Woosh!
The hot air of the desert rushes toward Kuro as he pops out of the shadow. He looks around, trying to sense the awakeners. However, he senses no one in the vicinity, which confuses him.
Bang!
The secret door that was concealing the entrance to the prison was blasted open as Kisara made her way toward him.
Kuro tries sensing his surroundings again, still not sensing anyone.
"That weird?" His brow furrowed.
"What's weird? You running away?" Kisara shot him a glair.
"No. Not that. I'm talking about not sensing any awakeners in the vicinity. Especially after you caused such a loud noise."
"Well, excuse me for being loud. Hump!"
Kuro chose to ignore her for now. It seems that being locked up for so long has flipped some weird switches.
"Follow me. We're going back to the academy immediately. I don't like the feeling I am getting." Kuro started walking toward Cairo.
The closer he got to the city, the more uneasy he felt. The streets were more sparse than he remembered. People were in a rush to finish whatever they were doing. He tried to talk to a few locals, but they just looked at him before rushing again.
'Find out what is happening.' Kuro ordered a few of his foot soldiers.
A few shadowy dots darted out from his shadow into the surroundings.
"I see that your power?" Kisara asked, looking at the disappearing shadow soldiers. "How many do you have anyway?"
"Does it matter?" Kuro tilted his head back. "What matters is that they can do their part."
"Cold, aren't you?"
Kuro just shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what you think."
Soon, both reach the teleport area as the foot soldiers rush back into Kuro's shadow and informing him about what they learned.
"Oh? Lost connection with Australia?" Kuro muse.
An awakener stops Kuro, but Kuro shows him his academy ID. The awakener let him and Kisara pass after checking the ID's authenticity. However, the awakener was confused since Kuro's record showed he had already gone back to the academy not long ago.
"Oh well. Not getting paid enough to stick my nose in." The awakener just shrugs his shoulders before going back to his duty.
…
SHROOM!
The portal swarmed as Kuro and Kisara walked out of it.
Kuro looked around and found that the portal lounge was also sparsely populated.
'Does it have anything to do with what happened in Australia?' He thought.
"Wow. So this is the academy? Look bleak for an academy. Are you sure this is the world's number 1 academy and not some academy that is about to close down?" Kisara asks after looking at the almost empty lounge.
Kuro didn't reply immediately, his eyes scanning the space as they walked through the lounge. The once bustling area, filled with students rushing to and fro, was eerily quiet.
"Something is off."
"Maybe your academy is losing its charm?"
Kuro ignored her sarcasm. Instead, he headed straight back home. He wanted to ask Brian what was happening.
He turns the doorknob and opens the front door.
CRACK!
He heard a cracking sound and looked down at his hand holding the door. He then turns back to see that the whole door has been ripped from the frame.
"?" Kuro tilded his head. "I know I haven't gotten that strong to the point I can no longer control my strength. He then pulled up his status.
[Stats]
Strength: 190
Stamina: 187
Agility: 216
Intelligence: 340
Perception: 192
(Available points to distribute: 372)
"Still the same. Then why?"
Kisara was laughing behind him, looking at the scene as if it were the best comedy show of all time.
"Dummy! Did you forget that you are also now a dragon? Hahahahaha!"
"Ah. Right." Kuro glanced at his new skill, 'Dragon Physique'. He thought the skill was a fraud since he could feel the changes or see changes in his stats. 'It seems not everything is reflected in the stats.'
Still, Kuro felt weird that Brian didn't come out to yell at him after the commotion. He leaned the door against the wall before making his way toward the living room. His foot soldiers also scout the rest of the house.
Kuro looked at the couch and saw the blanket that Brian was using, but did not see Brian. His soldiers also returned and reported that there was no one in the house.
"This is getting weirder." Kuro's face becomes serious. Kuro took out his phone and called Eli.
While Kuro was waiting for Eli to pick up, Kisara made her way toward the fridge with the guidance of Niji.
Niji helps open the fridge for Kisara. "Here, My Lady. Food for you."
Kisara looks at Niji and then at the food inside. "Oh, why, thank you. You are so kind, unlike someone else." She shot a glance toward Kuro.
Kuro looks at Kisara sitting down on a chair as she eats different foods offered by Niji, with Sanji and Yonshi joining in.
Kuro shook his head. Just then, the phone clicked, and Eli's voice came through.
"Hey, Kuro. What's up?"
"Something's not right. The academy is quiet, almost deserted. Have you heard anything? I'm looking for Brian, but no one seems to be around."
"Wait! You haven't heard about the news?!" Kuro could hear Eli raise his voice. "Where or what have you been doing all this time?!"
"Uh. Sleeping?" Kuro decided not to tell Eli he had saved a dragon and somehow signed an Eternal Contract.
"WHAT?! How can you be sleeping when the whole of Australia has fallen?!"
Whatever Kuro was about to say got stuck in his throat.
"What do you mean?"
Eli let out a heavy sigh before responding, his voice strained with tension. "It's gone, Kuro. The entire continent … wiped out. The S-rank dungeon breaks with no warning. The only S-ranker in Australia was a traitor. Now, all the monsters are making their way toward Asia and the council has ordered every available personnel to head toward Thailand to create a defense against the monsters. However, that would be difficult as a few S-rank traitors and their guilds are rebelling and trying to seize control."
Kuro's face darkened when he heard Eli's report.
Kisara, sensing the shift in Kuro's demeanor, paused mid-bite and looked at him curiously. "What's going on? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"It seems the problem is worse than I thought. Also, the S-rank dungeon breaking now is way too coincidental to be a fluke." Kuro turns toward Kisara, only to see her sitting there like a queen as Niji, Sanji, and Yonshi feed her grapes.
"..."
Kuro has no words. He questions if his shadows have betrayed him for a beautiful lady.
"Oh. It seems Bercus can no longer wait." Kisara replied as she downed another grape.
"Bercus?" Kuro asks.
"Yes. Bercus, the commander in charge of the operation to take over the first floor. He would regularly visit me when I was imprisoned, saying I could get my freedom if I married him."
Kuro's fists clenched at his sides, and his breath hitched for a brief moment as anger surged within him. He quickly calmed down, trying to control his emotions.
'What is this feeling?' Kuro asks himself, but ignores it for now.
His phone buzzed again, Eli's voice crackling through the line. "Kuro, are you still there?"
Kuro didn't bother with pleasantries. "Yes. Where are you and Lira? What about the students?"
Eli's voice grew tense as he replied, "Students are on standby. We are ordered to stay within the academy grounds and wait for further orders."
"Alright. Keep an eye out for traitors. I need to find my Gramp."
"Sure. You be careful. Too many traitors are targeting academy students."
"I will."
With that, Kuro dropped the call and spoke to Kisara. "I guess we are heading toward Thailand. I have a feeling Brian is there."
"Your call." She shrugs as she gets up and walks toward Kuro. Niji, Sanji, and Yonshi immediately rush toward Kuro's shadow, avoiding making eye contact.
Kuro looked at them and then his skill and saw that he could use Shadow Exchange again.
"Shadow Exchange"
Shadow enveloped him and Kisara as they disappeared, exchanging places with a shadow soldier placed in Brian's shadow.