Chapter 337: Cat Is Out Of The Bag

Several videos focused on different Elements, including how the Life Element reinforced the body and how Kinetic, Lightning, and Fire Elements behaved. He also recorded a lesson about Runes, explaining that High Rank Runes were constructed from smaller Sub-Runes arranged into more complicated structures.

At one point, Alex considered sharing the construction methods of several spells he had developed. However, he eventually dismissed the idea, since those spells were considerably more complicated than the basic theories he had been teaching.

’Someone might try copying a spell without understanding how dangerous it is and end up injuring themselves,’ Alex thought, deciding to stick with theoretical explanations.

By the time he finished recording six videos, Alex was mentally exhausted. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen, wondering what topic he should cover in his seventh post.

’What should I make the last video about?’ Alex wondered, reviewing the subjects he had already explained. After thinking for a while, he finally settled on something that had been occupying his mind for quite some time.

He decided to reveal the Disruption Pattern, which he suspected was a much broader subject than he currently understood. Improving its vibration patterns and expanding the frequency range they could affect would require considerable time, even with his Talent.

’Instead of trying to figure everything out myself, why not let other people experiment with it too?’ Alex thought, growing increasingly interested in the idea.

If tens of thousands of Ascenders began studying the Disruption Pattern, some of them might discover improvements he had never considered. Their collective progress could eventually lead to developments that would have taken him a lot of time to achieve alone.

As for the possibility of someone surpassing his understanding of Disruption Mana, Alex wasn’t particularly concerned. He simply needed to continue training and improving himself, and he was confident that he could remain ahead.

In fact, he genuinely hoped someone would demonstrate enough talent to reach his current level of understanding. Having another person capable of discussing complicated theories with him would make his research considerably more interesting.

With his decision made, Alex recorded the seventh video, explaining the fundamental principles behind the Disruption Pattern. He then scheduled all seven posts before finally leaving his room.

He still needed to clear another Dungeon to accumulate enough Origin Energy for his next return to the other world. However, while passing through one of the corridors, he suddenly heard several familiar voices coming from a nearby room.

"Hey, guys, look at this account in Alex’s following list," Robert said, sounding unusually excited.

Alex unconsciously slowed his steps, curious about what his friends were discussing.

"What about it? Did he follow someone famous or something?" Kevin asked, apparently chewing his food while speaking.

"That’s exactly what I’m saying! This is the hidden account [Love] uses. It’s her personal account, not the official one," Robert replied, his excitement becoming even more obvious.

Alex immediately winced upon hearing the name. Love was Emma’s stage name, and as a world-famous idol and rapidly rising actress, she possessed an enormous fanbase.

Unfortunately, several of Alex’s friends belonged to the particularly obsessive portion of that fanbase. It was precisely because of their enthusiasm that he had avoided mentioning his connection with Emma to them, or to anyone else on Earth.

’This is going to be a headache,’ Alex thought, already regretting having slowed down.

Just then, he heard someone spit out their food, followed by a violent coughing fit.

Judging by the voice, Alex was almost certain it was Tina. Considering how much she admired Love, he could already imagine the expression she must be making.

Alex considered using Mana Sphere Spell to sense everything happening inside the room, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He was almost certain Sophia was with the others, and considering her abilities, there was a good chance she would detect his mana.

Instead, he remained near the doorway and continued listening to their conversation. He had no intention of revealing his presence, especially now that they were discussing Emma.

"Cough! Cough! A-Are you sure about this? How do you know that’s really Love’s personal account?" Tina asked, seemingly after drinking some water to recover from her coughing fit.

"Roan told me about it. Apparently, he got the information from one of his cousins, and you know Roan comes from a pretty wealthy family. I’m fairly certain his information is reliable, especially when it comes to something like this," Robert explained.

There was a brief silence before Sophia suddenly spoke. "...Doesn’t that mean when Alex said there was an Emma in his team, he was talking about the Emma Carter? Not just some random girl named Emma?"

Alex winced upon hearing her voice. Although he couldn’t see Sophia’s expression, the tone of her voice was more than enough for him to understand how she was feeling.

’Yup, she sounds pissed,’ Alex thought, already imagining the interrogation awaiting him. He wasn’t particularly worried about answering their questions, but he had no desire to spend the next several hours explaining why he hadn’t mentioned Emma’s identity.

In Alex’s opinion, there were two types of celebrity fans: normal fans and rabid fans. The second category was particularly troublesome, and he preferred to avoid getting involved with them whenever possible.

The fact that his friends had attended Emma’s concert late at night, despite having an important exam the following day that they hadn’t even prepared for, was more than enough to tell him which category they belonged to.

With that in mind, Alex decided not to linger any longer and quietly slipped away before his friends could come looking for him. Considering how obsessed some of them were with Love, he was certain they would demand a lengthy explanation for why he had kept her identity a secret.

Alex quickly found an available Dungeon and cleared it without encountering much difficulty. After informing someone at the base to collect the materials from the defeated monsters, he returned to the base.

However, instead of heading toward his own room, he quietly entered his father’s room, which happened to be empty. He had already learned that his friends were searching for him, and since they found out he had returned to Earth, his room was probably the first place they would check.

’I’ll deal with them later. There’s no point walking straight into an interrogation when I have more important things to do,’ Alex thought, lying down on the bed.

He closed his eyes and returned to the Land of Origin, successfully avoiding his friends for the time being. Once he arrived at the mountain base, he spent some time training his spells while waiting for nightfall.

The two pigeon Beasts that were supposed to meet them had yet to arrive, although Alex wasn’t particularly concerned about their absence. His attention was currently focused on the mysterious fruit that was supposed to appear near the mountain’s summit.

As the sky gradually darkened, Alex kept an eye in the sky while he trained. He continued observing the surrounding space, occasionally extending his mana perception to check for anything unusual.

Eventually, around midnight, something finally changed. The space before him suddenly trembled, and Alex immediately concentrated on the strange disturbance.

The trembling rapidly intensified as the surrounding space began twisting in an unnatural manner. Alex watched with growing interest as a crack appeared in midair, gradually widening until the space itself seemed to split apart.

Through the opening, he saw—

..

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