Chapter 124: A Dangerous Decision
"I can’t believe those cunts."
Leopard sat alone inside his shuttle, glaring at the tactical map hovering before him. His eyes remained fixed on the cluster of shuttles flying together, so close that they looked less like separate teams and more like a faction of their own.
His fury had many reasons, but the most obvious one surrounded him in suffocating silence.
He was alone.
The teams he had gathered through the influence of the Valcrest Clan had abandoned him, the G-Enhancers no longer acknowledged his authority, and even the surviving members of his own team had chosen to leave. The young master who had once commanded dozens of students now occupied an entire shuttle by himself.
’Leopard Valcrest... left all alone.’
The thought was so humiliating that it almost became laughable.
He shot to his feet and drove his boot into the table beside him, sending wine bottles crashing across the shuttle.
Returning to his seat, his gaze drifted across the map once more. Those same shuttles had once flown at his side, their occupants following every order as faithfully as servants obeying their lord. Yet the moment the skies darkened and disaster struck, they scattered without a second thought.
"It’s unforgivable."
His fists tightened.
The source of everything was painfully clear. He had challenged Silas and Cher, which started as a certain victory belonged to him, only to suffer a crushing defeat instead. Losing to a nameless orphan was insulting enough, but being outplayed by the exiled princess of the Avaron Clan was far harder to swallow.
"I can’t believe all my plans were ruined."
"And all because of a nameless orphan."
"Had Silas belonged to Valcrest instead of some nameless orphan, Father would’ve treasured him more than his own son."
"Luckily, father doesn’t go around and pick orphans from the streets."
He leant over and grabbed a rare intact wine bottle from the ground. Slowly, he poured himself a cup, watched the crimson wine swirl for a few moments, before gulping everything into his throat.
It felt burning, yet it was no way closer to how he felt inside.
Playing with the cup for a little while, he shifted the map until it stopped over a lone shuttle drifting away from the others. It was as isolated as his own, yet it belonged to Cher. Unable to stop himself, he imagined Silas and the others laughing inside, celebrating their victory while he drowned in humiliation.
His expression darkened.
News of the dragon’s fall had already reached him. After contacting his father, he learned the full story through the Valcrest Clan’s special squad.
"Those bastards..."
"They got the dragon blood."
Every time he remembered it, rage surged through him like molten fire. He understood better than anyone how priceless dragon blood was, how profoundly it could transform a person’s future. That treasure should have belonged to him.
Fortunately, he had not returned completely empty-handed.
The map shifted again, this time revealing a large gathering of shuttles surrounding a campsite below. It was Rachel’s faction.
Unlike his own, her forces had grown considerably since the mission began, largely thanks to Montar’s betrayal.
Recalling what Montar did made him throw the cup he held over the shuttle interior, smashing it into numerous pieces.
"That traitor will receive the punishment he deserves."
He snorted before a faint smile crept onto his lips.
"Still... you lost far more than I did."
The Valcrest special squad had told him everything.
They had been intercepted by the Avaron Clan at the edge of the mine, and a fierce battle had nearly erupted between the two sides. Strangely, halfway through the confrontation, the Avarons chose to withdraw. Not only that, they invited the Valcrest squad into the mine and allowed them to help suppress the remaining monster tide.
Ordinary monster materials meant little to a clan like the Valcrests. Dragon remains, however, were another matter entirely.
For reasons no one could explain, the Avarons had left the dragon’s corpse untouched. His clan had seized the opportunity without hesitation, stripping it clean.
Had that not happened, his father would have been furious.
Instead, the dragon’s remains alone were enough to satisfy the clan. His father regarded the outcome as a great contribution, even promising Leopard a grand welcome upon his return and generous rewards after his first year at the academy.
Rachel, however, had not been so fortunate.
Her clan had answered her call for reinforcements, but every member of their special squad had been wiped out.
Even for a great clan, losing an elite squad was a painful blow. Worse still, they had gained nothing in return, allowing the entire dragon harvest to fall into Valcrest’s hands.
"You tried to stab me in the back."
"And fate returned the favour."
"That’s called karma, bitch."
For the first time since boarding the shuttle, Leopard chuckled.
It was the only pleasant thought he had managed to find in the entire affair.
At least one of his rivals, someone who had once been his ally, had lost far more than he had. From his father, Leopard had already heard what awaited Rachel upon her return. Her clan was furious, determined to make her pay for the humiliation she had brought upon them.
"Fortunately, Father forgot about the Avarons’ original mission after hearing about the dragon’s loot."
The thought brought back another memory.
Before he had entered the academy, his father had given him a simple assignment. Cher Avaron’s presence among the first years had never been a secret, and neither had the bounty Chaz Avaron quietly placed through the G-clans.
"Any G-clan with first-year students that helps keep Cher Avaron’s team out of the final top ten rankings will be generously rewarded."
The task itself had never been difficult. All Leopard had needed to do was make Cher’s life miserable and ensure her team fell behind.
On the surface, he had succeeded.
Cher’s team had abandoned the academy’s mission to pursue something else, guaranteeing a terrible final ranking.
Yet that very decision was what filled him with dread.
"They’ll be pushed far down the rankings. That’s inevitable."
His fingers drummed against the armrest as he replayed every event in his mind, refusing to overlook even the smallest detail.
"But once they consume the dragon blood..."
"They’ll all become C-Enhancers."
He understood exactly what that meant.
Ordinarily, advancing from D-grade to C-grade required one or even two years of steady growth. Once Cher’s team completed their evolution, they would possess strength comparable to third-year students.
"In the entire first year... no one will be able to stop them."
That single outcome threatened to erase everything he had accomplished. Every scheme, every sacrifice, every hardship he had endured would become meaningless.
This had only been the academy’s first mission. He knew many more would follow.
Once Cher’s team possessed overwhelming strength, they could dominate every future assignment and steadily climb back to first place before the year ended.
"I can’t allow that to happen."
The rewards promised by Chaz Avaron were too great to ignore.
It wasn’t merely wealth or influence. Success would secure him one of the kingdom’s most coveted appointments and, more importantly, establish him as the leading candidate to inherit his clan’s throne.
Every rival his age, regardless of lineage or backing, would be left behind.
"I can’t lose this... no matter what."
His eyes slowly narrowed as a dangerous decision took shape.
"Whatever it takes, I have to obtain the dragon blood and become a C-Enhancer as well."
Logic pointed to only one solution.
The problem was reaching it.
He had no idea when Cher’s team would consume the blood. They might have already done so. The only certainty was that the evolution would take roughly a week.
"That gives me one week to deal with this."
His gaze swept across the empty shuttle, and for the first time, he found solitude irritating.
"That bastard Montar..."
Even after betraying him, Montar remained the person best suited to help.
The thought alone made Leopard’s jaw tighten.
Montar had manipulated the situation perfectly, turning everyone against him and seizing control of the faction he had painstakingly built. If Leopard wanted both his followers and the dragon blood, he would have to make use of him first.
"Just wait, you traitor."
"I’ll use you to obtain the dragon blood... and afterwards, I’ll make every remaining day of your life in this academy a living nightmare."
Without further hesitation, Leopard sent Montar a message, ordering him to meet.
Still, he refused to rely on a single plan.
"If that fails..."
"I’ll seek out the one person who hates Cher Avaron more than anyone in the academy."
"Cameron."
Approaching him carried enormous risks, which was precisely why Leopard intended to keep him as a last resort.
For now, he simply stared at his wristwatch, waiting for Montar’s reply.