Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 349: Don’t Trust Nerio

"So that’s why you’ve been paying attention to this one, huh? How adorable, ha ha ha."

Nana blinked, momentarily dazed as Nicole’s teasing voice suddenly came from right beside her, making her jolt in surprise. Instinctively, she frowned, her ears turning red—though she wasn’t quite sure why they were heating up like that.

"I wasn’t paying attention to him, Elder Nicole. Don’t talk nonsense," Nana said curtly, her tone cold.

Nicole covered her mouth and chuckled. "But you did call me here to protect Silvanus, didn’t you?"

"I just wanted to be the one to defeat him myself," Nana replied softly.

Nicole narrowed her eyes, chuckling. "It looks like he’s about to collapse anyway."

At those words, Nana instinctively turned toward the arena—just in time to see Silvanus’s body sway and finally fall.

Truly, joy had turned to sorrow in an instant. Silvanus might have been the victor, but he still ended up needing a trip to the infirmary.

Still, that wasn’t a significant problem. His story was already spreading across the Academy. After today, Silvanus—a first-year student, an ordinary commoner—would become one of Lumina’s most talked-about figures!

As for all that, Silvanus knew nothing.

He only felt as if he had been drifting in darkness for a very long time, his whole being floating aimlessly—as though the current of his soul was trying to carry him somewhere far away.

Until the cold enveloped him completely.

Silvanus jolted awake. His eyes snapped open, and for a brief moment, he thought he had returned to that deadly frozen realm—the one with the cruel Merfolk.

But that was impossible. He had just defeated Thomas in the arena.

The instant he thought that, his awareness sharpened, and everything around him came into focus.

The sky above was enclosed by a vast, translucent dome that shimmered with a faint bluish light.

Towering ice mountains stretched across the landscape, while delicate snowflakes drifted gently through the air—instantly rekindling Silvanus’s memories of this place.

Instinctively, he shot upright. As he glanced to the side, his eyes widened at the sight of the massive creature known as the Kirin. It was lying sprawled on the icy ground, head lowered, making low, rumbling sounds that almost resembled... sobbing.

Oh, come on. Was that thing crying? That didn’t sound the least bit realistic, Silvanus thought dryly.

But a much bigger problem was why he was here at all. His memories of the battle were apparent, so waking up in this place made absolutely no sense.

Just then, the Kirin seemed to sense Silvanus’s presence. Its eyes flashed, and despite its enormous size, it moved with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, its massive jaws loomed before Silvanus as it roared, releasing an icy breath so frigid and fierce that the gust nearly blew him off his feet.

Silvanus braced himself against the icy ground, then kicked backward to steady his footing. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He raised both hands in a helpless gesture. "Don’t start roaring like that! I have no idea why I’m even here!"

After a short pause, he added, "Also... your teeth aren’t exactly even. Doesn’t that bother you at all?"

Kirin: "..." Those were definitely the teeth that had been knocked out when Nerio smacked it last time—they were still growing back.

It wasn’t self-conscious about it, but Silvanus’s words were undeniably offensive.

The Kirin’s expression darkened, its massive face fierce and intimidating. "Human, leave this place before it’s too late."

Silvanus blinked in disbelief.

Did... did that creature just speak?

But the Headmaster had never mentioned any Kirin capable of speech.

Then again, it made sense—none of the Kirins in the records had ever possessed a crimson horn like this one.

Silvanus spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "I wish I knew how to leave this damned place."

Silvanus doesn’t want to stay here either; who knows when that Merfolk will appear again?

And almost as if answering that very thought, the lake before them suddenly trembled. The Kirin froze, cast Silvanus a quick glance, then buried its face back against the ice, letting out a miserable, low whine.

Silvanus: "..." Maybe he should do the same. After all, at least in this place, he definitely wasn’t a match for that Merfolk.

Even so, he found himself moving forward, guided by nothing more than instinct—a faint, inexplicable feeling that the Merfolk weren’t actually hostile.

It was strange, hazy even, but Silvanus had never felt something quite like it before.

Meanwhile, Nerio sensed something calling to him—some kind of pull. He broke the surface of the water, but the sight that met his eyes made him freeze.

He hadn’t forgotten. This was the human who had ruined his Heavenly Tea!

As if sensing the fury radiating from the small Merfolk’s face, Silvanus quickly spoke up. "Hello, I’m Silvanus. I don’t know why I’m here either, but... maybe we can talk this out?"

Nerio paused for a moment, finding Silvanus’s stiff tone so absurd it was almost funny.

But he didn’t laugh. The urge to kill Silvanus for ruining his Heavenly Tea far outweighed his curiosity about how the human had managed to appear here.

Silvanus rolled his eyes and quickly said, "I think I know why your Heven Tea grows so slowly..."

"It’s Heavenly Tea!" Nerio crawled out of the water. He stared at Silvanus, then suddenly smiled. His hands pressed on the ice and transformed—his nails instantly sharpening and piercing the thick ice beneath.

Silvanus shuddered but kept his face calm. "Alright, I misread it. However, the most common reason plants in this world can’t grow is a lack of light. Your tea is definitely lacking light. The light here is too weak. And I—I can make light!"

As he spoke, Silvanus raised his hand, and a dazzling light appeared in his palm.

Nerio blinked. In a flash, his predatory, upright pupils widened into round, innocent-looking eyes that made him appear childlike and sparkling. He admired the light in Silvanus’s hand, a little skeptical. "Really?"

Silvanus nodded firmly. "Of course. Just let the sun shine on it. I won’t touch the plants. It won’t do any real harm."

In truth, Silvanus was making it up. The longer he could buy time, the better. Maybe he’d suddenly be sent back the same way he’d suddenly appeared here.

Seeing the Merfolk’s shining, innocent eyes, Silvanus felt a pang of guilt, as if he were deceiving a child.

Especially when the Merfolk smiled softly at him and said, "I’m Nerio."

Then Nerio excitedly said, "Silvanus, you should try it."

Silvanus nodded and actually produced a small sun that shone down on the lake. The gentle, warm light made Nerio squint with delight.

He turned his head and excitedly gazed into the lake, then widened his eyes.

New Heavenly Tea plants were actually growing, and not slowly at all. Their pale branches, dusted with snow and ice, spread across the lake with unbelievable beauty.

Silvanus was a bit surprised—he hadn’t expected it to actually work—but he felt pleased nonetheless. The entire lake was now covered with Heavenly Tea. Maybe Nerio was satisfied and would retract his claws.

But the instant Silvanus thought that, a sense of danger rushed in and made him open his eyes wide. His body reacted before his mind did.

Nerio’s claws flashed across Silvanus, slicing his clothes and leaving a long, horizontal scratch across his belly. Droplets of blood sprayed into the air.

Before Silvanus could steady himself, Nerio’s massive tail pinned him down, forcing him onto the ice.

One of Nerio’s hands clamped around Silvanus’s throat, his claws pressing against the skin just outside the carotid artery, ready to cut at any moment.

Above him, Nerio looked down at Silvanus, licked the fresh blood from his claws with his tongue, his pupils erect with excitement, baring sharp fangs in a bright grin. "Good. Now, let’s continue where we left off. Ready to die?"