Chapter 38: Just self-defense
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[Personal] [Summon] [Gacha] [Mission]
Chaos Points: 135
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"Not bad! But it’s not enough." Alaric rubbed his chin as he examined the system screen. He’d been steadily completing normal missions ever since he started practicing with the slave demon. The points weren’t much, but if he kept doing them, someday they might come in handy—somehow.
However, just doing normal missions was clearly not enough. He had to do something different. Naturally, he was a troublemaker, so staying in the safe zone wasn’t an option.
Of course he’d leave the academy for the outer circle. If he joined a guild and took on quests, he’d get the chance to face the monsters roaming outside the dungeons.
"That’s right."
He smiled at his plan while strolling down the hallway toward the classroom. As always, all eyes were on him again.
"Look! The slave... uhm, n-no... Alaric, the child of the Nameless God," a nearby student muttered.
"He looks fatter than before?"
A girl replied,
"Who knows. But he did grow more handsome."
A few girls started whispering their admiration, while other students cleared their throats.
"Shut it. He’s the Neonard Clan’s fiancé now."
...
Another girl snorted coldly.
"Is admiring a good man wrong? Look at yourselves. Pathetic."
...
Meanwhile, Alaric just shook his head slightly at all the chatter. He hurried along, but he couldn’t deny his reputation had improved somehow—even with the Demon King’s curse still on him.
However, he knew that was just a tiny group. From the rest of the students, he could feel the hatred and jealousy in their eyes.
At some point, he frowned when he spotted a familiar face in the crowd.
"Tyler?"
Yeah—his old owner. Tyler was staring at him with pure hatred... but underneath it, there was a hint of helplessness. This body had once been a slave whose only job was to lick this guy’s shoes, but now everything had flipped.
Tyler didn’t even have the right to kiss his shoes anymore.
"So that’s what having authority feels like," Alaric half-closed his eyes in amusement as he looked at the boy.
This world, where authority was built on power, was completely different from his old world, where things were more or less equal.
"Lucky for you, I hold no grudge. I reincarnated before you ever did anything bad to me."
He scoffed.
"But I still owe something to the slave whose body I took."
After lingering for a moment, Alaric pointed straight at Tyler.
"You! Yeah, you. Brainless. Get over here."
For some reason, the crowd’s attention immediately focused on Tyler, and people stepped away from him.
Tyler scowled, resentment clear in his eyes, but he still walked toward Alaric without showing a trace of fear.
He straightened his back to show that he and Alaric were equal.
Alaric grinned as he watched Tyler’s childish actions. Then he asked:
"Looks like you’ve got a problem with me. So? Want to say it out loud?"
Tyler scowled, sparing:
"That’s the manner you show in front of your owner? My slave"
Silence.
A wave of gossip spread through the nearby crowd when they heard the words "owner and my slave," meaning Alaric and Tyler had some sort of connection. It was shocking news to everyone.
But the whispers quickly faded as a loud laugh echoed... until Alaric stopped and let out a slow, deep breath.
He spoke in a cold voice:
"So what?"
He pointed at Tyler’s head and added:
"Do you even have a brain? Do you understand what just came out of your filthy mouth?"
"Let me say it again. I’m Dana’s fiancé... I’m the child of the Nameless God... and I’m a member of the Neonard Clan."
He looked down at Tyler and spoke in a dead, flat tone—partly because Alaric was taller than almost any student in the academy, which naturally created an invisible pressure over Tyler.
"You should know your place, you dead-brained brat... If you don’t, your life in this academy is over."
Despite the fear creeping in, Tyler stayed still and mocked:
"A slave is always a slave... Nothing changes, even if you’re part of the Neonard Clan."
"Well, if so, you’ll deal with the consequences. I warned you already."
Alaric shrugged and looked around at the students, shouting:
"Hey, everybody... I’ve got a warning for anyone hanging around that stupid brat. From now on, anyone who plays with him or gets close to him is considered my enemy. I’ll carve your family name into my mind. I’ll tell my fiancée to report it to the Neonard Clan. They’ll cut all commercial relations with your family or guild."
...
"Hahahaha... Are you crazy? You’re stupid and arrogant. They’ll never do that for an inferior slave like you."
Tyler chuckled as he heard what he thought was Alaric’s ridiculous threat.
Some of the nearby students had the same thought. Cutting commercial relations with major guilds and families was a dumb choice. What would the clan even gain from that?
Alaric just clicked his tongue and smiled quietly.
"Pick your best choice. I told you already. Want to bet on it? Bet that they won’t do it and mock me later? Or that they will do it, and your family goes downhill because of your stupid actions, all thanks to one idiot brat?"
Tyler burst out laughing.
"They won’t do it. I’m certain of that."
But when he saw the hesitation on everyone’s faces, his own expression turned pale.
"No... no, I don’t want to bet. My family depends on the Neonard Clan a lot. I don’t want my whole family to go down just because of a brat."
"Yeah... I feel the same way."
...
Alaric just bared his teeth when everyone refused to bet with him. Of course, he could never do something like that... however, just a tiny suspicion... just a tiny bit. That was right—humans always thought about their own benefit.
"See? No one wants to bet. Your life in this academy is done."
Tyler’s expression twisted and darkened. He exploded in rage and shouted while throwing a punch at Alaric.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Alaric giggled and casually caught Tyler’s fist in one smooth movement. The next moment, he bent Tyler’s hand upward, pinning him down while pressing a foot on his back.
Watching Tyler scream in pain and struggle to break free from his hold, Alaric just smiled and said to everyone:
"He attacked me first. So I’m innocent—just self-defense."