[Moments Earlier]

'Well, I never thought this would happen so soon, but I suppose life has many surprises.'

That was Rey's initial thought when he observed certain individuals in the Royal Council Hall. He had been observing the additional security, even seeing General Lucy present in the hall.

'The last time I saw her was right before the Dark Gathering' As always, her face was stern and her expression unchanging.

Rey thought it was a little funny because they both had eyepatches.

'I could get some tips from her'

It was while he was having these thoughts that he sensed a different kind of resonance from a few members of the security personnel within the room.

Since the nobles brought their own security officers to keep them safe, it wasn't a surprise to see the massive hall chock full of guardsprivate and public.

Among these were four individuals in particular who were impossible to ignore. Not only were they positioned very close to each other, also adorned with luxurious Enchanted Items, but they also had their faces covered in some way.

One was a warrior, so he had a helmet atop his head. One was a Mage, and so a hood obscured their facade. The third seemed to be some kind of assassin, and he simply had a partial maskone made of bandage-like clothescover the lower portion of his face.

As for the fourth, he seemed like the leader, and he was dressed in quite the spectacular fashiona dark trench coat, with layers of gold decorating it in many areas. He also had a full mask that covered his face.

What intrigued Rey about these four wasn't particularly their outfits, but the 'vibe' he got from them. After he awakened, his senses improved drastically. Even without focusing on Light or Dark Mode, he could still perceive many things that he previously wouldn't.

And so, in order to justify his interest in the four, he used his Perfect Divine Appraisal.

That was when he saw the key words 'Otherworlder'.

'Ahh I see'

Once he noticed that, he began to piece a few things together. By analyzing their Additional Information, as well as their Classes, while also using his own brain to fill in a few holes, he was able to tie up the links pretty quickly.

'Looks like my old classmates are working for the Alliance's nobles now.' Rey smiled internally.

He still couldn't guess how many of them were operating this way, or the precise reasons why they individually chose to be subject to the snobby nobles, but he could pretty much guess the latter.

'I suspect they traveled to the South and garnered the favor of the nobles due to their relative strength compared to the people of this world.'

Since they also had secrets of the Alliance, and they know about the rest of the Otherworlders, they would also have an edge. That made them indispensable assets to the nobles who employed them.

'At least they're not slaves. That's good' Rey found himself slightly shrugging.

'It's possible that the nobles got information about the rest of my classmates and will want to bring more of us to their side.'

He had dealt with enough humansboth scummy and righteousto know how their minds worked. Still he couldn't help but laugh internally.

'I'm sure they're feeling slightly mortified right about now. The guy they wrote off as the weakest of the group is now recognized as the strongest haha, I have to see the looks on their faces.'

By using Dark Mode, he could see past any obstacle, though only the outlines of everything would be seen.

In essence, a realm of black and white where he could perceive all.

Upon closing his eyes and looking at them one more time, he was pleased to find shocked expressions on their respective faces. He also recognized them quite well despite their obvious attempts to use Illusions on him.

None of those worked on him, so he was able to see them as they were.

'Byron, Lyvia, Devin, and Cayden.' He recognized them well. After all, they were often associated with Adam as part of his clique before the latter passed away.

'There should be one more. I wonder where Felicia is'

Perhaps she didn't make it, or she was somewhere else. Either way, it was quite pleasant to see his old classmates now stunned by his rise to power.

It felt a bit immature, but Rey reveled in it.

'The System doesn't block happiness, so I suppose it's safe to revel in my satisfaction.' He finally opened his eyes after closing them for so long.

Well, in his perspective it had been too long, but in actuality, barely any time had passed. He could think very quickly and act in the same regard.

As a result, all of these actions were done by him in a split second.

'Well, I am curious about their adventures and the plans they haveif they have anybut for now, I better give them a show.' He grinned, almost devilishly, looking at Conrad, who was finally raising his head after greeting him and his friends.

'Looks like I'll have to replace Adonis as the leader here, considering the fact that I'm the strongest.'

Rey already learned quite a bit from Adonis after watching him address the Royal Council and his fellow students for quite some time, so he didn't think he would have a problem replicating that magic.

Plus, by regulating his emotions and being perfectly in sync with his thoughts, he wouldn't have to stutter or miss a beat when passing his message across.

He simply stepped up, his face radiating the very confidence he wanted to emulate, and his lips parted to bring forth the kind of words he desired.

"What's with the formality, Conrad. I thought we were already past that."

Saying something like this, Rey noticed the surprise on the faces of his old classmates grew, and that just caused him to grow even more satisfied.

Still that was only one reason why he decided to take such a radical approach.

'Conrad looks surprised too, but I'm sure he'll get it quickly what I'm trying to do.'

Rey didn't know or particularly like any of the nobles, but he trusted Conrad and Vida to an extent. He knew them, both ss Ralyks and Rey, and they were honest people who desired to help the Alliance.

At least for the most part.

'No one is perfect, but they're as ideal as they come. It looks like, with the presence of my old classmates, and the tension currently permeating the political landscape, there could be some sort of power struggle brewing.' Rey thought internally. 'To prevent any unnecessary conflict, it's better we, as Otherworlders here, take a clear stance in support of the Royal Council.'

That way, whatever ambitions the nobles had for the Capital

and the Alliance in generalwould be completely paused.

At least, until he figured out what exactly was going on.

'I would like to avoid taking any lives, if possible.' Rey sighed internally, now waiting for Conrad's response to his words.

'Let's hope they take the hint and back off.'

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Thanks for reading!

I might be making some changes to my Author Notes moving forward. Just letting you all know in advance