any case, we should move quickly.” The voice from the darkness echoed in Adam’s ears, causing his grin to widen even further.

“It’s time to eliminate Adonis once and for all.”

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Who do you think the mastermind is? Take a good guess!