The Author's POV

Standing up, I looked at my arms.

Compared to before, they were a little bit thicker. Clenching them into fists, I could see the veins on my arm pop out slightly.

Lifting my shirt up, I could also see that my abs were a lot firmer than before. If I compared my current body to the body I used to have when I just arrived in this world, the difference was huge.

My hard work paid off.

Tying my hair with a black hairband, I calmly walked towards the door of the room.

Placing my hand on the knob, I opened the door and stepped out.

Click! Clank—!

"How was it?"

Greeting me at the entrance of the room was Waylan.

Scanning my body from top to bottom, a pleased look appeared on his face.

"Not bad, not bad, congrats on reaching <C>"

"Thank you."

Lowering my head slightly, I thanked Waylan. Without him, I would've never been able to break through to <C> rank.

Placing his hand on his chin, he muttered.

"I have to say, your talent is as good as my daughter's."

"Emma?"

"Yeah."

"I see…"

I replied whilst trying to keep my face straight.

As expected of a doting father.

Best for me to just agree to whatever he was saying.

"Say, what do you think about joining the Union once the war ends?"

But his next words caused my body to freeze for a split second.

It was only for a short period of time, as I quickly regained my composure. Lifting my head up, I shook my head and apologized.

"Sorry, I might have to refuse the offer for now. I'm planning to join the Lock as a professor."

That was a lie.

Although I was indeed interested in joining the Lock as a professor, it wasn't feasible right now.

Well, a few of the people that I wanted to recruit for my group would indeed come from the Lock, so it wouldn't be a terrible idea.

But as I've said, that was well into the future.

For now, I had to focus on something else.

Like the current protection mission.

"That's a pity."

Fortunately, Waylan did not insist and proceeded to sit back down.

Interlocking his hands together, Waylan's face suddenly turned serious.

"About the plan that we agreed on with Douglas, I'm still a bit worried."

"Really?"

My brows slightly knit in surprise.

I sort of expected this.

Ever since I told him and Douglas about my plan regarding the protection mission, I had a feeling that they were still worried about something going wrong.

It was understandable though. After all, it was quite a risky one.

In order to increase the chances of this plan working, the three of us agreed to tell the least amount of people possible.

Though the chances were small, there was the possibility of a spy being here, and because the details of the plan couldn't be leaked lest it backfires, I opted to tell Waylan whom I trusted and believed could give me input on the idea.

After all, I was not perfect.

There could be holes in my plan.

Plus, just because the chip in my head was helping me didn't mean that I was now a genius. I could only think faster, not think better.

"I've talked to Douglas about it and although he seemed a little bit concerned at first, we came to the conclusion that if this plan works, we're going to massively increase our chances in the war."

"That's great."

I replied while also taking a seat.

Crossing my legs, I asked.

"What about Jomnuk? Did you tell him about the plan yet?"

"We have. He's onboard."

Waylan nodded.

"Okay."

Propping my elbow on the armrest of the chair, I supported my chin and let out a long sigh.

'Can't believe I'm going to do something like this…'

Even though I was the one that proposed the plan, I couldn't believe just how crazy it was.

Not only would it be more dangerous than the war going on outside, but there was a very real chance of me dying.

But…

If I could pull it off, then not only would I be able to give the dwarves a massive advantage in the war, I would also get the dwarves on my side.

This was fundamental in granting me immunity against the Union.

Although the risks of this mission were huge, so was the pay-out.

"Ren."

"Hmm?"

Disrupting me out of my thoughts was Waylan, who asked, "I've been meaning to ask, but now that Douglas found your name, are you going to keep your real name on the achievements board?"

"...Ah, Good point."

Right, the only reason I put my name there was to have Douglas find out about my identity. Now that he knew, it would be better to change it.

"If you want, I can help you change it."

Waylan offered before taking out a small device from his dimensional space.

He then turned to face me.

"Have you thought of a name yet?"

"Name?"

Furrowing my brows, I started to ponder.

What nickname should I use? Should I go for something overly dramatic or simple?

I asked such questions inside of my mind as I tried to think of a good nickname for myself.

After musing for a couple of minutes, lifting my head, I responded with a slight grin.

"Let's go with Caeruleum."

Raising his brow, Waylan curiously asked.

"Caeruleum? That sounds familiar... Wait, isn't that blue or something in Latin?"

"Yeah."

Waylan scratched the side of his face before suddenly pointing at my eyes.

"I take it that you chose blue due to your eyes?"

"You're right."

It was a simple nickname.

After thinking about it for a while, all the nicknames that I came up with were a bit too cringy.

As such, I just decided to go simple. Blue, for the color of my eyes.

The reason I chose to have it in Latin was because plain blue was just boring.

Had to have at least this much.

'I've long let go of my dark days.'

As if he could read my thoughts, Waylan wryly smiled.

"Alright, as long as you're satisfied with it."

Shaking his head, he proceeded to change my name on the achievement board.

As he was changing my name, lifting his head, he cautiously looked around the room. After making sure that no one was listening, he lowered his voice and whispered.

"Back to the previous topic, how ready are you?"

"Don't worry, there are no problems on my end."

"That's good."

Waylan sighed in relief.

From how he kept asking me the same question, it was evident just how worried he was about the plan. But it was understandable, as failure was not an option.

"I won't bet on my life without making ample preparations, that I can assure you."

I reassured.

As I've said before, the upcoming operation was going to be extremely dangerous. Any mistakes and I wouldn't know how I died.

There was no way I was going to go there without making ample preparations.

"Alright, take this."

Extending his hand, Waylan passed me a small ring.

"What is this?"

I curiously asked as I took the ring from Waylan.

Looking at it from the top of my palm, it looked like a plain old ring.

Leaning back onto his seat in a comfortable manner, Waylan replied, "Inside of it are the things that you previously requested."

Clenching the hand holding onto the ring, I nodded my head and put the ring away.

"That's good."

***

[Northern tower.]

A chilly wind blew past, lifting a couple of fallen leaves into the air as an icy killing intent enveloped the surroundings.

BOOOM—! BOOOM—!

Terrifying explosions rang in the sky. What followed after were numerous thunder-like blasts and energy ripples that spread throughout the whole battlefield.

The energy contained within each explosion was so strong that the aftershocks of every impact would even affect those far away.

Clank!

Hein defended against the attack of a demon amidst the chaotic battle. Sparks immediately shot out at their exchange.

Apart from that specific demon, none came his way, and that was because...

Bang!

"Hieeek!"

A blast of energy ferociously smashed against the chest of a nearby demon, sending it flying away.

"Aeooooo" "Aeooooo" "Aeooooo"

What followed after were the cries of three wolves as they jumped towards the demon and chewed him out.

"Thanks."

Ava thanked Leopold, who was next to her.

SHIIIIING!

Unsheathing his sword, Leopold cut down. Black blood spilled from above. Turning his head, he replied.

"Save the thanks for later, focus on helping Hein out. You're a team, remember that."

"Yes."

tootle-too~

Blowing onto the flute, Ava redirected the wolves towards the demon attacking Hein.

Flying around her was Newton, her other pet.

Compared to the wolves that were all each around <E> rank. Newton was a little bit weaker, but that was fine to Ava since its task was to watch out for any ambushes and warn her about strong opponents.

Once it spotted someone strong nearing her direction, it would quickly warn her, when in turn Ava would report to Leopold.

On a different note, Ava's abilities could only allow her to control five pets at the moment. She was currently missing one, but given that it took a lot of mana to keep the flute active, she decided against getting one more.

Clang—! Clang—!

The wolves fiercely jumped the demon. Biting onto the lower leg of the demon, black blood seeped down from their mouths.

Letting out a shriek, the demon tried to move back, but before it could do that, another wolf quickly bit down on its other leg, preventing it from moving.

"Hieeek!"

Helpless, the demon clawed down towards the nearest wolf. But right as the claw was about to hit the wolf, it quickly let go and jumped back.

"Grrrrr..."

Glaring at the demon, black blood seeped from the gaps of the wolf's teeth.

tootle-too~

Blowing onto her flute, Ava, who was watching by the sidelines, quickly ordered the wolf to once again attack.

"Rufff!"

Once the flute sounded, the wolf's eyes shone slightly as it barked out loud. Tensing its legs, it once again shot towards the demon.

"Ugh."

But right after sending that command, Ava suddenly felt her body grow weak.

Holding onto her head, Ava stumbled slightly. Her complexion had paled considerably, and her vision was slowly starting to get blurry.

She was showing signs of mana fatigue.

'I need to get this fixed.'

Ava clenched the hand holding onto the flute.

Had the flute not been broken, the mana expenditure would've been far less than what she was spending at the moment. Unfortunately, because it was broken, she could only tame three beasts.

To make matters worse, controlling each beast took a considerable amount of mana.

If not for that, she would've been able to fight for longer.

However, that same flute was what changed her destiny.

"Ava, are you okay?"

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Ava turned her head.

"Hein?"

Though her head was dizzy, she was instantly able to recognize Hein's face.

'Looks like he managed to defeat the demon'

A relieved look appeared on her face.

"Oy, oy, are you okay?"

Supporting Ava, Hein looked at her pale complexion. Frowning, he looked at his wrist. More specifically, at a small bracelet.

Shaking his head, he turned towards Leopold.

"Leopold, do you have any mana recovery potions on you?"

BANG!

Blowing the head of a demon, Leopold turned to look at Hein. Upon seeing Ava's complexion, he immediately checked his ring.

However, he too shook his head and replied.

"I've also run out. Looks like it is time for us to retreat."

"Understood."

Turning his attention back to Ava, Hein supported her by the arm and helped her walk back into the tower.

Because this was where the real fight started, the radius of the line that protected the tower increased considerably. It was also because of this that they were quite far from the tower despite being in the second line of defense.

SHIIIING!

"You guys keep going, I'll cover you."

Cutting another demon, Leopold paved the way for Ava and Hein back to the tower.

"Thank you."

They turned back, heading towards the tower again.