The sudden notification sound from his phone made him pause. He frowned before pulling the device from his pocket. The screen lit up immediately displaying a message from Rin.
Rin:Ethan! Wait! Abort mission immediately.
...Ethan glanced at the message on his phone. Rin had told him to stop?
Relief washed over him almost instantly. If Rin was telling him to abort the mission, then that could only mean one thing—he had found another solution. Thank God. Absolutely anything was better than swallowing his pride and asking Drey for help. At least now he didn’t have to.
Without another thought, Ethan turned around and walked away from the S-class dormitory building, already typing a message to Rin.
Why did you stop me? Did you find another solution?
The reply came almost immediately.
Yes, come back to your room. I’m already waiting there.
Ethan didn’t waste another second. Turning on his heels, he hurried back toward his dorm, his pace quickening with every step. Whatever Rin had discovered, he hoped it was enough to save them.
When he pushed open the door to his room, he found Rin already sitting cross-legged on his bed. Closing the door behind him, Ethan leaned against it before exhaling deeply.
"Please tell me you came up with a better solution than mine."
Rin smiled smugly, looking far too pleased with himself. "I didn’t just come up with a solution. The issue has already been solved."
Ethan’s eyes widened, and before he knew it, excitement burst out of him.
"What? How?"
"Well..." Rin shrugged casually. "Technically, it was kind of because of you."
Ethan blinked.
"...Me?"
"I honestly didn’t do much," Rin admitted. " I spent the afternoon trying to contact everyone I thought was influential enough to meet the principal’s requirements, but it turns out I don’t really know anyone powerful enough to help with something like this."
He scratched the side of his head before continuing, still sounding just as confused as Ethan already felt. "I don’t really know what happened after that, but when Leon couldn’t find you, he came looking for me instead. The two of us went back to the principal’s office together, and it turned out someone had already stepped in. Whoever that person was, even Leon himself seemed scared of them. I don’t know what was said between them, but Leon ended up retracting his report himself, saying the whole thing was false and even apologizing for it. Can you believe that? Because I sure couldn’t."
Even now, Rin still sounded as though he couldn’t quite believe what he had witnessed. "You should’ve seen his face. It looked like someone had slapped him with reality."
Ethan simply stared.
"...Seriously?"
Rin nodded vigorously. "I’m serious. Before storming off, that bastard glared at me and said you were lucky this time. Then he muttered that his suspicion had been right all along—that you’d somehow managed to cozy up to someone as influential and powerful as Lord Drey. He also said it wouldn’t last forever before leaving in the biggest angry huff I’ve ever seen."
By the time Rin finished recounting everything, Ethan was already staring at him with wide eyes.
"What do you mean it was kind of because of me?" he asked in complete disbelief. "If I knew someone powerful enough to suppress Leon, do you honestly think asking Drey for help would’ve even crossed my mind?"
His mind instinctively searched through the original Ethan’s memories, desperately trying to recall whether there had been someone important he had forgotten but he was met with nothing.
The original Ethan didn’t have any powerful connections.
None at all.
"Well..." Rin scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Maybe you don’t know them, but they know you?"
Seeing Ethan’s increasingly confused expression, he quickly waved both hands.
"Ah, forget it. That’s just what Leon said anyway. Don’t overthink it, okay? Whoever helped us, they already solved the problem. At least we don’t have to worry about getting expelled anymore."
"I guess..." Ethan murmured as he pushed himself away from the door and walked over to sit beside Rin. Even though this mysterious person had undeniably helped him...
The whole thing only made him feel even more uneasy.
He hated mysteries.
From his experience, mysteries almost always led to trouble, and trouble was the very thing he had been trying so desperately to avoid since arriving in this world.
Rin suddenly snapped his fingers three times directly in front of Ethan’s face, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Alright, enough spacing out," he said with a grin. "Whatever weird thoughts are running around in that head of yours, deal with them later." Rin stood up, stretching lazily before letting out a yawn. "I’ve been under enough pressure today. I need a proper night’s sleep."
A faint smile finally appeared on Ethan’s face.
"Alright."
"Sleep well."
"You too."
With that, Rin waved goodbye before leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
...
The following morning, Ethan stared at his class schedule for a long moment before quietly placing it back on the table. After weighing the advantages and disadvantages, he ultimately decided against attending today’s lectures. He might be punished but it was worth it this time.
Although the issue of expulsion had somehow been resolved, the principal’s warning still echoed clearly inside his mind. If he remained an F-rank Guide by the next academy assessment, his scholarship would be revoked. Besides, attending classes right now wouldn’t help much. He still lacked even the most basic understanding of Guides in this world.
What he needed wasn’t another lecture, instead he needed answers.
And hopefully...
The academy library had them.
Not long afterward, Ethan arrived at the massive library building. To his pleasant surprise, the place was almost completely empty. Most students were still attending classes, leaving only the occasional librarian quietly organizing bookshelves.
A satisfied smile appeared on Ethan’s face.
"Perfect."
Without wasting any time, he began weaving through the endless rows of towering bookshelves until he finally located the Guide section.
His eyes swept across thousands upon thousands of books.
He picked out every title that looked remotely useful, carrying an enormous stack to one of the nearby reading tables.
Basic Guide Theory.
Understanding the Mental Sea.
Guide Fundamentals.
Spiritual Energy Perception.
Guide Physiology.
He read one after another with remarkable speed, absorbing everything he could from the introductory texts before moving on to books discussing cultivation methods and rank advancement.
Unfortunately...
The more he read, the more disappointed he became. Every single book repeated the exact same conclusion.
A Guide’s awakened rank is permanent.
A Guide cannot naturally increase their rank after awakening.
No matter how differently each author worded it, they all arrived at that exact same statement.
Ethan frowned so deeply that his eyebrows nearly met.
"What kind of bullshit is this?" He couldn’t help muttering under his breath. If this was actually true, then what was the entire point of establishing an academy in the first place?
Wasn’t the purpose of training to become stronger? Wasn’t the purpose of studying to improve?
If awakening determined everything forever, then all these classes, exercises, and practical lessons were practically meaningless.
It made absolutely no sense.
With an annoyed sigh, Ethan shoved the last book aside before painstakingly returning every single one to its proper shelf.
"Nope."
"This isn’t it."
"None of these are what I’m looking for."
He was beginning to question every life decision that had somehow led him to this point.
Still unwilling to give up, Ethan continued searching. He checked the upper shelves, the middle shelves, then finally crouched down to inspect the lowest shelves that most people probably ignored.
That was when something caught his eye.
Hidden behind several old books sat a medium-sized wooden box covered in an impressive layer of dust, as though it hadn’t been touched in years.
Curiosity immediately flared inside him. Kneeling down, Ethan carefully pulled the box free before using both his sleeves and hands to brush away the thick dust coating it’s surface until the words engraved onto the lid slowly came into view.
A Low-Rank Guide’s Path to Attaining Superiority
Written by Saint Aster — Former F-Rank Guide Turned S-Rank Guide
Beneath the title, another sentence had been boldly engraved.
There is no such thing as a Guide who cannot ascend to a higher rank.
Ethan’s breathing hitched, His eyes widening in excitement as though he had just discovered buried treasure.
"Oh God..."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Finally..."
"This..."
"This is exactly what I’ve been looking for."