Esdras was putting his clothes back on while Tara stood in the hallway with a complicated expression. This whole time she was unable to comprehend how everything fell apart like this.

In her shock she didn't respond to Esdras for a long time which irritated him at last.

"Hey, are you done spacing out? I want to hear an answer." He said firmly.

"T-that.. what do you want me to exactly?"

Tara closed her eyes and opened them again to return to reality as hard as it was to accept, she had to find a sliver-lining.

"Actually nothing. Just keep acting as you always do. Pretend that everything is as usual."

"R-really?" Tara asked in disbelief.

"Yes, really." Esdras smiled, "keep your little friends out of the loop and convince them that I am under your spell, you can do at least that much right. I will tell you the rest later."

"B-but we— I mean they, they want to kill you during the exam, you know it's allowed to kill other apprentices during the exam without any repercussions."

"Sure, I do." Esdras replied, with a sinister smile that send shivers down her spine.

Yes, everything has become clear now. He almost forgot about his true identity, as a True mage for a second. It was so absurd that she hadn't excepted it as reality yet.

She could you know what Esdras wanted, he plan to get rid of them during the exam just as they were trying to do him. But of course, from the beginning they missed the most important factor.

A True mage.

Their numbers wouldn't matter, it was a massacre waiting to happen.

Even if he didn't do anything so far, things would have proceeded in the same manner.

Even if she told Sam and the others about the truth, it wouldn't change anything unless they decided to hide under the ground during the exam and not move or do anything hoping that Esdras wouldn't catch them.

However, knowing Sam and the others, they wouldn't even believe her.

They would definitely die, but she had a chance to live throughout this ordeal. If he obeyed Esdras and delivered Sam and the others to him, then she would have contributed, and proved her usefulness.

Tara didn't need to hear Esdras tell her all this, but she was able to infer and read what was between the lines.

More importantly, her desire to live, no matter what was very great.

As Tara thought about many things that concerned, her life and death, Esdras rolled his eyes mockingly.

Of course, her thought process was not wrong, but she herself did not know, or other did nothing further than that. The real reason that he wanted Sam and the others want to investigate the motivations of Roberts schemes against him.

And for revenge of course too.

Esdras could ask Tara about it now, but he had no intention to do it, so right now. Simply because he would not trust any answers she gave him instead, it was better to have her distracted with survival.

Of course he was the person that he wanted the most not Sam or any of the others. She was the closest to Robert, of course, being his fiancé. She would know the most about his thoughts, and what he wanted to do.

But first he was going to break her, before, trusting any answers she gave him. Throughout this time, he was going to make sure to build up resentment against Robert inside of her heart, and violate her body at the same time.

It would not be long before she broke.

Esdras got to the training room leaving Tara to stew on his instructions and started examining the negative energy gathering technique. And he was shocked.

Actually yesterday while taking revenge on Tara and humiliating her, he started using the technique unintentionally but he was surprised by the results.

The amount of negative energy he absorbed from tormenting Tara was unbelievable. His normal pace was like a snail but in a single night he made the progress of a fortnight?!

It was a completely different level!

So this is what it meant to absorb negative energy from people. He thought of it as something similar to mana or vigor but in fact it wasn't the case.

To improve in this technique it was a hundred times more effective to inflict suffering on others and then absorb the resulting negative energy.

That seemed a little too evil, right?

But.. he couldn't go back to normal cultivation after experiencing that difference!

Anyway he was going to use it on his enemies in the first place so it was fine.

The speed wasn't the only thing that changed, it was the affinity. It was like he got closer to the essence of negative energy. Was it because of he newfound method or his own understanding of the energy growing, which lead to this change?

Anyway he needed to investigate the negative energy and experiment on it more.historical

Within the training ground, there was no one around at this time despite the inevitable exam, no one seemed intent on improving themselves. Of course, what good can a few days do that five years couldn't change?

Esdras pondered on this and concentrated the negative energy along with his spiritual energy and aimed it at a pebble the size of his finger. An intense feeling of ache ran through his body and his mind especially.

After a minute of struggle, the pebble started floating, perhaps a more appropriate word to describe it would be 'levitating'. From a distance of 1 meter the pebble slowly moved through the air into his palm.

"Success!!"

Esdras couldn't contain his excitement and jumped in the air. At last he was able to see the first result of a technique he started training in for a month or so.

After a moment he suddenly looked at the hand holding the pebble and and smirked.

'Tara may prove to be of use to me after all.'

He he he

In more way than one.

"The force is with me!"

This may not be the galaxy far, far away but the force was still able to chose him.