Chapter 183: Light and Darkness 3.5
Enchantment stones weren’t exactly a necessity for them right now—especially with the semester nearly over.
They could’ve easily waited until prices dropped, or she could’ve gone to one of the cleaner, more reputable shops that offered the same goods at a fair price.
Yet Janica had still chosen to buy from the struggling old merchant, who was clearly having a hard time making any sales.
“W-what do you mean, kind?” Janica stammered, her usual sharpness faltering as her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink.
“You wanted to help that old merchant, didn’t you?” Lucas said, his smile widening knowingly.
“Huh? Why would I help that scammer?” she shot back, her face growing redder as she tried to brush off his accusation.
Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. “Come on, Janica. You could’ve easily gone somewhere else to buy your enchantment stones, but you didn’t. You knew he wasn’t making any sales, and even if his prices were a bit high, you still chose to buy from him.”
Janica’s mouth opened, then closed again as she struggled to come up with a counterargument.
Her blush deepened, and she finally turned away with a huff. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not like I care about some old guy’s shop. I just needed the stone, okay?”
But Lucas wasn’t fooled.
He had seen her face soften when the old man had explained his situation, talking about how hard it was to harvest mana stones during the winter.
Janica might be tough on the outside, but deep down, she had a heart of gold. Even if she pretended otherwise.
“Sure, sure,” Lucas said, his teasing tone making her scowl deepen. “You just needed the stone. Got it.”
Janica shot him a glare, but there was no real heat behind it. “Don’t make me punch you, Lucas.”
Lucas laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
For some time now, Lucas had been greatly worried that the incident with Professor Luke would have some hidden, long-lasting effects on Janica.
He had noticed how shaken she had been in the aftermath, and for weeks, he had silently observed her for signs of lingering distress.
But, to his relief, it seemed like she was bouncing back to her usual self—sarcastic, tough, and more than capable of handling whatever life threw at her.
“You said you wanted to buy something specific here in the market, right?” Lucas asked, casting a curious glance at Janica.
The small enchantment stones she had bought from the old merchant clearly weren’t the main reason for dragging him out into the bustling streets of the academy’s marketplace.
His curiosity piqued as he wondered what she was really searching for.
Janica shifted nervously, her eyes flickering away from him. “Yes… well, it’s not really about buying something.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“You’ll see when we get there!” she blurted out, a little too quickly.
Before he could press further, she hurriedly grabbed his arm, her fingers tightening around his sleeve.
Her cheeks and ears flushed a deep red, and Lucas couldn’t help but notice how flustered she had suddenly become.
Something was definitely up.
Janica, normally composed and confident, seemed uncharacteristically nervous as they made their way through the market.
Lucas could feel the warmth of her hand through his coat, and the blush on her face made him wonder just what she had planned.
There was no way she could tell him the truth.
No way she could admit that she was taking him to a place that had been whispered about among the female students at the academy—a place with a reputation so secretive that many of the girls wanted it kept hidden from the boys they liked.
[Lover’s Trail.]
It was a small, cozy café located just a few blocks away from the more popular Panda Café that was famous within the academy.
Lover’s Trail wasn’t as well-known, but that was part of its charm.
Hidden in a niche corner of the commercial district, it catered to a very specific clientele—young women who had heard the rumors about its “special effect.”
Supposedly, if two people who had feelings for each other shared a meal there, their love would fully bloom.
The café was said to have a special chef who prepared meals with ingredients that stirred the heart, intensifying feelings between those who dined together.
Of course, Janica knew that it was probably just a baseless rumor, a scam designed to attract love-struck students looking for an easy fix to their romantic troubles.
Still, she couldn’t ignore the possibility.
Janica’s heart raced as she thought about it.
She wasn’t the type to rely on superstitions or cheesy tricks like this, but after everything that had happened—especially with her growing feelings for Lucas—she felt a strange hope building inside her.
The idea of progressing her relationship with him, even just a little, without risking their friendship was too tempting to pass up.
And if there was even a tiny chance that the café’s “magic” could give her the courage to express herself better, then maybe… just maybe it was worth a shot.
As they walked through the snowy streets, Janica’s grip on Lucas’s arm tightened slightly, her nerves getting the better of her.
She could barely contain the blush creeping up her neck as her thoughts swirled with a mix of excitement and fear.
What if it worked? What if it didn’t? What if Lucas saw right through her plan?
“L-Let’s hurry up, shall we?” Janica stammered, her voice laced with urgency.
The sun was already starting to sink behind the academy buildings, casting long shadows across the marketplace.
She wasn’t sure how long the shop would stay open, and her nerves were getting the best of her.
“Janica, there’s no need to—” Lucas began, sensing her anxiety.
He wanted to remind her not to rush with so many people bustling around, but before he could finish his sentence, he felt it—a sharp, unsettling spike in the air.
His instincts kicked in, his senses suddenly on high alert.
It wasn’t just him. Janica, too, had felt it.
Her hand instinctively tightened around his, both of their gazes snapping upward toward the sky where a dense, eerie layer of mana was slowly gathering, swirling ominously above the academy.
“Did you feel that, Lucas?” Janica whispered, her voice barely audible over the noise of the busy marketplace.
“Yes…” Lucas muttered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area around them.
Although the disturbance had only lasted a few seconds, it was impossible for aura users like them to ignore.
That sudden mana spike, thick and suffocating, was a clear sign that something unnatural was unfolding nearby.
The guards patrolling the academy had noticed it too.
They were alert, their heads on a swivel as they tried to identify the source of the mana surge.
In situations like this, where mana condensed in such a way, the possibility of a dungeon or portal opening was always high.
Dungeons had been known to manifest out of nowhere, bringing with them hordes of dangerous creatures.
Suddenly, before either of them could take another step, the atmosphere shifted violently.
Darkness erupted all around them, flooding the streets like an incoming tide.
A thick, inky veil swallowed the vicinity, plunging the marketplace into a suffocating abyss.
The temperature dropped, and the once bustling sounds of people talking and vendors shouting were replaced by screams of panic as the crowd scattered.
GROOOAKKK!!!!
A monstrous, guttural sound pierced the air, and from the depths of the darkness, shadowy figures began to emerge.
They slithered and crawled from the blackened ground, their bodies grotesque and malformed.
Creatures made entirely of darkness, with long, blade-like claws and razor-sharp teeth, snarled as they crawled toward Janica and Lucas.
Their glowing eyes burned with malevolence, and their bodies twitched with an unsettling hunger as if they had been waiting for this moment.
“Lucas what’s going on?”
“I don’t know…”
The creatures lunged forward, their movements unnaturally fast, their claws slashing through the air as they targeted the two students.
Lucas stepped in front of Janica, his blade flashing as he met the first creature head-on.
With a swift, precise strike, he cleaved through the shadowy beast, but instead of blood, it dissolved into a puff of dark smoke, its form dissipating into the surrounding gloom.
“Watch your back!” Janica warned, her voice sharp.
She sidestepped one of the creatures, her rapier flashing in a brilliant arc as she deflected its claws.
The sound of metal clashing with shadow filled the air, and with a swift follow-up strike, she pierced through its chest, only to watch it vanish into the same black mist.
But there were too many.
For every creature they destroyed, more seemed to appear, crawling from the darkness that covered the streets.
The eerie veil of shadows continued to press in on them, suffocating the marketplace and leaving the two of them surrounded.
As more and more creatures began to rise from the shadows beneath them, Lucas and Janica realized they were in a far more perilous situation than they had anticipated.
The sheer number of shadowy beasts emerging from the darkness seemed endless, a relentless tide of claws and fangs.
“Where are the professors… what about the guards? Why did they suddenly disappear?” Janica muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning the chaotic scene around them.
The guards who had been patrolling the academy just moments ago were nowhere to be seen.
It was as if they had been swallowed by the very darkness now creeping through the streets.
All that remained were scattered academy students, desperately trying to fight off the monsters, and civilians running in every direction, panic etched across their faces.
“Protect the civilians first,” Lucas ordered, his voice steady despite the rising tension. He didn’t waste a second, quickly activating his aura.
A brilliant golden light wrapped itself around his blade, crackling with energy, and soon spread to encompass his entire body.
Janica followed suit.
Her own reddish-green aura flared to life, swirling around her like a protective storm.
Her eyes hardened as she tightened her grip on her rapier.
[Golden Shower!] Lucas called out the essence of his technique and sword glowing brighter by the moment, the golden light exploding into a rain of sharp, radiant energy.
With a sweeping motion, he unleashed his technique, cutting down several creatures in one swift move, the golden energy cleaving through their shadowy forms as if they were nothing more than mist.
[Piercing Blades!] Janica’s voice followed immediately after, her rapier glowing with her aura as she thrust it forward, sharp beams of energy shooting from the tip of her weapon.
Each strike pierced through the monsters with deadly precision, dissipating their dark forms into nothingness.
The two worked in perfect harmony, their skills weaving together in a seamless dance of light and destruction.
Despite the dire situation, there was no hesitation.
They knew what needed to be done.
As much as they wanted to figure out the source of the strange mana surge, their duty as knights came first.
The safety of the civilians had to be their top priority.
“We need to keep them moving!” Lucas shouted, cutting down another creature as it lunged at a group of fleeing students.
His golden aura shimmered like a beacon in the darkness, a guiding light for those trying to escape.
Janica was right beside him, her strikes swift and precise, her aura burning bright.
“Over here!” she called out, directing the civilians toward safer paths as she fended off another wave of monsters.
Under the oppressive veil of darkness, their auras were the only lights in the square, dancing through the gloom as they cut down every monster that dared approach.
The square itself had become a battlefield, with explosions and bursts of mana lighting up the distant corners as other students fought to contain the chaos.
The sounds of combat—clashing steel, growls, and explosions—echoed through the air, mingling with the terrified screams of the civilians.
….
“I thought I told you to make sure no other key players got involved, Oz…” Dorothy muttered in a tired voice, her eyes narrowing as she sensed the presence of two powerful auras below.
Flying near the top of the clock tower, she dodged beams and swords of light that rained down in relentless barrages.
Even in the midst of battle, she instantly recognized those auras.
It only took her a few seconds to identify them—Lucas and Janica.
Their mana signatures were unmistakable.
“You’re going to ruin the whole play at this rate,” she added, her frustration evident.
Oz, standing a short distance behind her, deflected a spear of light that aimed directly for their heads.
The spear shattered against his defense, sending sparks of mana into the air. “You know I don’t handle vague orders well. And besides, she’s already wrecking your scenario. Focus on your own battle, Dorothy.”
Dorothy gritted her teeth, knowing he was right but not liking it.
She couldn’t afford distractions right now. Her thoughts were plagued with concern, but she shoved them aside.
The situation had spiraled out of her control, and for now, she needed to focus on surviving the monstrous opponent before her.
With a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the battlefield, staring at the adversary looming in front of her.
Blood dripped from various cuts across her face and body, staining her uniform as her muscles burned with fatigue.
Her limbs felt heavy, her body sizzling with mana exhaustion.
Dark spots and bruises marred her skin, clear signs of how brutal the fight had been so far.
Dorothy had known that Rose was powerful. Everyone did.
The “Genius of the Century,” they called her.
But the level of strength she was displaying now was beyond anything Dorothy had fully anticipated.
It wasn’t just Rose’s mana—it was the raw intensity and control behind it, the way she effortlessly wielded light as if it was an extension of her very being.
Rose hovered in the air, surrounded by a swirling vortex of light, her cold, shimmering eyes focused on Dorothy.
The veil of darkness around the battlefield contrasted sharply with the brilliance of Rose’s aura.
The light shone down with an overwhelming purity, casting sharp shadows over everything below.
Dorothy could feel the sheer pressure of Rose’s mana pushing against her, like the weight of a thousand suns.
Dorothy’s frustration grew as she watched Rose obliterate wave after wave of shadow monsters with ease.
The high-ranking shadow soldiers, which should have at least stalled Rose long enough to buy Dorothy some time, had fallen in an instant.
Dorothy knew Rose well—her abilities, her mindset, her weaknesses—but the raw power and unyielding determination Rose was displaying now contradicted everything Dorothy had prepared for.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
Dorothy had hoped that the chaos below, with monsters terrorizing civilians and other students, would force Rose to divert her attention and prioritize saving the people.
But it hadn’t worked.
Instead, Rose had dispatched the creatures without hesitation, her focus solely on one thing—and it wasn’t the safety of others.
It was Riley.
Dorothy’s own body ached, the dark spots on her skin throbbing as she continued to push her mana to its limits just to stay in the fight.
Her uniform was torn, blood dripping from cuts that hadn’t had time to heal.
She had known Rose was powerful—a genius, even—but this… this was on another level.
Each of Rose’s attacks was imbued with overwhelming magical force, and Dorothy had been on the defensive from the start, dodging and shielding herself from the relentless onslaught of light.
“Aren’t you worried about the people below?” Dorothy asked, her voice laced with nervousness.
She hoped to at least provoke some sort of reaction from Rose, anything to shift the balance of power.
Rose, however, didn’t flinch.
Her cold, emotionless eyes remained locked on Dorothy. “Where is he?” she asked, her voice like ice, cutting through the tension of the battlefield.
The air around Rose shimmered, her mana continuing to rise in intensity, swelling like a storm about to break.
Dorothy’s heart raced.
She had expected anger, maybe even desperation, but this cold determination from Rose unnerved her.
Rose wasn’t distracted, wasn’t concerned about anyone or anything except her singular objective.
“Where is Riley?” Rose repeated, her tone dangerously calm.
Behind her, hundreds of spears of light materialized, each one pointed directly at Dorothy, their sharp edges glowing with deadly intent.
‘Shit….’
Dorothy swallowed hard.
