After class, Grant closed his book and announced in a serious tone, "I want to let you know that we won't be taking this weekend off. We'll have tests scheduled for Sunday and Monday."The entire classroom erupted in cries of despair."No! It's the end of the world!""One small test every two weeks and a major one every month... I'm losing my mind...""Thankfully, it's not next week. I'd go insane if I missed Leo Hart's concert."Seeing the distress among his students, Grant tried to console them, saying, "Don't worry too much. There's still plenty of time before the National Assessment. If everyone works hard now, you'll all have a shot at university. These smaller tests will help you prepare.""Mr. Sullivan, do you really think students like us can get into university?" A boy at the back leaned on his desk, sounding unenthusiastic."I mean, they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But surviving each day is already a challenge for me."Grant smiled warmly at his stud
After school in the afternoon, Alain's car was parked outside Riverside Senior High. It had been there for quite some time.Jasmine knew Alain picked Eden up from school daily, so she was the first to leave the classroom today, despite usually being the last.Sure enough, Alain's car was waiting at the school gate.She approached eagerly, fingers clutching her bag nervously. "Master Alain, my sister asked if I could join you both to Skygarden. She said she doesn't like going alone.""You're quite persistent," Horace remarked, rolling down the window from the passenger seat and sneering at her.Jasmine's expression paled, and she bit her lip, looking helpless.Alain glanced briefly at her before noticing Eden slowly exiting the school. He opened the car door and walked towards Eden.Left behind, Jasmine struggled to control her emotions. Just as she was about to get in, Alain's indifferent voice cut through, "There isn't enough space in the car for you. You should ride in your fa
"Of course I know she didn't do it intentionally. She's your sister; she wouldn't purposely ignore your calls, right, Ms. Hunt?" Alain smiled faintly, holding Eden's hand.Jasmine froze. "Of course.""Then let's go inside. Come with us, Ms. Hunt."Alain's car pulled in swiftly, leaving Jasmine stomping in frustration."Master Alain, I..." Jasmine began angrily, but stopped herself.She instructed the driver to head home, hoping Alain would understand her ordeal—how was she supposed to manage six pieces of luggage alone?Glancing at the security guard, she forced a smile. "Excuse me, could you help me with my luggage? There's too much for me to handle alone."The guard gave her a cold glance. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave my post without good reason.""You..." Jasmine seethed with anger but had no choice but to handle it herself.After maneuvering all her belongings into Skygarden, Eden had already prepared an infused bath for Alain and finished her needling session.She had b
Sunday arrived, the day of the test.Though it was just an exam, it followed all the protocols of a real assessment.Two teachers diligently monitored each class.In Class 3-18, there was no excitement. The impending test was set to torment them.And after the test came the parent-teacher conference.Their parents would unleash their own brand of torment afterward.That was why the students of Class 3-18 dreaded tests and exams the most.The morning test subject was math.Joy swiftly penned her answers as soon as the paper was handed out.Eden was not nodding off but calmly filling in her answers with an elegant pencil stroke—sometimes with her left hand, sometimes with her right; her handwriting was consistently beautiful.Twenty minutes in, Eden handed in her test paper.The rest of Class 3-18 could only stare in shock.Whispers spread among the students at the back, "What's going on? I haven't even finished half the questions, and the chief is already done?""I saw her
Eden ignored the messages on the screen and manually maneuvered her character to slash the boss with the sword.As the boss fell, it dropped some equipment.Eden picked it up and was stunned.Then she muttered under her breath, "Damn it."How had she managed to make a random boss drop the Lapis Fan?Once again, the screen filled with words.Six months ago, the game had announced the introduction of a new piece of equipment, the Lapis Fan.Only three were set to drop.But no one had managed to obtain one, not even the pros from Team FR.And here someone got it so easily.Ryan glanced at the screen and grinned mischievously. "Looks like you're going to be famous again, chief.""Get lost!"Eden stashed the equipment
The tests dragged on for two full days.Eden consistently turned in her answer sheets just 20 minutes into each test, unwavering in her timing.After the exams, teachers began grading the papers, with results released on Tuesday morning during Grant's class.He entered the room with a stack of math papers and the results in hand. Setting the papers on the podium, he addressed the class with a smile. "Everyone's shown improvement this time. Our top scorer is Joy with 110 in math. Overall, she scored 505 across all subjects, ranking 200th in the year."Joy took her test paper, but her demeanor suggested something was off.Eden, noticing this, asked, "What's wrong?""505 marks and I'm only 200th? Looks like Rielton University's out of reach for me," Joy lamented, clearly disappointed.She had been striving hard to get into Rielton, the country's premier university, seeing it as a path to better career opportunities. "But it seems like I'll never make it."Eden listened silently, o
"Come on in," Sinead beckoned Eden into the mansion as if they were genuine mother and daughter, completely forgetting her real son was right behind Eden.Alain was left speechless.In the living room, another man awaited. Eden greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Ward."The man was Geoffrey Ward, Alain's father, whom Eden had read about in her previous research.Geoffrey nodded warmly and smiled. "Have a seat. Make yourself at home."Eden nodded and settled onto the sofa.Sinead returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner while Geoffrey set aside his newspaper, eyeing Alain with surprise. Despite Sinead's updates about Eden caring for their son, seeing it firsthand reassured him.Geoffrey turned his attention back to Eden, asking conversationally, "I hear you're studying at Riverside Senior High now. How are you finding it? Stressful?""It's manageable," Eden replied calmly, maintaining her courtesy.Geoffrey nodded approvingly and poured a glass of water for Eden. "I've
Alain and Eden spent about an hour at the Ward Estate before returning to Skygarden.As they entered, Jasmine rushed over, gripping Eden's hands with concern. "I heard you only scored twenty in your tests. Is that true?"Eden arched an eyebrow mischievously at Jasmine. "Yeap."Alain turned to her, surprised.He knew Eden had started at Riverside Senior High with zero in all subjects, but he wasn’t aware she was doing that poorly.Given her medical skills, if she could grasp medical journals, she must have some knowledge stored away.But twenty marks in total? Alain rubbed his forehead, feeling worried.With such grades, graduating would be challenging for her."What are we going to do? The National Assessment is coming up in about a semester and a half. How do you plan to get into university with these grades?" Jasmine glanced at Alain from the corner of her eye, secretly amused by how serious he looked.Eden strolled to the sofa and lounged lazily. "I probably won't get in."
Eden had never seen this scarlet rock before. It looked like it had been scorched red by fire, but it felt cold to the touch.She was immediately drawn to it, even though she didn’t think much of it as she picked it up.At first, she thought it might be something unpleasant. But as soon as she touched the rock, a surge of limitless energy flowed into her body, making her realize that her power had reached a new level.Alain finally snapped back to reality, pulling Eden into his arms and patting her head. His voice was rough as he said, “Can you please avoid doing things that make me worry like this?”Eden was taken aback. She had only picked up a rock. What was he so worried about?Then she realized that Alain and Horace had probably seen the mist enter her body.“Alright. I’ll let you know what I’m doing next time.”Only then did Alain seem to relax.He looked at the rock in Eden’s hand and said, “This is called a Styx Rock. An old man gave it to me a few years ago after I sav
The last time Horace was kidnapped, Eden did everything she could to save him.Caelus had been with her for a long time and followed her every command. She wouldn’t just let him die.The two of them had just left the entrance when Horace came rushing over.“I heard Eden is awake. Let me see her!”Horace had been outside organizing the search for the murderer. When he heard Eden was awake, he left everything and came straight over.He treated Eden like a younger sister, so of course, he wanted to visit her now that she was awake.“Yes, I’m awake,” Eden said with a gentle glance at Horace. Then, she gave a slow, meaningful smile as she curled her lips. “I’m going to save Caelus. Come with me.”Horace suddenly shuddered.She turned to Alain. “What’s with her? Why did she smile so frighteningly?”Alain didn’t respond and got into the car.Horace followed them without delay.Caelus had been in the ice coffin for three days, and his body was already starting to deteriorate.Eden
Eden had just walked out of the room when Sinead arrived.“You’re finally awake. I’ve been so worried about you,” Sinead said, taking Eden’s hand. She then checked Eden’s forehead and pinched her face. Once she was sure Eden didn’t have a fever, she finally relaxed.“I’m really sorry for making you worry,” Eden said, her usual shyness showing.“No need to apologize,” Sinead replied. “If it weren’t for you trying to save us, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt so badly. I’ve been feeling guilty about it, so don’t say anything that’ll make me feel worse, okay?”Sinead glanced around at the nurses in the villa, knowing Alain had recruited them recently. “I know these nurses have been carefully selected, but they can’t compare to me taking care of you myself. Why don’t you come back with me? I’ll look after you personally and make sure you get all the nourishment you need.”“Alright,” Eden agreed immediately.Alain, who was behind Eden, could only watch silently.It seemed he had definite
“I… I wouldn’t dare,” the young nurse said, taking a few steps back, visibly trembling.Eden looked up at her. It was clear that the nurse was frightened, though she was trying to hide it.“What’s your name?” Eden asked as she ate the oats, which tasted fresh and just right.“My… My name is Gem. Gem Scarlet,” the nurse replied, her eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding Eden’s gaze.“How old are you?” Eden inquired. Though she was only slightly older than Gem, she exuded a calm, dependable demeanor.“Eighteen,” Gem answered quietly.Eden stroked her chin, observing Gem. “Do you stutter?”“Huh?” Gem looked up in surprise. “No.”Eden continued eating. “Are you afraid of me?”Gem seemed too stunned to stutter anymore and nodded instinctively. “Yes.”But she quickly corrected herself. “No… I… I’m not afraid of you…”Gem’s eyes filled with tears, and she struggled to hold them back.She bit her lip and, with her head lowered, explained, “It’s… It’s Mr. Brooks. He said you have a bad
Even though Hades was known as the king of all Banevermins, it wasn’t always active. Once the person implanted with Hades had consumed enough blood, Hades would fall into a deep slumber.He had just committed several murders, which meant that Hades had been fully fed and wouldn’t be triggered again anytime soon.Eden figured the reason for his sudden activity was that he was searching for a safer place to hide.“The Johnsons?” Liam repeated thoughtfully. “Since Alain is investigating them, and so are you, did they really do something they’re trying to keep hidden from outsiders?”Eden considered this and then decided to share the truth with Liam. “Have you ever heard of the Shamblers?”“Shamblers? One of the kids at the Agency was reading a horror novel a few days ago, and I overheard them mention it…” Liam said, pausing as he stood up suddenly. “Wait, are you saying the things in those novels are real?”Eden thought about it and nodded slightly. “Not entirely, but it’s not too f
Liam was genuinely impressed with Eden’s progress.If his own children had achieved as much, he’d be able to die happy.Eden, however, had a headache.She already knew about it.When Alain told Horace, she was in the same room and overheard it. She was unsure whether to tell Alain or not, wondering if he could accept the world she was part of.The world where the war would take place.After thinking it over, she finally said, “I’ll take it.”“Alright, I’ll send the reply.”Just before hanging up, Liam remembered something. “You’re in Estburg finishing your senior year, right? Almost ready to graduate?”“Yeah.”“With how smart you are, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble getting into a good university. Have you thought about studying in Rielton? We could grab coffee when we’re both free.”Eden replied indifferently, “The Agency must have a lot of free time these days, huh?”“Well, not exactly. I’m working on something pretty complicated and staying busy, but I’m making time to c
Eden massaged her head, glancing at all the nurses surrounding her.They watched her anxiously, afraid they might upset her.“All of you can leave. I don’t need everyone here,” she said, irritated by the crowd.As soon as the nurses heard her, they began to cry. “Did we do something wrong? Tell us and we’ll fix it. Please don’t fire us!”"That's right. Mr. Ward warned us that if we make you unhappy, he’ll kill us.”“We don’t want to die; please let us stay.”Eden froze, then muttered under her breath, “Darn it.”Was Alain out of his mind?Since when did he become so ruthless?Eden lowered her gaze, feeling the tension rise in the room. She glanced at the nurses, who were now kneeling in front of her, sobbing.Frustrated by the crowd, she said, “Just go. Alain won’t kill you.”Turning to Sulien, she instructed, “Pay them five times their salary and send them away.”Sulien, once obedient only to Alain, now followed Eden’s lead. Without hesitation, he paid the nurses as she as
Alain rarely mobilized his organization, and it was even more unusual for him to take a personal interest in anything. But Sinead knew it was serious if he had to step in himself.She remembered the call she had received from the Gardner family earlier, and a sense of unease settled over her.Could the person Alain and Horace were talking about be connected to that?If so, Rielton would become a living hell.The moment Sinead realized this, she quickly pulled out her phone and dialed a number as she walked outside. "I need your help."Three days later, at Pear Garden.Eden woke up shortly after Alain had left.As she opened her eyes, a young woman stood in front of her, staring at her.After a moment, the young woman excitedly exclaimed, "Ms. Griffith is awake, Dr. Sulien. Look!"She had barely finished speaking when dozens of people rushed into the room. Eden instantly frowned.She had only been unconscious for a little while. What... happened?Where did all these people co
Alain arrived just after the rest of the Ward family had left."Why are you here? Is Eden awake?" Sinead asked. She wanted to stay in Pear Garden to take care of Alain and Eden, but with the Ward family pressuring her for answers, she returned to the family residence to handle them first.They had just left when Alain arrived, and she thought Eden might have already woken up."She's still unconscious," Alain replied, unbuttoning the top button of his blazer as he sat down. "I’m here to see grandpa, and then I’ll head to the company."Sinead nodded. "He just woke up. Your uncles were here, arguing with me. He thinks it’s too noisy and doesn’t want anyone disturbing him, so don’t go in for now.""Got it," Alain said, lighting a cigarette. "Can you go stay with Ed in Pear Garden?""Alright."Sinead didn’t say much, grabbed her purse, and left.She had just reached the entrance when Horace rushed in. Without even greeting her, he hurried to Alain."Alain, he’s shown up again."Ho