Payment for your service

Before Silas could press forward and finish the fight, he felt a hand clamp down on his arm. His instincts immediately told him to defend himself, but when he turned to face the person, he held back. It wasn't an attacker.

A young woman clad in shiny brown armor stood behind him, gripping his arm firmly. Her presence was calm, yet commanding.

"Enough," Kara ordered, her voice cutting through the chaotic noise in the cafeteria with a tone of finality that left no room for argument.

Silas blinked, recognizing her instantly. Of course, there was no forgetting a face like hers.

'Mrs. Kara? What's she doing here?' Silas thought, confusion washing over him as he stared at the academy instructor. Kara was a known figure at the Arc 3 Academy, but she rarely involved herself in any of the everyday affairs, let alone cafeteria brawls. She spent most of her time on high-risk raids in dangerous, high-grade realms. Seeing her intervene in a petty fight was… unprecedented.

Kara's arrival hadn't just stunned Silas; the entire cafeteria was in awe. Most of the students were familiar with her reputation, though many had never even seen her. Kara was one of the academy's elite—a warrior whose presence was only needed for the most dangerous missions. For her to show up here, in the middle of what seemed like a trivial skirmish, was beyond unusual.

Kara continued to hold Silas's arm, her sharp, observant eyes boring into his. She stared into his crimson eyes, searching, as if trying to understand something deeper about him. Finally, she let go of his arm and turned to leave, walking toward the exit without saying another word.

Silas watched her retreating form, scratching the back of his spiky hair in confusion.

'What's going on? She didn't even say anything,' Silas thought, puzzled. But before she reached the door, Kara stopped in her tracks, her head turning slightly, casting a cold, sidelong glance at Silas.

That look said it all.

'Oh. She wants me to follow her,' Silas realized, his pulse quickening. Without hesitation, he hurried to catch up, falling in step behind her as they left the cafeteria together.

Once the doors swung shut behind them, the tension that had gripped the cafeteria shattered, and the students erupted into murmurs and whispers. All eyes were now on Caleb, who still stood in the center, motionless, as if frozen in place.

"I can't believe that trash, Silas, beat up Caleb and his minions!"

"He wasn't even using any mutant armor or skills! What's going on with him?"

"Seriously, what's up with that guy? And Caleb didn't stand a chance! He got wrecked!"

"And here I thought Caleb was a big deal. Guess not."

"Caleb the Trash, more like."

The whispers grew louder, more vicious, each one like a knife twisting in Caleb's gut. He stood there, his eyes locked on the floor, fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood. The humiliation was unbearable, and the mocking laughter from the students cut deeper than any physical wound.

'I used to be someone. I used to be respected. Now… I'm just a joke. And it's all because of *him*,' Caleb fumed silently, his face flushing red with a mixture of anger and shame.

His mind raced with thoughts of revenge.

'You won today, Silas. But this isn't over. I'll make sure you pay for what you did. I'll kill you, and then we'll see who's the real trash.' Caleb's thoughts darkened as he glared at the doors Silas had walked through.

---

Outside the cafeteria, Kara and Silas walked silently down the academy's dimly lit hallways. The echo of their footsteps was the only sound between them, creating an eerie silence. Kara's pace was steady, purposeful, and Silas followed without a word, though the questions building up inside him were almost too much to bear.

He wanted to ask her why she had intervened. He wanted to know what she thought of what had just happened. But one glance at Kara's fierce, unreadable expression was enough to keep his mouth shut. There was a tension in the air that made Silas feel like any question could tip the balance, and so he remained silent, obediently following her lead.

As they continued to walk, Silas noticed something strange. They weren't heading toward any of the usual places—no classrooms, no offices. Instead, Kara led him up a stairway that he knew all too well.

The rooftop.

'Why are we going up here?' Silas wondered, growing more confused with every step.

After several minutes of silent walking, they finally reached the top. The rooftop was a wide, open space, cluttered with old, discarded equipment and the metallic scraps of past academy projects. The wind whistled softly across the expanse, ruffling Silas's hair and cooling his heated skin. From this vantage point, he could see the entire academy grounds and beyond, stretching out toward the distant city.

Kara continued walking until she reached the center of the roof, where she stopped and turned to face him. Silas, however, hesitated near the entrance, unsure of what to do next.

"Come here," Kara's voice rang out, firm and commanding.

Silas swallowed hard, hesitating only for a moment before walking over to join her. He stopped a few feet away, standing opposite her in the center of the rooftop, the wind swirling gently between them.

Without saying a word, Kara reached into her armor and pulled out a small brown leather pouch, no larger than her hand. She extended it toward Silas, who accepted it carefully, his curiosity piqued. He quickly untied the pouch and peered inside.

His eyes widened.

Inside were three sharp, bloodstained fangs and the tips of two vicious-looking claws, their edges gleaming in the sunlight.

"That's your share from the raid," Kara said evenly. "The rest of the valuable body parts were handed over to the higher-ups, considering the rest of the team didn't make it out."

Silas stared at the items in disbelief. He hadn't expected anything like this. After all, the raid had been a disaster, with everyone else on the team dead and him barely making it out alive. He had chosen not to harvest any of the god of the realm's body parts, fearing it would draw unwanted suspicion. Carving up a powerful mutant while being the sole survivor would have looked far too suspicious.

Still, the system had rewarded him well. Grade 2 armor, weapons, and a solid boost of attribute points had been enough to satisfy him. But this? This was more than he could have hoped for.

'Grade 5 fangs and claws? These things are worth a fortune,' Silas thought, remembering the exorbitant prices he had seen in the Blood Market. A single Grade 5 claw tip could go for over 900,000 Tokens. With just these items, he wouldn't have to worry about tokens for a long time.

"That should be more than enough to cover what you were promised before joining the raid, correct?" Kara's voice cut through his thoughts, reminding him of her presence.

Silas nodded quickly. "Yeah. It's more than enough."

"Good," Kara replied. Then, without warning, she stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them until she was just inches from his face. Her presence was cold, her eyes sharp and focused.

"And just so you know," she added in a voice that sent a chill down Silas's spine, "I didn't bring you up here just to give you those items."