Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 544: I Need To Buy More Time

"Is everyone here?" Professor Rowan asked. "Class Presidents, please make sure that all of your classmates are accounted for."

It was now time for the students of Frieden Academy to return to the Kingdom of Avalon. The Headmaster would personally send them back.

He was the Paragon of Space, so instantaneous travel was not difficult for him.

Distances that took people days could be covered in seconds with his power.

"Headmaster, Class 1-A is all here," Prince Edward stated.

"Class 1-B all present!"

"Class 1-C are all accounted for, Sir."

The representatives of Class 1-D to Class 1-F also declared that none of their classmates were missing.

Professor Rowan nodded before shifting his attention to his counterpart, Professor Harry.

"Thank you for taking care of my students, Harry," Professor Rowan said. "In the future, feel free to send your students to my place as well. I’ll take good care of them and poach the talented ones!"

Professor Harry chuckled as he shook hands with the Paragon of Space. "You bastard, you still dare to set your eyes on my talented students even after you have those two... errr three?"

Naturally, the Headmaster was referring to Renard and Charles. He only mentioned three because Alex was also a very promising student.

He not only excelled in blackmail—errr business deals, but was also a very capable student whom Harry would want to take under his wing if possible.

Professor Rowan also chuckled because he understood that having wonderful prodigies was indeed something that the Headmaster of every academy took pride in.

After bidding goodbye to the friends that they had made during their short stay at Solara Academy, the students returned to the center of the plaza, which was now glowing faintly due to a grand magical formation.

"Let’s go," Professor Rowan said softly. "Back to Frieden Academy!"

A flash of light washed over the entire student body before they all transformed into beams of light that soared across the skies like comets.

Rewarding the students from Solara with this light show was Professor Rowan’s way of repaying them for their hospitality. He was also asking Professor Harry, "I can do this! Can you?"

When the lights finally disappeared over the horizon, Harry only shook his head helplessly because he simply couldn’t do what Professor Rowan had done.

Of course, had he been a Paragon, he would have been able to do something similar that could inspire potential talents into joining his academy.

———

Plaza of Frieden Academy...

Hundreds of beams of light descended from the heavens as the First Years finally returned to their own academy.

"Today will be a rest day, but do not forget that your regular classes will resume tomorrow," Professor Rowan reminded the students before taking his leave.

Truth be told, Alex wanted to empty his head and just relax for the rest of the day because many things had happened in the Kingdom of Solara.

But just as he was about to do that, a little bun landed on his shoulder and lightly poked his cheek.

"Dim Dim!"

"Youu want to go and play with Daisy and your friends from the farm?"

"Dim!"

"Okay. Have fun."

After notifying Alex, the little bun leaped off his shoulder and hurried towards the farm to tell its friends that it had finally returned.

The first thing Dim Dim wanted to do was to go on a patrol with Daisy and the Forest Wolf, Rex, who were now its closest friends among the beasts of Fran’s farm.

"I’ll also go back to the farm," Fran said with a smile. "You’re going to have lunch with me later, right?"

"I will." Alex nodded. "See you later."

Alex gave the young lady a hug before reluctantly pulling back to let her go.

After their experience inside the Whispering Valley, both of them had agreed to go to the Shadow Forest to see if the graves of their friends were still in one place and had not been desecrated over the years.

Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to wait long. In two weeks, there would be a holiday that would give them two days off before the weekend. That should be enough for them to make the trip.

’Next week, I’ll visit the Clawford Tribe with Lavinia,’ Alex thought. ’The week after that, Fran and I will head to the Shadow Forest.’

Just as he thought that he already had everything under control, Lumi tugged his shirt.

"Latifa wants to see you at the clock tower," Lumi whispered.

"I understand," Alex replied. "I’ll go and see her now."

Lumi had told him yesterday that Latifa had seen what had happened in the dungeon through her.

This also meant that she was now aware of Fran’s and Alex’s new relationship.

After he arrived at the clock tower, Latifa immediately gestured for him to approach her bed.

Just like always, the young lady was lying on her personal bed near the glass panels of the clock tower that overlooked the academy.

Alex then sat on the bed and gazed at the young lady, whom he hadn’t seen for a while.

Although Lumi looked just like Latifa, there were some minute differences between them.

Lumi had a sharper look while Latifa seemed gentler.

As for Lotte, she was a livelier version of Latifa. She socialized easily whenever she felt like it.

That was something that Latifa wouldn’t be able to do because being around people exhausted her.

She preferred to sleep and laze around all day and let her Alters do everything for her.

This included going to classes, taking down notes, doing assignments, etc.

"I miss you," Latifa said as she hugged Alex’s waist, prompting the young man to lower his head and kiss her hair.

Since she had no intention of sitting up, Alex decided to lie down beside her and give her a hug as well.

The two didn’t say anything for a while and simply held each other, enjoying this moment of intimacy that was exclusive to them.

A few minutes later, Latifa finally spoke up.

"Alex, how about you make Fran an honorary member of our club?" Latifa proposed. "That way, she can visit us anytime once she is done with her farming duties."

"That’s a great idea," Alex replied. "I’ll mention this during our lunch later."

"Un." Latifa hummed before closing her eyes.

She slightly activated the power of the Verdant Throne, allowing Alex’s body to resonate with hers.

Although different from the Gaia Rings, the Verdant Throne also manifested its true strength when both of its wielders were together.

Alex felt the warmth spreading across his entire body and enjoyed the sensation of the two Verdant Thrones resonating with each other.

Two minutes later, the power subsided a bit, but the closeness that they had felt at that moment remained.

Lotte and Lumi had also left the clock tower and stood guard outside the door.

They had intended to let Alex and Latifa have some time with each other because the young lady had truly missed him.

Unknown to both of them, a little devil was peeking at Alex and Lumi from a corner of the glass panels.

It had a mischievous expression, but it soon flew back to Himea.

Just like Latifa, the young lady who always wore a fox mask was also paying close attention to Alex’s movements.

While she didn’t know what had happened in the Whispering Valley, she sensed that the young man had grown closer to Fran.

"Two more to go," Himea murmured as she gazed at the clock tower from the distance.

A moment later, she turned into black mist and faded away in the shadows where she belonged.

The Devil joined her discreetly as she made her way back to their own tower, which was located at the northern side of the campus.

"Although it didn’t progress in the way we were expecting, progress was still made," the Devil said as he landed on Himea’s right shoulder. "That’s a good thing, right?"

"Yes," Himea replied. "It is indeed a good thing."

"So, who will be next?" the Devil asked. "Is it the lucky girl or the elven princess who has an inferiority complex?"

Himea didn’t answer right away.

Instead, she walked towards the window and allowed the breeze to ruffle up her hair.

"I don’t really care who it will be as long as things proceed according to plan," Himea replied.

"Easier said than done." The Devil smirked. "After all, he has changed many things. The future that he knows may not come to pass."

Himea tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded.

"That’s why I’ll need your help when trouble comes knocking on our door," Himea said.

"And you will have it." The Devil patted his chest with confidence. "As long as we are not going to fight a Rank 9 or a Paragon, I will be able to let you escape by hook or by crook."

Himea smiled faintly.

The Devil was right.

Although the story was still unfolding normally, there was no telling how long this would last.

Alex’s actions had already created a butterfly effect and introduced unknown variables to the original plot.

The Demon Worshipers, the Church of Death, the Void-Touched, as well as other factions would soon raise the tension.

Himea closed her eyes and hummed a tune.

What she could do was very limited, but one thing was clear.

’I need to buy more time,’ Himea thought. ’Time that will allow them all to grow.’

Since the original timelines were no longer relevant, no one would know when the true powerhouses would appear.

Himea wasn’t aware that the Vampire Lord had already made contact with Alex, leaving the young man terrified that he would be erased from the world without being able to even resist.

Fortunately, the worst case scenario hadn’t happened.

But that didn’t mean that something similar would not come to pass.

If Alex wasn’t lucky then he might come face to face with an individual that wasn’t as forgiving and patient like the Vampire Lord, who had spared him because of his history with Lex and Evangeline.

—-----

A/N: Happy New Year! Regular Chapters will resume tomorrow (unless something unexpected happens).