He Became A Monstrous Genius After Obtaining A Time Dilation Artifact

Bryce Darkhaven was extremely pissed.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to tear Kailen Darkhaven apart.

Currently, he stood on the terrace of his villa with a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had received an anonymous message from an unknown source in the academy.

The message read: "If you want to obtain the strength to get rid of him, come to this place [picture, with coordinates] at 6 pm today."

With the way things were going, getting rid of Kailen Darkhaven would prove some sort of impossible feat.

The speed of the fellow's advancement was nothing to scoff at, extremely incredulous and insane to be precise.

Bryce was someone with insane instincts.

He knew that Kailen would be able to get rid of Jin in the life and death arena, inasmuch as many deemed it impossible, as the gap between them was extremely vast.

He had seen the guy do the impossible over and over again, so he had thrown common sense out of the picture when it came to dealing with Kailen Darkhaven.

Heck, unlike the uproar on campus Kailen had caused, and the insults coupled with sarcastic comments flying over the academy Galaxy's media handles towards Kailen, he did not even doubt it when the fellow said he would kill the student council president in 6 months' time.

"I felt like he was simply stating the inevitable. It's only a matter of time before he becomes too strong, to a point where I'm no match for him and easy to get rid of. If he manages to get rid of me, securing the family fortune is out of the picture for me.

Initially, I thought I could make use of him to get rid of father and get rid of him in the end, but this fellow is not only a monster in terms of strength, he has an extremely sly personality. He cannot be controlled. He can only be eliminated.

That leaves me with only one option. I have no choice but to meet the person who sent me the secret message."

Bryce made his decision.

*****

A figure could be seen heading towards a teleportation gate in one of the regions of the Astral Empire Academy.

Bryce checked the coordinates of the meeting place very well.

He stood before the teleportation gate, then typed the coordinates of the meeting place in the holographic panel that appeared before him.

After that, he entered the teleportation gate and appeared at a completely different region of the academy.

The place was completely silent, teeming with pure darkness.

He hovered on top of a thick, ominous forest that loomed below him, pulsing with otherworldly malevolence.

"Where the hell am I? And who organizes a meeting in such a place? What the hell are they trying to hide?"

He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

This place gave him the chills just at the thought of it.

"A lot actually, in fact." Bryce turned to the source of the voice that had just replied to him.

Several individuals could be seen floating before him alongside the tall gentleman in front of him. Red hair, red eyes, chiseled jawline, a handsome face and a lean, compact physique, in a black Victorian-era kind of suit.

Bryce's eyes widened in shock.

Vesper Locke.

This was the first councillor of the Student Council, an extremely powerful fifth-year student, a famed alchemical prodigy of the Arcane Empowerment Sect, and a vampire.

What was he doing here?

Ignoring the dumbfounded gaze of Bryce, Vesper gestured him to follow.

Bryce did as told, puzzled by the whole situation.

Yet, he followed them into the deeper regions of the forest towards a particular region.

Once they reached there, Vesper turned to look at Bryce.

A scroll materialized from thin air into Vesper's hand. Vesper handed the scroll over to Bryce.

"A rune oath scroll ?"

Bryce asked, surprised.

"Yep, it's a rune oath scroll. If you plan on following us to our next destination, you need to read the contents of the oath and sign it. Of course, you always have the option of deciding against it. But I doubt your head will remain on your body after that."

His voice was laced with malevolent threat.

It was simple.

Bryce had no choice but to sign the rune oath if he decided to follow them to the actual meeting place.

However, he had already seen too much, even for now, and couldn't be allowed to leave if he decided against it, leaving them with only one option—his death.

What had he walked into?

Bryce stared at the individuals, including the first ranked counsellor of the Student Council.

He knew they meant business and he couldn't afford to die here.

Whatever.

He had already walked into this anyway.

Best to go through with it.

He quickly read the rune oath, which indicated that he couldn't back out of this, whatever it was that waited for him at the actual meeting place, else his body would trigger a self-detonate mechanism and kill him.

Bryce sighed deeply.

Somehow, he knew he was fucked up.

His insane instincts gnawed at him.

Yet, he wanted the power.

He was desperate.

If getting to that meeting place was the only way to make that possible.

Then he had no other choice.

Besides, it was not like he could back out even if he wanted to, right?

He signed the rune oath with his blood.

A sensation of his consciousness being bound to something washed over him for a split second, until the rune oath scroll disappeared into thin air.

"Good. Excellent choice. As expected of the one he took an interest in. Let's go."

Vesper seemed more friendly with him now.

As a matter of fact, the others even let their guards down, nodding politely to him—an action Bryce didn't take to heart.

What he took notice of was what Vesper said, about someone taking a liking to him.

However, he knew his question would be answered when they got to the meeting place.

They moved into the deeper regions of the ominous forest towards one area until they stood in front of an empty space.

One of the individuals, a female runesmith, drew some runes on the spot into the empty space.

Suddenly, everyone, including Bryce himself, disappeared from the forest.