CHAPTER 244: LET SLEEPING DRAGONS LIE [PART 2]

"Look, I know you guys are being targeted by the Clubs and the Nobles who don’t like your club’s success during the Battle Royale," Dante stated as soon as Alex and Renard took their seats in his office.

"I’m sure some clubs have even extended invitations to your members. Though from what I know, your members have unanimously declined their enticing offers, so these clubs have either turned a blind eye to the people bullying you or have actively assisted them from the shadows."

He sighed before continuing. "I’m sure they’re only waiting for you guys to reach your limit. They will keep pushing until you have no choice but to submit to them, like all the other commoners and clubs that came before you."

"Then why are you guys not doing anything about it?" Alex asked with a smile. "You already know that we are being targeted, and yet the Student Council is not doing anything. A simple announcement from President Theo will definitely make these guys hesitate, you know?"

Dante frowned because what Alex was saying was not wrong. However, it wasn’t that simple.

Frieden Academy was not only a learning institution. It was also a place of politics.

There wasn’t just politics between the students but among the staff as well.

While they were all students inside the academy, that didn’t change the fact that outside of its walls, they were the subjects of their respective countries.

This was a fight against nobles. The royalty was usually avoided at all costs.

If possible, severe conflicts between students were resolved through a discussion mediated by the Student Council.

Unfortunately, the backers of each Crest Club weren’t that easy to deal with.

They were powerful people both inside and outside the academy.

They weren’t just blue-blooded but also held important positions in their kingdoms and wielded actual authority.

Even something as simple and direct as "if you don’t want your family to suffer, you should obey me" was enough to make most students submit since these Nobles ruled over the regions where their parents lived.

It was an unfair and disgusting way to handle things, but this was the reality everyone had to face.

And for some reason, the Headmaster didn’t interfere with the quarrels of the students.

Rowan believed that true diamonds must be polished in order to shine.

If they fell here, then they would not be able to handle the cruelty of society, which was more dangerous and more complicated than the relative safety of Frieden Academy.

Of course, some of the Professors and students thought otherwise and always did their best to protect the more vulnerable students.

The Justice Liege, which was one of the righteous Crest Clubs, had also gained fame in this manner. It also inspired many students to join their group.

"The President has a lot on his plate," Dante replied after a minute of silence. "The aftermath of the Battle Royale is not as simple as you think. Many parents, as well as some outside influence, are blaming the Student Council and the academy staff for mishandling the Battle Royale.

"In fact, if you guys hadn’t intervened, things might have ended very differently. We were told later that Nessia Varr had managed to reverse engineer the magical formation of the Demon Worshipers, preventing the deaths of our students.

"I’m sure that the backlash would have been much more severe if even a single student had died."

"Then," Alex chimed in, "do you know that Nessia might be the most bullied member of my club aside from Renard?"

"What?!" Renard, who had a good relationship with any Endless Horizon member who wasn’t named Alex Stratos, was furious after learning about Nessia’s plight.

"Yes," Alex answered. "It’s true. But unlike you who fights back, she endures passively."

"Why the f*ck aren’t you doing anything, you dumb president?!" Renard all but snarled.

"Who says I’m not doing anything?" Alex retorted.

"Are you?"

"Nope."

"You f*cker!"

Renard was ready to beat the living daylights out of Alex, but the latter immediately summoned Everguard to block his punch.

A dull clang echoed inside the office as fist and shield collided against each other.

"Enough!" Dante shouted. "Why are the two of you fighting when you’re supposed to be on the same side?!"

His two juniors turned to look at him. Renard clicked his tongue, and Alex curled his lips, but both of them returned to their seats without complaints.

Dante scratched the back of his head before telling Renard that he would not punish him today. Instead, he would go after the culprits that had provoked and attacked Renard.

He then asked the two troublemakers to leave his office. "Don’t fight among yourselves again. If you really must fight, go ahead but do it out of my sight."

As the two walked down the hallway, Renard once again glared at Alex.

"How are you fine with what is happening?" Renard demanded. "I don’t mind getting bullied because I can fight back. But not everyone can or wants to fight back.

"Nessia is a girl, and I know that girls tend to handle things differently. But that doesn’t change the fact that one of your club members is getting bullied, and you’re not doing anything about it!"

Without giving Alex a chance to defend himself, Renard stormed off to look for Nessia. He was going to have a nice long talk with her.

Alex watched him go because he couldn’t refute Renard’s words.

It was all true.

He knew that Nessia was getting bullied, but he didn’t do anything to stop it.

Why?

Because he didn’t want to affect the progression of the story.

As long as the plot didn’t change, he would be able to prepare for future events.

He had read a story in the past about a person who transmigrated into a novel and helped the main heroes and heroines by solving all their problems in advance.

However, the end result was a tragedy.

The reason was simple. If a hero was just starting out and someone else fought and defeated strong monsters in his place, he wouldn’t gain any experience or grow stronger.

When it was time for the final battle, that hero might not have reached the level required to defeat the Last Boss. This failure would then lead to a Bad Ending.

This was what Alex was trying to prevent.

Perhaps, this was also the Headmaster’s way of thinking and that’s why he only dealt with the Demon Worshipers as well as the other factions that the students couldn’t face.

Rowan had been aware of Alex’s actions in the Mistral Weave Forest, but he’d turned a blind eye.

He had known that the young man had uncovered the Demon Worshippers’ hidden crystals and used their strategy against them.

While he hadn’t known how or why Alex had been aware of the Demon Worshipers’ plan, he had decided to simply wait and see how things would unfold.

Of course, the Headmaster had also prepared an emergency measure to prevent any of the students from dying.

Even without Alex’s intervention, the Demon Worshipers wouldn’t have been able to kill a single student.

However, the harrowing experience had taught the students to be prepared for any situation.

This was also what Professor Rowan had wanted them to learn from the Battle Royale. It was a tough kind of love, but he firmly believed that students needed to experience hardships to grow into better individuals.

After separating from Renard, Alex didn’t head back to the Ironheart Dormitory.

Instead, he headed to the clock tower.

When he arrived at their club room, he noticed something different.

There was a spiral staircase at the rightmost corner of the room. It hadn’t been there before.

Alex knew what this signified, but he was still surprised.

’Has Nessia discovered the Codex of Eternal Weave?’ Alex wondered. ’It happened a month earlier than expected.’

The moment Nessia finished deciphering that Codex, she would learn more about Rune Magic. Thanks to this discovery, she would eventually become the Rune Saintess.

In order to confirm the suspicion, Alex climbed the stairs and entered a place that was surrounded by galaxies.

It was like he was in outer space. In the distance, he saw a young lady with neatly braided hair. She was sitting cross-legged, reading the thick tome in her hands.

She looked so focused that for a moment Alex thought he could see laser beams being shot out of her eyes.

Once in a while, Nessia would draw runes in the air. They danced around her like little children who wanted to play.

She was drawing the runes she had seen in the book as practice.

"How long do you plan to stare, Alex?" Nessia asked without looking up from her book.

"I am just checking to see if you are alright," Alex answered. "Well, then. I’ll return to the club room."

"Okay." Nessia nodded as she flipped a page.

This book wasn’t easy to read. She needed to use Rune Magic to decipher the ancient words, many of which she was seeing for the first time.

Although difficult, she continued to persevere. This book consisted of a series of tutorials that could teach her how to use Rune Magic effectively. Once she succeeded, she’d be much stronger.

Of course, no matter how much of a genius she was, it would still take Nessia a few months to half a year to master its contents.

Alex felt satisfied. He had chosen the Clock Tower because he knew it held many secrets that could help his club members grow stronger. However, whether they would find these opportunities or not was completely up to them.

The young man had already prepared the stage. It was now up to the actors and actresses to weave their magic and paint the world in the colors that belonged only to them.

Alex gave Nessia one last glance before going down the staircase.

He then looked at the bed where Latifa was sleeping and smiled.

The young fox lady was wearing pink pajamas and hugging her favorite bolster as she slept peacefully.

When he told Vaan that Latifa was a sleeping dragon, he was telling the truth.

The moment this sleeping beauty decided to fight, very few individuals of the same rank as her could force her into a draw.

After all, she was the hidden Mini Boss of the academy, and her backstory wouldn’t lose to any of the Main Heroes and Heroines of Endless Leveling Online.