Chapter 184: The Memory Dial [Part 1] After giving the students the compensation they deserved, Professor Gareth called Bob, Grint, and Jorven and asked them to follow him to his office. The other Professors had taken the Red Ape, Grumpy, and placed it temporarily in a shelter. No one had expected such a situation to occur. However, everyone also knew that Professor Gareth would never deliberately put the students in real danger, so they willingly cooperated with him to investigate and uncover the truth. "So you only planned to steal the badge from Grumpy," Professor Gareth said. "But before the three of you could push through with your plan, something flew past you and collided with Grumpy’s body?" "Yes, Sir," Bob replied. "It was fast, so I didn’t see it clearly. But I heard something like glass breaking. I’ve seen Alex’s nature spirit, Dim Dim, throw brittle vials in the past, so I’m guessing someone else might’ve done the same to the Red Ape." Professor Gareth frowned as he continued to question Bob. "Did you see anyone suspicious, by any chance, near the surroundings when this happened?" "No, Professor." Bob shook his head. "Everything happened so fast, and the only thing we could think of at that time was to run for our lives." Grint and Jorven both nodded in agreement because that was indeed the case. They were too panicked to pay attention to their surroundings and simply ran as fast as they could. "Understood." Professor Gareth sighed. "Thank you for answering my questions. I hope you learned a lesson from this incident." ""Yes, Professor."" The three teenagers had indeed learned a valuable lesson, and that was... Beware of flying potions! Of course, they had no intention of picking fights they couldn’t win against monsters that were stronger than they were. Their plan to steal the Red Ape’s violet badge was a carefully calculated risk, which was the only reason why they had gone ahead with it. He believed that, even if the Red Ape were to hurt them, it would not leave them with serious injuries. His instinct had told him as much, and it had never failed him. When the three teenagers left his office, Professor Gareth stood up and glanced out of the window that overlooked the Mistral Weave Forest. ’It happened on the day the Headmaster went to visit an acquaintance because of an important research material,’ Professor Gareth mused. ’Coincidence? More like a planned incident.’ This wasn’t the first time a suspicious event had happened in the academy. Fortunately, the Professors had been able to act in time to fix the problems and prevent them from spiraling out of control. If Alex and Charles hadn’t arrived in time to help Bob and his friends, there was a high chance that one of them would have died. Professor Gareth knew that he got lucky this time. However, he didn’t plan to take this lying down. No matter how slim the chance, he would continue to look for any traces left by the perpetrator. ——— Ironheart Dormitory... The students were still in a state of shock. Currently, they were gathered at the common room of the dormitory, making it more crowded than usual. Charles, who received the highest points during the Hunter x Hunted event, became the hot topic. "How did you do it?" Alex asked Charles. "I had a lot of help from my ants," Charles replied in a volume that only Alex could hear. Alex had seen Charles summon some ants during the Second Trial of the Academy, but he had never asked him how he did it. Everyone had their secrets, and Alex respected everyone’s privacy. "Alex, I knew you were brave, but now, I can’t help but think that you’re a bit suicidal," Charles said seriously. "I understand you wanted to save Bob, but what would have happened had the Red Ape proven to be stronger than you expected?" Alex scratched the back of his head, unable to refute his friend’s implication. However, his body had moved on its own after seeing an acquaintance in mortal danger. "I mean, I wasn’t alone at that time," Alex replied. "Dim Dim and the Crimson Furred Monkeys were with me. I am sure they would have also come to my rescue." Charles smiled wryly, but didn’t insist on the topic. He owed Alex many things, especially during the dungeon expedition in the Dungeon of Beginnings. "Just make sure you don’t kick the bucket until I have properly repaid you for all the help you gave me," Charles stated, raising his fist for a fist bump, which Alex happily imitated. "Don’t worry, I don’t have plans on dying anytime soon." Alex smirked before glancing at Dim Dim, who was being hand-fed cookies by Fran. Dim Dim looked very happy as it ate one cookie after another. The hearts of the girls in the Common Room melted at this cute sight. "Seriously, what is that thing?" one of the students whispered. "A new breed of slime?" "Alex said Dim Dim is a Nature Spirit," another student replied. "Although it looks like a slime, it is very different from a slime. Its body is firmer, but it’s still smooth and squishy. "I heard it talks," another replied. "But only to Alex." "The only thing I hear from its mouth is Dim or Dim Dim!" "Guys, you don’t know anything. I was there in the Trial of Music, and that little bun sang a song." "Really? I have some friends in the Music Club. If you’re lying, I can easily expose you." "Go and ask them. In fact, go and ask Professor Arienna instead. She was the one who conduced the tests back then." "I heard that it throws things at people when provoked." "Then don’t make it angry. Problem solved, right?" Alex pretended not to hear the rumors flying around about Dim Dim. Most of what they said was true, so he didn’t plan on correcting them. In fact, the young man believed that Dim Dim had been addicted to throwing things as of late. This was the main reason why it had hit it off with the Crimson-Furred Throwing Monkeys, who shared the same passion. Meanwhile, Charles leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a brief moment of rest. The day’s events had taken a toll on everyone. Although the danger had passed, the tension lingered in the air. Suddenly, the door to the dormitory common room swung open, revealing Bob, Grint, and Jorven. They had just returned from being questioned by the Professor. Naturally, Alex and the rest asked what had happened, so Bob explained everything from the start. "Something threw some kind of vial or potion at the Boss, then it immediately went berserk?" Alex frowned. "I thought you guys were courting death as usual. It turns out someone else triggered that mess." The corner of Bob’s lips twitched. He thought it was obvious that he wasn’t someone foolish enough to like courting death. However, since Alex had saved him, he just sighed and voiced out his suspicion. "Someone definitely threw something at the Red Ape," Bob said solemnly. "Professor Gareth is searching for clues about the mastermind. I hope he catches that person. When I get my hands on him..." Bob smacked his palm with his fist to indicate he would beat the crap out of the person who had almost gotten him killed. As Bob went on about his doom plan for the mastermind, Alex frowned before glancing at Dim Dim, who was also looking in his direction. The young man possessed an artifact that could replay past events. If he used that to find the culprit... "Dim!" Dim Dim said, as if reading Alex’s thoughts. It then thanked Fran for the cookies before jumping on top of its partner’s head. Clearly, it wanted to get to the bottom of this because its fun had been cut short by the unknown individual who had caused Grumpy to lose control.