CHAPTER 78: DISCIPLE CULTIVATION SYSTEM CH78 RED NIGHT PT 1.

A few hours ago.

"....Ah, I’m so spent. I just want to stay home."

The sun had set and the curtains of the day were unfolding. Once night fell, the after-party would be held and Valaria would be titled the ace of the first year.

Yet Val wasn’t glad in the least. She knew she didn’t deserve it. That fact alone had made her feel miserable the past few days after the rank games. There were more people deserving of that title than her.

The very cold Kai, always lost in thought. As one of the contributors to the fight against Art, he had been the one to suffer the most beating out of the four. He might have shrugged it off, but after they exited the dimension, he had collapsed right after, bleeding plentifully.

Then there was Enko, who had kept Art’s pressure dormant, or else they wouldn’t even have been able to move. Her body had suffered enough stress to paralyze her for a whole hour.

Then there was Kiara, whose knowledge in magic had made everything possible. She unfortunately showed multiple symptoms of exhaustion, when Val parted with her, she had noticed she was paler than usual.

Anyway, these three exceptional individuals were the reason she was able to even land a killing blow on Art. Had it not been for them, nothing would have gone her way even if she had gone with Kurt. She owed her victory to others; hence, being proclaimed an ace didn’t sit right with her.

"No going now would also be seen as an act of disrespect."

The after-party wasn’t actually held for her but for every first-year, even those who had failed. The awarding of her title in itself would be private and personal, made by the headmistress but...

"Should I just call in sick?"

That was actually a good plan. Even Instructor Art hadn’t come out of the games unscathed and now spent his days in the hospital, still in a coma. If she played her cards right, she could pretend to be sick, but that presented another problem.

"The food..."

Just imagining the massive bouquet that awaited her an hour from now made her drool. Like Kurt said before their fallout, she ended up doing a bit of research on the after-party. The previous year had food ranging from junk food to the most elegant cuisine from all over the world. She would be a fool to miss that.

"Ugh....I really have to go after all."

Being miserable could wait until she was full.

Rolling off her bed, she planted her feet on the floor before she could fall and headed to the mirror in her room.

There she was...the same as always. Pure white hair as smooth as snow and eyes the color of grey. Some had called her beautiful before, but it wasn’t that she cared about—rather...

"Damn, I’m still ripped."

Pulling her sleeves back, she tensed her arm muscles and grinned, observing their toned form. Once she was satisfied, she pulled up her shirt and poked her six-pack.

If there was anything she was proud of, it was the fact that she was built. Aura was an multiplier—it added to what already existed. If an average individual had a strength level of 10, Aura multiplied said strength, making it a hundred. Hence, the more built and physically strong an individual was, the more they benefited from Aura.

This was why beastkins were physically the strongest race. If dragons could use Aura, that title would have belonged to them.

"Sigh..."

Leveling the hems of the shirt, she watched it fall back into place before walking to her wardrobe.

"I wonder how that old man is doing?"

By old man, she was referring to Art, with whom she had finally settled her grudge. She hadn’t found the time to visit him yet because he still wasn’t awake. Seeing him so vulnerable after the imposing presence he gave off during the fight just felt wrong.

"I wonder what he will say to me once he wakes up?"

Tracing her fingers across the simple fabrics of the clothing in her wardrobe, she muttered. At the last second he had sounded proud but...

"Argh...stop getting in my head."

Shaking her head to diminish Art’s smiling image in her head, she returned to searching for an appropriate attire. There was her school uniform, her P.E. wear, a few casual home wears, and some outdated outing clothes. Nothing in her wardrobe screamed fancy party.

She knew she wasn’t going for a celebrity red carpet or whatnot, but she just didn’t have the appropriate attire. Her master, while high up in class, wasn’t one for parties, nor was he the kind to buy her party wear.

"At this rate, I’m going to look out of place."

Leaning back and collapsing flat on her bed, she stared at the ceiling with a disappointed look. After thinking about it for a while, she ended up exiting her room and knocking on that of her housemate.

"Miss... Trish!" She called awkwardly.

She and Trish hadn’t spoken much since the games ended. They weren’t particularly on bad terms, and to Valaria’s surprise, she hadn’t been threatened to stay away from Art.

Trish seemed to have grown calm, but still Val feared her. She still remembered the horrifying feelings that crept into her heart when Enko described how brutal Trish had been in their fight. The sheer savagery was uncanny, but it wasn’t going to stop her from asking for help.

"What do you want?"

Beckoning to the call, Trish stumbled to the door and opened it.

Her appearance was messy. She had full-blown tousled hair while she wore a large top that fell down to her knees with nothing covering her legs. She looked like a NEET, with the dark circles under her eyes a testament to sleepless nights.

"Ah... actually Miss Trish, I was wondering if you could aid me?"

Exercising humility, Val pulled her arms behind her and began with an appeal for help.

Trish stared at her blankly, like a child observing a helpless cat.

"What do you need?"

Valaria was surprised she accepted to help her, but now came the hard part.

"I was actually in need of a dress. Heck, I’ll even pay you to lend me one."

"What kind?"

"Used for partying... you know, big balls. The kind nobles attend."

"What color do you want it in?"

"Red will do." Val smiled, and Trish followed by opening her door wider to let her in.

"I can’t choose for you. So come have a look. If there’s one you particularly fancy, you can take it."

Valaria nodded and stepped into Trish’s room.

She was startled right after.

Her room wasn’t particularly fancy or anything—just really vibrant. Pink floor lining, pink carpet, pink curtains, pink bedsheets. Basically, she really loved pink.

Honestly, except for the obsession with pink and the few irregular pictures of Instructor Art, the room was far less scary than she imagined.

"Here."

Leading her to the big wardrobe at the corner of the room, Trish gestured, opening it to allow her to choose from.

An abundance of dresses were lined up within, and a few were neatly folded within drawers in the wardrobe. Valaria ran her fingers through and quickly found one to her liking.

It was a frill red dress. Bringing it closer, she found its length to reach right below her knees.

"I’ll take this."

Twirling around, she faced Trish with certainty.

"I thought you would take something much fancier?" Trish commented, finding her choice lacking.

The dress was far too simple to accommodate Valaria’s beauty, but that part was only for her to know.

"If I had somebody to impress maybe, but right now, not really."

"I see." Trish, grabbing a black variation of Valaria’s choice, muttered and brought it closer to her chest.

She too had nobody to impress either. The after-party was the only chance she would have had to spend time with Art without it being too weird, but now he was hospitalized. Taking the fun out of the event for her.

Normally she would have stayed behind if something hadn’t caught her eye, but this was a school activity. She wanted to be consistent in her attendance at the very least.

"Let’s get dressed then."

After saying so, she led Valaria out of her room and closed it shut before pacing to her mirror to get ready.

---

In the far outskirts of Academia City, where the forest and vast ocean lay dominant, the ground veiled in a carpet of dead leaves stirred, erupting into a shockwave as a massive portal emerged, spitting out the figure of a bloody man.

"Huff... Huff..."

Rolling to the ground, his body came to a halt near a tree.

"Close."

He then stretched out his hand and clenched it, sealing the hole in space.

"I finally escaped."

Pushing his body up and leaning against a tree, the man—no, vampire—his fangs bared, stared deeply at the full moon.

It had been days since he last saw the sky, and yet he couldn’t savor its beauty, especially after deciphering the event that was about to transpire.