The sound of Kain’s footsteps echoed through the Academy hallways. He was running at full speed, his breaths broken. His mind still could not digest what he had seen.
Lian was back. After seven days, after entering the tenth Ruined Realm. He did not think his best friend would ever return. From his perspective, he was definitely dead.
But now? It turned out he had been wrong all this time.
But his condition did not look like a living human at all. The door of the infirmary was opened with force.
"Help! Quickly!"
Several healers and doctors of the Academy frowned and raised their heads, and they followed him to the dorm room. When they saw Lian’s body on the bed, the color drained from their faces.
His clothes were almost completely destroyed. His whole body was covered in blood. One of his eyes was completely gone. The ribs on the left side of his chest were sunken in unnaturally.
Deep tears could be seen on his arms and shoulders. Burn marks from lightning were spread on his skin like black, charred veins.
One of the doctors stepped forward and took Lian’s pulse. Then suddenly, his eyes widened.
"How is this kid still alive?"
No one had an answer. Even the experienced healers of the Academy were facing something like this for the first time.
This no longer looked like being wounded. It looked like the survivor of a real war. A war that he should not have survived.
This amount of damage was so terrible that no normal person could survive it. At best, only Awakened, and those with high physical power.
Without hesitation, they took him to the Academy hospital.
The news of Lian’s return spread through the Academy at an incredible speed. Among many, he was known as the useless son of the Vorhelm family.
And when news of his disappearance came, everyone thought he would definitely die in that ruined realm. But it seemed they were wrong.
Less than an hour later, a girl with long black hair hurried into the infirmary.
Seraphina.
She had run all the way. But when she entered the room, she suddenly stopped. For a few seconds, she just stared at the bed.
Her mind could not accept the image in front of her. The last time she had seen Lian, he was a weak, talentless boy. A boy whom many students did not take seriously, but he was completely healthy.
But now, a half-dead creature lay on the bed. White bandages covered a large part of his body.
The healing devices around the bed were on. His breaths were weak and irregular.
Seraphina quietly walked forward. She sat next to the bed. She looked at Lian’s pale face. For the first time, real guilt formed in her heart.
If she had talked to him that day, if she had not given him that cold look... maybe she would not feel this way now.
But it was too late for regret. The only thing she could do was sit by the bed and wait.
At the same time...
In the highest building of the Academy.
An emergency meeting was held. Several senior professors sat around a large table.
The atmosphere was heavy. Reports were spread on the table. One of the professors took off his glasses.
"So we are sure?"
Another professor nodded.
"Yes. He has returned from the tenth Ruined Realm."
Several people fell silent. Even saying this sentence was strange. The tenth Ruined Realm. The realm that had appeared seven days ago.
A realm that until now, no one had been able to return from. At least, there is no official information that shows any of the 25,000 sacrifices summoned to the realm have survived.
Most of the people summoned are normal people with some Awakened, and even those Awakened cannot leave that easily and that quickly.
But now, a normal boy had returned.
One of the professors frowned.
"This does not make sense."
"It needs to be investigated to find out how he returned." Another said.
"Maybe he was just lucky." A middle-aged man sitting at the end of the table said quietly.
Almost everyone looked at him at the same time. One of the professors smirked.
"Lucky? From the tenth Ruined Realm?"
Another man shook his head.
"You cannot come back from hell with luck."
No one disagreed, because they all thought the same. And that was how Lian had now become an important phenomenon even for them.
A phenomenon that needed to be evaluated and examined.
One day passed quietly. A soft light entered the infirmary room through the window. Lian’s eyelids trembled a little.
The darkness slowly moved away. It took a few seconds for him to see. The first thing he saw... was a white ceiling.
Not stone, not blood, not the darkness of the cave. Just a simple white ceiling.
For a few moments, he was confused. Then he realized the truth.
He was back. He had really come back. He had gotten out of that hell.
At that moment, he noticed someone next to the bed. He turned his head a little.
Seraphina.
The girl froze for a moment, then clear joy appeared in her eyes.
"You finally woke up!"
"Am I dreaming? It is impossible for that grumpy girl to smile at me so easily." Lian gave a weak smile.
But before she could react, a gentle slap, almost without any force, hit his face. There was no power in it, and it was clear that its purpose was just for show.
"Well, I guess I am not dreaming." Lian chuckled.
Seraphina let out a sigh of relief.
"Kain and I were very worried. We thought you would not come back. Do you know how worried we were?"
Then she gave a soft punch to his shoulder.
"Ow..." Lian winced in pain. There was no pain, but now that a beautiful girl had done that, he could at least play a little, right?
"Sorry." Seraphina felt embarrassed.
"I thought you would not care." Lian gave a weak laugh.
A few seconds of silence passed. Seraphina looked away. Her cheeks turned a little red, as if she was embarrassed to show this side of herself.
Then very quietly, so quietly that it was almost not heard, she whispered:
"Idiot..."
Before Lian could say anything, she suddenly stood up.
"I will go inform the doctors and Kain."
And she quickly left the room.
Lian stared at the ceiling and let out a quiet sigh.
"Besides all the achievements I got from that realm... now she has forgiven me too."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Maybe all that suffering was worth it."
But a moment later, the image of the Dreadmaw Sovereign appeared in his mind.
His smile disappeared. Even though he had gained many achievements, he really did not want to face an Unholy again. It was the first time he felt that he was no different from an ant.
If that monster had not underestimated them from the beginning and played with them like toys, Lian might really be dead by now.
A few minutes later, the door opened and several doctors entered. Behind them, Kain and Seraphina also came in.
As soon as Kain saw Lian’s open eyes, he laughed.
"It seems you really are unlucky and ended up getting summoned to that realm."
"Really." Lian smirked.
Kain came closer.
"We missed you. You worried us badly. I did not think I would see you again."
A few minutes were spent catching up. For the first time in a long while, the atmosphere of the room was calm.
No blood, no monsters, no death. But this calm did not last long.
Suddenly, the door opened. All the doctors immediately fell silent. The smile disappeared from Kain’s face. Even Seraphina unconsciously stood straight.
A man entered the room. A tall man in the black uniform of the Academy. The pressure of his presence alone was enough to make the atmosphere heavy.
This was not someone students could usually meet.
One of the Academy’s most powerful professors.
The man came forward without introduction. His gaze fixed on Lian. A few seconds of silence passed.
Then he said quietly.
"Mr. Vorhelm, first of all, congratulations on being healthy. And I need to talk to you about the tenth Ruined Realm."
And the room fell into a heavy silence.