“What happened?” Charles tried to calm his emotions. He wanted to know why Catherine was leaving.
Catherine slowly lowered her head, looking at their shadows on the ground in the sunlight. She began to answer, “There was an accident at home, and I need to go back for a while.”
“Where? Is it near Lsengard or the Heritaliana Mountains, your hometown, the Gaoshan nationality?” Charles wanted to clarify.
Catherine took out her phone and recorded the shadow of herself and Charles standing together before continuing,
“I’m going back to the Heritaliana Mountains, and I’m afraid it will be a long time before I can see you again.”
Beneath her calm tone, there seemed to be a hint of choked emotion. Charles didn’t catch it clearly, perhaps it was because the wind had picked up just then.
“It shouldn’t be too long, right? Aren’t you going to the Cyber Academy’s main campus? We can meet there.” Charles said, looking at Catherine’s hair being tousled by the wind. He instinctively reached out to smooth it down.
“I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but I’ll become a Level 5 Beast Master soon.
As long as I achieve it before I’m twenty, I can go to the Cyber Academy’s main campus.” Catherine said, not daring to look up at Charles.
She was afraid of seeing Charles’s expression, the tears she was holding back would spill over uncontrollably.
As a member of the Gaoshan nationality, Catherine had always been strong and powerful.
Before meeting Charles, her life had revolved only around fighting and training, nothing else.
She didn’t know when it had started—perhaps it was during their first sparring match, or maybe when she met Celestine. It could also have been the moment she first hesitated to train and wanted to find Charles instead.
Or maybe it was a combination of all those moments, she had changed. Fighting and training no longer held the same importance, someone had taken their place.
That someone was right in front of her, watching her.
Catherine squeezed her face, exhaled deeply, and suddenly looked up at Charles with a unique smile.
Under the midday sun, her slightly reddened eyes shone even brighter. Those blue eyes, as captivating as the sea, sparkled with a blend of emotions. The curve of her lips held both acceptance and reluctance, melting into the most sincere honesty in the world.
“Hey, Charles, can you walk with me a little longer? Can we walk back to the academy together?” Catherine said, looking at Charles.
Charles was stunned by the scene before him. In that moment, his heart, which felt as if it were wrapped in threads, beat wildly—both in pain and in fervor. It was a feeling he had never encountered before.
“Yeah, let’s take our time getting back.” Charles nodded.
He knew Catherine must have something important going on, but since she didn’t say anything, he couldn’t force her to.
“You’ll wait for me at the Cyber Academy, right?” Charles suddenly said as they walked.
Silence followed.
The bustling street lost all sound at that moment, as if the entire world had turned into a paused black-and-white silent film.
Finally, the girl’s answer broke the stillness, bringing vibrant color back to everything.
“Yeah, I will.”
Charles let out a sigh of relief. He pulled his arm out from Catherine’s embrace. Under Catherine’s puzzled gaze, Charles placed his palm over hers.
They looked at each other, not saying another word.
They continued walking like that, the sun stretching their shadows until they eventually disappeared at the end of the road.
The afternoon classes ended.
Charles walked out of the classroom alone. Not a single person dared to approach him.
At that moment, Charles exuded an aura that warned others to stay away. Anyone who tried to get close would be intimidated by his cold gaze.
Catherine had left in a hurry at noon, leaving everything behind.
Charles could piece together some information: Catherine must have received sudden news.
She chose not to pack her things and instead decided to spend the last moments before their farewell with him.
For instance, when Catherine promised to meet at the Cyber Academy, she was filled with confusion and uncertainty.
Charles felt a bit chaotic inside. During class that afternoon, he had already tried to subtly ask Catherine about her reasons for returning to the Heritaliana Mountains.
But Catherine didn’t share any information at all.
He had also asked Hale, and Hale’s response was the same—he knew nothing and was completely in the dark.
When Charles returned to his dormitory, he lay on his bed with one arm over his forehead.
He had taken leave from Professor Colton today because he wanted to find a place to vent.
Nothing felt better than a combat environment like the Trial Tower.
After packing up briefly, Charles headed straight to the Trial Tower.
As soon as he entered, he overheard someone nearby say, “What’s going on? Isn’t that the strongest new student from Class A? What’s he doing here at the Trial Tower?”
“Is he looking to challenge it?”
“Maybe he’s just here to take a look. He’s only been enrolled for a few days, challenging the Trial Tower seems a bit arrogant.”
“Exactly! These young people today have never faced setbacks, they don’t know their own limits!”
“Although the Trial Tower won’t physically harm you, if you die in there, your mental state can be severely impacted.
Some Beast Masters with insufficient mental strength can even end up in a vegetative state, so you need to pass a mental test before entering the tower.”
Charles remained expressionless as he approached the registration desk and said to the staff, “Hello, I’d like to register for a trial.”
The staff clearly recognized Charles and replied with a puzzled expression, “Are you sure? It’s not yet time for new students to challenge the Trial Tower, is it?”
“I’m sure.” Charles didn’t elaborate further. He felt an urge inside him that needed to be released, otherwise, he couldn’t train properly.
“Alright then, I have to warn you first. If you die in the Trial Tower, a Beast Master’s mental strength can take a serious hit. Some Beast Masters with insufficient mental power can even end up as vegetables, so you must pass a mental test before you can enter the tower.” the staff explained earnestly.
Charles nodded, not caring at all. Since Dean Jamie suggested he come to this place, it meant his mental strength must meet the requirements.
The staff took out a specially made crystal and said slowly, “You will place your palm on this testing crystal shortly. Don’t think about anything, just gradually empty your mind.”
“If the crystal lights up one-third, then you meet the standard to enter the Trial Tower. Do you need to prepare a bit more?”
Charles shook his head. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, and then placed his palm on the crystal.
Meanwhile,
Camilla and Zachary were following several senior students to the front of the Trial Tower.
The senior student leading the way earnestly advised, “The most important thing to remember at Cyber Academy is to never overreach and aim too high!”
“In a place like the Trial Tower, you need to go through six months of training before you can enter, otherwise, you risk injury and fall behind other talents.”
“I’ve seen too many fools who, after just two or three months of enrollment, couldn’t wait to challenge the Trial Tower and ended up being surpassed after suffering mental trauma!”
“Got it, Senior Aero, we will remember!” Camilla and Zachary nodded while curiously glancing around.
When they saw Charles’s figure, Camilla covered her mouth and exclaimed, “Isn’t that Charles? What is he doing?”
As a senior, Aero had heard of Charles but had never seen him. He looked towards the front desk of the Trial Tower and noticed a stranger testing his mental strength, curiously saying,
“Do you know that guy? Is he the Charles who earned the title of strongest new student?”
Camilla and Zachary nodded in response, equally surprised by Charles’s presence there.
With the answer, Aero smirked disdainfully and said, “Another overconfident fool. He’s only been in school for a few days and he’s already trying to challenge the Trial Tower. It’s ridiculous!”
Other senior students nearby chimed in, “Exactly! He hasn’t even undergone training, he probably can’t meet the minimum requirements to enter the tower.”
“When I finished my training, my first test of mental strength barely lit up the crystal by one-third!”
“Ah, you’re that strong? The strongest in our class only lit the testing crystal halfway during their first test. That guy was really something else!”
“No kidding, that was Zhang Quan! He’s the strongest genius in the last five years. Who can compete with him? He reached the fourth floor on his first attempt!”
Aero turned to Camilla and Zachary and warned, “You two must not follow this Charles. You need to take it one step at a time. People like Charles will eventually trip up, he’s too overconfident!”
“But…” Camilla started to say, but was interrupted by Aero. “What’s with the ‘but’? Just listen to your senior and don’t try to be like him!”
Camilla pointed in Charles’s direction and continued, “But the testing crystal in front of him has already lit up about one-third!”
“What!” Aero initially thought Camilla was joking. He immediately turned to look at Charles.
The testing crystal under Charles’s palm had indeed lit up one-third,
and that was not all!
The brightness of the crystal was still gradually increasing, showing no signs of stopping!
“Impossible, it has to be fake. How can someone who just entered school make the testing crystal shine so brightly? There must be a malfunction!” Aero closed his mouth, which had dropped open in shock, and made his own judgment!