Chapter 33: Weekend

Creed Mansion,

Controlled Dungeon.

It was a Saturday.

"Strange. You're not the type to get involved in this sort of thing. It's rare to see you here."

Damian stretched his arms, dressed in a black tank top and matching trousers—perfect for this kind of activity.

He said that while glancing to the golden-eyed lazy male that definitely had no concerns being here considering the type of character he has.

"Well, lately, I've been working on some new techniques, so I figured I'd try them out."

"A direct Shane? Hah. The world must be ending soon."

Damian shook his head, but Shane looked visibly offended, his mouth widening slightly in protest.

For some reason, every action he took seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

He really wanted to shout, 'What do you take me for?' but ultimately held his tongue.

No—now that he thought about it, he wasn't exactly innocent either.

"Haah. Forget that." Shane sighed. "You're here for the upcoming competition?"

"Hm. Pretty much. There are rumors about what it'll be like—not to mention the attendees."

As a member of the student council, Damian had access to information most students couldn't get their hands on.

He had seen the list of participants, which had been shared by the student council president with the Disciplinary Council.

"It's that big of a deal, huh?"

News had already spread that other races had arrived in Southern Helia, and with the event officially announced, the entire world would be watching.

And in such a grand event, the Creed would inevitably be exposed to the world.

They stood in a clearing, the ground a dry brown, but beyond them stretched a vast forest, trees sprawling as far as the eye could see.

From where they stood, a path led into the green forest.

"Since it's been left untouched for so long, I should expect stronger monsters, no?"

Damian mused, glancing at Shane from the corner of his eye.

Shane gave a slight nod.

They hadn't used the dungeon in a while, so it was only natural that new, more powerful monsters had spawned.

As for the risk of a dungeon break, that wasn't even a concern, not with Shane here.

A specialized barrier surrounded the dungeon outside, one capable of restraining even Enlightened-Above monsters.

And beyond its sheer strength, the barrier was infused with a part of Shane's own ability—one that could continuously revert its state, ensuring its integrity no matter what.

There was no need to worry.

"By the way, what's the first-years' lineup?"

Shane asked as they slowly made their way toward the forest ahead through the path in front of them.

"Enma, me, Arianna, Ayaka, Ciaris."

Shane nodded in understanding. This lineup was for the team battles—matches against other schools. However, there was one glaring issue.

"But that lineup—"

"It's chaotic. I know. But it could also work out, no?"

That was true. While it might not seem like it at first glance, Enma actually excelled as a support—though not in the traditional sense.

His abilities revolved around debuffs, allowing him to inflict debuffs like hallucinations, fatigue, blindness, and various other status ailments on opponents.

Arianna would naturally take command, while Damian and Ayaka would serve as the main attackers.

As for Ciaris, when taking his paranormal existence which made him invisible to most people, he could also assist them greatly.

"I see." Shane murmured, giving it another thought. "It's actually not that bad of a team."

Shane said that, turning to Damian as he began tracing strange symbols in the air.

"[𐍖𐍀𐍗𐍔𐍉𐍂]"

With a flick of his fingers, the glowing runes shot toward Damian, wrapping him in a golden light.

The moment it settled, Damian felt his base strength double—a sudden surge of power coursing through his body.

He glanced at Shane, eyes narrowing in surprise.

"So, this is what you've been researching?"

"The Runic Language of the Celestial Forge—the magic used by celestials."

Shane explained twirling his raised index in the air, his habit whenever it came to explaining his interest as of late.

"While it is not perfect, but I'd say it's manageable."

"...Not perfect?"

Damian muttered, feeling his lips twitch. Only Shane would say something like that.

Most enchantments didn't inherently double someone's base strength, even if they were derived from runes.

Yet here Shane was, casually treating it as an imperfect prototype.

But there was no time to dwell on that.

"Alright then. Let's see how much output I can muster without using force or mana."

His gaze shifted upward—above the thick canopy of trees.

Emerging from the shadows, one-eyed monsters loomed over them, their crimson eyes gleaming with menace.

They watched Damian and Shane, gripping their massive clubs tightly.

This was their territory—and the two had trespassed.

"Krck krch rhh."

"Ratr rah dual!"

SNAP!

It was a casual flick of his fingers.

Damian had bent down, picked a small pebble from the ground, flicking it effortlessly.

However—

SPLURT! BOOM!

That simple flick carried such force that it completely erased a group of over ten trolls in an instant.

Looking at the macabre of corpse that was left behind by the monsters, Damian clenched and unclenched his fists over and over again.

"Oh? Shane, this spell really is something."

"Heh."

Shane smirked.

Well, it was thanks to the analysis of that crystal that he had managed to decipher the Runic Language of the Celestial Forge.

However, it wasn't just the runic language alone.

The language itself wasn't programmed into the crystal, it wasn't something that had been recorded onto it like the functions to spells.

Rather, the crystal must have been created by the celestials themselves.

Hence, Shane had torn apart its origins with his eyes, breaking it down and reconstructing it from scratch.

'In addition to that, there's the Phantasmal Magic that turns illusions into reality. Seriously, that's some absurd magic.'

If it weren't for supernatural abilities, humans would have been left far behind long ago.

However, that didn't matter here. There is no use thinking about it.

"Hm. I sense a few strong monsters up ahead. I'll go on ahead."

The moment Damian spoke, a sudden gust of wind swept past Shane, scattering trees and kicking up dust.

Before he could react, Damian had vanished from sight.

"...Hah. That guy, hoarding everything for himself."

Shane muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Well, my mission here is already complete."

On the Other Hand…

Creed Mansion,

Inside Kaiden's Room.

"Ka-Ka-Ka-Kaiden! Th-th-this—What is this!?"

Lucas stood in front of Kaiden, utterly flustered, his arms flailing wildly in panic.

Meanwhile, the man in question remained seated, entirely unfazed. His glasses gleamed white as he calmly reiterated his words.

"I'll repeat. Lucas, put this on."

Kaiden's expression didn't waver in the slightest as he sized Lucas up, nodding to himself with clear satisfaction.

"You'll look good in it."

Hearing that, Lucas visibly paled. Kaiden was completely serious—his unchanging nor flustered expression made that painfully clear.

As for why he was in such a ridiculous situation…

Well, Kaiden had suddenly dragged him here and told him to put on a maid dress.

"I believe with this, you'll be able to help Enma better."

As if! That was what Lucas wanted to say.

But there was another, far more pressing reason he refused to put it on—Shane.

That guy would never let him live this down.

If Shane saw him in a maid dress, it would be over. Completely.

Lucas could already hear his voice in his head, talking about some, "Heh. Didn't know you had this sort of fetish. Funny" in amusement.

No. Absolutely not. That was the one person he could not afford to see him like this.

And yet…

Even though he had been helping out, a part of him still felt like he wasn't truly one of them.

Of course, they all acknowledged him, even Damian, who was usually harsh.

But Kaiden had always told him that the reason Daimain acted like that was because he always acted like a wimp.

"...."

Biting his lip, Lucas eventually relented with a deep sigh.

He wasn't like Enma—calm and capable of handling everyone effortlessly.

He wasn't like Damian—who, in terms of brute force, was undisputedly the strongest.

Nor was he like Shane—insanely smart and well-connected to the point of absurdity.

And lastly, he wasn't as cool as Kaiden—the one he secretly admired.

Kaiden wasn't like the others, yet he was always reliable.

Even Shane, who constantly ran from responsibilities, would dump them onto Kaiden without hesitation—proof that even he had respect for the guy.

And so…

"Ugh… fine."

Snatching the maid dress from Kaiden's hands, Lucas turned on his heels and marched off to change.

"This is embarrassing…"

He muttered under his breath as he entered the changing room.

This wasn't even the first time he'd been put in a situation like this.

In fact, people had always told him he'd look good in a girl's clothings, but he had always managed to escape.

But now…

With no way out, Lucas sighed and began changing.

Sliding the maid dress over his body, he felt the fabric cling uncomfortably, the frilly edges lightly brushing against his skin.

It was soft, but somehow too soft, making him more aware of it than he wanted to be.

Then came the stockings.

Slowly, he rolled them up his legs, feeling the snug fit as the smooth fabric stretched over his skin.

They were strangely tight, yet far too delicate, making him wonder how anyone willingly wore these things.

Finally, after adjusting the skirt and tugging at the stockings one last time, he exhaled deeply.

"…Ahh. Finally done. Can't believe there are people who willingly wear this type of thing."

He grumbled, still feeling awkward wearing such an outfit.

With hesitation, he slowly opened the door, peeking outside. And, of course, Kaiden was waiting patiently.

It felt… weird.

But in the end, Lucas stepped out, awkwardly standing before him.

"H-How is it…?"

For a moment, there was silence—long enough to make Lucas feel uneasy.

Then, Kaiden nodded sagely, stroking his chin in deep contemplation.

"Exactly as I envisioned. It's perfect."

The praise stunned Lucas for a second, leaving him unsure how to react.

Should he be… flattered? Horrified? Regretful?

Right now, he was seriously considering that he shouldn't have worn it.

But then again… if it was for Kaiden, maybe it wasn't so bad.

As long as no one else saw him like this, it would be fine. Or so he told himself.

"Hm. Let's show it to the rest."

Lucas froze, his lips twitching. "Y-You're joking, right?"

"Why would I be?"

Kaiden responded, completely serious. And that was the problem.

Kaiden wasn't like Shane, he didn't joke around. If he said something, he meant it.

Lucas protested. He tried everything to get out of it. But in the end… Kaiden coerced him into going.

Their reactions varied greatly.

Enma, had simply smiled lazily and offered a casual compliment, as if this was just another ordinary sight.

Damian, who had just returned from the Controlled Dungeon, blinked, staring at Lucas for a moment before flatly asking:

"Who are you?"

And then… there was Shane.

The moment his golden eyes landed on Lucas, his entire body shook. Before Lucas could even react, a camera flash went off.

Click.

Then, as if a dam had burst, Shane collapsed onto the ground, clutching his stomach as he laughed so hard he was rolling.

"Lololololololololo—!"