Chapter 75: About the Time I Overheard the Inner Monologue of the Academy’s Top Beauty (Triple Update)
“『Fate』·Grey”
Staring at the shimmering azure text within his mental world, Rast fell into deep thought.
In other words…
The Sequence Long Step that Grey possessed was called “Fate”?
Rast had previously searched the Tower of Secrets’ database in the Ruins Institute and memorized all the Sequence information there.
Thus, he was certain.
“Fate.”
This was a Sequence Long Step that had never appeared in the present world—no records in ancient texts, not even a name left behind… an entirely new Sequence.
It was highly likely that, like his own “Tower” and Mr. Silver’s “Moon,” it was a unique Sequence.
The only one of its kind in the world, with no hope of finding a second Extraordinary of the same Sequence.
Of course, as a transmigrator with memories of a past life, Rast was well aware that the “Wheel of Fortune” was also one of the twenty-two Major Arcana in tarot.
“Fate, huh?”
“It matches perfectly with Grey’s ability in the Night World—the power to rewind time and distort the trajectory of fate.”
In that case, it was no wonder this Sequence was so rare that even the Ruins Institute had no records of it.
Grey was so young, likely not even at the First Tier before this, yet the power she displayed could only be described as overpowered.
For any other Sequence, let alone at the same First Tier, even a Fourth or Fifth Tier Extraordinary could easily meet their end in Frozen Water Town if they weren’t careful.
If “Fate” Sequence Extraordinaries could be mass-produced… wouldn’t that be disastrous?
One could only say that the balancing team behind Snowmoon Emblem had put in some effort to maintain game balance—at least they hadn’t forgotten the golden rule of gacha games: “Power correlates directly with acquisition difficulty.”
Of course, beyond roasting the game developers…
What intrigued Rast more was the other piece of information hidden within the azure text.
Forming bonds with Extraordinaries in the Night World could also unlock tarot cards and their corresponding Sequence Long Steps in the “Library of Fools”?
The implications here were far from simple.
According to Hiltina’s introduction, as well as the information Rast himself had found in the Tower of Secrets, the mainstream academic view in the present world held that—
The worlds Night Travelers experienced in the Night World, though seemingly real, were nothing more than illusions projected and simulated by the Night World based on past records.
Echoes of the past, remnants of history, embers of civilization.
They were things long gone. No matter how real they seemed or felt, they were ultimately just memories, shadows—not actual parallel worlds.
But… could illusory, dreamlike things truly form bonds with him, even unlocking new cards in the “Library of Fools”?
Or was it that—
The Night World was not merely the “echoes” and “shadows” that Travelers believed it to be?
Even Canaan, and Xiao Ai…
Rast forcibly cut off his spiraling thoughts.
He knew full well that no matter how many conjectures he made, without concrete verification, they were nothing more than baseless speculation.
Meaningless, and only serving as distractions.
Rast refocused his attention on the lines of text in his mental world.
First, the rewards for clearing this Night World.
His mission rating this time was “A++.”
Based on Tower of Secrets records, Night World ratings ranged from “F” to “A” as standard tiers, with plus signs indicating additional merit beyond the standard.
“EX,” meanwhile, represented something beyond numerical evaluation.
His previous rating for clearing Deep Blue Harbor was “EX,” while this time it was “A++.” Judging purely by the rating, this one was slightly lower.
But this was within Rast’s expectations. After all, in Deep Blue Harbor, he had faced an entire city’s Iron Cross forces and the very real possibility of an Evil God’s Divine Descent.
Had Rast not relied on 300 years of loops, using countless trial-and-error attempts to memorize near-impossible patterns and accumulate unimaginable experience, allowing him to prevent the Divine Descent…
Even a Fifth or Sixth Tier Night Traveler confronting a fully descended Evil God in Deep Blue Harbor’s Night World would stand little chance, with survival being a distant dream.
The true mastermind behind Frozen Water Town, however, was far less exaggerated—merely a fully activated Pollutant borrowing a fraction of the deity “Zhuyue’s” power.
The real challenge of clearing the Calamity Echo in Frozen Water Town lay in breaking the time loop triggered by Grey… and dealing with teammates who had already been lost to the Calamity Echo, turned into hostile puppets.
As long as these two issues were resolved, even an Extraordinary restricted to the peak of Third Tier by the Echo’s rules could potentially clear it.
Of course, for Rast to clear the Calamity Echo at just Second Tier—even with Hiltina’s assistance—an “A++” rating was still fairly objective.
Most members of Starry University’s strategy team only scored between C and D when entering the Night World, with exceptions like Rodri, the legendary eternal F-rater.
“Hiltina mentioned that ratings above A have a high chance of yielding inherent skills and Emblem Armor as rewards.”
“And this time, with such a high rating, I didn’t receive any new Emblem Armor…”
“Which means the inherent skill I got must be pretty good.”
With that thought, a flicker of anticipation rose in Rast’s heart.
Rewards from Night Worlds were notoriously stingy.
Aside from the fixed Sequence experience points awarded based on rating…
Below A-rank, there was a 99% chance of only receiving disposable consumables, like the “Instant Healing Crystal” Hiltina used in Deep Blue Harbor to pull him back from d*ath’s door.
But such one-time Extraordinary Items were only good for emergencies, offering little to a Night Traveler’s overall strength.
Thus, the most valuable rewards in Night Worlds were the permanent power boosts: “Inherent Skills” and “Emblem Armor.”
The former could be understood as permanent passive skills, with some powerful ones rivaling the abilities of Sequence Long Steps themselves—or even Night Blades. Take Rast’s “Heart of Iron,” for example.
This skill, combined with Rast’s already superhuman willpower, made him nearly immune to all mental abilities unless facing opponents several tiers above him.
As for Emblem Armor, its strength went without saying. As the only Extraordinary equipment that could be brought into Night Worlds… at the same level, the difference between a fully geared and a n*ked fighter was night and day.
Unlike Inherent Skills, which were bound to their recipients, Emblem Armor could be unbound from the soul, traded, or gifted.
But acquiring Emblem Armor was also the hardest. Not only did it require an A-rank or higher rating, but even if one dropped, there was no guarantee it would suit the recipient’s preferences… For instance, if Hiltina—a finesse fighter—received a spear-type Emblem Armor, it would feel awkward no matter how she used it.
If not for these hurdles, with Hiltina’s “True Name Release” Night Blade, she’d have decked herself out in eight or ten pieces of armor, blasting every Night World with airstrikes on entry.
Of course, this was also because Hiltina refused to acknowledge her identity as the imperial princess, rejecting all support from the royal family.
Otherwise, as the first princess of the Granwill Empire, preparing a few spare sets of Emblem Armor would’ve been trivial for her.
This time in Frozen Water Town, she seemed to have activated her rapier’s True Name twice in succession, completely shattering the Emblem Armor named “Glimmering Dawnstar.”
Who knew… if it could ever be reforged.
With these thoughts, Rast turned his attention to his newly acquired Inherent Skill.
[Desperate Plea]
[Type: Inherent Skill]
[A phantom dream atop ruins, mottled fragments of shadows… A girl who proclaimed herself an evil monster, denying her past, denying everything, forever trapped in a lightless illusion, pleading desperately for light in countless starless nights.]
[Thus, the one who answered her prayers and cries, shattered the false dream, and pulled her from the quagmire of despair to walk toward the future once more—was this hero born from illusion, or reality?]
[Skill Effect: When the holder is in a near-d*ath state, negate one instance of d*ath.]
[Cooldown: One complete Night World Echo, or 30 days in the real world outside the Night World.]
[Current Cooldown: 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes.]
Negating d*ath once when in a near-d*ath state…
In other words, this was an extra life.
Who turned on Guardian Angel?
And… judging by the cooldown timer, he had already triggered the “d*ath negation” effect once?
Rast recalled Mr. Silver’s earlier description.
According to him, when Rast first emerged from the Night World, he was barely distinguishable from a corpse—halfway into the grave already.
Most likely, it was the effect of “Desperate Plea” that kept him clinging to his last breath, preventing him from becoming one with the stars on the Stellar Obelisk.
With this in mind, Rast’s thoughts stirred.
His consciousness sank once more, entering the “Library of Fools.”
He felt himself standing once again in that lightless tower.
At the center of the tower’s base, surrounded by endless darkness, only the faint glimmer of distant stars could be seen.
In the depths of the shadows, twenty-one pale staircases extended upward from where Rast stood, reaching toward the highest point of the tower—the distant end of the starry sky.
But unlike his first visit, where nineteen of the twenty-one staircases were sealed by golden chains…
The “Library of Fools” now seemed much brighter.
Nearly half of the pale staircases had been fully unsealed, with illusory cards slowly rotating at their starting steps, surrounded by faint points of light.
The higher steps, too, were now illuminated by ghostly flames.
Most staircases were only lit up to the first step, but a few had more… The highest was the staircase representing the “Chariot” card, with four steps bathed in golden flames—symbolizing his [Bond Level: 4] “connection” with Hiltina.
Rast raised his gaze, looking higher into the library.
In the deep darkness, he could faintly make out the dim outlines of staircases stretching further up, as though leading to the end of the cosmos, the terminus of all things.
“There are ten steps in total…”
“So the highest bond level is ten?”
“If so, then according to the Tower of Secrets’ records, Extraordinaries who reach the Tenth Tier of their Sequence Long Step are vaguely described as ‘walking the path to godhood.'”
“And Sequence Long Steps, as described in ancient texts, are ‘Stairways to Divinity.'”
“Does the end of each staircase signify ascension to godhood?”
Rast dismissed these thoughts. Such matters were still far beyond him.
Based on what he knew, in the present world, not only were there no confirmed Tenth Tier deities, even the existence of Seventh Tier “Legends” was dubious at best.
He turned his attention to the two newly unsealed pale staircases in the black tower.
“『Fate』·Grey” and “『Moon』·Mr. Silver.”
Two cards, surrounded by faint light, slowly rotated in place.
One bore the image of a silver moon reflected on a lake.
The other depicted a constantly rotating circle—the “Wheel of Fortune”—surrounded by a jackal, a sword, a lion, and a snake.
Unlike the status panels of others Rast had seen before…
Neither Grey nor Mr. Silver’s panels mentioned anything about a Night Blade.
The only visible details were their Sequence abilities.
[『Moon』·Mr. Silver]
[Bond Level: 1]
[Whisper Under Moonlight: You can engage in telepathic conversations with others.]
…
[『Fate』·Grey]
[Bond Level: 2]
[Fate Nexus: You are the origin point of all fate, where flowing time and history split before you into two unrelated lines.
You are both the creator and the destroyer of stories.
Countless worldlines are born from you, and will end because of you.]
[As the nexus of fate, you exist outside of time. Your resistance to time-based skills is greatly enhanced.]
…
Staring at the azure text before him, Rast fell into deep contemplation.
What kind of cryptic description was this?
Mr. Silver’s ability was straightforward—baseline telepathy, allowing silent communication without vocal cords.
Earlier, when Mr. Silver bypassed Isda to speak directly into Rast’s mind, that was likely this ability in action.
But Grey’s “Fate Nexus”? That was pure riddle material.
What “origin point of fate,” what “creator of stories”—zero concrete information.
The only tangible detail was the last line—
[Your resistance to time-based skills is greatly enhanced.]
If the Night World’s “Reversion”—the healing effect applied to Night Travelers upon clearing a world—counted as a “time-based” skill…
Then the reason his injuries hadn’t fully healed after leaving the Night World was now clear.
From this perspective, “Fate Nexus” seemed like a purely negative skill.
Not only did it reduce the healing effects of the Night World’s Reversion, but its actual benefits were so vague as to be unverifiable.
However, when Rast instinctively tried to unequip the “Fate Nexus” skill from the Library of Fools to stop it from sabotaging him…
He found that neither Grey’s nor Mr. Silver’s abilities could be unbound or re-equipped.
They didn’t occupy original slots but were forcibly locked onto him like passive skills.
…
No original slot occupation… and no associated Night Blades.
Could this be the unique trait of the “Moon” and “Fate” Sequences—rejecting the very existence of Night Blades?
The moment this thought crossed his mind…
Light footsteps approached from afar.
The rhythm was similar to Hiltina’s—steady and measured—but with subtle differences.
“Young Xiya, you’re finally here.”
Mr. Silver’s voice carried a hint of complaint. “Hurry up and send this guy’s curse to its grave. I’ve been babysitting him for half a month—my b*tt’s growing mushrooms at this point.”
“Curse?”
A voice colder than the peaks of the far north echoed in Rast’s mind.
“Yeah, this guy got tangled up with some Evil God’s Pollutant in the Night World. Right before leaving, he got hit with a permanent burning curse—that black flame won’t go away no matter what we try.”
“But don’t overthink it. Just k*ll him and be done with it.”
“Understood.”
The voice, frostbite given sound, spoke again.
“Payment?”
Mr. Silver’s tone turned pained. “Two weeks’ worth of meals—ten Mega Burger combos per meal.”
“Deal.”
The voice replied with two final syllables.
“Hey, Mr. Silver, are you seriously negotiating my assassination with a hitman right now? ‘Can’t cure him, so just k*ll him and call it a job well done’?”
“And even if you were plotting my m*rder, is this how you do it—loudly, in front of the victim?”
Rast couldn’t help but吐槽. “Also, my life’s only worth two weeks of Mega Burgers?”
But the moment he finished speaking, the air around him fell silent.
Neither Mr. Silver nor the icy voice responded.
In this unnatural quiet, Rast’s mind raced—until he remembered a key detail.
Akshia, the “d*ath’s Messenger.”
Her in-academy title was the same as her Night Blade’s name.
And according to unverified rumors from the News Agency… this title originated from her Sequence Long Step, “God of d*ath,” which rendered her silent in outsiders’ eyes—effectively mute.
Every time she spoke, it was said to be the angel of d*ath ringing the funeral bell beside the living.
A Word Spirit that stole life—instant d*ath.
But the voice that had just conversed so freely with Mr. Silver bore no resemblance to the mute girl described by the News Agency.
Then again, considering the Sequence ability Rast had just confirmed—Mr. Silver’s “Whisper Under Moonlight”…
Oh.
“You little…”
“Even blind, you’re still using that ‘copy-eye’ of yours to mimic my ability, aren’t you?”
Mr. Silver’s咬牙切齿 voice rang in his ears.
The Snow Ferret Dean Who Keeps Whispering in My Ear About Mushrooms Growing on His b*tt
And…
How I Accidentally Learned That the Academy’s Strongest Beauty Is Actually a Glutton Who Can Down Ten Mega Burgers in One Sitting
………………………
PS: Caught the flu these past few days—constantly dizzy, barely made deadlines.
But I’m mostly better now. Updates will return to normal.
(End of Chapter)
