Hitman with a Badass System
chapter-669

The next day, when the first light appeared on the horizon, dark chili clouds blanketed the sun. Snow pure as an innocent child blessed the earth with its puffy whiteness. The trees shed their leaves, welcoming the winter with a warm embrace. The winter brought black and whiteness along with a bone-chilling coldness. Everything in Mazeroth looked white. The black lake resembled a floor made of obsidian. Mazeroth castle towers wore puffy snow-like hats. The students, especially the first years, rushed outside to play in the snow. Several students showed their imagination through various statues made of ice. Another group showed their lust for destruction by destroying those statues. Nonetheless, pure fun was just as abundant as the snow in Mazeroth.

Back in his room, Michael slowly opened his eyes. He felt the chillness in the air and the joyful shots from the outside. He stretched his arm, pulling aside the curtains to see the heavy snow rain through the window.

"So the winter is here," Michael yawned. He jumped back from the bed and started doing push-ups to warm his body as usual. It took Michael almost fifteen minutes to freshen up. Although cultivators didn't need baths, Michael's old habits followed him to the new world. Hence, Michael had never started a day without taking a bath and brushing his teeth.

Wondering how to convince Gaya to stay behind while he ventures into the treacherous ocean, Michael walked out of his room. He was on his way to the arena so he could watch how Elidyr fared in the duel. To Michael's surprise, the common room was filled with a crowd.

"Why is everyone here?" Michael thought to himself. Usually, the alchemy students would greet Michael with wide grins and fist bumps. But at this moment, none of them dared to move an inch. They all stood around something.

"So no specialization is inferior to another one. You cannot compare one with another. If you reach the top of your specialization, you won't have to fight,"

Michael heard a calm voice. Immediately the voice made Michael think of a wise old man. But he didn't sense anyone in his Environmental Scanning. He glanced at the room to find Ruby. She wasn't in the room.

"Learn to make the world a better place. Do not let the power corrupt you, my children," For some reason, Michael felt like these words were directed at him. Michael was curious. He wanted to see the voice's owner.

"That's all the time I have now. If a higher force allowed us, we will meet again," Unfortunately, the man seemed to have finished his gathering with the students. Michael slowly squeezed through the students to reach the front line. He was more curious than cautious. When he reached the front, he saw an old man with a long white beard and round glasses hanging on his nose. He was neither too tall nor too short. His body was hidden within the extravagant purple robes. As Michael imagined, the man looked wise, gentle, and an embodiment of calmness.

"Here you are," The man welcomed Michael with a gentle smile.

"They wanted to wake you up. But I didn't allow them. Did you rest well?" The man asked in a grandfatherly tone.

"Headmaster," Michael was stunned. It was Wulfric, the headmaster of Mazeroth himself. What surprised him more was Michael didn't even sense the man's presence. Even when he met Wulfric face to face, Michael couldn't sense his cultivation stage. But his neck hair tingled. Deep within, Michael felt a strange surge of energy. Every fiber in Michael's body warned Michael of the powerful being before him. One thing was for sure, Wulfric was much more powerful than Michael thought he was.

"How about you walk me outside?" asked Wulfric. Michael wanted to get as far as possible from the man. However, he didn't have a choice but to nod.

"It'd be my pleasure, headmaster," said Michael.

The students around Michael felt jealous. He got to talk to the headmaster alone. Only Michael knew the danger he was in. Having no other choice, Michael walked beside Wulfric.

"Among the four seasons, winter might be my favorite. What about you?" asked Wulfric.

"I think I like all of them headmaster," said Michael.

"Do you know why I like winter? It's the perfect balance of light and darkness, as all things should be. Don't you agree?"

Michael felt a chill running down his spine. Despite the cold, Michael sweated beneath his robes. Silence fell over them. They both walked through the corridor in silence.

"Balance, yes," Michael nodded, breaking the silence. He didn't want to make things awkward.

"This year might be Mazeroth's golden age. We will receive yet another talented alchemist," said Wulfric. Michael creased his furrows.

"Noah Winston. You might have heard about him," Although Michael expected this deep down, it was still a bit surprising to hear it from Wulfric.

"I do know him, headmaster," said Michael.

"Are you a friend of his?" asked Wulfric.

"We just know each other. It's a small world, headmaster," Despite everything, Michael remained calm.

Luckily, Wulfric and Michael reached the outside where Wulfric stretched his arm to collect some of the falling snow.

"Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake. Just like a long blood feud or lifelong friendship start with a single decision," Wulfric patted Michael on the shoulder before ascending to the sky. Michael waited until Wulfric completely disappeared from his sight. As soon as he disappeared, Michael turned around and rushed back to his room.

"Hey, what did the headmaster say to you?"

"Did he give you any pointers?"

Several students questioned Michael when they saw him back. But Michael ignored all of them. He rushed to his room.

"Gaya," Michael immediately contacted Gaya.

"Elidyr, Nightmare," Without waiting for Gaya to respond, Michael contacted Elidyr and Nightmare.

"I am in the middle of a class. Are you alright? You sound worried," Michael heard Gaya's voice in his head.

"Drop everything you're doing and get back to my room ASAP," said Michael.

"Anything happened?" asked Gaya.

"No time to explain. Do what I say, now,"

He also ordered Elidyr and Nightmare to come to his room. While waiting for them, Michael upgraded the Environmental Scanning and paid the system a sum of badass points to strengthen the Eyes of Darkness.

The moment the system finished upgrading the spells, Michael closed his eyes. He spread his senses around him. His eyes abruptly opened. Shock and panic glimmered in his eyes. The room grew gloomier as a dark shroud enveloped Michael. He looked up. Suddenly, the sound of something shattering resonated in the air. The level 8 Environmental Scanning exposed the surveillance spell put on Michael.

"System, can you trace the origin of that surveillance spell?" asked Michael.

[The system sensed the origin is from somewhere in the Akilan Realm. But system version 9 required to pinpoint the exact location] said the system.

The system's words confirmed Michael's suspicion. Michael spent two hundred thousand badass points to increase the Darkness manipulation from 28% to 36%. As a result, his Eyes of Darkness received an ability to see through disguises. After meeting Wulfric and learning about the surveillance spell put around him, Michael had a feeling there might be people of Skyhall around him in disguise.

"How can I be this careless and stupid?" Michael punched the wall, creating a fist size hole in the wall.

"I was being watched all this time," Michael gritted his teeth.

His anger was cut short by someone outside his door. Michael sensed a Core Formation level cultivator knocking on the door. Judging by the outline of the silhouette, it was a female.

"System, if something goes wrong, do whatever you want and get me, Gaya, Elidry, and Nightmare the hell out of here,"

[Noted host]

Even the system sounded serious. Michael slowly made his way to the door and opened it. To his surprise, it was Edith who stood outside his door.

"What do you want?" Michael was not in the mood to entertain Noah's girlfriend. Hence, his tone was not his usual friendly calm one. Edith was slightly surprised by his response. But she didn't show any emotion on her face. After all, she was here to ask Ghost about something important, not to pick a fight with him.

"Someone is waiting to meet you,"

"I don't have time for this. If they want to meet me, ask them to come here,"

Michael was about to close the door when Edith put her hand on the door, stopping Michael.

"Sorry for this," Edith snickered. The next moment, Michael felt the space around him distort. In a blink of an eye, the scenery around him changed from his cozy room to a mountain top. Michael saw several floating mountains around him. He could tell he was in the Akilan realm but not exactly where in the Akilan Realm.

"My sincerest apologies, Ghost. You left me with no choice," Michael looked over his shoulder and saw Edith.

"She is a good girl. Just a little bit stubborn," Edith chuckled. Her best friend was the prettiest and on the way to becoming the most powerful woman in the world. Who wouldn't like her? Edith doubted Ghost would be an exception.

"Who?" asked Michael. He controlled his impulse to rip Edith to shreds for teleporting him without his consent. She was lucky to be Lailah's younger sister.

"You will see. Follow me," Edith led Michael through the snow. There was nothing but snow around him as far as he could see. Michael remained calm. He didn't want to do anything stupid before knowing what was happening. After following Edith for a couple of minutes, Michael almost reached the edge of the floating mountain. He was above the clouds. He could see the puffy clouds stretching endlessly around him.

The alchemist robes he wore fluttered chaotically in the wind. After a while, Michael got annoyed and willed the system to equip his black robes.

Finally, Edith stopped walking and turned around.

"Nice, You need to look your best," Edith gave an approving nod.

"What are we doing here?" asked Michael.

"You are really lucky, Ghost. Throughout these years, she has received proposals in hundreds. She rejected them all. But for the first time, she showed interest in you. So it's only fair, you two meet each other," Michael creased his brows.

"I know it's sudden. But please stay here and meet her. You will like her," Edith said in a gentle tone. Happiness was visible in her eyes.

Michael felt so annoyed and irritated by Edith. He was in the process of leaving Mazeroth for good. Because of her, his plans were getting delayed.

"Michael, where are you? I am in your room with Elidyr," Michael heard Gaya's voice.

"I'll be with you in a minute," Michael said, turning around to leave. He was about to take a step forward when he sensed a powerful being in his Environmental Scanning.

"You asked me who asked you to meet her right? It's her," Edith looked up,

"Victoria Barnes. The Princess of Thusia,"