"What do you mean we're going to kill him?!" Bloody screamed.
My confident look returned as I turned back to the ghosts.
"I mean exactly that. We're going to kill him."
Bloody was fuming.
He jabbed a finger at me, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Do you even have any idea what that thing can do?! Do you know what kind of disgusting evil powers that man possesses?!"
"Sorry to say, Seer, but I think I agree with the angry one," Sleazy said.
His usual jovial tone was gone, replaced by something even and cold.
"That is not someone you can just kill."
As Sleazy and Bloody both got on my ass about this admittedly horrible idea, I heard a deep sigh from behind them.
Lazy sighed and laid back down in the air.
He looked at me with that strange analytical gaze from before.
"You and I both know it's not possible for you to kill him here. Did you forget that this world is watching?"
His eyes narrowed.
"No… of course you didn't. You're planning something, but you can't say it."
The other two ghosts went quiet.
Lazy stared straight at me.
"What is your plan, Kamrik?"
Wow.
I forgot this guy was a genius and not just a lazy freeloader.
Still, he had no idea what I had planned.
I put my hands up.
Then I grinned.
"Well, you got me. I didn't forget that this place is governed. But because of that, I can't just tell you the plan."
I tilted my head.
"You remember the rules here at the academy."
Sleazy raised his hand.
His friendly tone returned.
"What do you mean by 'rules' and 'governed'?"
This time, Knight spoke up.
I had almost forgotten he was even here.
You would think the definition of a pathfinder would have a problem with me killing an innocent person.
Strangely, he hadn't protested.
My eyes narrowed.
Knight tapped his sword against the ground.
"This entire school. This ground. The sky above us. The town beyond the walls. Even the trees, rocks, and particles in the air."
He looked around.
"All of it exists inside a subspace."
Sleazy's eyes widened.
He glanced around, then flew higher into the air as if checking for himself.
When he returned, his expression was stunned.
"You're right. I can't even see the God Tree from here!"
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Liar.
He wasn't shocked at all.
It was an act.
For what, I had no idea.
Ever since I awakened my mana and unlocked my origin spell, it seemed like another side effect had appeared besides my silver eyes.
Mutations after awakening mana were not unheard of.
Uncommon, yes.
But not unheard of.
Very rarely, though, did a mutation grant a mage additional power.
It seemed I was one of the lucky ones.
The silver eyes I now had were another facet of my Soul Diver ability.
I could pick up on small things now.
Tiny shifts.
Hidden reactions.
Faint emotions.
But the real power showed itself when I looked into someone's eyes.
That was how I could read emotion from these ghosts, despite their practiced, stoic expressions.
They did say the eyes were the window to the soul, after all.
And my power was all about reading souls.
I looked at Sleazy and grinned before Knight could continue.
"Yes. This entire place is governed by the headmaster. Literally."
"The headmaster of Valthrune uses spatial magic. He created what is basically an entire world."
I pointed around us.
"But the important part is that he sees everything inside this place."
"He's everywhere."
My grin turned into a grimace.
"That's why we follow a set of rules."
I raised one finger.
"One. Killing is not allowed."
I raised a second.
"Two. Any plan to kill another person is not allowed."
Sleazy's eyes widened.
"But you said you were going to kill Carlos. Why haven't you been punished yet?"
Lazy answered before I could.
"It's because he didn't have intent."
"What?"
I smirked.
"Exactly. For some reason, you can still say you want to kill someone here. I don't know why, but if I had to guess, it's because students make all kinds of absent-minded comments about the staff."
My grin widened.
"So as long as there's no real intent behind your words, you won't be punished."
"And the only way the headmaster can confirm that intent is—"
"Through speech," Sleazy finished, realization filling his eyes.
"So that's why you can't say anything about the plan. The moment you say it with intent, the security system would punish you."
I clapped my hands.
"Right on, Sleazy!"
"Yes. I can't speak about it at the academy. But once we leave and go into the real world, we'll be able to speak freely."
But by that point, they would already understand what the plan was.
Lazy looked at me with wide eyes.
"You don't mean…"
I gave him the most feral smile I could.
He stared into my silver eyes, then turned away.
I heard him grumble.
"Madmen. All around me…"
"I'm going to sleep. Wake me if anything happens."
With that, he turned into mist.
Straight back into my soul.
The other ghosts stared at where he vanished.
"…What's his problem?" Sleazy asked.
"No idea, man."
I shook my head.
"No idea."
Then I turned back to the remaining ghosts.
"Well, there is one more thing I can tell you about the plan."
Sleazy perked up with excitement.
"What is it, Seer? Are we going to break into a professor's office? Find a hidden artifact the headmaster left behind? Uncover the hidden truths of the academy?"
His grin widened.
"Oh, I can't wait!"
I gave him a disgusted look.
Everything he was doing was fake.
What a weirdo.
"No," I said.
"We're going to do something much more fun."
Sleazy leaned closer.
"What is it, Seer? Tell me!"
I smiled.
"We're going to train."
Sleazy deflated.