Chapter 141: Between Despair and Hope
"That Montar is a real jerk."
The moment Silas and Alfred rejoined the group, Alfred recounted everything that had happened.
"I knew him long before joining the academy," Darius said, looking at his friends. "And he isn’t someone you’d ever want by your side."
Everyone nodded, while Silas remained silent.
The change he had noticed within himself because of such a trivial incident left him deeply unsettled. He had never imagined he would grow so attached to power that losing it would also rob him of his confidence, to the point where even someone as insignificant as Montar could make him feel threatened.
Seeing him lost in thought, the others exchanged worried glances.
"Look what I found."
Cher suddenly reached into her portable device and pulled out a thick stack of yellowed papers.
"Remember these?"
She placed one pile after another on the ground until a small mountain of papers stood before them, finally drawing Silas out of his thoughts.
He recognised them immediately. Back at the ancient garrison, he had been strangely obsessed with collecting every one of those documents.
"I remembered you wanted to read them," Cher said with a faint smile. "So I brought them for you."
"Otherwise," she added while glancing at Terio, "I’ll let him burn them."
"Who said I’m a lighter?" Terio protested.
The remark drew laughter from everyone, and a faint smile finally appeared on Silas’ face.
"That’ll take quite some time to finish..."
Before he could continue, Darius, Alfred, and Terio stood up almost simultaneously.
"They look pretty heavy," Darius said.
"No one should carry all of that alone," Terio added.
"So we’ll help you take them back to your dorm," Alfred concluded.
Silas shifted his gaze between the three of them before quietly sighing.
’They planned this beforehand.’
He understood what they were trying to do.
They did not want him staying behind to watch them train, fearing that seeing everyone else grow stronger while he remained stuck would only deepen the cracks already forming inside him.
Knowing there was no point arguing, he accepted their concern and returned to his dorm with them.
***
"I’m really worried about him."
As the shuttle carrying the boys descended toward the academy grounds, Lara absentmindedly stroked the fur of one of her babies.
"He doesn’t look any better than he did days ago."
Cher watched the shuttle disappear before turning away.
"It’s better if he stays in his dorm instead of watching us train."
Her voice remained calm, but her expression grew serious.
"We’ve been hiding our progress from him so he wouldn’t feel terrible."
She paused before continuing.
"When I told everyone to drink the dragon blood a few days ago, I still believed he’d recover soon enough to catch up."
A bitter smile crossed her face.
"I don’t believe that anymore."
Lara lowered her gaze.
"I still can’t believe everything turned out like this."
She continued petting her baby while remembering Silas standing alone against the dragon, calmly outmanoeuvring a creature far stronger than himself.
"It doesn’t feel real," she murmured. "The Silas who led us to the dragon’s blood feels like a distant echo of his former self now."
Cher silently agreed.
Words would not change reality. Instead, she asked, "How much has your ability improved?"
Since the day they consumed the dragon blood, everyone except Darius had begun noticing rapid changes in their abilities. They trained every day while carefully hiding those improvements whenever Silas was nearby.
At first, concealing the changes had been easy. Now, it was becoming impossible.
Their abilities had advanced too quickly, forcing them to lie to their own friend because they feared the truth would only hurt him further.
Fortunately, Silas had asked for a few days alone, and everyone readily agreed. None of them had expected him to grow bored and come looking for them today.
Cher didn’t need to test his abilities herself to know nothing had changed. After hearing Alfred’s story, she understood the truth.
Silas wasn’t merely failing to recover; he was getting worse.
’It’s better this way,’ she thought, clenching her fists as she watched Lara demonstrate the latest improvement in her ability.
’I’d rather you hate resting than watch us move forward while you’re forced to fall behind.’
Her eyes drifted one last time toward the direction where the shuttle had disappeared.
’I hope you will forgive me for this lie.’
***
"Hahaha!"
"He actually thought he could act like a big shot just because people were standing behind him."
Leopard had just returned from the morning combat class when he heard the news. The clash between Montar and Silas had already become the hottest topic among the first-year students.
The moment he pieced together what had happened, he nearly burst into laughter. Even so, he maintained his usual cold, arrogant expression until he reached his dorm. Only after closing the door behind him did he throw himself onto the sofa and laugh without restraint.
"That stupid Montar."
"I’m not who I am because I had fools like you standing behind me."
As he replayed the incident in his mind, the conclusion was obvious. Montar had become intoxicated by the little authority he possessed, mistaking borrowed influence for his own strength. Power was a poison to those with weak hearts, and Leopard understood that better than most.
"Enough thinking about that traitor."
"I have my own problem to solve."
His amusement gradually faded.
For the past few days, he had tried repeatedly to meet Cameron, only to fail every time. Someone like Cameron had no interest in wasting even a few words on an insignificant first-year student.
His latest attempt, just before the morning classes, had ended no differently. One of Cameron’s closest followers had shoved him aside with open disdain.
"You’ve got some nerve trying to speak with him after getting your face crushed by that girl."
Leopard silently repeated those words, his expression darkening.
He hadn’t been able to answer despite wanting to. After all, he was seeking Cameron to pay back that slap on the face double.
The gap between himself and the upper-year students was simply too great. What frustrated him even more was knowing that, within a week, the same gap would exist for Cher and Silas.
After exhausting every possible option, only one path remained. Slowly, he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a cold object.
It was a strange emblem carved from dragon bone.
"I only have this path left if I want the dragon blood."
His fingers tightened around it as he recalled the words he had heard before leaving the mine. Fear still lingered in his heart, yet his determination slowly began to outweigh it.
Every step along that path promised danger.
Yet the alternative was even harder to accept.
"I’d rather live in fear with strength than live in safety while remaining weak... and humiliated."
The moment he reached his decision, Leopard stood up without hesitation, left his dorm, and headed toward a place he had hoped never to visit.
A dangerous meeting awaited him, one he knew would change the course of his life forever.