CHAPTER 33

The next day, someone knocked on every thirteen doors. It was a young man in his twenties, wearing a golden robe. Once every kid was outside in the hall, he introduced himself:

“Good morning everyone, it is a pleasure to meet you. I will be the one in charge of your promotion, my name is Glaic Alo. Please do call me elder Alo, I may not look the part but I am an old man and a respectable elder of this school. All of you should understand what this means.”

Mir turned to Oka expectantly and Oka answered his silent plea with a spiritual message:

“Martial Cultivators bodies stop aging when they reach the third rank.”

Mir nodded and turned back to the elder who smiled at the gesture. He had seen It all and grasped what happened. It was enough to have him chuckle. Strange kids enter this school as well sometimes. He remained composed on the outside and continued:

“We will be first going to our dedicated land and then I will explain everything to you kids. Follow me.”

The elder led them through the hall. They walked for an hour before reaching the stairs. It felt strange like a space distortion of some kind. The elder said:

“This tower itself is a treasure. It is an infinite building and the only one of its kind. The way to make such a prodigious construct has been lost but we know at least how to keep it active and add to it. There are thousands and thousands of rooms. The reason it took so long to get to the stairs is my way of warning you. The way will only appear if you know where you want to go. If you don’t, you might end up walking eternally without reaching a destination. … Now that this is out of the way, let us go to the level two. Please, everyone, concentrate on this as your destination. Repeat it in your mind “I want to go to the second level” and it will work just fine. Understood?

-Yes, elder Alo!”

Mir and Oka walked without care thinking about it and both arrived in the center of a giant plaza filled with hundreds of people in gold robes. The stairs were coming out in the middle of a plaza! The eleven other kids and the elder arrived a few moments later. It was a fascinating sight for the kids, even more so for Mir.

The previous level was luxurious, like a hotel but this one, it was like a damn town. Since when could you place a town in a tower? This was a mystical sight. And this town was bigger than the one outside, surrounding the tower. But the elder was not going to let them sightsee longer:

“Let us go, we’re going to our class building. Follow me.”

The kids followed the elder and were surprised that absolutely everyone, be they vendors or buyers, were wearing golden robes of various types. After a few hundred meters, they reached a wooden and stone building named “ALO CLASSROOM” and entered.

There were no stairs leading up but there was no need for such, the inside was wide and long; one more space distortion. There was a basic classroom inside, an amphitheater-like one with crystal screens on each desk. And there were dozens of desks. The elder motioned for the kids to go and take a seat then went to the front and began:

“All spaces in this school are adjusted with space distortion crafting techniques so get used to it. Now, let me explain about the general rules. As you can see, you guys are of different ages and power levels yet in the same class. How does it work? Basically, being a class just mean that you guys entered at the same time. That’s it. Where do I come in? I am the one in charge of you kids, this class. If you need anything, go find me here. Is it okay up to here?”

It seemed fine since no one was asking him any questions so he went on:

“In this school, we do not care about your positions outside. Only what you do inside matter. So, do not expect that you will be revered or something because you hold status outside. In here, it means nothing. I will give you a few things now.”

He walked and gave a basic golden Royal Palace School Robe to all kids as well as a golden card with their respective names on it. He told them to put on the robe and nodded as they did. Since there were no girls in this class, there was no need to set a zone to change. Soon, the thirteen kids wore the robe and the elder went on:

“In this school, you are to wear the robe at all times or your particular alliance outfit if you have one. The restriction is that it must harbor gold and white as well as the Royal Palace Insignia, this little crown on your right arms, near the elbow. The card I gave you contains your points. It is the currency used inside school grounds. You can earn them through business or missions and such. You start with a thousand of them and that’s it. You need points to buy anything here ranging from access to a lecture, to a technique scroll, to a training room and so on…Even to access upper levels of the tower. As of now, you cannot go higher than the sixth level. You can go outside whenever you want to buy things as well. Most disciples don’t though as it is deemed taboo and a sign of lower standing.”

He paused to see if there were any questions and spoke once more:

“The second level contains all classrooms and a few basic businesses related to the school. You might find a few students selling stuff on the road too. But the true dedicated level for business is the third. Go there if you want to buy something. There are items you would not find anywhere else. The fourth level is the battle arena and it is also where the skill building is located. You can go there and fight to earn points. Of course, you can lose them as well. A training area can be rented too. The fifth and sixth levels are areas dedicated to alliances and conquest. If you want to know more about this, go to the alliance office on this floor, it is not my job.”

“Finally, regarding lectures…I advise you to decide on your martial path early on so you can focus on the right lectures. If you want to register for one, go to the lecture office that is on this floor too. That’s all I had to say, you are free to leave. If you need anything, come ask me.”

Mir got up and left, followed by Oka. The others stayed in. Oka asked Mir as they got out:

“Young boss, shouldn’t we have asked him a few things?

-What did you want to ask him?

-That’s…I don’t know?

-Exactly. We don’t even know enough to ask pertinent questions. Then, why should we be wasting time there? Let us check out their skill building.

-Yes, young boss.”

After walking a few meters, Mir remembered something very important, he didn’t know the place he wished to go to…Or rather, he was walking without walking. As if he was going nowhere. They went back inside the classroom much to everyone’s fun. Even elder Alo couldn’t help but laugh then placed his hand on their golden card. They shined and a map was likely installed. He told them:

“I always wait like that. Remember well, you should not be in a rush to do things unless you want to forget some… I activated the map-like feature on your respective cards, you should be able to walk freely up to the sixth floor now. Without this feature, you’d just end up stuck in the first two floors. Wouldn’t it have been a shame?”

Mir was cursing him in his head. Of course, he could not have expected the old man to be a prankster… He decided to wait until the end this time.

Oka was fine all along and couldn’t care less about all this. His life already turned for the better and he was not really worried about the future. And humiliation, well, there was not much he hadn’t been subjected to yet in this domain so he was alright.

Hours later, the elder finally let them go, for real. They were taught through every single rule and everything there was to know. It was a very complete lecture. As they got out, Mir stretched while Oka asked him:

“So, young boss, what should we do now?

-Hum…Let’s go outside and get something to eat. I am hungry.

-Why don’t we eat inside the school, young boss. The elder mentioned many nice restaurants.

-Because they cost points. We only have a thousand each, let us not waste them. I don’t plan to risk my life on missions after all. I don’t know the prices here either… Well, we have lots of gold coins, let us spend some of those first instead.

-Indeed, young boss is smart.”

At that moment, one of the other kids laughed at the two. He said:

“Pfft, bunch of peasants. Eating outside is a shame for a disciple of this school. Let us go, tonight is on me, my friends!”

As he finished, he was followed by five others. Mir could only laugh at him inside himself. This kid had no idea what he was losing by acting this way. Being arrogant here would probably be a very bad idea. In a school full of monsters, it was better to keep it low if one didn’t wish to get into trouble. Mir wished for a peaceful school life.

As the group got away, one kid stayed behind and asked Mir:

“Can I join you two?”

Mir’s right brow got up as he felt curious. To think one of the kids would rather give up on a free meal inside the school offered from the popular kid in the group…He answered him:

“Sure, I am Mir and this Oka.

-I am Stohn Endge. Fourth young master of the Stohn clan.

-Stohn Clan?

-You never heard of it?

-No. What about you Oka?

-It is one of the clan in the north border part of the kingdom, young boss. They have quite a lot of specialized earth martial artists. It’s a middle-sized clan and a very old one.

-Is that so? Well, nice to meet you, Endge.

-Same here, nice to meet you guys, Mir, Oka.”

They both got out of the school easily. They only had to keep thinking of going outside to be led to the exit door on the first floor.

Once outside, it was dark, nighttime. Strangely, there is no day or night inside the school. It was made this way so that the school would work 24/7. But at the same time, it was messing with the disciples and elders sense of time.

The city was still bustling with activity and street lights were on. They settled for a restaurant called the roasted bear. Inside were dozens of tables filled by people of all ages. A few disciples were there as well. They were led to a table and given a menu.

There were many interesting dishes but the trio ordered the one thing that decided them on this restaurant: Braised Bear Chest. Mir was the one who wished to try it. He never ate this type of meat before and it seemed quite popular here.

He wasn’t disappointed when the waitress brought out three giant plates. The amount of meat would be enough to calm a pack of wolves. Fortunately, martial artists have big stomachs and great appetite. The meat was eaten till there was nothing left on each plate.

Then, they began to discuss as they sipped on their cocktails. Non-alcoholic ones, of course, to Mir’s disappointment. Endge was quite curious:

“Wait, if you’re both not from a clan, then how come you were brought here by the prince?

-I gambled alongside him and an elder from the Burning Sea School back in the previous genius tournament.

-Y-You gambled with him…? That’s incredible! Did you win?!

-Let’s not talk about the past, why don’t we rather talk about our bright futures? What brought you to this school, Endge?

-That’s the number one school in the kingdom. I think that’s reason enough! Ahahah!

-Indeed! Ahahah!”

After some laughter and a few jokes, they began to discuss seriously again:

“So, Mir, Oka, what are you two going to do from now on?

-What do you mean?

-Alliances. The elder told us, remember, we must enter an alliance in the next week.

-Yes, well, I am not sure yet. We plan to go to the alliance building tomorrow though.

-You are not going to enter the Ninth Followers group?

-No. We do not have any political ties and do not plan to. What about you? Were you hoping to join them alongside us?

-That’s…Yes, I was. You saw through me quite easily.

-You refused a free meal inside the school even though you must be aware of what it means to eat outside.”

There are a few explicit taboos inside the Royal Palace School. Since everything there is decided by the number of points you own, those going outside to buy things are deemed worthless and considered just like beggars. A true elitist school. Mir could only sigh at their dumb mentalities.