Eden System - Rise of the Villain Prince

Lucien made his way alone to the Trial Tower.

Climbing up a hundred stone steps and ascending the mountain path, a massive stone gate slowly appeared before him.

However, Lucien frowned when he saw someone standing at the gate.

"Irelia?!" Lucien murmured.

Indeed, it was Irelia. Lucien had no idea how long she had been waiting for him, but judging by her weary and pale face, she must have been there for quite some time.

Lucien hurried forward.

The moment Irelia saw Lucien, her face lit up with joy. "Lucien!"

"Irelia! When did you get here? Why are you here?" Lucien asked with a frown.

Seeing Lucien's expression, Irelia felt slightly disappointed and annoyed. "You're not happy to see me?"

"Ah! No, what I meant is..." Lucien stammered. "I didn't want to trouble you, so..."

"Huh!" Irelia pouted. "Well, I don't feel troubled. I wanted to see you, to witness you achieve glory."

Lucien shook his head. "It's not that big a deal. Today is just a small test."

Hearing that, Irelia frowned. "You haven't heard? That bastard Lathel is also coming here to take the aptitude test today."

"What?!" Lucien was shocked by Irelia's words. "He's just a useless trash, talentless, not even an Awakened One—what's he doing here?"

"I... I don't know either. But his name really is on the list of today's aptitude test participants," Irelia replied, her face full of contempt as she mentioned Lathel.

Lucien said nothing, but unease suddenly stirred in his chest. However, he quickly shook his head and thought to himself: 'No! He's probably just here to make his student status official, nothing more.'

'I have no reason to fear him. I'm no longer the useless person I once was. Now, I'm already a Rank 1 – Late Stage powerhouse.'

If Lathel knew what Lucien was thinking, he would surely laugh for an entire month.

Rank 1, and already calling himself a powerhouse?

If that were the case, then what would Lathel be at Rank 3? A god?

Lucien felt the weight of the greatsword Lilith had given him on his back and felt even more confident.

He spoke softly, "Good. Let him come—I want to see what kind of farce he plans to put on."

Seeing Lucien so confident made Irelia's heart beat faster. Her pale and tired face—still recovering from yesterday's injuries—blushed slightly.

"Uhm! I believe in you," Irelia said with a smile.

"Lucien!" Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind.

Lucien turned his head and saw a plump figure approaching, accompanied by a somewhat pretty young woman.

"Billy?!" Lucien was genuinely surprised—he hadn't expected Billy to be here as well.

But Billy's current condition looked rather... miserable. He was panting heavily, his body drenched in sweat, struggling to climb each step.

For Lucien, a hundred steps were nothing. But for someone with Billy's physique, it might as well have been an Ultimate Trial.

However, Lucien also took notice of the girl walking beside Billy. She was quite pretty, her black hair neatly tied back.

She walked while supporting Billy, helping him up the steps. Though tired, Billy wore a deeply contented smile, as if having this girl by his side could give him the strength to climb a thousand more steps.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Billy gasped as he reached Lucien, his face pale as if drained of all blood.

Seeing Billy panting, unable to speak, Lucien's gaze immediately shifted to the girl standing beside him.

"Billy, what are you doing here? And... this is...?" Lucien asked, frowning.

Billy took a deep breath, steadying his breathing. His eyes shone with enthusiasm as he looked at the girl beside him, then turned back to Lucien and said, "Hahaha... you're here to take the aptitude test today, right?"

"I came to cheer you on—after all, we're best friends."

Lucien looked at Billy with a doubtful gaze. "Oh? I truly appreciate that. Then..."

His eyes flicked toward the girl beside Billy, full of unspoken questions.

Billy scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "Hehehe... she... she's also here to take the aptitude test, just like you. But she didn't know the way, so... I helped her out a bit."

"Hm?" Lucien looked at Billy with suspicion.

"Hello!" The girl beside Billy spoke up. "I'm Aris, nice to meet you. Is Billy your friend?"

"Ah! Yes, he is," Lucien replied.

Aris smiled, her gentle and mature face lighting up with warmth—a smile that nearly melted Billy on the spot.

"This is my first time here, and I didn't know the way to the Trial Tower. Luckily, Billy helped me," Aris said softly, her gaze toward Billy filled with gentleness. "Thank you so much. You're a good person."

Boom!

Billy's head nearly exploded with excitement. He stammered, "Hahaha... I... I... well..."

Lucien glanced at them, his eyes showing sudden understanding. He smiled politely and said, "If it's no trouble, then why don't we go together?"

"Since you just arrived, having a companion is always better, right?"

"Yes, yes!" Billy quickly said. "Aris, you just got here too. I could... I..."

Billy wanted to say he could help her, but then he suddenly remembered—he was just an ordinary person. Climbing a hundred steps had already been a struggle for him, so what could he possibly help Aris with?

But Aris simply covered her mouth with a graceful, gentle smile. "That's fine... the more, the merrier."

Billy's eyes widened like they were about to turn into headlights. Seeing this, Lucien smiled and was just about to say something when a sudden violent gust of wind blew in.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Ack! What the hell?!" Lucien shielded his face with both arms as the strong gust swept sand and dust directly at him.

"Agh!" Billy lost his balance under the force of the wind and stumbled backward down the stairs.

"Billy!" Lucien was startled and reached out instinctively, but he was standing too far to catch him in time.

Smash!

Suddenly, Aris extended her hand, her soft fingers grasping Billy's wrist firmly before pulling him back up.

"Ack!"

BAM!

"Ugh!" Billy landed on the ground, but instead of being angry, he looked thrilled and deeply grateful as he gazed at Aris. "Thank you. If not for you, I might've died from that fall."

Lucien let out a sigh of relief seeing Billy was safe. In truth, Billy wasn't wrong—given his body size, falling from this height might very well have been fatal.

Aris shook her head and smiled gently. "We're friends. Helping each other is only natural, right?"

"Ah! Right! Hahahaha..." Billy beamed with joy, feeling that the distance between him and her had just gotten much smaller.

Seeing how close they were, Lucien also felt at ease and genuinely happy for Billy.

Irelia, meanwhile, pouted and silently scolded herself for being foolish. If only she had pretended to be blown over by the wind just now, she might have had a better chance to get closer to Lucien.

Lucien frowned and looked up to the sky, locating the source of the whirlwind.

"That is..." He squinted, spotting a massive bird soaring through the sky, heading straight toward the plaza in front of the Trial Tower. "Lathel!"

Lucien gritted his teeth, his hands clenching so tightly they turned pale, his whole body trembling slightly with anger.

Because he hadn't just seen Lathel—he had also seen Selvia, the woman he loved most, leaning gently against Lathel's chest.

Crack! Crack!

His clenched fists made sounds like snapping branches, his face flushing red with fury.

Irelia spoke up, "That's Azure, Professor Lyra's monster."

Lucien took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Let's go. There are... a few people we need to see."

With the greatsword strapped to his back, he strode quickly toward the Trial Tower.

Behind him, Aris walked alongside Billy. However, her gaze toward Lucien was filled with disdain—like she was looking at a lowly insect.

...

"Long time no see, Lathel!"

Just as Lathel and the others dismounted from Azure's back, a familiar voice rang out.

Even without turning his head, Lathel already knew who it was. However, he feigned surprise, turned around, and said with a puzzled expression, "Lucien? Why are you here?"

Lucien, Irelia, Billy, and Aris stood together as one group.

Lathel, Selvia, Mira, and Lyra stood as another.

However, when Lyra saw Lucien, she immediately frowned, thinking to herself: 'That's Lucien? He looks rather ordinary, but… his arm…'

Her eyes were drawn to Lucien's left arm, wrapped in white bandages. 'The energy emanating from that arm… it resembles Dark Mist.'

'Impossible! How could an ordinary person contain Dark Mist within their body? Unless…'

Lyra seemed to consider a certain possibility, but she didn't speak it aloud. Instead, she decided to keep observing.

Sensing Lyra's gaze, Lucien immediately put his hands together politely and said, "This is our first meeting, Professor Lyra. I am Lucien."

Lyra simply nodded lightly, saying nothing.

Lucien frowned, silently thinking: 'Professor Lyra's attitude is strange… Don't tell me—Hah! That bastard Lathel must have slandered me in front of her.'

"Professor Lyra…" Lucien continued, "Some people can only badmouth others. I hope you won't be swayed by the nonsense of such garbage."

Lyra narrowed her eyes, her gaze suddenly becoming terrifyingly sharp. "Are you referring to my disciple?"

"Yes, I'm talking about Lathel, he—ack!" Lucien didn't even get to finish his sentence before his entire body suddenly felt frozen, his heart gripped by an invisible hand.

"Professor… what… what are you doing?"