Jinn stood in the middle of the small crowd that had gathered and looked down at the senior he had just defeated.

'Should I just give him my name?' He did not care if giving his name would cause him trouble or not, but then Jinn recalled something from before, and he changed his words. "The name is Dean, Dean Black. Do your worst."

"What?"

"A freshman defeated a senior student in the second year?"

"!!!"

"Hey, look there."

As if attracted by the commotion, a young woman came rushing over.

"What's going on?" She demanded an explanation from Jinn and the rest, seeing Jeremy groaning on the floor.

"This second-year student suddenly attacked me using his blessed ability. because I did not apologize."

Jean told her everything truthfully, but to be sure, she asked others if what he said was true.

"He is telling the truth, Miss Gale."

Even though none of them had helped Jinn before, they did not hide the truth when asked about it.

Even if Jeremy was their classmate, they did not lose a breath to sell him out.

"I see. I will report this to your assigned class mentor." She looked at Jeremy on the ground. Seeing that he did not have any serious injuries, she turned around and left.

"I almost forgot it was her shift."

"Shhh… don't let her hear you."

The student suddenly scattered without looking back, leaving Jinn and Jeremy alone.

The second-year student slowly stood up from the ground and glared at Jinn.

"Just you wait, Dean Black…" Seething in rage, he grunted a few words and entered the building.

Watching his back, the indifference on Jinn's face suddenly cracked. A small smile appeared on his face. "I wonder if this was enough of a push for him, or do I need to find another stimulus?"

…

A while ago, Jinn finally left the class after finishing the trial a couple of times. He decided to leave since he was feeling hungry and it was time for lunch.

As he left the class, the imp he had sent out in search of desperate souls he could fool and manipulate returned with some good news.

Since the area in which the imp could move around away from his body was small, he did not have much hope.

But to his surprise, there was a very perfect candidate to be his next target.

Not willing to let the chance slip, Jinn did everything in his power to make a poor reckless boy named Jeremy desperate enough to call summon the devil out of his own 'free' will.

"Why did you use that paper, master?" The imp asked curiously, "You could have just given him the ready-made real summoning array."

Jinn shook his head and replied under his breath, "that would be too easy for him, and it will also be troublesome if his roommate catches it before poor Jeremy could even use it and report it to the teachers."

"Anyways, we should go and have some lunch now. I am starved."

Jinn turned around and entered the building, following the stairs to the third floor. At that moment, he realized something important. Miss Gale, the young woman who many seemed to be scared of, turned out to be the receptionist sitting there for the second shift.

On his way he saw Jeremy entering the south wing of the campus.

There were two wings of the Nightshade Academy. The front section, the north wing, was allocated to the first years, and the back region, or the south wing, was given to the second years.

Despite being on the same floors, the two batches rarely met each other unless it was their eating time or free hours before and after the class.

Although curious, Jinn did not follow the boy and remained on track this time.

***

Taking the stairs of the south wing, right past the hospital wing, Jeremy took the stairs to the elevator to the third floor, heading to the cafeteria.

The store was big enough to house both the batches. The rectangular counter of the shop was surrounded with tables and chairs on all sides.

"Did you hear what happened before the entrance just now?"

Jeremy walked up to the counter and picked up a tray and started filling it up with food when he heard the gossip around him.

"Jeremy Stone, the one from the battle-oriented class, did that?"

"Not only that, but he could not even handle a fight against a second-year-old student?"

Hearing his name, Jeremy froze, but he gritted his teeth and found a corner to eat his food.

"Who was that boy? Dean Black? First-year student, huh. Never heard of a noble family named Black."

Ignoring the voice as much as he could, Jeremy tried to eat, but the food did not taste good.

The voice only grew, and he could even feel the gazes filled with disdain and pity glancing in his direction increasing with time.

Having lost all appetite, he stood up and marched towards the room, leaving his plate on the table.

On the other side of the cafeteria, Jinn was eating alone as well. Since most of the students were still in the class, the area was quite empty.

Only two or three students besides three of the four talents recognized by the empire; only he could leave the class before lunch.

Feeling the absence of the cold stare he was growing accustomed to, Jinn thought of the girl who, despite passing, still decided to stay behind and struggle with the last level.

But the silence did not last for long…

"…I hear your roommate has started making a name for himself among the seniors."

Jinn turned his head to see Evelyn approaching with her blank gaze.

"What can I do? he is quite the trouble maker." He shrugged and took a bite of the pita bread from the plate.

"Is he?" She asks back, taking a seat on his table without even asking for permission. "I don't think he is yet allowed to leave the class."

"Then how could he fight someone outside the building while still being in the class?"

Jinn did pause for a second at being caught, and Evelyn did not speak out the truth before him.

She had witnessed the fight with her own eyes from her room, which happened to be in clear sight of the area.

Because she saw the truth with her own eyes, she knew that it was not Dean who had fought with Jeremy.

"Well, I have no interest in those things." After a moment of silence she spoke again, not feeling awkwardness in the air at all. "I am more interested in the reason why you choose to stay in the class and how you managed to achieve this level of control while having no proper training."

"How do you know I have no proper training?" Jinn asked curiously without looking up from his plate.

Evelyn paused; she looked down at her own plate, poking holes in the vegetables with her fork, and then finally said, "Because I don't think the orphanages. Even the ones that are sponsored by the church."

Jinn finally turned his head towards the young woman dressed in black. Even though the smile on his face had not faded, his eyes narrowed slightly.

He did not even need to ask the question he was thinking, as she already started answering it.

"Even though there is not much sway of the noble families inside the academy when it comes to the important decisions. Gathering simple information is easy."

Jinn nodded in acceptance of the answer.

'Indeed, influence is not useless anywhere. No matter how small the benefit.'

Swallowing the food he was chewing on, he asked, "Even then, you already owe me a favor. Why should I answer your question? How would you not know that I won't get angry because of your… snooping around?"

Evelyn did not need to wait to answer this question. She looked at him as if wondering why he would ask something like this.

"I don't think you will because I can tell you only felt a slight confusion when I revealed your background and only indifference when you understood the how."

"Now you are feeling interest as to how I know these things." Evelyn finally raised her head to meet his eyes, "this is related to my ability. I can only tell you this."

Then Jinn noticed the faint, barely noticeable flash of black hue around her eyes, which disappeared as soon as it appeared.

"I will tell you the reason, but you will owe me three times, including the one you already owe me." Jinn finally relented and proposed a deal.

After all, how could a devil give away something without taking anything in return?

Especially to someone he knew nothing about and had no ties to.

"Sure." Surprisingly, Evelyn did not show any hesitation while agreeing to his request. 'It must be very important information if he is saying that.'

After the deal was sealed, Jinn told her the theory on how the mazes were oddly similar to the vascular system of the human body.

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