It didn't take long for Nira and Elise to be called to the 4th and 3rd places.
This left just me and Liam alone in the locker room waiting.
As soon as Elise left and the door closed, a thin barrier of mana covered the entire room.
I smiled and looked at Liam. "Don't you think this is a bit too much?"
"..." Liam stared at me with a serious expression. His entire presence had changed as if a different person had taken control, or... he had taken off his mask.
I gazed up at the mana barrier.
'Fucking insane.'
I can't emphasize it enough, being able to do this at E-rank shouldn't be possible.
The sound spell he had used was similar to the sound amplification spell that the worker who led us used before, just sort of in reverse, so it blocked sound instead of amplifying it.
Regardless, it was a relatively simple spell that even I could cast, but not at this scale. The barrier was incredibly thin, and the effectiveness was insane.
The mana control needed to perform the spell on this level is comparable to that of a low C-rank's.
Fucking C-rank!
"Are you sure the supervisors won't notice?" I asked.
"Those under mid C-rank won't be able to sense it unless they're close, and the supervisors won't care." His tone was cold and full of confidence.
'Overpowered bastard.'
I sat down on a bench opposite him and crossed my legs.
"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked.
"How much do you know?" He spoke without hesitation.
"About what?" I raised a brow.
"..." He glared at me.
"Haa... fine." I conceded. "I regressed, too."
His expression finally changed as his eyes widened with surprise before swiftly returning to normal.
"I assumed as much."
I clapped. "So now that we're on the same page, let's discuss details."
He paused for a moment to think. "...Okay."
I smiled. "Great, firstly, what is your goal?" I asked him despite already knowing.
"To defeat the dark gods."
"Hmm..." I paused to make it seem like I was thinking about his answer. "I plan to do the same..." I paused again and looked him straight in the eye. "...but what about the churches?"
"I can defeat them." He spoke confidently.
'Dumbass.'
I almost laughed in his face.
"No... You can't." I spoke in a cold tone. "Listen, I don't know much about how you were in the previous timeline, but I can tell you one thing... don't underestimate the churches."
"..."
He didn't seem to believe me.
"They're a lot more deep-rooted in this world than you think. They have many high-ranking people under them and control more than thirty percent of the world's nobles as of right now. Not to mention their connections stretch all over the continent."
There was much more, but I didn't plan on telling him everything. If he knew what was truly happening behind the invisible curtain, he'd throw himself straight into the middle and die a useless death.
I couldn't let that happen.
"..." He paused, taking in the information. "And how do you know this?" He questioned me.
I smiled at his question. "Who do you think was the main reason the churches were almost fully destroyed?"
His eyes widened.
In the first timeline, the churches weren't very prominent. In fact, they were weak and easily defeated by humanity's heroes.
At least that's what they made the public believe.
In reality, their power was immense, and by the time the Second Great War happened, they controlled almost seventy percent of the remaining humans.
Liam only learnt this much later in this life, and that is why he wasn't weary of the churches... because he never saw their true power.
I was using this fact to make it seem like I was the reason they were so weak and that I alone stood against them, while never taking any credit.
I made it seem like I was a hero.
Looking at Liam, I could see his mind race as he considered my words.
I mean, really think about it, if the dark gods were so powerful, why weren't their followers? The only plausible solution is that someone made them that way.
And that person was now me.
Liam raised his head and looked at me.
I met his gaze with a smile. "I won't ask you to believe me right now, but I will soon show you what you couldn't see before." I got up, stretching out my hand for a handshake.
"...Okay," He stood up and shook my hand.
-Liam Veld, 2nd Place, Please come to the stage
"..." Liam frowned.
"Hahahaha!!" I laughed out loud. "I told you!!"
The barrier disappeared, and Liam left with a frown plastered on his face, the sound of my laughter echoing behind him.
"Haa..." I wiped a tear from my eye as I stopped laughing, and my expression immediately turned serious.
"Come out," I spoke.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hoo, you noticed me." A childlike voice came from behind.
I turned around, and there I saw... a small boy who looked about 9 years old, looking back at me with a curious smile.
The little boy walked up to me and began circling me curiously as if looking at a new toy.
I didn't move.
He eventually stopped in front of me and looked me in the eyes. "How did you sense me? I don't see anything special about you."
Looking at the boy, I bowed slightly. "I greet the great Spirit King."
The Spirit King's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, you know me?"
"I'm not doing this for a Q&A. I want to make a deal." I spoke bluntly.
"...Ha-HAHAHAHA" The spirit king laughed incredibly loudly as if he had heard the world's funniest joke. "A mortal of your caliber dares to request a 'deal' from me?" He let out another laugh.
I waited for him to finish and spoke. "I will help you stop 'them' from entering the spirit realm."
The Spirit King's expression turned serious as he glared at me.
"Ughh!" I groaned as I felt a sudden immense pressure push me down, and I fell to my knees, reaching eye level with the spirit king.
"What do you know?" His eyes seemed to pierce directly into my soul.
"T-This is not how... a deal works." My voice was strained as I forced myself to speak.
The pressure lifted in an instant, and my body relaxed as if it had never happened.
"...I'm listening."
'Nice.'
"I know the location of the fragment."
The Spirit King's eyes widened with genuine surprise.
I smiled. "I will help you get it back, and in exchange..." I looked him in his eyes. "You... will sign a contract with me."