Chapter 558: Clear Thoughts

“We’re back!”

Emilia’s voice chimed like a bell, cute and excited, as she leaned halfway out of the carriage window.

Her blue eyes sparkled with delight, wide and expressive as always, and strands of her dark hair fluttered in the breeze.

From a distance, her enthusiasm was so radiant it seemed to fill the whole carriage.

They were crossing Wayfall Bridge, the broad stone arch that connected the city to the sprawling grounds of the academy.

The roads were packed, lined with carriages rolling one after another, banners from different noble houses fluttering, and the laughter and chatter of students echoing like a festival.

“Hehe, with this many carriages all heading back, it almost feels like the welcome ceremony all over again, doesn’t it?” Emilia added, her smile stretching ear to ear.

“Indeed,” Reina replied softly. “Except without the floating airships above us. But yes… it seems quite a few parties managed to finish their evaluations around the same time we did.”

Her tone was measured, but she too was mesmerized by the sight.

Some carriages were bursting with noisy groups celebrating their survival, while others carried tired-looking students slumped in their seats, dark rings under their eyes a testament to sleepless nights underground.

It made sense, of course. Students were given a full month to complete their dungeon evaluations.

Some rushed through the trial, while others chose to linger, delving deeper, or even taking the chance to explore nearby towns once their official objectives were met.

Returning early could be seen as diligence—or as wasted opportunity, depending on who you asked.

“Maybe they caught dungeon sickness like us,” Vanessa murmured.

She leaned lazily against the window, her long green hair brushing her shoulders, the light glinting in her golden-green eyes as she gazed at the endless procession of returning students.

Reina turned her head, nodding thoughtfully. “Ah, that would explain it.”

Dungeon sickness.

As time flowed strangely in dungeons—minutes became hours, hours became days, and days… sometimes blurred into something unrecognizable.

Ordinary clocks failed, magical hourglasses slipped out of rhythm, even enchanted compasses spun aimlessly.

It wasn’t unusual for an adventurer to swear they had spent weeks fighting and surviving inside, only to emerge and find barely three days had passed.

Or the opposite—step outside thinking only hours had gone by, only to discover weeks had been stolen.

That distortion left marks. Students came out disoriented, their stomachs refusing food, their memories fogged, dreams and reality mingling until they couldn’t tell one from the other.

They too had only just returned from their dungeon hunt, the air around them still carrying that faint heaviness of dungeon sickness.

Even with their strong constitutions, the distortion of time and space still clung to their bodies, leaving their steps just a bit sluggish and their thoughts faintly hazy.

It wasn’t the exhaustion that weighed on them though—it was the strange, anticlimactic way they had ended an SSS-ranked dungeon.

“Ahhh~ I wanted to at least have a bit of fun before finishing the exams…”

Flamme groaned, puffing out her cheeks as she exhaled against her bangs.

The strands of ash-grey hair swayed with her breath while her arms stayed tucked into the oversized sleeves of her loose jacket.

“Who knew it would all be over so quickly? Just because the dungeon made the mistake of trapping Stacia at its core. Also, Princess, you could’ve at least left some monsters for us outside~”

Her tone carried annoyance, but there was more sulking than malice in it.

“Come on now, Flamme,” Reina chided lightly, shaking her head, “why would you be mad about something like that? It made our days there easier, didn’t it? Besides, you talk as if you weren’t lazily letting the rest of us do most of the work. Sorry, Stacia—Flamme can be a bit… blunt with her words.”

Stacia’s expression didn’t shift, her voice calm and even, as if none of it reached her.

“It’s fine. I did somewhat ruin the party’s atmosphere in a sense.”

“W-Well, as long as we all made it back safely, that’s what matters most, right?”

Emilia quickly added, her cheerful voice cutting through the gloom as if to patch over the growing mood.

She clasped her hands nervously, not wanting to see the gathering sour into complaints.

But in truth, everyone in the group felt it.

The hunt had been unsatisfying.

From the higher floors down to the deepest sectors, the further they went, the emptier everything became—like they were wandering through a barren wasteland rather than a living, hostile dungeon.

What exactly happened to the monsters?

No one could give a clear answer.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know—it was more that they should have known, yet the memory slipped like sand through their fingers.

A strange contradiction lingered in all their minds, as if something had been erased from them.

A half-formed impression of battles that had never been fought. Hidden memories that once belonged to them, but now were gone.

It left a dull discomfort in their chests, a hollowness that words could never quite capture.

“Anyways—” Flamme suddenly broke the silence, rocking back in her seat with a lazy grin, “now that we’ve returned, what are you guys planning to do?”

“Well, for me…” Emilia raised her hand a little as if she were in class, her voice soft but full of her usual brightness. “I’ll probably have to study hard for the upcoming written exams. I’m still in the general course, after all. And… maybe I’ll spend a little more time in the academy’s church. Oh! And of course, I’ll still spend time with you all too.”

Her innocent excitement was so simple, so pure, that everyone couldn’t help but smile at her.

Emilia never had grand ambitions, yet her presence always lightened the room like a warm candle.

“I’ll stick with my little Emmy as usual~”

Vanessa said causally hugging Emilia like a soft pillow.

“Ehehe~” Emilia chuckled at vanessa’s affectionate touches.

“As for me, I’ll probably go back to training as usual.” Reina said.

“Tsk.” Flamme clicked her tongue, slouching further into her jacket with a mocking smile. “As muscleheaded as ever. You should really learn how to relax once in a while, you know~?”

“Fufu, says the woman who does nothing but laze around sleeping most of the time,” Reina shot back without hesitation, her cool tone sharpened with annoyance. “At this rate, you’ll probably get fat.”

“Why thank you~!” Flamme replied proudly, pressing her hand against her chest as if accepting a medal. “I am quite proud of my healthy sleeping habits. And just for the record, I have an excellent metabolism. I can eat, sleep, and abuse my body as much as I want, and I’ll still stay firm, beautiful, and sexy~. How about it? Want to take my course?” She winked playfully.

Reina’s veins twitched visibly at her temple.

She leaned forward, glaring daggers at Flamme, her lips tightening.

“I was criticizing you, you know.”

“Well, no offense taken in your insults there~.” Flamme sang, completely unbothered.

“Haha… I think you should actually take that into consideration, junior Flamme.”

Lucas chuckled, resting an arm against the window frame. His words were calm, but carried a certain weight.

“Although you’re an excellent summoner, relying only on your specialty most of the time will ultimately narrow your road in the future. Training in another path, whether physically or magically, is bound to give you different views—and better results.”

“O-Oh… is that so?” Flamme mumbled, a rare meekness slipping into her voice. She scratched at the inside of her sleeve, her usual lazy grin faltering. “Then… I’ll probably train eagerly then, Senior…”

The shift in tone didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone in the carriage looked at her in faint surprise.

But it was Reina, seated right beside her, who caught the smallest detail—Flamme’s ears and cheeks were dusted red. Reina’s brow rose ever so slightly.

Flamme… embarrassed? That was new.

To cut the silence, Flamme quickly glanced back at Lucas. “W-What about you, Senior? What are you going to do now?”

Lucas leaned back with an easy smile. “Hmm… not that different from Miss Reina, I suppose. I usually train alone whenever I’m inside the academy, so I’ll probably just continue doing that.”

“Don’t you do any other things?” Flamme tilted her head, almost childlike in her persistence.

“Sometimes,” Lucas admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as if embarrassed. “Every now and then I’ll wander around the academy—explore corners I don’t really know, check out places I haven’t seen before. Just… leisure stuff, nothing special.”

The words rolled off his tongue smoothly, but they weren’t the truth.

In reality, his “wandering” was nothing more than another way of saying: hunting down what the Holy Sword pointed him toward.

Hidden dungeons, lingering threats, corrupt nobles who thought the academy’s shadows could hide their sins.

“T-Then…” Flamme spoke up again, her voice hesitant, softer than usual. “If it’s not too much to ask… whenever you’re free, can I tag along with you every now and then?”

Lucas tilted his head, curious at her sudden forwardness.

There was no teasing lilt in her tone this time, no lazy drawl. Just genuine intent.

“Sure,” he said at last with a small shrug. “I don’t mind.”

He didn’t bother asking why.

The days slipped by quickly after their return, each of them sliding back into the rhythm of academy life as though the dungeon had been nothing more than an extended trip.

The group smiled, laughed, and carried on, yet deep inside, a faint hollowness lingered—like they had left something important behind in those depths.

None of them spoke of it, and none tried too hard to think about it. Some feelings were easier left untouched.

Stacia sat near the window of the classroom, legs crossed, posture straight as ever.

Her golden eyes reflected the courtyard below, but her hand drifted slowly toward her palm.

For an instant, warmth—radiant and alive—surged across her skin, as if something inside her was burning to be remembered.

—[Make use of it…]

Her breath caught.

The voice, soft yet commanding, echoed in her mind before she severed the connection with a sharp shake of her head.

A headache bloomed behind her eyes, forcing her to steady herself against the desk.

In truth, even she did not fully understand what had occurred in that dungeon.

She remembered descending with the others, the oppressive atmosphere, the eerie emptiness of the lower floors… and then—nothing.

The next moment of clarity was her awakening, the demonic clown reduced to ash before her.

She hadn’t thought, hadn’t reasoned.

She had simply acted.

But she knew something had taken place inside that void of memory.

Something she wasn’t meant to forget, yet couldn’t recall.

A fire. A heat. No—something greater.

It wasn’t merely a flame but the radiance of a miniature sun, buried deep inside her soul.

And she knew, beyond all doubt, it did not belong to her.

And yet… it now pulsed within her.

Her lips pressed together, a quiet unease clouding her otherwise composed features.

“Let’s all do our best for the rest of the semester as well!”

Emilia’s cheerful voice rang out suddenly, breaking the silence.

She bounced in her seat, her enthusiasm infectious.

“Ohhh!” the group echoed back in unison, laughter bubbling up to fill the room.

…

When I woke up, the first thing I saw… was me.

Or rather, a reflection of me.

Where?

My mind struggled to piece itself together, thoughts sluggish and scattered, before fragments of memory began to resurface—drifting into place like shards of glass.

Ah… that’s right.

Slowly, I pushed myself up from the puddle I had been lying in.

Warm sunlight spilled across my vision, so bright it felt almost overwhelming after the haze of unconsciousness.

My field of view expanded, filled with endless stretches of vibrant greenery swaying in the breeze.

The air was sweet, alive with the scent of blossoms and salt from somewhere far beyond.

The goddess hadn’t been lying.

She said she’d send me somewhere nice and warm.

Was this… the Luminous Islands?

The thought made my chest tighten. I never imagined I would stand here in this lifetime—considering my curse that is.

Despite only just waking, I felt brimming with vitality.

No fatigue, no strain.

My very muscles hummed with energy as if every fiber of my being had been reforged.

I lowered my gaze to the glowing puddle beside me, its surface shimmering like polished silver.

Tracing the trickle of water, I followed it until it merged with a wide, crystalline river ahead, its current flowing with impossible clarity.

Did I come out of the river?

Most likely… yes.

I stepped forward, kneeling at its bank.

The water reflected my image back at me—perfectly clear, without the slightest ripple.

Golden hair. Piercing blue eyes.

A face sculpted as though by divine hands, both handsome and unyielding.

My body was carved with definition, lean yet powerful, every line screaming of strength.

It was me.

It was Riley Hell.

A breath of relief slipped past my lips.

“At least… on the outside, I haven’t changed too much.”

But the moment I willed it, something else surfaced before my eyes:

[Name: Riley Hell]

[Divine Title: Heaven’s Anomaly]

[Race: ?????]

[Level: ?]

[Strength: ?]

[Agility: ?]

[Endurance: ?]

[Luck: ?]

[Power: ???]

My brow furrowed.

Even without numbers, I could feel it.

A weightless strength coiled beneath my skin, vast and untouchable.

I clenched my fists once, then nodded.

“I really… have changed.”

Part of me wanted to return to the academy immediately—if only to ease the girls’ worries, to pretend I was still the same man they had known.

But I couldn’t. Not yet.

First, I needed to understand this new self.

I lifted my hand toward the open air.

Fingers extended

A small, casual flick.

VOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The world screamed.

The ground split.

Air detonated in a raw, violent shockwave that tore everything in front of me into pulverized mush.

Trees uprooted, rocks reduced to dust, the river splintering into waves that rose and fell like a storm.

The silence that followed was deafening.

I exhaled slowly.

“…Yup.”

My lips curled into a faint, grim smile.

“I’ve truly… ascended.”

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