Early in the morning in the village, Raven stepped out of his house, only to find the village official standing in his path, as if he had been waiting for him.
The official spoke with a curious tone:
"Where are you heading this early, Raven?"
Raven answered calmly while locking his door:
"I'm going to visit Asteria."
The official raised an eyebrow, cautioning him:
"Don't forget, it's now under the rule of Vanor."
Raven gave a faint smile and replied:
"I know... but I'm going to see my friends."
He got into his car and drove toward Asteria.
As he approached, his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of a massive wall stretching endlessly to the right and left.
He muttered to himself:
"It looks like this wall surrounds all of Asteria... and there are checkpoints at every gate.
I wonder how they inspect aircraft?"
He arrived at one of the gates, where both his car and himself were thoroughly searched.
After passing through, he headed straight for his old home in Asteria.
But the moment he stepped inside, he froze.
"What a mess... The prison cell I was in was cleaner than this..."
Before he could process it, he heard the sound of police cars racing toward him.
In moments, his house was completely surrounded.
Raven stepped outside, hands raised, and called out:
"What's happening?!"
One of the officers shouted back:
"You need to come with us to the police station. Immediately!"
Raven froze for a second before responding:
"Why? What's going on?"
The officer said sharply:
"You'll find out there."
They took him to an interrogation room, where an investigator awaited him with a piercing gaze.
Sitting across from him, the investigator began:
"Welcome back... Where have you been all this time?"
Raven looked at him, puzzled:
"What kind of question is that? Do you interrogate everyone who takes a vacation?"
The officer's expression hardened:
"You were assigned by the Everin family to deliver the funds imposed on Asteria by the Arcadia Organization.
You completed the task, but then the port incident occurred, and you disappeared.
Shortly after, two leaders of the royal families were killed — all while you were missing.
And now you suddenly return. What's your explanation?"
Raven answered confidently:
"I took a vacation and left Asteria.
How could I possibly know about everything that happened while I was away?
I only came back because of some university matters."
The officer smirked slightly and said:
"You've been expelled from the university due to accumulated absences."
Raven sighed internally:
"Looks like I forgot to submit a leave request before I left... I'll have to deal with that later."
Then the officer leaned forward:
"Outside of Asteria... where exactly were you?"
Raven remained silent for a moment, then replied firmly:
"Since there's no valid accusation against me, I refuse to answer any more questions.
I demand to be released immediately.
If you detain me without evidence, I will file a complaint against you for unlawful arrest."
The officer looked at Raven for a few seconds, then said coldly:
"You may leave."
Raven stood up and walked out of the police station.
As he stepped outside, he let out a long breath of relief:
"Oh, good... I actually managed to get out.
I thought they were going to lock me up because of what I said at the end..."
Suddenly, Raven froze.
"!!! I forgot about the university!
I completely forgot I got expelled... How am I supposed to return now?
If I tell them the real reason for my absence, they won't believe me.
Still... I have to try."
Without wasting time, Raven drove toward the university.
As he walked through the main gates, he paused, looking around in awe:
"Has the university gotten bigger?
Or is it just because I haven't seen it for so long?
It looks like they've made a lot of changes."
He headed toward the gathering area where students usually hung out, waiting patiently.
Before long, familiar faces approached him.
Raven smiled warmly:
"You've all grown... my friends."
Hardin rushed up to him first, his face a mixture of relief and frustration:
"Where have you been?!
You just vanished after Shin's death."
Ayumi followed, concern heavy in her voice:
"Yeah... We searched for you everywhere but no one knew anything."
Raven lowered his gaze for a moment before answering:
"I was... very busy.
My phone broke too, so I couldn't contact anyone.
Anyway... what happened to the university?"
Hardin sighed, crossing his arms:
"You know Asteria became part of Vanor now, right?
The university operates under their rules too."
Ayumi added:
"It means students who don't meet their standards get expelled immediately...
And the strongest ones are taken to work directly for the Empire."
Raven's expression darkened slightly:
"Asteria also used to take the strong students... to guard the royal families."
Hardin shook his head:
"Yeah... but this time, all the strong ones they took...
They died."
Raven's heart skipped a beat.
"!!"
Ayumi looked away, her voice trembling slightly:
"I don't know exactly what's happening...
But from what I've heard, they're being put through some kind of harsh 'testing.'
Most of their bodies couldn't survive it."
Raven clenched his fists slightly.
"Right now, I need to focus on returning to the university.
Once I fix that...
I'll find out what's really happening."
"I'll head to the registration office... and come up with a good excuse."
Hardin, walking beside him, added seriously:
"By the way, about the students who were taken...
Only one ever came back — Leon.
But... he refuses to talk about what happened."
Raven's eyes lit up slightly:
"That's great.
We'll convince Leon to tell us."
Ayumi waved as she turned away:
"Alright, see you tomorrow!"
Later that day, Raven made his way to a private hospital.
He paid a generous amount of money to have a medical certificate issued —
one that stated he needed long-term treatment outside of Asteria.
Feeling satisfied, he returned home to rest.
The next morning, Raven went to the university, submitted the document, and after some procedures, he was officially re-enrolled.
He attended his first lecture, then made his way to the usual meeting spot where he found Hardin waiting.
Raven asked immediately:
"Hardin, do you know where Leon is?"
Hardin scratched his head:
"I was just looking for him, actually."
Raven nodded thoughtfully:
"Alright then...
How do they choose which students to recruit?
Is there some kind of tournament or something?"
Hardin shook his head:
"No tournaments.
They have surveillance cameras everywhere.
If you get into a fight with someone, it'll all be recorded.
They assess your strength from that... and if you stand out, they come for you."
Raven smirked:
"If we can't find any information...
then we'll just have to stage a fight and make sure they notice me."
Hardin raised an eyebrow skeptically:
"Are you sure you're strong enough to get chosen?🙂"
Raven chuckled:
"We'll find out soon enough."
Hardin:
"You love taking risks.
We better not tell Ayumi about this little plan though —
if she finds out, she'll beat both of us up.
That girl's terrifyingly strong! 🤣🤣"
Raven:
" let's keep this our secret. 😂"
After a long search, they finally found Leon.
Raven approached him with a relieved smile:
"Finally, we found you, Leon."
Leon looked up, surprised:
"Oh, Raven! It's been a long time."
Hardin crossed his arms and said a bit accusingly:
"You haven't been seeing or talking to anyone ever since you were selected with the other top students."
Leon shook his head:
"No... I've just been focusing on my studies.
Nothing else."
Raven narrowed his eyes slightly:
"They say all the students who were chosen never came back... except you."
Leon replied calmly:
"They don't want to come back."
Hardin rolled his eyes:
"That's the same excuse every time."
Raven pressed on:
"Then where are they?"
Leon shrugged:
"I don't know."
Raven leaned in a bit closer:
"Where did they take you?"
Leon frowned, looking a little uncomfortable:
"I... don't remember."
Hardin sighed and grabbed Raven's arm:
"Forget it, Raven. We're not getting anything out of him. Let's go."
But Raven stayed firm, saying:
"I'm asking because... I've been selected too."
Leon's eyes widened in shock:
"What??"
Hardin almost shouted:
"What?!?!"
Raven gave a half-smile:
"I'm leaving soon.
I don't know exactly when they'll call me, but if there's anything important I should know, please tell me.
Come on, Hardin, let's go."
After they moved away from Leon, Hardin grabbed Raven's shoulder and whispered:
"You've been selected?!
What the hell are you talking about?!"
Raven chuckled:
"Relax.
I wasn't chosen.
I said that just to shake him up — maybe he'll slip and tell us something later."
As they walked, Raven suddenly pointed:
"Oh look... it's Ayumi."
Raven quickly pulled out his phone and froze when he saw the screen:
"Ten missed calls from her?!"
Hardin glanced at him and said:
"I think we should run.
She called me like crazy too."