Chapter 204

A few hours later, even the royal knight fell behind.

Artin had finally surrendered to exhaustion, his pursuit ending somewhere in the forest behind her. The world had thinned to silence. Early morning crept in, that fragile hour before dawn when the sky held its breath and the sun had not yet decided to exist.

After a few moments, the [Lich] had finally descended.

Not dramatically. Not in defiance. It drifted downward like a failing leaf, enchanted dark boots brushing bark as one skeletal hand pressed against a tree. It stayed there, unmoving, as though listening to the forest. As though resting. As if catching its breath.

Kana slowed, crouching high among the branches of a towering tree, leaves brushing her shoulders. She tilted her head.

Bones don’t breathe, right? she thought. Is it suffering from mana exhaustion?

The [Lich] lifted its skull, turning slowly. It scanned the woods, searching for pursuers. There were none. No adventurers. No knights. Nothing.

But Kana was there.

Far enough to be nothing. Close enough to deal a decent amount of damage.

Then she saw it.

A shift beneath the cloak. Not large. Not obvious. Just a slight displacement, a ripple where there should have been stillness. Something inside the [Lich] adjusted its position, as though reacting to the monster’s fatigue.

If not for her [High Awareness], Kana would have missed it entirely.

There.

Her breath slowed down.

She drew her bow in one smooth motion, fingers brushing the fletching of her most expensive arrow. Mana slid into the shaft passively from [True Shot] effect. Slowly, carefully, she pulled the string back, muscles trembling not from fear but from exhaustion held barely at bay.

She released.

[True Shot]

The arrow did not simply fly. Kana swore it was the fastest arrow she had ever pulled off. Was it because she was above? Perhaps something else?

Critical Hit?

The [Lich] did not turn in time. It did not raise a barrier. It did not even scream until after the sound reached Kana’s ears.

A sharp, crystalline crack rang through the forest.

Like glass shattering into pieces.

The arrow struck near the abdomen, slipping beneath the cloak, and the [Lich] roared. But this roar was wrong. Gone was the ancient authority, the command that bent the night itself. What remained was thin, fractured. A cry pulled from something that had already been lost.

The skeletal body unraveled, collapsing inward as if the idea holding it together had been withdrawn. Bones shimmered for a moment then vanished into dust. The magic dispersed.

Only the cloak remained, fluttering to the forest floor.

[You have leveled up!]

Kana’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden notification. She didn’t expect a single monster kill outside the dungeon could contribute to her exp. She grinned. One more level! 

She dropped from the tree and ran. Her heart pounded as she reached the spot, eyes scanning greedily, foolishly, for an item drop. There was none. No glowing core. No reward for the hours of pursuit.

Just the black enchanted cloak.

She picked it up, heavy with lingering corruption, and slung it over her shoulder. That should count as evidence.

The run back was slower. Pain caught up to her now that the danger was gone. Not to mention the sleepiness made her head feel lighter than usual though her eyes felt so heavy. She found Artin collapsed among the roots of an old tree, asleep in a way only the utterly exhausted could manage. Kana nudged him with her boot.

He groaned awake as she held up the cloak.

Artin blinked, immediately noticed the cloak over her shoulder, then smiled weakly. “Great… victory,” he muttered. “Can I continue… I don’t care.. I will sleep. Don’t bother me.”

Kana’s legs finally gave permission.

The forest, at last, allowed them to rest.

….

Kana woke up from the smell of smoke. She scratched her eyes and saw Artin roasting a small meat on the bonfire.

“You finally wake up. Have some, we should go back to them.” Artin said.

He’s back now? I swear he was a different person earlier. Kana thought. Artin was his usual self. Unlike before who seemed angry at the world for not having enough sleep.

“How long did I sleep?” Kana asked.

“A little more than ten hours.” Arin said.

“I missed a few classes then.” Kana said, sighing. 

Artin chuckled,”That’s what you’re worried about? Principal Light will probably award you after this.”

Kana hesitated,"You think so?”

….

Kana and Artin did not walk far before figures emerged from the trees ahead, lanterns bobbing like wary stars. A group of adventurers, weapons still drawn, eyes sharp with the expectation of battle that had not yet found its end.

They froze when they saw Kana.

And then the familiar dark cloak over her shoulder.

Kana explained it simply. No embellishment. No triumph. Just facts spoken by someone too tired to decorate them. The [Lich] had fled. It had weakened. It had fallen. She simply shot her arrow in its most vulnerable state.

Silence followed.

One of the adventurers exhaled slowly, shoulders sagging as if a weight he had carried for days had finally been set down. They exchanged looks, nodded, and turned back toward the forest, their mission complete at last.

By the time Kana reached the southern wall, the sky had fully surrendered to morning. Pale light washed over stone and steel, softening the city’s edges.

She slowed, scanning the gate.

No professors. No students. No familiar figures waiting with questions or concern.

“…Where are they?” she muttered.

She looked around once more. Suri wasn’t even here though she could feel the weak and small presence of her illusion latched to her.

A guard noticed her hesitation and straightened. “Ah. Scout Suri already informed everyone. She said you defeated the [Lich] and were… sleeping.” He scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed. “They moved ahead after that. She told me to pass the message along.”

Kana blinked.

So that was it.

The adventurers who had spotted her earlier must have returned before the fight came to end. Before the chase stretched into a day and a night. Before her arrow shattered something ancient.

“Right…” Kana said softly.

She handed the tattered dark cloak to Artin, its fabric still humming faintly with dead mana. He accepted it with a tired nod, then turned toward the city, his steps uneven but steady. Artin should have been transformed into a flying creature to deliver the news to the king but it looked like his mana was not fully recovered yet.

Looks like the class [Druid] have a slow mana recovery. Kana took a mental note.

Kana turned the other way and walked for a few hours.

The academy gates welcomed her with quiet indifference. Morning bells echoed faintly in the distance as she crossed the grounds, boots scuffing stone, body finally admitting how deeply it ached.

She pushed open the boardroom door.

“Ughh. What is that smell?”

Suri jolted upright, clamping a hand over her nose. Not even surprised at Kana's arrival, “ I strongly advise you to take a bath before entering a classroom. Or breathing near anyone. Or existing in enclosed spaces.”

Kana did not answer. She swore people earlier in the streets were avoiding her.. Was it because of the stench of the [Lich] cloak? Why couldn't she smell herself even with her [High Awareness]?

Suri squinted, then tilted her head. “Wait… are you sulking?”

Kana’s eyes slid toward her, flat and exhausted. “Thanks to some friends who didn’t wait for me.”

Suri sighed, rubbing her temples. “I wanted to. Really. But Principal Light forced us back the moment I confirmed that [Lich] was dead. Blame him.”

“I’m going to bath as you requested.”

…

Kana’s black hair was still wet and found herself with a thin slice of freedom before the first bell rang. Just enough time to wander. Just enough time to breathe.

She turned her steps toward the copper classroom, the corridor still half-asleep. Frost clung to the windows, catching the pale morning light and scattering it into faint prisms across the stone floor. Inside, the room carried the low murmur of students easing into the day. The scent of ink, old paper, and lingering mana hung in the air.

“Kana!”

Rin’s voice cut through the noise. She waved enthusiastically from her seat, Suri already beside her, chin propped on one hand, eyes half-lidded as if she were only pretending to be awake.

Kana raised a hand in greeting and barely had time to take two steps before Roy appeared in front of her, moving with the kind of urgency that suggested sleepless planning.

“Kana,” Roy said, eyes bright, voice lowered as if speaking of a sacred thing, “you have it, right?”

Kana blinked. Then realization dawned.

“The [Lich] bones?” she asked.

Roy nodded rapidly.

Kana scratched her cheek, already dreading the disappointment she was about to deliver. “The bones… I mean, the body vanished the moment I killed it. The corpse left no corpse behind.”

Roy froze.

Then his shoulders slumped, all the excitement draining out of him like air from a punctured bladder. “Ah… that’s a pity,” he muttered. “I was hoping… to get a [Mage] like summon…?”

Kana imagined the chaos that would follow if Roy ever succeeded in adding a [Lich] to his collection. It could be a good additional damage dealer to their end of school year break  dungeon raids.

She moved past him toward Rin and Suri when Rin leaned closer, lowering her voice. “By the way, Elle York was looking for you earlier.”

Kana paused. Why do I feel like this happened just a few hours ago?

“She said you need to attend a student council meeting after your last class,” Rin added.

Kana opened her mouth, already forming an excuse. Training. Literally anything else.

“I was planning—” she began, then stopped.

She exhaled. “Alright. I’ll go.”

Suri cracked one eye open and glanced at her. “It looks quite serious and urgent.”

Her day, it seemed, had already chosen its direction.

…..

When the afternoon bell rang, Kana felt the sensation before she understood it.

That quiet tightening in her chest.

That sense of inevitability.

Deja vu.

Her steps slowed as she stood before the familiar doors of the student council room. Polished wood. 

She entered.

Leo Stark waved his hand to her. Kana went beside him.

Elle York cleared her throat, the sound sharp in the otherwise calm room. Her posture was immaculate, hands folded, expression carefully neutral. “Welcome back, Kana. Principal Light instructed me to announce this once you returned.”

Kana did not sit immediately. Experience had taught her that announcements delivered in this room were rarely good news.

Elle continued, “Due to the recent [Lich] incident, as you all know, students were temporarily tasked with night patrols inside the city.”

A murmur rippled through the council members. Obviously hated the task.

“The city officials noticed something unexpected,” Elle said. “During that period, the crime rate at night dropped to nearly zero.”

Elle lifted a document, the parchment catching the light. “As a result, they have proposed to continue the effective night patrol to combat illegal activities at night to the king. The king immediately agreed to the proposal. However, not just those in the top five but the top ten ranking groups from the annual tournament, including the student council members, will conduct regular night patrols.”

Groans followed immediately. Soft at first. Then less restrained.

Kana leaned back in her chair, already tired.

“To prevent burnout,” Elle added quickly, “only two groups will be assigned per night, weekends only.”

That did nothing to help though some sighed in relief, especially Valdis.

Kana exhaled through her nose. Level thirty hovered just out of reach, close enough to taste. Night patrols meant lost grinding hours. Lost dungeon runs. 

Her fingers tapped against the armrest once. Then she spoke.

“Are we getting anything in exchange?” Kana asked.

Elle met her gaze without flinching. “An additional allowance from the academy. And exemption from classes on nights you are assigned to patrol.”

Kana raised an eyebrow.

“Attendance remains optional,” Elle clarified. “Whether you choose to attend class the next day is up to you.”

A few members straightened at that, though the fourth year students seemed glad at the additional perk.

“The current academy patrol units composed of the scout type classes will also be disbanded,” Elle continued. “They’ll be integrated into this new system.”

Kana sighed, the sound long and unguarded.

Coin was nice but she had more than enough. At least for now.

Her gaze drifted toward the window, where the afternoon light slanted across the academy grounds. She could already imagine Suri’s reaction. Her night on night patrol duty after all would now be just one night only.

Kana, on the other hand, felt only the weight of it.

Another responsibility. Going on the streets at night was probably not a good idea.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

“Great,” she muttered.

Post note:
One lvl up away to get the promoted class!
Trio current levels: Kana at 29, Suri at 26, and Boris at 25
Hope you enjoy the chap! 🙂