CHAPTER 15 - A Change in Plans

The next morning, when Zewoulf opened his eyes after his long session, the first thing he saw was Azyl dozing off, sprawled on the floor in a weird posture. He confirmed his doubts that he must have fallen asleep while meditating. It wasn't easy to retain focus and even more difficult when you realise that the repetitive process would only present any result after a lot of time.

Woulf was a reincarnator who had trained his patience over countless years, so he was able to adapt to this grinding method of increasing his prowess after a try. But a kid would definitely have trouble doing the same. He checked the time on the clock that was mounted above their room entrance and saw it there was still an hour before the whole academy woke up. After that he moved to properly straighten Azyl who had fallen asleep with his legs still folded and his head lying down on the ground.

After making him lie properly, he covered him with a blanket carefully while not disturbing him.

He thought back to the experiences he had had until now after reincarnating in this world. At first he had also thought the random dreams that he used to have in his childhood were something that marked him as special and different from others. He would even sometimes recount it to his parents about it and say that he would become an Elementalist for sure and make them proud, just like any other kid in his village.

But it changed after his fifth year in this world.

The dreams he used to have became his memories. He started remembering more about his past life. Bits and pieces from his entire past life merged with him and he gained knowledge that he was never aware of. He learnt about a world he had never seen or heard of. At that moment, he could no longer just refuse that this wasn't him. The memories had merged with him and he had become that person. They were one and would continue to remain so.

And since then, he started his pursuit to become stronger in this world. He had to find a method to become so strong that he could return to his world and do what he left unfinished. Of course now that he gained a new life, he would not just abandon it, but his past could not be forgotten as well. Not unless he had tried his best to remember all of his memories and finished the puzzle that was left in his mind.

After coming to the Academy, he was given another surprise when he met Azyl and he did not doubt the dreams that Azyl told him about either. He just could not confirm whether he was a reincarnator like him or not. But soon he gave up on that thought and decided to trust him. He also put in all his effort to level up and stand out in the initiation test so that he could get the chance to study about elements and prana cultivation. But he also had other thoughts about his current situation. There were other reasons as well for him to get into the elements class that were connected to his identity in this life.

Unlike how the normal people believed that the New Royal family and the Third prince from the central region were helping them and a balance was maintained, Zewoulf knew about the more subtle details regarding the actual situation and understand that things were not as simple as that. He had been observing patiently to confirm his thoughts and after coming to the academy he was almost sure of it. Their nation had become a vassal of the empire from central region. And the students and elites that were trained here would then be used as canon fodder later under that third prince.

Thus this vicious cycle would continue. They were not going to be sucked dry of their resources, but rather their talented individuals.

The only doubt he could not clear off his mind was, why would someone influential try to exert his influence over this backward region?

He had gained a basic knowledge of this worlds geography somehow and knew that their region was really considered an backwater region. But this was not his major concern, as he knew that strength was the answer to the oppression they faced. His aim was to be stronger and once he was strong enough, they would automatically be freed from anyone oppressing them.

But concurrently, this become an obstacle in his path. So while he knew that with his experience from his previous life he could improve at a fast rate, too much attention might also be harmful. He had to find a balance between both so that he could get resources that would be important to his growth, but also not garner attention from the higher ups in the royal family before he had strength to protect himself.

He had earlier thought that once he had some knowledge and means to continue on his own, he would fake an accident and drop out of the academy to continue with improving himself away from the inspection of the Royals and nobles.

But maybe now he had to revise his plan. With Azyl along him, he had more options to plan with and better ways to continue forward. He had noticed after his last nights session that Azyl had talent. Even if it was not the kind that was seen once in a century type, it was definitely something that would put him aside from the others. Right now he only wished for Azyl to do well and somehow get into the Yogic class for this year. He had some ideas and understood that Yoga played an important role in cultivation and what Azyl told him yesterday only confirmed this.

Being in the yoga class would be beneficial and would not bring him too much attention. Once the initiation ended, he would have to plan out carefully and also talk to Azyl clearly about his thoughts, as all will be for naught if he did not agree to this.

Zewoulf then got up from his place as he brushed aside his thoughts. He needed to think about how he was going to maximise his benefits from the senior students that he would get to meet today now.

He himself was confidant that he could get in the top ten, as he had managed to reach the seventh circulation an hour ago. If he had tried his best, he would have managed to reach ninth circulation maybe, but this was enough to guarantee a good result. Now all he needed to do was make sure that Azyl did not get expelled, even though the chances for that to happen looked slim after yesterday.