153 Last Stage (1/2)

Honestly, Greyson hated this feeling.

Guilt.

It stabbed straight into his heart. Murder was accepted in society as an inevitable occurrence. Obviously, it was still a crime that could be punished, but who would get caught? Magic made murder too easy to get away with unless the criminal purposefully leaves evidence. Maybe commoners without magic could still get put to death for murder, however, this was only because they were weak. The government in charge did not feel any hesitation punishing people with no background. A large percentage of magicians were born in an aristocratic family. Even if they got caught, no one would dare to make an arrest. Ordinary soldiers could do nothing in the face of powerful magicians. Killing and death were concepts that Greyson could accept in his head. Enacting them in real life? It still made him feel uncomfortable in his heart. Were those young men really deserving of death? Was it right? In the end, there was no clear right and wrong in this situation. His teacher and he were targets and in danger of dying. They had to fight back for survival.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. Feeling the already drying blood and almost tasting the iron smell in the air, Greyson willed his body to stop shaking. Sitting down, he began to meditate to recover his mana to its peak state. Leilena watched the entire situation unfold and her heart truly ached for her student. However, every child must grow up. This was the reality of this world. As terrible and dark as it was, everyone must learn and adapt. When she looked at the bodies strewn on the ground in her wake, her conscience no longer felt pricked as it once did years ago. The unfeeling green eyes turned dull before clearing once again. There was no longer space to pity. She followed Greyson's lead and also sat down to meditate.

Both of them sat in complete silence. Greyson was the first to finish and he stood up rapidly before using his water element to clean his body. Changing into a set of new clothes, he looked at the bodies with a conflicted expression. Waving his hand, fire burst out and quickly burned the bodies to ash. The fire burned so hot that not even the smell lingered. Looking down at his hand, he formed a fist and tightened to the point that his skin turned pale and bloodless. When his head rose once again, he no longer thought about the past events. The last stage was right in front of him, he could not afford to be distracted and fail here. That would make everything they suffered and the death of those young men to be in vain. Turning his head towards his teacher, he realized that she was already standing and waiting for Greyson in front of the doorway to the next trial. Her green eyes encouraged him warmly.

”Alright, slowpoke, it's time to go! I'm going to grow wrinkles at this point. I haven't been able to get a wink of my daily beauty sleep! Youthful looks such as mine do not come without any effort.” Leilena jokingly grumbled while touching her face. Clearly, she was just lying through her teeth, but Greyson just chuckled at her act. Although the distraction effort was obvious, it did make him feel a little better.

”Apologies, Your Highness. I didn't mean to ruin the princess's daily beauty routine.” Exaggerating an expression of piety, Greyson plead guilty.

”Hmph~ as long as you're aware of my sacrifices.”

”Alright, alright. Let's go, teacher! I'm sick of this dungeon already. I feel like the longer I stay here, the more likely I'll go as crazy as the dungeon creator.”

”Hehehe! That's more like it.” Leilena did not wait another second and quickly hopped through the door. Greyson followed right behind her.

Their vision tunneled as the world turned black. Before a bright light burst out and lit up their surroundings. Squinting to let his eyes adjust, Greyson waited to look at his surroundings clearly. Some hints of dread filled his heart as he tried guessing what this stage would bring.

”Oh~ some people made it to this stage... How disappointing...”

Gritting his teeth, Greyson truly wanted to beat this dungeon creator until his mother could not recognize him.