[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-solflare-the-painter-s-secret":3,"chapter-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Solflare: The Painter's Secret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1322882,1757,"Chapter 54: That Was Too Damn Close","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>Ghostly particles danced as the blinding fury of the lightning faded from Leon’s retinas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood there, gasping, reduced to the drumming roar of the rain and the smell of his own singed hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black hoodie was gone, vaporized into a gritty, ashen paste that clung to his skin like filthy hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steam rose from his shoulders where the rain hit superheated flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fuck!\" he cursed and spat onto the churning mud at his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That was too close – too damn close.\" He scrubbed at his arms, the ash smearing into grey streaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain hammered down like a punishing torrent, turning the academy grounds into a shallow, rushing river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The datapad in his hand flickered stubbornly to life – its screen having a spiderweb of cracks from the top-left corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It glowed in a sickly, green, and static-yellow through the fractures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fuck this!\" he frowned. \"I nearly died, and you’re showing me I’ve failed to complete the task?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes sharpened as he gazed at blooming, angry red and passive yellow markers on the cracked screen. Only a few stubborn blue dots remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The notification popped up like a cruel joke: Clean the entire Alchemania ground without stopping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 19:00, according to the cracked clock on the screen, Leon inhaled a breath that shuddered all the way to his core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cold air danced through his lungs with the scent of wet earth and an impending defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then stepped off the relative shelter of the overhang and back into the deluge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The water was shockingly cold, causing his steps to slog. He sighed the moment he saw the blue building, which was fifty feet away from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he drew nearer, the window panes slid open. Figures appeared in the rectangles of colorful light, leaning out, despite the nature of the weather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t hear their laughter, but he saw it in the movement of their mouths and the manner in which they pointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Stupid tasks.’ The thought came in as he brushed his left palm across his wet hair plastered to his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached the cream-colored dormitory with a sprint. He opened the heavy door serving as its entrance and shut it behind him, muting the storm to a dull roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Failed. Failed. Failed.] A mechanical sound erupted from the datapad in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fuck.\" He spun and slammed his fist into the nearest wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shunk!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The impact echoed deep, like a hammer driving into soft stone. A crunching shockwave lanced up his arm, but it was secondary to the sight before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fist was buried to the wrist in the solid concrete. Fine cracks, like a black spiderweb, radiated outward from the point of impact, crawling a good two feet in every direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust and tiny fragments pattered to the polished floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whoa!\" He yanked his hand back and stumbled a step backward. His knuckles were scraped, bleeding slightly, but otherwise whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at his hand, then at the crater in the wall. The concrete around the edges was pulverized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did I do this?\" he whispered, his voice echoing in the silent lobby. He reached out and traced his fingers along the edges of the cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes widened as he noticed the concrete was unnaturally smooth inside the fracture lines, almost as if compressed by an instantaneous force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The faint click of a door opening made him jerk back. His heart hammered when he saw students emerging from all sides of the lobby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth opened and forgot how to close the moment he noticed one thing: They were interested in what he was standing in front of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t wait. He turned and fled down the corridor toward the elevators, his wet boots squeaking on the tile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, he heard the low murmurs of voices, questions piling upon each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Who did that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Is that the reason the building shook violently?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator door was a dull silver mirror in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In it, he saw a wild-eyed stranger with singed hair and a boy marked with faintly glowing lines under his ash-dusted skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His reflection looked more dangerous than what he had experienced outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A low mechanical hum announced the car’s arrival. Stopping, the door slid open, revealing an empty, brightly lit cube.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped in, pressed the button for the second floor, and slammed his head into his right palm, waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the car ascended, the images replayed in a frantic loop: the lightning, the impossible cleanliness, and the crater in the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each felt like a piece of a puzzle he was too close to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator stopped on the first floor. The silver door parted sideways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon squeezed his eyes as he saw the first person standing on the other side, to be Vera. She stood wearing a sleek black training suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her was Jade. His expression was one of detached boredom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flanking them were two others – a sharp-faced girl Leon didn’t know, and a broad-shouldered boy with close-cropped hair and eyes that had the color of a shallow sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s jaw tightened, promising to crunch his teeth as he remembered him to be the guy he saw silver light glow around his fingers in the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their collective gaze hit Leon like a physical blow. Vera’s nose wrinkled as if smelling something foul when she entered. Jade’s eyes slid over Leon, dismissed him, and fixed on the elevator’s ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl smirked. The broad-shouldered boy’s face was like a mask of pure contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They filled the small space with the scent of expensive soap and implicit threat. Leon stood at the front, facing the door, feeling their stares drill into his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vera’s sweet and venomous voice slithered into the silence behind him. \"Why the hell is he still here? Look at him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon kept his gaze fixed on his own reflection in the metal – the ash, the burns, the mess of his hair, and the broom he had made it leave at his left waist side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He followed their reflections visible in the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To his right, Jade’s calm and measured tone cut through, \"I need to talk to them. To have him removed. He’s... done enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The broad-shouldered boy added, his voice a low, eager rumble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can actually take him out ourselves. You can order me to do that right now... before the car stops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1080,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.583Z",1,"novelbin.me","920984a4a7839a2bd3c30138440d19e525e80ee73b3a7f6dc982b1825ce0ccf6","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-55","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-53",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]