Miya just received news from Miss Chamber, the current headmaster of the Academy, that Percival has already returned.

She was shocked to hear that they rescued him from the Northern Continent!

It was such big news for her since she was aware of the rumors that this land was so dangerous that even Adept Mages can perish at any moment...

She learned from Miss Chamber that there was a secret operation conducted by Percival's friends or supporters to save the man from the clutch of the terrorist organization.

But there was one more thing included in the information she gathered, it was about Wallace Ravencroft, her friend, that had actually joined the operation and was still not being found. She was unsure of the details so she wanted to confirm by visiting his place.

They already cooperated several times for the VR Project and even had a few visits in this villa so she considered him as her friend already. After all, being a celebrity limited her social activities by several times. That was why she treasures the friendship she had with Wallace.

She had asked Avalon inside the game about Wallace's situation but it only mentioned not to worry about him and she was not getting a satisfying answer so after deliberating for a while, she decided to directly visit the villa he owned since Avalon didn't seem to prohibit her for doing so.

She was a little worried and wanted to verify whether he was truly left in the northern continent. She couldn't believe that a young student that was still enrolled and studying at the academy has the courage to travel in that dangerous land.

As soon as she reached the mountain's vicinity, she noticed the huge difference it had compared to her last visit almost a month ago.

'This... isn't these changes a bit too fast? What exactly is happening here?'

Miya was astounded by the massive wall and tall structures just near the villa. The path at the front was still acceptable but behind and on its sides have completely changed to something else.

'No, it's not a tower... Is it a road? But it's pointing up...'

The structure she was guessing was only about 500 meters away from her so she was curious at this new sight... She had never seen such a building before.

Not only that, but there was also a previous patch of forest on the left side of the villa that has now turned into barren land. It seems that another building was about to be constructed there.

Apparently, the largest change she can see was the arena-like structure behind the villa. She wasn't sure what it was but it seems to be a huge project for a young man studying at Leonhearts Academy.

'He hasn't even graduated yet and he's already so efficient in these types of things.'

Miya was at a loss for a moment but it only made her more convinced that Wallace should be safe. After all, there was no way that this complicated building project would be handled by anyone but him.

'I don't think that Avalon can just create these things without Wallace's supervision...'

Miya had the impression that Avalon was only used to help for the daily chores and to guide players inside the VR game. She didn't have any idea how powerful this A.I. yet.

Anyway, now that she reached the villa without troubles, she became a bit more expectant to meet the young man...

As usual, the gate opened to welcome her as she delightfully entered the Villa.

She didn't meet the automatons she was expecting to see as they were working non-stop at some designated work areas.

They would normally greet or guide her to the lounge of the villa.

It didn't take long before she heard some approaching footsteps...

As soon as she saw the man smiling awkwardly and walking towards her, she felt that there was something wrong...

'This feels weird...'

***

Ace decided to meet Miya right now since, in the end, he was tasked by Wallace to handle social relations and even attending classes at the academy.

It means that he'll meet the others sooner or later so it was better to practice it with her already.

He took a deep breath and started talking to Miya...

"You must be surprised by the huge changes in this place..."

"Haha... That's natural... I didn't think that you already owned this whole mountain..."

She realized this simply because of the wall that Wallace used for the entire mountain has similarities with the fence surrounding his villa...

It was simple but the defense mechanism that was installed has a unique pattern that she can sense using her soul arts. She would never miss such detail.

"Right... What made you visit here?" Ace asked the young lady who was quietly observing him.

"Haaa~ I didn't know if I should say it..."

'It seems that Wallace was fine and Miss Chamber had received incorrect news. He looks healthy and lively. I'm sure that I'm meeting with a real person and not an automaton.'

Miya thought as she realized that she worried for nothing.

"It's fine... Just let me know..." Ace insisted.

"Alright... I heard from Miss Chamber that you were missing after the rescue operation in the northern continent. Sigh~ What happened back there? You also have a different aura... Is that the effect of going to the northern continent?"

"Oh, I didn't notice... Well, I was missing? Haha... "

'This is a problem... What did he do back there? Tsk...'

Ace wasn't sure how to answer as he was unaware of what happened on the northern continent.

'He didn't even notify me about his plans...'

"Yeah, Miss Chamber said that after the rescue team recovered the previous headmaster, you had to separate with the group. In the end, you were missing until the extraction day... Is that wrong?"

"Oh... It's fine... Anyway, I had my ways to leave the place and so here I am..." Ace can only come up with a good answer.

Miya was obviously unconvinced but she didn't come here to argue about his reasons. She only wanted to know whether he was still alive or not. Now that she confirmed this, she didn't really have any more reasons to stay here...

"Hmmm... I'm also taking a break right now so if you can stay here for a while, I'll just prepare some snacks we can eat. I'd like to ask you about the VR game. Are you still playing?"

"Am I still playing? Haha... Of course! I enjoyed playing it every day. Especially after my friends received some real-life stuff from the creator."

"Oh? That real-life stuff was only a few in numbers. They must be pretty lucky."

The two chatted for a while as Ace got accustomed to Miya.

He carefully observed her reaction after seeing his current body and learned that she totally didn't mind it.

She surely must've noticed the difference but it seems that it was not to the point where it would attract too much attention.

If he considered this, then it should be fine if he showed up with other Wallace's friends.

As he was enjoying his chat with Miya, Ace suddenly received a message from Wallace through Avalon.

[ I will be away for several months. Handle everything there in the meantime. You can do it. ]