Gabriel utilized the biggest advantage he possessed after his battle strength. In fact, it was less of his strength and more of the weakness of others.
Greed was something that almost every person possessed. Some had greed for achievements; some had greed for prestige; some had greed for strength and more.
Almost every person in the world had some kind of Greed, and for the Academy, their greed was their prestige. That's why it was such a big blow to the academy that they were robbed. They still hoped to gain some things by training Gabriel in hopes that he could become the next Holy Mage.
It was that greed that was holding Eliana back. It was the reason she wasn't willing to let him go through the test of the crown. He had already noticed this hesitation in Eliana's face when he was standing before her. This was also what made them keep Gabriel's identity and his talent levels a secret.
If their greed was their weakness, then the best way to use that Greed was simply through a subtle threat that he could leave them for the Church of Light. It became even worse for them when he had a legit excuse as they had actually accused him before, only to free him later.
As soon as Gabriel saw Rem, he had already made up this plan in his head as to how he was going to get out of this situation. If it were another teacher who didn't know, then it would've been much harder for him, but with Rem, Gabriel was quite pleased since the only person who could be better for him in this situation was Eliana.
However, with Eliana, everyone would've considered her even more biased since Garrick and Gabriel were both her students.
Gabriel glanced back once, noticing Rem telling the young mages to get back to what they were doing and not create a crowd here.
Looking back, he also noticed a young man running toward him. He remembered that man quite well.
Gabriel didn't stop since he didn't need to. He was already walking at his usual place, which made it relatively easy for the others to catch up to him.
Zale caught up to Gabriel, finally slowing down. "Are you alright?"
"I am." Gabriel nodded. He had saved the young man once in the past, but that was it. That was the extent to which he knew Zale. Zale was also the one who gave him the information about Cain, telling him about his past.
Unfortunately, that information didn't come in handy. He had planned to use Cain and Yann for a distraction that could give him some time, but things went a bit south with Hawrin's death. He had to modify his plans and go with an entirely different and direct route to steal the Numens.
"That's good. I am glad I wasn't late in bringing Senior Garrick." Zale placed his hand on his chest, letting out a sigh.
"Hmm?" Gabriel curiously glanced back at the young man. "You brought him?"
"Yeah. I saw you being attacked by the Seniors. I knew that only teachers could help you, and that's why I went looking for a teacher. Even though I didn't find a teacher, I did manage to find Senior Garrick. Since he was the strongest student from the House of Light, I told him everything and asked him to help you."
"Fortunately, we came right on time. I'm so glad you were safe."
Zale genuinely looked happy that he was able to help Gabriel, even though indirectly.
"So the person who informed him was you," Gabriel remembered Garrick telling Rem about being informed. So he was telling the truth, and the person that informed him was Zale.
No matter why it seemed Zale had helped him. If Garrick hadn't arrived, he would've needed to use a little more strength, which could reveal that he was also a mid-tier mage now.
"Why would you help me?"
"Did you look for a reason before helping me?" Zale asked in return. "When I needed help the most, you were the only one who came to my help. Cain arrived later as well."
"But you... You will always be the person who saved me. So why would I think twice before looking for ways to help you?"
Gabriel was momentarily at a loss of words. So that was the reason this guy tried to help him?
"We are equal now. You can leave."
Despite being helped by Zale, Gabriel didn't behave like a friend. He didn't thank Zale either. Instead, he simply told Zale to leave.
Even though Zale helped him, he didn't want to feel grateful to him. He didn't want to lose his resolve.
He didn't want to forget the lesson he had learned, even at the cost of his life. It was that people were willing to be your friend and help you, only as long as they didn't get an excuse to turn on you.
Alexai came to help him even though he didn't need it. It was the same for Zale and Garrick. Even the Academy tried to help him in any way they could, but this was all an illusion that was waiting to blow up.
The moment he lost the ring of Apophis after a few days, all the people who were acting like his friends could easily turn on him. And if his identity as a Necromancer came out, let alone these people, the entire academy was going to be after him to kill him!
It wasn't hard to imagine either. It was the same Academy that allowed thousands of its dark mages to be slaughtered... The dark mages who studied here for years and were at times really nice people like him. The academy didn't provide even a single one of them protection.
In the war, millions of Dark Mages were killed, and no one felt bad for them. Amongst the Millions, the majority of them were just the ones that wanted to live their life. He was sure that quite a lot of them were like him, who were betrayed by the people they trusted as soon as the war was declared.
It was a world where people didn't have sympathy for a dark Mage. Instead, they cheered for their deaths. Zale was also a part of that same world. He was also going to have the same mentality. If even Maya, who knew him all her life, could attack him, then what was Zale?
Gabriel didn't need any friends. Instead, he wanted to be all alone for now.
Immersed in conversation, he reached the Tower of Challenges and even entered that place, leaving Zale behind.
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