Chapter 76: Titleless

“I was kind enough to help you unleash the dark power within you. What? You’re not going to thank me?”
Agus’s mocking words echoed in his ears. Walking unsteadily down the street, Jiang Zhe muttered under his breath, “That bastard…”
It was no wonder he was so angry—he had no idea what Agus had done to him. Since a while ago, his forehead had been experiencing sharp pains, growing more intense with each passing moment. The severe pain made his vision blur—he had already bumped into several pedestrians on the street.
Jiang Zhe didn’t have time to apologize to those who were knocked over. Ignoring their annoyed curses, he hurried toward the inn, as the burning pain on the back of his left hand was far more concerning than the throbbing in his forehead—a pain akin to being touched by a red-hot iron.
Fortunately, he hadn’t gone far from Dia earlier. After about ten minutes, he finally returned to the inn they were staying at, just in time to run into Allen and the others who were about to leave.
“Are you okay, buddy?” Allen rushed over anxiously, glancing at the street before frowning. “Dia said you encountered Agus on the way?”
Allen and Ravia clearly knew something about Agus.
“Yes,” Jiang Zhe nodded, forcing himself to stay calm. He smiled at Dia, who stood behind Allen with a worried expression, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m fine!”
Glancing at Dia, Ravia stepped forward and asked, “Did Agus do anything to you?”
“No!” Jiang Zhe shook his head, trying to appear composed. “He just talked to me for a bit and thanked us for helping him when he was hungry.”
“Really? Nothing else?” Ravia asked skeptically.
Recalling Agus’s terrifying strength and that threatening warning, Jiang Zhe shook his head firmly. “He just said some trivial things. I’m a bit tired and want to rest.”
“Oh…”
After saying a few words to his companions, Jiang Zhe headed inside the inn. As he reached the door, a mocking greeting came from inside.
“Hey, kid!”
Instinctively looking up, Jiang Zhe stared in shock at the burly man in front of him. After a moment’s thought, he said in surprise, “Connel?”

“It’s me, isn’t it?” Connel smiled slightly, crossing his arms as he leaned against the door. Looking at Jiang Zhe with a hint of feigned threat, he said with a grin, “You should remember what I said last time, right? If you bully him…” As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, lowering his head and sniffing the air.
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” Jiang Zhe asked curiously.
Frowning, Connel shook his head and watched as Jiang Zhe passed by him and rushed upstairs to his room.
“Good, then. I was worried for no reason…” Laughing, Allen shrugged helplessly before turning to Dia, who was still worried, and saying, “Don’t worry. It’s fine. He’s just tired—you don’t know how much he can sleep. Back in Riox, he used to sleep over sixteen hours a day. Amazing, right?”
“Giggle, I hope so…”
“Trust me, it’s fine. Just wait and see—once he gets a good sleep, he’ll be full of energy again…”
While Allen was jokingly teasing Dia, Lisa, and Lailira as they went upstairs, Ravia noticed Connel’s expression and walked over, asking softly, “Did you notice anything, Connel?”
Connel shook his head slightly and frowned, saying, “That kid has an aura very similar to Argus’s…”
“That’s not surprising. Thos and Argus were alone for at least ten minutes!”
“Hah, that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the aura… I noticed a faint dark aura seeping out from that kid’s body,” he said, looking down at Ravia with a teasing smile. “You care so much about him. Why don’t you go up and check?”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Ravia, with her head lowered, blushed. After hesitating for a moment, she headed straight upstairs.
“Youth is great…” he sighed in a gruff voice, walking over to the inn’s bar. He took out two silver coins from his pocket, tapped them on the counter, and said to the owner, “Give me a barrel of mead!”
“A… a barrel?” The owner seemed very surprised.
“Stop talking and bring it here quickly—do you think I won’t pay?!”
“No, no, right away!” After taking the two silver coins, the owner rushed off to his wine cellar.
“Is there any way… for something like that?” Connel murmured, holding his forehead. “But that guy shouldn’t have any reason to trick me with something like this… Is it really that rare? Tch!”
Slamming the table, Connel shouted, “Where’s the drink? You’re too slow!”
“Coming, coming…”

Meanwhile, Ravia was standing by the door in Jiang Zhe’s room.
Connel was right—the boy before her indeed seemed strange. Thankfully, she had entered his room before he closed the door.
“Go away, Avi! I said I’m tired!”
Hearing those words repeated at least three times, Ravia became even more convinced of her suspicion. Stubbornly standing at the closed door, she said, “I definitely won’t leave until you tell me the truth!”
“You!” The boy seemed angry as he stood in front of Ravia, staring into her eyes. “Go away, Avi!”
Something was wrong… seriously wrong!
Feeling the chill radiating from the boy in front of her, Ravia’s heart pounded violently. She had only experienced such an indescribable pressure once before…
“I… I definitely won’t leave!” Ravia insisted stubbornly.
“You… fine!” In an instant, the terrifying pressure vanished without a trace. The boy covered his forehead, glanced at Ravia, and said in his usual resigned tone, “I’m going to take a shower. Are you sure you want to stay here?”
Still wondering if that terrifying pressure had been an illusion, Ravia’s face turned red for no reason. After hesitating for a while, she suddenly bit her lip and said, “I know you’re trying to trick me into leaving. I won’t fall for it!” She paused, then added softly, with a hint of tenderness and concern, “Sos, what’s wrong with you? Do you feel unwell?”
“I said I’m fine!” Jiang Zhe replied irritably. In fact, he had indeed planned to trick Ravia into leaving under the pretense of taking a shower.
“If you’re fine, then why do you mind me being here? I was just about to explain the theory of teleportation to you. Is that not allowed?”
“I…” Jiang Zhe was momentarily speechless, struggling to endure the sharp pain. He forced himself to say, “Can’t we talk about it tomorrow?”
“No, I want to do it now!”
“You!” With no choice, Jiang Zhe glanced at Ravia, thought for a moment, then walked straight to the bathroom. Turning back, he “threatened,” “Are you sure you want to stay here? Look, there’s no door…”
“Don’t try to trick me!”
“I really do need to shower…”
“Then go ahead and shower!”
Stunned, Jiang Zhe suddenly tore off his jacket and pretended to be angry. “Fine, then stay here!”

“You bastard!” Ravia instinctively covered her eyes, turned her face red and faced the wall, shouting angrily, “If you’ve got the guts, then wash me!”
But this time, the boy didn’t respond again.
After listening quietly for a while, Ravia turned her head and cautiously peeked through her fingers, but soon her expression changed drastically.
Jiang Zhe was leaning on the wall with one knee on the floor at the entrance of the bathroom, his whole body trembling from time to time.
“Bastard, you said you were fine!” Filled with anger and worry, Ravia rushed over, knelt beside Jiang Zhe, and seeing his pained expression with gritted teeth, she asked urgently, “How are you? Sos?”
Jiang Zhe struggled to lift his head and said weakly, “I said I’m… fine!”
“Bastard!” Ravia was both anxious and angry. Just as she was about to help Jiang Zhe up, she heard a crackling sound. Looking up in that direction, she was shocked to see that the white glove on the boy’s left hand had shattered instantly, revealing the hexagram magic array on the back of his hand.
What was even more unbelievable was that the hexagram magic array had turned completely blood red, with black mist resembling a solid substance seeping from its edges.
Before Ravia could react, she suddenly noticed that the boy’s hair—originally a mysterious dark golden color—was gradually turning black, and at the same time, a dark aura was spreading throughout his body…
“Sky!” Ravia instinctively stood up and stepped back, covering her mouth in shock as she stared at the boy. Memories of the underground mine near Asher Village from a year ago began to surface in her mind.
“Oh, no…” After hesitating for a moment, Ravia knelt down and gently hugged the trembling boy, whispering in a voice mixed with various emotions, “No, Sos…” Recalling the boy’s cold and irrational gaze from back then, Ravia shook her head firmly.
As dusk fell, Allen had already ordered dinner at the inn, but after waiting for a long time, Jiang Zhe, Ravia, and Connel still hadn’t shown up.
With no choice, Allen left the dining table to go look for the three of them.
However, when he reached the second floor, he happened to see Connel leaning against the corridor wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Behind him was Jiang Zhe’s room, and in front of him was Ravia’s room.
“Hey, buddy, I’ve been looking for you—want to eat together?”

“Heh, of course!” Opening his eyes, Connel smiled and said, “If there’s a big plate of meat on the table along with a large barrel of mead, I think I’d be happy!”
“No problem!” Allen shrugged with a grin, then glanced at Jiang Zhe’s room and stepped forward to knock, but was stopped by Connel.
“That kid is asleep! He’s sleeping soundly—I already knocked earlier!”
“Is that so?” Allen shrugged and made a strange face; he seemed to understand just how soundly his friend could sleep and didn’t mind. He turned to knock on Lavia’s room door but was stopped again by Connel.
“That kid seems to be resting too. She even told me not to invite her to dinner!”
“Huh?” Allen looked at Connel in confusion and asked, “You mean Lavia? She’s resting too?”
“Yes, maybe she’s tired from today’s activities!” the werewolf said with a smile.
“Tired? I think it’s because she’s angry…” With a strange smile, Allen shrugged and said, “Well, let’s ignore them. Come on, buddy!”
“Hey!” Smiling slightly, Connel instinctively glanced at Jiang Zhe’s room, rubbed his stomach, and said, “I need a big plate of meat, and wine too!”
“No problem!”
By the next morning…
As Allen had said, Jiang Zhe woke up early in the morning, clearly in the best spirits of the day. A long sleep had allowed him to fully recover to his best condition.
He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the clear sky outside the window—it was already daylight.
Yet just that simple movement caused a dizzying discomfort in his forehead.
Curiously, he reached out with his left hand to touch his forehead. Gradually, he remembered some things. He instinctively looked at the back of his left hand and, as usual, saw the milky white hexagram magic array there.
There seemed nothing strange about it…
What exactly had Argus done?
Regarding the hexagram magic array on his left hand, although Jiang Zhe still didn’t know who had engraved it there, he had learned a bit from Father Andrew, such as the array’s functions—suppressing negative emotions and dark forces…
As for Argus claiming there was another completely different force within him, Jiang Zhe was skeptical. After all, not only had he never used that force, he hadn’t even sensed it.
Was Argus lying to him?

But he had no reason to deceive himself—that guy’s power was incredibly strong, like that of a great mage… He seemed to be in his twenties at most, no older than thirty, yet even Professor Hodde paled in comparison to him…
“Guh…” Feeling the intense hunger coming from his stomach, Jiang Zhe took a deep breath, intending to get up and have breakfast. As far as he remembered, he hadn’t even eaten last night’s dinner.
But suddenly, he stopped. He felt as if something was pressing down on him, including his right chest, right arm, and right hand…
Jiang Zhe moved his right arm slightly…
Yes! There indeed was something pressing down; he hadn’t noticed it before because he had been lost in thought…
Looking to his right, at the pile of blankets that seemed to be held up by something, Jiang Zhe had a bada bad feeling…
Swallowing hard, he carefully lifted the blanket with his left hand. The next moment, he turned pale at what he saw.
Lavia was curled up beside him, murmuring indistinctly from time to time.
My god…
Jiang Zhe racked his brain trying to recall what had happened the previous day. After about five or six minutes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his left hand.
Actually, he didn’t need to be so panicked, as both he and Lavia were still fully clothed.
But as to why this difficult-to-handle girl would be in his bed… well, his room, Jiang Zhe tried hard to remember what had happened yesterday. Then, he realized there was a gap in his memory…
He remembered threatening her to leave by saying he would take a bath…
Why did he want her to leave?
Hmm, it was that bastard Argus. That guy must have done something to him, making his emotions unstable…
It must have awakened the dark power within me…
Frowning, Jiang Zhe began to sense the fluctuations in his magic power.
Fire element… Magic power… Nothing seems wrong…
“Strange!” Jiang Zhe looked puzzled.
Suddenly, a murmur came from his right side.
“Mmm…” Amidst Jiang Zhe’s pale face and fearful eyes, the sleeping Lavia moved slightly, then slowly got up from him. Sitting on the bed, she gazed around drowsily and said to Jiang Zhe in a slurred voice, “Good morning, Thos!”
“Good morning…” Jiang Zhe replied awkwardly. Seeing Lavia’s sleepy eyes gradually clear, he inwardly panicked.

But to his surprise, Lavia’s expression was very calm. She simply raised her right hand and said to Jiang Zhe in a calm tone, “Can you let go of my hand now?”
“Hm?” Jiang Zhe was stunned. Only then did he realize that his right hand was gripping Lavia’s right hand, but he had no idea when that had happened.
“I’m sorry…” He quickly released her hand. Watching Lavia calmly rub the five red marks on her right hand with her left hand, Jiang Zhe forced a smile and swallowed hard before saying, “I didn’t do anything yesterday, did I?”
“You really dare!” Lavia sneered coldly and threatened expressionlessly, “If it weren’t for you seeming off yesterday, I would have kicked you to death!”
“Yes, yes…” Jiang Zhe nodded repeatedly, smiling bitterly as he watched Lavia sit on the bed and tidy her hair.
While fixing her hair, Lavia frowned and glanced at the hexagram magic array on the back of Jiang Zhe’s left hand, then sneered, “A decoration? Hm? Pretty? Hm?”
Jiang Zhe smiled bitterly. He remembered that when Lavia first saw the magic array on his hand, he had lied to her, saying it was just a decoration because he found it troublesome… Now here he was!
Glancing disdainfully at Jiang Zhe, who kept smiling bitterly, Lavia shook her head helplessly, got off the bed, smoothed out her wrinkled clothes, and said nonchalantly, “What lie are you planning to use to deceive me this time?”
Jiang Zhe stared at Lavia deeply for a moment before whispering, “Argus said… he said there’s a dark force inside me. He said he helped me unleash that force…”
“What?” Stopping what she was doing, Lavia’s expression changed slightly as she frowned and said, “Helped you unleash that force?”
“That’s what he said. He said although I possess that force, I can’t use it, as if there’s some kind of restriction…” After saying this, both Jiang Zhe and Lavia instinctively glanced at the hexagram magic array.
“Repressing negative emotions, suppressing dark forces… Could it be…” With a mix of surprise and excitement, Jiang Zhe stroked the hexagram magic array on his left hand with his right hand.
“Sos!” Interrupting Jiang Zhe, Lavia sat on the bed and said seriously, “I don’t know if it’s this magic array that’s suppressing that dark force, but there indeed is a very powerful dark force inside you…” She glanced at Jiang Zhe and shook her head, “But it’s a terrifying force…”
“How do you know? Have you seen it?”
“Yes, I have!”

“This…” Jiang Zhe shook his head, staring in astonishment at Ravia’s serious expression. “It’s impossible!”
“Do you remember a year ago when the professor took us to his house? In that underground mine near Asher Village, we were surrounded by dozens of Gorgros…”
“Mm, I remember. How… Could it be?”
“Yes!” Ravia shook her head, looking at Jiang Zhe with a strange gaze. “I saw with my own eyes you tearing apart those dozens of Gorgros… in just an instant!”
“An instant?” Jiang Zhe was shocked, staring at the magic array with a mix of emotions.
“Listen to me, Sos,” Ravia said seriously, taking his left hand. “I don’t know how you acquired that incredible power, but it’s extremely evil. Back then, you seemed to have lost your mind. No matter how I called out to you, you didn’t respond. You even tried to attack me…”
“Impossible!” Jiang Zhe frowned.
“What’s impossible about it?” Ravia said, her eyes flickering. “You had lost your mind at the time…”
Glancing at Ravia, Jiang Zhe said speechlessly, “Avi, have you noticed that when you lie, your eyes dart around and you stammer?”
“You!” Ravia glared at him angrily. “Fine! You didn’t attack me, okay? But you really lost your mind back then. Otherwise, do you remember what happened?”
After racking his brain for a few minutes, Jiang Zhe silently shook his head.
“See? I’m not lying. It was an evil dark power. Though powerful, I… don’t want you to use it!”
Staring at his left hand, which Ravia was holding, and at the half-exposed magic array, Jiang Zhe licked his lips and said softly, “First, tell me what happened back then, and also about yesterday…”
“Hmm… Alright!”
So, Ravia spent about half an hour telling Jiang Zhe everything she knew, including about Connel, leaving him utterly stunned.
“I killed those Gorgros? Not Connel? And I even killed Connel once? The most powerful werewolf in history?”
“Yes!”
“Huh!” Jiang Zhe let out a long sigh. With a hint of regret, he glanced at the magic array on his left hand. After hearing Ravia’s words, he grew even more eager to try that power…
“Promise me, Sos, don’t use that power…”
“Well…”

“Promise me!”
“I…” Glancing at Ravia, Jiang Zhe hesitated for a moment before shrugging and saying, “Actually, you can rest assured. So far, not to mention using that power, I haven’t even sensed it at all…”
“I mean in the future!” Staring intently at Jiang Zhe, Ravia said seriously, “I know you too well, Sos. You’re obsessed with gaining power. If you could, you would definitely try to use that power…”
Jiang Zhe opened his mouth but was speechless.
“Hmph,” Ravia snorted lightly, stepping closer to him and whispering, “If you really want to use that power…”
“What then?”
“I’ll stop you!”
“Okay, okay!” Jiang Zhe shook his head helplessly.
“That’s good,” Ravia smiled, standing up. “Well, they probably haven’t gotten up yet. I need to go back to my room quickly…”
“Avi,” Jiang Zhe called out to her, speaking seriously, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened yesterday…”
Standing with her back to Jiang Zhe by the door, Ravia replied indifferently, “Including Dia?”
“Mm… yes! Just pretend it never happened! Forget it!”
“Hmph,” Ravia snorted again, turning her head and nodding. “Fine!” Then her expression changed, and she said viciously, “Similarly, you’d better forget some things too!”
“Bang!” The door was slammed shut.
“Sigh!” Looking at the poor door, Jiang Zhe smiled bitterly and touched his nose.
Alright, time to get up and wash up!
Jumping out of bed, Jiang Zhe stretched happily before heading to the bathroom. He poured some cold water on his face. Just as he reached for the towel nearby, his gaze accidentally fell on the mirror embedded in the wall, and he froze.
Behind him in the mirror, there seemed to be a vague gray figure…
“Hm?” Confused, Jiang Zhe turned to look behind him but saw nothing unusual. Yet when he looked back at the mirror, that vague gray figure was still there.
As Jiang Zhe was surprised and puzzled, a pair of pale red eyes slowly opened within the gray figure in the mirror. They were cold eyes devoid of any emotion…
Jiang Zhe instinctively glanced at the back of his left hand and found that the milky white hexagram magic array was still there, but…
It seemed the color of the magic array was a bit lighter than before…
Was it just an illusion?

Half an hour later, knocking sounds came from the door. Hearing it, Jiang Zhe knew it was Allen. Opening the door with some concern, Jiang Zhe said with a smile, “Good morning, Allen!”
“Good morning, buddy. You look in good shape,” Allen said casually as he waved. “Hurry up and get ready. We’ll leave after breakfast… Oh, I remember—you don’t really need to prepare anything. Let’s go then!” He glanced at Jiang Zhe’s left hand and asked in confusion, “Where are your gloves?”
Jiang Zhe shrugged helplessly. According to Raviya, the pile of dust by the bathroom door in his room was his gloves…
At that moment, the door across opened with a creak. Under Jiang Zhe’s still awkward gaze, Raviya stepped out carrying her suitcase, as if nothing had happened, greeting them in her usual tone, “Hi, good morning, Allen, Thos!”
“Good morning, Raviya!”
“Good morning…”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Raviya handed her suitcase to Allen and said with a smile, “Allen, could you help me carry this bag downstairs?”
“How could I bear to see a beautiful lady carrying such a heavy bag—no problem!” Allen performed a knightly salute and happily took the bag. Then, as if he remembered something, he said to Raviya, “Oh, right. Dia is already downstairs. Go call Lisa and Lailira—breakfast and the carriage are ready. We should set off soon!”
“Okay!” Watching Allen carry the suitcase downstairs, Raviya glanced at the awkward Jiang Zhe and handed him a pair of brand-new white gloves.
“Thanks!” Jiang Zhe thanked her, took the gloves from Raviya, and put them on. Then he frowned and muttered, “They’re a bit… small?”
Raviya’s expression changed instantly. With a cold snort, she said, “Those are mine. If you’re not satisfied, go buy your own!”
“No, I’m very satisfied!”
“Hmph!” Glaring at Jiang Zhe, Raviya knocked on Lisa and Lailira’s doors.
“Lisa, Lailira, it’s me… Get ready. We’re leaving!”
“Oh!”
“Got it, Avi!”
Watching Raviya in the distance, Jiang Zhe glanced at the white gloves on his hands.
Such a powerful dark force… How strong exactly?
“Snap!” Shaking his head, Jiang Zhe tried to snap his fingers. Then he nodded and murmured, “A bit small, but… it’ll do.”
Meanwhile, at the Rexox Academy…

The old headmaster was frowning as he examined the letter in his hands, wearing his monocle. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and glanced toward the door. With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Father Andrew, dressed in red bishop’s robes, stepped in. After closing the door behind him, he asked the old headmaster in confusion, “What’s happened? Why were you in such a hurry to summon me?”

The old headmaster smiled slightly, set his pipe aside, and handed him the letter. “This is a letter from the Galic Magic Association’s branch. Their local leader, Icabod Weiss, has known that old fellow Wiston for over a decade. Out of trust, he sent us the latest intelligence…”

“Oh?” Father Andrew stepped forward to take the letter and frowned. “Is it about Argus?”

“Mm!” The old headmaster nodded, then stood up and went to the window, frowning as he gazed outside. “According to the intelligence, Argus has been in the Galic region for at least two months. Though we don’t know his exact purpose, I’m sure it’s related to Galic… The last place he was seen was in a small town called Hale, where he met a man named Jean Connel…”

“Jean Connel?” Father Andrew was momentarily stunned. “Who is that?”

“We don’t know,” the old headmaster shook his head and frowned. “The Galic Magic Association’s branch has investigated this Jean Connel, but there’s no information about him at all…”

“Hmph. If he’s able to pique Argus’s interest, that Jean Connel must be no ordinary person…”

“We’re not sure yet. It seems Argus is trying his best to hide his whereabouts. As a result, the Galic Magic Association’s branch has lost over a dozen skilled magicians. Given their current situation, I’m afraid they won’t be able to gather more intelligence for us…”

“Mm. Argus is a very terrifying man—his strength is extraordinary. So what do you plan to do?”

“Go to Galic!” The old headmaster turned to look at Father Andrew and sighed slightly. “If Argus is truly as powerful as you say, then no one in Galic can deal with him. Since he chose to stay there, there must be reasons why he can’t leave. So he won’t leave in the short term. What we need to do is find him…”

“Is it necessary to trouble the great mage Gret Kaines? Hehehe. But I’ll go with you!”
“Mm?”

Looking at the somewhat surprised old dean, Father Andrew whispered, “Gret, don’t forget that it’s my task to catch that man. And don’t underestimate him—Argus is extremely powerful!”
Picking up a pipe from the table and putting it in his mouth, the old dean asked with a hint of doubt, “Extremely powerful?”
“Yes! Incredibly strong!”