<h4>Chapter 161 Temperament</h4>


    Ss was getting impatient due to theck of an answer and pushed the knife forward, causing it to draw blood.


    Rojan''s heart jumped and he grit his teeth.


    "I am Marcus—"


    "Wrong answer," Ss pressed the knife in further. "Your name is Rojan O''Connor. This is thest time you lie to me, or else I''ll pierce more than skin.


    "Why are you here?"


    Rojan''s face paled. He hadn''t even noticed when Ss scanned him, but that was only natural. Most could only detect it when Aether was involved until their Mental was high enough. But was Ss'' Mental really so far above his own?


    "I…"


    "Don''t tell me you came here to assault an innocent woman, because then I''ll kill you not just for lying, but also because you''re scum of the earth."


    Rojan felt his heart constrict again. He felt a subtle hint of something pressing onto his mind and Ss felt muchrger than life in that moment.


    Charisma was defined as the stat that allowed you to affect change in the world with your will alone, and right now, with Madness'' boost, Ss'' Charisma was at an unfathomable 426 and his Will was at 545.


    This wasn''t a pressure Rojan could withstand, especially not without Aether. His mind was practically copsing.


    "I was sent here to retrieve a key to log into the supeputer''s cloud. I only saw the professor in passing and wanted to—"


    "That''s enough." Ss didn''t need those sort of details. "Who sent you?"


    "I… I…" The hesitation on Rojan''s face was clear, but Ss'' gaze seemed to be the scariest thing he had ever seen.


    He took a breath.


    "I was sent by Legacy."


    Ss frowned. "What is Legacy?"


    "With your strength, it''s impossible for them not to have contacted you. It''s more likely than not that you ignored it."


    "Enlighten me."


    "I do not know much—"


    "You don''t know much as a Level 7?" Ss frowned, the dagger twisting slightly.


    "I really don''t, I really don''t!" Rojan panicked. "The power of these people can''t be measured by Level, most of them didn''t even enter the Trial!"


    Ss paused. He could feel that Rojan was telling the truth, but that made it all the more peculiar.


    "I''m not lying! All I know is that they are deeply entrenched in the education system."


    "Then why would they need you to sneak in here?"


    "Because the bastard that was supposed to be in control of this region ignored the rules and entered the Trial anyway. He ended up dying so this is a loose link in the chain now."


    Ss'' eyes lit up with recognition. Professor Fembroise was tenured, but she wasn''t the Head of the department; that was a much older man who was already in his sixties. It really was a bit foolish to enter the Trial at his age.


    ''Legacy… education system…''


    "When you say the education system, tell me exactly what you mean by that?"


    "Like I said, I don''t know much. But I do know that they have a wholework of private and public schools, the best across the nation at the very least and likely across the world. They''ve nurtured their geniuses from young and hand-select them based on not only their talent but their temperament.


    "They''ve been building the perfect soldiers for years."


    "But they didn''t let them enter the Trial? Why?"


    "I have no idea, I can only specte."


    "Specte, then."


    Rojan hesitated again before he spoke. "… The Trial is nothing but chaos, there''s a much higher chance of death because there are no safetys. Everything is much harder, there are no System Cities, and it''s easy for even someone who had a decent chance of survival to get dealt a bad deck of cards. But…"


    Ss nodded. If he had been randomly spawned into the middle of a tundra, would he even have survived? Most people that spawned in a frigid cold likely ended up dying; he was lucky just by virtue of the location he appeared in.


    "But?" Ss probed.


    "I can only specte, but I still think that that''s only part of the reason. With those added variables came added opportunities. It would also be easier to lose control of their charges if they took this route. But now, there''ll only be a trickle of Aether and portals will only appear here and there, it''s much more manageable and everyone will grow at their desired pace."


    "I see. How do you contact them?"


    "I have a device on me that works for that."


    Ss nodded, and just when Rojan rxed, the dagger pierced right through the back of his neck.


    Rojan''s eyes widened before his gaze dimmed. He really didn''t expect Ss to kill him so casually.


    Ss heard a sharp intake of breathe from inside the office. Professor Fembroise hadn''t been able to hear much of the conversation; she wasn''t superhuman like the two of them and the noise of the fans was much too great. But that didn''t stop her from seeing the man''s death.


    She could only look away, hoping that Ss wouldn''t target her next.


    Ss quickly stored Rojan away in his Madness Key before blood got everywhere and walked into the office.


    His mind was whirring with many thoughts…


    Awork of elite schools? Whether it was the private school he and Cassarae went to, or his university, both fit the bill. But he was never approached…


    Why?


    It might have been arrogant of him to think, but he was a pragmatic person who didn''t second guess himself over such things. He was no doubt elite enough to receive an invitation.


    That only left one exnation.


    ''Based on their talent and… temperament.''


    They knew Ss couldn''t be controlled so they never bothered, much like the Browns were likely quickly finding out as well. If Ss was correct, albeit maybe a bit arrogant, these people had known about him for a long time... and they understood his personality quite well.


    Ss knew he didn''t have much time.