Warlock of War: My Ares System

I don't know if anybody else heard them, but I clearly heard a loud,

"RETREAT!"

Come from above.

The ice users all quickly backed up into the smoky top of the building, disappearing into the murky night sky.

Sirens created by passing ambulance echoed through my ear, and the police with government officials had quickly arrived.

Dressed in black suits, they all proceeded to direct us towards the exit of the city, where everybody had evacuated.

All of the teachers and kids were here… besides one… The Spear Theory teacher.

And just as we were all compacted into one large group amongst the flood of people, a single man who looked to be an adventurer came up to us with a man in his arms.

He laid limp and showed no signs of life.

His eyes were wide open as if he had seen something horrific just before his death, and his mouth had been locked open, signaling the screaming he had let out before dying.

His shins and below had been blown off, but no blood leaked as the burning flames instantly cauterized the wound.

"Oomf…"

Suddenly, Lance beside me threw up and a few of the other kids gagged while trying to assure the horrific sight away from them.

The kind adventurer who managed to retrieve his body walked up to the teachers, who just looked at my teacher with pity.

Even the Sword Theory teacher, who seemed to hate his guts, looked at the corpse with shock and a hint of pity.

"This is the turning point, right?" Cy asked, immediately understanding the situation.

"Yep… He may have been a teacher, but he was a B-rank adventurer, and though they might not be as precious as A-rank adventurers, they are still necessary things for the survival of our city," I muttered.

As a fairly new city that had been created not even a hundred years ago, we don't have a single fully loyal A-rank adventurer.

The headmaster of my school said that they created talents that now lead the world, which I guess you could say is true since A-rank adventurers are strong… but they are no longer affiliated with Amlas.

They do help out a lot due to the guilt-tripping of the headmaster, but when it comes to war, I doubt even they would try and interfere.

"Geez…" I muttered as I stared at my dead teacher.

…

An entire day later, I had finally arrived back in Amlas and was completely exhausted from traveling so much.

Plus, the tense air that continued to surround me wasn't the best condition for a peaceful rest anyway.

"*sigh*... The funeral is in… How many days now? Three? That's pretty fast…." I muttered as I lay on my bed, continuing to feel the alienating sensation course through my body.

The cold had surrounded me for so long that warmth was a foreign sensation to me, though I didn't really mind it.

It was a comfortable yet uncomfortable feeling that I didn't know how to handle, so I just laid out  a plan for tomorrow and then slept it off.

…

The next day, I awoke early in the morning to hear the good news of how classes were canceled today as the teachers and headmaster had an important meeting.

It was most likely due to the death of my teacher, but I doubt it's to settle his will and the stuff he owned… but more of what the school will now become of.

"*yawn*... Why are you here? Came to check up on me?" I asked Findir as he proceeded to sit down on my bed as if he owned the place.

"Of course, I came to check up on you. Tons of the kids you were traveling with were injured, and even one of the teachers died," He replied before pulling a juice box out of my mini-fridge.

"That's nice of you, but I still got things to do. My schedule is packed right now, so please excuse me as I go take a shower,"

After taking a nice and warm shower, I brushed my teeth, packed my necessary things, and quickly picked up some breakfast as I left campus before pretty much everybody else had woken up.

Today, I was planning on meeting my informant… who isn't really an informant, but I'm sure he knows enough information.

Then, I was going to meet with some of the kids I had created connections with and try to figure out which families they were going to ally with.

I wasn't going to waste any time, even if that meant sacrificing my mental health.

Soon, I reached my destination, which was right next to the Crystal Tortoise Sanctuary, and just as I had expected, there was nobody around besides the few sleepy guards.

They looked as if they were about to pass out at any second, and I made use of this by quickly slipping and distracting them with a rock… yes, a rock.

I tossed one to the very right of them, turning their heads, and they probably wouldn't have fallen for this if they weren't so sleepy.

After I slipped past them, I entered the dark cave silently while making sure my footsteps were soft but quick.

.

[You have entered The Dungeon: Crystal Tortoise Sanctuary]

[Recommended Level: 5]

[The benevolent sanctuary has granted you The Buff: Sanctuary Vision]

.

"Alrighty… Seems there aren't many people here, so… Let's get to it, shall we," I muttered before dashing deeper into the dungeon.

I encountered a few tortoises and decided to test out some of my new power on these guys.

[Tangible Bloodlust]

I reached for the feeling that I had used while in my berserk state and tried to replicate it right inside the palms of my hands.

A blood-red aura seeped off my body and began to center inside my hands, creating the light highlight of a spear, but that was pretty much it.

When I slammed it against one of the tortoises' shells, it shattered into pieces before quickly returning back inside my body.

"You're doing well for a rookie… Managing to solidify that skill without a vessel first…." A deep voice suddenly snapped me out of my concentration.

And there it was, my informant… a large tortoise.