Damian exhaled as his eyes slowly opened.
He glanced around. As expected, hundreds of eyes were fixed on him.
'Maybe coming to the training hall was a bad idea,' he thought.
After his breakthrough, Damian could feel his body overwhelmed with power. He needed to get used to this feeling fast, and the academy's training hall seemed like the best place to do that.
There were multiple halls available for students' use, each being around 65,000 square meters or more so it could easily accommodate every student.
This hall was for first-year students and was packed with over a hundred of them who dueled with each other or worked on their fighting techniques, but the moment Damian stepped in through the large reinforced doors, everyone paused.
This put him off slightly.
Sure, there was no way he would ever be unpopular, but his name was now widespread in the school as the kid who rejected the dean's offer to be his tutor!
Many speculations were raised about why he would reject the dean's proposal—one that most people, even those from top noble houses, would literally kill for! But they would pull their hair out if they found out it was simply because it inconvenienced him.
With a sigh, Damian got up from his cross-legged position and walked over to one of the weapon racks placed at different points in the large hall.
He was used to stares—being the son of the unrivaled champion came with that. But it was two particular gazes from the upper corridor that unsettled him.
"He noticed us from this distance," Rin said with a smile. "That's the heir to the House of Greythorne, all right."
Although Damian couldn't see it from that distance—and didn't even turn to try—Rin had short black hair, and on the left side of her uniform were three stars indicating she was a third-year student. She had a slightly busty figure, and even though she appeared relaxed, there was a sense of danger anyone would feel if they got too close.
"What do you think of him, Kaine?" she asked, glancing at the man beside her.
His hair was as white as snow, his eyes a shade of blue that mirrored the sky. Just like Rin, his uniform had three stars.
The difference, however, was the red armband.
Kaine's eyes simply glanced at Damian before looking elsewhere.
Seeing this, Rin's smile widened.
"Well, Damian, you might need to do a little more to impress the ice-cold prince," she muttered, tapping her bracelet. "Let me be a good senior and give you an opportunity."
Damian picked up a sword and swung it, getting a feel for its weight.
'Not bad.'
Weapons were divided into two tiers: Basic and Classic. Each tier had its own hierarchy.
Basic weapons came in Common, Refined, and Enhanced grades, suited for everyone from the average warrior to seasoned soldiers.
Classic weapons, on the other hand, were rarer—categorized as Relic, Mythic, or the near-legendary Exalted class.
Of course, none of these came close to soul weapons, which were the physical manifestation of aura at its peak.
Unfortunately, soul weapons were not something that could be used indefinitely in battle, as they consumed large amounts of aura, so using forged weapons was quite common.
The Exalted class of the Classic tier was the closest in quality to a soul weapon.
Damian closed his eyes as he tried to channel his aura into the sword in his grasp.
It felt impossible at first, but he concentrated a bit harder and was able to channel a bit of his aura into it—though only for a mere second.
"Must be a Common class," Damian muttered, assessing the sword.
"Yes, but your proficiency in manipulating aura determines the ease of this task rather than the class of the weapon itself," came a voice beside him.
Damian turned to see Victor holding a spear.
"I hope you don't mind, I approached when you were concentrating," Victor said with a slight smile.
Damian's gaze shifted back to the sword. "So you speak?"
"Only when I need to."
"And what is the need that made you speak now?"
Victor raised his hand, gesturing for Damian to watch. He then took a step back, holding the spear in a throwing stance aimed at the far-off wall.
Damian began to notice Victor's aura stir as he channeled it into the spear far more seamlessly than he had with the sword.
With inhuman force, Victor released the spear. It flew through the air at a speed that created a sonic boom!
The spear reached the wall—hundreds of meters away—in a second, lodging itself deep before crumbling to dust as it couldn't bear the pressure it was subjected to.
The entire training hall's attention immediately turned to him.
"Such raw power!"
"Could he be rank 2 already?!"
"That's impossible, he would be an Exceptional if that was the case. Right?"
Murmurs rose.
Victor quickly glanced upward as he felt a piercing gaze lock onto him. It held no malicious intent, but he felt a chill go down his spine.
"Who is this one?" Kaine asked from above, his voice calm—almost eerily so.
"Hm," Rin narrowed her eyes. "Oh, that's the boy who defeated the Birmout kid. I think his name was Victor."
Kaine nodded lightly and looked elsewhere.
Rin sighed. "He's the number one first-year. If you're going to recruit one of them like you said, this is the one."
"Power alone isn't enough," Kaine murmured.
"Seems they now have an eye on you," Damian said as he turned to Victor.
"You noticed them?" Victor asked, raising a brow.
"I was taught how to sense intent from a young age."
As a child whose name alone held such great influence, it was only right to teach him how to tell if he was in danger or not. With this in mind, Darius instructed Jack to teach him all the basics and more in combat so he could defend himself.
"For someone who just broke through, you're proving to be quite interesting, Damian Greythorne."
"I noticed your reaction back in the dorm. How could you tell?"
"Your aura is loud, like it's not fully yours," Victor replied. "Which means it hasn't had the chance to settle down yet, a trait of a recent breakthrough. You should've stayed in meditation a bit longer."
It wasn't like Damian wasn't aware of this. He had tried to go back into meditation after realizing he'd broken through, but he couldn't seem to concentrate no matter how hard he tried.
'Maybe it's because of that…'
"I want to help you," Victor said.
"Help me with what?" Damian asked flatly.
"Your training. I can help you get your aura under control."
"And what do you get in return?" Damian locked eyes with him.
He was a Greythorne. If there was one thing his father taught him when he was younger, it was not to easily accept help from people.
Damian was in a position to do and demand great things. At that level, being indebted to anyone wasn't something he should allow easily.
"Once classes start, you'll know," Victor said evenly.
"Then you'll wait till I know," Damian replied.
"That's fair enough," Victor nodded. "But I'll just give you a little tip before then, if you'll allow it."
"If you wish."
"The weapons available to us in here are Common tier," he explained. "They'll crumble under too much pressure. Students can bring in their own weapons if they want to, so keep that in mind if you want to train next time. As for channeling your aura, instead of willing it to enter the weapon, just let it flow freely. Find that sweet spot and let the weapon take it in."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you," Damian said as he walked away.
"It's my pleasu—"
"Hey, Greythorne brat!"
A voice cut through the air. Victor and Damian turned toward the sound.
A group of five approached them. The boy at the lead pointed his axe at Damian.
He was a head taller, broad-shouldered, and muscular.
"Can I help you?" Damian asked, unfazed by the hostile approach.
"You're just as proud as the rumors made you out to be. You Greythornes think you're untouchable—walking around like gods! Don't think you can talk to anyone like you're better than them, you trash weakling," the boy sneered.
He could sense Damian's aura and could instantly tell he was just an entry-level rank 1! He was practically the weakest in the school!
"Your ranting didn't answer my question," Damian said.
"My name is Nicholas Oyt." He raised his bracelet, the number 43 gleamed in bold silver light.
"…and I challenge you to a duel."