Chapter Text
In the original novel, the five major military institutes of the empire would soon join to hold a competition on a remote planet.
In the original novel, Khaslana had, of course, also gone.
The planet was quite dangerous. The surface was filled by an ancient, towering forest, and within the forest, there were all kinds of alien beasts and poisonous plants.
These alien beasts were unintelligent, and they couldn't leave the planet. They couldn't compare to the danger level of a Zerg, but it was difficult for these students, who only had weapons and couldn't use mechas to face them.
But with the help of his strength and his physique, Khaslana took to the situation like a duck to water. Later, he found an ore in a hidden cavern that could strengthen his physique, and his strength rose up another level. It even stimulated the imperial blood in his body, and thus he discovered that his father was actually the emperor.
Basically, this plot point was an important turning point in the original novel.
Generally speaking, someone couldn't go and snatch the original protagonist's opportunities. If it went poorly, the world consciousness would lock onto them and kill them straightaway. But when Phainon remembered how the ore could increase his strength, he was intrigued.
Still, these were all things that happened later. Right now, what he had to worry about was how he would complete his daily task after binding to Khaslana!
Phainon felt that compared to Khaslana, all of his previous capture targets were angels (._.)
Regardless of how much Phainon was dreading it, that day was coming up soon.
Every new student had to go to the competition, even if they were the kind that just came over to the academy hang out. Phainon didn't know whether or not the original host had thought about the competition when he came to hang out. After all, in the original novel, he had been expelled.
Everyone got on the airship with excitement. The empire's military institute was the wealthiest of all the five major institutes, and it had the most students from noble and imperial families. Naturally, the airship was very comfortable. It could compare with a luxury tour airship. Even the rooms were double rooms.
Then problems began to occur.
Phainon and Caelus were assigned into one room.
When Phainon found out, he was ready to curse up a storm. The more he didn't want something to happen, the more likely it would happen. He was getting more and more unlucky these days... But it was no big deal as long as he didn't get put in a room with Khaslana.
A spoiled rich kid like Caelus would naturally prepare a ton of luggage when he traveled. After all, how could someone of his status make do in the wilderness?
Phainon grabbed a few clothes at random and some things that he thought he might need in the wilderness, then went to help Caelus with carrying his luggage.
"There's no need." Caelus turned to look at him and said, "With the way you look like a gust of wind would blow you over, if you help me with my luggage people will think I'm treating you poorly. Besides, I have a space button that I can put them in."
Phainon let out a breath of relief. If he had to carry the luggage for such a long time, he really wouldn't be able to last... He had also forgotten that there was something like a space button. Still, in the future, a space button was extremely expensive. It was usually used to store a mecha. Only someone like Caelus would use it to store luggage.
Phainon carried his own luggage and got ready to leave, but Caelus stopped him in his footsteps, looking cold. "Give your luggage here too."
"Huh???" Phainon was stupefied.
How could someone who disdained betas as much as Caelus be willing to put someone else's things with his own things? And this "someone else" was even his family's servant. Caelus's favorability score for Phainon was still at zero, too.
Still, people changed. Phainon didn't read into it too deeply and handed his luggage to Caelus.
After the students gathered, they began to board the airship one by one, and the people everyone paid attention to the most, Khaslana and Mydeimos, were assigned to the same room.
After the airship took off, nobody could calm down. They assembled in the airship's training room and began to temper themselves.
Caelus was, of course, not an exception, but when he was preparing to go train, he received a message. He frowned, heading towards a hallway in the airship that was relatively more isolated.
Mydei had already been waiting there for a long time. In front of outsiders, he looked aloof and like he kept people at a distance. Even if he was standing in the most bustling place on earth, nobody would have the courage to approach him.
"What did you want me for?" Caelus said impatiently, looking over with a frown. "My time is precious, you know."
"Let's change rooms," Mydei said coolly, looking like he was disgusted but had no choice to speak.
Caelus snorted. "And what if I don't want to? If I change rooms just because you said to change rooms, what should I do with my reputation?"
"Don't you admire Khaslana a lot?" Mydei was about to lose his patience. "You're still not happy when you've been given a chance to get in close contact with him?"
When Mydei mentioned Khaslana, Caelus froze.
For a while, ever since he had fought with Prince Latiao, he had unconsciously pushed Khaslana to the back of his mind. Even during the finals of the virtual mecha competition, he hadn't paid attention to Khaslana's matches.
Now, the overflowing admiration he had held for Khaslana had disappeared completely. When he thought of Khaslana, he didn't even think of him more than he would of a passerby.
Yes, because he had found someone even better now. Khaslana was no longer important.
"That's in the past. Now, I already..." Caelus looked like he had thought of someone. His expression was complicated. Immediately, he continued, "Anyway, I don't have any interest in Khaslana anymore. Isn't he your close friend? You want to avoid living with him that much?"
If Khaslana knew that he had been shunned by these two people, and was even being thrown around like a hot potato, he would be furious.
"You know what my goal is," Mydei said frankly. "If you have any conditions, name them."
"Hmph. I really don't know what it is about a beta that has drawn your attention," Caelus said. "No matter what else happens, don't think about changing rooms. I absolutely won't agree... I've got stuff to do, so I won't keep wasting my time with a guy like you."
When he finished speaking, Caelus turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.
Mydei watched Caelus leave. His deep green eyes iced over, killing intent seething in his gaze.
---
Meanwhile, Phainon laid down to rest in his room as soon as he finished his meal. How could he have the heart to go train when he thought of the situation he was faced with? He should take the chance to enjoy himself a bit while he still had the chance.
And now he was staying in the same room as Caelus. If his inhibitors expired, he was done for. As Phainon thought, he took out a bottle of medicine and swallowed a pill, finally feeling more at ease.
Dammit, who thought of a terrifying ABO setting? He felt like he really couldn't endure until the end, alright!
Although Phainon didn't want Khaslana to level up, he also wanted him to level up. This way, he could leave the world quickly.
After he finished his medicine, Phainon felt himself getting sleepy. He laid down in bed and fell asleep.
At some point, the door opened. Caelus's silhouette appeared in the doorway.
When he saw that Phainon was sleeping, Caelus kept even more quiet. He closed the door tightly, walking slowly to the side of his bed.
Phainon was sleeping fitfully. His brow was slightly furrowed, as though he was dreaming of something bad.
Caelus extended a hand, caressing Phainon's forehead. His movements were a little stiff. He had never tried to touch someone so gently.
Phainon's eyelashes suddenly quivered. Caelus froze, but he didn't pull his hand back.
After a moment, Phainon didn't show any signs of waking. He continued to sleep soundly.
"...Rest well," Caelus said in a low voice. He lowered his head, planting a soft kiss on Phainon's cheeks.
"Mm..." Phainon mumbled.
Caelus's pale cheeks flushed completely red instantly and he raised his head in alarm. He looked back at Phainon, who didn't stir, feeling a sense of defeat.
"Dammit, you cheat, being so cunning... You clearly knew all along, but you never said a word to me. Do think of me as a joke?"
As Caelus spoke, he thought back to how he had people whip Phainon the night they first met. His mood sank.
"So what exactly do you think about me..."
Caelus looked at Phainon, lowering his head helplessly. He kissed Phainon on the lips. He could only feel how soft those lips were, becoming intoxicated in moments. He used his tongue to probe between Phainon's teeth.
A sticky, liquid noise sounded in the room.
After a long time, Caelus finally lifted his head, his face scarlet, and wiped his mouth of silvery threads of saliva. He unconsciously moving to undo Phainon's buttons, reaching out to press Phainon down and lowering his head to nip at Phainon's fair, slender neck.
Though it was already weak, he could smell the faint fragrance at such a close distance. It made him recall the day that he had fought with Prince Latiao, as well as that night.
He had never told Phainon that even with all kinds of fragrances around the room, that faint omega scent was so clear that there wasn't any smell that could cover it up. Even a slight sniff would make someone sink into an inescapable trance.
And now, if he bit down, Phainon would be marked by him. Phainon could be his.
But Caelus let out a breath, looking at Phainon who was sleeping calmly. As though he was venting, he reached out to pinch Phainon's cheek. "You dummy."
---
The airship arrived at its destination by the second day. It was a planet that looked beautiful from a distance. From its appearance, it was impossible to tell what kind of dangers were hiding within.
Normally, there was nobody who would come to this planet. After all, it was dangerous and had no resources worth mining. There was simply nobody who would come besides for thrill seekers.
Phainon yawned, disembarking from the airship. He had slept so early yesterday, so why was he so tired today?
And he didn't know why, but his neck hurt a bit. Maybe he had slept wrong... Phainon had no idea what had happened yesterday. He even felt that yesterday had been peaceful.
The only problem was Caelus's temper early that morning. Of course, Phainon was already used to this.
The planet's air quality was excellent, and just smelling it made him feel refreshed. When he tilted his head back, there was a never-ending forest before his eyes.
It was pretty good to look at it from a distance, but as soon as he thought about how his future days would be spent inside, he wasn't happy anymore.
Most of the students from other had already arrived. Everyone gathered at a simple and crude base. Despite the short time, there were already several students disputing with students from other institutes.
Phainon noticed that there was a group of students from the neighboring military institute clustered around a youth. He looked familiar, and Phainon unconsciously looked back at him several times.
Next to him, Caelus became unhappy. "What's there to look at?" He followed Phainon's gaze and discovered a beautiful teenager. He immediately snorted. "That guy's not even as handsome as I am."
Phainon: "..." Hey, why are you competing over something like this!
The teenager noticed Phainon. He turned towards him, smiling slightly.
Caelus's fury washed over him again. He stepped in front of Phainon. "You can't look."
Phainon had no idea how looking at the students from the neighboring institute had got on Caelus's nerves, but he finally remembered. Wasn't this teenager the Zerg he had met on the airship the other time?!
Fuck, he didn't expect to meet him again somewhere like this. He didn't expect a planted Zerg agent would actually sneak into one of the five major military institutes... Still, this was pretty normal, huh.
The Zerg in this world were fairly different from the Zerg in the previous world. Most importantly, the lower class Zerg in this world couldn't change into human form, but higher class Zerg could change their form at will. Moreover, their spiritual energy and strength was innately strong.
It was perfectly normal that a higher class Zerg coming over to act as a sleeper agent could simply join one of the five major military institutes... It was under such grave circumstances that Khaslana could drive these Zerg away. It was all thanks to his plot armor.
In any case, he was walking fast last time and the other person hadn't seen his face. Phainon turned away like nothing had happened. He didn't want this Zerg villain to drag him in.
Although the empire's military institute was famous and had the support of the imperial family, it wasn't the most impressive academy. The other academies had their own strengths.
Students didn't get along with those at other academies. Every few years, they would compete, and the victorious academy would become the number one institute for those few years.
This competition would be based on the students' wilderness survival skills. They would have to make it through the primeval forest to their destination, and they couldn't use their mechas or weapons with high destructive power. They could only use cold weapons.
When the competition was mentioned outside, everyone said the purpose was to train their unity and cooperation, but everyone secretly knew that if they could take the lead in this competition, they could say they were winning glory for their school and get even more opportunities in the future. Thus, everyone fought like their lives depended on it.
Of course, they were ensured safety in such a dangerous place. Every student received an emergency alarm. If anything that was serious enough to threaten their life and safety, they could press the alarm, and a teacher would come to their rescue immediately.
But pressing the alarm was an automatic forfeit. It was a more embarrassing method of action.
Phainon didn't care about being embarrassed. Going through the forest with his trash omega body? It was obviously impossible. He might as well just forfeit. The only thing was that forfeiting right at the start was a bit embarrassing, so he would endure for two or three days and then forfeit.
The teachers told everyone a few things to take note of, then divided everyone into groups by drawing lots. There were two people per group, and they would have to stay together for these few days. If one party forfeited, the other person would also lose their opportunity.
Khaslana's student ID was earlier in the numbers. He walked directly up on stage and tapped on the screen casually. The numbers stopped immediately.
Everyone in the audience was worked up. They all knew how strong Khaslana was. How wonderful would it be if they could be paired up with Khaslana! They might be able to achieve a grade they had never obtained before.
Phainon completely ignored the scene. According to the original plot, Khaslana would be paired up with Caelus. It had nothing to do with him.
Khaslana spoke. "Number 154."
Wait, why did this number sound familiar?
Afraid to face reality, Phainon lowered his head to look at his student ID. Number 154.
"Classmate Phainon, what a coincidence! It's truly a blessing." Khaslana walked over, a slight curve on his lips. He stood before Phainon, extending a hand. "I'll be in your care."
Blessing? This is just a curse, okay!!
Why was he the one who got Caelus's chance from the original novel... Phainon had thought that the competition would be a bit more difficult. Now, he felt like he was sending himself to his death.
Though competition had as many safety measures as possible, there had been several students who had died in accidents in the past since it was hard to predict what situations might arise in the forest. In the original novel, Khaslana had offed several of students from other academies who had come to provoke him. It was easy to imagine what was in his future!
The surrounding crowd had complicated expressions. Phainon reached out a hand, almost completely stiff, and shook hands with Khaslana. He could only feel his cold sweat. "I'll be in your care..."
Meanwhile, Mydei and Caelus had been paired together. It was obvious they hadn't expected this situation.
Taking the circumstances into consideration, Mydei walked over, suggesting that his and Khaslana's group advance together. He reasoned, "Two people is too few, and we have better chances with four people. At night, we can take turns keeping watch. It'll be much safer."
Mydei sounded very reasonable. Plenty of people moved as a group of four because of their relationships. There even some who proceeded as groups of six or eight.
Khaslana naturally had no objections. If people as strong as Mydei and Caelus joined his team, it would benefit him.
As for Phainon... Khaslana chuckled. Ever since they had come to this planet, he had no plans to let Phainon leave alive.
Caelus just sneered, giving Phainon a sidelong glance. "I'm only agreeing to come and take on this task because of how weak you are."
Phainon grabbed Caelus's hand in excitement. He said, moved, "Thank you so much, you're amazing!"
Caelus had basically saved his life! Although he knew Caelus probably came for Khaslana, and his words just now were just acting cool to hide his soft spot for Khaslana, Phainon was very emotional.
Caelus froze. His face immediately turned red. He blurted, "What are you doing? Who gave you the right to hold my hand?"
Despite his words, he didn't make any move to throw him off.
Mydei noticed his movements. His eyes focused on where their hands were touching, his gaze turning cold.
---
The four of them headed towards the forest as planned. Though they didn't meet any other academy students, everyone had silently agreed to separate. Nobody would take the same road as someone they saw as their opponent. They were too afraid of being plotted against.
Although their group was strong, Phainon didn't have high hopes... He felt that it was already pretty good as long as these guys didn't mess around. Khaslana in particular had to seize the opportunity. It would be good if everyone could reach the end point.
The beginning of their journey went smoothly. As they went on, the road got more and more difficult to travel. There were all kinds of shrubs all over. While the other three alphas were still full of energy, Phainon couldn't keep going. He was panting in exhaustion.
It was lucky that the other three people were all alphas. Phainon could muddle through with the excuse that he was a beta. If their squad had another beta to compare Phainon to, then he wouldn't have any self-respect left.
"I knew you'd be like this." Caelus turned to look at him, looking disdainful. "As soon as I saw you, I knew you'd drag down our squad. If you really can't keep going, it's not impossible for me to piggyback you."
Phainon was given a huge shock. The first half of Caelus's words were fine, he was used to it anyway... but what was with the second half?!
Was Caelus always such a good person? He was even willing to carry a beta classmate from his team during a competition. Phainon had even expected that he would sarcastically suggest their two teams go their separate ways.
Even if Caelus was affected by what happened with Prince Latiao and no longer discriminated against betas, he wouldn't be so intimate, right? This was already OOC, okay!
"Or do you not want it?" Caelus narrowed his eyes. "Even I don't mind, but you mind?"
"N-no, I just..." Phainon hurried to explain, "I think I can keep going for a bit, I won't impose on you."
Rather than letting Caelus piggyback him, he would be better off gritting his teeth and enduring a bit longer.
"Hmph," Caelus said. "Then let's keep going. If you can't keep up, don't come running to me for help."
Phainon gritted his teeth and endured for part of the way, but he really couldn't manage any longer. He nearly tripped over a tree root. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Mydei, who had been silently paying attention to him, caught him.
Because of Phainon's instructions, Mydei still kept a delicate distance between them. Now that there were only four of them, he didn't care so much. He said, "It won't work if you keep going like this. I'm stronger than Caelus. I can defend myself better. Let me carry you on my back."
While putting himself forward, Mydei casually stepped on Caelus's reputation.
Phainon approved greatly, because Mydei's words were too true. It was easy to tell based on the system's choice of the capture target who was the stronger one.
"What do you mean by that?" Caelus immediately got into a bad mood. He glared at Mydei. "You're saying I'm not as good as you?"
"That's not what I mean," Mydei said calmly. "I'm just telling the truth."
Caelus's expression turned ugly, but most importantly, he had no way to retort. He just grabbed Phainon's hand. "Say it, who do you want to carry you?"
Phainon: "???" Fuck, why would something like this happen now?! Khaslana is still on the sidelines watching, okay!
Forget about Mydei, but what the heck was Caelus getting in on the action for? But if Phainon didn't let Caelus piggyback him this time, he would definitely kick up a big fuss. After all, he was that kind of person.
One the other hand, Phainon wasn't worried about Mydei. After all, he had always been very reliable, and his personality was much better than Caelus's. He should be able to understand his choice this time.
So Phainon gave Mydei an apologetic look and chose Caelus.
"See? As expected, he chose me." Caelus gave Mydei a smug glance, then put Phainon onto his back. He said, "You'd better hold on tight. I won't be paying attention to you while I walk."
Despite his words, Caelus was very attentive, afraid that Phainon would get scratched by any branches.
Mydei froze. For a long time, he didn't move, and he quickly fell behind the two of them.
Khaslana walked over. Calmly, he said, "Although you want to be kind to someone, they don't seem to want to accept your feelings."
"This has nothing to do with you," Mydei said. "I'm very clear about what he's thinking, and I can understand his actions." He did understand what Phainon was thinking, but he still couldn't really accept it.
But Mydei blamed himself. How could he think Phainon was doing the wrong thing? Phainon couldn't do anything wrong. Everything was Caelus's fault... Exactly, everything was because of Caelus.
"Oh?" Khaslana's lips curled up. "But you don't look very happy... Is it so hard to accept what you think? Do you think you'll be repaid what you have been given? Sometimes, even if you give, you won't get what you want."
Although Khaslana wasn't completely clear on what had happened between Mydeimos and Phainon, he was happy to drive a wedge between them. It would be best to make that damn Phainon learn what it was like to be completely isolated and alone.
"No, I've never thought that way. I'll be happy as long as I can stay by his side..." Mydei suddenly gritted his teeth, looking at the people ahead of him. But he had no choice but to admit that in that moment his heart was filled with a raging fire of envy that almost consumed half of his rationale.
He had never felt such envy since he was born, but ever since he began to stay at Phainon's side, he had almost always felt these kinds of feelings. It was insufferable agony, but he endured it as he had before.
At the beginning, he had just wanted to stay at Phainon's side, but human desires were without an end. As long as they got one thing, they would want even more.
If he was the only one at Phainon's side... it would be wonderful.
Mydei had thought the same thing many times, but now he couldn't restrain himself anymore.
Mydei's expression iced over. He stared at the people up ahead, but he felt relaxed in a way that he hadn't felt in a long time. He finally understood what he had to do.
Extraneous people like this shouldn't have existed in the first place.
Khaslana watched Mydei's expression change and left, smiling.
But he didn't know that Mydei wasn't thinking about betraying Phainon because of his words. Instead, he was filled with killing intent for Caelus.
---
After entering the forest, a few alien beasts began to appear. These beasts looked similar to normal animals, but they were even more horrible.
When he first saw an alien beast scurry out into the open, Phainon was given a terrible shock. He was able to relax after he saw Khaslana kill it easily using a pocket knife.
Even though they looked so terrifying, since they could be killed with an ordinary weapon like that, it seemed that they weren't so hard to deal with. In comparison, those Zerg who could shift into human shape and blend into society were even more scary.
The sky was turning dark. They decided to find a place in the forest to rest.
Caelus had brought a tent specially designed for leisure. It was very convenient, and could pitch itself with the press of a button. He also took out some delicacies and water out of his space button. Who knew if he had come to compete or to vacation.
The tent that Caelus had prepared was quite large. It could fit two people.
Although Caelus wasn't exactly willing, they collectively decided to let two people keep watch and the other two rest. They would switch every two hours.
When they drew lots, Phainon and Mydei were paired up, and Caelus and Khaslana were paired up.
Although Caelus wasn't happy, when he thought of his victory from earlier and how he had carried Phainon the entire way, it was no big deal if he just stepped back for the night watch. This way, he wouldn't make trouble.
Khaslana laid in the tent soundlessly. Even though they were so close, Caelus had completely forgotten his admiration for Khaslana. His mind was full of Phainon, and he couldn't sleep at all.
Though something like that had happened the first time they met, Phainon forced a kiss on him the second day, and he even stayed after that. Phainon always stayed by Caelus's side, and this time he had chosen him over Mydeimos... Could he believe that Phainon had some feelings for him?
When he thought back to the first kiss, Caelus felt a bit embarrassed, but his heart filled with sweetness.
Outside the tent, Phainon was resting against a tree listlessly, looking at the bonfire. He nearly fell asleep several times. He couldn't stop himself from yawning, and his eyelids were closing involuntarily.
Mydei watched him, his heart pained, and said, "If you're truly to tired, go rest first. There will be no problem with me here."
Phainon shook his head, struggling to speak. "No, I can't sleep right now..." If he slept at this kind of time, he had a feeling that something bad would happen.
At some point, the time ticked past midnight. The system's voice suddenly rang in Phainon's mind.
[Daily task refreshed. The current task is [Force a kiss on the capture target once]. Host, please do your best.]
Phainon was immediately jolted awake.