The disciplinary building was only 5 minutes from the pyramid containing the training grounds so Damien didn't have any problem locating it.
This building was a normal rectangular 2 story building attached to a separate smaller building that seemed to be a prison of some sort. Entering the building, Damien was faced with many students of all ages walking around and doing their jobs.
A few were even dealing with other students who seemed to have been brought in due to violations.
Damien quizzically watched these activities and mentally compared them to police stations back on earth. The processes were mainly the same, only the disciplinary officers in the academy had much more prestige than cops.
Keeping order in the academy was a job that could get you a continuous supply of premium points, so it was naturally sought after by many. But there were strict criteria and evaluations necessary before one could be accepted, leading it to be extremely desired by the students.
"Admission trials for the officer position officially ended a week ago, so there's no need to look around." A strict feminine voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Damien looked over and saw a tall blonde girl with green eyes looking at him with annoyance.
"Hm? I don't want any position here. Anyway, where's the elder that runs this place? I was told to come see him." He responded, ignoring her irritated tone.
Hearing his request, the girl's expression shifted to disdain. "If you were planning to lie then at least come up with a better one. Everyone knows that Elder Blanc is a woman!"
Damien shrugged. "I want to see her, then. Is that better?"
This further infuriated the girl. "This is the disciplinary office! No random hobo off the side of the street can come here and act as they please! Leave now before I use force!"
Damien rolled his eyes. 'What's with the cultivation novel scenarios I keep getting myself into? Isn't this supposed to be a fantasy world?'
He had no intention to go through a whole 'misunderstanding and face-slapping' situation so he just stopped bickering and pulled out the token he was given. "Here, take this and quit your yapping."
Seeing something fly at her, the girl was about to attack but stopped when she noticed what it was. Carefully catching the token, she observed it as carefully as she could.
It was an intricately carved circular token filled with black and gold colors. On its surface was an image of a 9 headed serpent, a hydra. Seeing this, the girl stopped in her tracks.
"W-where did you get this?" She asked in a shaky voice.
"I fought an old man and he gave it to me afterward with a note telling me to come see an elder here. Now do you believe me or does this have to get annoying?"
The girl quickly shook her head. No matter how much she wanted to claim that the token was fake so she could cause problems for the annoying guy in front of her, she couldn't.
There was a limited amount of these tokens forged in the first place, and although people had attempted to forge them, there was a secret mana signature embedded in each true token that proved its authenticity.
Her face flushed in shame, the girl quickly ran to the 2nd floor of the building, seemingly going to grab the elder. With the authenticity of the token proven, she couldn't mess with Damien anymore unless she wanted to get expelled from the disciplinary squad or worse the academy itself.
On the 2nd floor, the girl ran to a certain door and knocked furiously.
"Come in."
Gaining permission, the girl entered the room with shaky hands. Upon entering, she saw a beautiful middle-aged woman with black hair and cold blue eyes leaning over a desk.
Although this woman could be said to look older, she had in no way lost her beauty. She had a figure that could make countless men fall for her with a single glance. This was the Disciplinary head, Elder Rosary Blanc.
Seeing who entered the room, her gaze softened slightly. "What is it, little Lana? Was there a problem that you couldn't solve on your own?"
Lana slightly nodded before shaking her head. Even after many years, she was still infatuated with the elder's appearance. The fact that she always treated Lana like a big sister or mother rather than an elder only worsened her condition.
"Elder, there is indeed a case I can't handle, but it isn't anything from the disciplinary squad. Take a look at this." Lana said as she handed over the token.
Inspecting the item in her hands, the elder's eyes widened in shock. "This is?!"
Lana nodded, still holding some shock many minutes after realizing the identity of the token.
The elder sighed and shook her head as she stood up. "Alright, take me to whoever brought this in." Although she was outwardly calm, she was brimming with questions internally. 'What the hell is that old fogey doing?'
Damien spent 10 minutes enduring various gazes that landed on him curiously. It had to be known that Lana was both the most important member of their squad and the strongest. For someone to make her behave like that, they must be interesting.
Only after what felt like hours of silence did Damien hear footsteps coming from the staircase. This was Lana and Elder Blanc.
Arriving in front of Damien, the elder looked him up and down. Besides his above-average looks, she couldn't see anything special about him. "So? How did you end up getting your hands on this token?"
Once again, Damien repeated the story of how he was beaten up by an old man and woke up with the token and the note on his body. Elder Blanc shook her head in exasperation.
"That damn fogey is always doing eccentric things. Anyway, we can't do anything for you in this case. This is just one of that old man's games."
Damien raised his brow at this. If they couldn't do anything for him then why was he even here?
Sensing his confusion, Elder Blanc continued speaking.
"I'll explain. Our disciplinary squad is one of the only places where the authenticity of this token can be verified, so he probably sent you here for that. As for finding him? Your best bet is the mountain in the distance behind the academy."
Damien knew which mountain she was referring to. It was larger than even Thunder Mountain that he had trained at and was located only a slight distance from the academy. He didn't know its name yet, but he had already figured it held some importance.
"That mountain is probably full of traps and other annoyances that you'll have to pass through before you can reach him. That old man loves to think of himself as mysterious and go around testing people, so good luck with whatever it is you plan to do from here on out."
Damien thanked the elder before turning to leave, only to remember something he'd forgotten for a while. "Ah, shit! I haven't been to class in like a month!"
Hearing his exclamation, the elder shook her head. 'They're truly alike. That old fogey also had this indifferent to anything but training mentality back then. No wonder he took a liking to this kid.'
Waving her hand, she addressed him. "It's fine, kid. Just go meet with that old fogey and make him teach you. I'll have someone contact your teacher and notify them. Just tell me your name first."
"Damien Void." He replied.
The elder nodded before heading back to her study. Receiving that affirmation, Damien once again said his thanks before leaving.
Back in her office, the elder looked through the new student roster to find Damien's name.
"Damien Void….WHAT?!" Finding his name, the elder lept up in shock.
"Age 19 Level 75 Spatial and Lightning affinity! That old bastard! He knew I'd only check the books after everything was done! He fooled me again!"
Just like the rest of the elders, she was looking for people to sponsor or train for the Nexus Event so she could gain some benefits, and Damien had been one of the candidates on her list.
Spatial affinity was incredibly rare, and he was also an immense talent, making him someone many elders were paying attention to. Unfortunately for her, her favorite student Lana was already past the 40 year age limit, so she couldn't participate.
"So the old bastard is also participating this year. And if it's that kid, I wonder if the rest of us stand a chance."
Flipping through the rest of the pages of the roster, Elder Blanc found something interesting. 'Oh? Another promising seedling. Looks like I'll have to place my bets on her.'
The page she was looking at had a picture of a slightly above-average girl with black hair and brown eyes.
"Katherine Hart Age 21 Level 85 Wind and Illusion Affinity"
Since it was relatively close, it took less than a day for Damien to reach the mountain. It looked to be close to a full 10,000 meters in height, leaving Damien stunned by its magnificence.
It didn't have the same rumbling sky or cracked surface as Thunder Mountain did, rather this one was a true natural beauty. The entire mountainside was filled with lush trees and various beautiful flowers.
When he spread his awareness, Damien could sense many beasts cohabitating its surface as well. And unlike the scenes in the dungeon, these beasts didn't constantly feed on each other for growth. There were even a few species that seemed to be herbivorous, without the need or desire for meat.
It was a clear day, so Damien could see up to the peak of the mountain, which was capped in snow, giving off a beautiful contrast with the vibrant colors that led up to it.
Damien thought this environment gave off a feeling of bliss.
No endless fight on the path to strength, no burdens or worries, and no pressure. However, this type of life didn't appeal to him. He loved gaining strength, he loved pressure that stimulated his growth, and although he didn't love burdens, he knew they were inevitable if one had even a single person or thing they cared about.
In reality, everything besides oneself could be considered a burden on this long and arduous path, and it was normal for many people to forsake everything for the sake of strength. Some people even choose to be so cold-hearted that their own families become nothing more than pawns to fit their needs.
Damien knew he had the chance to take this path if he truly wanted to, but he didn't have any desire to become like this. He liked his human side, his sometimes volatile emotions, and the bonds he had with the select few people he was close with.
He agreed that others could become burdens for him, and he even understood that from a certain perspective, his own mother who was bedridden could be considered a burden, but he didn't care.
He had a taste of the endless cycle of blood that came from being alone, the feral and primal nature that one would begin to develop. He had no interest in that.
If he wanted to do that, then that day he would've forsaken his humanity and devoured Zara rather than saving her.
Shaking his head, Damien snapped out of his thoughts. Now wasn't the time for introspection.
He gazed up the mountain and thought to himself, 'if I'm being honest I could spam teleport and make it to the peak in a few seconds, but I doubt that's what that old man wants.'
It had only been 2 days and he was already tired of playing the old man's games, but he decided that he'd concede with this one last challenge. Without further ado, Damien began rushing up the mountain.
And indeed, just as Elder Blanc had suspected, there were countless traps set up along the way. Some were stupid traps that could only kill mortals, such as a swinging tree trunk, but some were even slightly dangerous to him.
There was a pit full of 3rd class vipers that he almost fell into, mechanisms that suppressed his spatial ability and forced him to narrowly dodge razor-sharp blades with his bare body, and many other traps.
'This old man seriously has a wild imagination.' Damien kept climbing without stopping as he evaded trap after trap. Surprisingly, no beasts attacked him besides those within the traps. It seemed that there was some sort of order among them.
Even the ones that looked desperate to eat him begrudgingly turned away as he continued his climb. And by the time night fell, Damien reached the snow-covered peak.
There, he saw a familiar middle-aged man staring into the distance with his back facing Damien as if to come off as more mysterious. Knowing that this was the old man's quirk, he didn't pay attention to it, instead opting to sit down and recover his mana.
When Damien closed his eyes, the man took a peek behind him and witnessed Damien completely ignoring him. He was disgruntled but didn't bother the kid as he recovered his mana. Half an hour later, Damien's eyes began to open, and the man returned to his original pose of gazing into the distance.
"Old man, there's no need to act so mysteriously with me. That elder already told me about your antics."
The man's shoulders twitched a bit when he heard this, and he reluctantly turned around. "That damn witch! Looks like I need to teach her a lesson when I get back."
Noticing Damien's deadpan gaze, the man quickly changed the subject. "Kuhum… I guess now is the time for formal introductions. My name is Malcolm Grey, and I am the Headmaster of Zenith Academy. And I want you, Damien Void, to be my student."
The air of an expert radiated from Malcolm as he revealed his status, waiting to see the shock on Damien's face.
However, Damien's gaze was still deadpan.
"Okay, now what?"
Malcolm's brows twitched. "Kid, don't you get it? The headmaster of the whole academy wants to take you as a student. Aren't you supposed to be like 'Wow! What an opportunity!' or something?"
Damien's dead fish gaze intensified. "Old man, I figured you were the headmaster after the reactions of everyone I showed the token to. It isn't that hard. Also, why would I be surprised about you wanting to train me? You literally made it so obvious with all the testing and mysteriousness. So, let's just get on with the actual training part."
The twitch in Malcolm's brow became even more pronounced. Not only was the kid being so blunt that it slightly damaged his ego, he even had the nerve to keep calling him 'old man' even though he's known his status since the beginning.
Sighing at the fact that he couldn't keep his cool image, Malcolm's eyes turned serious and his whole aura shifted.
"Very well, since you want to learn then let's start immediately. Your sword art seems to be original and you've already found a path so I won't say anything about it. The same goes for your spatial affinity. I can teach you about lightning but that'll be secondary."
Damien felt his pride swell hearing all the praise he was getting, but he was soon brought back to reality.
"The most important thing is your mana control. Frankly, it's shit. Completely garbage for someone your age. Even little 5-year-old children can easily wield mana better than you without even trying. I saw during our first fight that you have immense reserves of mana, but you still ran out within only a couple of hours. Truly, you should be ashamed of yourself."
Damien was too stunned to speak. Since he had begun his climb in strength, he had never received such a harsh rating of his abilities. He fought a 3rd class and succeeded in killing him, begetting praise. His level was insane for his age, begetting praise.
Not once had someone insulted or berated him since he had left earth. He was about to retort and get angry at the old man, but he stopped himself and thought about the words he had heard.
The more he thought, the more he realized the truth in those words. Damien had put all his focus on his sword art and his affinities. Not once had he ever focused on mana control.
He had always used mana however he pleased without any rhyme or reason to it.
In the first place, the structure of his mana control was based on how it had been utilized by the feral version of him when he had been taken over by his bestial instinct.
How could a feral beast with barely any conscious thought be able to compare to an intelligent being?
Beasts above 2nd class had already started developing intelligence, so even they probably had better mana control than him. His eyes hardened as he realized this.
'Ahh, I truly got too conceited recently. If nobody had said anything, I probably wouldn't have corrected it before it turned into a habit I can't change.'
Malcolm had been watching Damien this whole time, seeing how he'd react to his harsh words. In fact, he had made sure to make his words more taunting specifically to test Damien's reaction.
At first, he was disappointed seeing Damien get angry. But as he continued to watch Damien fall into thought and saw his eyes harden as he realized the truth, Malcolm became appreciative.
This kid was truly worthy to become his disciple.
Pride is normal and was bred within almost every lifeform as they gained strength. With all the hard work most people put into their strength, how could they not hold immense pride over their achievements?
The main issue was knowing when pride turned into arrogance and fixing the issue before it stabbed them in the back.
Seeing Damien look up at him, Malcolm smiled.
"Good. It seems you've realized the truth of the matter. Let me reintroduce myself then. My name is Malcolm Grey, a 4th class, and the only person in the human domain who has reached the Saint-level in mana control. Are you willing to accept me as your teacher?"
This time, Damien's eyes truly did widen in shock. The quirky old man in front of him was actually a 4th class and someone who reached Saint-level to boot.
This level was seen as a legend by many people in the world, but someone who had reached it was standing before him.
His decision didn't even take a second. Bowing his head, Damien repeated a line he'd read countless times in novels.
"Damien greets his new teacher."
Malcolm's smile grew even wider. "Good! Now, let's start our training to make you unstoppable in the Nexus Event. The first and most important priority? Mana Circuits."
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