Back at the academy…

Ashton had caught on to a few things. One of which was the strange disappearance of Disha and Donovan. They were supposed to meet him after the test was over. But strangely, none of them showed up even though it had been more than 6 hours since the examination was officially over. 

Their strange behaviour got him thinking whether they were on the plan to get him killed too. He was probably overthinking things, however, he had decided not to ignore this hunch of his. 

“They wouldn’t go against the mistress… but this absence tells me otherwise,” Ashton mumbled as we walked up and down his new room/penthouse, “Those ‘slaves’ aren’t here yet either. Damn, is everyone trying to get me killed already? I haven’t even made my first move yet!”

First the nobles, then Donovan and now even his so-called attendants. All of them were acting strange ever since the examination got cancelled. Leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Judging by how the things had been proceeding till now, he had already made a handful of enemies.

“Still, it’s better that there’s no one else here at the moment. I should try to enjoy my freedom for as long as I can. If I only knew what these nobles were planning to do next, life would have been a bit easier.” He scratched the back of his head, “One thing’s for sure. They won’t let this matter go just like this. Not after I killed some of them.”

Since their attack on him failed miserably, it was unlikely they would do anything rash without preparing themselves first. Also, as they would have to come up with some other way to get rid of him, it’ll probably take some time for them to act out again. But it was only a matter of when. 

However, since he was an S ranker now, they should be able to do anything to him openly. If they did, the director would definitely have his back, in case he ended up doing something drastic. Also, during this time of silence, it was up to him to grow even stronger.

“Status.”

__

Name: Ashton Fenrir

Species: Zombie (Inactive), Vampire (Inactive), Werewolf (Active), Human (Deceased).

Status: Werewolf

Class: Unassigned

Title: [Defiant]

Age: 16 years

Gender: Male

Grade: F-tier (Evolution is possible)

Affiliation: Werewolves.

Level:

> Werewolf Level: 12

> Vampire Level: 9

> Zombie Level: 8

Stats:

HP: 2500/2500

Damage: 38

Armour: 25

Stealth: 25

Stamina: 40

Agility: 25

Intelligence: 15

Nature:

• Bratty

__ 

“At least my stats went up by a bit. But it’s still not enough. I can easily fight against students of my age. The seniors, on the other hand, are a different story.”

Ashton could not think of one reason why the seniors would not give him a hard time there. The seniors having lower rank might not bother him as he was an S ranker. But nothing was going to stop those who were S rankers like himself. 

That’s why he needed to get stronger, and he had two ways to do so. The long method was to get his stats higher and upgrade his existing skills through actual combat. The second was to learn as many high-levelled skills as he could. 

Thankfully, he had enough money to pursue the second path. But he was on the fence about going down the second path. There was no way a simple student like him could not have so much money to spend under ‘normal’ circumstances. On top of that, the whole academy knew he was a mutt so there was no way he could afford to recklessly buy skills or gears. 

“That doesn’t mean Mr Virgin can’t get his hands on some skill in the black market. God, I hate that name!”

With that, Ashton’s plan was clear. He was going to join underground fights during the night, earn money and buy some skills. While training diligently during the day and avoid raising any suspicions. That way, he could have had the best of both worlds. 

Ashton walked into the balcony and realised the lights in the administrative building were still on. Also, the crowd of students gathered in front of the building did not seem to be reducing at all. 

“Looks like the director is taking those fake interrogations very seriously,” Ashton smirked.

For some ‘strange’ reason, the director had taken it upon herself to interrogate the students, rather than allow the professors to do it. As a result, the questioning session ended up dragging for hours. But none of the students had any clue regarding who or what the mysterious night creature was.

Obviously, all this questioning and stuff the director was doing, was just a farce. She already knew who was behind it and was using this opportunity to deviate everyone’s attention away from Ashton or what he had been doing when Lucas and the other were killed.

However, not everything was merry in Contingent, thanks to her blaming the resistance for Ashton’s deeds, she had effectively caused a state of emergency in the city. 

The officers were continuously sweeping the streets for anyone who was remotely suspicious. To them, it didn’t matter whether the ones they were catching were humans or not.

No one was safe from them. Well, if anyone was being honest, they already knew the officers were doing this more to feed the sadists within them than out of righteousness. 

This was not good for Ashton. Feasting on the three of them might have taken care of his needs now. Still, he would need to go on a hunt soon. Probably sometime in the next week. But for some strange reason, nothing was bothering him after his talk with the director. 

‘Then… there was the talk about my parents.’ Ashton sighed, ‘The director knows them, she is also aware of my real name, but she won’t tell me how the heck she knows all this.’ 

Ashton then averted his gaze away from the campus. Even though the city was ominously quiet, it was still as vibrant as ever. Ashton thought Maddencreek was beautiful, but this city had something more to it. Something that made Ashton feel like he was home even though he had only been there for a week or so. 

Sun had already disappeared, leaving the darkness behind, while the stars had spread their twinkling blanket all over the city. Huge giant buildings stood beside the street, quiet as if taken over by monsters. Some windows gave out white and yellow lights, but the others were pitch black. 

‘Could they be alive somewhere?’ A thought entered his mind but he quickly pushed it aside, ‘Alive? How can they be alive after being sent away to the Undead and the Vampires.’

As the cool breeze gently touched Ashton’s face, he realised even though he wanted to take revenge for his parents, he could not even remember their faces anymore. And whatever he could remember was super blurry, including their physical features. 

‘There’s only one thing I can think of right now. I have to get closer to the director. If anyone can answer my questions regarding my parents, it’s either her or the mistress.’ Ashton thought before resting his arms on the railing, ‘I have a feeling getting answers from the director would be much easier than from the mistress…’

“Still lost in your thoughts?” Rose mumbled before landing next to him like a ghost.

“My god! You scared the shit out of me!” Ashton exclaimed.

“And here I thought you would be happy to see me!”

“Yeah, yeah… what are you doing here either way?”

“We were supposed to meet, remember?”

“Oh right… sorry a lot of things happened and I completely forgot-“

“Don’t worry. It wouldn’t be wise for you to roam around now either way. The city is crawling with those officer bastards.” Rose sighed before jumping on the railing, “Especially for you.”

“What do you mean especially for me?” Ashton was a bit worried, thinking someone else might have found out that he killed the students.

“There’s a bounty on your head.”

“A what now? Who would place a bounty on me?”

Rose got silent for a second as the answer presented itself in front of Ashton. 

“Of course. The Nobles, who else?” Ashton mumbled before shaking his head, “The lengths those bastards would go to. Why are they even doing this? Just because a mutt became an S ranker and they can’t bully him anymore?”

“Relax. Nothing will happen to you as long as you’re inside the academy. Also, I’ll be here to help you out.”

“Yeah… sure. Not sure whether you are aware of it or not. But outsiders aren’t allowed inside academy grounds.” Ashton scoffed.

“Don’t explain those rules to me boya.” Rose said with a smile on her face, “Also, who said anything about being an outsider?”

It roughly took a couple of seconds for Ashton to register what Rose had just said. She wasn’t an outsider, which meant…

“You’re a professor here?” Ashton asked in disbelief.

“Ding, ding, ding!” Rose winked at him, “Hello, I’m the professor of archaeology and artefacts here.. Also, starting tomorrow you’ll be in my care.”