Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain-Chapter 366: Confronting the thief

"Professor Quinlan," Rio said with a smile meeting his gaze. His bloody thoughts perfectly hidden behind his charming face and sweet smile.

"Rio, isn't this the time for your class? Skipping lectures isn't good."

"Well, I was just going there. But don't you also have a lecture at A-4 now."

"I just came to check on Rebecca… ."

"She's fine and resting. It was a minor injury anyway." Rio said and pointed ahead "No need to delay a class of 200 students just for one, is there?"

"... I suppose so." Quinlan said and turned around to leave too.

His face had a cold expression as he looked at Rio's back walking ahead and he clenched his fists when he remembered the scene of this annoying bastard kissing his sweet and cute princess.

He wished to kill him for daring to get close to her, just like how he killed the others, but he just couldn't find any perfect chance.

Noticing the oozing anger behind him, Rio just smiled and chose to ignore it. Anyway this guy was already a corpse in his eyes. So might as well as tease him a little more.

"By the way professor, did I do something wrong?" Rio asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Cause you seem angry at me. Extra lectures, homework, assignments, yesterday you simply didn't even allow me to attend your class, when I was just 2 minutes late. Is there a reason for all that?"

Hearing his questions, Quinlan froze and frowned for a second. Since he couldn't see Rio's face at this point, he didn't know what expressions he had when asking him that, so he could just take it as a kid's curiosity and lie about it.

"The extra attention on you is just cause everything we teach is something you've already been taught, by my mentor nonetheless. So if I don't teach you something new or ask you about something that's beyond first year quota, it'll simply just be a waste of your time."

"That so, and here I thought it had something to do with all those relationship rumors that's been going around." Rio said as he turned around and casually continued, "You see a lot of people have been giving me cold shoulder these days because of that."

"What do you…" Quinlan wanted to ask him if they were just 'rumors' or real, but Rio interrupted him directly.

"Talking about your mentor, I remember he was doing a research on various dungeons and spatial gateway cracks, about how the otherworldly energy can create monsterization effects on creatures of Arcadia and how we can control it. He even had some thoughts about curing EMMSY."

"How do you…"

"Poor him, man never got a chance to finish that. Cause it would've been a real gift for Arcadia if he did." Rio interrupted him again and finished his words with a question, "Do you know anything about that professor, maybe the old man told you something, passed on his knowledge, or maybe you just found a book in his luggage, since you were his assistant and moved into his room."

"... …"

"Nothing, well, I guess sad for the world then." Seeing his silence, Rio smirked and finished his words, before moving away.

Quinlan, who felt like a thief who got caught stealing redhanded, hurriedly moved and stopped Rio. "Why did you ask about that?" he said, trying his best to sound and act as casual as possible.

"Cause my family and angel are also working on a theory and a research like that, from what I heard, we are kinda close to a major breakthrough these days, so maybe we will finish it and honor the old man's legacy for him." Rio replied and smiled, before patting the still shocked professor on his shoulder. "You should be happy, professor.

Worry not, as the student you pay oh so attention to, you'll be the first I'll show it off to, now goodbye professor."

Quinlan stood there frozen like a statue, not even caring about the friendly pat from his 'enemy' he just stared at Rio's back in surprise and a little fear, as seeing that smile, he felt his secret wasn't so safe anymore.

Stealing his mentor's research and not handing it over or telling a soul about it for over 2 years now, anyone can tell what his intentions were. If he ever got caught at best he'd be kicked out of Zenith, but for worst, he'll be thrown into some dark prison or dungeon of world association, never to see the sky of Arcadia ever again.

"No, it was just a coincidence. No one knows about that diary. Not even the principal and elders. That guy he was just asking, he doesn't know anything either." Quinlan tried to cheer him up, to control the rising stress levels, yet couldn't find anything working in his favor.

"Yeah, if he had proof he won't threaten me like that." he said to himself, glaring daggers at Rio's figure moving further and further ahead.

No matter how roundabout they talked, he could feel that bastard wasn't being friendly with him.

Maybe Rio suspected something, or maybe he just overdid the punishments to annoy this 'angel'. But he could feel the sense of enmity from him.

'I need to kill him fast. I have to.' He said determined to kill Rio even more now.

At first it was just because of his obsession with Rebecca, but now it was about his own life and freedom too.

Rio needs to die.

"But what he said about his family and Angel, having a similar research, if that's true then all my efforts to decipher those gibberish codes all this time, would be wasted.

Two years of sleepless nights and countless hours of brainstorming hardwork down the drain."

As Quinlan remembered how much effort he had invested in trying to decipher his mentor's secret diary and understand all that research and principles, he couldn't accept the fact that now someone was about to steal it all away from him.

"No, no no, no no, no, That research is mine. MINE, All that glory and praise will be mine too.

I am the savior of Arcadia. No one, can take it away."

"I have to finish that research first," He thought and added "and then, I'll finish him too."

He swore and fastened his pace, ignoring the route to his class and moving towards his dorms to secure his future.

Not aware that as his figure left the hallways, Rio stood in his place with a smile on his lips. "Be fast, my little monkey, get ready to dance on my palms, I got a little surprise for ya." He said, before disappearing from his place.

On the other hand, Quinlan, who reached his room, had an expression filled with fear and anger, as he watched the door open and all the stuff cropped and thrown around here and there. Like a storm had passed through his room, when he wasn't here.

Ignoring all the damage and destruction, he moved towards a broken lamp on the ground and picked it up.

He broke the string which was used to light it up, and then walked to the South side, and inserted it on solid wall. As if magic, the cotton string turned into a silver key and disappeared into the wall, before a sound of click came, and a secret compartment opened.

Rummaging through the dozens of papers, he breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes finally landed on an old leather diary.

"It's here. They didn't find it," He said and finally calmed his nerves. Taking a deep breath to relax his restless heart.

"Thank you for opening that." But just when he relaxed, a voice sounded behind him that nearly scared him to death. "Now hand it over."

Turning around he saw a man covered in dark clothes and mana of shadows lingering around his body. Stepping out from the cover and blocking the doorway.

"Who are you?" Quinlan said, noticing the fluctuations of aura that belonged to a Limit ranked awakener. Cold sweat formed over his forehead and a feeling of uneasiness swept over his spine.

But still as if to maintain that sense of superiority and strength, he still seriously spoke while pulling a magic wand from his suit. "I asked who you are?"

"Your shadow, your death." The masked man said, before disappearing from his place and rising behind Quinlan, through his shadow. Hand holding a dagger ready to stab the professor's heart.