Chapter 16: Lost in Illusion: The Hunter and the Prey

"Little brother, are you really not going to the Royal Academy with me? With your talent, you'll definitely be accepted," Leona said in a pitiful tone to Franz. The family's examination had ended, and she had to return to the academy to continue her studies. Leona had wanted to drag Franz along, but the boy refused to go no matter what, which made her furious.

"Come on, little brother, go with me. There are so many beautiful girls at the academy. Plus, I have a great reputation there and can introduce you to a few... no, maybe even a few dozen!"

Leona resorted to using beautiful girls to lure him. Franz could only smile wryly. It wasn't that he didn’t want to go—who wouldn’t like beautiful girls? But at the Royal Academy, he couldn't increase his strength. He grew stronger by killing monsters and leveling up, and while the academy had plenty of beautiful girls, there weren't any magical beasts to hunt.

"My friend, if you're not interested in the Royal Academy, why not join the military with me?"

Geoffey chimed in. He was a lieutenant in the empire's army, and after the examination, he had to return to his post. Last night, Geoffey had tried everything to convince Franz to join the military, praising the strength of soldiers and talking about how full of strong men the army was, which made Franz so irritated that he kicked him out the door.

"I'm not into 3D men!" he thought.

After seeing off Leona and Geoffey, Franz called Emon to inform his father that he was heading to the Magic Beast Forest. Even though Franz knew his father could track his every move, he still had to notify him.

After some preparations, Franz took out a 6th-level magic core and exchanged it for 25,000 silver coins. He then spent another 10,000 silver to upgrade his Sharingan to the three-tomoe state, silently cursing the system for being such a greedy merchant. He pulled out the daggers he'd been rewarded with and admired them fondly. Swords were elegant and cool, but he personally preferred daggers.

"From now on, you'll be named 'Falling Cloud,'" Franz said, naming the daggers using "Falling" from Falling Phoenix and "Cloud" from Hidden Cloud, a way for him to remember his origins. He felt the daggers vibrate slightly in acknowledgment, which made him very pleased. He strapped one dagger to his waist and the other to his boot.

Franz then headed to the Mercenary Guild to take on some missions, mainly choosing ones that required going into the Magic Beast Forest so he could level up while completing tasks. Now, killing 1st- and 2nd-level beasts didn’t do much for him anymore. His target was 3rd-level beasts. If he encountered a 4th-level beast, though, he’d only have two options: run or fight to the death. But Franz was confident that even though he couldn’t defeat a 4th-level beast yet, escaping wouldn’t be difficult.

After more than two hours in the Magic Beast Forest, Franz began to sense something was off. He had been walking for a long time but hadn’t encountered a single beast, not even a 1st-level one.

"Sharingan," Franz whispered. His eyes turned a sinister red, and three tomoe formed a perfect triangle around his pupils, spinning continuously. He quickly realized that he had been wandering inside an illusion the entire time. Surrounding him were seven thieves, stealthily watching him stumble through their illusion like a cat playing with a mouse. Franz’s lips curled into a cold smile.

“Let’s see who the hunter is and who the prey really is.”

"Invisibility Technique," Franz muttered, and his body suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace of his presence. The seven thieves panicked. They had been hired to assassinate the Bonaparte family’s eldest son for a huge sum. Rumor had it that this young master was a useless weakling who couldn’t cultivate, so they assumed the mission would be an easy one. But now that their target had vanished, they were thrown into chaos.

Franz was perched on a tree branch, watching them with a cold smirk. In this world, if there was something that could counter thieves, it wasn’t heavy-armored warriors—it was Franz. His Invisibility Technique was even more advanced than their stealth, lasting for a long duration, and his Sharingan was the ultimate counter to illusions. With his three-tomoe Sharingan, he could clearly see the thieves hidden nearby.

Their advantages had been completely neutralized. This time, they were doomed. But Franz couldn’t figure out who he had offended enough for them to send assassins after him. He had only been in this world for a little over a month, and aside from Desmond, he hadn’t made any real enemies.