Shadow Author

Riding up the elevator, I patiently waited for it to come to a stop. The ride was lackluster and uneventful but I never expected there to be anything of significance in the first place.

When it came to a stop and the doors opened I quickly made my way out and moved toward my room.

Once there I went inside and the very first thing I did was rush into the bathroom to take the shower which I had been so desperately searching for before the incident.

Turning on the water I immediately relaxed as I allowed the hot water to pour down my body.

It felt so good to finally wash away the built-up sweat and dried blood.

While cleaning myself I thought back to how everything that happened in the past couple of hours all resulted because I wanted to take a shower.

Had I just gone to class the way I was or been late by waiting for my dormitory to open the tragedy there was a chance the tragedy might not have happened.

But then again I could never be too sure as it might have happened either way but I knew sooner or later something similar would have occurred when I met with Evelyn.

Some catastrophic event was bound to happen when we met so I was fine with the way our meeting played out.

Those who died were not of any importance if they couldn't save themselves so having a little more than a dozen people perish was fine by me.

If we had met at a more populated place and far more people died I would have been annoyed so overall I was happy with the outcome as it was something that had to come.

Finishing up in the shower I watched as the last of the red water flowed down the drain.

Climbing out I dried myself off and went back into the living quarters to grab a new uniform since my last was covered in blood stains.

Putting it on I then collapsed onto my bed and laid on my back staring up at the ceiling.

Although I wanted to get some much-needed rest and get some shut-eye after all that happened there was still one more uncounted thing I had to take care of.

This would also be a strenuous task which meant I couldn't let my mentality drop as I prepared myself and then called forth Nightfall.

Having the sword materialize in my hand I held it up and examined it against the background of my ceiling.

I was still enchanted by its beauty but I knew it wasn't time to get distracted.

I had to finish what I started with the red mist.

Calming my mind I made my intentions clear as I called forth my will to influence Nightfall.

Closing my eyes I relinquished any thoughts as I allowed my wish to guide me.

Then a moment later I opened my eyes and all I could see was white.

I was back within the realm of Nightfall.

Instantly I called forth Aether to surround my body and protect me from the vast emptiness.

Unfortunately, I knew my time was short as the white already started impeding on the Aether as it was forcing it to shrink.

One thing I was disappointed in was being unable to level up the amount of Aether I had with SP.

In order to reach a higher rank one would have to level up all aspects of their skills to a certain level, it couldn't just be a single one.

That is why it came as a surprise when I could reach E rank even though the amount of Aether I had didn't reflect it.

But then once I started thinking about why that was, it made sense. Since other people who are unable or haven't unlocked Aether, yet are still able to level up it most likely meant it wasn't a necessity.

Therefore it made sense that I could continue to level up otherwise I would be at a disadvantage if I had to improve the amount of Aether I had just to rank up.

But then another shock came to me when I learned that I was unable to upgrade Aether with SP in the first place.

If I could I would have expended an exorbitant amount of SP to increase the amount as the status point as it was already incredibly powerful.

Although, I didn't have any time to think about it when I was in the elevator because of the situation I now realized how much of a problem it was.

Being unable to improve the amount of Aether I currently had was a huge obstacle that I needed to overcome.

But I didn't have the leisure of thinking about a solution for the time being as I had to make do with what I got.

Thus I made sure to move quickly and efficiently as I had to make the most of the time I had left before I ran out of Aether.

Being in the white I once again closed my eyes and envisioned myself coming into contact with the physical body of Nightfall.

In the passing second, I then opened my eyes and she was there standing before me as beautiful as ever.

'It worked.'

To be honest I wasn't sure if I would be able to freely move about in the world like I had done so when entering it but it turned out I could.

Looking at Nightfall in the eyes I saw the same dull look that she expresses outwardly.

As much as I wanted to go up to her I restrained myself as I needed to deal with the red mist.

I took my eyes off hers and did my best to ignore her naked body that she for some reason refused to cover.

"It's not like you can see anything anyways."

"But I can imagine it."

"Not my problem."

That was true, it wasn't like there was anyone around that would be creeping on her.

Although I wanted to keep up the small talk with her I needed to get down to business as the Aether was already starting to diminish.

"Where is the curse?"