Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Living as a Hero's Brother**

**Chapter 15: Monster Hunting (1)**

The artifact storage of the academy was incredibly vast. Unlike its appearance, it was expanded by a space-expansion spell, making it as wide as the library inside the academy. There, precious-looking artifacts were displayed in transparent glass cases.

Shane, who had been scanning them, asked Benjamin, "Can I choose any of them?"

"Sure, go ahead. Of course, you can only choose one, so you'll have to think about it quite a bit."

"Understood."

For the convenience of the students who would visit, the usage of each artifact was clearly written below the display. Of course, the artifacts here were not of exceptional quality. They were just good enough for ordinary students, but far inferior to the level of the empire or kingdom's storage. Just the right level to make the students feel good.

Since he didn't expect anything more, Shane slowly scanned the area without any sign of disappointment. 'I don't necessarily have to choose an artifact.'

He saw various weapons, armor, talismans, and accessories, but something caught his eye.

"Are you really going to choose that?"

Benjamin's expression became awkward, as he hadn't expected Shane to choose such an item. However, Shane replied without much concern, "Yes. It seems it will be helpful for the research I'm currently doing."

A purple stone he had seen a few days ago. It was called the source of magic. A miraculous elixir for monsters. However, it wasn't something only monsters needed. For example, it was also a miraculous elixir for spirits.

Shane's eyes glinted coldly as he looked at the source of magic. 'It should be useful for dealing with the bugs.'

At least, it would show a more definite performance than most of the artifacts in this storage.

* * *

Dilaila felt slightly disheartened every time she saw the old-fashioned door in front of her. 'It's a bit intimidating.'

As a house in the center of the allied nations, the people living inside were from a fairly prestigious family. However, this house was used as a villa, so it wasn't very large. A three-story building.

Dilaila slowly entered the building and smiled awkwardly. There, a boy who looked to be about ten years old greeted her with an innocent smile.

"Teacher!"

"A, hello."

The boy was the son of a noble family whom Dilaila had been tutoring since last month. Perhaps because he was raised with great care, he exuded a noble aura. It felt very awkward for Dilaila to be greeted by him.

Usually, people looked at her with biased eyes, but this young boy, perhaps because of his age, looked at her with curiosity. This made it difficult for her to proceed with the lesson, as his talkative nature often slowed things down.

"Hey, teacher, teacher. You know, the toy I was playing with last week broke... and I got scolded by my father."

"Ahaha, I see..."

Of course, the boy's chatter continued throughout the lesson.

"But he said I should expect a new toy soon! Hehe."

The boy's innocent smile. Normally, it would be cute enough to evoke maternal affection, but something felt off about it.

Dilaila quickly shook off the strange feeling and smiled awkwardly. She still found it difficult to show her teeth to others.

* * *

Late night at the academy.

Shane sat quietly on a hilltop, looking down at the scenery below. The capital of Argenzia, the center of the allied nations, was always bright. As a city created by the leaders of five nations, its development was much faster than other cities.

The night sky was dark. While it might look beautiful to some, Shane knew well that beneath this city, there were countless filthy bugs.

These bugs gnawed at the foundation of the allied nations and would soon show their dirty teeth to the five nations' alliance. They might not even realize the poison these bugs would bring back to them.

'After all, they are just bugs that will die in the end.'

If so, wouldn't it be better to clean them up in advance?

Shane had no intention of wasting this peaceful time, laughing and chatting at the academy. His life at the academy was merely a means to establish his identity in the open. In the shadows, he planned to act in a different role.

A dark aura, even darker than the night, enveloped Shane as if responding to his thoughts. Soon, the darkness, devoid of any human presence, descended towards a mansion below the hill.

* * *

A middle-aged noble sat in his study, sipping tea. The aroma, fitting for a high-quality tea, was very pleasing to the noble.

"Pity. I can't drink much."

"…It's harmful to your health."

The knight standing in front of the noble said loyally.

"Things that are bad for the body are often the most delicious. I lack patience, so I have to taste it from time to time."

"…"

The knight remained silent.

The tea the noble was drinking was made from the leaves of a plant called Mahachao, which, as its name suggests, infused positive energy into magic. However, its toxicity was strong, causing the drinker's magic to become twisted. Despite this, it was occasionally sold as a luxury item to nobles due to its pleasant aroma.

"By the way, what happened to the toy?"

"Yes, it was subdued and moved to the basement."

"Good. It was really lucky. Isn't it? Such a sturdy other-race is hard to find."

"Still, isn't it a bit dangerous? She is a student at the academy, and behind her…."

The knight didn't finish his sentence, but the noble already understood his concern.

"Nothing will happen. The academy only assists her, not protect her. Especially outside the academy. It might be better if she disappears. They might even laugh, saying a troublesome money bug is gone."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. After all, the toy's backing in this world… is already considered dead."

"I was out of line."

"Haha, you're always so serious. But it's a good thing. I was surprised last time. I told my son to play with it because he was bored, but who would have thought it would break so quickly?"

"It's my fault for not properly assisting the young master."

"Come on, it's not your fault. You weren't even in charge of it. But this time, it's a sturdy toy, so it won't break like last time."

The noble naturally changed the subject.

"By the way, what about the guest who was supposed to come?"

"Yes, it seems it will take some time."

"Of course, they are busy people. But since they are important customers, we should wait for them."

"…"

"First, show them the product, and then we'll need to provide training. You'll be busy."

"I will follow your orders. Please give me orders whenever you need."

"Haha, I understand. You are indeed a reliable knight. Get ready to receive the guest."

"Understood."

* * *

What is Shane most wary of?

His own corruption?

The organization's power?

Neither.

Shane now knew more about corruption than anyone else and had experience commanding a legion, so he could prepare for the organization's power. However, there was one thing he couldn't control.

Human corruption.

In his previous life, the collapse of humanity by the organization was not solely due to the organization's overwhelming power. The five nations, including the empire, fell in less than five years. The first kingdom to be invaded by the organization fell in less than a week, with the king's head hung on the city walls. The second and third kingdoms fell in just half a year. The remaining empire and one nation resisted for four and a half years, but it was already too late.

As a result, countless humans died, and all nations were destroyed. Until the first princess of the time gathered the remaining humans and declared a new nation, there was no hope left for humanity.

If it weren't for the organization's power, it would have taken much longer to destroy all the nations. The existence of the allied nations was the biggest obstacle to the organization.

However, the organization was well aware of this and had spent a long time spreading cancer cells within the allied nations. By the time the organization appeared, the significance of the allied nations had faded, accelerating the fall of humanity.

Shane had no immediate way to deal with these cancer cells, as they had already spread too widely.

'So, I need to start eliminating them one by one now.'

Of course, he didn't have the time to hunt them down one by one. He didn't even have the ability to burn them all at once. However, there was a possibility to eliminate the nerve cells connecting them.

Looking at the old-fashioned mansion, he thought, 'Keep surrounding me.'

No voice was heard around Shane, but a small voice that only his soul could hear existed. The dark spirit.

Before coming to the academy, Shane had destroyed a rotten tree spirit, leaving behind a remnant. It was so insignificant that it took Shane a while to notice it inside him. A few days ago, while checking his mental world after the practical exam, he found it by chance.

It was just a remnant, unable to do anything or even grow. However, by feeding it the source of magic, it became a dark spirit again. However, it had no memory of its past and was far from being a rotten tree spirit. It was just a lump of darkness.

Shane didn't even give it a name. Despite being called a spirit, it was essentially a conduit. A conduit to manifest the darkness within Shane physically.

Through this darkness, Shane entered the mansion and sighed lightly. "What a disgusting smell."

The internal storage of the mansion. Due to the lack of security, it was easy to enter, but Shane knew the reason. Wasn't it one of the ways for a noble with dirty hobbies to avoid being noticed?

At the moment, the only smell in Shane's nose was the dust and wooden boxes in the storage. However, he could feel the residue of damp emotions deeper underground.

They were very diverse. Death, despair, curses, hatred, giving up… Among them, the most noticeable was ecstasy. Someone's ecstasy.

Just by these emotions, Shane knew what was happening underground. "A fitting hobby for a cancer cell."

What is the greatest enemy of humanity now? It is the other-races.

Most other-races were sealed by Akasha in the past and can now only be found in dungeons. However, before the great seal of Akasha ended, humans lived a life worse than bugs among the other-races. Therefore, as humans gained power, they began to hate these other-races.

Before the regression, Dilaila didn't join the organization for no reason. Occasionally, other-races would escape from the great seal and were often used as slaves in the past. Although the empire now recognizes the independence of other-races and has abolished the 'other-race slavery system,' humans are animals that feel more pleasure when told not to do something.

While not all, some people chase such pleasure, and the scenery they create is predictable.

Shane, once again enveloped in darkness, headed towards the entrance leading underground. There, he saw the copper-skinned girl he had seen earlier in the day, chained and with a resigned expression.

"Damn, I've seen it all in this life, really."

A thick curse. However, the voice was neither the proud voice Shane knew from the past nor the lively voice of the present. It was a precarious voice, as if on the verge of giving up.

Shane had heard this kind of voice before. It was similar to the voice of a woman on a night in a high city, where an orc drank a bottle of strong poison, lamenting his life.

"Dilaila."

Behind the plain round mask, Shane called out the name of a girl he knew in his past life, and a girl who hated him intensely, without any emotion.