[Seth's POV:]

Things were progressing as I thought except for the small episode which occurred in the first base of the temple.

I still can vividly remember how Anabelle lost control and ended up discharging her emotions through Soul Energy.

It was an advanced technique that very few people, having an immense amount of Soul Energy, can achieve. Or to say, those people could be summed up on fingers, that level of expertise this technique requires.

One could affect people or any living substance through their emotions. Like a happy Aura can make a grieving scene quite harmonious. And a single person can make thousands cry.

I was perplexed down to the core to realize that the main female lead had actually arrived at such a stage.

Well, she was destined to be one of the most powerful entities in the world but that would have happened after a certain period.

She needed a trigger to utilize the hidden potential she carries ever since her birth.

And in the novel, Arata's near-death situation worked as that instance where Anabelle snapped and got to know more about herself.

Today, no one was in the fatal situation. That explains that Anabelle has unlocked her potential prior to the plot and that's seriously troublesome.

I mean, she got attracted to the protagonist because being a damsel in distress on one of their expeditions. If the damsel would actually never find herself in distress then there was only the butterfly effect remaining to keep the plot in check.

Not to talk about her weird behavior toward me which had been troubling me ever since the spar with Kevin.

There was a lot to handle and this female lead is making things more complicated.

'I think talking things out with her might work…or not…?'

_______________…

[3rd Person POV:]

There are several rooms in any Temple that one has to clear out to proceed further and reach the Core.

Team A under the guidance of Seth cleared the upcoming stages without much trouble.

It was mostly the protagonist Arata who took the charge whenever battle commenced and showed everyone how capable a leader he could be at times.

His unpretentious nature and the way he cared about each of his comrades seemed commendable traits that every leader should possess.

The Professors had the job to observe the students and pick out diamonds from these elites. And seemingly, they already had their answer.

Just the shame was Anabelle.

After what they saw in the primary stage, the two instructors wanted to see more from this hidden talent who surely can surpass each one of them if guided properly.

But at any point during the ordeal, Anabelle seemed completely detached. Like she had no motive to become a respected figure in the Academy at all.

She was just fulfilling her role as a healer whenever someone came to ask for help. Other than that, she stayed by the President's side all the time.

It was strange but no one had the right to force Anabelle to fight. Or to say, no one was actually daring to.

"Where should we go now, Leader?"

One of the Assassin class second-year students—Lizel Acadia— asked, as the group stood before a division.

There were two routes leading to an indefinite path that brought such an abrupt halt to the march.

This was not out of the blue scenario. Having multiple routes is a common occurrence and it was believed that each route leads to the core, albeit the journey varies on one's luck.

Every eye was now fixed on Seth since it would be his decision where to proceed.

Dividing the forces was completely out of the question so what remained were Seth's next words.

After a bit of contemplating which undoubtedly was a part of his act, Seth finally drew his choice.

"Let's take the right one."

There was no calculation for choosing paths in such a mysterious place. No wind cycle, no clue, and nothing like the traces that one expects in treasure hunting.

That was why no one asked why Seth chose that path and followed silently.

The reason why Seth chose the right path was obvious. He knew what was there.

There was just one last stage on this path with and done. Direct walk into the core room.

However, there was a catch.

This Temple is a turning point in Arata's life. The reason was a Hidden Room.

As one could guess, such rooms are kept hidden because they contain some phenomenal treasures, and sometimes disasters as well.

In the novel, Seth found the room and soon discerned that it would be nothing but inviting death if they stayed there.

Since it was a great chance to seclude the hero, Seth didn't miss it and left only Arata inside while he helped everyone out, with his psychic powers.

The original Seth thought that Arata would die inside surely, but he returned.

And the Arata who walked out of the Temple after everyone returned, was no longer a naive innocent village guy but a tough man who had escaped his own death several times.

That was probably one of the highest leaps the protagonist took to get stronger and ultimately become the hope of humanity.

Of course, Seth had no plan to trigger the event since he knew nothing would go in his favor even though Arata ended up inside not because of him.

It was rather risky to even walk on this path that Seth chose since it had the potential booster of the protagonist. But Seth chose to follow the route which he was at least aware of.

In the novel, Seth was only the one in the student's group who was able to detect the room but now he would just put a blindfold on it.

Might the professor be suspicious of him not mentioning the secret room but that won't matter much. He will just pretend to never be aware of the place.

'Yeah… this would be for the best… '

With such thought, the group was walking just past the place that Seth assumed to be the secret room when suddenly…

"Hey! I can feel something from here! Woah…."

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A/N: - Drop a comment if you are liking the story so far.