Traveling through the game world, starting out as a third-rate villain

"How's the situation?"

"Not bad."

In the Security Bureau's office, two officers sat at their desks, each holding a cup of coffee.

"Really?" Harlan asked, looking at Margarita.

Since Margarita returned from the hospital and interrogated the two students involved in the incident, she had been busy reporting the situation to her superiors.

For some reason, the higher-ups were putting pressure on the local Security Bureau, demanding more information and hoping to transfer the case to the central branch for handling.

"Yes. Although the kids were frightened, they provided quite a few useful clues."

"Yeah, true. After all, they are students of the Arcadia Hunter Academy."

"Indeed, it seems it's more than just a name."

"So, what's your conclusion?"

"I'm not sure. Although all the clues point to an internal dispute, my intuition tells me that things are far more complex than they seem."

"Hmm... Why do you think so?"

Margarita leaned back in her chair, her expression thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure either. It's just... it all happened too fast, too cleanly, and doesn't feel like a normal dispute between two organizations."

"I know, it's just my feeling."

"What about the other kid who was attacked?"

"Oh, that... Morse Scott."

"Hmm, how is he doing?"

"He was almost fully recovered when I was at the hospital."

"That's good."

Margarita couldn't help but smile as she recalled the scene of Sylvie embracing Morse. "He's quite special. He faced a group of attackers alone and managed to hold out for so long. And the girl with him, Sylvie, was surprisingly capable."

Harlan raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat curious. "Sylvie? When we found her, she looked like she was already done for."

"Yeah, I think she thought Morse was already dead."

"Ah..." Harlan suddenly understood and smiled slightly. "That makes sense."

"They seem to have some unique abilities. Especially Sylvie, she has a very special healing ability. It's because of her that Morse is alive."

"Really?"

"Really. Morse said that she healed his fatal wounds."

Harlan's expression became serious, Sylvie's healing ability making him thoughtful.

"If that's the case, then it's no wonder the higher-ups are so interested in this case."

Margarita nodded. "That's right, the academy might be trying to protect information about their students and these special abilities. It's not the first time they've concealed something like this."

"Indeed."

"But that kid, Morse... he has the potential to become a police officer."

"Why?"

"He gives me a very keen sense."

"You mean?"

Margarita leaned back in her chair, her eyes drifting away as she recalled her impression of Morse. "He has a natural intuition, the kind that can't be taught. His performance in that situation, and the conclusions he drew, were just like an experienced police officer. What's more, his quick thinking and assessment skills are also excellent."

Harlan raised an eyebrow, curious about Margarita's assessment. "You mean he did all this without any training or experience?"

"That's right, he seems born for this profession. If he chooses to become a detective, he could quickly climb to the top."

Harlan laughed. "Well, well. It seems we have a genius on our hands. The higher-ups will definitely be happy to hear this news."

Ring ring ring!

Just as they were talking, the phone suddenly rang. They were still using old-fashioned communication equipment, a tradition.

"Here we go again." Harlan rolled his eyes and picked up the phone.

Ring ring ring!

Harlan answered the phone, expecting to hear a routine notification. However, as the voice from the phone came through, his expression changed from casual annoyance to sudden surprise, his eyes widened, and his face turned pale.

"What?!" Harlan shouted into the phone, unable to believe what he was hearing. He quickly exchanged a glance with Margarita, who had already leaned forward, sensing that something was wrong.

"Two in one day?! Are you kidding me? What are the odds?" Harlan said angrily, slamming the phone back onto the receiver.

Margarita raised an eyebrow, a look of concern on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Maya Evergreen, a second-year student at Arcadia Hunter Academy, has also gone missing." Harlan complained, running his fingers through his hair, "First their students are mysteriously attacked, now a senior student has disappeared. What's going on?"

Margarita sighed, realizing that the situation had begun to escalate. "Looks like we're in for a long night."

"Tsk... I really regret applying for overtime now."

Harlan grumbled in agreement, the heavy pressure weighing on the two unlucky shoulders. The two officers left the room and headed to the student who last saw Maya.

......

"It's here."

The first place I headed to was the location where we clashed with the demon followers. It was an alleyway with little foot traffic during the day, let alone at night.

Some of the houses were already abandoned and empty.

The lighting here was also poor, and Sioux's nostalgic atmosphere made it seem even dimmer.

"Hmm..."

I walked into the alleyway, the scene of the battle replaying in my mind, how the demon followers moved swiftly on the rooftops.

Whoosh!

I jumped onto the roof and began searching for traces left behind by the demon followers.

"They didn't leave behind many traces."

This was expected; the group was focused on tracking and kidnapping. But my focus wasn't on the route the demon followers took.

I activated [Shadow], walking lightly on the rooftops without making any sound. My presence became extremely faint, and unless they were very powerful enemies, no one could notice me.

"These..."

Walking on the rooftops yielded results.

On a certain rooftop, I discovered a tiny trace. Scattered fragments of tiles indicated that someone had been here.

I crouched down, using the dim moonlight to examine the tile fragments. The cracks indicated that someone wasn't particularly skilled at moving on rooftops.

'It might be Senior Maya.'

She's a mage who mainly specializes in ranged attacks, and mages like her generally don't have strong physical agility.

I activated [Perception Insight] to enhance my senses, allowing me to capture even the smallest details.

Moving dust, misplaced tile fragments—these were all traces left by someone not skilled at landing silently.

[Mana Observation]

Injecting mana into my eyes, I allowed it to resonate with the surrounding environment, searching for residual mana traces.

I used my eyes to track these traces, imagining and recreating the process of that person descending. Soon, a faint trace guided me.

It seemed like the landing was slightly awkward, possibly stumbling a bit while descending.

"But she quickly regained her balance."

Next, there weren't many traces of walking. Senior Maya seemed to have paused for a second after landing, checking her surroundings.

"Was she looking for the demon followers?"

That's highly possible. If I were her, I would do the same. However, since I didn't encounter her, that means she was late.

"In that case, she would go to where the battle happened." Since Mason and the other half-demons used mana, the traces should still be there.

The rooftops guided me through the abandoned buildings until I reached the center of where we confronted the demon followers.

"This is it."

This was a courtyard, and I chose this place to prevent fatal attacks.

"But..."

After arriving at the small courtyard, I noticed something unusual.

"These traces..."

There were many collision marks left on the ground, most of which came from us.

As I recalled the battle, I could recognize these marks as ours.

"But there are others too."

Besides the traces we left, there were some additional ones here. Especially the cracks in the ground.

"Isn't this where I fell down?"

The ground was exactly where I fell, but there was no bloodstain. If it had been cleaned up, that would make sense, but this is a desolate alleyway that doesn't seem to have been cleaned.

"Something's not right."

While thinking, I continued to search.

"Hmm?"

A small, glittering object caught my attention, and I pressed my finger on the ground.

"Saliva?"

The liquid on the ground reminded me of saliva, and a sense of unease welled up in my heart.

I carefully touched the liquid with my finger, feeling a strange sensation. It wasn't like any saliva I had encountered before; it was abnormal and sent chills down my spine.

"Why?" As I pondered, examining the shiny liquid on my finger, I suddenly realized something.

"My blood is here, and this feeling... it's demonic."

Every time something related to demons happens, [Blade of Revenge] will remind me. This feeling, plus this...

"Did a demon lick my blood...?"

A wave of nausea washed over me... If it was a demon, then it's possible. Those demons, especially ogres, would do something like that.

"Tsk."

This courtyard wasn't just the battlefield where we clashed with the demon followers; it also became an unseen battlefield afterward.

The cracked ground marked intense power.

"Judging from this damage alone, this demon is much stronger than ordinary demons."

The enemy is strong. In my mind, I envisioned how this crack was created and in which direction the demon left.

My gaze turned to the rooftop.

"That's right..."

Whoosh!

I immediately climbed onto the roof, injecting mana into my eyes.

'This...'

I saw faint traces of demonic energy and various elemental mana.

"This was a battle that ended in an instant," I muttered to myself, imagining the traces left by that instant, overwhelming power. A demon capable of producing such power is undoubtedly very strong.

While continuing to investigate the rooftop, my [Perception Insight] captured a glimmer within the demonic energy. I carefully approached, and there, I discovered a piece of cloth.

"This is..." I carefully picked up the cloth and immediately recognized it. This was a corner of Senior Maya's clothing, the intricate patterns and design exactly matching her style.

"She was here." This piece of cloth validated all my guesses. From here, I continued to search the scene, looking for any details I might have missed.