The following days after Damian's duel cemented his standing in the academy.
After the duel, he got into the top 50 rankings and almost every upperclassman wanted to meet him to take him under their wing.
Of course, this was a mere wish. Everyone already knew he had rejected the dean, who was also the prince of Elyandra! There was no chance he would accept theirs.
But that didn't stop them from trying. Many even offered to be his lackey but Damian simply didn't care.
Many people disagreed with the behavior of these upperclassmen, but this entire ordeal was more than just about Damian winning a fight.
Yes, his fighting technique was outstanding; aggressive and direct—a true warrior's fighting style. But, it didn't change the fact that he was still the weakest warrior in the school when aura was taken into account.
He may have beaten Nicholas, but that could be attributed to a fluke. After all, the boy had underestimated him.
Anyone else in the school could simply just overwhelm him with power and win.
So why was he getting this much attention? The answer was simple.
He's a Greythorne.
All that fight had done was spread his name around and showed people that he had potential. Potential that everybody wanted to oversee.
Yet, even that was simply a side benefit to being associated with a Greythorne which was bound to be worth more to them in both the short and long run.
As for the first year students, they viewed Damian with caution.
Most of them had been there to see the fight so they knew the truth—this boy was ruthless.
Majority of them avoided him—something Damian wished even the upperclassmen would do too—but a few of them tried to get friendly.
The attention from all parties forced Damian to stay in his dorm. But all this did was slightly hinder his admirers who now tried to use his roommates to reach him.
They had a hard time approaching Victor, but Harry… well, Harry was approached with incentives that would make even a noble consider their requests, but Damian had made his stance clear to him, with some threats. So, albeit reluctantly, Harry refused their offers.
Damian couldn't even use the dormitory's cafeteria without being harassed, so Harry offered to bring his food to the room to save him the trouble.
Seeing as his movements were now limited, Damian made good use of the opportunity to continue meditation, now properly consolidating his power.
He spent many hours daily simply just meditating, only taking breaks to eat.
Unlike his first time, the process went smoothly. He hadn't sensed that presence again, so he assumed it was simply a consequence of meditating for the first time. There was no point pondering on what he didn't understand.
If it happened again, then he would treat it as an issue.
Damian's soul energy rose steadily and his soul that once glowed dimly was now significantly brighter than before.
He could feel more clarity during his breathing. His aura no longer flickered—it pulsed, steady and full. It was subtle, but it was there.
'I wonder how long it'll take me to get to rank 2.'
Damian knew that it usually took years for a warrior to break into a higher rank, but he knew who he was.
Measuring the growth of his strength with the standard of others would be foolish. After all, he had broken through in 12 hours.
A feat that even the mortal god couldn't do!
Luckily this information wasn't wide spread or even the teachers would join in his harassment.
Victor also didn't seem like the type to speak out of turn so he had no reason to worry about him spilling that information, at least for now. The boy also never brought it up so that reinforced Damian's confidence.
Thankfully, classes began and Damian felt the pressure reduce significantly as most students became too busy to dedicate their time to him.
Damian walked through the academy's hallways as he navigated his way to his class using directions from his bracelet.
He was walking in the opposite direction of the other first years but that was because Exceptionals had their classes different from their peers.
They were the best of the best and would be taught as so.
This kind of segregation was bound to breed envy, but this was just one more method the academy used to maintain its competitive nature.
Finally, Damian made it. He stood in front of the door and exhaled as he prepared himself, before pushing it open.
He walked into a moderately large classroom, one that was definitely too big for just five students.
Suddenly, Damian sensed something coming straight at him with inhuman speed!
His instincts quickly kicked in and he tilted his head as a marble flew right past his ear, hitting the wall behind him.
Charles clicked his tongue. "I missed."
"No, he dodged it, you idiot," Mia rolled her eyes.
"Still, I should've taken that into account," he replied. "You're quick on your feet, Damian. I put some power into that, yet you reacted fast enough. Are you sure you're rank 1?"
'What just happened?'
Damian was shocked. Did these people just try to kill him?
He would've had a hole in his head if that attack had hit!
Seeing Damian's confused face, Charles smiled. "Relax, if you hadn't reacted to that fast enough, you shouldn't even be here."
"So you were testing me?" Damian asked.
"Pretty much."
Damian glanced around the class. At the back sat a girl who paid no attention to the others, simply looking outside the window with her hand propping up her chin.
She turned to Damian at that moment and he felt his heart skip a beat.
It wasn't like he hadn't seen beautiful girls before, but no words could describe what he currently laid his eyes upon.
Quickly averting his gaze, Damian turned to the boy who sat in the middle and had his eyes closed.
His short blond hair and stature fit in with Harry's description. This was unmistakably… Caesar Birmout.
Even looking at him made Damian feel a sense of danger he didn't even get from Victor who was supposed to be stronger!
'Yet her…'
He moved his gaze back to the girl. He couldn't read her at all!
This alone made her feel more dangerous than Caesar.
'This class might be a little too much.'