CHAPTER 53: CH 53: HIDDEN LOOT- PART 3

Fenrir stepped out of the dungeon just as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

The air outside felt fresher than he remembered, and his body felt light—energized even, thanks to the new fire-based skill he had acquired.

[Skill Mastery Achieved: [Lava Lake]

Effectiveness increased. Mana efficiency improved by 18%. Skill evolution conditions unlocked.]

That notification had made him pause in disbelief when it first popped up.

It usually took days, sometimes even weeks, to properly master a skill—especially one as intensive and destructive as Lava Lake.

But his system-assisted training made the process much faster.

A handful of monsters and several minutes later, he’d already gotten a grip on it.

"Guess it’s worth all the suffering after all."

He muttered with a satisfied smirk.

With nothing else left to do, he returned home. The moment his head hit the bed, the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with him.

His limbs felt heavy, his mana flow sluggish. He reached for a [Basic Recovery Potion] and downed it without ceremony.

A warmth spread through his veins, soothing the sore muscles and burned mana pathways.

"I’m getting better at this."

He mumbled before his eyes closed and sleep pulled him under.

The next morning arrived with a sharp jolt from his alarm. Fenrir groaned as he dragged himself out of bed, grabbed a quick breakfast, and got dressed for school.

The mundane life of a student felt even more disconnected from his real life now, but he didn’t mind the balance.

Or at least, he usually didn’t.

The moment he stepped into class, though, he could tell something was off.

The atmosphere was tense—like a coiled spring ready to snap. Conversations were quiet, heads turned toward the same focal point again and again.

Fenrir followed their line of sight and found Elaine Croix sitting at her desk, her brows furrowed, her grip on her pen tight enough to snap it.

She furiously scribbled in her notebook, unaware—or uncaring—of the attention she was attracting.

Fenrir raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He was hardly on speaking terms with her and had no intention of changing that.

Still, her mood... it didn’t take a genius to guess what it was about. The incident in the dungeon was probably still fresh in her mind.

’Massive red flag. Definitely not stepping on that landmine.’

Fenrir thought.

Moments later, Dain strolled into the classroom and took the seat beside Elaine.

The two didn’t speak, but something about the way they moved—familiar, comfortable—made the rest of the class buzz.

"Did you hear? Dain and Elaine are probably dating."

Someone whispered from behind.

"Yeah, they were out together yesterday. Same dungeon too, apparently."

Fenrir tuned out the gossip. Rumors didn’t concern him.

Whether they were together or not wasn’t his business. He had more important things to focus on—like staying under the radar.

Class proceeded normally after that, with the exception of a few long stares in his direction from Elaine. Fenrir ignored those too.

As far as he was concerned, he was invisible. He didn’t want to deal with confrontation, especially not the type that came wrapped in emotion and pride.

When the final bell rang and the students began filing out, Fenrir slung his bag over his shoulder and made for the exit.

But just before he could step outside, his teacher called out to him.

"Mr. Fenrir? Can you stop by the teacher’s office before you leave? You missed collecting your start-of-semester essentials while you were on your extended leave."

Fenrir winced. He had forgotten about that.

"Of course, ma’am."

He turned away from the door and started heading toward the faculty wing.

As he rounded the corner, movement at the end of the hall caught his eye.

It was Dain and Elaine.

The two of them were moving quietly, slipping around the corner in the opposite direction of the main entrance. They were careful—too careful.

Elaine kept glancing over her shoulder, and Dain was speaking in hushed tones that Fenrir couldn’t catch from the distance.

Fenrir narrowed his eyes.

’Sneaking around in broad daylight? Bold.’

He could’ve followed them, maybe even eavesdropped. But he shook his head and kept walking toward the teacher’s office.

Whatever they were up to, it wasn’t his problem—at least, not yet. He had scrolls to find, skills to earn, and a future to build.

Getting involved in drama he had no interest in would only slow him down.

Still, a voice in the back of his mind whispered.

’You should keep an eye on them.’

______

Fenrir stepped into the teacher’s lounge, the air inside filled with the familiar scent of coffee and dry paperwork.

The teacher who had called him—Ms. Liora—was sitting at her desk with a stack of folders in front of her. She didn’t even glance up as she gestured for him to sit.

"We need to talk."

She said, flipping open one of the folders.

Fenrir sat down without a word, already preparing himself for whatever lecture she had planned.

Ms. Liora was known for her no-nonsense attitude, and judging by the frown on her face, this wasn’t going to be a quick meeting.

She turned the folder toward him and tapped on a printed sheet.

"This is your attendance record. As you can see, it’s an absolute disaster. You’ve missed more than half the semester. Even if you started attending every day from now, you still wouldn’t meet the minimum requirement."

Fenrir glanced at the sheet. She wasn’t exaggerating. His name barely appeared in any of the attendance logs.

"You’re going to have to make this up. Unless you want to be marked as failing the year."

She continued.

She opened her mouth to suggest something else, but Fenrir interrupted her calmly.

"What’s your price?"

Ms. Liora blinked, momentarily thrown off by the directness of the question.

"What?"

"You heard me. What do you want in exchange for looking the other way? Money? Favors?"

Fenrir said.

Her eyes narrowed, then drifted to the side for a moment.

Fenrir could see the gears turning in her head. It wasn’t a denial—that was enough for him to know she was considering it. Slowly, she leaned back in her chair.

"Three million. Pay me that, and I’ll mark you as present. For now, and for future days too. No questions asked. You’ll have a perfect record."

She said at last, folding her arms.

Fenrir studied her for a moment. Her voice was steady, but there was a glint in her eye—a shimmer of greed thinly veiled by professionalism.

"Are you a civilian?"

He asked casually.

She didn’t answer. For a few seconds, the room was quiet.

But the silence spoke volumes.

A proper hunter or someone with ethics wouldn’t agree to this so easily. Her lack of response told Fenrir everything he needed to know.

"I see."

He murmured, already opening his system’s internal banking interface.

In just a few taps, the transaction was complete. Three million credits. A small price to pay for complete freedom from the academic leash.

Ms. Liora checked her phone, then gave him a sharp nod.

"Pleasure doing business, Fenrir."

Fenrir stood up, his expression unreadable.

"Likewise. I will be in touch if I need anything else."