[BONUS]

It was now time to go back to school.

After their short Halloween break a month from now, they were welcomed by midterms. Fortunately, they just had to endure for a while because they would have no classes for the entirety of December and the first week of January.

But nobody really paid attention to that because COVENANT featured a Halloween Event with plenty of prices. There were no clues given about the specifics, and all the players knew was an, 'expect a week full of terror.' On the contrary to everyone's excitement, Leonel didn't want to do anything with the event.

As he walked through the path towards the main school, Ren could feel some eyes fixated on him. There were even people whose voices were too loud, allowing him to hear his name from their mouths.

This was nothing new to him, and he had long learned how to roll with it. Ren ignored them as usual and let his mind wander elsewhere. This time, he was trying to recall COVENANT's first Halloween Event from his previous life. But his memories were hazy, and he had probably forgotten about it.

Too much time had passed since then, and he hadn't started playing when it was first featured. It didn't really repeat either, and what was the use of remembering such an event that would only happen once? If only he knew that he'd go back in time. He would've memorized every event even if they were never to repeat.

There were still bits of pieces of information left of the Halloween Event in Ren's memories, though. If his memory served him right, then there would be a massive continent filled with graveyards in each server, just like the Festival of Gil. The aim of the event was to give the players a boon in EXP while collecting candies from defeated monsters.

Monsters from this event gave double EXP rewards, but the usual rules remained unchanged -- it was still dependent on a player's ATP.

The event also kept track of the amount of candies players acquired. There would be a ranking, and the higher a player ranks, the more rewards they'd receive. As for the rewards, Ren wasn't sure what they were.

No matter how much he tried to recall more details about it, he only remembered that 'catastrophe' of the said event that would become the talk in years to come.

Instead of playing the event the way it might have been intended -- killing as many monsters as possible -- PvP became rampant because stealing candies became the norm. There were also territorial disputes among the guilds as they claimed an area as their own, causing wars to ensue.

Lone and weaker players found the riot more terrifying than the ghosts and undead in the event.

Because of what happened in that occasion, the next ones became more subdued, with a limited amount of players participating. Still, the chaotic first Halloween Event remained the most favorite in-game happenings.

However, now, players knew nothing of that, and most of them opted to join guilds. Joining a guild meant being bound by their rules -- the main rule was paying what was due in the form of rewards and services.

The horrors aside, players had to face other players as well. Members of big guilds didn't have to worry as much because they had each other's backs, but smaller groups and solo players would suffer a lot.

Ren shrugged the matter off. It was none of his business unless one of the guilds asked for World Conqueror's help. Of course, only if they paid the price.

Eventually, Ren arrived at his classroom without trouble. The first thing he saw was Evie, who sat in her rightful place, wearing her usually stoic face. But the second thing he saw was Dimitri, who sat on his chair, talking to Evie with no pause.

"You're in my seat," said Ren to the guy.

Dimitri merely smiled as if even the end of the world wouldn't faze him. "Ah. Ren. Just the guy I wanted to see."

Dimitri stood up, and Ren immediately placed his bag on his chair to mark his territory. Ren might looked calm on the surface, but he was emitting an oppressive air as he stared at Dimitri with unreadable eyes.

The whole class significantly turned quieter, secretly fearing for Dimitri's life when they saw the way Ren looked at him. They didn't know if it had something to do with Evie, as everyone knew that something was going on between them or if it was because of their feud in the game.

Everyone watched them carefully with unabated attention as if waiting for something to happen.

"Don't look at me like that," Dimitri laughed. "I know

that we haven't been on the best foot lately, but I brought you good news."

Dimitri handed a letter to Ren, which the latter took. The letter was sealed in an envelope with the school's insignia marked on the wax's seal.

Dimitri took a deep breath before continuing. "You can open it now if you want, but it might be better to leave the surprise for later."

He then winked at Evie before bidding everyone goodbye. At Dimitri's leave, the noise returned, gossiping about what just happened, curious as to what the letter was all about.

Ren took his seat and checked the envelope in his hand.

"What is it?" Evie asked.

Ren didn't wait for later as he opened the letter and read its contents.

It wasn't what Ren wanted to read early in the morning, nor anything he expected, that was for sure.

He repressed the deep frown from showing on his face, trying to hide his anger. He smiled back at Evie and said, "Nothing important."

Evie wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Because it felt like you're going to murder somebody."

Ren laughed and relaxed a little. His tense jaw loosening a bit. "It's just the principal of the school asking for my presence later."

". . . Bad news?"

Ren shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle." He then changed the topic because he didn't want to worry her about something as trivial as this.

( . . . continuation on NOTES)