CHAPTER 47: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH47ALONE TIME.

"What’s up with you?"

As both he and Grim left the Headmistress’s office after minutes of brainstorming, he decided to question Grim about her odd behavior as they began their walk through the empty hallway.

Grim kept to herself and didn’t respond, simply looking out the window to observe the orange afternoon sky.

"Just so you know, I can also give the silent treatment."

He wasn’t basically the only one she could talk to normally, so that was like telling her to commit social suicide.

So, even if she didn’t like it, she began to speak.

"Hey... Art, is it wrong to have an inferiority complex?"

Her tone was genuine and unfiltered. This was what she was truly feeling, and Art, noticing this, smiled slightly.

An inferiority complex—a subject as old as time, or so he wanted to believe. It was a feeling of self-doubt, a belief that one wasn’t up to par with others. It had basically been his childhood friend. Once upon a time, he too had felt he wasn’t as good as his siblings back on Earth. That healthy obsession with catching up to them had broken him, and now...

"A word of advice—don’t pay it any mind. After all, there’s always a mountain above a mountain and clouds above clouds. No matter how strong, smart, or beautiful you are, there’s always someone much better than you."

"But..."

"For Christ’s sake, Grim, you’re almost forty. Now’s not the time to grow a competitive spirit. You’re already stronger than 90 percent of the world—just leave the remaining 10 percent to their own devices."

Preventing self-doubt and breaking her villain’s flag—that was his goal, because an inferiority complex was what had led to her death in the game’s world. It would take more than a pep talk, but for now, he hoped this would be enough to halt it.

[Grim’s Emotional Meter: Angry]

"What the—?"

With the system prompt notifying him that he had caused the opposite effect, he shot a glance at Grim, who eyed him coldly.

"Did you just call me old?"nshe snapped, veins popping up on her forehead as she clenched her fists.

"Gulp... I know not of what you speak."

Pretending he hadn’t said anything, he attempted to walk away, only to be pulled back by Grim—who didn’t hit him but...

"Woah."

She actually brought him in for a hug.

"You’re right. I shouldn’t waste my thoughts on this."

While her voice was sunken and full of sadness, her words carried an optimistic tone as she continued to hug him in the hallway.

Art didn’t break away. He couldn’t—partly because he was weaker, but also because he didn’t want to.

"It’s alright."

While it felt weird to be hugged so suddenly, he didn’t complain and just patted her back.

At first, she flinched slightly at his touch, pulling her head back from resting on his shoulder to glare at him with an uncertain expression. She simply kept her eyes on him, and after a long silence, she sighed and embraced him once more.

[Grim’s Emotional Meter: Trust Lvl 1]

[A crack making way for light has opened in her dark heart.]

[Congratulations! Killing Intent Achieved.]

[Received: Intermediate Dagger Arts]

[Received: Stealth Techniques (Mid-Grade)]

[Received: Aura Mastery Increased]

[Received: 1x Skill Ticket]

The abundance of notifications echoed in his mind and filled his vision, but right now, all that mattered to him was Grim.

He had been with her for the last two weeks, and she was the character he had spent the most time with. It was ironic, really—the character he had wanted to meet the least was now in his embrace.

A strange occurrence, to say the least.

---

Art’s POV

I found myself leaning idly on the balcony outside the bedroom of my apartment. This habit had been with me since my days at my university hostel.

The cold breeze, the beautiful starry sky, and the urban sights stretched out before me—it was calming and, frankly, the only thing keeping me sane in this world.

This world was strange. Events had grown stranger, and much more. The pressure from two unpredictable situations had left me stressed all day, so I had come out here just to think about what to do next.

First, there was Valarie’s so-called amnesia—something she had never suffered from in the original game’s setting. My memories were almost fully recovered, so I was confident in that knowledge. Val never lost her memories—not now, and not ever.

Then there was how she seemed to know about my personality, habits, and even traumas. For that, I had a theory, but until I could prove it, I wanted to leave that matter for later—especially after the sudden assassin attack.

Pride wasn’t supposed to appear now. And even when she was supposed to appear, it wasn’t in her assassin form. But she did, and to breed confusion at that.

The main reason I had attributed her sudden attack as a red herring was because of the fact that I, Val, and Grim were still alive. The real Pride was far too strong for us to fight and far too ruthless to let us live.

To put it into perspective—the Sword Saint, Trish’s grandmother, had once fought Pride and left a scar on her face—a one-of-a-kind, unhealable scar. And in vengeance, Pride had taken the Sword Saint’s left hand as compensation.

That kind of monster wouldn’t hesitate to kill Grim once she was done playing with her—and the same applied to me. But they had shown restraint, as if actively following a script.

Valarie’s capture was without a doubt real. She was being kidnapped and would have been taken had Grim and I not intervened. Our interference had halted their plans and led to an alteration where we would testify to Cassie, making her grow wary.

They had turned an assassin into a red herring, where their motives weren’t clear—and it would have worked had I not been here.

The Pathfinders—or at least before "HE" took over—operated on the principle of breeding chaos. Because they lacked a main consistent motive, they were unpredictable—but not to me.

With my memories slowly resurfacing, I knew all their plans and motives. Even if they had been altered somewhat, their goals hadn’t changed.

"As long as HE has fully not taken over, I can predict their every move."

Having already begun plans to handle them with the aid of the principal, I decided not to dwell on them for now. My main focus shifted to the upcoming Rank Games.