Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-652

Inside the floating castle, Rowena sat inside her room filled with cold mist, meditating. Her eyes twitched when he heard footsteps. Slowly, Rowena opened her eyes to see Bai Ning entering the room. She held a golden parchment in her hand.

"He didn't reject my application, did he?" asked Rowena.

"He didn't, Holy Maiden," said Bai Ning. To her surprise, she saw Rowena sighing.

"I expected that," Rowena rose to her feet with grace. The mist slowly moved toward Rowena as she was sucking all the mist in the room.

"How long do I have to study there?" asked Rowena.

"One year for each specialization,"

"Four years," said Rowena. She did not like to waste her time studying but she had no choice. As a Holy Maiden, she needed to be proficient in each specialization. Deep down, Rowena knew studying in Mazeroth was not a waste of time. Just she had never attended any secrets or academies before in her life, so it was going to be a new experience for her.

"You will start your academics in the House of Alchemists. Here's everything you need, Holy Maiden," With a flick of her wrist, Bai Ning took out several items including jade green robes from her space ring. Rowena picked up the silver parchment and opened it.

"Ruby huh? Did you pick this name?" asked Rowena. Her face was void of any expression that Bai Ning couldn't tell whether she liked the name or not.

"You have to go to Mazeroth in three days, Holy Maiden," said Bai Ning. Throwing the silver parchment aside, Rowena locked her gaze with Bai Ning.

"When were you planning to tell me about the vampires, Bai Ning?" asked Rowena. Until Rowena saw the Royal news, even she didn't know about the vampires. But she was sure the Skyhall knew about their existence. It made Rowena wonder why the Skyhall elders chose not to reveal their existence to her. For a moment, Bai Ning didn't say a word. Silence fell over them. It wasn't a decision made by Bai Ning. Instead, the elders ordered her not to share the vampires' existence with the Holy Maiden. They wanted the Holy Maiden as far as possible from what was happening outside.

"Did the elders tell you not to?" Bai Ning's heart skipped a beat. Rowena calmly questioned Bai Ning as though she had read the old woman's mind.

Bai Ning's silence was more than enough for Rowena to know the answer to her question.

"When I ascend to the throne, there will be many changes, Bai Ning," Rowena's words were full of authority and dominance. Although Rowena was chosen to be the Holy Maiden, she would get her full power and authority over the elders only after she ascended to the throne. To take that throne, she needed to reach the Immortal stage, Until then, she would only be the Holy Maiden in the name.

"My father almost died fighting an Elder Vampire. Did you know that?" Rowena questioned the old woman again. The old woman has been with her since she was little. However, lately, she had started to have so many secrets. To be more precise, Bain Ning was ordered to keep things from her. Rowena hated secrecy, especially from people who were close to her. What Rowena hated most was she had to learn what had transpired on the battlefield from Andrews. Until Andrews told her what had happened, she didn't know her father almost died fighting an Elder Vampire. She may haven't fought one yet but she heard how powerful an Elder vampire could be.

"You've been keeping so many secrets lately, Bai Ning," Rowena's eyes turned predatory. The cold emanated from her body, creating a thin crystal layer on Bai Ning.

"I may not have all the powers but I can still kill you," Bai Ning took a step back in utter fear. No matter how much resources they poured into swaying her to their side, she always prioritized her family. For Rowena, there was nothing more valuable than family. So when something endangers her family, she would bring the wrath of the Holy Maiden upon them against the elders' wish. As much as she loved her family, she also valued what was wrong and what was right. Otherwise, she would have gone to kill GHost the moment she learned what he did to Andrews in the tournament. Just like Noah, Rowena also blamed Andrews and felt grateful to Ghost for not killing Andrews when he could have easily. To be honest, Rowena coldly yelled at Andrews for not involving her in his love matter. She could have easily convinced Katherine's father as the Holy Maiden. Who would dare to go against the wish of a holy maiden? No one.

Simply put, Rowena would go to any length to protect her family and keep them safe. This made the entire Skyhall fear Rowena and did their best to keep everything about Harriet from Rowena. As a result, every time Bai Ning thought about Rowena learning the truth about her family and what the Skyhall did to them, she would break into a sweat in fear.

When Rowena turned around, Bai Ning sighed in relief. It felt as if a mountain of pressure had been lifted off her shoulder.

"Ghost," Rowena thought of Michael. She felt grateful to him. This wasn't the first time he had saved her family. First, he saved her sister. Then, he saved her mother on the same day from an assassination. Finally, he had saved her father from an Elder Vampire. Her eyes lost the cold murderous intent and showed a tinge of gentleness. She wanted to meet him. Luckily, Mazeroth had given her a perfect chance to meet him.

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Back in Eve's castle, Michael was cuddling Gaya on the bed. Since the winter would begin in a few days, the night was cold enough for him to light the fireplace and purchase a thick blanket from the system store. After upgrading the system, purchasing an Ancient Ice Core, and earning a ton of badass points by killing an Elder vampire, he took a break from all the chaos and decided to spend some quality time with Gaya. In four days, they would have to return to Mazeroth where they cannot sleep like this.

So Michael hit the bed early with Gaya and slept cuddling her tight. After learning the truth about Vedora's kind, Nightmare decided to stay with Vedora so they won't feel alone. The night was calm and peaceful. The only sound that resonated in the room was the firework crackling under the flames and Gaya's soft groans whenever he hugged her tighter., Under the thick blanket, Michael wore nothing but his black sweatpants. Everything was so peaceful and calm until a bright glow appeared above Michael's bed out of nowhere.

Michael's eyes abruptly opened. To his suspicion, Gaya wasn't beside him anymore. Instead, all he could see were tall trees. The dried tree leaves crumbled under his breath. He slowly picked himself off the ground and tried to see where he was and how he got there. He looked up at the moonless sky. Then, he looked around but didn't move. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but trees. It was obvious he was in a forest. But it wasn't a rainforest with a sea of trees and thick foliage. Rather, the forest was a temperate coniferous forest. Yellowish-dried leaves blanketed the ground. Judging by the lack of arch energy in the atmosphere, Michael guessed he was somewhere in the Southern Continent. Which led him to another question, how did he end up here? It seemed to him someone had teleported him because one moment he was in Awor and the other, he was in another continent. But how? That was the question in his mind.

Suddenly, the sound of someone whistling echoed through the forest.

"This is where the hunters become the hunted," Following the whistle, a calm thick voice sounded in Michael's head. The voice appeared to come from every direction which confused Michael. However, whoever teleported him didn't have an idea that Michael could still use Arch energy in the Southern continent. As a result, he was able to locate the intruder with his environmental map. To get the full story, Michael pretended to be powerless. It would be unwise to show his true power before learning why he was here and how the man teleported him here. The last time Michael checked, no one except the system could teleport someone into the southern continent.

"Hello," Michael raised his voice.

"What is this place? How did I get here?" Michael questioned.

Michael didn't receive any response. Instead, he saw an arrow fly past him, barely missing his cheek by an inch.

"Run," Michael noticed the voice turning predatory. It almost sounded like a growl of an animal. Michael rolled his eyes. Then, he slowly stepped forward, pretending to be shocked and awed. He wanted to put on an act so whoever kidnapped him would slowly reveal some valuable information. Granted Michael could always try to catch and torture him. But after realizing his foe might have the power to teleport, Michael didn't want to take any chances.

Michael hastened his pace when another arrow shot past him. He was running in the woods wearing nothing but his sweatpants.

"You can see the true heart of a man when you're out in the woods with a weapon," As soon as these words resonated in the forest, a sword dropped from a tree, landing a meter away from Michael.

Michael entertained the one who thought hunting him by picking up the sword. The moment Michael picked the silver sword from the ground, an arrow shot straight toward Michael's head. With a single swing of his sword, Michael cut the arrow in half.

"Hunting is part of a cycle of life that repeats," the man said.

Michael used his X-ray vision while running to locate several traps. All of them were used by hunters. Michael avoided every single trap and the arrows.

"A worthy prey after a long time," the man who was hunting Michael exclaimed.

"To track prey, you must first know it as you would a brother. Am I right, Ghost?" asked the man.