EVIL SYSTEM

Fortunately, the family had very young children and went to bed early.

Ben used his Shadow Leap spell to sneak into the backyard of the house.

Before starting to dig, Ben made sure everything was in order.

He quickly reached the only tree in the backyard, but he wasn't sure where to dig.

The old man hadn't been specific about the location, only mentioning that it was buried under the tree.

So, Ben had no choice but to start digging. After digging about a meter deep and finding nothing, he moved to another spot under the tree.

In the second spot, he also found nothing, but fortunately, on his third attempt, he felt the shovel hit something.

Digging deeper, he pulled out what looked like an old briefcase.

When he opened it, he found a large amount of money wrapped in plastic to protect it from water and humidity.

"Wow, old man! You call this a little money?" Ben was amazed by the amount of cash in the briefcase.

There was at least a million!

Ben didn't bother refilling the holes. No matter how much he tried, it would be obvious that someone had dug there.

So, it was better to leave it as it was.

With his shovel and a briefcase covered in dirt and mud, Ben used Shadow Leap and disappeared from the scene.

+++

**He returned to the lodging to find everyone in what seemed like a party.**

Apparently, it was one of the guys' birthdays, and they were celebrating it there.

Dante had somehow convinced the family to invite them, and now everyone was celebrating together.

The guys had been drinking, and many of them were now playing Truth or Dare with an empty bottle.

Ben used his ability to slip into the room he shared with Dante and hid the briefcase there.

He took a good shower and changed his clothes.

Dante greeted him with a smile and subtly asked with his eyes.

Ben nodded, letting him know everything had gone well.

This made Dante even happier, and he invited Ben to join them in their game.

Some tried to offer him alcohol or beer, but he declined.

He joined the others and started playing with them. Since there were so many people sitting in a circle, it was very unlikely that the bottle would land on him.

The bottle began to spin in Dante's hands until it stopped, pointing at Judy.

Everyone got excited and waited eagerly.

"Truth or Dare?" Dante asked with a smile.

Judy hesitated for a few seconds under everyone's gaze and, a bit unsure, chose truth.

Dante looked like the Cheshire Cat with a big grin on his face.

He glanced sideways at Ben and asked:

"Are you in love with anyone?"

Ooooh

Many opened their eyes wide with excitement and stared at Judy, waiting for an answer.

It was no secret that Judy was very beautiful, and many of the guys in the fraternity were in love with her.

Not only was she pretty, but she was also smart, kind, and sweet.

Judy's cheeks turned a little red.

"Can I change to dare?" she asked shyly.

"No," Dante shook his head. "And if you keep insisting, I'll dare you to answer the question, so there's no way out for you."

Dante had a triumphant look on his face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ben, who was paying close attention to Judy's answer.

Judy was in a predicament and didn't know what to do.

Under the expectant and excited gazes, she answered.

"Y-Yes, I like someone."

Ohhhhh

Many jumped with excitement, while a few others hung their heads in disappointment.

Ben was among those who weren't too thrilled with her answer.

After all, he had only known her for a short time. He didn't have the confidence to say he had won her over in the little time they'd spent together.

In fact, they hadn't even had a proper conversation.

Dante noticed this and made Judy spin the bottle, which unfortunately landed on Ben.

Ben's heart skipped a beat.

"Truth or Dare?" Judy asked with her characteristic sweet smile.

"Truth," Ben replied.

*What's she going to ask me?* Ben couldn't help but feel nervous.

"How strong are you?"

Ben wasn't expecting this question.

But it seemed everyone wanted to know the answer, including Dante.

Ben looked around at the eager faces and answered.

"Honestly, I don't know because I haven't tested it against anyone else," Ben shrugged. "But I guess if I go all out in a fight, I could hold my own against a basic advanced mage."

WOW

Incredible!

You're my idol!

Ben laughed at Diao Huang's comment.

Without much explanation, Ben spun the bottle, which ended up pointing at Dante.

"Truth or Dare?" Ben asked with a mischievous look.

"Dare," Dante puffed out his chest bravely. "Dare me to do anything, and I'll do it."

Ben started laughing in a very sinister way and pointed at the boy whose birthday they were celebrating. He was about to blow out the candles on his cake.

"I dare you to blow out the candles before the kid can."

Everyone fell silent at his dare.

Something no one had told Ben was that the boy was blind and wouldn't be able to tell if someone had blown out his candles.

The guys looked at each other with wide eyes, not believing the dare, but before anyone could say anything, Dante got up, ran to the table, and blew out the candles before the boy could.

Unaware of this, the little boy also blew and celebrated, thinking he had blown out the candles.

[Evil Points +100]

The boy's entire family was in shock for a moment before the furious father lunged at Dante.

Ben, of course, wasn't going to let that happen and stepped in.

"I'm sorry about my friend. He really didn't mean any harm," Ben grabbed Dante's shoulder and shook him. "He's just... a little special."

Ben shook him and whispered in his ear, "Pretend."

Dante's eyes lit up, and he started making unintelligible sounds and moving his arms sporadically.

The bastard was so over the top that he even started drooling so much that he soaked his own shirt.

"Oh?" The man stopped in his tracks. He looked really uncomfortable with the situation and scratched his head. "N-No worries, it's understandable."

Ben grabbed Dante and dragged him away.

Dante put on an excellent performance, looking back with a silly face and pretending he wanted to return to the boy's party.

The guys and girls from the fraternity could barely hold back their laughter at Dante's antics.

Ben, Dante, and the others had a good time before heading back to their rooms to sleep.

The next morning, they had breakfast and hit the road again.

Dante took care of hiding the briefcase with the money in a secret compartment in Bedsi.

As time passed and they drove down the highway, Dante's expression grew more and more bitter.

Ben didn't notice this. He was holding an envelope that had been in the pile of money.

The handwriting on the letter was unmistakable—it was his grandfather's.

Ben hesitated for a moment before opening the letter and starting to read.

[Hello, friend]

You're probably wondering why I'm writing you another letter, since I think I covered everything in the last one.

But the truth is, I'm still very cautious about the information I'm about to reveal.

The pendant you're wearing around your neck wasn't found by chance.

I stole it!

Ben frowned, trying to imagine his grandfather as a thief.

[But I didn't steal it from anyone else.

In my hometown, there's a castle. If you're reading this letter, it means you're already there. The castle is called Valentia Castle. One day, we were taken on a field trip to that castle.

During one of the tours, I saw the pendant lying on the ground under a knight's statue.

I don't know why, but I felt like the pendant was calling to me.

That was the first time I took something that didn't belong to me.

And to this day, I don't regret it.

I'm telling you this so you understand where the pendant comes from, and if you have the chance, visit that castle.

Maybe you'll find something that helps you as much as that pendant helped me.

I love you very much, friend.]

Ben lowered the letter and, through the minivan's rearview mirror, saw an imposing ancient castle rising in the distance.

*I should have read the letter earlier!* Ben thought.

But then he remembered that he really couldn't investigate the castle thoroughly due to the lack of time with the fraternity guys.

Now that he thought about it... Ben now had enough money to no longer need the fraternity guys.

"Maybe it's time to leave them?"

Although he couldn't take a plane or a train, he could easily afford his own fuel and food now.

Another thing.

Ben looked back, and there was the woman they had rescued on the road.

They had taken her to a hospital, but after she was treated, the girl hadn't said a single word, and no one knew who her family was.