CHAPTER 47: ISOLDE’S PAINTING

After school, Godfrey made his way back to the dormitory with Isaac a couple of steps behind him. Both of them had been the talk of the entire building after the break. They had gotten glances everywhere they went, even the bathroom.

For Godfrey, however, it felt a little odd seeing the chair beside him empty. He could almost picture Isolde sitting there with her white earbuds and her dazzling smile. As he thought about it, his eyes locked on a gathering of students outside the dormitory.

It was Sam and Derek’s gang, accompanied by some sophomore and freshman girls. The group totaled about seven. Their eyes widened the moment they saw him, and all of them immediately avoided looking directly at him.

Godfrey raised an eyebrow but walked past. As long as they didn’t provoke him, he had no interest in them.

Isaac, however, noticed the faint blush on the girls’ faces after even the slightest eye contact. He rolled his eyes. He had seen those same faces before, when they looked at him as nothing more than a punching bag, an object for other boys to flaunt their masculinity.

"I heard something happened at the cafeteria? Spill." Sam demanded, his gaze fixed on his sister, Lucy, who flinched. She had been one of the first to look down on Godfrey. Not just that, she had spoken quite a lot behind his back, only to be embarrassed when he rose in strength immediately after awakening.

"Godfrey and Isaac beat ten students, including Dale, yes, the Rampaging Dale and Orwen. Orwen is almost a high tier, but his defense makes him practically impenetrable, so he’s technically already considered one. Yet Godfrey slammed both of them!" A first-year girl, Janet, who had black hair and bangs, blurted out before Lucy could say anything.

Derek’s eyes narrowed.

"Honestly, Dale had it coming. Godfrey killed two sandworms during the field trip and ranked second along with Snow. Of course, those who wanted him to ’teach Godfrey a lesson’ never told him that." Lucy’s words made Sam and the other upperclassmen’s eyes bulge.

"That humanoid summoner killed a sandworm?! How’s that even possible?" one of them gasped.

"It was definitely injured," Derek spat dismissively.

Lucy shook her head. "I don’t think so. Students from another school saw the fight, and Snow was there too."

"I read something in the news before it was quickly pulled down about a Shadow King. Don’t you think it might be Godfrey? His summons look like golems, but a normal golem can’t use adaptive skills."

"It must be a golem variant," Derek countered stiffly, his deep voice almost enough to silence the freshman. But Janet pressed on with pride.

"Or an actual flesh and blood humanoid summon, like the zombie summon one of Cain’s fanatics had six decades ago that almost wiped New Moscow off the map."

"It can’t be him. Godfrey’s summons aren’t weak, but they’re nothing like those infamous humanoid ones. All they can do is tank hits, swing a sword, and fire an oversized arrow," another first-year girl scoffed as she chewed her gum.

"We already know their tiers, but no one knows anything about Isaac. No one’s even seen his summon. He might have been pretending all this while, living up to the title of ’Shadow King.’ Maybe he’s the one making Godfrey this strong."

"Yeah. All those hits, and he barely bleeds. Dale’s punch only made him bleed a little, and he got back up like nothing happened."

"So Isaac’s the real one all along, playing the school like a true king from the shadows. I hope he won’t come after me," Sam shivered.

Derek, meanwhile, raised a skeptical brow. Whoever it was, Isaac or Godfrey, he would make sure the Nexus Club upper echelons knew about it. But first, he needed proof.

"Hey, Janet. Your father is an authority agent who deals with criminal cases, right? He should have a Mana Gauging Device."

Janet nodded. "He does." Her eyes widened. "You want to confirm? But won’t that mean exposing a king who doesn’t want to be known?"

Derek chuckled darkly. "Who cares? If he’s really a king, he’ll have to deal with the entire Nexus Club."

***

Isolde walked into a large, luxurious living room, her golden-orange eyes immediately locking onto the graceful woman at the dining table. The table was set beside a floor-to-ceiling glass window, through which a beautifully kept garden stretched outside.

The woman, calmly eating well-sliced fruit from a white ceramic plate, rose the moment she saw Isolde.

A smile blossomed on her face as she approached. They embraced warmly, and when they finally let go, Christine, Isolde’s mother, sat back in her chair.

"I got the news from Sebastian, and I’ve already planned everything for the days you’ll be staying here. I know you haven’t been studying as much at school," Christine said, her tone both gentle and firm.

Isolde puffed her cheeks and stomped the floor before turning sharply, ready to storm off.

Christine examined her daughter critically. "And I told you to quit going to the gym as if you have nothing else to do with your life. With a shape like that at your age, you’re making yourself a target for thirsty high school boys who have nothing to offer."

Isolde threw her mother a heated glare, both rage and embarrassment twisting in her chest, before hurrying away before the conversation grew even worse.

"Oh? And did you see the boy who made you enroll at Manhattan High?" Christine’s question froze Isolde at the door.

She barely gave a soft nod, then hurriedly left.

In her room, she collapsed onto her bed, lifting her head to stare at the massive painting on the wall opposite her king-sized bed. It looked like something worth tens of millions.

The painting was of a head, half of it a dark golden helm, the other half the face of a golden-haired male with piercing blue eyes. Together, the halves formed a complete face.

Scribbled on the exquisite wooden frame at the bottom was the year xxxx – three years earlier, when Isolde was thirteen. On the upper frame, a name was etched.

Godfrey Daniels!

****

A/N: Okay, this is the end of the first volume: Manhattan’s New Transfer!

Quite a ride and now I’m out of outlines. I’m going to give myself a few hours break to relax and get back to building an outline for the next volume: School King!

Alright, thanks for your support so far. We’ve got over 100 golden tickets rapidly chasing 150 and we’ve broken another milestone! 300 powerstones! Woo!!!

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