CHAPTER 85: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH85 LEVI.

Levi POV

I first stepped onto the battlefield a decade ago.

Not even a month had passed since my graduation from the academy.

I was full of hope and aspiration—

to be one of the chosen humans... to carry the weight of their world.

Back then, the rifts were still alien to us, but maybe because of that we greatly overestimated them.

I... including an old friend of mine, thought as graduates of one of the best academies around, that we were prepared to face anything.

Turns out, we weren’t.

To sum up my experience in one word—

it would be Dread.

I was twenty-two back then, only a few months after I made a name for myself by singlehandedly slaying an A-rank beast.

The prime of my life, yet in comparison to a mana beast... those abominations from the abyss weren’t only intelligent—no, they adapted.

In a single night, half of all the graduates sent to handle a minimum-rank Rift in one of the Eastern cities were annihilated.

What did that, we never knew.

It came and went just like a breeze.

And just like a breeze, we knew it would return someday.

I... a coward, did the most sensible thing I could.

I joined one of the corps from the Commission, became a personal guard to one of those rich folks, all so I could escape such a life.

It wasn’t until much later that I met the Headmistress. She understood my predicament.

She sympathized with me and got me a job as an instructor.

The students, unaware of my true nature, thought of me as a Hero—

one who had fought the Rift... the abyss.

I laughed at their remarks and compliments, but deep down, I knew I was nothing but a fraud.

The kind that left his friend to die on the battlefield just to preserve his own life.

I am a traitor.

I hate myself more than anything, because I am a traitor.

So... those traitors who brought harm to this school didn’t deserve my mercy.

If I can’t forgive myself, why should I forgive them?

Calming my breathing and observing my situation... I came to one single conclusion.

I have to kill them.

---

In a matter of moments, the tide of battle changed.

A dozen against one man.

Each was a self-proclaimed veteran, just like Levi himself. But they were facing a coward who didn’t just run.

Yes, he was a coward, but he was a coward that was prepared.

He knew his flaws and battled every day to overcome them.

He trained like there was no other.

He cultivated like a madman.

He was a coward—

but also a six-star aura user.

In contrast, all his opponents, with the exception of Cerci, were merely four or five-stars.

"Come at me, you traitors."

Lowering his stance and bending his knees, he took a runner’s posture, strengthening his legs with aura.

He had intent, but he was saving that for the Jester, who was acting as an overseer for now.

The Jester was probably enjoying his predicament, but Levi wouldn’t allow him the satisfaction today.

"I said come at me, traitors!"

He roared in rage, but his former comrades didn’t fall for his taunt.

They merely stared at him with emotionless eyes, as if he were a mere bug.

Gritting his teeth, he launched forward with a powerful burst of speed.

Instructor Miles, wielding a spear, and Instructor Kelly, holding an elegant scythe, rushed him from both sides.

Levi raised his left arm, intercepting Miles’s sweeping strike, then rolled forward just as Kelly’s scythe came crashing down where he once stood.

Grabbing a handful of soil, he flung it into Kelly’s eyes before driving a clean side-kick into her ribs.

Her body arched inward, an anguished look flashing across her once-cold eyes before she was hurled into a tree by the force of his blow.

Retracting his kick, Levi twisted, catching two arrows shot at him from behind. He broke them and lunged forward, stabbing Miles repeatedly with them until the spear-wielder collapsed like a puppet whom had their strings cut.

Grabbing Miles by the collar, Levi flung his corpse into the other instructors who were closing in.

Using the distraction, he dashed past them toward Cerci—

his highest priority target.

She was a sixth-circle mage, his equivalent in the mages’ system.

She had proper high-grade magic in her arsenal—

the kind that could level the whole academy and its neighboring blocks if not neutralized.

Why she wasn’t using any of it was a mystery, but the fact remained: she wanted him dead.

"[Gale Thunder]!"

The air vibrated as green lightning spears formed behind her, dozens of them crackling with power.

With a wave of her hand, she unleashed them, forcing Levi to veer off course.

Dodging lightning required speed—acceleration he lacked at that moment.

So instead, he darted behind trees, using them as cover while the lightning obliterated everything in its path.

The ground trembled, trees exploded into ash, but Levi pushed forward through the chaos, eyes fixed on Cerci.

Before he could close the gap, Instructor Douglas, a swordsman, broke free of the crowd and lunged at him.

His sword swept in a brilliant arc, one Levi barely evaded. Douglas pressed forward relentlessly, unleashing three more ruthless slashes without pause.

Each cut drew blood, carving fresh scars into Levi’s body.

Just as the fourth slash came, Levi clenched his fist and met it head-on.

The blade rang against his aura-wrapped knuckles—

then shattered.

"[Juggernaut]!"

Levi’s intent flared, amplifying his strength tenfold. His punch caved Douglas’s skull in, carving a fist-sized hole straight through his head.

Retracting his bloodied fist, Levi watched the instructor fall to his knees before collapsing lifelessly.

Cold blood ran down Levi’s knuckles. But what caught his attention more was the sting in his fist.

He glanced down—thin, needle-like cuts drilled into his skin.

They were too small to be from a sword.

Confusion flashed across his face—

but there was no time to dwell.

The traitors kept coming, their assault unending.

And Levi... rampaged.

He forgot his limits. He forgot his hesitation.

True to his intent, he became an unstoppable juggernaut.

Trees shattered beneath his strikes.

Magic was torn apart in the wake of his aura.

And flesh—

flesh ripped like paper under his blows.

One by one, his former comrades fell, ripped apart in a storm of violence.

He had wanted to save his intent for the Jester—

but if he wasn’t careful, he would be the one to die.

So he didn’t hold back.

Not until almost every last one of them lay dead.

Standing amidst the carnage, soaked in crimson blood, Levi turned to face Cerci—his final obstacle.

Both of them went way back.

They should have been friends.

Yet now here they stood, not even exchanging a word since she revealed herself as a traitor.

"Go ahead... say something!" he spat, fists trembling.

To know that someone he considered a friend had conspired with a terrorist organization to murder innocent children—

it made him burn with rage.

"At the very least... I want to know why!"

His voice cracked as his anger flared higher.

But Cerci didn’t respond.

Her eyes were cold. Empty.

"...Blank." Levi whispered, his gaze drifting from her to his own body.

His skin was covered in bleeding gashes, each cut seeping endlessly.

Enhancing his vision, he noticed something glimmering inside one wound.

He pried it open, pinching out a thin, silver thread.

Mana residue lingered in it. His eyes widened.

"Oh, you finally discovered the plot twist."

The Jester, silent until now, strolled casually to Cerci and wrapped her in an embrace from behind.

His red-tinged eyes gleamed as he pulled her lips into a forced smile.

"See... she’s a puppet."

He said it casually, as if Levi should have known all along.

"..."

"What’s the realization dawning on you, hmm? Hehe. I see you were enjoying the slaughter so much, you didn’t even question how a dozen teachers all ended up being traitors."

"You..."

Levi’s hands trembled, eyes locked on the blood staining them.

"Yes... me. With my genius magic, I took control of your comrades’ bodies. And you... my friend, are so stupid you didn’t even see it coming."

Levi collapsed to his knees, his heart pounding as the truth crushed him.

"Yes... you and I aren’t so different anymore."

The Jester tugged Cerci’s lips into another grotesque smile.

"We both have innocent blood on our hands."

"No... it was—"

Levi tried to deny it, frantically wiping his hands against the dirt. But the Jester cut him off.

"Enough with the hypocrisy. We’re both murderers now. You don’t see me blaming anyone for my kills. Heh, it’s not so bad after the second time."

"You monster!" Levi screamed, horrified.

His mind was chaos, but one thought was clear: he had to kill the Jester.

And yet...

"...plea...se..."

Cerci’s lips quivered, her voice weak.

"...he’ll... kill... me... I... don’t... want... to die."

"You heard the lady," the Jester said mockingly, his mask shifting into a pitiful frown.

"So, how about this? I’ll cut you a deal. Since we’re partners in crime now..."

"...."

"Kill yourself, and I’ll let her go."

Clang!

He tossed a sword at Levi’s feet.

Cerci trembled, tears spilling from her eyes.

Levi’s heart sank.

But he knew what he had to do.

He had to atone for the innocents he murdered.

So he picked up the blade and pressed it to his throat.

"Let her go first," he demanded, unwilling to be tricked.

"Of course."

The Jester smirked and shoved Cerci aside.

"Run!" Levi shouted.

Cerci, eyes wide and drenched in tears, scrambled to her feet and bolted into the ruins like a frightened animal.

The Jester chuckled, watching her vanish into the horizon.

"You really are a hypocrite."

With Cerci gone, Levi turned the blade toward the Jester.

"You were still played, though."

Levi didn’t understand—

because at that instant, fire erupted beneath his feet.

A flaming inferno swallowed him whole.

He never even had the chance to scream.

When the fire died, nothing remained but ash.

Levi, the coward who fought like a juggernaut, died a scorched mess.

---

A/N:Today will only be one update.

I’ll compensate with three Chapters tomorrow.