As sweet as ever, Randa greeted the unexpected presence of Cydal with a welcoming smile, her face lighting up at the thought of sharing the same class. But Kowa? He wasn't so thrilled.
His fingers gripped the edge of his desk with such intensity it looked as if imagining himself strangling Cydal instead of the wood beneath his fingers.
Standing beside cydal was what it looked like is a teacher. An elderly man, frail and worn, his body scarred—half of it covered in what looks like claw marks, maybe from a wolf. Or perhaps burns. In truth, it's both or more. But what catches everyone's attention is not the grotesque wounds; it's the warm, accepting smile on his face. A smile aimed directly at Cydal, one that speaks of recognition—like a father welcoming home a long-lost son.
This man who was none other than Principal Kashi Muruo, the one who had made the school a reality. It was thanks to his dedication and the desire for change is why this place existed—an institution where both students and teachers respected him deeply.
The moment he entered the classroom, everyone stood up in perfect unison, their synchronized 'Good morning!' echoing through the school like a proud chorus of respect.
With a gentle wave, he acknowledged their greeting, his warm smile never fading as he sincerely thanked them for their kindness, the students smiling back without hesitation, the atmosphere bright and easy, simply happy to see the man who had given them so much.
"Oh did the class already started? Forgive us, son, we've been busy with interviews, but it's necessary to process and let the new student begin his studies here." Said Principal Kashi to cydal.
The Principal gestures towards the lifeless Lanjo. "This here is your class teacher. We don't have many instructors, so only one teacher manages a class. He'll be in charge. If you need help adjusting, ask him. Or, perhaps some of your classmates will assist you. We have a wonderful group here, each one helping to rebuild and grow this school."
But no one pays attention to the Principal anymore. Instead, the room buzzes with gossip.
"No way... isn't that the kid from town? The one who got banished?"
"Banished? Why?"
"Are you living under a rock? The whole town knows the story! He killed the parents of the woman who raised him."
"He also killed her fiance, I think he was mad that her parents kicked him out of the house, so he decided to take their lives as well, it must've been horrible I'm actually scared."
Another student chimes in, their voice dripping with contempt. "And have you seen those scars on principal Kashi muruo? He took him in his orphanage after he was thrown. He raised him in love and protected him But instead the poor man.." They stare at his horrendous wounds and continue talking,"you get it what might have happened right?"
The murmurs intensify, but just as it seems the chaos might overwhelm everything, something unexpected happens.
Sir Kashi steps forward and embraces Cydal. The hug is tight, unyielding, as if he is clinging to something precious. The class falls utterly still. No one knows what to think. Some are shocked, others are irritated, and a few even stand up in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, son," principal Kashi murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. "I couldn't help you that night when orphanage was set on fire. I don't remember what happened, but I refuse to believe a word the townsfolk say about you. I was supposed to raise you. I know how timid and innocent you were. That boy you've been accused of being? He couldn't have committed those terrible acts."
He pulls back slightly, looking Cydal in the eyes. "Miss Beauty and I never stopped looking for you when you vanished. The townspeople are scared, and with this endless drought and misfortune, they're confused. Don't let their judgment get you down."
Principal muruo is happy to have Cydal back, but the image is something else entirely in Cydal's eyes. This is indeed the church father who raised him. The one who showed him kindness in a world that gave him none. Kashi is loved by the entire village and now he's the school's Principal. Tears spill from principal's eyes as he embraces him one last time before he could let him attend his class. But Cydal, he's not convinced, his eyes twitch, his hand turning into a claw, almost to tear him apart, but he holds it in.
"This is a good start," Principal kashi says gently, his voice calm now. "You're here. You're in school. If you do well, they'll see the truth of who you are. They'll change their minds."
He pats Cydal's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't forget, whenever you face trouble, come to my office. The church may not stand anymore, but you're still my child. I'm your father, and I'll help you."
Before Cydal can respond, a voice cuts through the tension.
"This is outrageous!"
Kowa strides into the room, clearly fuming. Randa tries to calm him down, but he's beyond reason now.
"So what? You're just going to forget everything that happened and embrace this murderer?"
He sweeps his arm toward the class, his anger palpable. "Did you even think for one second how we feel, having him among us? Some of us were living in that orphanage too, you know. We lost friends, family—he massacred half the children and burned our home to the ground."
The room falls into a tense silence as Kowa's words hit hard.
"We can't possibly be in the same class as him," Kowa finishes, his voice filled with disgust.
Lanjo sighed, his arms crossed as he leaned against the desk. "I understand how you feel, Kowa," he said calmly, "but it was never confirmed if Cydal was involved in the orphanage fire… or the murders that night."
Kowa's eyes didn't waver. "The villagers described a beast," he said flatly. "Green skin. Horns. Like a demon walking through fire. You think that's a coincidence?"
Lanjo scoffed under his breath, a bitter smirk tugging at his lips. "A demon? Seriously? You're really buying into their hysteria?"
But Kowa wasn't amused. His voice dropped lower, laced with something darker. "That 'hysteria' matches exactly how he looked when he was born. I heard from my sister, the nurses would talk about it for months, they were traumatized of a child with green skin and horns… one of them called him a devil the moment he cried."
The room fell silent. Randa stepped forward cautiously, her voice like a whisper carried on trembling breath.
"Please, Kowa," she said, eyes filled with quiet pleading. "Keep it down. We… we shouldn't judge people when we don't know anything."
Kowa turned to her, and for a brief moment, the sharpness in his gaze softened. He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.
"Oh, Randa…" he murmured, a faint, sorrowful smile pulling at his lips. "You're a really sweet girl. You see everyone with kindness. Even.. even a man of my profession."
She didn't answer — not with words. Her expression faltered, uncertain.
But Kowa's softness didn't last.
His gaze hardened again, and when he spoke next, his voice was laced with resentment.
"But I'm still against him attending our class," he said coldly. "Not after everything he's done. He's responsible for everyone's misery."
His voice dropped to a whisper, and this time, it cracked.
"Especially mine… I lost my sister because of him. She was everything i had and now i have nothing."
Randa lowered her gaze. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but the words wouldn't come. Silence hung heavy in the room, suffocating and thick.
With a snarl, Kowa slams his fist down on the desk, rattling it. He glares at Cydal one last time. "If he's here, I can't stay. I'm leaving." He turns, heading for the door.
But before he exits, he stops, turning to face Cydal. His eyes burn with fury, and he sneers.
"I know who you are. I know what your plan is. Just because you're wearing our flesh and bones doesn't mean you're one of us. Remember my words, devil. I'm going to put you down. It's only a matter of time."
Lanjo and Principal Kashi try to stop him, but Kowa's resolve is unshakable. With one last defiant glance at Cydal, he storms out of the room, his footsteps echoing down the hall.
Lanjo, though brimming with frustration and tension, didn't direct his anger toward the students. Instead, he offered an apology to Principal Kashi Muruo. But the principal, wise and understanding, only nodded in acknowledgment.
"We live in a difficult time," Principal Kashi began talking, his voice calm but laced with sorrow. "Everyone is scared, worried... and they seek someone to blame for their loss."
His words carried a heavy weight, and though his expression remained composed, there was a certain sadness in his eyes. But when he spoke again, the warmth of his smile faded entirely.
"Unfortunately, the reason I'm here today is much tragic."
He turned his gaze toward the students, and the room immediately fell into a hushed silence. The once-welcoming environment grew heavy with dread as Principal Kashi's smile vanished completely, replaced by a somber expression.
"Unfortunately, we've received some troubling news about Giselle's older sister," he continued, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "She's been missing since yesterday. According to her mother, she never came home last night."
Randa, sitting quietly at her desk, felt the chill of the news wash over her. She was the first to react, her face pale with worry. The class was filled with a collective shudder of unease, the air thick with fear.
"The whole village gathered to look for her… but tragically, we found her here—dead—on the school grounds." Principal Kashi's eyes welled with tears as he delivered the grim news. "She was found in the school basement." His voice broke as he spoke, the weight of the loss clear in his demeanor.
A silence fell over the room, the students too shocked to speak. Then, the murmur of whispers began, quickly escalating into a flurry of worried chatter.
"Is Cydal to blame?" one voice asked nervously.
"No way!" another whispered. "He just got back, and now murders are happening already. He's suspicious!"
"He should be investigated," came another voice, filled with fear.
"I can't stay here anymore! I'm scared!" someone else muttered, panic spreading through the room.
Cydal, who had been silent up until this point, couldn't hold back his curiosity. He raised his hand, voice calm yet sharp. "So… if her body was found here, was she murdered in this school?"
Principal Kashi's grief-stricken expression faltered for a moment, but he couldn't bring himself to answer. He simply shook his head. "The cause of death is still unknown, but I promise you, students' safety is our top priority. As of today, security will be tightened. No one unauthorized will be allowed to enter or leave without being checked."
Cydal chuckled darkly. "You better be. Aren't you the school principal? If anyone should be responsible for what happens here, it's you."
The room was filled with shock and fury. The students stared at Cydal, their faces twisted in disbelief and anger. How could he blame their principal for this? Some of them immediately rose, ready to come for him, but it was Lanjo's cold, dangerous gaze that stopped them in their tracks. His voice was steady, yet there was a weight to it.
"Just think about it," Cydal said, his eyes narrowing. "If she was hiding here all night, there's a high chance the Principal would've known. How did he miss it, if a murderer broke in and took her life?"
Principal Kashi looked broken, his face filled with shame as he dropped his head. "You're right… I should've been here, it's true occasionally I stay the night at school grounds, there's just so much work to handle. But yesterday... I was with my daughter, Nara. She was sick, and I had to take care of her. If only... if only I'd been here... maybe I could've done something. Maybe I could've saved her."
As he spoke, his gaze fixed on Nara. He pointed at her, and the students around her instinctively leaned away, wary and uneasy, keeping their distance.
Tears began to fall from his eyes, and with a sob, he collapsed to his knees. The class watched in stunned silence, unsure of how to react to his raw emotion.
Lanjo stepped forward, kneeling beside the principal and gently helping him to his feet. "It's okay, Kashi. Don't blame yourself."
The class was quiet but furious, the atmosphere heavy with grief and confusion. They despised cydal for making their kind principal cry. But cydal, despite his earlier words, watched the scene unfold, his expression unreadable.
Principal Kashi wiped his tears and stood, his voice hoarse but filled with a deep, mournful resolve. "It's my fault, I know. But we must carry on. We'll hold her funeral this evening, here at the school, to honor her. All students and teachers must attend."
Lanjo nodded solemnly. "Of course, we will be there. She was a model student… she'll be missed."
Behind them, Lal let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Model student? She was a bully, worse than her sister Giselle. Serves her right."
Randa, hearing the remark, whipped around and shot Lal a terrifying glare. "Stop it, Lal," she spat. "Show some respect."
After a while, principal left for his office to prepared for the funeral.
Cydal stood still, lost in thought. Why was he even here? The question rang in his head, heavier than it should be. His screen buzzed yanking him back to reality. His eyes flicking over the glowing text.
[Battle Royale Alert: Prepare as much as possible.]
Another notification popped up beneath it.
[Quest 1: Find and defeat as many new players as possible.]
[Quest 2: Explore the secret catacombs. (Longs' request).]
He exhaled through his nose, his screen fading back into nothingness. His fingers twitched, the weight of expectation settling on his shoulders.
"Oyye?" Lanjo's voice broke the silence, rough and irritated. "Why are you still standing there like a damn corpse?"
Cydal blinked up at him.
Lanjo scoffed. "Your eyes—or eye—is so dead it's unsettling." He said this, barely hiding his own bags of dark circles.
He let out a sigh, running a hand down his face. "I've had enough problems today to last me months." He waved lazily toward the seats. "Just introduce yourself and go sit down."
Cydal faced the students, his gaze piercing through them like a blade.
"I won't say my name," he began, voice steady, unreadable. "Judging by your faces—and the amount of sweat your bodies are producing—you already know who I am."
Silence thickened the air. No one dared to argue.
"And I don't believe any of you are here to make friends, good. That's favorable. I'm not here to make friends either. You offer me nothing."
Lanjo slapped his forehead, knowing full well his life as a teacher had just taken a nosedive into chaos. It was getting worse by the second.
His eyes scanned the room, landing on an empty seat at the back—clearly the one Kowa had left. Lanjo gestured to it. "Take it," he said. "There's no other seat. Kowa will get a new one later."
Without hesitation, he moved toward it, each step slow, deliberate. Detached. Smug.
"My stay is brief," he continued. "Once I accomplish what I'm here for, I'll be far away from this miserable town."
The students, annoyed by Cydal, shared smug looks like they were about to teach him a lesson. One stuck out his leg to trip him.
But Cydal didn't even flinch.
He casually stepped right on the guy's shin with his boot. A loud crack echoed. The student screamed in pain, clutching his leg as his chair scraped back.
Cydal sat down like nothing happened.
"Hey… you son of a—" the guy wheezed, red-faced with rage.
No one listened. No one cared.
Next to him—well, next to the seat cydal was taking—sat randa. She glanced at Cydal with quiet anticipation, maybe expecting a shy hello, a nod, anything you'd expect from a new student.
But Cydal?
He acted like he was alone in that classroom. No greetings. No eye contact. Just silently settling in, already lost in thoughts for what's his next move against the creator. His goal was to take him down. That's the only reason he's here.
Cydal's screen buzzed, the glow of the interface reflecting in his lone eye.
[Warning: Potential players detected nearby.]
A second prompt followed immediately.
[Would you like to initiate an open challenge?]
He spoke to the screen, almost silently—words too low for anyone to catch. Randa leaned in slightly, curious, but Cydal didn't even glance her way. "If I issue a challenge, would they even know who's challenging them? No one has data on each other unless they've had a solid encounter, right?"
The screen pulsed, responding to his inquiry.
[Incorrect.]
[All players have data on you. You are the first player.]
Cydal's brow twitched. He didn't know what to think about that. Of course, he should have expected it. He is first to enter the game, the system was built to raise him into a perfect vessel.
"Tch."
He exhaled through his nose. "No, let's hold off on the challenge," he decided, closing his screen halfway before adding, "I have a hunch about who's a player and who isn't already. Their reaction to situations can be easily readable compare it to a normal person. I want to observe first. Study them. Before I start taking over."
The screen pulsed again, as if considering his reasoning.
[Understood.]
The screen lit up with a soft hum.
[Assigning Long's Quest: Find the Catacombs and enter to initiate a new secret challenge.]
[Further details will be provided upon successful completion of this quest.]
Cydal argued. "I don't remember allowing you to activate this quest without my permission?"
[Permission not required. Game rules mandate that at least one quest must be completed within the day.]
Cydal couldn't believe this, but he had to play along for now.
He turned to look at other students, his eyes met nara. She sat alone in the corner, the empty space around her was a silent testament to how no one was comfortable enough to be near her, let alone speak to her.
Without warning, Nara pulled out a small dagger from her sleeve—its blade catching the light with an unsettling gleam. The already uneasy students flinched and recoiled, some even stumbling back in alarm.
'Oh! Um… I'm sorry for interrupting your conversations,' she said quickly, her voice soft and apologetic as she held the blade steady. 'This is just for the fruits. My father insists I eat them…'
With delicate fingers, she reached into her bag and produced a soggy, bruised apple—its skin darkened and soft with decay. Yet even in its sorry state, the apple was a rare luxury in a town where death by starvation was whispered about like weather, she began peeling it slowly, carefully, as if the fruit were a precious gem rather than a spoiled remnant of survival.
She looked exactly the same mess as she had in the orphanage—nothing had changed.
For a brief moment, her gaze met Cydal's, but she quickly turned away.
"At least back then, she'd look me in the eyes," Cydal thought, disappointment creeping in. "Now she's even worse than a coward."
Cydal turned his attention back to Randa.
"Do you want to fight me?"
"Eh?" Randa blinked, flustered. Her voice trembled. "Why would you say that?!!"
"Well," Cydal said calmly, "you keep watching me when you think I'm not looking. Your face turns red every time I catch you."
Her cheeks lit up instantly, lips parting but no words coming out, she turns away blushing.
Cydal leaned back, his voice flat. "If you're angry about something—maybe I ruined your family's crops, or killed your pet, or maybe it's that cousin of yours who disappeared because of me." He leaned back lazily. "Then don't bother with a sneak attack. It won't work. Be direct. Come see me at the backside of the school after class."
He said it like he was inviting her to a casual walk, not a potential confrontation.
To be continued