After arriving at Michael’s front door, I had Juliana drop off the duffle bag and sent her away.
She was more than happy to be dismissed and didn’t ask any follow-up questions.
Once she walked off, I rang the doorbell.
After a few seconds, I rang it again.
Then again. And again.
Finally, the door swung open and Michael appeared to answer. “Oh my god! Can you wait a few seconds like a normal person?”
“I did,” I replied flatly.
“For five seconds?!” Michael exclaimed.
“Yes,” I said, shoving him aside as I stepped into his apartment. “I’m a busy man, Michael. I waited five seconds for you, and that’s the time I’ll never get back in life.”
Michael gave me a deadpan look, though his eyes twisted as if he was experiencing physical pain from my existence. “Yes, you boy genius. That’s how time works!”
I rolled my eyes and pointed to the duffle bag at his feet without looking back, continuing further inside. “Anyway, grab that bag.”
“H-Hey! I didn’t invite you in!” Michael stuttered before quickly picking up the bag and following me into his own home.
I came to stand in his hallway — if it could even be called that — and looked around.
The layout of his rooms was rather simple — a foyer opened up into a small drawing room that connected to a kitchen on the left and a laundry room on the right.
Two rooms — one bedroom and one spare — were attached to the hallway at the other end.
And… yeah, that was it.
Moreover, his rooms were so plain that it bordered on depressing.
Bare walls, no curtains, and a bed frame without a mattress in his bedroom.
It looked more like a prison cell than a living space.
“Nice place,” I remarked, scanning the barren wasteland he called home. “Very cozy. Has the vibe of a man who spends his nights watching conspiracy documentaries and arguing with the screen.”
I expected a snarky comeback. Maybe even an insult.
But he said nothing.
Frowning, I turned to see Michael hunched over the center table, where he had placed the duffle bag and unzipped it.
Inside it were hundreds of small glowing crystals that bathed his face in a prismatic light… and illuminated the terrifying expression he was making.
His mouth had stretched into a smile so wide it should’ve been physically impossible. His eyes glowed with unholy fervor, like a man seeing the face of God for the first time.
I flinched back in horror, pointing at him as if accusing him of war crimes. “Why the fuck are you making that face?!”
Michael turned to me, his grin impossibly widening even further. “O-Oh, it’s just… I’ve never seen so much money in one place!”
“Regardless!” I snapped. “Stop smiling like that! It’s creepy! You look like you’re possessed by a demon or something!”
Michael paused, then let out a knowing chuckle.
Which somehow made it worse — because as I knew, he actually was possessed by a demon.
Shaking off that ungodly grin, he gestured around his place with a casual shrug. “Apologies. As you can clearly see, I’ve been broke for so long that seeing this much money threw me off.”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “But how the hell are you even broke? You’re ranked fourth! You get a sixty percent discount on literally everything!”
“Yeah,” Michael nodded helplessly and pulled out the empty pockets of his pants. “But discounts don’t mean much when you don’t have a dime to begin with.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “Okay, what about all the other perks? The Top Ten get exclusive services and monthly Cred rewards. What happened to all that?”
“Oh, that.” He scratched the back of his head. “You see, before I came to the Academy, I had to buy a few weapons. One artificer I met was nice enough to sell them to me for a third of the price. Now that I’m making money, I’m paying him back as fast as I can.”
I stared at him. Then threw my hands up. “Are you insane?! He was dumb enough to trust you — just take advantage of it! Don’t pay him back. Ghost him!”
Michael narrowed his eyes, looking genuinely offended by that completely normal suggestion. “No. He showed me goodwill, and I won’t throw it back in his face. That is just wrong.”
“…..” I stared at him dumbly.
This fool.
Aghh, right.
I remember something like this happening in the game as well.
If I recall correctly, it wasn’t just the artificer. He was also sending small relief funds to orphanages destroyed in Ishtara recently.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a sharp breath.
I’d bet my life he wouldn’t keep a single coin from all those Essence Stones either.
He’d use them on creating potions, crafting items, and leveling up his Soul Rank — then he’d sell the rest and give away the money.
It worked out in the game because he was the Ace. He could afford to help everyone and still get everything he needed for free from the Academy.
But here? In this reality?
He couldn’t. He wasn’t the Ace.
I was.
And yet, he was still doing it anyway.
What a saint.
…What a complete idiot.
Shouldn’t you take care of yourself before worrying about others?
I could never understand people like him.
I wished I could.
I wished I was half as selfless.
But in my eyes, what he was doing wasn’t generosity.
It was plain foolishness.
And maybe I was projecting a little, but I found it dumb enough to hate it.
“Arghh, whatever!” I waved a hand dismissively and turned on my heel. “There are two thousand Essence Stones in that bag. Count them. They have a legal paper trace, so don’t worry about anyone accusing you of anything illegal. If the instructors ask how you got them when you level up, just say you won them from me in a bet or something.”
Michael frowned. “That… doesn’t sound like a very believable lie.”
I shot him an amused look. “Lies don’t need to be believable. They need to be flawless. If no one can poke a hole in your story, they can’t question it. And if they can’t question it, they have no choice but to accept it.”
The black-haired boy gave me his second deadpan look of the day. “That’s just a fancy way of saying ‘lie with confidence,’ isn’t it?”
I smirked. “Exactly. Now then, let’s head to the Archives.”
•••
The Archives — that was the name given to the Academy’s library.
It was one of the largest physical libraries in the two realms, housing billions of books, trillions of storage drives, and countless other… things.
A place where knowledge was never lost and curiosity was always rewarded — that was how the world spoke of Apex Academy’s Archives.
Some even claimed that if you knew the right places to look, you’d always find the answer to any question… or at least a trail leading to it.
Now, I didn’t believe in legends or fairy tales, but I did know that most of what was said about the Archives was true.
And today, I had two objectives to complete there.
First, I needed to locate an artifact called the Key of Order.
Second, I had to confirm whether the Summoning Card of Asmodeus was still hidden there within the Archives.
If it wasn’t, then it had likely been claimed by Jake.
…And that would be a nightmare to deal with.
Although the possibility was far-fetched, I couldn’t ignore it without investigating.
Jake had more than enough hatred for both Michael and me to fuel his desire for power and revenge — just like Samael did in the game.
If that was the case, Asmodeus could’ve already drawn him in, luring him with a false promise of power and fame and women and whatnot.
And even though I didn’t show it, just the thought of that scenario gave me a headache.
Asmodeus was a sinister deity who had lived for thousands of years, serving both as an ally and a son to the False God — the Spirit King — in his conquest of worlds.
As the Seventh Demon Prince, his power and experience far surpassed the sinistrous entity sealed within Michael’s demonic sword — the Sixth Demon Prince, Xaldreth.
Dealing with the holder of Asmodeus’ Summoning Card wasn’t going to be easy.
Worse, he had more knowledge to offer his summoner than even Xaldreth did.
In simple terms, if given enough time, he could turn even a random nobody into a powerhouse stronger than the protagonist — before taking over their body entirely.
I could deal with Michael’s demon whenever I wanted.
I had leverage over Xaldreth. Something that I could use to strike a deal with him.
But Asmodeus?
Oh, no.
His domain was lust and desire.
I had no way to shield my feeble mortal mind from his profane temptations.
Also, if I ever became a threat to him… I had no doubt Asmodeus could have me submitting to him in a heartbeat.
So, I couldn’t deal with him directly.
Hell, I couldn’t even allow him to become a threat.
If I confirmed Jake had claimed the Card of Asmodeus, I’d have no choice but to kill him as soon as possible.
“Arghh,” I groaned, rubbing my face.
I already had way too many problems piling up in the future, and the last thing I needed was to deal with an ancient demonic deity on top of it.
“What?” Michael’s ears perked up from the seat beside me.
We were on an airbus, traveling from the Main Island to the Archives.
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“You just groaned,” he said. “You weren’t even listening to me, were you?”
I paused. “…Ah. Were you saying something?”
Michael stared at me, then flashed a dangerous smile that all but radiated dwindling patience. “I just listed the names of thirty books I wanted. You didn’t hear a single one, did you?”
Oh, right. I also needed to grab a few books for this guy. It was one of the conditions of our deal.
“Right…” I smiled back. “Can you name them all again? Alphabetical order this time.”