A few days later, at dawn, several human subcommanders gathered around the handsome and powerful commander Alden Milariant.

Alden had managed to drive back the enemy in recent days, and although he had only killed weak demons in the process, his victory had filled him with momentum and confidence. However, after the warning he received from the military council, he decided to restrain himself a little, despite how indignant he felt.

"It seems more flies have arrived," said a deputy commander who had focused on developing his magical perception, which allowed him to sense a wave of demonic energy rising in the demon camp.

"They are only weak demons, we should not worry, we must just continue attacking occasionally until the superior commander orders us to act," Alden immediately walked back to his military tent.

The night before, the deputy commanders had already received orders from Commander Alden to send two thousand low-level soldiers (mages, warriors, and swordsmen) to the vanguard that day.

••••

At night.

With his blood-red hair and eyes, in his room, in front of his desk, Mart practiced the cursed arts, and although he could not hear the murmurs coming from the borders, he could subtly perceive the negative energy produced by those people or demons who died with negative feelings.

Mart felt as if several arms were embracing him. He closed his eyes, placed his left hand where one of the ethereal hands should have been, and said in a calm, almost warm voice:

"My Goddess."

[You have stirred the emotions of a higher entity: demonic reward]

The corners of Mart's lips rose subtly, his audacity being pushed to the limit by the influence of the cursed energy.

"Don't play with me," said the female entity's voice as Mart's right eye melted grotesquely.

"I'm not playing," Mart clarified without removing his hand.

Shortly after, the grotesque liquid sliding down Mart's face transformed into small beetles that crawled to Mart's eye socket and eventually piled up, turning back into a perfect eyeball.

[Cursed energy increases by +5]

[You have been blessed with the "evil eye"]

Mart was curious, but decided to wait.

"If you go to that place, you will be able to cultivate a great deal of cursed energy. You just have to accept the burden of all those negative emotions and ultimately subject them to your will. It's almost the same as when you refine demonic energy," explained the entity's female voice.

"I don't plan on going to that place for now," Mart replied calmly as he suppressed his cursed energy.

The female voice of the entity did not reappear, and Mart's eyes regained their beautiful blue color.

"System, what is the evil eye?" Mart asked in his mind.

[A Cursed Treasure]

[Evil Eye: Reduces the power range of the selected target by two ranks for one day (Requires 50 points of cursed energy)]

"Currently, I can only use it once, so that's why it told me to cultivate cursed energy," Mart concluded in his mind.

As he had finished practicing the cursed arts for that day, he stored the book Isirid had given him, a notebook, and the unused Fertzal paper in his demonic bag.

Mart got up and walked to his bed. It was already past midnight, and since the next day was the weekend, he decided to go to sleep peacefully, taking advantage of the fact that none of the enemies had acted, making the Academy's surroundings momentarily safe.

[Laziness trait activated]

In recent weeks, Mart had been using the laziness trait without the need for system intervention, which allowed him to fall asleep quickly and avoid wasting time dwelling on thoughts related to the war on the borders.

The constant use of the laziness trait while sleeping allowed him to obtain a reward from the system with which he could activate the power of the laziness trait for 1 minute.

••••

The next day.

Shortly after noon, Mart was sitting in a chair near the window of the room.

The door opened and Menna entered wearing a beautiful dark blue dress with golden flower patterns that made her look sensual and beautiful.

She approached and did not hesitate to sit on Mart's lap, wrapping her delicate arms around his neck and kissing him a few times.

"Do you want to go out? Why are you looking toward the Academy entrance? If you're bored, I can fix that," Menna said in her enthusiastic tone with a hint of mischief.

Mart smiled. He didn't dislike the proposal, and although he did want to explore the shopping area, especially to free himself from his doubts, both his instinct and his intelligence told him that it would be extremely dangerous and that it would most likely lead to a chaotic and unnecessary battle.

"It's very likely that not only the conspirators will try to catch me, but also the Republican Council; I don't think they'll be very happy to hear about a new force from the past that has reappeared; considering that the conspirators have infiltrated the Republican Council, it's very likely that they have brought the matter before the council. Yes, the Academy is still the safest place; at least until I consolidate my strength even further," Mart concluded after weighing the pros and cons. He then took Menna in his arms and they headed to the bathroom to make waves in the bathtub.

...

With only two hours left before nightfall, Menna lay with her large breasts pressed against the comfortable mattress, her beautiful, sensual naked body covered only by a blanket.

Mart sat beside her, the blanket covering him from the waist down.

He looked at her and said with satisfaction as he touched the white horn on Menna's forehead:

"You're progressing quite well. By the end of the year, you'll have reached the second rank."

"I don't think it will be that easy," said Menna, without giving it much importance.

Mart took out three demonic potions, two of which had gold caps and one with a silver cap.

"The potion with the silver cap will help you reach the second rank steadily; you should take the rest of the potions when you reach the midpoint of the second rank and the midpoint of the third rank."

"Thank you!" Menna threw herself into Mart's arms, hugged him, and kissed him, thus beginning a long night that made the bed shake.

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