Villain : Nonchalant Greedy-Chapter 19: Mana Shard mine

Arsene smiled as he watched the beast approach. The faster it came, the better. The stronger it was, the better. The more precise, the better.

Everything depended on the monster's strike—its leap would determine the outcome.

Still hanging by the rope, Arsene held on tightly, waiting.

Whoosh! Arsene dodged the first strike with momentum, and the monster crashed into the water. He braced for the second attack—Whoosh!—he evaded it again.

He sensed the beast was cautious, and that thought planted a constant fear in Arsene's mind. If the creature was truly intelligent, then maybe—just maybe—his plan would never work.

Several times the monster lunged, but it never acted rashly. And Arsene avoided each attack with precision. Sarl had survived—that much Arsene knew. It was time for his part of the plan. But this damn beast just wouldn't follow the script.

Then Arsene had an idea. If the creature truly possessed intelligence, maybe... somehow... it could work in his favor.

He would test it on the next approach.

The beast leapt from the water, aiming to devour him. Arsene hesitated slightly, intentionally. Everything was part of the plan. The creature hadn't anticipated that. Arsene dodged at the last moment.

Then—Baaah!!—a loud, slap-like sound rang out.

Arsene had slapped the beast's tough hide with the palm of his hand. Of course, he didn't expect to kill it with a slap, or even injure it. He wasn't aiming for physical damage.

All he wanted was to activate his Singularity.

Crack! A sound like shattering glass echoed in his ears. It was as if he saw a crystal orb shatter before a man cloaked in black. The figure's long hair and creased face were barely visible, but his sharp eyes held disbelief as he stared at Arsene.

But Arsene didn't see him clearly—only a shadow, a silhouette. The identity of the one who trespassed Regis Academy remained a mystery.

As if awakening from a dream, Arsene opened his eyes to find the monster screaming, unleashing sonic waves that nearly burst his eardrums.

Splash! The beast plunged back into the water—but now, red lights glowed beneath the surface, burning from its eyes in rage. The creature had lost control.

And that... was exactly what Arsene wanted.

There was no time to worry about what he had just seen. His focus was locked onto the monster's shadow swimming away, circling back with increasing speed.

Arsene was waiting.

Not yet... hold on... not now... stay in place... there! It's coming... just a bit more...

Now!!! Arsene screamed, leaping to the opposite side.

The monster shot out of the water, charging at him. Arsene twisted midair and dodged again—but he forgot about the beast's rear half. It had no fins, yet it could still swing its body.

The strike sent Arsene flying across the water, crashing into the surface with such force that he felt like his bones nearly shattered.

But... it worked.

The beast's massive teeth, its sheer weight, and terrifying speed—it collided with the roots above.

The roots cracked, then exploded, spilling a hot, sticky substance. As it touched the beast's skin, it began melting, and the creature howled in unimaginable agony.

Arsene didn't want to imagine what would happen if that substance mixed with the water he was now in. It could melt him alive.

He swam frantically toward the cracks. But it was already too late—the fluid had reached the water. The temperature spiked instantly, boiling around him. He felt like he was being cooked alive.

The monster, too, was in worse shape than Arsene. The substance had entered its body, causing it to grow—five times, ten times in size!

Its hollow black eyes bulged outward, bursting from pressure. Purple blood gushed from its sockets.

The pain was unimaginable—its cells swelling uncontrollably. Eventually, even its organs exploded. The beast had probably been dead for a while now.

BOOM! Its body burst apart, but as if reanimated by agony, it jolted for one last second before dying again. Its twitching limbs still moved from spinal reflexes.

But then... something strange: a sky-blue orb shot through the air—heading straight for Arsene, who was now trapped, his leg caught in a crack, the boiling water burning his flesh.

He saw the glowing object speed toward him. He couldn't dodge. Even if he tried, he couldn't move—his leg was stuck.

He held out his bare hands to block the incoming orb.

But it was blazing hot—it was the monster's mana crystal.

The force of the impact freed his leg—but it also broke his ankle. The pain doubled, and Arsene gasped, swallowing some of the scalding water.

The orb pushed him out from between the rocks. His hands nearly burned off. But in a desperate move, he activated his storage ring, sending the blue crystal into the storage space just in time.

If he hadn't, he might never have used his hands again.

But the one more shocked than Arsene was Sarl, watching from below. Arsene had taken too long, and Sarl had feared the worst:

That Arsene was dead.

But—thankfully—he returned.

Though barely.

He collapsed to the ground, skin scorched, hands burned. His left ankle was twisted and broken, and his body was bruised—likely from the beast's strike and the crash into the water.

Sarl caught him, unconscious at first. But Arsene soon coughed, vomiting the hot water he'd swallowed. His throat, stomach, and insides felt boiled and burned.

Yet... he felt a strange strength—a false power, he thought. The liquid in the water had changed him. He feared he might grow and explode like the beast.

Maybe the water had diluted the effect...

Arsene looked around, then stood with difficulty and glanced at Sarl, silently questioning him—what is all this?

Sarl was concerned for Arsene's condition, but Arsene was already asking questions about their surroundings. That was a good sign—he was okay... even if not really okay.

Sarl's skin was red too. Unlike Arsene who fell to the ground, Sarle had landed in the hot spring as well.

"I felt something earlier... but now I'm sure! I've seen this before—it's from my tribe!" Sarl said.

He pointed. "Those roots... see how they're producing white stones? That's what we call Mana Shards. We're standing in a Mana Shard mine. I think it belongs to the academy—we just trespassed!"

"I never understood how the shards formed," he continued. "But you were right, Arsene. The roots absorb mana from the atmosphere... maybe even what you call life energy. That explains what's happening to the forest too."

"They compress it, mix it with that fluid inside them, and the cold water crystallizes it into shards. There are multiple tiers—but the best I've found so far is a refined, Standard shard."

Sarl simplified everything—but it was mostly just a restatement of what Arsene had theorized earlier. He merely confirmed the cave's true nature.

Then Arsene asked, "Did you find a way out?"

He figured the academy must've detected this disturbance. No way they'd miss an incident inside one of their mines. They must have sensors.

If they got caught red-handed, no excuse would work—even a Grade 0 Singular couldn't justify the damages. Especially after breaking the main root.

They had to escape. But how?

There was no exit. The only way out was the entrance—sealed by a magic wall.

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Then suddenly, a magic circle beneath them activated.

They were trapped. Arsene thought they were caught. Sarl had no idea what was happening—he thought it was Arsene's doing.

A blinding light swallowed them, forcing them to shield their eyes. When their vision returned—

They were standing near the student dorms. It was a pitch-black night.

Sarl, completely baffled, cried out:

"Eeeeeeh?!"