CHAPTER 95: PROBLEMS IN TWO WORLDS

A frown had been on Daru’s face for a while.

The Satyrian Contract was indeed extremely reliable. However, he didn’t expect that he had been signing his soul away earlier.

’I should be more careful next time...’ he thought inwardly, body rising and falling as his Cross-Eyed Albino Zebra cantered towards a direction.

What would his soul belonging to the Satyr mean? Losing a life?

But then, he shrugged the next moment. He intends to keep his end of the deal; why should he worry?

The thought of fighting a mythical swordspawn in the future was enough to make the contract appear "not too bad" in his eyes.

’Which way is south, though...I should’ve at least asked...’ Daru sighed inwardly, glancing to his left, then to his right.

Was he moving in the right direction?

He was feeling a bit exhausted again from all the overthinking...

So, with a deep breath, he decided to drop the matter.

In times like these, choosing a direction and going straight always worked for him. It would be fine as long as he made it to any Novice City.

There should be a merchant Waykeeper there from whom he could purchase a map.

The deciding factor of the quest would be whether he would be able to infiltrate the city he would arrive at or not.

Freeing mental space for the things that mattered more, Daru retrieved the Oni Mask from his inventory, staring at it for a while before wearing it.

A familiar prompt appeared.

The first thing he did was change his trial name to a Veshari-like one.

’Hmm...what name should I use...’

He tried recalling the names of the Veshari bladeborns he fought: Asipha, Ahfa, Akri, Halphar, Ae’shkar...

Daru determined that Veshari swords had a lot of "a", "ph", "f", and "r" sounds, so he thought he couldn’t go wrong with that and invented a name based on it.

After five seconds, he typed "Ahfakriphar", then chose to display it in the blue colors of a D-ranker.

If that name didn’t sound Veshari-like, Daru didn’t know what would.

Unbeknownst to him, he just stumbled upon a rather profane and venomous word that not even the most ill-mouthed of the pale-gray-skinned race dared utter.

They would always choose a milder alternative if they could help it.

There were plenty of appropriate words, so why would they use this abhorrently obscene one?

Daru nodded in satisfaction, pleased with his smarts.

Only after changing his trial name did he dive into the crimson void of [No Same Visage Twice].

He frowned after a quick scan, spotting mostly human faces, with only a few monstrous ones that were far from the appearance of a Veshari.

’Ahh...I should’ve checked first...’

Daru sighed inwardly, realizing his mistake and noting to himself to do better next time.

Still, he didn’t panic and continued looking around, his frown deepening with every row of faces checked.

He hadn’t spotted a single appearance belonging to a Veshari.

At least not yet.

However, there were still plenty of rows to go through, and since it didn’t look like he would be able to find a suitable disguise quickly, he decided to leave the crimson void and find a safe spot first.

He tapped on his own face to select it, dismissed his mount with two consecutive claps, and climbed a nearby mangrove.

Only then did he tap on the option to choose an appearance again, diving back into the unsettling space inside the mask.

Daru checked every row.

Nothing...

After a few minutes, he finally came across the face of a strange race that had the same ears as and would probably pass as a Veshari, had it not been for their fair skin that is more similar in tone to that of humans.

Daru lingered for a while, noting the location of the face before moving on.

He still hadn’t lost hope that a Veshari had once owned this mask.

A few more minutes later, he was down to the last three rows, and Daru could already see everything from where he stood.

No Veshari had owned the mask in the past...

It was then that the crimson void space suddenly warped, bringing him back to the Somber Swamp, to his bewilderment.

He soon understood why as the world warped again, this time to the ceiling of his dormitory room.

’Ahh...right...’

His time in the realm was up for today.

Taking a deep breath, Daru stood up and stretched for a bit, heading out to have dinner in the academy canteen.

This was also good; at least he’ll have time to think of what to do.

He usually enjoyed his walks, but this time, he couldn’t hear the buzzing cicadas as he strolled along the red brick pathways, a gentle breeze guiding the savory aroma from the academy canteen to his nose.

Daru’s mood lifted.

He’ll likely be able to think better on a full stomach.

So, he decided to focus on his meal for now, striding over to the counter to order something.

He then headed over to an empty table and sat there, a full tray in hand.

On the way, he heard gossiping students, as usual, frowning upon realizing that their topic was none other than Snowflower, Onimaru Kunitsuna, and, of course, him: Daru Finnley.

Some groups were bolder and more courageous than others.

This was why he quickly learned that he was now being called the Knight in Rusting Tachi.

Daru didn’t particularly care about his new nickname, as he had been called all sorts of names after the awakening ceremony.

What annoyed him was the fact that some people were planning to follow Iris around in hopes of uncovering Onimaru Kunitsuna’s true identity.

Don’t they have better things to do?

Training and improving their technique in swordsmanship, for example...

Daru planned to mention this matter to Instructor Talon tomorrow.

The academy would highly likely move if something concerned the well-being of an S-ranker like Iris.

But then, just when he was about to leave, he heard the loud, chaotic sounds of a table flipping over and shattering plates.

He instinctively turned to look, realizing that a group of students had already taken action, to his surprise.

They didn’t exactly look like good guys, resembling Zach and his goon squad more.

The person at the front of the group, who also seemed to be the one who kicked the table, surprised Daru.

A tall young man with short and spiky blue hair, a slightly muscular and lean physique, a cold gaze that would make weak-hearted young men step back, and a slight grin that screamed confidence.

This was the top A-ranker of Cluster 4’s Southern Bladeborn Academy, the perceived strongest after the three S-rankers.

Even Sylphina could only settle for two spots below him.

Daru didn’t know what the guy’s name was, only recognizing his face.

"L-Lucas Petrov! W-Why is he here?!"

Fortunately for the students in the canteen that was mostly populated by low-rankers, Lucas didn’t waste much time, making it clear to everyone why he was here.

Crystal clear.

He quickly grabbed the collar of the horrified, brown-haired D-ranker who dared to say that he would follow Snowflower around until he learned of the truth.

"Ahem!" the A-ranker began. "Alright, you buncha lowlives, listen up. I came here under Boss Skylar’s orders. If any of you bastards dare inconvenience the boss’s woman, Snowflower, then don’t blame me for what would happen to you in the coming days. The boss has eyes and ears in the entire academy. You’re welcome to test my words."

Lucas then shifted his attention to the terrified young man he grabbed.

"As for you, you’re lucky this is a public place, so I’ll let you off with just this."

The crisp sound of a slap reverberated in the outdoor canteen, followed by a dull thud as the D-ranker fell to the ground, unconscious and slightly convulsing.

It was clear that Lucas had both the strength and precision that the other students in the canteen definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of.

Even the bold D-ranker’s friends could only pray they wouldn’t be targeted next.

No one dared help the unconscious young man up, at least not in front of the A-ranker.

"Hmph." Lucas snorted, slightly pleased. "Now then, you’re also welcome to report this, though you know what will happen if you do."

The A-ranker also made sure to look at the canteen staff.

If they thought they were beyond Skylar’s grasp just because they were older, then they could try crossing his boss.

Just when the group was about to leave, one of them suddenly noticed Daru watching in the corner, whispering something in Lucas’s ears.

The A-ranker, who had already turned to leave, turned again, looking Daru’s way with an amused grin before walking over.

One of the D-ranker’s friends took this chance to check the condition of the unconscious young man.

"Yo, Daru Finnley. Quite the unfortunate sword awakening, huh?" Lucas greeted with a mocking tone. "Sad to see you in this lowly place, but that’s what you get for paying people off, I guess."

Daru only locked eyes with the A-ranker with an unwavering gaze and didn’t reply.

His lackluster response slightly annoyed Lucas.

Unfortunately, he still had a lot of people to warn today, so he could only thoroughly deal with this delusional former sword prince another day.

"What, cat got your tongue? Anyway, stay away from my boss’s woman from now on. Stop acting like you’re her protector. It’s nauseating," the A-ranker warned, standing threateningly in front of Daru.

But Daru wasn’t fazed, firmly locking gazes as he responded:

"She’s my training partner. It’s only natural that I help her stay focused. If your boss is worried that I’ll take her away, then tell him to relax. I’m not interested in such matters right now. If he still has a problem, he can talk to me himself. He shouldn’t be sending underlings to handle private matters."

Veins popped at the corners of Lucas’s head.

"Hoh?" the A-ranker delivered with a slight grit, finding it difficult to believe the audacity of the F-ranker. "You, of all people, are calling me an underling? You think you’re qualified?"

Daru frowned, genuinely puzzled.

"What do qualifications have to do with this? You’re Skylar’s underling, are you not?"

Lucas froze, forced to swallow the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

His breathing grew heavier and heavier, but he couldn’t think of a suitable response.

In the end, the A-ranker could only resort to a threat, spitting venomously:

"You think you’re some tough guy, yeah? Fine, we’ll see, then."

Lucas then left, staring coldly in the distance.