Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP

Chapter 230: Chapter 230: I’m Not Evil

The moment Jax materialized on the battlefield, a familiar feeling crept over him.

The dense canopy above. The thick undergrowth below. The distant howls echoing through layers of ancient trees.

The damp, earthy scent clinging to the air like a second skin.

He had been here before.

’It’s a forest. Of course they all look similar.’

He shrugged the feeling off and surveyed the surroundings properly. Tall trees stretched endlessly in every direction. No landmarks. No obvious vantage points. Just raw, untamed wilderness.

Seris and Lilith stood beside him, ready for incoming attacks, eyes scanning the treeline. Waiting for his command.

Jax spoke first. ”We’re not getting into unnecessary fights. We hide. We analyze. We strike only when it’s the last option.”

Seris blinked.

Then her expression darkened.

”Are you doing this because you think we’re weak?”

Jax looked at her.

”Because the professor I know would have thrown us into a handicap the second we arrived.” Her voice carried a sharpness that wasn’t anger.

It was something closer to betrayal. ”He wouldn’t have wasted a single moment before flexing and pushing us to our limits.”

She stepped forward.

”So if you’re thinking like that. If you believe we’re going to fail. Then that’s it for me. I won’t stick around. I’ll find my own way.”

Jax didn’t respond in his usual cold tone. What came out was something the girls had rarely heard from him. Sincerity without a mask.

”I don’t consider you weak, Seris. I never did.” His voice was steady. ”I trust your strength. Not just you two. All five of you. That’s the reason I chose each of you in the first place.”

He paused.

”And you’re not wrong. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve thrown you into the deep end before you finished blinking. But things are different for this match. One wrong move can lead to an end none of us can undo.”

Seris studied his face. The seriousness written across it was something she had never experienced from him before. Not even during their journey to Veldora. Not even when he had been at his angriest.

If he was being this serious, then the situation had exceeded hell mode entirely.

Jax added a smile. It was fake. Both girls caught it immediately.

”And don’t worry about your handicap match. That’s coming. So save your strength for when it arrives and make sure you two come out on top.”

Seris had a dozen questions burning inside her about his recent changes. But something in his tone told her this wasn’t the moment to ask them.

Lilith spoke quietly. ”We’ll do our best, Professor.”

Jax smiled at that. A real one this time.

Then it faded instantly.

They walked for roughly half an hour, searching for a suitable location to establish a base. Somewhere defensible. Somewhere they couldn’t be easily ambushed.

During that walk, they encountered several beasts.

The first was a massive ant. Towering. Armored. Mandibles clicking with predatory hunger as it locked onto their position.

Jax’s mouth opened to give a command. Seris and Lilith raised their hands, magic building at their fingertips.

The ant took one look at them.

And ran.

Not retreated. Not backed off cautiously. It turned and sprinted in the opposite direction as if something behind Jax’s group was far more terrifying than three armed combatants.

Jax muttered. ”Weird.”

Seris and Lilith exchanged bewildered glances.

And then it kept happening. Beast after beast. Creature after creature. Every single one that crossed their path took one glance and fled with the urgency of prey escaping a predator.

This continued until they found a spot near a river. The water secured one entire flank, making ambush from that side nearly impossible. A decent base.

Lilith spoke up, confusion still painted across her face. ”Professor, weren’t the beasts supposed to attack us? Or was I wrong hearing the instructions?”

Jax crossed his arms. ”I was just as confused as you two a few moments ago.”

He looked at both of them. Their eyes demanded answers.

”But now I’ve realized what’s happening.”

He turned slowly, taking in the full view of the surroundings. The river. The stones. The treeline curving in a shape he now recognized.

”This is the same place.”

His voice shifted.

”The same place I was stuck in a few months back.”

He walked toward a large stone near the riverbank and sat down. His hand reached for a pile of damp, weathered wood stacked against the rock, half-rotten from exposure but still holding its shape.

He held one piece gently.

”This was the exact spot where I met a special person. Had a really good time here.” His thumb traced the surface of the wood. ”These are the same logs that person gathered for cooking. Hauled them all the way from the other side of the river.”

The girls stared at him.

His smile was genuine. Soft. Unguarded in a way they had never witnessed before.

Then a tear appeared.

Just one. Rolling down his cheek as a laugh escaped his lips.

He wiped it with the back of his hand. ”I still laugh thinking about how foolish that person was. Failing at such a simple task.”

His eyes crinkled with the kind of warmth that only existed in treasured memories.

Then his gaze drifted to Seris.

Her face.

He stopped talking immediately. She was sharp. Too sharp. If he continued reminiscing about a woman he had stayed with in the wilderness, a woman who was clearly important to him, in a kingdom connected to Seris’s own bloodline, she would piece it together.

Or perhaps she already had. But was holding it in because Lilith was present.

Before the silence could grow suspicious, Lilith spoke with a bright expression. ”Professor, then that’s why you knew about this place! You were leading us here for a safe spot all along!”

Jax simply nodded.

But Seris wasn’t satisfied. Her brow furrowed with suspicion.

”That explains the location. But it doesn’t explain why the beasts in this forest are repelling from us.”

She paused. Her own mind answered the question before her mouth could finish asking it.

Her eyes widened.

”They’re afraid of you.” It wasn’t a question. ”You did something here. Something terrible enough to make creatures that exist only to kill choose retreat instead.”

Jax rubbed the back of his head. The gesture of a man silently accepting a crime.

”You are totally insane,” Seris said flatly.

”Hey, don’t take it that way.” He raised his palms defensively. ”It was self-defense.”

She stared at him.

He sighed.

”Okay, I admit I went too far. At that time I was in a really bad mood. I had realized a mistake. Or rather, a bitter truth hit me all at once.” He looked at the river. ”And those beasts just happened to be there at the worst possible time.”

”That still doesn’t clear the fact that they’re terrified as if they’ve seen a ghost,” Seris pressed. ”You were here months ago. Beasts shouldn’t retain that kind of fear for this long.”

Jax’s mind spiraled internally.

’Why the hell are they fleeing? I killed everything that my eyes landed on. Chased them down. Hunted every last one. Then how the fuck do they know it’s me specifically? Do they have some kind of magical sense? Can they detect the person who committed the massacre?’

Then the image flashed.

A throne. Built from the stacked corpses of approximately fifty monstrous beasts. Piled one on top of another in a grotesque pyramid.

And at the very peak, Jax himself, sitting cross-legged with arms folded, radiating pure villainy while Adelina watched from below with a look that doesn’t see him as a cool one.

He had done it purely to show off. A king atop his conquered kingdom. A villain living his fantasy.

’Oh.’

And now he recalled it clearly. During that magnificent display of stupidity, several beasts had emerged from the trees. Taken one look at the throne of their dead brethren. And fled into the darkness.

Jax had let them go. Because he was too deep in his villainous roleplay to care.

’Those bastards must communicate through some form of telepathy. They spread the word about me like I was some kind of forest demon. Badmouthed me across the entire ecosystem.’

His fist tightened.

’If my hands weren’t tied right now, I would show each one of them how much I’ve improved since then.’

”Now what are you planning?” Seris’s voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

Jax snapped back. ”Oh, nothing at all.” He waved dismissively. ”And why can’t we just leave this topic? Isn’t it great that we don’t have to deal with those small fries?”

Seris sighed from the depths of her soul.

Lilith simply continued admiring Jax as if the man could do no wrong.

Jax clapped his hands. ”Why don’t we settle down here until someone comes to us? And while we wait, I’ll treat you both to Jax’s Special Fish.”

Seris responded immediately. ”We’ve been given enough protein bars to last twice the duration of the entire match. There’s no need to—”

”Great, so you’re in,” Jax said, completely ignoring everything she had just said. ”Seris, go fetch some dry wood. Lilith, clean up this area. And I’ll catch us some delicious fish.”

He was already walking toward the river before either could protest.

”Tsk.”

Time passed. The camp took shape. The area was cleared. A modest pile of firewood sat ready.

Jax was returning from the river, several fat fish dangling from a makeshift line in his hand, when he heard it.

Footsteps. Rapid. Panicked. Crashing through the undergrowth.

Seris burst through the treeline, sprinting toward him. Her face was drained of color.

”Professor, we’re being targeted!”

Before Jax could respond, figures emerged from the forest behind her. One after another after another.

Three professors. Or rather, three heads of their respective teams. Flanked by their students. Surrounding the clearing from multiple directions.

Jax’s eyes moved across the formation.

And landed on the woman from the Holy Order.

His veins bulged.

Every muscle in his body went taut. A hatred so pure it could poison the air ignited behind his eyes.

Then his gaze shifted to the students beside her.

Celestine.

And Ava.