In a booked room in the Karaoke bar, Apollo was lounging in the cushion, staring at his mobile phone calmly.

Thyla, Elon, Sermin, and Alexander sat around him, their expressions serious.

Sermin had his left arm handing from his neck by a bandage. Yesterday, while fighting the Awakened Beasts that had suddenly attacked him, he had broken his elbow, almost crippling himself.

Thankfully, he had been healed, but the pain was still there.

"This change... it’s so abrupt."

He frowned, turning to look at Elon.

The guy nodded, adjusting his glasses. "It wasn’t implemented by the Student Council. Instructor Rutherford was responsible for the deactivation of the limiters, and when the chairman returned yesterday night, he made it permanent."

The boy took a glance at Apollo who was still reading the new rules.

"I heard the rules were made by the chairman himself. That’s why they’re so..."

Apollo clicked his tongue, locking his phone and throwing it onto the cushion beside him.

"The rules aren’t exactly harsh, but they’re going to be a great hindrance to us."

The room turned solemn again. Everyone was silent, paying attention to him.

"You see... there are only three rules that have no bypassing. The rest can still be controlled."

Sermin’s eyes lit up, his ears perked.

"The first is using manipulative abilities on others. Although it can be used during special evaluations and actual duels, it is highly prohibited outside of those two."

Thyla frowned. "But it’s a manipulative ability, right? If the user is smart enough, they should be able to clean all traces connecting to themselves."

Apollo didn’t reply, letting Elon explain to her.

"Even though the limiters are now deactivated, we’re still wearing it. That means they can track students and know if a person used their ability."

He paused, watching the girl’s forehead crease.

"Also, don’t underestimate the academy. They surely possess some people with manipulative abilities that can force out answers from their suspects. And even without that, they can always ask you to show your system interface to confirm your ability."

The green-haired girl’s face darkened, understanding what he had explained.

Even if the person tried to hide by erasing the memories of his target, the academy could always track them down.

Resting his back, Apollo gazed at the ceiling and continued.

"The second rule is simple—killing. It’s still the same consequence, though. Death sentence and family repercussions."

Folding his arms, Sermin looked puzzled.

"Then why wasn’t that Gaga guy killed? Isn’t the academy breaking its own rules?"

Rolling his eyes, Alexander answered him disdainfully.

"Are you dumb? Even if Gaga killed, he obviously didn’t do it on a whim. At least it looks like he did it to protect Ysabella, not just for fun."

Slapping his own head, Sermin’s eyes widened in realization.

"Ohh! That’s true. It can even be counted as a mistake."

Apollo gave him a disappointed glance, then continued.

"The last rule is the most damning. Using abilities is still prohibited, but a use would cost credits. 500 credits per second of use."

Before he could continue, Alexander chipped in.

"Wait, isn’t that okay? We can surely use our abilities in any occasion then. The only thing is that it’d cost us some credits. I think—"

Apollo’s disdainful glare shut him up. The purple-haired delinquent covered his face with his palms, exasperated.

"For goodness’s sake, why are there fools in my class?"

Alexander was stunned by the insult, but he dared not retort. He simply lowered his head, his expression remorseful.

Was he wrong?

"Your ability is a transformation ability that gives you strength. Do you think you can transform and do whatever you want to do in less than five seconds?"

Alexander froze, tongue-tied. Apollo was right. His transformation probably wouldn’t even be complete in five seconds.

"Good. Now, a mere five seconds would cost 2500 credits—more than enough to feed you for two days."

Resting his elbows on his knees, Apollo looked forward.

"However, this can also be quite useful. Though, I think only that blue-haired bastard from Class-E would be extravagant enough to not care."

At the mention of Kaiser, Elon’s expression became conflicted.

"Apollo, is it really necessary to confront that guy soon? And using Maya..."

Apollo’s expression did not change. In his heart was blazing fury and the desire to crush Kaiser.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Maya doesn’t get harmed. I only want to use her as a bait."

Thyla’s brows furrowed. "And do you think he’ll fall for it? He might not really care about her."

"Heh!" Apollo chuckled, his eyes glinting wickedly. "Even if he knows it’s a trap, he’ll still come over. That guy is just too arrogant."

His chest heaved at the thought of making Kaiser kneel and agree that he’s trash.

............

"Hm? Did someone curse me?"

Kaiser tilted his head, confused.

Ignoring the weird feeling, he closed his eyes, then dove into his crystal core.

It looked the same, having dark areas far from the pool of essence. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Turning, his gaze fell upon where his Shadows resided.

There was a new addition to them—Patr Vladimir.

Kaiser stared at the unmoving shadowy man for a few seconds, then brought up his status.

[Patr Vladimir]

[Realm - Evolved]

[Rank - 1]

[Ability - Subjugation]

[Shadow Description: A Bishop playing at the whims of his king, only to be knocked out by a variable. His existence remains inconsequential even after death.]

Kaiser pursed his lips, folding his arms calmly.

After reading through the man’s runes, he realized he was also just a pawn for a greater force.

"Well, the Vladimir aren’t a small force, after all."

Clicking his tongue, Kaiser shifted his gaze from Patr to Cursed Knight. The shadowy woman stood rigid, her head turned in his position.

’Hm? Could she be looking at me?’

Kaiser was slightly startled, but decided to ignore it. He didn’t want to burden himself with insignificant details as such. After all, it could truly be a coincidence.

Instead, he decided to carry out an experiment—the real reason why he had turned Patr into a Shadow.

"Kara, devour him."