"I'm so grateful…" Carl smirked as he looked at the reward he'd just received from his wife. Then his eyes turned cold as he stared at the gatekeeper again.

"Carl Ryan?" The gatekeeper groaned, clutching his severed arm in pain… yet he still tried to curl his lips into a mocking smile.

"It turns out you, the crippled heir of the Ryan family."

"You'll never get in this gate… The guards will capture you right away. They're much stronger than me…"

But before the gatekeeper could spit out any more nonsense, Carl's dragon claws clamped his mouth shut.

Just a few seconds later, Carl lifted him a few inches off the ground before slamming him down, a sharp crack echoing as the ground split.

"You never learn, do you? Guess I'll have to punish that filthy mouth… and make sure it never speaks another word."

"A gatekeeper dog should stay in its place."

The gatekeeper's face twisted in dread as he realized it was too late to take back his earlier mockery.

Without hesitation, Carl grabbed the back of gatekeeper's head and smashed it into the ground again and again. Teeth scattered in all directions, blood streaked out as far as it could.

It was pure, merciless brutality… Some of the candidates nearby started shaking, fear creeping into their eyes at Carl's inhuman actions.

The rage swallowed his mind, driving every one of his actions—

[System Notice]: Relax, Carl… You're letting anger control you. He's already paid the price.

Half a second later, Carl's mind finally cleared.

He let out a long breath, forcing the rush of adrenaline to settle, then kicked the gatekeeper's body, sending him rolling into the crowd ahead.

"It's like an addiction… crushing someone like him." Carl spat, then gave every candidate around him a cold, dead stare.

He wanted everyone here to know he was no longer the crippled heir of the Ryan family. More than that, he wanted rumors of his return to spread—if they did, at least he wouldn't have to deal with petty troubles at the academy, and his mission would go a lot smoother.

"Huh? They're coming…" Carl half-lifted an eyelid, staring at the squad of academy guards approaching.

"There's a lot of them… Didn't think they'd take me this seriously…"

After some minutes, a young guard stepped forward from their group and spoke calmly.

"Do you know your crime?"

Carl chuckled. Everything, indeed, happened as he expected.

"Crime? I don't know… I just cut off a dog's hand."

Despite Carl's taunting words, the guard stayed calm.

"You attacked the academy's gatekeeper. You've broken Rule Sixty-One of the academy. Now do you admit your crime and agree to be taken into custody to await punishment?"

Carl scoffed.

"Oh? Rules? So you're saying all candidates have to pay a fee just to enter the academy—even after clearing the dungeon?"

"Since when has the academy been corrupted by trash like you? If I remember the rules right, anyone abusing their position to exploit others for personal gain… should be executed on the spot."

Some of the candidates started nodding and speaking up.

"He's right! Why would you do that?"

"If you want to arrest him, then execute that gatekeeper first!"

The rebellion spread like fire because the candidates had endured the gatekeeper's abuse for too long before, and now it just exploded when the chance came.

Finally, someone had spoken up for their rights—and only Carl had the guts to do it. After all, only someone with his status could speak like this without being killed immediately by guards.

The lead guard grimaced at their words. His gaze shifted to the gatekeeper, who now looked dark and furious, and he gave a sharp command.

"Tell me! It's not true!"

The gatekeeper stayed silent for a while, trying to come up with an excuse to deny everything, but it was too hard when all the candidates were telling the truth…

"Ah… just a small fee… I only asked for one gold coin for that…"

But before the gatekeeper could say anything more, a stream of flames shot at him, engulfing him in a blazing red fire of destruction.

In just half a second, he turned to ashes… without even letting out a scream to show his pain.

"Execution complete!" the guard leader declared, letting out a long sigh.

The noise of the crowd instantly died down. No one dared to speak—they were frozen by the brutality and ruthlessness of the guard leader.

Meanwhile, Carl kept his cold expression, because he knew this would happen sooner or later. He understood how strict the academy's rules were.

But he also knew there was always a way to bend those rules.

Money.

At this moment, Carl and the guard leader were doing the same thing: They were putting on an act.

''Rules are rules. Anyone who breaks them must accept the punishment. It's time to accept the consequences for your crimes and come with us to the cell, Carl Ryan''

…

"No." Carl said coldly, ignoring the guard leader's demand.

"Huh?" The guard leader almost froze for a moment. It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses… Had he heard wrong? What he expected was Carl's agreement.

But then, Carl spoke again, making him frown.

"I'll make up for it… just a weak gatekeeper… I guess a few coins are enough for my crime."

The guard leader stared at Carl, silently judging him. Eventually, he thought Carl's offer was clever. Or he just pretented like that. He was enough smart to realize Carl's intention.

Money could settle everything… just a few gatekeepers—he could hire replacements anytime he wanted.

But before agreeing, he just smirked.

"If he really has money… Since he's no longer the heir of the Ryan Family. Guess I'll take everything he's got."

"Hundred gold coins! Then I can turn a blind eye to your crimes."

…

"Hundred gold coins?! That's too much!" someone nearby gasped, their mouth wide open.

Carl smiled, pulled out a pouch, and threw it to the guard leader.

The guard leader gave Carl a suspicious look, not believing the pouch could really hold that much. But after checking it for a few seconds, he nodded. His face showed a bit regret. Yeah, he probably should have asked for more money.

"Good! Our business here is done."

Then he and his team left through the crowd, leaving Carl standing there.

"Think positive… my reputation will be infamous from now on."

Carl muttered, then dragged himself toward the dorm area, ending an exhausting day.

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