***When the unthinkable became reality, most people’s reactions could usually be categorized in two different ways.Shock or denial.And in the case of Baonic Lerac, it was the former.The moment he heard the word ‘reincarnator,’ his jaw dropped down in shock.He remained in that state until Cheon Yeomyeong’s voice snapped him out of his stupor.“Baonic Lerac.”Only after his monotonous voice, devoid of any emotion, reach his ears did Baonic flinch and finally regain his senses.“You have two choices.”It was a one-sided deration, one that allowed neither rebuttal nor refusal.The moment he heard those words, Baonic was certain.It didn’t matter what choices Yeomyeong would put forth; there was no way for him to escape.“W-what choices…?”If he couldn’t avoid it, he had to face it. Mustering all the courage he could, he asked.Instead of answering him, Yeomyeong simply extended both hands forward.Two tightly clenched fists.“I have no intention of sharing this world with anyone else.”“…”Hearing the exact same words he had written in his notebook, Baonic pressed his lips together.“…But I’m not some crazy bastard who will kill a useful dog.”There was no need to ask who the ‘useful dog’ was in this scenario.Was it insulting? No, only equals, or at least those on simr levels, could exchange insults.Just like a tiger had no reason to insult a rabbit, the strong didn’t insult the weak.Because words held no weight in the face of overwhelming violence.Baonic decided to think positively. If this allowed him to survive, being a useful dog wasn’t the worst thing.He looked up at Yeomyeong, ready to bark like a dog or even lick his boots if necessary.“Now, choose.”“Choose… what?”“Life or death.”Yeomyeong unclenched the two fists he had extended.His left palm was empty, but his right held a single red pill.“This is…?”“Yourst chance.”As he extended his empty left hand, he added.“If you choose the empty hand, I’ll grant you the death you’ve dyed; it will be quick and painless.”His cold, golden eyes swept over Baonic’s neck. Baonic instinctively lowered his chin to protect his throat.The bright red handprint on his neck was still throbbing.“W-what about the right hand?”“A dog needs a leash, right?”Yeomyeong didn’t exin any further, as if leaving it to his imagination.As he stared at the pill, countless possibilities ran through Baonic’s mind.What on earth was that pill? An elixir? A drug? Poison?The most likely answer was poison. And it was probably a dormant one.A vile drug that would turn the person who consumed it into a lifelong ve because unless more of the poison was ingested at regr intervals, the dormant poison within would activate.<em>Damn it. A dormant poison? And we haven’t even made it past Chapter 2 yet….</em>Whether his assumption was correct or not, it was a pill he would never take willingly.However, Baonic had no other choice at the moment.With trembling hands, he picked the red pill and put it in his mouth in front of Yeomyeong.And just as he was about to swallow it, Yeomyeong spoke up.“Don’t swallow it, chew on it.”Was he worried that Baonic may try to hide the pill under his tongue or in his cheek? Or was it just some perverse hobby of his? Baonic didn’t dare ask why.He just did as Yeomyeong ordered and chewed the pill thoroughly.The damn pill tasted somewhat familiar, like the strawberry-vored cold medicine for kids.<em>This motherfucker…</em>Although he couldn’t be sure what the pill was, it wasn’t hard to guess who made it.The Princess of Maggots, who would only appear after Chapter 7.After all, there was no one else but her, the alchemist with the twisted hobby of adding a strawberry scent to poison.…Anyway, after chewing and swallowing the entire pill, Baonic looked up at Yeomyeong.There was no trace of emotion in the golden eyes looking down at him.No sense of aplishment from putting a leash on him, not even the slightest hint of perverse pleasure.<em>So you knew that it woulde to this from the start? Damn it.</em>Baonic averted his gaze, swallowing both his fear and curses rising in his throat, while Yeomyeong remained silent as if he were waiting for the poison to spread throughout Baonic’s body.A brief silence ensued.Unable to endure the heavy silence, Baonic was the first to speak.“Is it… over…?”He stammered, the taste of the pill lingering on his tongue.“C-can I… live now…?”“Baonic.”“Y-yes…”“You’ll get the next dose in two months.”<em>Damn it, it was a dormant poison, after all.</em> Baonic squeezed his eyes shut.Yeomyeong took a quick nce at Baonic’s expression, then picked up the notebook that had fallen on the ground and said,“Now, for your firstmand.”“…”“You have two days to write down everything you know about the Academy.”“W-what… do you mean by everything…?”“Just what I said. Hidden pieces, key figures, uing events, the political scenario within the school… anything you think might be useful.”“B-but all that is already written in the note… <em>urk</em>!”As Baonic tried to make an excuse, Yeomyeong pressed his foot against his chest.“Did I say you could disagree?”“<em>Cough</em>… I understand… <em>urk</em>, so please… just, p-please… move your foot…”“And don’t even think about trying to deceive me. If I find any discrepancies between what you give me and what’s in the notebook… you’ll regret not dying today.”Yeomyeong did not lift his foot from Baonic’s chest immediately. Instead, he waited for some time before taking his time to lift it after Baonic surrendered.Saliva dribbled from his lips as he coughed and gasped for breath.Though his entire body was trembling, Baonic didn’t dare raise his head. He looked exactly like a frightened rabbit.Yeomyeong simply watched him in silence before putting the notebook in his coat and turning away.<em>Step.</em>Only on hearing those footsteps fade away did Baonic finally start to calm down.<em>…I survived. It’s finally over.</em>Unfortunately, his relief didn’tst long.Just before he stepped out of the shelter, Yeomyeong turned back and uttered onest thing that dragged Baonic back to a harsh reality.“See you in the room, roommate.”* * *The setting sun cast long shadows over the academy’s dimly lit path.Yeomyeong took a deep breath as he recalled the chain of events that had just taken ce at the shelter earlier.<em>…Did it work?</em>On the surface, it seemed like a perfect sess.Baonic, who had taken the drug, was so terrified that he couldn’t even look at him.He didn’t know how long that fear wouldst, but at least for the time being, the thought of defying him wouldn’t even cross Baonic’s mind.<em>I even had to resort to pulling off such a scam now…</em>Yeomyeong ran his hand over his face as he thought about the scam he had just pulled off.Kidnapping, threatening, deceiving Baonic… and then making him his dog.Seti would have scolded him foring up with another clumsy n if she learned of this, but he couldn’t think of any other way.At least… this was the only way to keep Baonic alive while also making good use of him.The option of bing friends orpanions was out of the question right from the start.How could he possibly stand on equal footing with a madman who believed that he was one of the creators of this world?Even if they somehow managed to form such a rtionship, would he be able to trust him?After all, this was the same person who had nned to use the attack during the entrance ceremony to kill the students who would get in his way.And Baonic’s notes hadpletely matched reality… Yeomyeong would have killed him without hesitation.You couldn’t trust the living, but you could trust the dead.However, paradoxically, it was the imperfections in the notes that made Yeomyeong hesitate—the doubt whether the notes contained theplete truth and the reason why those not recorded in them, those unrted to ‘fate,’ caught his attention.<em>…Seti.</em>It wasn’t just her. Her sisters, Wesley, and even Jeon Yunseong.All of them were outstanding students, enough to be involved in ‘fate,’ yet none of them appeared in the notes.What was the reason? Yeomyeong flipped through the notes several times, but even Baonic didn’t seem to know the reason himself.Only a note at the end of the notebook spected that they might be ‘protagonists,’ but even that was mere spection.<em>…Protagonists.</em>Yeomyeong felt a strange sense of déjà vu on seeing that word. The yer had also said something simr back then.<strong>[This universe has another protagonist, you know]</strong>…In any case, Yeomyeong decided that it was more beneficial to keep Baonic alive and make use of him.The problem was how.Should he pretend that he was from another world and try to befriend him? However, Baonic had no intention of sharing this world.Simple threats? It would be easier to just kill him.Magic to enve someone? He had never learned it.He reviewed countless other ns, but he was unable toe up with a viable method.He even considered cutting off his limbs and leaving him with just his head and torso to stay alive.However, Yeomyeong finally stumbled upon the solution in the corner of Baonic’s notebook.A dormant poison.A bizarre poison he had never heard of before.This unique poison didn’t kill its victim immediately; instead, ity dormant in their body.However, its true valuey in that dormancy. If the person didn’t take the poison again within a certain period, the poison would eventually spread throughout their body, making them a ve to the one who administered it.Ironically, Baonic had nned to use this poison to enve the ‘Vessel.’<em>…This is it.</em>The moment Yeomyeong saw that note, a rough n on how to use the dormant poison shed in his mind.Of course, it was impossible to obtain the real drug. How could he possibly get his hands on such a rare poison in the middle of the academy?However, what if he used the fact that Baonic knew about this poison, while also exploiting the misunderstanding that Yeomyeong was also someone from another world?It was a n worth trying. If it failed, he could always resort to cutting off his limbs.After ironing out the kinks, Yeomyeong took Baonic to the underground shelter and then hurried to the infirmary, where he found a fake drug that matched the description mentioned in the notebook.Strawberry-vored cold medicine.It was a crude prop that matched the sloppy n…However, in the end, the n worked without a hitch.Complemented by the atmosphere Yeomyeong had managed to create and Baonic’s own imagination.The moment Yeomyeong presented the drug without any exnation, Baonic was terrified, and after taking it, not a hint of defiance could be found in him, as if he had resigned himself.…And yet, Yeomyeong felt no guilt.He had killed far too many people, and would kill many more, for his heart to be shaken by something like this.Of course, it wasn’tpletely without feeling.After all, any con artist would feel a sense of exhration on seeing their scam seed.However, that feeling didn’tst long.Just as Yeomyeong was thinking that he might have discovered a hidden talent for acting, he stopped in his tracks.A familiar yet unpleasant voice called out to him.“Hello, Dung Beetle.”“…”“It’s been a while.”At the end of the path, a face emerged from what had seemed like empty air, half hidden behind a mask.Next, a blue coat concealing a curvaceous figure became visible, followed by blue high heels stepping onto the ground.Even after removing the Invisibility Cloak, not a single sound could be heard as the strange woman moved.“…Blue Rat.”It was then that the third set of eyes, which was trailing him persistently followed him, was finally revealed.