Chương 10

Alistair Aetherius preferred to finish his administrative work first thing in the morning so that he could spend the rest of the day pursuing his own interests. No one was allowed to interrupt him during this time. Even his assistant Jessie sat quietly in the room until he finished, patiently waiting to report world-ending threats. Granted, that only happened a couple of times, but he appreciated her work ethic nonetheless.

Today, however, while he wrote his first letter of the day, the sky darkened as the outermost formation of the plane groaned and buckled. Three deafening booms rolled across the academy grounds. Alistair sighed and continued to write his letter. Once done, he placed it in an envelope and passed it to Jessie, who was carrying a tea tray with a serene expression.'' I'll be back,'' he informed her and [Blink]ed just outside of the exosphere.

A barefoot, bulky man in ragged clothes was standing in space with a wide smile and crossed arms. His appearance was quite a contrast compared to his tailored midnight-blue suit with its pristine velvet lapels and the polished gold buttons.

''You know, knocking the plane's defensive formation as you'd do to a door stopped being funny after the first time.''''For you, maybe,'' his old friend, Torin Sideris, said and threw a mischievous look downward.

''Did you see their faces? I love it when some of them leave their lovers behind and run for the shelters. It gets even better when they realize it was a false alarm.'' Alistair glanced down with his [All Seeing Eye]. Most of the people were outside, mildly anxious. It was only natural.

The same ward that had made a giant asteroid vanish before impact just a decade ago was now on the verge of collapsing, not to mention the loud noise that shouldn't even reach the surface, yet it still did due to Torin amplifying it. Of course, there were always melodramatic ones. Some people jumped from balconies without hesitation, others threw themselves outside from their bed without getting dressed, and some started running on the streets as they screamed.

It was a bit amusing, but he was not going to admit that. He turned to his friend with an unimpressed face.

''Stop being a prick and use the teleportation gates like everyone else. Why are you here, anyway?'''' What? Can't I visit my old buddy?'' Before Alistair had a chance to reply, the space behind him rippled and morphed into portals. Seven figures stepped out: six of his professors and the head janitor. Their expressions turned grim as they struggled to stand still under Torin's presence, except for the janitor, of course.

One of the janitor's tasks was to protect the kids from external threats, and pretty much everyone was a kid to him, hence why he trailed behind the curious professors. Although he did nothing to protect them from the pressure. As a matter of fact, Torin wasn't even flaring his aura. It was merely his presence leaking through reality. He could prevent this with some effort, but most people found this cowardly, or even sneaky. Funny that it was the opposite in his academy.

Here, outside of the battles, those who didn't hide their presence completely were considered either rude or incompetent.'' Is everything okay, headmaster?'' the youngest of the group, Professor Elizabeth, asked, glaring at Torin.'' Yes, yes. It's just some hobo feeling playful,'' he replied.'' Hey, Carl!'' Torin called, waving.

''Long time no see!'' The janitor nodded in acknowledgment.

''Patriarch Torin.''''T-Torin?'' Elizabeth faltered, snapping her head left and right.

''A-As in–''''Shouldn't you be in class, Miss Fane?'' Alistair asked.''I-I thought–'' Torin let out a laugh.

''The lass came here to save your skinny ass, Al. Is this how you treat your brave elders?''''Professors. Not elders,'' he corrected him and ignored his comment, turning to the others.

''Alright, everyone. The show's over, back to work.'' With a wave of his hand, he teleported himself and Torin to a small pavilion with a round table and two chairs, floating on a huge lake that was surrounded by pine groves and tall, snowy mountains.

'Bring my tea to my private courtyard, please. I have a guest as well,' he sent a mental message to Jessie as he sat on the chair and turned to Torin.

''Are you really here just to visit?''''Why would I lie? I'm just bored.''''Don't blame me for doubting it. My visitors always come with an agenda. You're the outlier.''''That I am,'' Torin said with a smile and sat next to him.

''By the way, that lass and the tall guy at the back have some serious potential. Looks like your sect is doing pretty well.'' Jessie came out of a spatial tunnel and started serving them tea in silence.''Academy,'' Alistair corrected his friend again.

''Inane Cultus Magic Academy.'' Torin rolled his eyes as he pulled out some exorbitant snacks from his storage ring and placed them on the table.

''Right... the academy that's only accessible to your core disciples.''''The outer and inner courts are just elaborate tests for eligibility. Those who pass and gain access to the academy, calling themselves core disciples, have nothing to do with me or my institution,'' Alistair clarified, but at Torin's flat stare, his face started to darken.

''What are you looking at, you old coot? If I wanted to start a sect, I would have named it the Heavenly Body Golden Pagodas Sect or something.'' Torin grinned.

''Oh, come on. You're just upset that I didn't go with the name you'd suggested. For Heaven's sake, Al, that was ages ago!'' Alistair snorted.

''Starforged was such a glamorous name, and it still is. Not to mention that your sect members literally use the energy of the stars to temper their bodies. What the devil is Heavenly Body Golden Pagodas, you crude? It doesn't even make sense.'''' It doesn't need to. As long as it sounds mighty–''''And you think Starforged doesn't–'' Alistair snapped for a second but stopped himself halfway, gritting his teeth.'' You know what? Forget it. You can name your sect Musclehead Brotherhood for all I care.''''

What do you think, Jessie?'' Torin asked just before she returned to her spatial tunnel, pressing his lips together. Jessie turned around with the empty tray in her hand and glanced at them, her self-made drop earrings protecting her from any pressure on her soul.

''I think you both should ask for consultants before naming anything,'' she said in a thoughtful tone and took a step back, disappearing from sight. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. An amused huff escaped from Torin's nose.

''She doesn't pull any punches, does she?''''You know how I feel about sycophants,'' Alistair replied, feeling proud and betrayed at the same time. As he took a sip from his tea, his transmission jade slate vibrated in his inner pocket. He took it out and checked its notification rune.''What's that?'' Torin asked curiously.''Someone from a lower realm passed the trials, it seems.'' Torin tilted his head.

''Do you get notified every time that happens?''''It doesn't happen that often. I don't even remember the last time.''''Oh? Could it be because your inheritance grounds are death traps?'' Torin offered, the corner of his mouth curling up.''The policy has always been quality over quantity here,'' he said, shrugging lightly.

''Plus, the locals of lower realms learned the risks long ago. Nowadays, only their best of the best try their luck, minus the overconfident fools. It may be tough, but if they manage to pass, they skip the outer court and start from the inner court right away.'' Alistair idly sent his mana to the jade slate and watched the performance. It took him about a second to witness everything that happened inside the temple, but he kept staring into the air afterward, trying to make sense of what he'd just seen.'' What?''

Torin queried, leaning in.

''Hey, what happened?''''Take a look for yourself,'' he said and tossed the jade slate, giving it temporary access beforehand. The next moment, Torin burst out laughing.

''Now, that's what I call once in a lifetime cheater!''''You don't even know half of it,'' Alistair said with a wry expression.

''This kid isn't even tier-1. He should've died at the base of the mountain, let alone climbing up to the top and entering the temple.''''What's tier-1?'' Torin asked, raising an eyebrow.''It's the first step of the mortal realm. That's what they call it,'' he explained, grabbing one of Torin's fancy crackers absentmindedly.

''There are rare species of beasts inside the pocket realm that are capped at peak tier-4, getting kicked out as soon as they break through. And the pocket realm only allows new entries for those below tier-3. Remember when I'd said only their best of the best try it, and still most of them fail? Those guys are almost always at peak tier-2.'''' It could be that some noble brats threw a mortal into your inheritance grounds out of cruelty, and the mortal turned out to be a tough nut to crack.''''

Then he should've become at least tier-3 before reaching the mountain summit.'' Torin leaned back, resting one ankle over his knee.

''Maybe he had some artifact to avoid the monsters?'' Alistair shook his head.

''Impossible. Only low grade defensive artifacts are allowed, and even those have a limit. Plus, you've seen his moldy talismans; clearly he looted them on the way. The kid wields kitchen knives for crying out loud!'' Torin chuckled.

''I don't know. I liked his style. Could be out of choice.'' Alistair rolled his eyes.

''Forget about that. He actually passed the talent test without having a [Mana Sense]. He did that effortlessly after spending hours to figure out the rules. I have no idea about his void talent, but I can assure you that test is not built for those without [Mana Sense].''''It looked like he had some kind of enlightenment, though I'm not sure what kind,'' Torin said with a lopsided smile.

''It might be related to Dao of Bamboo Stick.'' Alistair snorted.

''Very funny. You very well know what kind of Dao he–''''Wait, wait, wait!'' Torin cut in, raising his hand.

''Don't jump ahead, let's talk about the willpower test.''''Heh. I see you're enjoying yourself,'' he said, smiling slightly.

''As you've noticed, he actually passed the willpower test with his half-comprehended One with World technique, but only after trying his chance with his pathetic willpower and spending even more time on the stairs after he failed.'''' Half-comprehended or not, it's still impressive for someone so young, no?'' He noticed a saber-tooth tiger was eagerly watching them from the shore. It seemed to want to come over but was afraid of Torin's loud declaration of himself upon the fabric of reality.

With a thought, he cast [Null Presence] over his friend, who pretended not to notice, and teleported the tiger next to them. Startled, it warily looked at Torin first, then approached him, circling and lying next to his feet. Alistair bent a little and scratched behind its ear.

''Sure, it's somewhat rare, but useless in combat if he doesn't fully comprehend it. And apparently, he somehow skipped the One with Sword part altogether–or rather One with Blade in his case. He can forget about reaching One with Heaven without that. Anyhow, why wait to use the technique in the first place?''''Oh, come on! The kid just wanted to test himself and got upset when his willpower alone didn't cut it,'' Torin said, grabbing a handful of snacks and popping them into his mouth.

''He did get a bit hysterical there. Don't tell me you missed that.''''Yeah, yeah, okay. Let's talk about the combat test. You've seen his Dao, but did you know that those void guardians are only supposed to die when they are fatally injured?'' Torin's eyes opened wide.

''No way! They died from every scratch because the brat had touched Dao of Lethality? Every single wound he'd caused was considered lethal. That's some dogshit luck!'' Alistair scoffed.

''You can say that again. The guardians have countless skills, but they are only allowed to use as many as their enemy has. And of course, the boy doesn't have any.''''That's still fair,'' Torin countered.

''And I don't think he would lose even without Dao of Lethality. His close combat abilities are on par with my sect's mortal realm geniuses. I don't know about the last guy though. Do you think he would have a chance?'' Alistair stroked his bare chin out of habit.

''I also think he would beat the guardians, but it wouldn't be as easy. As for fighting against the commander in that condition… I'm not sure.''''It doesn't matter. I, personally, loved that knife throw. Bold move. No hesitation. I'd say he deserved his win.''''You're missing a point,'' he said, shaking his head.

''No one in the lower realms can comprehend a Dao, but once in a while, we see people who touch Daos without realizing it. There isn't really a benefit for that until they ascend. Once they do, they are able to gain enlightenment at a rapid pace, and it becomes a huge advantage. But while in the lower realms, the best this kid can do is make the wounds he inflicted bleed slightly more. He probably won't even notice this. Yet this useless ability still earned him plenty, and maybe even saved his life.'''' Oh?

Do you think it wasn't a coincidence?'''' This many coincidences? No, there is something else in play here.'''' Like what? Is he a spy or something?'''' Oh, no, nothing like that. I think his karma is tied to us somehow. Everything in his life led him to this point, and I don't think all this buildup is only leading him to enroll in the academy. Curious… I guess we'll have to wait and see.'' Alistair said, sipping from his tea.

''Finally, the last thing that bothers me is how in the nine heavens did he touch Dao of Lethality as a teenager? We are talking about a Grand Dao here, not a lesser one. He had to be in countless deadly battles. The only times I've seen people ascending with this Dao were centuries-old battle veterans, coming from truly chaotic lower realms. They bathed in blood for so long to get to that point. How many fights could this kid have possibly taken part in, really?''''

Hmm, is that truly the last thing that bothers you?'' Torin asked, pressing his lips.

''What about the extra skills he'd plundered?'' Alistair waved his hand dismissively.

''Plundering? Please, that was the hidden test, and he passed it just fine.''''Really, now? A hidden test for what?'' Torin asked, his eyebrow shooting up.''For those who know that [Blink] is the best skill and are bold enough to defy our will, obviously.'' Torin narrowed his eyes, not really buying it.

''And others passed this hidden test before?'' Thankfully, Alistair didn't have to answer as his assistant arrived promptly. Jessie bowed a little as an apology for interrupting them.

''Headmaster, Gilgamesh is here. He is asking to meet you.''''Ohho!'' Torin exclaimed, slapping his thigh exaggeratedly.

''Since when do you know the Immortal King?''''Wouldn't you like to know?'' Alistair scoffed with a smirk. Good job, Jessie. Torin leaned in with a teasing smile.

''Hey, isn't there a huge bounty on his head placed by that wind guy, Enlil? I'm a little short on money these days, you know.'' Alistair rolled his eyes.

''Go tattle on Anu himself if you want. I'd like to see them come to my place and cause trouble.'' He turned to his assistant and nodded.

''Tell him to wait in my office. I'll be there in a bit,'' he said and added with a mental message,'Also, get me a meeting with that incompetent dungeon engineer team. Wake up the ones in secluded cultivation as well.'