Races: Online

"I'm not lying! Let me go! I'm not—huh," Han Jing blinked and found his back touching something hard. 

When Han looked behind him, it was a solid ceiling and he himself was floating high up in the air several feet above the ground and with the Illusionary Mage giving him a blank look from the other part of the secret room. 

The two of them were in the hidden library that he once discovered Ellynn and Timothy going together before. Right behind Kai, the mage was surrounded by several bookshelves but Han on the other hand was floating in the blocked passageway that led to the ghost spectre. 

There were decent sharp chunky rocks below him and without any decent armor, he'd get stabbed to death if he were to fall to his death. Han tried to remember what actually led to this scenario and he quickly did.

Several memories coursed through his head and he understood what was happening.

It also helped that the Mage seemed to have taken Han's silence for him mulling over his options.

"Are you finally going to confess or would you prefer a quick kiss with the ground to help your head remembering what you forgot?" Kai asked in a plain and blunt tone. "It's painful, but we have a healing potion and so we could do this a couple of times until you're more willing to work with me."

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" Han didn't expect that the first guy who'd discover and see through his acts was also unafraid of torturing him if it meant him confessing the truth. What was it with these people in the academy?!

Kai arched a brow at him and looked a bit dumbfounded for a moment. He rubbed his chin and stared at Han still floating in the air. The way that Han carried himself now was a far cry from how the man was denying everything earlier.

"I should say the same to you. Your… your demeanor changed completely. I can't explain it, but you've suddenly changed in how you're no longer screaming to let me go."

Han clicked his tongue. "Well, that's because I realized it was useless. Let me down."

"Not until you tell me what I want," Kai said and then shrugged carefreely. "We could do this all night. You don't have any friends that will check on you if you're missing tonight. Not really that close with your so-called friends, if I can say so myself."

Did it mean that Theodore checked on Kai before the two of them slept? It was a train of thoughts that Han didn't have the time to process at all. Instead, Han only snapped at him. "Fine, I'm from another world." 

"Wait, what?"

"Your accusations and suspicions were right on the money," Han grumbled and just spat it out. "Are you happy? Did you record that? Release me, I need to go somewhere else."

"What?!" Kai stepped back for a moment, he looked as if a wind knocked the air out from his lungs. The Illusionary Mage's appearance solidified into a plain looking man for a moment as he rubbed his face. "I was right? Was I really right…?"

"Yes, I'm not from here." Han confirmed distractedly when he noticed a blinking box floating near the corner of his left eye and he found himself at a rather discursive and meandering mode. "This body isn't really mine and I'm just borrowing it? Well, I created it? Hah… I don't know how to explain it without making you go insane and question your existence."

"Question my existence?"

"Yeah, are you all simply my imagination or that of a greater being?" Han shrugged and then sighed aloud. "Probably the latter, but then how real are you guys then? Just as much as me? But why am I here then with other outsiders and pretending to be someone else? Am I not real? Heck, what's the purpose of us being alive?"

The notification turned out to be a message from his 'dear' friends. He saw a message from Lucia in the group chat which seemed to have been from at least half an hour ago. The Light Elf was mentioning a welcoming party and surprise guests? 

Fuck, that was Professor Owen wasn't it? Han shouldn't be here in the academy, he should be preventing a massacre!

Were they still alive? He hoped they were still okay or else the Light Elf and her friends were going to think that Han sabotaged them and that was going to put him in a bad spot. 

Han, who had gotten impatient with how the Illusionary Mage was still having a 'blue screen of death error' moment at the revelation suddenly shifted around what was probably a [ Floating ] or [ Telekinesis ] type of Spell and finally recalled something useful.

His Inventory was relatively useless and didn't have anything substantial for him to use… but that was where Han could use his underutilized Feature available to him as a Player. Han reached out and saw the screen in front of him.

[ Gather Resources ]

That Alliance with the Wood Elf needed to have some use after all.

[ Gathering… ]

[ Gathering Complete! ]

[ You Have Gathered The Resources From The Previous Days As Well ]

Out of literally nowhere in Kai's mind, or what he would possibly attribute as a hidden storage space later, came a fruit in Han's hands akin to the purest magic of the highest level: creation—before he knew it Han started tossing a bunch of apples to get his attention but failed to do.

Until, Han hit Kai right in the back of his head with a rock.

[ Unerring Throw ] and [ Lesser Strength ] contribute to his superior shot.

Han watched the guy fall over like some kind of domino and hit his face right onto the floor. The air or magic that kept Han in the air disappeared in a whoosh, and he dove right back into the entrance before he experienced being stabbed by countless rocks.

"Hey, are you okay?" Han winced at the sign of violence and then reached out for the only thing he considered valuable in his Inventory. It was something he kept and really tried not to use unless it was urgent and important.

This was the healing potion that Ellynn gave him before.

Han pushed the cork open and poured a bit at the back of the Mage's head. He saw the man stir up a bit but only made a sound of agony. 

Considering all of Han's skills, he was surprised that the guy was still alive. Was Kai actually sturdier than he thought? 

There was no time for Han to ponder about it any further.

Not wanting to delay his stay, Han dumped the rest of the contents and then made his way out of the library as fast as he could. He went for a break-necking speed which allowed him to dodge his classmates going in the opposite direction of him.

Han rushed through the hallway and started running for Kraelonia Academy's exit. 

There was going to be a lot of explaining to do and he doubted that a quick message could resolve everything that probably happened the last time and this time again.