Chapter 42: Mentor

"Boss, how can you act normal?" Fatty sighed again, "She witnessed many players and even her hunting parties being cruelly and playfully killed by the D-rank player, and she herself was hunted. But thanks to you, we were saved."

"Eh!" he facepalmed. It was indeed a traumatic experience for someone who hadn't killed a human and suddenly had to witness all of this.

He sighed, "For me, it is indeed nothing. I've watched the memories of my previous life and know that sometimes the value of human life is worth less than a penny."

Suddenly, a peon entered our Class Xth and announced a name, "Rahul."

He stood up, "I am."

"The principal is calling you," the peon said and went to his work.

"May I go out, sir?" he asked his classroom teacher.

"Okay."

"Time to reap the appraisal talent," he whispered to himself with a smile and moved toward the designated target.

He reached the principal's office, where an elderly man and the principal were sitting.

"Sir, he has arrived," the principal said to the elderly man.

The elderly man turned his head, observed him from head to toe, "Indeed, a upcoming champion."

"Thanks for the overpraise, Senior," he replied humbly, but there were some waves in his heart. "If he says then that means...."

"Okay, okay, come and tell him the reason," the principal said calmly.

The elderly man became interested, "Yeah, tell me, I'm indeed interested."

"I just wanted to meet an auxiliary S-rank player for motivation," he said calmly, feeling anxious inside.

"Uh! Motivation?" Both exclaimed at the same time, and the elderly man asked curiously, "What type of motivation?"

"Sir, I heard that it was extremely hard to cultivate as an auxiliary player, but still, you managed to overcome all of the obstacles, and just thinking about it gives me a boost," he said in a sonorous tone and with an honest expression.

"Great, great! Just as I expected from the student who invited me," the elderly man said happily as if he had met a lifelong friend.

Internally, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "The old man's hidden trait is to listen to praise, but that praise must be within his abilities and not overrated, or it can backfire."

But Rahul was screaming internally, "Don't slander me."

"That novel's protagonist used this hidden trait to manipulate the old man, so he also applied that trick."

"If you want to blame someone, blame the author who wrote Return as Strongest Player for leaving such an absurd loophole."

After this internal fight, he sighed, putting all the blame on the author. "Sure, I'm a good guy."

The principal sat there, stupefied, as he watched the reward request turn into praise. What was even more surprising was that the old man was reacting rather well.

"That's your nobility, Senior," he said respectfully.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to praise me," the elderly man said jokingly.

He just smiled as his initial impression trick worked, and the elderly man's expression soon turned serious. "You wouldn't just request to give praise," he added while increasing the pressure. "Come to the point."

Mentally prepared for everything, he calmly endured the pressure. "Yes, sir."

"Oh! Indeed, a talent!" the elderly man thought.

Rahul's face turned serious as the main topic soon started while the principal watched everything with interest.

Upon exiting the principal's office, the elderly man returned to his usual self and said calmly to the principal, "Vishal, I can feel from my talent and intuition that he will surely do great."

"Oh! A great word from someone who doesn't even like praising others."

Shrugging his shoulders, the elderly man gave a look, "I'm not a fool," but his mouth continued, "Admitting and praising others are different matters."

Outer Area of Region Xth

Ten A-rank and two S-rank players, along with Alok, could be seen in the underground hall. The hall was littered with human bodies and signs of battles and spells.

Alok approached the last man and fire brewing in his eyes, "Where is your leader?"

"Even if you kill me, we won't betray. Hail the 'Great Devil Emperor!" the last man sneered and shouted but his trembling body was proof that they had suffered inhuman torture.

Alok, standing close to the last man, used his ice spell to freeze his entire body, then disintegrated the ice along with his body.

A shriveled voice resounded as they realized in the last moment that an ice spell could also be used for inhuman torture.

"Dammit, they fled again," Alok said angrily.

"Let's go," he said, and the other eleven players followed to search for the leader.

Region IXth

In the Underground

Many players could be seen wearing cloaks with the symbol of the devil on the back.

The leader, who had recently fled from Region Xth, knelt, and another man, who was sitting majestically, said calmly, "Let's halt our operation for some time."

...

"Okay, sir."

On the Training Ground

A girl could be seen panting while a woman was busy training her.

"Miss Divya, I advise you to fully train the basic and foundational abilities of the ice mage," the woman trainer said calmly, acting as Divya's mentor.

"Yes, mentor," Divya replied, standing up with unwavering determination in her eyes, ready to practice her ice mage spells.

"What a strong will she has. Just by her determination, she has already surpassed the criteria to become a great player," the mentor analyzed, quite satisfied with her attitude.

3:00 p.m.

At the Villa

He reached his villa, had lunch, and was now in his room.

He sighed happily at his smart work. "I've done everything," praising himself in front of the mirror. "Sure, I'm something."

Soon, a maid's voice reached his ears. "Young master, the butler is calling you."

"Alright, you may leave," he said, wondering why the butler wanted to see him.

"Poor guy doesn't even know that all his backhand has been discovered, and even his loyal servant has betrayed him."