novelraw Chapter 225: Only A Stranger
Chapter 225: Only A Stranger
***
The noise of the Colosseum didn’t die down even after the fight ended.
If anything, it got worse.
Students were pouring out of the stands like a broken dam. Nobles were arguing. Professors were whispering to each other like a flock of nervous birds. Some people were excited, some confused, and some looked like they had just realized the world might be ending.
Right in the middle of that chaos...
Ignotus walked out of the arena like nothing had happened.
He had things to do, and standing around like a statue for people to gawk at wasn’t on the list.
The walk through the tunnel was a gauntlet of stares.
Students pressed against the walls as he passed, their expressions a mix of awe, terror, and genuine confusion.
Ignotus didn’t look back at them.
Why would he? He knew what he looked like—a blood-streaked mess with white hair that probably looked like it had been dipped in a slaughterhouse.
Gaia was waiting at the tunnel exit, clutching a small, fluffy black bundle to her chest.
Of course, it was Eris, currently tucked into a ball and snoring—if crows could snore.
It sounded more like a tiny, rhythmic whistling.
"Hubby!"
Gaia rushed forward, only to pause.
She looked like she wanted to hug him, but after looking at the state of his clothes, she decided against it. Instead, she just held out the bird.
"You... you actually did it."
Ignotus reached out and took the sleeping crow from her arms.
The moment his fingers touched the black feathers, Eris’s eyes snapped open.
She let out an indignant Caw! and immediately pecked his thumb.
"Ow. Good to see you too."
’So you won, hm?’
Eris’s voice echoed in his mind, sounding smugly satisfied despite the physical pecking.
"You really won it all!"
Gaia added, walking close at his side as they moved toward the main Academy grounds.
Ignotus nodded at them both.
"Yes, I did."
’Good job.’
Eris whispered, her crimson eyes narrowing as she settled onto his shoulder.
"Great job, hubby!"
Gaia cheered as well, a bit too loudly for the public setting.
"Thanks."
Ignotus’s reply was simple.
He’d fought, he’d stabbed, he’d won. Simple as that.
Ding!
Suddenly, a transparent blue screen flickered into existence in front of his eyes.
—
╔═════════════╗
║QUEST COMPLETE!║
╚═════════════╝
[You Have Won A Great Victory]
[+ 10 STAT POINTS!]
—
’Nice.’
Ignotus didn’t even slow his pace.
With a mental flick, he pulled up his stat sheet.
He needed to be faster and harder to kill if he was going to survive the mess he’d just started. And so, he assigned five Points to Speed and five Points to Endurance.
Ignotus felt a brief surge of Divinity ripple through his muscles and lungs.
It was like his body had just been fine-tuned, the lingering fatigue from the fight with Rosa washing away in a wave.
He was about to ask Gaia where they could find a decent meal when a hooded figure stepped out from behind a stone pillar, blocking their path.
The man wore the grey robes of the Academy.
"Student Ignotus, follow me. The headmaster wishes to see you. Alone."
Ignotus kept walking, gesturing for Gaia to stay right where she was.
"No."
The hooded man paused, his shoulders stiffening.
"I said alone, boy. This is not a request."
"She’s my wife."
Ignotus countered, not even looking at the guy.
"She’s part of House Calamity. If I’m going to get yelled at or given a medal, she deserves to know. If that’s a problem, tell the old man I’m busy."
The guard hesitated, then sighed, realizing that trying to move Ignotus was like trying to push a mountain that was also very good at stabbing people.
He turned and began to lead the way through the private corridors of the administrative wing.
Soon, they reached the top floor, a place Ignotus found familiar.
The guard opened the double doors and stepped aside, letting Ignotus go through.
Gaia followed as if she were walking toward a firing squad. She was sweating, her hands repeatedly wringing her skirt.
"H-Headmaster Dante! A pleasure! An honor! Please excuse our... our sudden..."
Ignotus, meanwhile, flopped onto one of the expensive velvet chairs in front of the desk.
He leaned back, crossing his legs, and let Eris hop onto the mahogany surface to inspect a bowl of decorative glass beads.
"Hey."
Ignotus nodded at Dante.
He acted like they were two buddies meeting up at a pub rather than a student and a man who held the power of life and death over him.
"What is it?"
Gaia looked like she was about to faint.
"Ignotus! Please s-show some respect!"
Dante didn’t look angry. In fact, he looked exactly the same as he had in his office earlier—pleased.
Instead of mentioning the speech, the "Demon Tide," or the fact that the Great Houses were currently calling for Ignotus’s head, he focused on the student himself.
"I assume you’ve only accepted to come here for the winner’s spoils."
"Exactly."
Ignotus leaned forward.
"There’s no point in winning if I don’t get the loot."
"And what is it you desire?"
Ignotus didn’t hesitate.
"A God’s Tear."
"..."
"..."
The room went silent.
Gaia gasped, realizing the enormity of his request.
A God’s Tear was incredibly rare—a drop of distilled, pure Divinity that had fallen from the upper strata. In an auction, it would start at a hundred gold pieces and only go up.
It was the kind of item that could kickstart a breakthrough or save someone from the brink of turning Hollow.
Dante’s smile widened.
He reached out, and with a casual snap of his fingers, the air in front of him tore open into a small portal pulsing with light.
Dante reached in and pulled out a tiny glass vial, no bigger than a finger. Inside was a single, shimmering drop of brilliant white liquid that seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat.
He slid it across the desk.
Ignotus took it carefully.
He could feel the power vibrating through the glass.
This was his ticket to the next level!
It was perfect.
"Thanks."
Ignotus called the vial into his inventory and looked at Dante squarely.
"So, what’s my punishment?"
Gaia almost let out a squeak, expecting the worst, but fully ready to jump in if need be.
Dante chuckled and stood up, looking out the window at the Academy grounds where the panic was still simmering.
"For the foreseeable future... Ignotus of House Calamity is hereby banned from setting foot on Saint Academy grounds ever again."
Gaia’s jaw dropped.
"Expelled?! After he won?! But—"
Ignotus, however, was grinning.
He looked at the crow on his shoulder, who was also bobbing her head in what looked like a tiny, birdlike laugh.
This wasn’t a punishment, no, far from it.
It was a release.
No more forced classes, no more boring lectures, and no more pretending to be a student while the world burned. Ignotus had the title, he had the loot, and now he had his freedom.
"I gladly accept this punishment."
He stood up and gave a short bow, making Dante smile.
"I thought you might~."
Grabbing Gaia’s hand, Ignotus turned to the door to lead her out.
"Wait, that’s it?"
Gaia whispered as they walked down the hall.
"We’re just... leaving? We’re kicked out?"
"Yep."
Ignotus’s pace quickened as they reached the fresh air outside.
"We’ve got a war to prepare for, and I need to find a place to build a fortress."
Once outside, he looked back at the Academy’s Collesseum with a smile.
No longer was he a student, now...
He was only a Stranger.