Transmigrating as an Extra Third-Rate Villain

Staring at empty space ahead, Ren simply waited for Lily to finish wiping all of her clothes.

It wasn't like he was in a rush for time...after all, he, of all people, should never run out of time.

While Ren did fear the principal's potential presence and her being an obstacle to his escape, a plan was already in motion to counteract that.

Taking out his smartwatch, Ren scrolled for a second in messages before immediately typing.

[Ren: Did you two find the tunnel I made at the very bottom of the island?]

[Raven: Yep, Zeng found your hole, which goes straight upward, after a couple of minutes of swimming around.]

[Ren: And what did you do during that time?]

[Raven: Oh, me? I've just been standing on the raft and watching Zeng swim around like a mermaid. It's actually quite calming; thanks for asking, boss! How is your day going?]

[Ren: Nothing too big; I'm just chilling in one of the most valuable and secured spots in the entire world. You know, just the regular.]

[Raven: And you didn't invite me?]

Lily, who had finished wiping her clothes, turned to give Ren back his sweatshirt but halted upon seeing him laughing like a toddler.

"..."

Was there some kind of joke she was missing?

As far as Lily could see, Ren had just risked his life to get into this vault, yet here he was, not robbing it but...laughing at his smartwatch.

Recalling how her mother had always told her that the new generation was too obsessed with technology, Lily nodded her head and made a clicking sound with her mouth.

"The attention span of this new generation is unbelievable. They can't sit still for even a second without their precious telephones!"

Regaining his composure, Lily showed no caution as she simply walked up to Ren with his sweatshirt in her hand.

Ren, hearing her footsteps, curiously looked up from his smartwatch.

Instead of taking the sweatshirt back, Ren simply de-manifested it, watching Lily's expression change as the sweater disintegrated into nothingness in her hands.

Finally breaking the awkward silence between the two, Ren pointed at the tens of shelves lined up against the wall before saying.

"I believe you said earlier that there was nothing here besides a single cell."

Nodding her head confidently, Lily stayed silent and simply walked forward, leaving Ren behind.

Approaching one of the shelves, Lily grabbed a hammer-shaped item before throwing it to Ren.

Catching the hammer-shaped artifact in his hands, Ren stared at his for a moment before boldly declaring.

"A hammer!"

Weighing the object in his hand, Ren quickly realized that despite its abnormal appearance...it possessed no mana in it.

Staring at the hammer-shaped object in his hands, Ren's expression rapidly changed as he furiously muttered.

"It's not a magical artifact?"

Interrupting Ren, Lily replied from a distance.

"No, it definitely is a magical artifact."

Recalling Lily's inherent ability to perceive mana particles as a magician, Ren curiously questioned.

"So you're telling me this thing had mana particles that I can't detect?"

Although it wasn't impossible, Ren highly doubted it as he had grown quite used to detecting mana due to his constant use of it in his abilities.

Even inside his body, Ren could perfectly control the ocean-blue mana so that it interacted with the blood-red substance when necessary to create a blood-red and ocean-blue wing.

His expertise in mana control and detecting mana was at least B-rank at this point, maybe even higher.

However, instead of answering Ren's question, Lily simply turned around and began walking further into the massive vault.

"Put the hammer back and follow me, will you?"

Following Lily's instructions, Ren approached the shelve before beginning to place the hammer on the rack.

But, mid-action, Ren stopped for a moment before saying.

"...and why should I listen to you?"

"Wow, you really are a distrustful person."

"Oh, blame me for not trusting someone who has basically been my archenemy up until now!"

"Aww, you consider me to be your #1 enemy? I hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly my #1. I'd be willing to give you my #2 spot, though, if you asked nicely."

"..."

Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Ren put down the hammer before following Lily, who was heading towards another shelf.

Stopping at the shelf, Lily picked up a bucket-shaped object before once again throwing it over to Ren.

Catching it, Ren examined the bucket once again, closely looking for any mana particles that surrounded it.

Yet, only after a couple of seconds, Ren put down the bucket before grimly saying.

"Not a magical artifact."

Not even looking at Ren, Lily continued moving toward another shelf before saying.

"Onto the next, then!"

Repeating the same notion once again, Ren put down the bucket-shaped object before receiving a saw-shaped object from Lily.

And once again, Ren could not detect a single mana particle within the saw-shaped object.

As Lily motioned to him and began to move toward the next shelf, Ren sighed before admitting.

"None of the items here are magical artifacts, are they?"

Shaking his head, Lily retrieved the saw-shaped object from Ren before once again relying.

"No, they are all magical artifacts, I'm sure."

Furious at the fact that his vault robbery may have all been for nothing, Ren harshly replied.

"THEN, WHERE IS THE MANA!?"

Smiling, Lily ignored Ren's yellow before suddenly adjusting her path ahead and saying.

"I've been waiting for you to ask that you know. If I simply told you from the start, you'd never believe me. I had to use this roundabout strategy just so that you will come to the conclusion yourself and believe me."

Following Lily, Ren watched as she approached the back wall of the vault.

Turning around, Lily motioned for Ren to come even closer before asking in a calm voice.

"Do you feel it?"

Confusedly, Ren stepped ahead, standing side-by-side with Lily, before placing his hand to the back-wall of the vault.