In ten minutes, Reinhart and the students were already packed up and on the move, heading towards the rendezvous point Lian had communicated to him through her memories.

  Some of the students were still dragging their feet like they were just learning how to walk, and some were rubbing their eyes begging sleep to jump out of them, but none dared to complain—not with Reinhart at the front.

  After absorbing the island’s layout, Reinhart knew the zones where mana beasts clustered. Stronger ones occupied specific hotspots, while lesser creatures were scattered more freely across the island.

  So he chose a middle path, strategically weaving around the known danger zones while still pushing forward. Occasionally, a faint pulse of mana radiated from him like a slow breath. It was controlled enough just to warn off the beasts in the area, most of which were low-grade F to D ranks. Nothing that could handle his presence.

  Levi, walking somewhere near the middle of the group, had one eye on the forest and another on Reinhart’s back. But his mind wasn’t just on their current situation. It was somewhere else entirely.

  “It still hasn’t said anything…” he muttered under his breath.

  “Hasn’t said what?” a voice rang softly—right behind his ear.

  Levi jerked forward with a small yelp. “Ah—!”

  Violet grinned at him, her face half-shadowed under the leafy light. “Sheesh, relax. You looked like you were about to start narrating the meaning of life.”

  Levi shot her a look, holding a hand to his chest. “Could you not sneak up on me like that? I’m already tense enough.”

  “I wasn’t sneaking,” she said innocently, now walking beside him. “You were just too deep in that brain of yours again.”

  “Welcome back again, Captain Thinksalot,” Kyle called out from the other side, flashing a crooked smile as he joined them. “Miss anything important while you were off solving the universe?”

  Levi rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the faint smirk his lips were forming. “Only everything.”

  As expected, Levi’s mind wasn’t on the dirt trail beneath his boots or the quiet hush of leaves brushing in the wind. It was on the System.

  That thing still hadn’t said a word.

  He didn’t fully understand how it worked yet—didn’t even know if he was meant to. But one thing was clear, it was growing. Learning. Like some half-sentient software rewriting its own code to keep up with the world around it.

  A self-updating anomaly in his head, adapting faster than he could keep track of.

  But right now, what bothered him wasn’t the growth. It was the silence.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Normally, it’d have sent a notice to him by now, flashing a notification across his vision, handing out rewards or experience or another half-vague explanation. But after the last quest, nothing. No acknowledgment. No feedback. No reward.

  It was like waiting for a grade you weren’t sure you passed.

  “Can’t you guys just gently tap my shoulder for once?” Levi muttered, breaking the silence between them as he glanced sideways at Kyle and Violet. His voice held the kind of drained energy you get after hours of overthinking.

  Kyle raised an eyebrow, grin already forming. “And rob ourselves of the entertainment? Nah.”

  “There’s no fun in giving me a heart attack,” Levi grumbled.

  “Okay, okay, fine,” Violet said with a half-smile, looping her arm through his.

  Levi stiffened instantly, body tensing like he’d just walked into a trap.

  Kyle didn’t miss the sudden shift in Levi's demeanor. “Careful there, Violet. You’re gonna make his skin start shifting colors.”

  “Shut up,” Levi said quickly.

  Violet leaned her head against his shoulder with a soft hum. “So… what’s on your mind?”

  Levi didn’t answer right away. He felt her warmth on his arm, the ease in her voice, the softness in her tone. It wasn’t a demand, just a nudge. But he recognized the play.

  It was light, but familiar—a classic soft-pressure tactic from the girl handbook. Drop the defenses and make them talk.

  And maybe under different circumstances, it would’ve worked. Maybe he’d have told her everything—what she wanted to hear, and probably a bunch she didn’t.

  But not this time.

  Not with the System and the stakes.

  Not when one wrong word might drag them into a storm they didn’t sign up for.

  He just smiled faintly, eyes forward.

  Let her think the silence meant he was just shy.

  A thought surfaced in Levi’s mind, cutting through the low murmur of crunching leaves and rustling branches.

  “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask…” he said, glancing sideways. “Earlier, Mr. Reinhart said something about you still being a troublemaker. Does he know you guys?”

  Kyle scratched the back of his neck and made a sound halfway between a chuckle and a sigh. “Yeaaaah, about that…”

  “We kinda went to school here before,” he added, reluctantly.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Yeah,” Violet chipped in. “Back in middle school…”

  “That’s how we recognize most of the staff and students,” she added, nudging Kyle lightly with her elbow. “And this guy used to get into a lot of trouble.”

  “Back then Mr. Reinhart wasn’t officially a teacher yet,” Kyle added quickly. “He just… happened to be around when—”

  “When what?” Levi narrowed his eyes.

  “Yeahhh, let’s not talk about that,” Kyle mumbled, his voice dropping.

  “Hey, no gatekeep—”

  Levi's response was cut short. All of a sudden, the world around them blurred. It felt like the air in their lungs was suddenly being sucked, only for it to return as if the world took a deep breath and reassembled itself.

  They were somewhere else.

  Different trees. Different terrain. The moonlight hit at a new angle too.

  All three instantly dropped into formation, backs to each other, knees bent, eyes scanning their new environment sharp and thoroughly.

  It was like muscle memory forged by chaos. With everything that had happened so far, reacting to situations like this no longer started with them being startled and giving delayed responses.

  “What the hell just happened?” Kyle asked, voice low, eyes tracking the shadows between the trees.

  Violet exhaled, not out of relief, but frustration. “I’m guessing we just walked a teleportation trap.”

  “We really are filled with good luck, aren’t we?” Levi muttered, rolling his eyes.

  Then he went silent.

  “Guys…”

  Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

  Violet’s body tensed beside him. Her voice came out quieter this time.

  “…We’re surrounded.”