### Chapter: 200
In front of the hall leading to the Special Class Hall.
A boy with dark blue hair was making his way down the corridor.
Having recently completed his growth spurt, he had developed a rather robust physique; he was Kraush Balheim.
“Unbelievable nonsense,” he muttered, recalling what Sigrid had said earlier.
“But I guess I have to try.”
Sigrid had faith in him, after all. So, he decided to do everything he could.
“I’ll find a way to create that connection,” he muttered with determination as Sigrid confidently exited the room.
Kraush had no doubt that she’d find a way to set things up in no time.
She was none other than the genius girl, Sigrid Ephania.
After Sigrid left, Kraush stepped outside.
As mentioned before, he was headed straight to the Special Class Hall.
Inside, students were bustling around, engaged in their own research with lively chaos.
Kraush wandered around, soon making his way to the Curse Studies section.
There were quite a few students there, all diligently studying curses.
Among them, he spotted a little girl sitting at a corner desk, working intently on something.
Despite being older than Kraush, the small girl was handling powerful curses with her tiny hands.
However, the curses she was dealing with were incredibly dangerous.
She was the only student capable of handling high-level curses.
The youngest disciple of the renowned healer, Veltoa Lacroix.
It was Dorma Lacroix.
“Dorma.”
“Eek!”
The moment Kraush called her name, she squealed and dropped the vial containing the curse.
In an instant, Kraush reached out and caught the vial just in time.
He let out a sigh of relief as Dorma stood frozen in shock.
If not for that, a high-level curse could’ve been unleashed in the Curse Studies classroom.
Seeing her pale face, Kraush carefully placed the curse vial on her desk.
“Sorry for startling you out of nowhere like that.”
“O-oh, it’s okay! I was just… too careless!”
Dorma shook her head rapidly in response to Kraush’s apology.
Thanks to that, the tense atmosphere seemed to lighten a bit.
Finally, Dorma looked at Kraush with her tiny head tilted.
“B-but, Kraush, what brings you to the Curse Studies classroom?”
“I have something to discuss with you.”
Dorma tilted her head again.
“It’s about Veltoa.”
Upon hearing Kraush’s next words, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Really!?”
“Yeah, I found the last sighting report for Veltoa Lacroix.”
“Is that true!?”
“Yeah, I’m planning on going to find him right away, but there’s an issue.”
Kraush was currently a student at Rahern Academy.
Even though he was treated specially there, he couldn’t forget his duties as a student.
Even Sigrid, the princess, had taken on missions before going to assess the Empire’s situation.
“Repeated unexcused absences outside of missions and training could lead to expulsion.”
Searching for Veltoa could be deemed a training exercise for Kraush.
However, having spent quite a bit of time training with Durandal recently, he didn’t want to get too reckless this time.
“What can I do?”
Dorma’s determination shone through as she expressed her willingness to help find Veltoa.
Seeing her dedication, Kraush chuckled softly.
“Give me a mission.”
“A mission?”
“Right, your mission is to search for Veltoa Lacroix where he was last seen in the Kingdom of Jeblam, in the Endless Night.”
Dorma’s eyes turned wide like a rabbit again.
“C-can I really set a mission?”
Most missions registered at Rahern Academy came from various nations or families.
So, she found it odd that as a student, she could issue a mission.
But Kraush knew better than to doubt that.
“Of course you can. If Veltoa is absent, then you, Dorma, are the head of the Lacroix family.”
The Lacroix family consisted only of Veltoa and Dorma.
That’s because Veltoa had uniquely adopted Dorma, who was once an orphan.
Though there were other disciples, they had their own surnames or were commoners.
Officially, Dorma was the only true member of the Lacroix family.
Meaning, she was more than capable of representing the family on her own.
Perhaps she was the only one at Rahern Academy who could operate as a family unit.
“Oh! I see now!”
Dorma finally understood and nodded vigorously.
She realized that it was indeed possible to set a mission under the name of the Lacroix family.
“Alright! I’ll register it!”
She said with her newfound confidence.
Showing determination, she seemed ready to assist with anything related to finding Veltoa.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Kraush sighed with relief and thanked her before stepping out of the Special Class Hall.
Now he had a way to search for Veltoa in place.
‘Now, all that’s left is to get the mission.’
And Kraush felt that he had to face yet another hurdle.
Getting a mission meant he would have to meet Charlotte and ask for her help.
‘Hope she has those snacks she liked.’
Recently, Kraush recounted that Charlotte was family.
He realized it wasn’t that he was ignoring her because he was afraid of the massive star that Charlotte was; she had always treated him as her younger brother.
So now, Kraush understood that even if Charlotte acted in ways he found hard to comprehend, it was all out of concern for him.
Still, it was true that he felt somewhat clumsy around her.
‘Still, I guess I’ll just have to confront her.’
With that thought, Kraush headed towards the Lion’s Order.
On his way, several people recognized Kraush and reacted differently.
Most of the reactions directed towards the boy were ones of admiration.
While there had once been a mix of jealousy, the longer Kraush stayed at Rahern Academy, the more respect he garnered for his achievements.
Kraush also began to feel that he was becoming a central figure at Rahern Academy.
Maybe Arthur felt like this at one point.
Kraush thought back to how his life had changed so much from being treated like a nuisance at the academy to being respected.
In that moment, Kraush sensed the presence of someone following him.
Letting out a brief sigh at the sensation, he halted in his tracks.
Without waiting for the other party to react, Kraush increased his speed.
Excel.
In an instant, as if he had vanished, Kraush appeared at one side of the corridor.
And his hand shot out immediately.
“Grrk!”
The boy he ensnared by the neck had white hair.
He was one of the twins following Sigrid, a boy named Toy Popoa.
“Toy!”
At that moment, the other twin, Tai Popoa, who was nearby, shouted and charged at Kraush.
These would also be the ones that belonged to the next generation of the Sky Generation.
Tai’s blade emerged from his sleeve, a clear indicator of his exceptional skills, sprinting towards Kraush.
However, even with such skill, it was a horrendous mismatch.
Without even drawing Rain Thunder Prime, Kraush surrounded his hand with aura.
And then swung his hand directly at the incoming blade.
Clang!
The clash of Kraush’s white-aura-enshrouded hand against Tai’s blade reverberated through the hall.
Tai’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He couldn’t believe his blade, meant to be honed with skill, had merely been nullified by a hand.
But it was the expected result.
The Dragonfall technique that he learned from Durandal transforms the body into a weapon.
Over the past few months, Kraush had desperately trained in Dragonfall, achieving the first layer of it.
Focusing aura on parts of the body, making them harder than steel.
Dragonfall (災龍落)
First Layer (一式)
Body (體)
Kraush could now use any part of his body as a weapon whenever he desired.
Meanwhile, Toy, who was still caught by Kraush’s grip, made an attempt to twist his arm free.
But no matter how hard Toy tried to escape, Kraush’s arm remained as solid as a rock.
There was just too great a difference in strength.
Their expressions stiffened.
Even though they both knew Kraush was strong, this was far beyond what they could easily accept.
After all, Kraush was clearly younger, being one year their junior.
How could a mere first-year student be this far ahead of them, the notable first-year students?
Crunch!
“Grrk!”
In that instant, Kraush tightened his grip on Toy’s neck.
Seeing Toy’s face turn pale, Tai panicked.
“Let Toy go!”
“Speak frankly, what do you want? Then I’ll let him go.”
The ones who followed him were Tai and Toy.
So Kraush warned them with his chilling gaze.
Because he didn’t exactly have good memories of them from the past or present.
Incidents in the past still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Seeing Tai hesitating, Kraush narrowed his eyes.
“Why? Did Sigrid Ephania send you?”
Hearing that question, Tai bit his lip in frustration.
“…No. This is purely our own opinion, acting independently of Sigrid.”
“Then what’s your reason for following me?”
Tai stuttered over his words, clearly at a loss.
At that, Kraush relaxed his grip on Toy’s neck a bit.
He knew that Tai was aware of Kraush’s pre-battle tendencies.
Tai hurriedly spoke.
“Sigrid has become particularly sensitive regarding you lately, so we thought we might find something out ourselves!”
“Sigrid is sensitive about me?”
Kraush let out a short, incredulous laugh.
Indeed, it’s no wonder Sigrid was on edge — she had a knack for involvement in various plans he was dismantling.
‘But now it seems I’m starting to become a target for her as well.’
They must have sensed something odd brewing.
Thus, Kraush couldn’t help but feel a chilling smile forming on his lips.
How long would it take before she found out?
That her beloved Arthur hadn’t reincarnated with her.
If she learned that, it would surely cause her to break down.
Unlike others, Kraush had a wicked connection with Sigrid.
So, as he released Toy, he felt a sense of satisfaction.
“Quit doing pointless things. You guys won’t gain anything from prying into me, even if you do.”
“Ugh.”
Tai seemed unable to argue back after hearing that, pursing his lips tight.
It was different from their last encounter.
The gap in strength between Kraush and them had widened considerably.
“And you two should really stop clinging to a sinking ship.”
Kraush left those words behind and turned away.
Toy and Tai stared at him, unable to follow after.
Inwardly, Kraush thought again about how it wouldn’t be long before Sigrid tried some scheme against him.
‘When that time comes.’
He would need to be fully prepared to crush her down.
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